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93 Dead After Blaze Officials Say Moved A Mile A Minute; Ukrainian Civilian Casualties Mount Amid Russian Attacks; China Condemns Transit Of Taiwan's VP Through U.S.; Zurita Promises to Lead Anti-Corruption Campaign; Running Mate of Slain Candidate Speaks; Georgia Prosecutors Claim to Have New Evidence; A Look at Counteroffensive on Ukraine's Southern Front; Final Four Team Gear Up for Semifinals This Week; Nigerian Environmentalist Weaves Cans Into Portraits. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired August 14, 2023 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[01:00:31]
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate your company coming up here on CNN Newsroom this hour. The number of civilian casualties in Ukraine continues to grow. The latest victim of Russian shelling was just 23 days old.
Devastation in Maui, residents returning to what's left of their homes and their lives decimated by a wildfire that traveled one and a half kilometers a minute.
And the political party of Ecuador slain presidential candidate is nominating another candidate to replace him. It's the second in two days.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center. This is CNN Newsroom with Michael Holmes.
HOLMES: The death toll from the devastating wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui now stands at 93 as new details emerge about the astonishing speed of the flames that swept through Lahaina last week. Hawaii's governor held a briefing, Sunday, and said officials are working to find temporary housing for nearly 1,500 residents who are now in emergency shelters. He also described the incredible velocity of the fire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSH GREEN, HAWAII GOVERNOR: When the winds rose up, winds gusting as high as 81 miles per hour, fires spread rapidly. We believe between 60 miles per hour and 81 miles per hour across that part of the island. And that meant that fire traveled one mile every minute, resulting in this tragedy.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: Authorities say they don't know how many people are still missing. Only 3 percent of the fire zone has been searched with cadaver dogs so far. Officials urging those with missing family members to contact authorities and coordinate DNA testing for identification.
More stories of survival on Maui are starting to emerge. One man survived with his wife and their dogs by fleeing their home and eventually having to jump into the ocean. He described those terrifying moments for CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE CICCHINO, WILDFIRE SURVIVOR: Thank God that I left my house to Joe go check around the neighborhood because that was the only warning that I got was actually seeing the houses on fire, you know, seven houses down or so, it wasn't too far. The second I got to that fire, I immediately turned around and I knew it was going to be bad with those winds. And you just see everything being caught on fire and people running for their lives. You know, kids screaming babies being handed off to other people.
It was something out of a volcano or like a war movie. Only thing that I could do is race back to the house to save my wife and the dogs were looking after, you know, got the dogs, my wife got in the car and we didn't know where to go. The smoke and fires heading towards the north, so we wanted to go south, and they had roadblocks preventing us from going south. They kind of got pushed into the Lahaina area where it is a very small town and everybody was just stuck in traffic.
And we had abandoned our car on the sidewalk, run for our life in the other direction since we saw the direction we're heading to was already on fire, to our side was on fire. And then once we noticed that the direction we're now running with all these dogs is on fire, we were stuck in the middle. Only thing that we could do is jump in a van for a little bit with some of the dogs that we were able to get.
And, you know, when we jumped in the van, the van was actually filled with propane tanks. So at that point we just had to throw all those propane tanks get, you know, away from the seawall where we knew we had to jump. And over the course of 12 hours, we were hiding in the seawall, jumping in and out of the water, dodging where the flames and fires were even in the water. We're getting burned and dunking underwater.
There's times where we thought we truly were going to die. I remember calling my mom telling her that I love her, my brother, my daughter that's only four years old, you know, telling her that I love her and thinking this is my last call. And now right on that last call all those propane tanks went and it's, you know, it was intense. It was a very intense day.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:05:09] HOLMES: Official say about 2,200 structures have been damaged or completely destroyed in western Maui, 86 percent of them were people's homes. Now some residents are slowing slowly starting to sift through the debris. And CNN's Mike Valerio was in Maui and has our report.
MIKE VALERIO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right now we're at Waihee- Waiehu which is the only way to get into the disaster zone for residents to access the areas near Lahaina. So we're going to show you what is going on. These officers from Maui police are checking to make sure that anybody who goes in here is in fact a resident, not a tourist and not somebody who would engage in looting from out of town somewhere from a different part of the island.
