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CNN International: Iowa Republicans Giving Tim Scott a Closer Look; Appeals Court Says Abortion Pill Mifepristone Should Remain on the Market; Heat Wave Expected Across the U.S. in Coming Days; Rescue Efforts Underway in India as Death Toll Rises to 71; West African Defense Chiefs to Meet Soon in Ghana. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired August 17, 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]

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TIM SCOTT, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That's 100 percent.

GOV. KIM REYNOLDS (R-IA): How many of you love Senator Scott?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER (voice-over): Everybody is the answer Senator Tim Scott and his campaign are looking for this week in Iowa. Campaigning hand to hand, flip to French fry.

But the main political attraction during Scott's visit to the famed state fair Tuesday was news of front runner Donald Trump's fourth criminal indictment.

SCOTT: Continue to say as I see it, which is that we see the legal system being weaponized against political opponents. That is unamerican and unacceptable.

MCKEND (voice-over): Scott attacking the legal process instead of the former president trying to keep his campaign positive, and showing little appetite to take on any candidate, even Trump, despite mounting legal woes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is Trump's lead here in Iowa is insurmountable?

SCOTT: No, of course not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why not?

SCOTT: That's why I'm campaigning because I believe that my optimistic, positive message is being rooted in Iowa and that, frankly, our poll numbers continue to go up.

MCKEND (voice-over): That optimism comes as some Iowans tell CNN they're sick of Trump, who still holds a dominant lead in the race.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm considering other people that I think will also do a good job, maybe without some of the conflict that Senate -- or President Trump has with all of the lawsuits.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I kind of wish Trump would just fade, to be honest with you.

MCKEND (voice-over): Scott and his supporters have blanketed Iowa and New Hampshire, with more than $20 million worth of ads. At an event in Cambridge, Iowa, he saw the payoff first hand.

SCOTT: I'd say in my commercials, if you take out a loan, you pay it back. Hallelujah, you all, this is great man, we love it. You all are starting to see the commercials. This is good news. I was wondering if they were buying anything with all that money I was spending.

MCKEND (voice-over): In the Hawkeye State, a whopping 69 percent of likely caucus goers say that they have a favorable view of Scott, according to a recent poll. His pursuit of momentum will have to carry into next week's debate, a crucial test and opportunity. With Florida Governor Ron DeSantis seeking to reboot his campaign and Trump's appearance on stage very much in doubt, Scott is convinced he can compete.

SCOTT: I want to continue to run this race for one objective. It's to be the president of the United States.

MCKEND (voice-over): His campaign just releasing this video.

SCOTT: You get in the race for president to win.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is their campaign strategy to gain momentum between now and the debate?

SCOTT: Well, the good news is we're going to continue to do what we have been doing, which is focusing on optimistic, positive message anchored in conservatism with a backbone.

MCKEND: Scott could face some pointed attacks from his Republican rivals on the debate stage next week, given his relative momentum. His team tells us he's prepared though engaging in the traditional debate prep. But he tell him more importantly, no matter what happens, to remain optimistic because it is that sunny optimism that seems to be gaining him the attention of some voters.

Eva McKend, CNN, Des Moines, Iowa.

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NOBILO: The legal battle over a widely used abortion pill appears to be headed back to the Supreme Court. The Justice Department says it will ask the justices to review a new federal appeals court ruling that says medication, Mifepristone, will stay on the market but imposes strict limits on access. CNN's Jessica Schneider has the details from Washington.

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JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well right now, there's no immediate impact at this Fifth Circuit court decision. That's because the decision has already been preemptively blocked by the Supreme Court until the justices on that court decide if they'll even hear an appeal of this decision.

So practically, mifepristone, this abortion pill, it remains widely available. Meaning it can still be prescribed by a non-physician. You don't need to go to your doctor's office to get the prescription. It can all be done via telehealth. You can get it by mail. And you could still get it up to ten weeks pregnant.

But this decision on Wednesday by the conservative federal appeals court it really says that all of those rules that were put into effect by the FDA between 2016 and 2022, the court saying they should be blocked. That ease of access should be rolled back. And this is significant because this is the second conservative court to rule this way. So it is possible that when this does get to the Supreme Court, the DOJ has said they would appeal. We could see a similar ruling giving that the conservative makeup of this nation's highest court has already made some major decision. Including overturning Roe v. Wade. Which eliminated that constitutional right to an abortion.

