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Southwest U.S. Braces For Floods From Hurricane Hilary; Hundreds Of Workers, Dogs Search For Hawaii Fire Victims; Trump Expected To Surrender At Jail Next Week; U.S. Approves Giving F-16 Training Materials To Ukraine; Colorado River Still In Danger Due To Drought; Wildfires Rage In Spanish Canary Island; Chris Christie Draws Contrast With Trump And DeSantis In Florida; Australia To Face Sweden In Third Place Match. Aired 5-6a ET
Aired August 19, 2023 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and all around the world, I'm Kim Brunhuber. Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not like the other storms we have experienced. It is a huge footprint, it goes all the way to the desert, out into the ocean.
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): For the first time ever, much of southern California is under a tropical storm warning. We'll tell you how residents and city officials are preparing for the historic storm.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Plus, the governor of Hawaii vows to rebuild the historic town of Lahaina as the search for the missing continues.
And we will tell you when and where Donald Trump is expected to surrender to Georgia police and the legal negotiations going on right now behind the scenes.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: We begin this hour in the southwestern United States, where people are bracing for possibly catastrophic flooding. Hurricane Hilary could dump more than a year's worth of rain on parts of Nevada, Arizona and California in just a few days.
Hilary is likely to make landfall in northern Mexico but it is moving fast and could arrive in California as a tropical storm, the first such storm to do so in decades. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANICE HAHN, BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, L.A. COUNTY: It's been 84 years since one came ashore. So it's a once-in-a-lifetime event that we are going to be experiencing.
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BRUNHUBER: Preparations are already underway. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is sending personnel and supplies to southern California. The mayor of San Diego has asked residents to stay home Sunday night when Hilary is expected to arrive.
Major League Baseball and Soccer have moved scheduled games from L.A. and San Diego. And Nevada has deployed about 100 National Guard troops to provide support in cases of severe flooding.
More than 42 million people are under a tropical storm warning in southern California, including San Diego and Los Angeles. People are taking the warnings seriously, listen to this.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As we will have the high winds, I will take care of the back yard and move all the umbrellas appropriately and get them out of the way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just had the officers warn us about what was going to happen. We know exactly where our valuables are, just in case we have to evacuate.
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BRUNHUBER: And, just moments ago, the National Hurricane Center issued its newest advisory on Hilary. It is still a powerful category 4 storm with winds of 130 miles per hour, about 260 miles from the southern tip of the Baja, California, in Mexico, moving north- northwest at 13 miles per hour.
Life-threatening and potentially catastrophic flooding is over much of Baja California and the southwestern U.S. through Monday.
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BRUNHUBER: In Hawaii, the death toll from the wildfires in Maui now stands at 114. Officials expect the number to rise as the search continues through more than 2,000 homes and businesses that burned.
They say more than 60 percent of structures have now been searched. On Thursday, the head of Maui's emergency management agency resigned his post, one day after he defended not activating the islands' siren warning system.
Hawaii's governor Josh Green has asked the state attorney general to review how fire another officials responded to the disaster, as well as the sirens' silence. The governor and first lady addressed residents on Friday, becoming emotional as they pledged to rebuild the historic city that was decimated by the fire. Listen to this.
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GOV. JOSH GREEN (D-HI): Friends, this loss that we have suffered is unspeakable and devastating. We will continue to mourn as we care for the survivors and begin to move forward together.
With federal aid, we will begin a massive recovery effort to clean up and began to rebuild the affected areas of Maui. We will rebuild Lahaina. It will take years of work and billions of dollars but we are committed to this effort and, together, we will meet this challenge.
JAIME KANANI GREEN, FIRST LADY, HAWAII: The people of Lahaina built their town into a special place, a unique and vibrant community. For generations, Lahaina's beauty, culture and rich history, through artists, musicians and visitors from around the world.
Tragically, it took less than a single day for us to lose Lahaina in the deadliest fire our country has seen in more than a century.
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BRUNHUBER: The governor of Hawaii says there are 470 rescue workers and 40 search dogs combing through the disaster area for more victims. CNN's Bill Weir has more.
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BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With noses 40 times more powerful than ours, a trained cadaver dog can smell a body buried 15 feet deep. But in Lahaina, the challenge for these good boys and girls is not depth but breadth, as they work 3.5 square miles of ash and loss.