Some people who we have met, they have told us that this is a profoundly emotional juncture for them as they move from this lush landscape to try to move and see it through this area and see what has survived. We've met a woman Susan, who told us exactly that. Listen to what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUSAN SLOBODNJAK, 31-YEAR MAUI RESIDENT: When I drove through Lahaina for the first time on Friday. OK, I again live up north, you know, seven miles out of Lahaina. And that night of the fires, we were watching the sunset on one side, and it seemed like the sunset on the other side from the flames and we did not know how serious it was. And when I drove through on Friday, I had no clue what I was going through, everything's gone.
I worked at the chart house in 1991. It is flat to the ground. There's houses that I used to live in in Lahaina that I don't even know where they were. And, you know, I lost friends in there, you know, they were going back to get their animals, you know, when she died. So I mean, you know, it's really sad because people come over here, you know, I heard there was a snorkeling boat looking at Lahaina town. Give them respect, you know, it's so bad. This is, you know, people died here. I mean, it's not just a vacation. It's not just a place for vacation. We live here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VALERIO: Just utterly heartbreaking to hear vignettes and sentiments like that as we look out at the ocean to give you some more perspective, just the juxtaposition as you see that as your beautiful ocean, this beautiful corner of the world. And then just a couple miles down the road, you'll see the moonscape seared, scarred. We also want to know you know about this road, it narrows into one lane of traffic. That's one of the reasons why it's been so hard and so slow for people to get into the disaster zone to figure out what has survived and how they move forward.
Mike Valerio, CNN, Maui, Hawaii.
HOLMES: Joining me now is Professor Kathy Jacobs. She is the Director of the Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions and Professor of Environmental Science at the University of Arizona. A great voice for this discussion, so thanks, Professor. Maui's fires are the headline this past week. But it does raise the broader question of how best to adapt to disasters in this era of climate change, what to build, how to build where to build, what lessons do you think should be learned?
KATHARINE JACOBS, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR CLIMATE ADAPTION AND SOLUTIONS, UNIV. OF ARIZONA: Well, first of all, there will always be surprises. But if we don't actually pay attention and learn these lessons, we will unfortunately have to learn them again. It is important to try to anticipate the changes that are happening along with the climate. But there are underlying reasons that cause some of these problems, such as, for example, invasive grass species seems to have been one of the main reasons this fires spread so quickly. So that was an underlying reason that perhaps, was made worse by a drying climate.
HOLMES: We were already seeing big insurance companies pull out, for example of parts of California high fire risk areas, storms, susceptible places in Florida, and so on. In the broader climate discussion with those stronger storms, the increasing heat rising sea levels and so on. How does big picture thinking need to change in order to adapt to what's already here, let alone what's to come?
JACOBS: Right. Well, people really do need to get consistent messages. And unfortunately, the messages people receive right now are that the American public is willing to bail them out if they make expensive and risky investments. So it's great that insurance companies are saying no, we won't insure really risky investments anymore. They're essentially providing an incentive for people to make better choices when they buy properties.
But it's also critically important for the rest of the American public to understand that their taxes they're actually bailing out all of these big disasters. So if we get prepared in advance, we are in a much better place than if we rely on insurance or being bailed out by the Federal Government.
[01:10:00]
HOLMES: Yes. Great point. I mean the term managed retreat is getting traction in some areas, relocating communities, you know, entire towns, or at least large numbers of people as the climate changes. I mean, it's daunting in magnitude. But should planning now I think that -- it's referred to as future proofing be more of a priority?
JACOBS: Well, you know, I don't like the term future proofing because then the future is going to show up. But we do need to be taking a long term view and a very strategic view of which communities really can survive, the kinds of impacts that we are anticipating in, which may not be able to in the long term. If we take this a decade at a time and think out into the future, there can be pathways to adaptation as opposed to an abrupt decision to relocate a community.
There are communities that have already had to relocate due to sea level rise, they're relatively small. But when you start talking about very large cities, that's an incredibly daunting prospect. HOLMES: Yes, yes. I guess, you know, the challenge is obvious difficulties. But are there opportunities as well, in terms of things like equitable opportunity, more climate friendly design, social upsides, what do you see in your studies?
JACOBS: Absolutely. There's a lot of ways to make these investments in climate preparedness have multiple other benefits, whether it's providing more aesthetic community, better recreation opportunities, improved biodiversity in the environment. But there are also lots of jobs that really need to be created to reinforce this idea of resilience to build resilient systems that have redundancy and can survive these major challenges.