But again even though the Fifth Circuit said that the recent rules making it easier to get the abortion drug Mifepristone, should be blocked. Nothing the lower courts decide at this point will actually take effect until the Supreme Court decides whether to step in. So the takeaway is that for not Mifepristone will remain on the market. It will remain widely and easily available even though these lower courts are consistently ruling against certain aspects of accessing this drug.

Jessica Schneider CNN, Washington.

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[04:35:03]

FOSTER: More younger adults in the U.S. are finding that they have cancer especially women. A new study shows that cancer diagnosis rate among Americans below age 50 went up between 2010 and 2019. That was largely driven by a spike among women and people in their 30s. Increase was the highest among Native Americans as well as Asians and Hispanics. Data from other countries also shows an increase of cancer among young adults.

Scientists attributed that to better screenings and other factors that they have yet to investigate. The study was published in the journal of JAMA Network Open.

At least three people have died in the northeastern United States after contracting infection from a flesh-eating bacteria. Officials say two people in Connecticut were infected after swimming in the Long Island Sound. And New York's governor says the bacteria was detected in a person who died on Long Island. And all the victims fell ill from a bacteria that lives naturally in warm salty water. People can catch it by swimming with open wounds or by eating raw or undercooked shellfish.

It's been a brutally hot summer in the United States and it's not over yet. This week much of the U.S. will be blanketed in a miserable heat wave once again. CNN meteorologist Jennifer Gray tells us what to expect and when relief may be insight.

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JENNIFER GRAY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Heat advisories are up for the West Coast and the Pacific Northwest yet again. We have just an incredible heat building. And you could see it's even extending into portions of Central California. And so, we are going to be dealing with triple digit heat for some areas. Spokane, 100 degrees for today, normal high of 84. Hitting 100 in Sacramento. That's almost ten degrees above normal.

But you do see that temperatures start to cool a little bit. They will be back to 85 degrees on Saturday in Spokane. Seattle, back to normal, even below normal, on Friday. So temperatures will start to back down a little bit.

Excessive heat warnings though are back across Texas, where we can see incredibly hot temperatures. Some of the warmest so far. We're looking at temperatures at 108 in Dallas, 103 in Houston, 104 in Midland. Those are the highs on Thursday. 108 in Dallas, it's the feels like temperature this afternoon. Houston 108, feeling like the triple digits just all across the deep South and the Gulf Coast, so another very hot and humid day.

So temperatures will hit 109 in Dallas on Friday. Hitting 109 in Del Rio. Temperatures are close to 104 for Monroe. New Orleans hitting 100 degrees. It's the same old story across the South.

Temperatures are going to stay above average and then even building to above average temperatures across the Northern Plains, Midwest and really the entire East, aside for some areas in northern New England. Below normal temperatures for the West.

So temperature outlook for next week, it looks like hardly anyone will be able to escape the heat. We'll see a small pocket across portions of the Southwest as well as the Northeast but we're looking at a very hot week or above normal week, I should say, for the vast majority of the U.S.

Here's the forecast radar. You saw those storms just sweeping by. We do have a chance of showers and storms. Over the next two days we're looking at anywhere from an inch or two of rain across the portions of the Midwest. And that will work its way into the Northeast.

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NOBILO: Still to come, the death toll is still rising after heavy rain led to deadly landslides in India, causing roads to cave in and buildings to collapse. A live report from New Delhi is next.

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NOBILO: Rescuers are still digging through the debris after deadly landslides in northern India. At least 71 people are dead and 13 missing after torrential rain led to flash floods and landslides in the region.

CNN's Vedika Sud is following the developments for us from New Delhi. Vedika, what is the scale of this rescue effort? And how has the reaction been in the region to this devastating event?

VEDIKA SUD, CNN REPORTER: Well the scale has been massive, given that the chief minister of the state of Himachal Pradesh, which is located in northern India, has said that 300 people have died since the beginning of the monsoon season which commences in the third week of June this year. But in the last four days, especially between Sunday and Wednesday, according to officials, there have been 71 dead. We're talking about 71 deaths recorded in about 72 hours or just more than that. Which in itself is a staggering figure. Isn't it?