For their handlers, this is painstaking, heartbreaking work. For the dogs, it's hot and hazardous.
CAPT. CELINA SERRANO, LOS ANGELES COUNTRY FIRE DEPARTMENT: Oh, easy, easy. This way, buddy.
WEIR: Who is this?
SERRANO: Over here. So this is Prentiss.
WEIR: Hi, Prentiss.
Prentiss is a ...
SERRANO: He's a boy.
WEIR: -- boy.
SERRANO: Yes. WEIR: Hi, bud. Hi, good boy. You hurt your foot.
WEIR (voice-over): Burned paws and clumsy booties are just two more things to overcome for search and recovery teams from 15 different states around the nation.
SERRANO: Come on, buddy.
WEIR (voice-over): Los Angeles County Fire Captain Celina Serrano has been working and living with her Labrador partner for nine years, including her state's deadliest ever campfire which laid similar waste to Paradise, California.
(on-camera): Are you also looking for bone fragments or signs or is it purely the dog triggering the search?
SERRANO: We will. We do. We have some rescue team members that are coming with us and they are also searching, see what anything is visible that they can make out.
WEIR: Yes.
SERRANO: It is a little difficult, though, because there's some stuff that you -- it's just -- you're staring at this debris and it's starting to look like it's bone but it really isn't. And so that's where we really rely on the dog.
STEPHEN BJUNE, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, FEMA URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE: So we've actually brought in about 40 different search K-9s, which is a fair amount of K-9s for this kind of project because we want to make sure that we're doing it as fast as we can while still remaining as accurate as we can.
So at the end of this, we've got the highest confidence. But as far as the timescale, it's really going to be about that ability to work through this kind of technical search to make sure that we bring everybody home.
WEIR: Because you're really searching at the granular level, aren't you?
BJUNE: In lot of cases, this is a lot smaller than what we're typically dealing with. But again, we're making sure that the sensitivities and the somberness of this because this is a very special site to the people of Hawaii and certainly the fact that we're talking about homes, communities and lives that are all missing and all lost.
So this is something we take very serious. We're taking with a lot of respect and we have to make sure that everything down to the smallest thing is treated with that level of respect.
TIARE LAWRENCE, LAHAINA COMMUNITY LEADER: Not knowing where your friends and family are still missing today. A lot of people are just so hurt and in pain. WEIR (voice-over): According to the last update from the governor, over 1,000 people remain missing. And while they understand that forensic science takes time, Lahaina survivors are agonizing over how that number remains unchanged.
WEIR: What do you make of this number of the missing?
You know, how accurate that is and whether --
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LAWRENCE: I believe it. I know this because I know plenty of people who got out, who know people were stuck. A lot of people didn't make it out. But that number is real. I hope it comes lower. But at this point, we're over eight days. We're on our 10th day. And if we haven't found them yet -- they're gone.
WEIR: There is so much trauma ongoing in this community right now and no real end in sight, other than the aloha support of the community. Governor Josh green held a press conference last night, did not offer much by way of new specifics on the search and recovery effort.
He did encourage tourists to come to Hawaii, stay away from the burned, affected areas of Maui but that economic influence is needed for the recovery.
Meanwhile, the leaders on Lahaina that I spoke to yesterday have yet to meet with the governor. They held a press conference essentially to ask him, to consult him on when to reopen, how to rebuild and to assure them that everything will be transparent and out in the sunlight here.
Not only a lot of practical needs that have to be met to this community but there is a lot of trust that needs rebuilding as well -- Bill Weir, CNN, Maui.
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BRUNHUBER: Kansas and Illinois men's basketball team will be playing in a charity exhibition game to benefit Maui relief efforts. The schools announced on Friday they'll play the game on October 29th in Champaign, Illinois. They had previously been scheduled to scrimmage but decided to change the event to a fund-raiser.
Proceeds from the game will be donated to the Hawaii community foundation, Maui Strong Fund.
The maker of Beanie Babies says it is rolling out a new limited edition bear and it's all to help survivors of the wildfires in Hawaii. The golden bear with the words "Maui Strong" on its chest is named Aloha. All profits from the bear sale will go to the American Red Cross.