HOLMES: Yes, great point. And again, in that broader climate picture, or climate impact picture and not Mauians specifically. What are the risks of, you know, having sand, you know, rebuilding the same way, in the same places over and over again after disasters, and trying changing climate realities?
JACOBS: Well, unfortunately, there's so much political pressure to rebuild immediately. People want to move back in their homes, they want their neighborhoods back. But we need to resist that urge to build back exactly as it was before. That's what I mean about we have to learn these lessons. And we can't be investing over and over again, in the same community that is going underwater in a flood or coastal environment changes.
We need to make smarter choices over the longer term. That really means being prepared before the event, and in really making plans for how you will rebuild by design, as opposed to being a victim.
HOLMES: Stark realities and an important issue, Professor Kathy Jacobs, thanks so much.
JACOBS: Pleasure to be with you.
HOLMES: And we are following new developments out of Ukraine where at least three people were wounded in Russian missile and drone attacks on the southern region of Odesa. One official says multiple fires have been sparked by falling missile debris. You can see some of them there. And this comes one day after deadly attacks in the southern region of Kherson.
Official say an entire family died in Russian shelling, including a 23-day-old baby girl. You see their house there. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the Kherson region alone reported at least 17 shelling attacks on Sunday, and he promised a response to Russian assaults.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Everywhere our warriors retaliate against the occupiers terror. There is not a single day when Russian evil does not get our completely fair retaliation. Every occupier destroyed. Every piece of Russian equipment burned, fire instead of their headquarters and warehouses, the very eloquent smoke on Kerch Bridge and more. All this proves that we will not leave any of Russia's crimes unanswered.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is following developments and reports for us now from Dnipro in Ukraine.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: More Russian strikes against civilian areas in Ukraine something frankly, that is unlikely occurrence at this point. But again to children appear to be the individuals worst hit or even wrong say targeted for the receiving end of this extraordinary indiscriminate violence particularly in Kherson in the last 24 hours.
A 23-day-old girl called Sofia and her 12-year-old brother Artem killed by Russian shelling along with mother and father. Four of the seven dead in shelling of Kherson region last year liberated from Russian occupation. But where Russia continually visits its artillery shelling unclear if they think they're hitting military targets or just keen to hit civilian areas and causes much pain as possible.
[01:15:21]
Remember too recently, in the last two days, Zaporizhzhia, a hotel there hit where two Iskander missiles landed right next to a children's playground, miraculously vacated just an hour earlier. And so again, and again, it's the shocking details, frankly, of how children are being hit, targeted or in the line of fire here by Russia's constant shelling.
Russia itself, saying that's Ukrainian drones crossed into Russian territory Belgorod Kursk and were intercepted by their defenses. We've also seen two of them erecting a smokescreen over the weekend around the Kerch Bridge that runs between occupied Crimea and the Russian mainland. Again a sign perhaps that Russia's areas that were may have felt it was impregnable are vulnerable to targeting although they say and this and they took out intercepted two Ukrainian missiles aimed towards that bridge.
But this an increasingly regular drumbeat of Russian brutality against the Ukrainian civilian population. Ukraine saying that its southern counter offensive has made some significant small but significant gains near Robotyne, it is really the key enduring question this counter offensive as to what move forwards, what particular part of Russia's defense may prove to be more decisive or herald, a larger strategic move forwards by Ukrainian forces. But it isn't now particularly slow and grinding work, but still civilians bearing the brunt of this extraordinary wrath of Russia visited on population centers around Ukraine.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Dnipro, Ukraine.
HOLMES: And joining me now to discuss is retired Australian Army Major General Mick Ryan. He's also a former commander at the Australian Defense College and author of war transformed the future of 21st century great power competition and conflict. His latest book there on your screen, White Sun War, a terrific novel. Mick always good to see you. There have been more and more civilian casualties. We talked about a 23-year-old, 23-day-old baby, many other young people recently. Do you think that's a tactic targeting civilians as opposed to so called collateral damage?
MAJ. GEN. MICK RYAN, AUSTRALIAN ARMY (RET.): Hi, Michael, it's good to be with you again. Since the beginning of this war, the Russian military, the Russian government have shown a total disregard for the lives of non-combatants and civilians in this war, right from the atrocities of Bucha, where the Russian President awarded that unit all the way through to the destruction of the dam in Kherson, the use of incendiaries on civilian areas in this latest shelling. The Russians care nothing for the lives of Ukrainians.
