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North Korean Leader Kim Expected To Meet Russia's Putin; Putin Says Russia May Revive Grain Deal If Demands Met; Military Junta Leader Is Sworn In As Gabon's Interim President; Nevada Burning Man Festival Exodus Begins Through Drying Mud; Summit Strives to Make Africa's Voice Heard on Climate; Delhi Neighborhood Uprooted before World Leaders Arrive; Blunting the Seafood Ban; Lawmakers Squabble over Debts, Deficits, Possible Shutdown; Manhunt for Escaped Prisoner; Search for Paul McCartney's Bass Guitar. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired September 05, 2023 - 01:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:00:06]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead here on CNN. Brothers in arms, Kim Jong Un is said to be planning a rare journey beyond North Korea to discuss in person a weapons deal with the Russian president.

Breakthrough, Ukrainian troops in the south reported to a breach a Russian, a major Russian defensive line and life pitches from the desert burning the man at Burning Man the week-long Festival, which killed tens of thousands stranded by heavy rain and mud comes to an end with a big fire and a mass exodus.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center. This is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.

VAUSE: Thanks for being with us for CNN Newsroom. We begin with U.S. intelligence that says the leaders of North Korea and Russia could meet in person possibly as soon as next week to discuss a weapons deal and other areas of military cooperation.

The York Times reporting Kim Jong Un is expected to travel from Pyongyang most likely by armored train to attend the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, which Vladimir Putin is expected to attend. Russia is looking to North Korea for suppliers of artillery shells and anti-tank missiles, while the North Koreans are said to be hoping for advanced Russian missile and satellite technology.

These possible talks would follow a trip to Pyongyang by the Russian defense minister in July, where he visited North Korea's hole of weapons.

Any deal with North Korea would violate U.N. Security Council resolutions which Russia had approved. Live now to CNN is Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong.

So I guess we're sort of learning more and more about this specifically firming up some of the details. And I guess importantly, what is the likely reaction here though, from Beijing?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And we'll be monitoring the Ministry of Foreign Affairs briefing to get that reaction from Beijing later this afternoon. But this is what we know about this potential meeting that Kim Jong Un may be meeting with Vladimir Putin in Russia. This we're learning from the U.S. National Security Council, and they are expected to discuss potential arms deals for Russia to get even more North Korean weapons to use against Ukraine. The timing of this meeting is unclear.

But it was the New York Times that first reported this potential meeting saying that Kim would be traveling from Pyongyang to Vladivostok where he would meet with Putin at a forum set to run this weekend from September the 10th around the same time as the G20 in Delhi.

Vladivostok is a port city. It's not far from North Korea. It's also where this scene played out where Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin met for the first time back in 2019. And when Kim made that journey he did on this famous heavily armored slow chugging green train. And as for this new potential meeting, it's been reported that in exchange for weapons like artillery, like missiles for Russia, what North Korea is seeking is advanced Russian technology for satellites, for nuclear powered submarines came also reportedly seeking food aid given the dire situation is country.

Now, this potential meeting would follow that recent visit that we reported by the Russian defense minister, who visited North Korea in July. It also comes after U.S. officials have said that Russia and North Korea are actively advancing their talks over another potential arms deal for Russia to use against Ukraine. I mean last year, according to the U.S. it said that North Korea delivered rockets and missiles into Russia for use by the Wagner forces, it was something that North Korea denies.

But Russia and North Korea have been edging closer, you know, the Russian defense minister, you know pictured here when he visited Pyongyang. He says that joint military drills with North Korea are currently being discussed. And we also know that Kim and Putin in recent months have exchanged letters to each other pledging to increase their alliances and their cooperation.

I want to show you one of those letters that was published mid-August by the North Korean news agency KCNA a letter that Kim gave to Putin saying this quote, I am firmly convinced that the friendship and solidarity between the DPRK and Russia will be further developed into a long standing strategic relationship and that the two countries will always emerge victorious. The U.S., meanwhile, is urging North Korea to end its weapons talks with Russia. Back to you, John.

VAUSE: Almost as close as lips and teeth. Kristie Lu Stout live for us there in Hong Kong. Thank you.

LU STOUT: You got it.

VAUSE: David Sanger is a political and national security analyst for CNN, as well as White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times. It's good to see you.

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Good to see you, John.

VAUSE: OK, so here's part of a statement from the White House National Security Council. We urge the DPRK, North Korea, to cease its arms negotiations with Russia and abide by the public commitments that Pyongyang has made to not provide or sell arms to Russia.

That would seem to be unlikely here at this point.

[01:05:00]

So, how much military help can Pyongyang offer Moscow and its war in Ukraine? And in return, how much or how far is Moscow willing to go to help Pyongyang with its own ballistic missile program?

SANGER: Two great questions, John. And I think on the first one, I think there could be modest help from the North Koreans, mostly to give them artillery rounds, much as South Korea, though it didn't want to advertise it provided Ukraine indirectly through the United States, with I think about 650,000 rounds of artillery, because the Korean peninsula has armed up on both sides with exactly the kind of artillery that is useful to both the Russians and to the Ukrainians. So it's been a natural shopping ground.