If you would like to have information on how to help those impacted by the Hawaii wildfires, please go to cnn.com/impact, where you can text Hawaii to 707070 to donate. There is some encouraging news out of Canada where about 1,000
wildfires are burning in Yellowknife, capital of the Northwest Territories; 95 percent of the city's 20,000 residents have made it, out as the wildfire creeps up to the city's edge.
The fire danger has accelerated in British Columbia. The state of emergency has been declared and 15,000 homes there are now under evacuation orders. CNN's Paula Newton has the story.
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PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: It will be a critical weekend to come here in Canada, where wildfires threaten two large communities. And we begin in Northwest Territories.
Its capital city, Yellowknife, under a strict evacuation order; more than 20,000 people were given less than 48 hours to get out. The most vulnerable, of course, were of concern; even those in hospitals and long- term care, had to be evacuated.
We had an update from federal officials. They indicated that the evacuation was going well and the military was also helping out with an airlift. While most of the people were able to leave by road, the fire threatening that community was, at this point, so critical, at such a dire stage, that they decided the entire city had to be evacuated.
They expect very few people to remain there this weekend, as they continue to battle that that fire.
Then, we have another situation in the interior of British Columbia, both in West Kelowna and in Kelowna itself. Firefighters there in the last few days just having a terrible time with a fire that sprang up on Tuesday but quickly grew in size and began threatening communities.
People there tell us that several structures, including homes, were destroyed. I want you to listen now to the fire chief of West Kelowna and how he described the harrowing night they had and the escapes and the rescues.
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CHIEF JASON BROLUND, WEST KELOWNA, B.C., FIRE DEPARTMENT: We fought hard last night, to protect our community. Somebody described it to me last night in the heat of the battle as it was like 100 years of firefighting all at once in one night.
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NEWTON: Thankfully, as of now, no loss of life and officials are grateful for that, although, as I said, this will be a very long weekend with so many resources pouring into the region. But this is, really, just another chapter in what has already been an unprecedented, record-breaking fire season in Canada -- Paula Newton, CNN, Ottawa.
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BRUNHUBER: Donald Trump is expected to turn himself in at a jail in Georgia next Thursday or Friday over the state's election subversion case.
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BRUNHUBER: That's according to a senior law enforcement official. But there's a lot of prep work that still needs to happen. CNN's Paula Reid reports on how it will all likely play out.
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PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: On Monday, Trump's team is going to head down to Fulton County, Georgia, to negotiate the details of this expected surrender.
And the DA, Fani Willis, has given all of the defendants until next Friday at noon to surrender.
Right now, it's our understanding that Trump is likely to do his surrender toward the back half of the week. Here's what's going to happen when he goes to surrender.
He is going to surrender to the Fulton County sheriff's office. And this process typically involves a mug shot and fingerprints. The mug shot is important, because, at the federal level, they did not take a mug shot of the former president because they said we use those.
They don't release them but they use them for law enforcement if someone goes on the lam. Trump is one of the most recognizable people on the world. They don't really need a mug shot for that. And it's unclear if Fulton County is also going to make that kind of exception.
Another big difference between the state and federal appearances here is that he's going to be processed next week. Then, a judge will schedule a court hearing. At the federal level, all of this happened on the same day.
So the judge will have to schedule a hearing and the district attorney has asked for the initial appearances of all of these defendants to happen the week of September 5th.
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BRUNHUBER: A new chapter is being written in the rich legacy of Camp David, after President Biden holds a first-ever trilateral summit with the leaders of Japan and South Korea. We'll have those details ahead.
Plus Ukraine's military will eventually be getting a major upgrade, as the U.S. and other allies speed up efforts to deliver F-16 fighter jets. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: We're getting word that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is visiting Sweden. He posted on Telegram a short time ago that he and his wife arrived there to meet with Swedish officials.
Back in Ukraine, an explosion has rattled an industrial zone in the Kyiv region. The mayor says that emergency services are at the scene. The Ukrainian air force says it shot down more than 20 Russian drones in two separate attacks on Friday and Saturday.
The statement says two drones made it through air defenses. Meanwhile, someone has put up a Ukrainian flag in the heart of Russia. This video shows the flag near the offices of Russia's security service on Friday. Russian officials have not commented on the incident.