Now if you look at these visuals, they're so strong. They come from parts of Himachal Pradesh, especially Shimla where landslides have led to the lost of properties and lives. We do know that over a dozen people still remain missing. Unfortunately that death toll could be going up.

Now what's triggered these landslides is the heavy rainfall in the state of Himachal Pradesh. Unfortunately that will continue for the next four days according to the Met Department.

But there's so many people waiting there to hear of news of their loved ones. Those who are still missing, over a dozen, like I mentioned. Here's one of them just hoping for some closure if not the good news.

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SUDESH SHARMA, FAMILY MEMBER OF LANDSLIDE VICTIM (through translator): We should get the missing members of our family back. family are missing. We should get a glimpse of them for the last time and set their souls free. We have no doors left open for us now. We should get them back.

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SUD: Railway networks have been impacted, connectivity has been impacted and that will take a while to restore. Of course, we had experts, climate experts saying that this is related to climate change because the construction that takes place in these hilly regions which make the soil weak and vulnerable due to which there are mudslides. Many homes have collapsed, as he can see in those visuals of them.

Now according to the chief minister of Himachal Pradesh -- and I am going to quote him here from a tweet:

We have received wounds that will never be forgotten.

So this is one of the worst perhaps that he has seen. And it'll take a while, not only to rebuild the properties that have been lost, but these lives as well as. Which may take months or years. Back to you.

NOBILO: Vedika Sud in New Delhi. Thank you. Residents of one of the Canada's largest northern cities are under

evacuation orders as wildfires get dangerously close. 20,000 people in Yellowknife have now been told to get out by noon Friday. More than 200 fires are burning across Canada's northwest territory. And officials there have declared a state of emergency.

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This surreal image is from Fort McMurray ravaged by another wildfire in 2016, where the flames this week turned the sky red. Officials say they're trying to deploy more resources to the region. And Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada's military has been called in to help.

And wildfires are also raging on the Spanish island of Tenerife, spreading to 1,800 hectares in 24 hours. The flames are hitting a full set areas of steep ravines, making it harder for firefighters to battle them. 14 aircrafts and water bombing sea plane have been deployed. And authorities have ordered the evacuations of five villages in the area.

Defense chiefs from the West African, bloc ECOWAS, are set to gather in Ghana in the next hour, to discuss the coup in Niger. The meeting will be similar to the extraordinary summit held in Nigeria's capital one week ago. ECOWAS placed sanctions on Niger in the wake of the military takeover late last month. And has threatened military action to restore democracy.

CNN's Stephanie Busari joins me now from Lagos with the latest. Stephanie, it's fair to say that the reaction of ECOWAS to the coup in Niger, has come in bits and starts. Remind us of the vested interest that ECOWAS have in Niger and whether or not that will compel them to really act and make a difference in the coming weeks.

STEPHANIE BUSARI, CNN SENIOR EDITOR, AFRICA: Yes, so, Bianca, I mean, ECOWAS is sort of caught between a rock and a hard place. This is the regional body, economic community of West African states, 15 members of this body. And they've seen coup after coup happening in this region. And for them, Niger, which is a very strategic large country. About twice the size of Texas. It's a very key ally in the fight against terrorism. For them, it's one coup too many. And they want to be seen to act and to really take a firm stance.

And there was a threat very, very early on, an ultimatum about restoring democracy in seven days and a military action was planned. But some said that they showed their hand too early and then the plan actually didn't happen. Which may have emboldened the junta in Niger. But now ECOWAS is very keen to avoid a costly war in this region. It's unstable. Some of the poorest countries in the world are in this region. It's plagued with insurgency, which Niger was a key ally in that fight.

So it's not an easy decision, Bianca, to take military action. To put their boots on the ground in a country like this, in a region that could lead to protracted civil war. In Nigeria, for example, which is headed -- which the President Tinubu is the head of ECOWAS right now. The northern part of Nigeria is very close to Niger. Long, historic,

and ethnic ties. And they're saying that any war on Niger, it's a war our brothers. We don't want it. So ECOWAS really has to pursue dialogue until the very last moment. And that's what they're doing.