That said, we don't know how well, Kim Jong Un is set up for mass production, or exactly how much he's kept in storage, that he may be willing to sell. There's a lot more to gain for him than there is in some ways for the Russians. And he really, he gains three things.

One, a large power is now dependent on him. That hasn't happened in a while. The second thing he gains is the possibility of access to more oil. Until now everything that he's gotten is pretty much been through the Chinese and they turn it on and turn it off at will to have a second supplier who is important. And thirdly, at the moment that Kim Jong Un is testing his ballistic missiles, particularly the long range ones, many of which have designed commonalities with Russian missiles, he can get a lot of help there.

VAUSE: So laying the groundwork for this meeting, it seems to have taken some time a matter of months. I want you to listen to the Kremlin spokesman speaking last year, listen.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DMITRY PESKOV, KREMLIN SPOKESPERSON (through translator): Moscow and Pyongyang have good relations, mutually respectful relations. We intend to further develop these relations. Contacts are being made at various levels. This is our neighbor.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

VAUSE: So you mentioned that North Korea is a lot more to gain from this than the Russians do. But is this potentially just a tactical move by both? Or you know, is there some strategy here? How does this play into the strengthening ties that Moscow has with Beijing, as well as Moscow has with Tehran? How does North Korea fit into this sort of group of prior nations if you like?

SANGER: Well, they're pariahs in our mind, to them, to themselves, they are the axis of the aggrieved, John, right. They have a lot of grievances with the United States. They have a common interest in making sure that there was an alternative world order out there that is not run by American rules, guided by U.N. sanctions resolutions, or prohibitions on the North Koreans and the Iranians.

So when we heard the American ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield come out earlier today and say we expect them to live up to their resolutions on this issue. They will live up to these resolutions, and they never have. There is a resolution that has to do with a North Korean missile testing. They've never lived up to that resolution. There are all kinds of resolutions prohibiting them from getting nuclear weapons, we think they now have 60, 70, 80 nuclear weapons. There are resolutions against nuclear testing. They've conducted six tests and maybe headed to a seven.

So, providing arms to the Russians doesn't seem to me like a very big leap for Kim Jong Un, particularly when he's dealing with President Biden, who has been really unwilling to go engage with him at all.

VAUSE: So with that in mind, if this deal does go ahead, what options are left for the United States and for the U.N. Security Council of which Russia and China are permanent members with a veto?

SANGER: Well, this is the big good news for the North Koreans and to some degree, the Iranians. If you think back over the past decade of nonproliferation efforts, Russia and China have largely been on the same side as the United States and Europe. The Russians and the Chinese sat in on the Iranian negotiations in 2014 and 2015. On the same side, as the Europeans and the United States and signed on to that deal, that would not happen with Iran today.

The Russians and the Chinese have periodically engaged in nonproliferation talks with the North Koreans and condemned some of their tests.

[01:10:00]

That would not happen today. So the North Koreans are actually facing a more permissive world, one in which as you point out, they're not going to have to worry about future U.N. Security Council resolutions, because they will be vetoed.

VAUSE: David, thank you. We appreciate you analysis. Good to see on this holiday here in the United States. Have a good Labor Day.

SANGER: Great to speak. Take care.

VAUSE: After talks with the Turkish president, Russia's Vladimir Putin said he would consider reviving the Black Sea Grain Initiative with Russia withdrew from just over a year ago, but only with one very big condition which seems to be a non-starter already after Ukraine's foreign minister reportedly called the offer classic blackmail. Details down from CNN's Nic Robertson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voiceover): By inviting the Turkish president to Grain Deal talks in Russia, Vladimir Putin got a big platform to vent his grievances with Ukraine's Western backers.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The West to put it mildly deceived us about humanitarian goals and by the humanitarian Black Sea initiative to assist developing countries.

ROBERTSON: But just hours ahead of the meeting, Putin's drones were destroying vital grain stores in Ukraine, as they have done with increased intensity, since Russia pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Deal in July.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan went to Sochi hoping to convince Putin to accept a new U.N. Grain Deal. If he had success, it might be slow coming.

RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKISH PRESIDENT (through translator): I believe we will be able to reach a solution which fulfills the expectation soon.

ROBERTSON: The deal was in fact two deals in parallel, one with Ukraine, one with Russia. Inspectors check cargoes as grain ships exited the Black Sea and entered Turkish waters. It lasted for a year before Putin unilaterally pulled out. His reasons for exiting the deal, apparently rooted in Western sanctions imposed as a result of his illegal and unprovoked war of choice, potentially now leveraging the Grain Deal to roll some sanctions back.

PUTIN (through translator): What we saw is that there was a refusal to renew deliveries of the agricultural spare parts. And also there were problems with them financial settlements and transaction fees.