The U.S. on Friday approved giving the training materials for the F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. Kyiv has been asking for the jets for more than a year. And the aircraft are desperately needed.
A coalition of 11 countries will began training Ukrainian pilots in Denmark later this month, though it will likely take months for the jets to be deployed to the war. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has more from Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Some suggestions that we may be seeing the program to get F-16s to Ukraine may be sped up a little bit over the past 48 hours, a very public signaling from Ukraine that they weren't going to get them this year.
Denmark saying they will begin training for the pilots in the next 13 days, possibly, or so. The Netherlands also on board with that. Remember, it was European allies of Ukraine that would be doing the training in Europe.
And after that, the Americans would assist in the supply of jets to Ukraine. It's a complex situation here because the Americans had to sign off on the training equipment and simulators. All that paperwork appears to be dealt with now. And they're moving forward.
But it's going to take months. These are complex pieces of equipment that require numbers of English speaking Ukrainian pilots to be taken to foreign countries. Once they're in play, a lot of servicing day-by- day to keep them in the air.
So it's always a significantly ambitious project, by NATO, frankly, to provide this air capability to Ukraine. But it's urgently needed now. There are Ukrainian troops dying daily on the southern front because of Russian air superiority and half metric ton bombs they're indeed dropping on civilians there. And so, it's an exceptionally important part of Ukraine's potential
future arsenal. But it will not be arriving this year. At the same time, there's been some criticism by Western officials that there's been such an acute focus on Crimea by Ukrainian targeted strikes.
The suggestion, I think, perhaps, being they should focus more on the southern counter offensive. But I think it's fair to say that possibly reflects concerns amongst Western officials that this might be a red button, a kind of a dark line for Vladimir Putin, that he's deeply worried about losing the Crimea and they might be concerned at how the Kremlin would react.
Indeed, that did happen, a farfetched idea, frankly, at the moment. I think many Ukrainians would say, well, the things we are hitting in Crimea are vital infrastructure for that southern counteroffensive front.
Bridges, railways, ammo depots that assist the large bulk of military assets there to be brought to the southern lines around Zaporizhzhya to help Russia's defense against the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
I think a muddled message there, frankly, from Western officials. Yes, I think they're worried about what Vladimir Putin might do if he thought he might lose Crimea. That's farfetched at the moment.
And certainly, I think Ukrainians would argue what they are doing to Crimea is impacting Russia's ability to defend on the southern front -- Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: More than 40 million people in southern California are under a tropical storm warning and bracing for catastrophic flooding as powerful Hurricane Hilary pushes off the coast of Mexico. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber, this is CNN NEWSROOM.
Updating you now on our top story this hour, more than 42 million people are under a tropical storm warning in southern California as Hurricane Hilary, now a category 4 storm, barrels northward into the Pacific off the coast of Mexico.
The National Hurricane Center says that life-threatening and potentially catastrophic flooding is likely over much of Baja California, Mexico and the southwestern U.S. The storm is expected to dump more than a year's worth of rain in the coming days in parts of Nevada, Arizona and California, including Los Angeles and San Diego.
San Diego officials are sounding the alarm, listen to this.
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CHRIS HEISER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, EMERGENCY SERVICES, SAN DIEGO: If the recognition that this is not like the other storms we have experienced, it is a huge footprint. It goes all the way to the desert, out into the ocean.
They are projecting 12 inches of rain in the mountains over a short period of time. Our city is downstream. It is not if; you are going to see flooding. The estimated winds are in excess of 50 miles per hour. Anticipate the possibility of power outages. This is a real storm that we have not seen before.
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BRUNHUBER: The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation says the water level on Lake Mead in Nevada and Arizona has improved after getting dangerously low. They credit ongoing conservation efforts but is still not enough.
The lake is essential for drinking water and agriculture in the U.S. Southwest. It is fed by the Colorado River but Lucy Kafanov reports, the waterway remains in danger due to climate change and overuse.
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SINJIN EBERLE, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, AMERICAN RIVERS: This river is iconic.
LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sinjin Eberle has spent much of his life on the Colorado River.
EBERLE: It's a remarkable, remarkable area of the world.
KAFANOV (voice-over): As an avid adventurer and Colorado River advocate, his mission in life is to protect it.
