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CNN International: Idalia Leaves Trail of Destruction Across Florida; Country Garden Warns of Default After $7 Billion Loss; Russia Sees Conflict's Biggest Drone Attacks in Past Days; World Leaders Condemn Military Coup in Gabon, President Arrested. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired August 31, 2023 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Bianca Nobilo.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Max Foster. If you just join us, let me bring you up to date with our top stories this hour.

The death toll from a five-story building fire in Johannesburg in South Africa has risen to 73, a spokesman for the city's emergency services says there were hundreds of informal settlements living inside the building. The fire has been put out and authorities are now conducting recovery efforts.

A tropical storm, Idalia is now making its way along the U.S. Southeast coast and is currently over North Carolina. The storm caused significant flooding across South Carolina's coastal cities.

NOBILO: Meanwhile, residents along Florida's Gulf Coast have begun the clean up after Idalia sparked widespread flooding and a trail of destruction. CNN's Brian Todd takes a look at just some of the damage. That's left behind in the state's capital, Tallahassee.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Late Wednesday, Governor Ron DeSantis delivered some much-needed good news for residents of Florida. He said the Cedar Key Bridge leading to the community of Cedar Key, which was cut off during the storm. That bridge was reopened late Wednesday. That's going to be a crucial development because in the coming hours and days, officials are going to need to get a read on how many people might have been unaccounted for in Cedar Key.

That place was isolated. One resident told us the whole area didn't look very much like it used to look and they were really worried about elderly residents in isolated areas not being accounted for. So the opening of the Cedar Key Bridge was a very important development.

Also the governor saying that by late Wednesday the number of customers without power had dropped, but they're still frantically working to get hundreds of thousands of people back online.

[04:35:00] Not only in Florida but also in Georgia, there were reports of at least two weather related deaths in Florida, two car accidents, not related to each other, involving two men being killed. At least 10 hospitals had to be evacuated during the storm, according to Governor Ron DeSantis. Out of those 10 hospitals in Florida. And had to be evacuated. At least nine of them will probably have gotten back online by late Wednesday night.

Here in Leon County -- this is the city of Tallahassee, the capital of Florida. They're still digging out. They're still assessing damage. Still 10s of thousands of customers without power.

And look at some of the violence that occurred courtesy of Hurricane Idalia. This is the house on Big Oak Street in Tallahassee and look at it. This is a large pine tree and look, just the force of the storm. And look at the root system here. It uprooted the entire root system of the tree, pop of the tree. And in the process, look at what it did to this fence. It just uprooted the entire fence, slammed across the yard. Broke the other part of the fence over there and then was stretching all the way across the street. Luckily, crews got here and cleared the street of that part of the tree.

But again, and also what I should tell you is that in this area in Tallahassee, there's a lot of Spanish Moss and other growth on these trees, which makes them much heavier. You come over here. And you see just how close it came to landing on this house just a few feet from this house. We talked to the homeowners. Everybody there is OK, but they were pretty shaken by this event.

In places here like Tallahassee, this is still not a safe area. It's not safe to navigate around here. A lot of downed power lines like that one hanging down right there that you see. And there were several downed power lines down on the street.

Again, they're telling people don't try to navigate these streets in a car or on foot because these power lines, some of them could be live. They could kill you if you step on them. Also, people a lot of people on the street running generators to get just to just to function at their homes, a lot of the generator related deaths are often reported in the aftermath of these hurricanes. So just in the process of recovering and navigating your streets or running your generator, you may not be out of danger.

Brian Todd, CNN, Tallahassee, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: To the southeast of the state capital, there were scenes like this. Devastating flooding in the coastal city of Cedar Key. One man who rode out the storm there witnessed these images first hand and described what he experienced and the damage left behind.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL BOBBITT, RODE OUT IDALIA IN CEDAR KEY: Here's the aftermath. This was a this was an amazing -- this is this is the far away in. These are all little old school Florida villas. And they were just picked up and carried into the Gulf. So that was heartbreaking to see.

Before I moved here, I used to stay in this very cottage, number one down here. So it was, and it was hard to see. Because they got some new owners here, they knew that that this property floods, but it's just a real trial by fire.

And if you look down by the water all along the ocean are their chairs, and microwaves and hair dryers. It's a pretty surreal experience. And when the wind was kicking in the middle of the night and when the water was coming toward us there from all three sides, it looked like a Leviathan trying to reach out of the water to devour us whole.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: And if you'd like to help residents impacted by Idalia, do head over to CNN.com/impact.

FOSTER: Wall Street opening in just a few hours, here's a quick look at how the U.S. futures are looking. The Dow is positive, but the Nasdaq is slightly down.

