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CNN International: Trump Draws Crowd at Iowa Fair Despite Legal Troubles; Coup Leaders in Niger Suggest They'll Put Bazoum on Trial; Running Mate of Slain Ecuador Presidential Candidate Speaks on Struggling to Tackle Organized Crime; Stories of Survival on Maui; NOAA Predicts More Activity Due to Warm Ocean Temps. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired August 14, 2023 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Well on back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Bianca Nobilo. And if you're just joining us, let me bring you up to date with our top stories this hour.

Hawaii's main electric provider, Hawaiian Electric Industries, is now facing a lawsuit claiming the company kept power lines live during high winds driving the destructive fires responsible for at least 96 deaths. The fire in Lahaina is now the deadliest in the U.S. in over a century.

And Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to present her case to a grand jury in Georgia and possibly bring at least a dozen indictment, including fourth round of charges for Donald Trump.

Even with the threat of a possible fourth indictment hanging over his head, former U.S. President Donald Trump is making a big show of confidence at the Iowa State Fair. The fair is a major event on the campaign trail and although he drew large crowds over the weekend, Trump still faces competition from his chief rival Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. CNN's Steve Contorno has the latest.

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STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: The campaigns of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump clashed over the weekend at the Iowa State Fair, where both Republican candidates tried to build support in what is going to be one of the most important GOP contests on the nominating calendar.

Now, for Governor DeSantis, this was an opportunity to turn the page after a difficult stretch in his campaign. He has cut staff. He has cut spending. And he has now refocused his efforts on some of these early nominating contests, trying to win back support and convince Republican voters that he will be a better nominee for the party to take on Joe Biden in November 2024.

RON DESANTIS, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need to leave this country better off than we found it and we are in danger of being the first generation that turns over less opportunities to our kids than the opportunities we've inherited and that is unacceptable. CONTORNO: DeSantis spent most of Saturday at the fair where he was flipping pork chops and playing fair games with his family.

Meanwhile, Trump reminded people why he is the Republican frontrunner, he showed up for a few short hours, but still brought a huge crowd and many people were there to hear him speak. And when he spoke, he talked a lot about the legal troubles that have dogged his campaign but continue to make him popular among Republican voters.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The whole thing is a fake, it was put out by Biden. And they put it out because they can't win an election the fair way. It's all called election interference. And Biden put it out because he can't win the fair way. He's way down on the polls.

CONTORNO: Trump, while in Iowa, also took the opportunity to troll DeSantis a little bit. He brought with him several members of Florida's Republican Congressional delegation who have endorsed Trump over their home state governor. Just another example of how these two men are clashing with each other in this GOP contest so far.

Steve Contorno, CNN, St. Petersburg, Florida.

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NOBILO: The coup leaders in Niger are suggesting they will put the country's ousted president on trial.

[04:35:00]

They say they've gathered enough evidence to prosecute President Mohamed Bazoum for what they call high treason and undermining Niger's security. He's being held under house arrest since the coup late last month.

CNN's Stephanie Busari joins us now from Lagos in neighboring Nigeria. Stephanie, we're hearing that the leader of the junta has agreed to dialogue at least with ECOWAS. How big of a breakthrough is that?

STEPHANIE BUSARI, CNN SENIOR EDITOR, AFRICA: Well, it's something we've heard before, Bianca. We've heard that the junta wants to sit down and discuss. But at the same time, they seem to up the stakes each time. These charges against President Bazoum is just one example. And we don't know specifics about what this means.

But last night a military spokesman said that President Bazoum would be prosecuted for, quote, high treason and undermine the internal and external security of the country.

Now, you will remember that President Bazoum is being held captive in the basement of the presidential palace and he says he's being deprived of food and medicine and human contact.

But last night in this statement the military spokesman said that he denied these allegations and said President Bazoum had been allowed to see doctors regularly and also saw a doctor on Saturday. Now, the talks -- some of the talks that you mentioned were brokered

by a prominent Nigerian cleric -- Islamic cleric -- who led a delegation to Niger over the weekend and had talks with General Tiani. He says he's ready to talk to ECOWAS. But we've heard this before. And it remains to be seen whether these talks will go ahead. But ECOWAS, as you know, has threatened force if President Bazoum is not reinstated. It doesn't appear with charges coming that he will be reinstated. And so, the stakes are upping in this what looks to be a tense standoff -- Bianca.

NOBILO: And you will keep a close eye on it for us. Stephanie Busari live from Lagos, thank you.

Ecuador's presidential debate began on Sunday with a moment of silence for slain candidate Fernando Villavicencio. His absence was also marked with an empty podium on the stage. Villavicencio, and anticorruption candidate, 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. They've chosen Christian Zurita, a journalist who previously worked with Villavicencio.

On Saturday, the party had put out Villavicencio's running mate Andrea Gonzalez Nader as his replacement but they changed their minds. Worried about an obscure election law that might keep her from being qualified and she's already registered as a vice presidential candidate. She still plans to run for that post.

Needless to say it's been a tragic and terrifying couple of days for Fernando Villavicencio's running mate. Andrea Gonzalez Nader sat down with CNN's Rafael Romo for this exclusive interview.

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ANDREA GONZALEZ NADER, ECUADORIAN VICE-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think any other Ecuadorian is at the risk of getting shot right now in the street.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 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. Yes, I was supposed to be there next to him, getting inside the car that had no protection against bullets. And we wore no bulletproof vest because we were trying to get the people this message that we had to be brave.

