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CNN International: Over 50 Million Americans Under Heat Advisories Today; Top U.S. Diplomat Blinken in Kyiv for Surprise Visit; Judge to Hold First Televised Hearing in Georgia Election Case; Proud Boys Leader Sentenced to 22 Years in Prison; Manhunt for Escaped Killer Intensifies in Pennsylvania. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired September 06, 2023 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Bianca Nobilo.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Max Foster joining you live from London. Just ahead on the CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: More record heat across the East Coast again later on this afternoon, temperatures well up into the record category.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All of the 19 defendants charged in the Georgia election interference case, including former President Trump, have now entered pleas of not guilty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fani Willis took a big bite here and now she's got to deal with it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The manhunt for escaped Pennsylvania inmate Danelo Cavalcante is intensifying.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's clearly in escape mode, but he's desperate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.

FOSTER: It is 9:00 a.m. here in London, 4:00 a.m. in Washington, DC. And we begin with news just in to CNN. It's now official. This summer is the hottest on record globally by a huge margin. That's according to a report just released by Europe's Copernicus climate change service.

NOBILO: It found that global average temperatures for June through August of this year were .66 degrees Celsius above average. In Fahrenheit, that's more than 1 degree warmer. This summer was the fifth warmest on record for Europe, and sea surface temperatures have been at record highs in the North Atlantic and globally.

FOSTER: And this record heat continues across parts of the U.S. More than 50 million Americans in Texas, the Midwest, and the Northeast are under heat advisories today.

NOBILO: In the Northeast, the heat will peak later in the day, with some areas seeing some of the hottest temperatures they've had all summer. Parts of Washington, DC, and Baltimore could hit 100 degrees for the first time in years. To discuss this, CNN's Katie Polglase is here. Katie, take us through the top lines of this new research and report.

KATIE POLGLASE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE PRODUCER: Well, Bianca, it's clear that they are making some pretty drastic statements. They're saying this is globally passing any record. Now these records have been set since 1940. So we're talking nearly 100 years. And they're saying that temperatures not just air temperatures but sea surface temperatures as well have gone up and up and dramatically by a very, very wide margin, they say.

And they're very clear as to why this is happening. This is not something that is accidental. They are saying it is man-made. The deputy director, Samantha Burgess of the Copernicus Institute, said that this is happening because we are emitting greenhouse gases and the evidence is overwhelming, she says. And it's notable that this is happening. We've been talking about the typhoon in Asia. We've been talking about the Hurricane Idalia as well in the United States. And we've been talking about floods here in Greece, in Europe as well.

This is no coincidence that these extreme weather events are happening while these temperatures are going up and up. And Greece really is a classic example of this. They had wildfires just a few weeks ago. They've just managed to get over these and they're now dealing with floods. And these are the same areas where the wildfires hit. They are now having floods as well. And this is because of the same influence, the same weather events that are happening are now impacting the floods as well. Areas that have been raised to the ground, trees that used to be there are no longer there. So when the water is coming down, there is nothing to protect. There's no barrier to stop this water.

And it's notable. One last thing on this sea surface temperature. You may think that isn't something that we are affected by. This is air temperature that makes us feel hot and feel cold. But the sea surface temperature is very important for the climate effects of these weather events. Because in the sea, in the Mediterranean Sea for this Greece flood for example, when the storm reaches it, that is when it will start heating up and we'll get more and more powerful. The warmer the sea surface temperature, the more it strengthens this weather event. In this case, this storm that they're fearing is going to turn into a medicane, which is effectively Med, meaning Mediterranean Sea and cane meaning hurricane. It will have similar effects, similar consequences to a hurricane.

So really as we're seeing with Greece, as we've seen with the U.S. as well and we're seeing in parts of Asia, these weather events are going to continue. And certainly as far as Greece is concerned, the next 24 to 48 hours are looking incredibly devastating and really worrying for those in Greece at the moment.

NOBILO: The example of the sea surface temperatures rising and the impact that that has on these extreme weather events that you cite, is but one instance of how we can see that increased extreme weather and increasing global temperatures is having a wider impact, and worsening the climate crisis and making it more likely that global temperatures will continue to rise.

[04:05:00]

Talk us through that cycle.