NOBILO: Chinas largest home developer Country Garden warns it could default on its debts after reporting a $7 billion loss for the first six months of the year, and it's the latest sign of trouble in the housing market there. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout joins us now live from Hong Kong. Kristie, I believe this loss of $6.7 billion was a record. What does this tell us about the post pandemic recovery of the second largest economy in the world?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, it's still very much wobbly. Especially look at the situation with the property market which makes up, what, 30 percent of China's GDP. As you just mentioned, Country Garden is China's largest residential developer and now it is battling this liquidity crisis. On Wednesday, it warned that it may default on its debts as it reported a loss of about $7 billion for the first half of the year.

We looked at a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange filed by Country Garden. Let's bring it up for you. And it said this, quote:

The company felt deeply remorseful for the unsatisfactory performance, unquote.

Country Garden has nearly $200 billion in total liabilities. It is facing rising pressure to pay off its debts. And according to the company, it says it was caught off guard by the debt and the persistence of China's ongoing property slump, especially in smaller Chinese cities.

This has been going on for the past two years.

[04:40:00]

China has been stuck in this historic property slowdown, resulting in scenes -- that you see there on your screen -- unfinished homes, uncompleted residential buildings, unpaid suppliers and creditors. And this slump has been deepening. According to some, you know, relatively fresh data, new home sales, they fell more than 34 percent year on year in July.

Now Chinese officials, they've been scrambling to find ways to shore up the sector. They've introduced a series of measures. In fact, on Wednesday, Guangzhou, the Chinese mega city in the South, relaxed mortgage rules for homebuyers. But analysts say it's not going to be enough. And such measures haven't been enough because consumers across China are reluctant to buy new homes because of rising unemployment. Because of the economic situation and because home prices are falling.

So, and I'm also going to mention that after we heard this warning from Country Garden and that loss is reported, a crucial test is currently underway. Creditors are preparing to run a proposal to delay payment for an onshore private bond. This vote will end by 10:00 p.m. local time. Another critical test for Country Garden. Back to you.

NOBILO: We know you'll be keeping an eye on that for us, Kristie Lu Stout live in Hong Kong. Thank you very much.

LU STOUT: Thank you.

FOSTER: Russia has seen multiple drone attacks over the past few days, but it's still pummeled Kyiv with the most powerful strikes in months. That story is coming up ahead.

FOSTER: Plus, celebrations on the streets of Gabon after the military staged a coup in the Central African country and arrests the president. We'll have the details after the break.

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NOBILO: British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has formally resigned. Wallace had announced last month that he would step down at the next cabinet reshuffle. Wallace informed Number 10 this morning that he was leaving after four years in the post. He also published a resignation letter yesterday. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak praised Wallace for his dedication and skill and for taking a leading role in Western support of Ukraine.

FOSTER: Russia shot down for drones in separate incidents over its territory earlier today.

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Officials say air defenses intercepted three drones over western Russia and one more that was heading towards Moscow. That came on the heels of the biggest wave of drone attacks Russia has seen since the war began.

NOBILO: These six Russian regions came under attack Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, but across the border --

FOSTER: Ukrainian officials say Kyiv also came under attack. The most powerful assault in months, but Ukraine says it shot down dozens of drones and missiles, even across the country as well.

NOBILO: Investigative producer Katie Polglase has been monitoring these developments for us, and she joins us now with more. Katie, we've actually heard from the British Ministry of Defense. They believe that Moscow is likely to reconsider its air defenses around airfields as a result of these attacks. How might that happen?

KATIE POLGLASE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE PRODUCER: Well, it's a good point, Bianca, because clearly, drone warfare, the use of these drones is happening with increasing regularity. And it's increasingly showing it's going to be shaping the conflicts to come.

And it's worth mentioning here, that these drones, if they are Ukrainian drones, they are very likely to be homemade, made in Ukraine. Because the agreements that Ukraine has with its Western allies, it gets military equipment, among those drones is that it is not to be used in Russian territory. And so if these are Ukrainian, if they are the ones deploying these with increasing regularity, it is likely they are manufactured in Ukraine, which hints to a domestic manufacturing capability increasing, which could really change where the war is going.

And as you pointed out there in that lead in, there is an increasing number of ranges in these drone attacks. This is not just the frontline anymore. This is close to Moscow. This is in the north. This is in the South as well. And I think that really speaks to the sort of intention here as well. To create a sense of angst, a sense of anxiety.

Because let's not forget, these drone attacks are not having serious damage as far as we know, there are no casualties, there's no serious damage to buildings as far as we know. But clearly it the intention here is to bring the war back to the Russian people. Make the Russian people feel the impact of this war in the way that the Ukrainian people are clearly feeling it. The same night that the most serious drone attack happened, there was also a drone attack and a missile attack on Kyiv. Two people dead as well, others injured as well. So clearly this is happening at the same time Ukraine is feeling it back home.