ROMO (voice-over): In an exclusive CNN interview at a location we're not disclosing for her safety, Gonzales 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 this 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 shrimps, our coffee. I love -- I love Ecuador deeply. I believe Ecuador is a paradise, and they've turned it into hell.

ROMO (voice-over): 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 the political mafia.

[04:40:03]

GONZALEZ NADER: We knew there was a high risk of him getting attacked by the same mafia and the same organized crime and the same politicians that are linked with this organized international crime.

ROMO: After the assassination, current Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lazo declared a state of emergency for 60 days. On Saturday, 4,000 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.

ROMO (voice-over): Gonzales says organized crime is a regional problem that requires a regional solution.

ROMO: 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 this. Cocaine is done in Colombia and goes -- gets through Ecuador, through our coasts where it goes back to Mexico and then it's delivered to the United States and Europe.

ROMO (voice-over): 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)

NOBILO: We're hearing more stories of survival after the devastating wildfires on Maui. After the break, one man describes how he, his wife and their dogs managed to escape the flames in Lahaina.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) NOBILO: At least nine people have died and about 25 others are trapped after a temple collapse in northern India. Heavy rains had triggered floods and landslides in the region. And officials say rescue workers are diligently working to clear the debris and rescue those trapped underneath the temple. Meantime, heavy rains also claimed the lives of seven others across the state.

[04:45:00]

And the Indian meteorological department has issued a red alert.

The death toll from the wildfires on Maui, Hawaii has risen again to 96. And authorities warn it will likely rise even further. Meanwhile, more stories of survival are starting to emerge. One man survived with his wife and their dogs by fleeing their home and eventually jumping into the sea. He described those terrifying moments for CNN.

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MIKE CICCHINO, WILDFIRE SURVIVOR: Thank God that I left my house to 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 we 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 fire was 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 decided 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)

NOBILO: If you'd like to help the victims of the wildfires in Maui, you can go to CNN.com/impact.

It has been a pretty quiet hurricane season in the Atlantic so far. But experts warn the activity will surely pick up soon. Especially with ocean temperatures at record highs. CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar has the details for you.

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ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The latest NOAA forecast is out and the numbers have actually increased for the remainder of the Atlantic hurricane season compared to their first forecast that came out in May. When they originally called for 12 to 17 total named storms. Now they are calling for 14 to 21. In terms of hurricanes, the previous forecast called for five to nine. Now we're up to six to 11. In an average year we would typically have 14 total named storms and seven hurricanes.

So why the change? Well, a lot of that really comes down to streaming warm sea surface temperatures. In some of these areas they've been record breaking, extreme warm, especially across portions of the Gulf of Mexico and eastern Caribbean.

However, here's the counter to that. They're also headed into an El Nino pattern. And traditionally in an El Nino pattern, the jet stream shifts farther south. When it does that it begins to increase wind shear across the main development region, really suppressing a lot of tropical activity. In addition to that, you also tend to have fewer storms that will form in the eastern portion of the Atlantic.

And so traditionally in an El Nino year, we would see those numbers go back down, but because of the warm ocean temperatures, this is where NOAA is saying, no, we think these numbers are really going to start to tick up. And keep in mind, we have yet to even get to the peak portion of the season. Statistically speaking September 10 is the peak portion of the season. But really the back half of August, all of September and even creeping in to October is when we really see the bulk of activity.

We've already had four named storms so far this season. We typically don't get to that fourth named storm until mid-August. So we're already slightly ahead of pace. Even before we get into the peak season.

[04:50:00]

So the two main factors here really going to be focused over the next few months, is how strong that an El Nino sets in and how warm do the ocean temperatures actually remain. But the key takeaway is, remember folks, it only takes one land falling storm for it to be an impactful season.

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NOBILO: Just ahead, a smash and grab caught in on video in broad daylight at a shopping mall. The details on how it all went down and what they stole, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NOBILO: Kylian Mbappe is back on the Paris-Saint-Germaine first team after being frozen out of the squad during his transfer standoff with the French club. In a statement Sunday, PSG said they had 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 preseason tour to Asia and has been training separately.

In golf, American star Lilia Vu has one the Women's Open, clinching her second major title of the year. She scored six birdies, along with a bogey Sunday, to finish the day 14 under par.

[04:55:00]

Vu won her first major title in April with the Chevron Championship. She is the first American woman to win two major championships in a season since 1999.

And now to some stories in the spotlight this hour.

Los Angeles police say that their community is feeling a little less safe after thieves ransacked a shopping mall in broad daylight and it was all caught on tape. At least a dozen people dressed in black from head to toe was seen looting this store before dashing out of the building with duffel bags, purses and other items. Police believe the mob stole between $60-$100,000 worth of goods. Authorities say that they arrived on the scene quickly and have several investigative leads. They add that this is the latest flash mob burglary in the area in recent days.

It was a beautiful weekend for star gazing in the Vulcans. This time lapse video shows streaks of light from the Perseid meteor shower. Some people in Croatia camped out on an island in the Adriatic Sea to get a glimpse of this event. How lovely. Nasa says that this meteor shower occurs when earth passes through the debris rail trail of a comet. And particles from the comet interact with the atmosphere causing these bright streaks of light in the sky.

And also in space, NASA's web telescope has spotted a literal cosmic question mark deep in the galaxy. The glowing object in the shape of a question mark was captured last month. Scientists aren't sure about its origin. But think it's what happens when two galaxies collide. In fact, they say the merging of galaxies into a question mark like shape has happened before. But a physics professor compared it to someone who finds a chicken tender that looks like George Washington.

That does it here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Bianca Nobilo in London. "EARLY START" is up next. [05:00:00]