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Hilary Battered Southern California and Parts of Mexico's Baja Peninsula; Former President Trump to Surrender at the Fulton County Jail; Guatemalans Have Spoken, Newly-Elected President Won by a Majority of Voters; Hilary Lashed Mexico's Baja Peninsula area; Denmark and the Netherlands Expressed Interest to Donate F-16 Fighter Jets to Ukraine; Spain Emerged as Women's World Cup Champions. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired August 21, 2023 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching "CNN Newsroom" and I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, Tropical Storm Hilary bringing powerful wind and heavy rain to Southern California this hour, triggering fears of life- threatening flooding and landslides.

U.S. President Joe Biden is set to visit Maui in the hours ahead to get a first-hand look at the devastation caused by this month's historic wildfires.

And all eyes back on Georgia, where Donald Trump is expected to surrender at the Fulton County Jail later this week. What this latest legal crisis could mean for Trump's 2024 presidential bid?

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us. And we begin in Southern California, which is facing the first tropical storm to hit the state in more than two decades. Tropical storm Hilary has been lashing San Diego and Los Angeles with powerful winds and record-breaking rainfall. More than nine million people in downtown L.A. and surrounding areas are under flash flood warnings.

Authorities are also urging residents to stay off the roads as mud and debris are flowing along with the floodwaters. The storm is forecast to continue moving north and dissipate over central Nevada where there's already a state of emergency. And here you can see a roadway collapse near Los Angeles as flash floods inundated the area. San Diego's mayor says this amount of rainfall could be too much for his city to handle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TODD GLORIA, SAN DIEGO MAYOR: We're not used to this level of precipitation generally, certainly not in the middle of summer in August. We're not built for this kind of rainfall. That's my main concern. Both the high winds that could pose challenges for our power lines and the ability to get energy to the homes of our residents, as well as the potential for flooding. We have positioned assets and personnel there to make sure that we can address it.

But with what we're expecting, it may overwhelm us. And we will we're asking the public to stay out of those areas for your safety and the safety of our first responders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Meantime, this is what Hillary unleashed on Mexico's Baja California Peninsula, where it made landfall early Sunday. At least one person was killed when their vehicle was swept away in the flood waters. And for the latest, we want to go over to CNN meteorologist Karen Maginnis.

So Karen, what are you saying and how long is this going to last, certainly for Southern California?

KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, I think it's a fairly safe bet that the next time we receive an update from the National Hurricane Center that this is going to be weaker than tropical storm strength right now. It's barely hanging in there at 40 mile an hour winds moving very rapidly to the north and northwest, but still has a very broad shield of wet weather that extends still from Baja all the way up into the Great Basin.

And we're seeing some wet weather moving into Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. There you can see just how that debris flow and the amount of water that is moving across some of those valley regions whether you just cannot handle several months worth of rainfall, maybe a year's worth of rainfall, but we also have seen some debris rockslides you see this one, this one is located just to the east of the San Diego area.

We had reports of water rescues to the north of Los Angeles. There were three people reportedly that had to be rescued, two were accounted for, one person still is not accounted for, and the computer models did a pretty good job on estimating how much rainfall would materialize in coastal areas, one to three inches fairly common.

The reports that I have seen over the last 12 hours or so and in the mountains they were suggesting seven, eight, 10, maybe some areas could see as much as 12 inches, and certainly, that has been the case. Still, our flash flood warnings out for a good portion of the now under a state of emergency regions, where we could see severe flooding continue even as we go into the early morning hours on Monday.

[03:04:42]

As I've mentioned, a lot of that moisture moving its way towards the north. There's a big ridge of high pressure over here, so everything is just kind of funneling towards the north, through the Great Basin and into the Rockies. This is going to really start to taper off as we go into the afternoon hours in Southern California. That's the good news, but you'll see more of it materialize right around Nevada, Northern Nevada, Northern California and into the Pacific Northwest.

I'll be back again at the bottom of the hour with another update. Rosemary?