POLGLASE: Absolutely. So we're seeing both extremes really. We're seeing also they mention in the Copernicus report that there's been heavier rainfall in some areas of the world and there have been drier climates in some areas of the world. So for example, in central Europe, there's been drier climates. In South America, they've been drier climates as well. That has led to wildfires. That is why we've seen the wildfires in Greece that I've mentioned.

These cycles continue. And as the weather is heating up, as these temperatures are getting more and more extreme, the climate is getting more and more ravaged by this. And then the civilian toll, the impact that we're seeing, we've been covering so much extensively with Hurricane Idalia as well, is very clear to be seen. And the emergency services become more and more strained as well.

Just one tiny example in Greece. This one village Volos, the tiny city in Greece. It has been absolutely devastated by these floods. There've been reported fatalities already, and it also flooded the hospital. So the area that people are then seeking refuge in are then getting damaged as well. So as this cycle continues, the rescue services, the locations we go to, to then seek refuge and seek help from these weather events, also gets damaged. So you can see that this has really catastrophic impacts globally as a result.

NOBILO: Katie, thank you so much for reporting. It's so important to break it down in that respect. Because other than the people who are facing the sharp end of these extreme weather events, it's so normalized now for us to hear about these increased temperatures and more extreme weather. But we have to remind ourselves about its significance and what's going to happen if this trend continues.

POLGLASE: Absolutely.

NOBILO: Thank you so much.

FOSTER: Torrential rains and deadly flooding are expected to continue in Greece after days of storms. The flooding has washed away cars, damaged buildings and forced evacuations from homes and hospitals. The storm, named Daniel, is blamed for at least one death.

NOBILO: And all of this comes just as crews have finally managed to contain hundreds of raging wildfires -- which Katie was speaking about. That have devastated parts of Greece for weeks. One official calls this the most extreme rainfall within 24 hours since record keeping began in the country.

Tropical Storm Lee is quickly gaining strength as it moves through the Atlantic Ocean. The storm strengthened from a tropical depression on Tuesday with winds of 50 miles per hour. Experts at the U.S. National Hurricane Center warned that the storm is expected to become a hurricane later on today, and a major hurricane by Friday.

FOSTER: Lee's expected to move just north of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands by this weekend. But it's too soon to tell how those areas might be impacted by the storm, or if it might reach the mainland of the U.S.

ANNOUNCER: This CNN breaking news.

FOSTER: Our breaking news then, just into CNN. We're getting word that U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is in Kyiv right now, meeting with Ukrainian officials. We can go to Melissa Bell, who's in Ukraine's capital -- Melissa.

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Max, the American Secretary of State, arrived here earlier this morning. He's even now visiting a military cemetery with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, and laying a wreath there in honor of the fallen so far. It is the third time that Antony Blinken has come here to Kyiv since the war started, Max, his fourth visit to Ukraine overall since March 2022.

And of course he comes at a critical time. What we've been hearing from the State Department is that this visit will be first of all, about getting the Ukrainian assessment of how things are going on the ground with their counteroffensive. Although a senior. Source that the State Department says that the American assessment is that there has been impressive progress made, impressive gains made both in the East and the South of the country. Still, what Antony Blinken is looking ahead to hearing is what the Ukrainians think about that.

What we understand is going to happen over the next couple of days is even as the Americans get that assessment, they will be announcing fresh help, not just in terms of military help to make the -- give the Ukrainians the ability to help make the difference on the frontlines and take on those very impressive at Russian defenses that we've been talking about these last few weeks. But this is also, Max, going to be a visit about economic aid. How to help, in the words of the State Department, this country not just survive, but thrive.

It comes also at a critical time, of course, Max, because we're looking ahead to the UN General Assembly later this month. And what we understand, Secretary Blinken is going to be doing is looking ahead to see what the Ukrainian message to other NATO allies is going to be.

It also comes less than a month after President Biden asked Congress for another $24 billion aid package -- military aid package to Ukraine. And given that extra effort is being asked to the American people. Even as polls suggest that there is a drop in the popularity of the idea of continued or ongoing or increased support to Ukraine. This is also going to give the Secretary of State the ability to take the message of the Ukrainians back to Washington -- Max.

NOBILO: And Melissa, in addition to trying to align their values and show a statement of support to Ukraine again that there's real politic, presumably behind this meeting as well. We've seen President Zelenskyy make overtures and actions to show he's committed to rooting out corruption and graft.