EBERLE: This is one of the most important places in the nation. And it's one of the places that we need to be really diligent about taking care of, because it does contribute so much to all of us.
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KAFANOV (voice-over): The Colorado River is the lifeblood of this region, powering cities, watering farms and quenching the thirst of some 40 million people. It's a critical refuge for wildlife and a playground that's under threat.
EBERLE: It's being overused. There's more demand on the river. There's more water being taken out of the river than the river can handle. If we continue to over extract the bank account, we are going to run dry.
KAFANOV (voice-over): An unusually wet and snowy winter brought some relief, replenishing snowpack and boosting water levels for the first time in years but with the rapidly changing climate, experts are warning, it's not enough.
EBERLE: It's been so hot and so dry in the Southwest that much of the benefit we got out of the snowpack was literally evaporated.
KAFANOV: So one or two extra wet winters is not going to solve this crisis?
EBERLE: My concern is that people will assume that the situation is getting much better and that we can take our foot off the gas in terms of conservation. This system can crash and it can crash fast.
KAFANOV: Over the last century, the river has shrunk by roughly 20 percent. Those losses are more apparent in the Lower Basin states but the impacts are being felt across the entire waterway.
Rafting in Colorado is a breathtaking experience. It's a slow and sometimes bumpy ride through ancient time, at a moment when it seems like the Earth's clock is speeding up. Even here, the effect of climate change, rapid growth and water overconsumption, are threatening the very existence of this river.
DAVIDE IPPOLITO, COLORADO RIVER RAFTING GUIDE: We boat through Cataract Canyon, that's the best roller coaster in North America.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just (INAUDIBLE) did it.
IPPOLITO: Last five rapids all the way down when it's high water and, yet, my most dangerous part of my job is when I get to this ramp. It's extremely dangerous.
KAFANOV: The river has shrunk so much that it's nearly impossible for Colorado River guides like Davide Ippolito to pull boats out of the water.
IPPOLITO: It's kind of like pyramid building, you have guides putting roller tubes underneath boats. As that boat is pulled up, guides are running and putting those tubes under until we get to flatland on top like ancient Egyptian technology, literally.
KAFANOV: It's such a hassle that many tours now float an extra 50 miles downstream, adding up to two days, not to mention costs to a trip. What worries Ippolito more than the business impact is the threat to future generations.
IPPOLITO: If we want to live outlast and we want to protect our heritage out here and we want to have enough water for our kids and grandkids, then we need to solve these issues now. It's no longer problem we can kick down the line.
KAFANOV: A sentiment echoed by Eberle.
EBERLE: It would be heartbreaking to lose this place.
KAFANOV (voice-over): Lucy Kafanov, CNN, in the Colorado River in Moab.
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BRUNHUBER: In Washington state, a growing wildfire is spreading through the city of Medical Lake. The mayor telling CNN a few hours ago an unknown number of structures have been burned. Luckily, no casualties have been reported so far.
The state's Department of National Resources says at least 3,000 acres have burned. At last report, two state-run medical facilities in the city are sheltering in place. The entire city was already under an evacuation order and the department says it's expanding the order to include the nearby town of Four Lakes.
The wildfire situation in parts of Canada has taken a drastic turn for the worst, as the state of emergency has now been declared in the nation's most western province; 15,000 homes in British Columbia's interior are under evacuation orders as fires close in. Residents of 20,000 more homes warned they might have to leave, too.
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DAVID EBY, PREMIER, BRITISH COLUMBIA: Right now we are facing the worst wildfire season in our province's history. This unprecedented situation has come to a head this evening. In just the last 24 hours, the situation has evolved and deteriorated quite rapidly.
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BRUNHUBER: In Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, 95 percent of its 20,000 residents have made it out as the wildfire creeps up to the city's edge. Residents have been told to get out by noon yesterday, as federal officials vowed that no one would be left behind.
Meanwhile, in Spain, firefighters and people who live on the island of Tenerife are working to keep wildfires from spreading any further. Have a look. Here, this is what they are up against.
At this point, the fire has slowed, thanks to fire crews and improved weather. Authorities even lifted some restrictions for residents on Friday. CNN's Laila Harrak picks up the story.
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LAILA HARRAK, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They load their truck with whatever belongings will fit. This family in the Spanish canary island of Tenerife rushing to save their property and themselves as a raging wildfire moves closer to their home.