CHURCH: We appreciate that to Karen Maginnis, many thanks.

Well meantime, at least nine people were rescued from a riverbed in San Diego. Officials say they are looking for any other residents who may need help and as CNN's Kyung Lah reports, the city has never seen a storm like this before.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: San Diego's mayor says the city is simply not built to handle a tropical storm Hilary. So what this city has been doing is trying to prepare the best that it can. What you're seeing throughout this area of Mission Valley is main thoroughfares like this one completely shut down.

The reason for these barriers is because the street behind me. This is an area, if you are familiar with San Diego Mission Valley, that is a known flood zone. There is a San Diego River over there. And then all of the hills you see some of the desert area, all of that funnels down here into the water and the infrastructure needs to hold what the mayor has said is that there's approximately 3 to 4 inches that have already come down and expected over the next 24 hours, 3 to 4 times that much.

That's why the San Diego Unified Public School District has delayed the start of school by a full 24 hours. It was scheduled to start on Monday. That will push by one day. The Navy, in fact, has moved 10 of his ships out of the bay further into the sea to try to protect those 10 vessels just in case the storm were to create any sort of damage.

But what the city has seen so far is that it has been able to withstand tropical storm Hilary, the rain still coming down. It will be very much what happens in the overnight hours.

Kyung Lah, CNN, San Diego.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Well, joining me now is storm chaser Edgar O'Neal. Thanks so much for being with us Edgar. So where are you right now and what? What are you seeing and what have you been witnessing?

EDGAR O'NEAL, STORMCHASER: Yes, I am in Palm Springs, California, and I've just witnessed a lot of flooding. I started the day driving up from El Centro and drove up through the Salton City and to Cathedral City and then into Palm Springs and just lots of flooding everywhere, lots of road closures. CHURCH: And how are people dealing with this? Because so many people

in that part of California, certainly throughout California, would not be used to these sorts of weather conditions. And they haven't seen this for a couple of decades. And we have seen many people trying to drive through way too much water. It doesn't take too much water for a vehicle to be taken away. So talk to us about what people are saying to you about how they're dealing with these sorts of conditions.

O'NEAL: Yeah, I've seen a lot of those people out there driving and getting stuck and water and high flood waters and flash floods. Most of them, you know, they all told me that, you know, they didn't think it was too big of a deal, and that was kind of evident with the amount of people that I've seen out on the road today.

CHURCH: Yeah, and of course, on top of Tropical Storm Hillary hitting Southern California, there was also that magnitude 5.1 earthquake and of course the multiple aftershocks. Where were you when that hit? And what did you feel?

O'NEAL: I was in Cathedral City at the and yeah, I felt I don't know if it was the original earthquake or one of the aftershocks but I was sitting at a stoplight and all of a sudden my car was shaking and I was wondering like oh did wind pick up and then it finally hit me that I was in you know an earthquake was happening.

CHURCH: Yeah, just incredible isn't it? I mean the fact that these came at the same time purely coincidental, apparently according to the experts but talk to us as a stormchaser. What happens now what you go out early in the morning and you sort of check out what the weather conditions are like? How do you work this?

O'NEAL: Yeah that's the thing that I'll be doing tomorrow morning. I'll be waking up and basically going around and checking conditions and seeing you know how much of this rain overnight has added to the current flooding that's happening right now. I mean a lot of those washes are already full so I'll be really curious to see how much more happens overnight and then see how many people ended up staying inside and how many more cars are we going to see stuck on the side and in the middle of the roads.

CHURCH: Yeah, because that is the critical point here, isn't it? So many people have been told, do stay at home. Only get out if it's absolutely necessary but just shelter in your homes. But unfortunately, people are not heeding that warning, are they, for the most part?

[03:10:04]

O'NEAL: No, they're not. And you know, it's really simple. You hear it all the time. Turn around, don't drown. But that's the one thing that I'll tell everyone. Please, if you see standing water and if you see moving water, don't try to drive through it.