[04:10:04]

And also looming large as the specter of the next election in the United States and the need for the U.S. to try and continue to shore up support for Ukraine whatever might happen politically.

BELL: That's right, Bianca. The announcement that there was to be this biggest shake up there's been since the start of the war at the helm of the Ministry of Defense earlier this week certainly looms large in this meeting.

Since it allows Kyiv to draw a line under what had been 18 months of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry being dogged by various corruption scandals involving procurement, not just weapons, Ukrainian weapons, but also some of the basics to frontline troops. And that had cast a shadow, and of course led to doubts amongst allies.

So this is for the Ukrainians, an important time to be able to put that behind them and to convince allies -- and you're quite right to point it out -- the 50 or so states that are participating in this alliance. It's an important and a difficult alliance to hold together, given the different electoral challenges and the difference for various alliance members of how this war is playing out in terms of the popularity of the support within their own countries.

So this is going to be very much about taking a fresh message back to Washington, but also to the United Nations as they seek to hold support together for this war now in its 19th month -- Bianca.

FOSTER: OK, Melissa, thank you so much for joining us with the latest there on that breaking news from Kyiv.

Later today, a judge is scheduled to hold a first televised hearing into the sprawling election interference case in Georgia stemming from Donald Trump's efforts to overturn President Biden's victory in the state. Trump and 18 co-dependents have all pleaded not guilty.

NOBILO: In the hours ahead, the judge will start to hear arguments about whether the racketeering case should be one huge trial, which is what the Fulton County District Attorney wants, or broken into a series of smaller trials. And that will likely determine how quickly Trump himself could be put on trial.

Meanwhile, new details are emerging from the special counsel's federal subversion cases. As Jack Smith accuses Trump of making daily statements that could prejudice the jury pool. CNN's Paula Reid is following both investigations.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): All 19 defendants charged in the Georgia election interference case, including former President Trump, have now entered pleas of not guilty.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We did nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong.

REID (voice-over): Tuesday, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, along with six other defendants, all pleaded not guilty and waived their right to an arraignment in Fulton County, Georgia. This as CNN has learned that special counsel Jack Smith is widening his federal investigation.

JACK SMITH, SPECIAL COUNSEL: And our investigation of other individuals continues.

REID (voice-over): Focusing on fundraising and efforts to breach voting equipment, raising the possibility of additional charges after the special counsel indicted Trump last month.

SMITH: Since the attack on our Capitol, the Department of Justice has remained committed to ensuring accountability for those criminally responsible for what happened that day. This case is brought consistent with that commitment.

REID (voice-over): In recent weeks, investigators have asked multiple witnesses about former Trump 2020 election lawyer Sidney Powell.

SIDNEY POWELL, TRUMP CO-DEFENDANT: We have evidence of different numbers of votes being injected into the system.

REID (voice-over): She was identified as a co-conspirator in the federal indictment and faces criminal charges in Georgia for allegedly helping coordinate and fund a multi-state plot to illegally access voting systems after the election.

POWELL: There should never be another election conducted in this country, I don't care if it's for local dog catcher, using a Dominion machine.

REID (voice-over): Witnesses have been asked about whether Powell was able to provide any evidence of her conspiracy theories and about Powell's non-profit, Defending the Republic, which raised money off election lies.

According to invoices obtained by CNN, Defending the Republic hired forensic firms that ultimately accessed voting equipment in four swing states won by Biden, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Arizona.

REID: It is unclear if Powell or anyone else will be charged in the special counsel's investigation. The grand jury that Smith is currently using here in DC expires on September 15th, but it can be extended.

Paula Reid, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: The U.S. District judge has handed out the toughest sentence yet to a defendant on trial for his role in the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capital.

NOBILO: The former leader of the far-right, Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, was sentenced to 22 years in prison for what the judge describes as his outsized role in the attack. CNN senior justice correspondent Evan Perez has more now from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[04:15:00]

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR U.S. JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Enrique Tarrio, former top leader of the Proud Boys right-wing extremist group, was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison for being the leader of the group that helped lead the assault on the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. The U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly said that Tarrio has not shown any remorse. The 22-year sentence is the longest of any members of the Proud Boys that have been sentenced and the longest for any January 6th case.