[05:35:00]
HARRAK (voice-over): Residents move quickly to cut down any vegetation that may fuel the flames. Thousands of people have evacuated from the area since Wednesday. The blaze has burned some 4,000 hectares so far, mostly on the northern part of the island. CELESTINO SUAREZ, TENERIFE RESIDENT (through translator): The ash has
reached the town center. People here are really concerned. We are watching the big mountain and the blaze. We saw this firewall and we will see if they can control it. The situation seems pretty bad.
HARRAK (voice-over): Firefighters scrambled Friday to contain the fires by dropping water over the area. The mountainous terrain has made it difficult for them to put the flames out from the ground.
Officials said Thursday it deployed more than 370 personnel and 17 aircraft to help in the effort. Firefighters tried desperately to keep the fires from spreading to the village of Esperanza. Nearly 4,000 residents were ordered to shelter in place earlier this week, according to authorities.
One woman says it's extremely stressful, having the fire come so close to her home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): You see fires in other places. But, when you live it yourself, it's harder. Seeing this on fire, we've always said that that part was going to be the worst part to extinguish. And it's true, because it's super difficult for them to operate there.
HARRAK (voice-over): The Canary Islands' regional leader called the fires the most complex the Atlantic Ocean archipelago has faced in 40 years. Southern Europe has seen extremely high temperature this summer.
Temperatures rose above 37 degrees Celsius on parts of the Canary Islands, a popular tourist destination. The combination of scorching heat and dry windy weather conditions have been to blame for the wildfires, according to officials -- Laila Harrak, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Taiwan is strongly condemning the latest Chinese military drills around the island, calling them irrational and provocative.
China announced the joint air and sea maneuvers just hours after the leaders of South Korea and Japan attended Biden's first ever summit at Camp David, a historic event that has publicly rankled Beijing.
The talks only lasted several hours but the commitment that came out of them were substantial. CNN's Will Ripley has more on the reaction from China.
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WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What we are essentially seeing play out right now is this authoritarian bloc and this democracy bloc, the United States, Japan, South Korea, at Camp David, really tackling some of the toughest issues that they're facing in the region right now. This is, of course, the rise of China, the perceived aggression by
some of China, some might call it an assertive China but certainly a China that is posing new challenges on the economic front, on the military front when you're talking about concerns for the self ruling democracy of Taiwan.
And then, of course, you have North Korea, which has been in the headlines as of late for a barrage of ballistic missile tests. Of course, concern that they could take that further in terms of military cooperation with the Russians.
Because, remember, it was the Russian defense minister in North Korea just last month, meeting with Kim Jong-un, talking about deepening their military cooperation. Kim Jong-un giving a tour of his new ICBMs.
He showed drones that analysts have said closely resemble United States' military drones. And then China, with all of its economic support for North Korea, allowing trade to move back and forth across the border, sending their own high level delegation to Pyongyang last month to celebrate North Korea's armistice day.
This authoritarian bloc, North Korea, Russia, China and their increased cooperation is very troubling to the United States and, of course, vice versa as well.
China's foreign ministry putting out a statement talking about that, saying, and I quote here, "Attempts to cobble together various exclusionary groupings and bring bloc confrontation and military blocs into the Asia Pacific are not going to get support and will only be met with vigilance and opposition from regional countries."
That is from the spokesperson in Beijing. There has been a flurry of military activity, when we're talking about Russia and China. Warships conducting joint patrol in the East China Sea. You have North Korea scrambling fighter jets.
North Korea in particular is concerned about upcoming military drills between the United States and South Korea. The North has always said that they consider those a dress reversal for an invasion.
And you even had Japan strangling fighter jets after seeing Russian information gathering planes. So a lot of military activity at a very tense and troubling time in that part of the world -- Will Ripley, CNN.
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BRUNHUBER: Chris Christie goes on the attack with the first Republican presidential debate just days away. How he is going after Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis on their own turf. That's coming up. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: U.S. Republican front-runner Donald Trump is expected to skip his party's first presidential debate next week, opting to do an interview with former FOX News host Tucker Carlson instead. And that's not sitting well with rival Chris Christie, who didn't hold back while campaigning in Trump's home state of Florida.