CHURCH: Yeah. That's coming from an expert, Edgar O'Neal. Thank you so much. Take care when you get out there in the morning. I appreciate you joining us.

O'NEAL: Thank you as well.

CHURCH: Well, officials in Maui say they are preparing for any possible impact from post-tropical cyclone Fernanda. They are warning people in areas affected by the wildfire disaster to take special care. The storm is expected to bring heavy rainfall between Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning. Emergency officials say runoff from rains could cause flash flooding or mudslides.

And President Joe Biden will of course travel to Hawaii today to get a first-hand look at the damage from the wildfires. The search to find and identify victims of the wildfires has been painstaking and slow. Bill Weir reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Here in Maui, we've had almost now two weeks of anxious anticipation for the latest announcement on the dead and the missing, but that is now sort of shifting into grim resignation that a lot of loved ones may never be found given the temperature of the fire. Governor Josh Green saying yesterday 1,050 people remain unaccounted for. He said that many of them will never be recovered.

So as we stand overlooking the town, we were seeing clouds of dust coming up from some of the heavy machinery and it's so heartbreaking to realize that dust holds people's children and parents and neighbors and loved ones.

And how do you get a sense of closure in this particular space? This will be a sacred space for so many, for so long, 3.5 square miles of area burned. The president is expected to fly over Lahaina. It's uncertain whether he'll actually touch down on the ground. He's expected to meet with first responders and victims of this disaster.

He of course is known as an empathizer in chief given the tragedy in his personal life, but he uncharacteristically gave a no comment when asked about Hawaiians, a few days ago. The White House insists he's been on the phone hourly almost making sure that everybody gets the resources they need.

But this is really an emotionally charged time, so many tender emotions right now. And so the president is sort of walking into that. As for the future, so much of that depends on sort of ancient fights over water rights in particular. So that's at the top of mind of people who say that the water that could have kept this place lush and fireproof, was diverted to resorts and rich homeowners at the expense of locals. That may come up during today's visit, but it certainly will be an issue going forward.

Bill Weir, CNN Maui.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: In Eastern Washington State, evacuation orders are in place as two wildfires burn across Spokane County. The flames have consumed more than 20,000 acres and left at least two people dead. Officials say the fires burning since Friday are just 10 percent contained. Problematic weather was said to be hindering efforts by firefighters to battle the blazes.

Well, meantime in Canada, officials say they are turning a corner with the wildfires racing western province of British Columbia. A local fire chief says things are finally looking better around the city of West Colona. He says no more homes have been lost in the last day or so and it's now possible to start talking about recovery.

About 500 firefighters have been battling the McDougall Creek fire from the ground and the air and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is sending Canadian Armed Forces to the region to assist.

Coming up next, Donald Trump is expected to be booked this week at a jail in Georgia after an historic fourth indictment. A CNN political analyst weighs in on what Trump's legal troubles could mean for the 2024 race.

And then, Ecuador's election is heading for a runoff. We will profile the final candidates after Sunday's vote and explain why the South American nation is facing an escalating crisis. Back with that and more in just a moment.

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[03:15:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. Well, former U.S. President Donald Trump is now confirming he won't be taking part in the first Republican primary debate set for this week. Trump made the announcement on his social media platform saying the public already knows who he is. But despite his post, an adviser told CNN Trump could still decide to participate in a later primary debate.

Well that news comes as Trump is expected to surrender to the Fulton County Jail in Georgia at the end of this week. He and 18 others are facing charges stemming from Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state.

CNN's Isabel Rosales has more now from here in Atlanta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thursday or Friday is the expectation of when former President Donald Trump will surrender himself to the Fulton County Jail. That is according to a senior law enforcement source with knowledge of that surrender.

And Friday of course marking the deadline of D.A. Fani Willis for when all 19 defendants must turn themselves in. Now sources tell CNN that Trump's team has already been in contact with the D.A.'s office. That those conversations will continue into next week, specifically on the conditions of his appearance and also on the logistics of his surrender.