But they are clear that it may happen. This meeting of the defense chiefs, later on today, is to put a deployment plan into place. And it's very likely that we will see military action in Niger in the coming days and perhaps weeks -- Bianca.

NOBILO: Stephanie Busari, thank you so much. I think that context and that knowledge of yours is so valuable to try and understand what is at stake here. And also, it's an extremely professional job, batting through in the disco lighting that you've going on right now. Thank you so much. Stephanie for us in Lagos.

Now an ominous warning from South Korea's spy agency. It says North Korea is getting ready to fire another intercontinental ballistic missile. South Korea's National Intelligence Service says the launch is meant to coincide with the upcoming talks between the U.S., Japan and South Korea at Camp David -- the American presidential retreat.

And those possible missile test could also be centered around joint military drills between the U.S. and South Korea that start Monday. South Korea adding the that North is ramping up military cooperation with Russia. The Russian defense minister visited Pyongyang last month for the anniversary of the Korean War Armistice.

Still to come, Bradley Cooper's appearance in his latest movie trailer has stirred up controversy online. But now the family of the film subject is coming to his defense.

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NOBILO: Well, we know there's no such thing as free money. And that's the warning from the Bank of Ireland. Which says it could come back to haunt people who took advantage of the technical glitch. For several hours on Tuesday, customers of one of Ireland's biggest banks were able to withdraw money they did not actually have, in some cases over $1,000. Videos on social media showed long queues at some ATMs. The bank has apologized for the error that says anyone who withdrew money over normal limits will be debited the full amount from their account.

To tennis now, where Novak Djokovic won his first singles match on U.S. soil since 2021. But perhaps not in the way he would have liked. During the first game of the second set, his opponent suffered an injury and ended the match early. Djokovic won the first set 6 to 4. The Serbian can play tournaments in the U.S. now that the COVID vaccine requirements are no longer in effect. Djokovic, as you may recall, chose to not get vaccinated.

The 23-time grand slam winner is expected to play in the U.S. Open in New York later on this month. Where he'll look to tie Margaret Court for the most grand slam singles titles of all-time. Some stores in the spotlight for this for you.

The children of legendary composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein are pushing back against online critics after the release of a trailer for a new biopic of their father's life titled "Maestro."

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BRADLEY COOPER, ACTOR, MOVE "MAESTRO": So how long do we have to do this for.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we need to build up a very strong connection.

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[04:55:00]

NOBILO: The film stars Bradley Cooper as Bernstein, and he also co- wrote and coproduced the film. The Academy Award nominated actor has drawn a line playing a Jewish man, even though he isn't Jewish myself. Others have questioned the use of a prosthetic nose that he appears to be wearing in the trailer. Saying that it reinforces antisemitic stereotypes. You can see there the comparison. Bernstein's family released a statement saying in part, quote:

It happens to be true that Leonard Bernstein had a nice, big nose. Bradley chose to use makeup to amplify his resemblance, and we're perfectly fine with that. But also certain that our dad would have been fine with it as well.

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BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: Born down in a dead man's town And the first kick I took was when I hit the ground You end up like a dog that's been beat too much 'Til you spend half your life just to cover up

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NOBILO: Say it isn't so, but the Boss has called in sick. Veteran rocker Bruce Springsteen is postponing two shows this week in Philadelphia because he is, quote, taken ill. He and the E Street Band have been on the road for most of the year and just returned to the U.S. for an extensive European tour. The social media post said no replacement dates have been decided, but fans were assured that their tickets will be good.

Actor Harrison Ford is going into the history books, but not for the reason that you're expecting. Researchers have named a new species of snake after the man who portrayed a character, famous for hating them.

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HARRISON FORD, ACTOR, INDIANA JONES MOVIE: Snakes, why did it have to be snakes?

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NOBILO: In a nod to Indiana Jones, Ford's name is included in the reptile's official species name. Researchers found a yellow and brown servant during a trip to one of Peru's national parks. Ford calls the discovery humbling, adding that it's a reminder that there's still so much to learn about our wild world.

That does it here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Bianca Nobilo in London. Thank you for joining me. "EARLY START" is next.

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