ROBERTSON: Erdogan wants to be peacemaker, but in Sochi seem to scold Ukraine and legitimize Putin.

ERDOGAN (through translator): In order to be able to take common steps with Russia, Ukraine needs to soften its approach. Putin rightfully does not approve if 44 percent of the grain goes to European countries.

ROBERTSON (on camera): Putin says he'll consider reviving the U.N. grain deal if he gets what he wants, which includes the removal of what he claims our export restrictions on Russian agricultural products. But he is also upping the ante and the pressure pressing ahead with a separate work around grain deal with Erdogan, Nic Robertson, CNN, London,

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: The day after announcing the biggest wartime shake up with Ukraine's government, President Vladimir Zelenskyy better highly visible journey to the frontlines in both the east and south. Zelenskyy says he specifically went to Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk region to hear directly from Ukrainian troops.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): It is extremely important to support our soldiers to talk to the brigade commanders and battalion commanders. It is very, very useful to hear from those who go into battle directly, what exactly is lacking, what is already sufficient and what needs to be changed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And amid ongoing questions about corruption within the defense ministry and criticism from some NATO officials about the slow pace of Ukraine's counter-offensive, Zelenskyy removed his defense minister over the weekend. His likely replacement is known as an anti- corruption crusader.

Join me now from New Haven, Connecticut as Matthew Schmidt, Associate Professor of National Security at the University of New Haven. He also former professor of Strategic Planning at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Good to see it.

MATTHEW SCHMIDT, ASSOC. PROF. OF NATIONAL SECURITY, UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN: Good to see you, John.

VAUSE: OK, so well, the Ukrainian defense ministry has been under investigation for dodgy deals and hundreds of millions of dollars which are missing. CNN is reporting allegations of corruption did not impeach personally on Reznikov, the defense minister or former defense minister, who acknowledged they had been damaging the investigation also led to some unease about the allocation of aid among Western partners.

The other side of the equation here is the likely replacement Rustem Umerov, the head of Ukraine's main privatization agency, the State Property Fund, which he has run for a year. There he gained praise according to Washington Post for instituting massive audits and weeding out alleged corruption and misappropriation of funds.

[01:15:05]

Connect the dots here for us between this counter offensive corruption, ongoing Western military aid, and the biggest wartime shake up the Ukrainian government has seen.

SCHMIDT: You always give me the easy questions. Let's start with the current phase wars go in phases. And I think we're moving to a period here where sort of the counter-offensive phase is culminating somehow, and we're moving into to something different.

Not sure is, but obviously a great choice for moving into something different. Look at what he signals. He signals anti-corruption, right with a track record. He signals Crimea, because he is the Crimean. He signals that he did negotiate in '22 when things look really bad for Ukraine, he was there trying to find political solutions. He was there after 2014 trying to get Crimean prisoners brought back. He's a signal to Crimeans, who have been under Russian occupation for

almost a decade now, right, that they are welcome back in Ukraine. And he's a signal to the west, right, that again he's going to fight corruption. So he's a great choice moving into the future, to change the direction, to change the phase that we're going in.

Reznikov is basically falling on his sword. He's looking out here in consultation with Zelenskyy saying, I'm not the future. I'm not corrupt. But I couldn't stop what was going on in this ministry. You need someone's head to roll, I'll resign. And I think that's really the connection is Zelenskyy is trying to figure out how to transition from the past and go forward into this new phase.

VAUSE: OK, so with that in mind, I want you to listen, the Russian president, speaking Monday about Ukraine's counter offensive, and peace talks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PUTIN (through translator): The Ukrainian counter-offensive is not a stalling, it is a failure. In any case, it looks this way, as of today. Let us wait and see what comes next. But I would like to say that Russia has never rejected peace talks with Ukraine, and we do not reject it now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Well, I came out of nowhere. Riddle me this. Why for as peace talks if Ukraine's counter-offensive has failed, why raise it at all? Why raise it now with the sacking of Ukraine's defense minister.

SCHMIDT: Because the Russian press is lauding Umerov's nomination as exactly that. They're saying that now that you're nominating this guy. We know he tried to negotiate in 2014 in a different context, but they're, you know, sort of hand waving that, and we think he'll negotiate now.

So this is counter, you know, propaganda on the Russian side. But it shouldn't be clear, right? Again, Umerov is an interesting choice here because he's Muslim. Right. And so he also has connections in Saudi Arabia. He was in those talks just a few weeks ago, and he was in talks with Erdogan in Turkey on the Grain Deal. So he has connections to reach out into two places where there have been negotiations with Russia on and off in this war.

VAUSE: Well, here's the latest battlefield assessments from the Institute for the Study of Wars and think tank, they tweeted this, what makes this, Ukrainian light infantry has advanced beyond anti- tank ditches and Dragon's Teeth anti-tank obstacles that comprise the current Russian defensive layer ahead of the Ukrainian advanced in western Zaporizhzhia and Ukrainian forces likely intend to hold those positions.