Now we know that officials, including the Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labatt, have insisted that Trump and the other co-defendants will be treated the same as everybody else, specifically with fingerprinting and mugshots, but likely that is impossible just due to the security precautions that must take place when it comes to transporting a former president of the United States and also the high-profile nature of some of these other co-defendants.

[03:20:10]

So it's very likely that this booking process that would normally just take hours of waiting around, that will probably go much more swiftly for Trump and some of his co-defendants.

It's also possible looking ahead to the arraignment, that first appearance in court, it's possible that they might not even have to show up in court because the judge here can choose to do that arraignment virtually or allow them to waive that right to an arraignment.

Reporting from outside the County Jail, Isabel Rosales, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And earlier I spoke with Ron Brownstein, CNN's senior political analyst and senior editor for "The Atlantic." And I asked him about Donald Trump's fourth indictment and about the possible impact that could have on next year's presidential race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: The mold is cut. I mean, we know that in the Republican primary context, Trump has been able to convince most GOP voters to see all of these indictments the way he wants them to see it as a deep state attack that is really aimed at them through silencing him.

The, you know, the question of what this looks like if he becomes a Republican nominee and actually gets to the general election, I think is very different. You know, we have a lot of polls that show warning lights for him in terms of how the public is responding to that.

The overall picture is somewhat muted now because voters are indeed reluctant at this point to say they want four more years of Joe Biden as well. But when you have a majority of independents consistently saying they believe he committed a crime or that his actions threaten democracy, that is a warning signal for Republicans if they go forward with him as the nominee and certainly he has an enormous lead right now.

CHURCH: Yeah, and let's talk about that because despite Trump's historic fourth indictment, polls show him way ahead of all the other GOP presidential contenders, most of those rivals avoiding any criticism of Trump despite his 91 charges, but that's not helping their low support numbers is it? And now of course eight of them will participate in Wednesday's first GOP debate without the frontrunner even bothering to turn up. It's an opportunity for someone to differentiate themselves without being attacked by Trump, but is this about winning for many of them or are most of them auditioning to be Trump's Vice President?

BROWNSTEIN: I'll tell you, you know, I'm just like many other political reporters. I'm just back from Iowa last week at the state fair. And there is a sense, I think, even among voters, certainly among activists, that some of the other candidates are indeed auditioning to be vice president or cabinet members.

Let's give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they are actually running for the office that they say they're running for. It's pretty clear from all of this polling that what they are doing is not working. By and large, with the exceptions of people like Chris Christie, and Asa Hutchinson, and Will Hurd on the periphery of the race, the Republicans are making the same fundamental choice as the other candidates did in 2016.

They are not going after Trump in any real systematic way, and they are hoping somehow something happens to cause his support to melt away, and they will be there to pick up his voters if they are not, you know, tarred as someone who challenged him too hard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Our thanks to Ron Brownstein for his perspective.

Ecuador's presidential election is heading for a runoff. Preliminary results indicate leftist Luisa Gonzales and businessman Daniel Noboa will face each other in a second and deciding round in October. It comes after one of the candidates, a legislator and former investigative journalist, was gunned down at a campaign rally earlier this month.

And as Rafael Romo explains, it starkly illustrates Ecuador's escalating drug and political violence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pollsters didn't see it coming. Daniel Noboa was not among the leading candidates in the weeks before Sunday's first round. But after a solid performance during the presidential debate held exactly a week before the election, voters gave the 35-year-old businessman and former member of the Ecuadorian National Assembly the right to go to the second round.

Daniel Noboa is the son of Alvaro Noboa, who was also a member of the assembly and ran unsuccessfully for president three times. He will face Luisa Gonzalez, the protege of former Ecuadorian firebrand president Rafael Correa, a leftist who governed the South American country for 10 years, starting in 2007.

After her win, Gonzalez said Ecuador urgently needs peace, jobs and security, and repeated what she has said during her campaign, that a return to the policies of Correa would allow the country to get out of a wave of insecurity that has made it one of the most violent in the region.