And we saw yesterday from Ukraine special adviser to the president. He said that this war is increasingly moving to Russia's territory and it cannot be stopped. So although he's not claiming credibility and responsibility for this attack, that is clearly the intention here that Ukraine is telling Russia here that the war is going to be felt on their own front.

NOBILO: And these type of drone attacks obviously as far as Ukraine is concerned, a form of asymmetric warfare as you say, that creates more uncertainty when Russia has the advantage economically and in terms of manpower. Katie Polglase, thank you so much.

People were celebrating in the streets of the capital of Gabon after a military junta staged a coup in the Central African nation on Wednesday. FOSTER: President Ali Bongo was placed under house arrest. His family has ruled Gabon for more than 50 years. The man who led the coup was later named as transitional -- the transitional leader of the country.

CNN's Stephanie Busari covering this story for us. She joins us now from Lagos, Nigeria. I mean, a lot of criticism about any sort of coup in Africa, but a huge amount of popularity within the country for this one.

STEPHANIE BUSARI, CNN SENIOR EDITOR, AFRICA: Max, yes, another day, another coup here. And this time in Central Africa. Gabon is a tiny country, about 2 million people. But oil rich in crude oil and other resources. And as you say, there's been a lot of jubilation and celebration and criticism from abroad, from our international partners, not as pronounced as we saw with Niger year last month.

The simple fact is that some time is simply up for President Ali Bongo Ondimba. Who had ruled for 14 years and was going for his third term. The military's takeover actually happened soon after the announcement of results that he had won a controversial election. And don't forget, his father ruled for nearly 42 years before him. So the people of Gabon simply had had enough. And they were just saying, it's time to put a stop to these democratic dictators who conduct sham elections and hide under the guise of democracy.

We saw people on the streets of Gabon giving beer bottles to the soldiers, thanking them for freeing them from this nearly more than 50 decades, 50 years of the Bongo rule -- Max.

FOSTER: OK, Steph in Lagos. Thank you for bringing us that.

NOBILO: U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is initiating a review of marijuana after a call to ease restrictions. We'll have the details for you just ahead.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Novak Djokovic continues to impress on his return to the U.S. Open. The Serbian tennis star is heading to the third round after winning in straight sets on Wednesday. The 36-year-old Djokovic is looking to add to his record tally of 23 men's Grand Slam titles. He missed the U.S. Open last year because he's unvaccinated against COVID-19. Djokovic will take on his Davis Cup teammate and fellow countryman Laslo Djere out in the next round on Friday.

NOBILO: University of Nebraska is wild about women's volleyball. The school set a new world record for the largest announced crowd at a women's sporting event Wednesday night. 92,003 people were on hand in Lincoln to see the home team take on in state rival, Omaha. The five- time national champion Huskers team won their fourth match in a row. The previous world record was set in April of last year in Spain at the UEFA Champions League match between Barcelona and Wolfsburg.

[04:55:00] FOSTER: Stories in the spotlight. Jimmy Kimmel, the host of Kimmel -- Jimmy Kimmel Live -- that's called, isn't it? And says he was intent on retiring before the writers' strike made him realize, quote, it's kind of nice to work.

NOBILO: TV and film writers in the Writers Guild of America have been striking since May, and all late night talk shows in the U.S. have been off the air. Now, Kimmel is hosting a new podcast with other network TV personalities, saying that the proceeds will go to the show's crew members while they're out of work.

And a senior official at the U.S. Health and Human Services Department is calling for easing restrictions on marijuana and the Drug Enforcement Administration has begun a review.

FOSTER: The official recommended marijuana they recommended it be reclassified as a Schedule-3 substance, which is for drugs with a low risk of dependence. Right now, marijuana is the same Schedule-1 controlled substance category as the most dangerous drugs like heroin and LSD.

And in Nebraska, motorists were doing double takes at the site of this bull riding shotgun along the highway. It is a real ball, by the way, may look like an inflated toy, but it's a Watusi bull, apparently.

NOBILO: Massive horns and all.

FOSTER: Yes.

NOBILO: The automobile was modified to carry the huge beast, but as you can see, it can still barely fit. Police were called to investigate. They eventually sent the driver away with a warning to take the animal back home, which he reportedly did.

FOSTER: He looks quite happy.

NOBILO: I hope he was comfortable, though, because it is a tight fit.

FOSTER: This is one car you don't wanna crash into.

Thanks for joining us here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster.

NOBILO: And I'm Bianca Nobilo. "EARLY START" is up next right here from CNN.

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