They are willing to say that the lines they should be breached as such, until they see like heavy infantry there. But still, this would seem to be a significant moment for Ukrainians, especially in the south. So talk to that. And you know, this seems to negate speculation that a defense minister was sacked, because the counter-offensive was moving too slowly. They don't seem to be on the precipice of something here.

SCHMIDT: These are successes for the Ukrainian military. But they are not what they hoped would be. And in the end, the only military objective that can create the kind of political effect that would bring down Putin's regime, put him in a corner politically force him to negotiate on Ukraine's terms, is the loss of Crimea.

Ukraine can win in the south, it can win in the East. But if it doesn't take Crimea, I don't think you can push Russia. And I think, again, that might be what's being signaled here, too, is that Crimea is the center of gravity of this war, right. This is what happened in 2014. When Russia took Crimea, that's what started the war. And it has to end with Crimea. And I think, one way or another, that's what's Zelenskyy is signaling to that we're not letting go of our claim on Crimea whatever happens on the battlefield elsewhere.

VAUSE: Matthews, always great to have you with us. Matthew Schmidt there in New Haven, Connecticut. Thank you, sir.

SCHMIDT: Take care.

VAUSE: Still to come, the leader of Gabon's military who is sworn in as interim president, with a clear message to the people of Gabon.

[01:20:04]

The Burning Man festival live pictures there, the fires are underway a day late after a weekend still flooded the desert, prepping tens of thousands of the week long (INAUDIBLE) Culture Festival.

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VAUSE: The leader of Gabon's military coup was sworn in Monday as interim. President General Brice Nguema sees power less than a week ago. He says there's no rush to hold new elections to avoid repeating quote, you know past mistakes. CNN's Stephanie Busari has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE BUSARI, CNN SENIOR EDITOR, AFRICA (on camera): Nearly a week after he staged a military coup in Gabon, General Brice Oligui Nguema was sworn in as the Interim President of the tiny but resource rich country.

Nguema was sworn in earlier Monday amid chairs and a colorful ceremony that was televised. During his speech, General Nguema promised to hold quote, free transparent and credible new elections. However, he didn't say when the country would return to civilian rule. He insisted a new constitution needs to be adopted by a referendum before that can happen.

Many governors (ph) were happy to see the end of the Bongo rule which had been in power for more than 50 years. And the coup on August 30 happened shortly after the electoral body declared incumbent President Ali Bongo on timber (ph) the winner of yet another term.

This victory was met with widespread criticism, and many in opposition cried foul. In his inauguration speech, General Nguema, described Bongo's victory as a quote electoral coup d'etat and portrayed the military as liberators. He's either under pressure to hasten of return to democratic rule.

The coup in Gabon is eighth in West and Central Africa in recent years, and has attracted widespread condemnation. The African Union has responded by suspending Gabon's membership. Stephanie Busari, CNN, Lagos.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Amnesty International has issued a new report accusing the Eritrean defense forces of committing war crimes and possible crimes against humanity in Ethiopia's Tigray region. The report alleges that abuses like rape, sexual enslavement and extra judicial executions took place from October of 2022 to January this year.

The group's findings focus on specific districts within the Tigray region, which were under the EDS control. The crimes are believed to have taken place and with the conflict with Ethiopia's government and its allies.

Organizers at the Burning Man Festival lifted driving bad Monday allowing for a mass exodus of tens of thousands of party goes after a weekend storm turn roads into ankle deep mud.

[01:25:03]

With the good weather more than 60,000 partygoers stay for the main event and there it is the burning of a giant wooded effigy of a man. Hence the Burning Man. Began a day late to start within last hour or so, soon to be followed by another ritual, the burning of the Church of Babel. More now on an unforgettable Burning Man festival for our own CNN's Nick Watt.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): The exodus underway that sunshine you see is the savior drying the mud just enough for tires to grip not sink into sludge.

PAUL ROMERO, ATTENDED BURNING MAN FESTIVAL: Was impossible to function impossible to move around. A lot of struggling people in what became very cold, very storm like conditions. People's tents, entire camps became pretty much destroyed.

WATT: More than 70,000 people were basically trapped for days. Trapped in this makeshift desert city that pops up in Nevada every year around Labor Day filled with campers and creators, fun lovers and those with their freak flags flying that culminates in the man burning.

ZOHAR KENNARD, ATTENDED BURNING MAN FESTIVAL: We plan on leaving right after the burn, which is Saturday night. And then it started raining on us. Everybody took their shoes off or dancing in the mud. It was great. And then the reality sunk in that we couldn't leave.

WATT: Chris Rock and some other celebs decided to take the only uncomfortable exit available.

THOMAS WESLEY PENTZ, AKA "DIPLO": DJ AND BURNING MAN ATTENDEE: That is New York Knicks jacket on and we just got up with us and started walking. And we walked about three hours in the mud and he was happy it was me. I think Cindy Crawford walks with us, Kaia Gerber, Austin Butler, it was a challenge but it was honestly one of the highlights of the whole trip.