[03:25:02]

In his first remarks after winning the chance to go to the second round, Noboa emphasized focuses on security for Ecuador and employment. He's hoping to rule a country that has been shaken by multiple acts of political violence.

On August 9, Fernando Villavicencio, a 59-year-old investigative journalist and former lawmaker, was gunned down when he was leaving a rally in Quito, the capital. And then on Thursday, Noboa himself said his own campaign was attacked as the candidate traveled with his entourage in the city of Duran, in Cuellas province.

Hundreds of inmates have died in the last year during clashes inside prisons between local drug gangs with the government seemingly unable to put an end to the violence. Ecuadorians will again go to the polls on October 15 to choose a president between the two winners of this Sunday's presidential election.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: To Guatemala's presidential election now, with progressive candidate Bernardo Arevalo says the people have spoken loudly in his apparent victory. With more than 99 percent of the ballots counted, he leads former First Lady Sandra Torres 58 to 37 percent. Arevalo's supporters gathered in the streets of Guatemala City to celebrate his win.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSUE, STUDENT (through translator): I didn't come to celebrate Arevalo. I came to celebrate the respect to Guatemala's sovereignty and the maximum right that people have in a democracy, which is to elect their leaders and to have the popular election respected above any other thing and above any other interest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Arevalo campaigned on curbing corruption and tackling malnutrition. Guatemala's current president congratulated Arevalo and called for a smooth transition of power.

And still to come, tropical storm Hilary is pushing north through the western U.S. But it first made landfall in Mexico's Baja Peninsula. We will take a look at how that region is faring.

Plus, for months, Ukraine has begged western allies to send fighter jets, saying they will make a huge difference on the battlefield against Russia. Their request will soon be granted. We'll take a look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [03:30:00]

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: More now on our top story, we are tracking tropical storm Hilary as it moves through California. It's the first tropical storm to hit the state since 1997 and officials in Southern California are warning residents to stay indoors and not attempt to drive.

Forecasters expect the storm will weaken as it moves further inland toward Nevada. Hilary has already dumped record amounts of rainfall in parts of Los Angeles and surrounding areas making for dangerous and potentially life-threatening flooding. L.A.'s Mayor says the region isn't even done cleaning up the last weather-related event.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAREN BASS, LOS ANGELES MAYOR: It was just a few months ago that a number of the hillside communities, there were slides, there were homes that fell into, you know, the water, and so we're still overcoming that. And so in those hillsides where there were slides in January, they're still at risk, and so this is a big problem for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: So let's check in with CNN meteorologist Karen Maginnis. So Karen, what is the latest on this tropical storm? What are you seeing?

KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we still continue to see numerous reports of mud flows, debris fields, also roads that have collapsed. We know that airports saw lots of cancellations for the day. There are still power outages across this region, but tropical storm Hilary is really losing some of its steam, but it is still going to produce some pretty widespread rainfall. extending all the way up into Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.

Right now, 40 mile per hour winds, I will say, in just about an hour and a half we will receive another update from the National Hurricane Center, and my thinking is that this is so close to losing its tropical storm status. I think that is what we might see from the National Hurricane Center, as I've mentioned, in just about an hour and a half from now.

Look at the size of this boulder and this utility truck. Yeah, we saw lots of these stories. There were have been water rescues, one just to the north of Los Angeles, they said there were three people who needed rescuing from flooded waters. They were able to get two, one person is still reported missing.

This isn't just in these isolated areas. It is broadly spread all across southern California with the staggering rainfall totals. In some cases, upwards of eight inches. The computer models were really suggesting we could see eight inches or 12 inches in those mountainous regions that transfers mountains just surrounding Los Angeles. Also to the south. We've seen devastating floods there as well in the

vicinity of Palm Springs. They're saying so much water has been reported there that even when this starts to taper off, and it will by tomorrow afternoon, there is still much cleanup to be done and still some pretty strong winds. There are fires that are raging across portions of Washington state, in the vicinity of Spokane. They need this moisture. Not sure just how much is gonna be less, but the wind is gonna be rather vigorous across this region as well.