HOLMES: Right. Let's talk about the battlefield. Russia has made some small advances. But do you think they're largely focused now on defending territory rather than taking territory? Is that easier for them, given how entrenched they've been able to become? And is that likely to be a tactical decision, freeze the lines and run a policy of attrition?
RYAN: Absolutely, the Russians by the end of last year were exhausted. They lost huge numbers of the most experienced troops and their best equipment, they had little opportunity other than to turn to defensive operations because they can use troops that don't have the same training and can force a little attrition on the Ukrainians.
With Putin's desire to see this war be extended to exhaust the West's patience and will with the war, I expect we'll see more Russian defensive operations in the short term.
HOLMES: And how do you assess Ukraine's counter offensive, particularly in the south? I mean, the attempts to break through the Russian land bridge to Crimea. Do you see promising signs there?
RYAN: I think they're making steady progress. It's not the great rush forward that we saw in Kharkiv last year. It's not quite what we saw in Kherson. This is different to the scale against a different Russian adversary that's dug in and has learned over the last six months, but they are making progress. This requires ongoing support from the western. And just patience, this is a terribly difficult mission the Ukrainians have undertaken.
HOLMES: We're looking a video as you speak there of the Kerch Bridge, that bridge between occupied Crimea and the Russian mainland. And you wrote in your sub stack about the continued Ukrainian targeting of that bridge. Why is it such a valuable target for Ukraine? Why is Ukraine devoting really considerable resources to try to hit it so often?
[01:20:05]
RYAN: Well, this is a bridge that Ukrainians never agreed to build after the 2014 Crimea occupation. So there's a political imperative to attack it to make Putin look weak. It's seen as one of Putin's vanity projects. But it's also an important information operation for the Ukrainian saying to Russians in Crimea, that Russia can't defend them.
It's also an important military target. It's a line of supply for Russian forces who are occupying Crimea, both the Navy, the army, and the Air Force, so it has both military and political reasons for the Ukrainians to continue attacking it.
HOLMES: There's plenty of complaints about U.S. support from the right wing in the U.S., as one example. Are you seeing any fracturing in western support any risk of loss of interest as time goes on?
RYAN: Well, I think most polities -- most politicians and many citizens have short attention spans these days. But I think the attention has remained on Ukraine longer than we might think. It's natural that people's attention will turn to other concerns about cost of living and these kinds of things. But we should remember, we had the strategic patience to stick with a job in Afghanistan for 20 years. I expect the West will have good patience to stick with Ukraine on this very important mission.
HOLMES: Mike Ryan, always great analysis, good to see you my friend. Thank you.
RYAN: Thanks, Michael.
HOLMES: Now to a symbolic move on an island that has become synonymous with Ukrainian resistance. Ukraine says guards on the strategic Snake Island have replaced the border marker which had been destroyed during Russia's brief occupation of that island. The Russian Navy captured it at the start of the invasion, but not before facing fierce resistance from Ukrainian defenders who refuse to surrender. Ukraine took back the island in June of last year.
Still to come on the program a top leader from Taiwan is transiting through the U.S. Why China is furious about the visit. And what Taiwanese officials fear could happen next.
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HOLMES: At least 21 people have died and six are missing after a landslide and central China. Officials in Xi'an city say heavy rain likely caused the ground to give way, destroying at least two homes. The landslide also cause blackouts, affecting 900 homes and damaged roads and bridges. Nearly 200 people had to be evacuated as crews work to restore power.
And China is condemning the transit of Taiwan's vice president, William Lai, through the U.S. Lai arrived in New York on Saturday where he was welcomed at the airport by one of Washington's unofficial representatives to Taipei. He is scheduled to leave in the coming hours for Paraguay where he will attend the inauguration of the Paraguayan president on Tuesday. CNN's Paula Hancocks joining me now from Seoul in South Korea. Yes, the Vice President, he's just passing through really, but that's not going to make China happy.
[01:25:28] PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Michael, we've seen these transits of Taiwanese officials through the U.S. before and each time we see a furious reaction from Beijing. It's exactly the same this time, and will likely be in the future. Beijing sees Taiwan as part of its territory, even though it's never governed the Democratic Island and has said that there should be no official reaction and integration between the U.S. and Taiwan.