WATT: Thousands of others stuck it out many embracing the ethos of self-reliance that surrounds this festival.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was waiting for the looting. Honestly, I thought that would have been great. But no, like, it's really beautiful actually when you go into the camps, everybody was helping each other out.

WATT: Burning Man. Raining man, suck it up. Stick it out.

BOBBY WHITE, BRUNING MAN ATTENDED: I have my RV here and all my other camp mates have either RVs are big rental trucks or things like that. And getting those out was basically impossible. I mean, sure, you could have walked out but what am I going to do with all my stuff.

WATT: All this chaos caused by less than an inch of rain.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even just a slightest bit of rain makes everything super slick and you walk around your feet you have like five pounds of mud on your feet.

WATT: Why? Well, this is a desert. Nothing much grows, the soil isn't lovely loamy and absorbent. It's just miles of grey clay. Most years this is a dusty, not a muddy mess. And under an inch of rain, well, that's still two or three months worth of rain in this arid land within just 24 hours.

WATT (on camera): Noon on Monday, organizers said about 64,000 people remained on the site that was just a couple of hours before they officially opened the road. They advised people to wait until Tuesday to try and get off the site. But by the look of the long slow moving lines, a lot of people were ignoring that advice. Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Coming up here next on CNN, the families in New Delhi, who say their homes were demolished by the government to improve the city's appearance ahead of a summit with G20 leaders.

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[01:30:47]

VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Leaders from Southeast Asian nations have gathered for an ASEAN summit in Jakarta where the official opening ceremony was held just a short time ago. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will be attending this two-day event

The summit comes amid rifts within member states of the stalled peace efforts in Myanmar and other regional and international issues. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula and concerns over the status of Taiwan also likely to be discussed.

Opportunities to advance green economies is the focus Tuesday on day two of an African climate summit in Nairobi. African heads of states, climate experts, financiers, industry leaders, all gathered to raise Africa's voice and its issues in regard to climate change. Hence the climate summit.

CNN's Larry Madowo is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The African Union and the government of Kenya bringing African leaders, climate change experts, everybody involved in this conversation together here in Nairobi to rally them around a common platform going into COP 28.

President William Ruto opening the forum, talking about the need for instance tax sectors, such as aviation, maritime and looking at a solution approach to the climate crisis pointing out that Africa's carbon footprint is minimal. But the real human toll of the climate crisis here is devastating.

I want to get some quick reaction now from Dr. Galine Yanon from Senegal. He is a climate security expert with the U.N. office for West Africa and the Sahel.

What is the big ask from Africa in this climate crisis.

DR. GALINE YANON, CLIMATE SECURITY EXPERT, U.N. OFFICE FOR WEST AFRICA AND THE SAHEL: Thank you so much. We are here with four countries, representatives for four countries. Youth and women from Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, and then Cameroon.

All what they're asking is please, can you listen to us? We have activated but no one is listening to us. So we are here to raise a voice so that the world can listen to them in terms of adaptation, in terms of capacity development and also in terms of mitigation.

So please listen to what communities are developing in terms of climate action for peace and (INAUDIBLE).

MADOWO: So the feeling from Senegal where you're from but also in the wider region is that you keep saying what you need but the world is not paying attention?

YANON: Exactly. And if you look at this conference -- they're very good, COP, African climate, all these conferences that are running around the world. How many COP now? We are now going to the COP28. That means 28 after now we are still discussing this issue, but when are we really taking action? When are we really fulfilling our engagement in terms of financing? When are we really considering the point of view of youth, of women from the communities.

So I think that there is a time now for us to act, and there is a time now for us to invest more in this community of youth and women so that we know exactly where we are heading to.

MADOWO: Listen to the youth and the women. Dr. Galine, thank you so much.

And one of the issues here will be, again, loss and damage, this comes up in every one of these conferences, like he mentioned, and often you don't see a whole lot of follow-through.

So they are hoping coming into COP28 there will be a difference that Africa will not keep harping on the same topics without any tangible action.

Larry Madowo, CNN -- Nairobi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Leaders of the world's largest economies arrive in New Delhi for G20 meeting later this week. It's not known how many will notice the beautiful fountains, the unique statues, manicured gardens as they speed their way to the summit's venue.

What they won't see are the houses which the government considered an eyesore that were destroyed, or what the families who live there called home.

Here's CNN's Vedika Sud.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VEDIKA SUD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A bulldozer tears down Sabitha's (ph) home in Delhi. Helpless and distraught, she looks on recording on her mobile. Her daughters just off camera tried comforting her.

"Stop crying, mother, or you will fall sick," they say. Sabitha is just one of tens of thousands who have been rendered homeless in the lead up to the big G20 meet in Delhi where Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will want to be seen as the voice of the global south.

[01:34:45]

SUD: When world leaders arrive in New Delhi this weekend, they won't see some of the slums that would have fallen on their route. Instead what they will see is this -- statues and fountains that are part of the government's massive beautification drive that activists say have displaced the poor.