We'll have another update coming up at the top of the hour. Rosemary, I'll see you then.

CHURCH: All right, and we appreciate everything you are telling us. Thank you so much.

Hilary first made landfall on Mexico's Baja Peninsula early Sunday with at least one person killed in the floodwaters. Journalist David Shortell has the latest from the Mexican capital.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID SHORTELL, JOURNALIST: Devastating images coming out of Mexico in the, in the northwest state of Baja, California Which has been pummeled for several hours by rain as tropical storm Hilary made its way up along the coastline. Eventually making landfall Sunday morning on 11 o'clock local time in the small community of San Quentin residents they're feeling the full force of this storm.

That's 65 mile an hour winds, extreme storm surge, and then of course a damage to the roadways. Authorities telling, quote, "do not leave your house stay home." There was an incident in Santa Rosalia earlier this weekend where a man was caught in his car and swept away and killed. These were roads that had naturally become rivers as four inches of rain pounded the area in just a few hours' time.

That's of course on top of immense amounts of rain coming down from the mountains in the central part of the state just creating these terrible, terrible conditions.

[03:35:04]

Across the entire state though, there has been damage as Hilary made its way northward towards California. Ensenada, Mexico's wine region was right in the center of the storm. And then of course, Tijuana, an important border city that's been a hub for migrants as they make their way towards the U.S.

Tijuana is a city with very poor infrastructure in some parts. It's a hilly city. Some of these homes are built into the sides of the hills and mudslides, I should say, are common there. So authorities on high alert looking for anyone in need of rescue as the storm moved through Tijuana into California with just these immense amounts of rain.

Of course, this area, it's unusual for storms to hit like this, but it's not quite as rare as it is in California. That's because as storms form in the Pacific, they'll make their way up and then usually turn eastwards when they hit Baja California, where the waters are much cooler than the waters are to the south. This storm, of course, ignoring history, moving straight up through Baja California and into California where it's just wreaked havoc.

David Shortell, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Russia's defense ministry says it thwarted two Ukrainian drone attacks over the Moscow region. Officials say air defense forces jammed one drone with, quote, "electronic warfare capabilities and somehow destroyed the other." There were no reported casualties.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's urgent pleas for F-16 fighter jets are finally being answered. Both Denmark and the Netherlands are pledging to donate some of the U.S.-made jets. The announcements came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made stops in both countries on Sunday. Zelenskyy praised the decision as historic, saying the planes will not only provide air cover for troops fighting in the counteroffensive, but they'll also provide a much-needed emotional boost.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): F-16 will certainly give a new burst of confidence and motivation for both our warriors and civilians. I am sure they will give new results for Ukraine and the whole of Europe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN correspondent Clare Sebastian joins me now live from London. Good morning to you Clare. So Ukraine has of course long emphasized the importance of obtaining these F-16s as an essential part of defending the country from Russia's attacks. But how will this work and what is the timeline for receiving these fighter jets?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, Rosemary, it's going to be across at least six months of training. The Ukrainian Defense Minister says the training has started, so maybe the clock has now started on those six months. But this is a very involved process, it involves language training to get them up to scratch with English as well. Then you have the issue of maintenance infrastructure for these planes. So it's very intense, very involved.

We don't expect to see these aircraft on the battlefield in any kind of combat role in the near future, but they are very much needed on the battlefield.

We're hearing again this morning from the Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine saying there can be no quick action on the southern front. He said the enemies still have an advantage in terms of air power and troop numbers. And this is why it's so crucial for President Zelenskyy to do what he's doing to go on these kinds of tours around countries that are giving aid.

We've just seen him speak in the last half hour or so at the Danish parliament. He's still in Denmark. He praised Danish leadership in terms of providing those F-16s and expressed gratitude not just for that, but for a whole series of weapons that have been donated. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY: Thank you for your help, all the help provided to Ukraine. Thank you for Hapuns. Russians afraid. Thank you. Caesars. Leopards. Breadless. Drones.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: So at the end there, I think it's interesting that he referenced drones because of course we have seen Russia accuse Ukraine of launching two drones at the Moscow region. This morning both were averted according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, but Ukraine hasn't officially commented on it, but we are becoming used to sort of cryptic references to these attacks from Ukraine.