CNN's Omar Jimenez reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I do you know that you have a couple of candidates who live here.
Do we want a president who is focused on your problems or do we want a president who will be spending his time trying to fend off the next criminal trial?
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just days to debate day, Chris Christie is in Miami, in the home state of former president Donald Trump and Governor Ron DeSantis.
CHRISTIE: I'm here because we need to talk about these things and I'm not conceding that conversation to Ron DeSantis and you can be sure I'm not conceding that conversation to Donald Trump.
JIMENEZ (voice-over): It's been a theme of the Christie campaign blasting Donald Trump.
CHRISTIE: The frontrunner for our party's nomination is going to be out on bail in four different jurisdictions.
JIMENEZ (voice-over): But Christie also used the Florida setting to go after its governor, Ron DeSantis.
CHRISTIE: People are really beginning to wonder what the hell he stands for.
JIMENEZ (voice-over): He honed in on a recent memo from a pro DeSantis super PAC floating potential debate talking points that included defend Donald Trump, though a DeSantis campaign spokesperson stressed it wasn't a campaign memo and they were unaware of it prior.
CHRISTIE: The only way to beat someone is to beat them. If he thinks he's going to get on the stage to defend Donald Trump on Wednesday night, then he should do Donald Trump a favor and do our party a favor. Come back to Tallahassee, endorse Donald Trump and get the hell out of the race.
JIMENEZ (voice-over): CNN has reached out to the DeSantis campaign on Christie's latest comments but hasn't heard back.
Recent polls have shown support for DeSantis slipping but he's trying to project confidence going into the first debate.
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm excited about doing it because most of what you do in this process is filtered through media and seldom do you get the opportunity to speak directly to this many people.
[05:45:00]
JIMENEZ: What are you hoping to accomplish with this debate that you haven't so far to this point?
CHRISTIE: It gets seen by more people. I listen to the question, I try to answer it. And if somebody else says something on the stage, I think is really stupid, I try to point it out. That's about the -- that's the depth of our strategy.
JIMENEZ (voice-over): It's an authenticity that seemed to resonate with some voters who attended Friday's town hall.
PETER ENGLAND (R): He does speak his mind and I find that really refreshing in a presidential candidate.
JIMENEZ (voice-over): Even for some Independents who were there.
TED NIARHOS (I): Everyone is afraid to say anything and he actually got it. He spoke his mind.
JIMENEZ (voice-over): Which Christie also plans to do on the debate stage as his campaign feels momentum is on their side.
CHRISTIE: The people who are going to vote for me feel strongly about it and we're going to increase those numbers.
JIMENEZ: How is this different from 2016?
CHRISTIE: When you do stuff for a second time, at least for me, I always do it better the second time that I do it than first and I feel really relaxed and comfortable and I know I'm speaking the truth and I think that's going to matter to people in the long run.
JIMENEZ (voice-over): Omar Jimenez, CNN, Miami, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: The battle for third place is underway at the Women's World Cup.
Will Sweden hold on to capture with a comeback?
Live from Sydney next. Stay with us.
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[05:50:00] (MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: The third place match of the Women's World Cup is winding down this hour, with just a few minutes left. Sweden is leading the co-host, Australia, 2-0. If they hang on, they'll capture their fourth bronze medal in team history, denying Australia their first. CNN's Amanda Davies joins us now from Sydney.
Amanda, things aren't looking good for the hosts, a lot of downcast fans there, where you are in Australia, I imagine. Let's look ahead to that all European clash, England and Spain in the final. I think it's the stadium behind you, right?
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Very much Kim. I have to tell, you the view from Matildas fans is that, without a doubt, this tournament has been a success. The match is taking place in Brisbane but the fan festival here in Sydney is packed. There is so much pride in this team, which has, as the sports minister put it, not just changed women's football but changed women's sports here in this country over the last month.
But yes, we are now pretty much exactly 24 hours from kickoff for the big one, which is the final; 32 teams, down to just two. England, facing off against Spain, for both sides a first ever Women's World Cup final.
The England captain Millie Bright, in a press conference just behind us a couple hours ago, saying her (sic) and her team need to play the game of their lives. They're up against a side that is widely regarded as being one of the most talented teams of individual players.
We've seen so much from them over the last couple of weeks. But England were decided to emerge victorious when they met a year ago in the quarterfinals of the European championships.