Almost three months after this mass demolition drive, we meet Sabitha. She's as inconsolable as she was on the morning bulldozers rolled into the neighborhood.

"Our children were hungry. They were thirsty. We had no place to cook after they demolished our homes," she says.

Amid the rubble, Sabitha's family camped under tarpaulin sheet. They were homeless for almost six weeks.

"We knew we were building our homes in an unauthorized colony, but people have been living here for over 40 years now. Why didn't authorities demolish these homes earlier? Why now," she asks.

In a document submitted in court, the Delhi government stated it intends to rehabilitate those impacted by the eviction in new homes. But that hasn't happened.

Human rights activist Harsh Mander says the Modi government is showing no urgency in rehabilitating the poor.

HARSH MANDER, HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST: What strikes me most is that India, the Indian state is ashamed of what's ostensible poverty. It doesn't want the poverty to be visible to people who come here.

SUD: In July, the Indian government in a routine response in parliament denied any links between the demolitions of homes and the G20 summit.

CNN has reached out to both the Delhi and central governments. we are yet to receive a response.

About 200 meters away from the G20 summit venue, (INAUDIBLE) scavenges for the buried remains of her belongings under the rubble of her home.

"Our home has small eatery, a grocery store. Everything was destroyed," she says. "People say authorities have cleared out the settlement because of the G20 summit."

She now runs a tea stall along with her husband. Since June they have been spending nights in this makeshift shelter.

"We are so angry but our poverty makes us tireless. We can't speak up," says (INAUDIBLE). Now plants show the rubbles that is still scattered around (INAUDIBLE) home.

High walls have cordoned off the land where Sabitha's once lived.

Amidst the noise and grandeur, the voices of the marginalized grow even softer.

Vedika Sud, CNN -- New Delhi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: When we come back, the latest in the back and forth between Japan and China after Tokyo began pumping treated nuclear waste water from a disabled Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean.

[01:37:51]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

VAUSE: -- to its fishing industry after China banned Japanese seafood because of the recent treated radioactive waste water from the crippled Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant.

CNN's Ivan Watson has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Backlash in China over Japan's decision to release treated nuclear waste water from the Fukushima Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean.

The Chinese government banning all Japanese seafood imports to prevent the risk of radioactive contamination and to protect the health of Chinese consumers.

Fears over Fukushima prompting panic buying of salt in several cities until authorities reassured the public that China consumes mined salt more than sea salt.

Ripple effects also felt here at a Japanese food court in Beijing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I told my daughter that we should go and eat some seafood now while it is still safe. And let's not eat anymore afterwards. Nothing from the ocean is edible from now on.

WATSON: Fears echoed by her daughter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Of course, fresh seafood will be affected. But other crops and food will also be affected later on. It is only a matter of time.

WATSON: The nuclear controversy potentially crippling business for this sushi chef.

Some customers are disgusted by this news. "They no longer want to eat Japanese food," he says. His once busy restaurant now largely empty. "After the pandemic, our business this year has not recovered yet. And now with this news from Japan, our business is worse," he says.

Some scientists argue these fears are unfounded. The International Atomic Energy Agency says Japan's plan to release waste water is in line with IAEA standards.

RAFAEL GROSSI, DIRECTOR GENERAL, INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY: Our cooperation and our president will help build confidence in Japan and beyond, that the water disposal is carried out without an adverse impact on human health and the environment.

WATSON: And yet the heavily-censored a Chinese internet still bubbles with anger at Japan, including prank calls harassing Japanese businesses.

This group of young people are purportedly calling random numbers in Japan.

"Why do you release nuclear waste water into the ocean," this young man shouts.

Elsewhere a Chinese restaurant owner makes a show of tearing down Japanese decorations at his Japanese restaurant.

The Chinese government is tolerating these displays of anger at Japan, tacitly encouraging nationalist fervor even if it results in empty restaurants at a time when China is increasingly suffering from economic uncertainty.

Ivan Watson, CNN -- Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Labor Day holiday in the U.S. Monday saw President Joe Biden on the economic offensive at a rally for blue collar union workers in Philadelphia. While boasting about record job creation, falling inflation, a whole lot of it, he also went after his likely Republican opponent in 2024, that would be Donald Trump, referring to him as the last guy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The great real estate builder, the last guy here, he didn't build a damn thing.

When the last guy was here, he was shipping jobs to China. Now we are bringing jobs home from China.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The U.S. is now facing another government shutdown. Lawmakers are facing and October 1st deadline to reach a deal on funding the government.

If history is prologue it would be easy.

CNN's Melanie Zanona has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Well, Congress is nowhere close to completing its work on its annual spending bills. And so a short term patch is going to be needed in order to avoid a government shutdown at the end of this month.

But even that is proving to be challenging. And that is because of hardline conservatives and the demands they are making in these funding fights.