Having said that, it's also, you know, the thank yous that you hear are also crucial. Zelenskyy is combating what he is concerned about, which is fatigue. Ukraine's Western allies as this war approaches the 18-month mark this week and as progress is still slow on the front lines. So I think crucially important for him to go on these trips.

CHURCH: Clare Sebastian, many thanks. I Appreciate it.

Well, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has reportedly overseen a naval test of strategic cruise missiles. According to state media, he watched as a patrol ship staged a missile launching drill to confirm its combat function.

[03:40:08]

He also inspected the ship which he praised for maintaining, quote, "high mobility and mighty striking power." State media did not specify when the test took place.

Well meantime South Korea and U.S. forces have kicked off their large- scale joint military drills. The annual event is aimed at bolstering their defense capabilities against North Korea's evolving threats.

So let's turn to CNN's Paula Hancocks. She joins us live from Seoul. Good to see you again Paula. So what is the latest on these joint military drills and of course reaction from North Korea?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, these started today. It's called the Ulchi Freedom Guardian and they will go on until the end of the month. We are hearing from USFK, U.S. Forces Korea and military officials that there will be more than 30 different drills. They won't all be live field drills. They'll also have simulated drills as well, but it does seem fairly sizable.

And we can also see that North Korea is making its presence known at the same time. As you mentioned those cruise missile launches that Kim Jong-un himself went to view. Now there wasn't a date on when exactly this happened from state-run media, KCNA, but the very fact that they have released this information along with photos on the day these drills starts is unlikely to be a coincidence.

North Korea is always irritated by these military drills. They say that they believe it's the U.S. and South Korea practicing to invade North Korea and for their part the U.S. and South Korea say they are defensive, it is necessary for readiness. But it is a fact that over the past year or so we have seen significantly more joint drills between these two countries. Now, we've also heard from police here in South Korea on Sunday saying there have also been hacking attempts related to these drills. Rosemary?

CHURCH: And Paula, how was that trilateral Camp David Summit, a game changer in the region?

HANCOCKS: Well, this is another thing that North Korea was expected to react to. It was the trilateral summit between the leaders of the U.S., South Korea, and Japan, where they agreed for more cooperation, intelligence sharing, an annual summit, a three-way hotline, something which was targeted not just for North Korea, but also towards a growing threat of China in the region.

And we heard from the NIS, the intelligence agency here in Seoul last week, that they believe that North Korea was preparing for some kind of a launch, potentially an ICBM, an intercontinental ballistic missile launch, either around that summit or for this week's joint military drills.

Now, at this point, we haven't seen anything like that. But the NIS did say that they saw activity around missile production facilities and vehicle activity related to an ICBM launch. So certainly that was something that was not welcomed by either China, Beijing criticized it, or by North Korea. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right. Our thanks to Paula Hancocks joining us live from Seoul with that report.

Well still to come from Turmoil to Title, Spain overcome a mountain of challenges to capture their first Women's World Cup Championship. How they triumphed over England in the final.

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[03:45:00]

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CHURCH: Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic has made a triumphant return to the United States. Playing in his first American tournament since 2021, the 36-year-old won the Cincinnati Open after a marathon final against Carlos Alcaraz.

He rallied from a set down and saved a champion point to beat the world number one just a month after losing to him in Wimbledon. Djokovic called Sunday's match one of the toughest and most exciting in his career. Well, there's euphoria across Spain as the country celebrates its

first championship win at the Women's World Cup. Spain lifted the trophy Sunday following a one-nil victory over England in the final. It capped off a remarkable run that saw them overcome one hurdle after another.

During the celebrations, players described the experience as the best feeling of their lives. No doubt about it.