Now, what we've heard from the U.S. side is senior administration officials said that it is an unofficial visit in keeping with the One China Policy, but it's still not enough for Beijing. We did hear from William Lai, on Sunday, he was at a banquet for Taiwanese American officials, and he spoke at that banquet saying that Taiwan would not back down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM LAI, TAIWANESE VICE PRESIDENT (through translator): So at this decisive moment, I want to promise once again at this time and place that no matter how great the threat of authoritarianism is to Taiwan, we absolutely will not be scared, or cower. We will uphold the values of democracy and freedom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANCOCKS: Now, William Lai had also said he was happy to arrive in New York saying that it's an icon of liberty, democracy, and opportunities. He will be leaving later today to Paraguay, and he will then be coming back through the United States we understand as well, again transiting. So the reaction we have from MOFA from the foreign ministry is in the form of statements at this point.
And it says that Lai Ching-te cling stubbornly to the separatist position for Taiwan independence. He is a troublemaker through and through. They have also said that they do firmly oppose any official interaction between the U.S. and Taiwan. This has happened before that we have heard that this is fairly routine, as well hearing from those U.S. senior administration.
Officials in fact, just earlier this year in March, and then again in April, we did see the President Tsai Ing-wen going through the United States, she was on her way to Guatemala and Belize. And on the way back, she was also meeting with senior U.S. officials. She met with Kevin McCarthy, for example, the House Speaker. So this is something that we can expect to continue. And we can also expect it to irritate Beijing. Michael?
HOLMES: Always a pleasure. Good to see you Paula. Thanks for that. Paula Hancocks there in Seoul.
Now, the coup leaders in Niger are suggesting that they will put the country's ousted president on trial. They say they've garnered enough evidence to prosecute President Mohamed Bazoum for what they call high treason and undermining Niger's security. He's been held under house arrest since the coup late last month. Meanwhile, Niger's self- proclaimed defense chief met with the head of Guinea's military government over the weekend, in an effort to defend the coup.
Along with Guinea, two more of Niger's neighbors, Mali and Burkina Faso are also led by soldiers who seized power, and they're all expressing solidarity with Niger's coup leaders.
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MOUSSA SALAOU BARMOU, HEAD OF NIGER DELEGATION (through translator): I would like to say here on behalf of the general is that we were or at least the people of Niger, were very concerned by certain excesses stemming from problems with security from problems revolving around endemic corruption. For the sake of our nation, we had to assume our responsibilities before the people of Niger and before history in order to safeguard the future of our homeland, Niger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: A source from the West African bloc, ECOWAS, tells CNN a parliamentary committee is being formed to meet with Niger's coup leaders. ECOWAS has warned of military intervention in Niger if needed to restore civilian rule. Niger is strategically important not only as a major supplier of uranium, but also as another potential flashpoint between the West and Russia, whose influence is growing in the region.
Still to come here on the program, the running mate of the assassinated Ecuadorian presidential candidate, sharing her fears and her determination with CNN. We'll hear her exclusive interview coming up.
[01:29:52]
Also, a CNN exclusive on why prosecutors say they've linked Donald Trump's team's -- team to breaching voting machines in the U.S. state of Georgia. We'll be right back.
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HOLMES: Welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Ecuador's presidential debate began on Sunday with a moment of silence for the slain candidate Fernando Villavicencio. His absence also marked with an empty podium on the stage.
Villavicencio was an anti corruption candidate. He was assassinated on Wednesday after a campaign event in Ecuador's capital. And his party is now nominating a candidate to replace him for the second time in two days.
The Construye Party says they have chosen Christian Zurita, a journalist to run in place of Villavicencio. On Saturday, the party had put up Villavicencio's running mate Andrea Gonzalez Nader his replacement but they changed their minds worried about an obscure election law that might keep her from being qualified as she has already registered as a vice presidential candidate. Gonzalez still plans to run for that post under Zurita who is promising to honor Villavicencio's legacy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISIAN ZURITA, ECUADORIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (through translator): Fernando's (INAUDIBLE) to use in our government plan are totally intact. We're going to fulfill them. Together with him, we created this anti-terrorism plan, this anti mafia plan to protect Ecuador.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Needless to say there has been a tragic and terrifying couple of days for Villavicencio's running mate. Andrea Gonzalez Nader sat down with CNN's Rafael Romo for an exclusive interview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREA GONZALEZ NADER, ECUADORIAN VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think any other Ecuadorian is at the risk of getting shot right now in the streets.