At issue here is a supplemental funding package. The White House has requested $40 billion for both disaster aid and the Ukraine money and they want to see that supplemental funding package attached to a short term spending bill.

But Conservatives say they don't want to see anymore money for Ukraine. They want those two issues to be de-linked.

And so it really presents a problem for Speaker Kevin McCarthy because he doesn't want to see a government shutdown on his watch but at the same time he doesn't want to enrage conservatives whose support he will need in order to continue to lead the conference.

I want to read you this quote from Congressman Mike Simpson. He is a GOP appropriator and I think he summed it up best when he told me, "I tell people to buckle up. It is going to be crazy for September, October, November, December. The next four months are going to be wild."

[01:45:00]

ZANONA: Of course, Kevin McCarthy knows that better than anyone. That is why he held a conference call with his members last week where he encouraged hardliners in the House to hold their fire and to save these funding fights for later in the year when they actually do their long term spending bills.

But it remains to be seen if conservatives are going to back down. So time is ticking with not a whole lot of time to figure it out.

Melanie Zanona, CNN -- Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Catherine Rampell is an economic and political commentator for CNN as well as an opinion writer for the "Washington Post". It's good to see you. Welcome back to the show.

CATHERINE RAMPELL, CNN ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Great to -- thank you. Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: OK. Let's take a closer look at these numbers right now, because so far for this year, U.S. federal government has spent $1.6 trillion more than it's collected in taxes. That is more than double compared to the deficit for last year which was $720 billion or thereabouts.

As the "Washington Post" noted, "U.S. deficit explodes even as economy grows."

And that's the part which is kind of out of whack here right now it seems. Normally when the economy is strong the deficit goes down. So Economics 101, what's behind all of this?

RAMPELL: It's a number of things including that there is now bipartisan consensus here in the United States that we should be spending more money on infrastructure, on various kinds of industrial policies. So that includes, for example, this major investment in semiconductor manufacturing.

So there is been a lot more spending on top of all of that. Of course, you have no interest in raising tax revenues, raising tax rates I should say to pay for that spending.

And on top of all of that, you also have the Federal Reserve raising interest rates. The Federal Reserve is not raising interest rates specifically to hurt the treasury or to, you know, make the U.S. government spill more red ink. It's driven by other economic factors.

But nonetheless, that means that the borrowing costs for the U.S. government have gone way up.

So when you add all of those things together, the fact that we are spending more money and then spending more money servicing those debts we have already accrued and continue to accrue, that adds up lots of red ink.

VAUSE: Yes, and Monday, Labor Day, in the U.S., U.S. President Joe Biden attended a rally in Philadelphia. He was boasting about, you know, the strong economy, low unemployment. He also made this claim about the government's deficit. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: In my first two years, all this stuff, guess what? I cut the deficit $1.7 trillion. Cut the debt $1.7 trillion. And one more thing, one of the ways I was able to invest in you and still bring down the deficit was I started making people pay their fair share.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: A lot of people confused, the national deficit with the national debt. Joe Biden, it seems is among them. The government is running a surplus five times in 50 years. So deficits are nothing new.

So, you know, that is one part of what he did say. The other part here, has the president actually increased government revenue by increasing taxes? Making people pay their fair share, i.e., higher taxes on the wealthy on corporations? Because that doesn't seem to ring true either.

RAMPELL: Not as yet. To give the president full credit, he has signed into law some changes that will on the margin potentially mean that more people who owe taxes, will pay their taxes. But overall, the kinds of things that Joe Biden talked about and promised, in fact, when he ran for office, things like raising tax rates on the wealthy, substantially raising tax rates on corporations.

Generally that has not happened. He still is standing by much of it. I don't know how much political capital he is investing in it.

But yes, at the very least it is an exaggeration, we will put it that way.

VAUSE: A little squeaky, perhaps. RAMPELL: Yes.

VAUSE: Now, with the deficit where it is at, once again, you know, as always Congress is talking about this, you know, possibly for seeing a government shutdown.

Notably we had this demand from QAnon follower, the believer in Jewish space lasers and the rabid Trump supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia. "Impeach Biden now or I will shut down the government," the headline reads. That is just one of the many demands from Republicans. In this game of chicken over the debt and the deficit between some House Republicans and the White House, often ends usually with a last- minute compromise to avoid default on economic Armageddon. But usually that compromise has no tax cuts for the rich, no cuts to government spending.

And this seems to be the unsustainable formula we're in right now, and that was OK when interest rates were low. But when interest rates are going up, you touched on this, the interest rate payments are now huge within the budget deficit -- the federal budget, I should say?

[01:49:53]

RAMPELL: Yes, I mean look, Republicans are in favor of cutting taxes, Democrats are in favor of increasing spending. That is a bit of an oversimplification. Republicans have also increased spending quite a bit including when they had unified control of both Houses of Congress and the presidency.

There is no commitment anymore to getting deficit under control. At best, there is lip service. There is a statement that, yes, we should reduce deficits, but nobody really has a plan for how one would do that.