And CNN's Amanda Davies joins us now live from Sydney, where the final was played. Great to see you Amanda. Sorry about the loss for your country. Because a hard fought win for Spain in what was and has been a truly historic Women's World Cup. Take us through the big moments.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah, Rosemary. It really was a very fitting climax to what has been the most incredible four weeks of action here across Australia and New Zealand and the victorious Spanish side and their staff are now making their way back home with the trophy. We reckon they're about halfway through their journey and they deservedly are taking that trophy back home.

A team with so much skill and talent who really stepped up when it mattered and put on a show against an England side who'd really been picking up momentum and actually only lost one match in 38 heading into the final. You saw just what it meant to the players and the staff at the final whistle celebrating as it has been quite a journey for them to get to this point. So much talk of unrest and uncertainty in the camp.

15 players wrote a letter to the Spanish Federation expressing their disquiet really with the coaching methods and some of the ways they were being treated. Three of the players did come back to that squad. It was quite a bizarre scene at full time. There was one group of staff celebrating, there was another group of players celebrating, but despite that, in spite of the unrest, this is a Spanish side who have now in the last 12 months claimed the under 17 Women's World Cup, the under 20 Women's World Cup and now got their hands on the biggest prize of all and they are young, which means they are going to be here to stay.

But if we're talking about this as a landmark tournament and a new marker for the women's game, in many ways that sums up where we are. For all the progress that has been made, there is still a very long way to go. Both they and England, two first-time finalists, have off the field issues that they're dealing with. Spain with the coaching set up, England with the commercial disagreements with the Football Association, they're not alone.

[03:49:56]

Nigeria, Jamaica, South Africa also have issues at play. So there is still a very, very long way to go, but imagine where we might be in three, four years time at the next Women's World Cup if we've got this far with this amount of investments. If people believe people invest to the level these women deserve, just think where we can get to Rosemary. CHURCH: Such an important point. Amanda Davies, great reporting,

joining us there live from Sydney, many thanks.

And we'll be right back.

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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. Well he is considered to be the oldest human mummy ever found intact. Scientists believe he died more than 5,000 years ago and as Michael Holmes reports advances in DNA technology are letting them piece together his life story.

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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Otzi was a man who lived more than 5,000 years ago. Until now, he was thought to be light-skinned and hairy. But new research finds he was more likely dark-skinned and balding.

ALBERT ZINK, HEAD OF THE INSTITUTE FOR MUMMY STUDIES, EURAC RESEARCH: We found out that the skin color is much darker than we thought. He had a very dark skin color, even darker than today's South Europeans, like people from Andalusia or Sicily, Sardinia, and but not as dark as people from sub-Saharan Africa.

[03:55:06]

And on the other hand, we found out that he was most likely bald, so he had the genetic predisposition to lose his hair.

HOLMES (voice-over): Otzi is the world's oldest human corpse to be discovered intact. A hiking couple found him in 1991 on a mountain range along the Austrian-Italian border. Scientists have long known how he died.

ZINK: He actually was killed on the mountainside at the height of 3,210 meters by an aero shot that hit his left shoulder. And we also know that he died quite quickly there at the place.

HOLMES (voice-over): But they're now learning more about how he lived, using advanced technology to study DNA extracted from his pelvis. Otzi was previously thought to have descended from people who lived in the Pontic Caspian steppe stretching from southeastern Europe into Kazakhstan.

But genome sequencing data places his ancestral origins elsewhere in modern-day Turkey.

ZINK: He is really just Anatolian and hunt-together ancestry.

HOLMES (voice-over): These developments shatter previous findings about the Iceman, but Zink says it's an expected turn in the world of science.

ZINK: This is a normal progress in science. You get new results, new information, then you adapt the reconstruction. HOLMES (voice-over): Otzi's reconstruction has been at the South Tyrol

Museum of Archaeology since 1998. It's expected to soon be upgraded or replaced to fit his new identity.

Michael Holmes, CNN.

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CHURCH: Fascinating, isn't it? And thanks so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. "CNN Newsroom" continues with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo, next.

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