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She was supposed to be there. As his running mate, Andrea Gonzalez Nader should have been right next to Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio when he was shot last Wednesday as he was leading a rally in Quito, the capital.
GONZALEZ NADER: Fernando was shot three times in the head.
ROMO: Has it sunk in that you could have died? Because you were supposed to be right next to Fernando that night when he was shot dead.
GONZALEZ NADER: Yes, I was supposed to be there next to him. Getting inside of the car that had no protection against bullets. And we were no bulletproof asked because we were trying to get people this message that we have to be brave.
[01:34:54]
ROMO: In an exclusive CNN interview at a location we are not disclosing for her safety, Gonzalez said Villavicencio's murder is yet another gruesome and shocking example of how fragile democracy is in Latin America as a region. But living in fear she says is not an option.
GONZALEZ NADER: I want to change the country. I want this country to be a place of peace, a productive country.
We're known around the world for our incredible chocolate, our bananas, our coffee. I love Ecuador deeply and I believe Ecuador is a paradise. And they've turned it into hell.
ROMO: Villavicencio was a 59-year-old lawmaker in the national assembly known for being outspoken about corruption and violence caused by drug trafficking in the country. In May, he told CNN en Espanol that Ecuador had become a Narco state.
His political platform was centered on leading a fight against what he called --
FERNANDO VILLAVICENCIO, SLAIN ECUADORIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Una mafia politica.
ROMO: -- the political mafia.
GONZALEZ NADER: We knew there was a high risk of him getting attacked by the same mafia, the same organized crime and the same politicians that are linked with this organized international crime.
ROMO: After the assassination, current Ecuadorian president Guillermo Lasso declared a state of emergency for 60 days on Saturday. Four thousand members of the Ecuadorian police and military raided a notorious prison in Guayas Province and transferred an alleged leader of a local drug gang to another facility.
Gonzalez says organized crime is a regional problem that requires a regional solution.
How does Ecuador solve its security problem? Is it something that Ecuador can do by itself? Or does it need help from the international community?
GONZALEZ NADER: We need teamwork from international intelligence to find out how to stop it. Cocaine is done in Colombia and goes through -- gets through Ecuador through our coast, where it goes back to Mexico and then it's delivered to the United States and Europe.
ROMO: Ecuadorians go to the polls on August 20th for the first round of an election to choose a new president. But even something as simple as voting is an act of courage in this country. And many may decide to stay home.
Rafael Romo, CNN -- Quito, Ecuador.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And results are coming in from Argentina's primary election where voters have chosen candidates for the presidential race in October. And it has been something of a shock election.
The far-right libertarian economist Javier Milei is leading the votes. Taking a much higher percent than expected. And the main conservative opposition bloc is just behind him. Voters are handing a strong rebuke to the ruling center left coalition.
Right now, Argentina gripped by an economic crisis which has left four out of ten people in poverty and raised inflation to more than 115 percent. Voters are struggling to hold on to hope.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARIA MEDINA, VOTER (through translator): It is critical because we elect those who will govern us. I'm not going to be hypocritical but I'm a bit hopeless because in every election I feel a bit disappointed.
One does not lose hope. Let us hope that they will truly work for the people, whoever is elected, beyond what each one chooses individually, they should bet on the people. That is the most important thing fundamentally, security and stability.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And now to a CNN exclusive. In the U.S. Georgia prosecutors claim to have new evidence linking Donald Trump's legal team to a 2021 voting system breach in Georgia. Investigators believe Trump's associates attempted to access voting systems after the 2020 election to try to support his baseless claims of election fraud.
These new developments coming as Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis is expected to seek more than a dozen indictments when she presents her case before a grand jury this week.
CNN's Zachary Cohen breaks down what to expect.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: As we are preparing for a Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis to start presenting her case to the grand jury, new pieces of evidence we are learning about that prosecutors in this case have gotten their hands on text messages that show direct links between lawyers working for then president Donald Trump and a voting system breach in rural Coffee County Georgia on January 7th 2021.