Even if Biden, for example, delivered on those higher taxes for the wealthy. The wealthy, at least the sliver of the wealthy that Biden has set aside as being able to absorb higher taxes is not quite large enough to pay for all of the other stuff he has said he wants to do.

And likewise, you know, Republicans keep on claiming that if they cut taxes that will raise revenues, even though that is not generally how things work. I mean there might be some modest gross effects, but it's not going to overwhelm the fact that revenues in general will go down.

Republicans don't ever pay for that either, in fact, again they have increased spending including when they had complete control of government.

So, there is no interest in this in part because all of the methods for getting deficits under control, or at least more moderated are very unpopular, right? Nobody wants higher taxes, nobody wants their pet project spending program taken away. So we end up kicking the can down the road.

VAUSE: Catherine, thank you so much, we really appreciate your time. Good to see you. RAMPELL: Thank you.

VAUSE: Police in Pennsylvania are broadcasting a message in Portuguese from an escaped inmate's urging him to surrender. The convicted murder has been on the run since Thursday. Authorities say after a number of confirmed sightings they are now closing in.

Brian Todd has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: An escaped convicted murderer who police say is desperate who they now say they have had four credible sightings of, still remains on the loose. The most recent sighting of 34-year-old Danello Cavalcante was on Sunday when a Pennsylvania state trooper had eyes on him.

LT. COL. GEORGE BIVENS, PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE: It was a trooper actually that observed him at some distance, gave chase but was unable because of the terrain and some other obstacles there, was unable to get to him before he disappeared.

TODD: Officials say all four sightings of Cavalcante have been within a 1.5 to 2 mile radius of the Chester County prison in eastern Pennsylvania, which he escaped from on Thursday morning.

A residential surveillance camera picked him up at 1:43 a.m. Saturday emerging from a wooded area less than two miles from the prison.

Police say they've also investigated two burglaries in the area. While they can't confirm the burglaries were committed by Cavalcante, residents nearby are getting increasingly nervous.

Lance Layman says he returned from a holiday trip concerned about his home.

LANCE LAYMAN, RESIDENT: We want to make sure everything is clear, nothing is going on, he is not hiding in our structure.

TODD: And a new tactic from law enforcement, residents near the prison are hearing a message from helicopters and patrol cars, a message recorded in Portuguese by Cavalcante's mother from her home in Brazil, urging him to surrender peacefully.

ROBERT CLARK, SUPERVISORY DEPUTY, U.S. MARSHAL: As desperate as he is maybe has a change of thought. Here's his mother telling him to surrender, and his family cares about him.

He is desperate. He is hungry. He's been in the woods. He is dirty. Perhaps this is a person over the edge where we can get a peaceful surrender.

TODD: Cavalcante was recently sentenced to life in prison without parole for the 2021 murder of his former girlfriend, Debra Brandall (ph). Prosecutors say he stabbed her 38 times in front of her two young children. The motive for the killing, according to investigators, Brandall had

discovered that was wanted for another murder in Brazil.

MICHAEL TABMAN, RETIRED FBI SPECIAL AGENT: He has nothing to lose. He's looking at a life sentence without parole. And he is out, he has another taste of freedom. He is not going to want to give it up.

So when someone has a violent tendency and is desperate that's a formula for danger.

TODD: Officials telling local residents, don't play hero. Cavalcante remains extremely dangerous they say and citizens should not approach him.

The pressure, police say, will come from them.

BIVENS: I intend to stress him. I want to push him hard. He will make mistakes. He will show himself. He has already shown himself a few times. We'll contain him and we will eventually catch him.

TODD: There is a $10,000 reward for information leading to Danelo Cavalcante's capture. Lieutenant Colonel George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police says if law enforcement finds Cavalcante and he is not actively surrendering, they are authorized to use deadly force.

Brian Todd, CNN -- Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Still to come on CNN NEWSROOM, Beatles fans are hoping we can come together and help with looking here, there, and everywhere for Paul McCartney's long lost bass guitar. Maybe he's been gently weeping somewhere along the long and winding road.

[01:54:46]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Yes, they're asking for help in the search for a piece of music history. The Lost Bass Project, a group of dedicated Beatles fans are looking for a bass guitar that once belonged to Paul McCartney.

The Hofner electric bass was purchased by McCartney in Hamburg in Germany in 1961. It was featured in early hits, including "Twist and Shout" and "Love Me Do". It has not been seen though since 1969. But, they're hopeful it will be.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is sporting eyepatch these days. It's quite the look. Posted this image of himself on X. His spokesperson said he was injured from a fall while jogging.

In the caption, Scholz says it looks worse than it is and he looks forward to the memes. There have been plenty of them. Many sporting a pirate look like this one where he wears not only the eye patch but the full gear, you know, the buccaneers hat, shoulder on a parrot. Got to stop.

Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. Please stay with us the news continues with my friend and colleague Paula Newton. She's in New York. I'm out of here.

Stay with us. We're back in a moment.

[01:57:36]

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