England beating Spain on extra time to progress, as they, of course, became European champions. It is the first time in 16 years the United States hasn't been in the final of the Women's World Cup. They have won the last two, of course, in 2015, in 2019.
Jill Ellis was the person in charge of them over those two tournaments. She's been here in Sydney over the last couple days, a very different final buildup for her. She said this clash between two European giants of the game is set to be a fascinating one.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JILL ELLIS, FORMER USWNT COACH: I expect an incredible final. I think finals, other than 2015, they've always been incredibly tight. So I expect a tight game. Two remarkable teams, great coaches going at it.
So listen, at the end of the day, I think this World Cup speaks to the competitiveness and the growth of our game. I think that's really the narrative coming out of here. And a new world champion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAVIES: Yes, the winner of tomorrow night's game will be just the fifth nation to have their name written on the Women's World Cup trophy. We've been lucky enough today to spend time with both camps, training with England.
Their last training session at their base, which has treated them so well over the last few weeks, 90 minutes outside Sydney. There were big smiles on the faces of the England players, having lots of laughs and jokes with the coaches in the sunshine.
I have to say, stark contrast to the mood that we had at times in the Spanish press conference here, despite the way this team has played, despite the fact of the tournaments top scorers so far.
Clouds continue to hang over the coach and the relationship he has with his players. But he says as far as he's concerned, he and his side are out to win their title and give their country something to celebrate.
BRUNHUBER: Well, it is going to be an early watch here in the East Coast of the U.S. But it will be a fascinating one. Amanda Davies in Sydney, thank you so much, we appreciate it.
Well, Lionel Messi will take the field again on Saturday night as Inter Miami chases its first ever trophy. Andy Scholes joins us now.
Andy, any surprise that the world's greatest player is making a huge impact?
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORT CORRESPONDENT: Everybody thought he would do well. I don't know if anyone thought he would do this well this quick. Messi, he has turned Miami from rags to riches overnight.
When he arrived weeks ago, they had nothing positive happening. They were sitting in the cellar of the MLS standings. But since he arrived, Miami has not been beaten and Messi has been incredible.
He scored nine goals in his six games. Tonight, Miami is taking on Nashville for the league's cup title. With all the accolades Messi has collected over the years, he says he's still excited about the prospect of winning the trophy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIONEL MESSI, INTER MIAMI (through translator): It would be amazing, wouldn't it?
Both for me and for all the people who are fans of the club. For the club itself. We want to be a point of reference. And winning a title would help a lot in that.
This is a very young club. It's been around for a very short time.
[05:55:00]
MESSI (through translator): And to win our first title would be great for all of us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: How about some baseball. Home run leader Shohei Ohtani was at it again. This time with bases loaded in the second inning, getting a hold of that one for our grand slam. This is his 43rd home run of the season.
This game was tied at six in the ninth inning, no outs. Ramirez hits it into a double play and then Yandy Diaz gets thrown out at home for a triple play for the Angels, their first triple play.
Or the first team, since I should say the Tigers in 2017 that have a grand slam and triple play in the same game despite all that. They still ended up losing this one 9-6 in 10 innings.
And finally, Cardinals rookie Masyn Winn making his debut. He beat out this throw for his first major league hit. His family was all pumped up in the stands. He got a nice ovation from the crowd in St. Louis.
That's a baseball you want to, keep right?
Well Pete Alonso chucked it into the crowd.
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PETE ALONSO, NEW YORK METS: I know it sounds stupid but it is just a bad brain fart. I know throwing the ball in the stands, that robs, that robs him of kind of a really special moment. But I feel really bad thinking back on my first hit and just getting the ball thrown back to me. I feel, I feel awful. I feel like a piece of crap.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: You can see that Alonso felt bad about the whole thing. Winn said Alonso apologized multiple times after realizing what he did. The good news is, they were able to retrieve the ball from the fan who caught it and bring it back to the dugout.
I'm sure that fan was happy to give it back. It's just a funny moment there. It's a tradition in baseball. The first hit, you throw it to the dugout.
BRUNHUBER: He seems crushed but all's well that ends well. Thank you so much, Andy Scholes, we appreciate it.
That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Stay with us, "CNN THIS MORNING" is next.