Now, specifically these text messages show that lawyers working for Trump actively sought to a get a written letter of invitation from a local election worker in Coffee County in the days leading up to the breach that shows that they were involved in the planning. Lawyers like Rudy Giuliani and former Trump attorney Sidney Powell. Both were very knowledgeable and helped coordinate the bridge in the days leading up to it.
Now it remains to be seen how this will factor into any charging decisions brought by Fani Willis as soon as possibly Tuesday. But we do know this is a key part of her investigation. And expect that it could factor into potential criminal charges going forward.
Zach Cohen, CNN -- Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, we go behind the front lines in Ukraine, showing you the grueling battles, the tragedies and the victories of the counteroffensive in the south.
We'll be right back.
[01:39:56] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Iranian lawmakers are debating a controversial hijab bill which would penalize women who fail to wear the mandatory head covering in a way that authorities approve of.
They voted on Sunday to discuss the bill further in an exclusive commission. Women who don't comply could face fines ranging from $750 to $20,000 and ten years in prison. Lawmakers say that they will work around the clock to prepare the bill for approval in the next two months.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They say that it might change but it will not be abandoned. The fact is that the current hijab is different from the way it was in the first years after the Islamic revolution in Iran.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, this all comes nearly a year after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in custody of Iran's so-called morality police for allegedly violating the strict Islamic dress code. Her death sparked months of protests for women's rights across Iran.
Also in Iran, at least one person was killed seven others injured in an attack on a Holy Shia shrine in the southern city of Shiraz. State media reporting two terrorists tried to enter the shrine on Sunday and opened fire. They say one of the assailants has been arrested.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GENERAL ABO ALI, IRGC COMMANDER, FARS PROVINCE: This terrorist was armed with a war weapon, with eight magazines full of bullets. The terrorist was arrested by security who were chasing him and by workers of Haram (ph) and now we have that person in our custody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: This is the second deadly attack on the shrine in less than a year. More than a dozen people were killed there last October when a gunman opened fire.
And now to a CNN exclusive. An up-close look, a frightening at an area of Ukraine's front lines that no reporter has seen until now. The battle has become fierce as Ukraine pushes its counteroffensive in the south.
Our Nick Paton Walsh is there and has startling new video. A warning: some of what you are about to see is graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: 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: Come on Dima, fire.
WALSH: Yet they have to shoot their way forward round by round.
[01:44:55]
WALSH: The Russians are just past the building on the horizon.
Let's get moving guys. They're very anxious to leave.
We're the first journalist to reach this part of Ukraine's counteroffensive push south towards Robotyne.
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.
The losses from their early assault evidence this had destroyed U.S. supplied Bradley armored vehicle.
And this thick dust these tankers moving forwards to fire at Russian positions which they say are beginning to look imperiled as Ukraine's southern counteroffensive pushes forwards.
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 from the tools given towards it grates here. They're being expected to do things no NATO army would attempt with equipment they'd scoff at.
The Humvee we travel in, with tires so threadbare, no American soldier would be expected to drive it. They have no time for armchair assessments that they're failing.
VITALY, TANK OPERATOR, 15TH NATIONAL GUARD BRIGADE: They are wrong. We have successes. It depends on how fortified they are. Above all, don't underestimate the enemy.
WALSH: And that underestimation is visible here in the nearest town of Orikhiv. Pummeled by the main problem, Russian air superiority and the half ton bombs they drop. At any moment, it may not matter how much cover you have.
VITALY: SU-35 jet in the air.
WALSH: We take cover in a basement. One day 20 rockets hit in as many minutes.
WALSH: The wait now is for what they think is another missile to come in and land. The smell of death haunts the rubble where entire lives have been torn through.
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.
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: We went there immediately. Another team picked up the driver. And that was the hardest thing I ever did, pick up the body and deliver it to the morgue.
VLAD, MEDIC, 15TH NATIONAL GUARD BRIGADE: His family, his mother, they are in a temporarily occupied territories. They couldn't even come to the funeral.
WALSH: Down here, death is far too close. And they seem to shut it out.
EUGENE: When they hit further than 100 meters away from us, we don't pay attention. If it's closer, we just laugh hysterically.
VLAD: I tell everybody, we will all die. But a bit later, maybe in 50 years.
[01:49:52]
WALSH: 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)
HOLMES: Coming up on the program, Sweden and Spain gearing up for a semifinal match on Tuesday in the Women's World Cup. A preview from New Zealand after the break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Kylian Mbappe is back on the Paris Saint Germain first team after being frozen out of the squad during his transfer standoff with the French club. In a statement on Sunday, PSG said they had quote, "very constructive and positive talks" with the superstar. Relations between Mbappe and PSG have been tense since the French captain said he would not renew his contract which expires at the end of the 2023- 24 season. The 24-year-old was also left out of the preseason tour to Asia, and has been training separately.
And then there were four -- Sweden, Spain, Australia and England are all geared up for their semifinals matchups this week in the Women's World Cup and a chance for a spot in the final.
CNN World Sport's Amanda Davies has the details from Auckland, New Zealand.
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AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: If you were in any doubt what it means to the players to reach the semifinals of the tournament -- just cast your eyes across some of their social media feeds.
This is a case of Instagram showing the reality.
Whilst over in Sydney, the hype around Australia's semifinals against England has reached new heights.
Here in New Zealand, singing notwithstanding, Sweden are relatively quietly yet confidently focusing on the job at hand without getting too carried away. Despite all the celebrations after victory over Japan, there is a real sense of unfinished business after reaching the semifinals in the last three major tournaments, but not yet getting their hands on that silverware.
NATHALIE BJORN, SWEDEN DEFENDER: We have not been speaking about it that much actually, we watched the quarterfinals and of course the semifinals, we speak about the semifinals but, we really are like not a boring team, but we're like ok one game at a time.
So first Spain. And then we will see.
DAVIES: Given the atmosphere. And the mood we saw in Sydney, what would it mean to you to make it there?
BJORN: I mean everything, everything. I feel like we are not done yet. We do not want to go home. We want to win this game against Spain. And we want to go to the finals. So it's all about that now and I think our mentality has been great throughout the whole tournament. So we keep on working with that.
DAVIES: Spain have traveled back from Wellington here to Auckland for their first ever Women's World Cup semifinals. It is a city and a venue that has treated them well so far in this tournament. They have scored ten goals in the two games that they've played at Eden Park. But this time, Sweden will very much be hoping to rain on their
parade.
Amanda Davies, CNN -- Auckland, New Zealand.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:54:51]
HOLMES: All in for the Matildas here, I'm afraid.
Tens of thousands of people turned out for the annual Nehru Trophy Boat Race in India over the weekend. We've got some videos for you. 72 boats, including 19 snake boats with those long canoe-style boats. They competed for the coveted trophy in nine different categories.
As you can, see thousands of spectators were out there. They come to see the event every August in the state of Kerala. According to local media, the PBC Club nabbed the trophy this year. I checked them.
A Nigerian artist is hoping to draw attention to his country's waste problem. And as CNN's Zain Asher explains, he is literally digging through dumpsters to help bring his message to life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAIN ASHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A dumpster to many, but an unconventional supply store to an unusual artist. His name is Chibuike Ifedilichukwu, a 37-year-old Nigerian upcycler and environmentalist. No cash payment is needed here. But the cost is his reputation.
CHIBUIKE IFEDILICHUKWU, UPCYCLING ARTIST: Basically, you know, when you are collecting waste they will see you as a mad man.
ASHER: Back home, Ifedilichukwu gets to work. He cleans the beverage cans, cuts and carve them into strips, interweaves them to form a canvas, sketches his subject and interlocks the can with plastic strips.
After about three days, the result is a colorful portrait that makes a bold statement about waste management in Nigeria, one of the largest solid waste producers on the African continent generating over 32 million tons of waste annually, according to a 2021 report from the United Nations' Industrial Development Organization and Nigeria's ministry of environment.
IFEDILICHUKWU: I choose the path of collecting this way and adding value to them.
ASHER: Ifedilichukwu says the subjects of his art are other environmental campaigners. And these include Nigerian celebrities like Don Jazzy (ph), founder of music label Mavin Records.
Dealing with materials like cans, steel wires and craft knives have drawn his blood many times. But the artist says that that is a small price to pay for art that could help save the environment. Zain Asher, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: What wonderful art.
Thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'm Michael Holmes.
Stick around, CNN NEWSROOM continues with another enthusiastic Matildas supporter, Rosemary Church next.
[01:57:36]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