Tarrio wasn't at the Capitol that day. He'd been arrested days earlier and banned from being in the city. But prosecutors said he was in touch with members of the Proud Boys and that he encouraged their attack. The judge said Mr. Tarrio was the ultimate leader, the ultimate person who organized, who was motivated by revolutionary zeal. The judge added, what happened that day did not honor the founders. It was the kind of thing that they wrote the Constitution to prevent.

Tarrio was dressed in an orange jumpsuit and an orange slip on sneakers. He leaned against the lectern in front of the courtroom as it -- and hung his head as the judge handed down his lengthy sentence.

He apologized to police officers who were injured at the Capitol, some of them by name, and he kept his composure, except when his mother spoke to the court, begging for the judge to give him a break. An attorney for Tarrio signaled that the sentence would be appealed.

Evan Paris, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: In Alabama, the fight over how Congressional districts are divided could go before the U.S. Supreme Court again. Alabama officials filed notice on Tuesday that they will appeal a ruling from a federal court, which said the state's congressional map was no good because it failed to create a second majority Black district, as ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court back in June. The map, approved by the Republican state lawmakers, has only one majority Black district.

FOSTER: But Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is vowing that the state will not back down. He insists that the map complies with the Voting Rights Act and the recent Supreme Court decision. CNN spoke with an Alabama Democratic Congresswoman about the controversy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TERRI SEWELL (D-AL): The Supreme Court decision was pretty tight, 5, 4. And Kavanaugh was pretty clear in his position as well. I really hope that they will reject the stay immediately so we can continue with the process. I know that it's going -- it's going to go on concurrently with the drawing of the maps. The special master has until September 25 to come up with three different maps. The problem is it was possible to draw two majority, minority districts.

In fact, the Supreme Court had in its evidence by the plaintiff's attorneys, 11 maps that showed that there was a way that you could have two majority minority districts. And so, the blatant disregard for the Supreme Court's edict, as well as this three-judge panel was just, you know, really unacceptable. And when I think about it I, you know, it's also an insult to those of us who know that they could do better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: U.S. President Joe Biden has awarded the nation's highest military award for helicopter pilot who saved four fellow soldiers in the Vietnam War. Mr. Biden giving the Medal of Honor to Army Captain Larry Taylor 55 years after his heroic flight. Taylor flew more than 2,000 combat missions in his military service, but the night of June the 18th, 1968 was uniquely dangerous.

NOBILO: Four soldiers were ambushed on a reconnaissance mission. Taylor answered their distress call in just minutes, fighting off their attackers for nearly an hour. When a rescue helicopter failed to arrive, Taylor decided to do it himself, landing in the middle of the firefight. The four soldiers jumped onto, not into, his aircraft, and Taylor delivered them to safety. Now decades later, Mr. Biden is praising his tenacity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He refused to give up. Refused to leave a fellow American behind. Refused to put his own life above the lives of others in need. When duty called, Larry did everything, did everything to answer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: And what a hero.

FOSTER: Unbelievable.

NOBILO: Still to come, police in Pennsylvania released new images of a dangerous fugitive who's been on the run now for almost a week.

FOSTER: Plus, the Russian mercenary group Wagner said to be classified as a terror group here in the U.K. What that will mean for their bottom line? Just ahead. NOBILO: And later on, the impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General

and Donald Trump ally, Ken Paxton, gets underway. We'll have a report from Austin ahead.

[04:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NOBILO: Police in Pennsylvania believe a dangerous inmate who escaped from prison almost a week ago is growing more desperate by the hour.

FOSTER: Authorities released these images of convicted killer Danelo Cavalcante, taken since his escape on Thursday. They show that he's not changed his appearance and he's picked up supplies, including a backpack and a sweatshirt. CNN's Danny Freeman has the latest on the search.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The manhunt for escaped Pennsylvania inmate Danelo Cavalcante is intensifying.

LT. COL. GEORGE BIVENS, PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE: He's clearly in escape mode but he's desperate.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Pennsylvania state police expanding their initial search perimeter after a sixth sighting of the convicted murderer. Police say these nighttime photos show Cavalcante walking past trail cameras Monday night.

BIVENS: The photos confirm that Cavalcante has not changed his appearance but also that he has obtained a backpack, a duffel sling- type pack and a hooded sweatshirt.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Authorities say they do not know where Cavalcante picked up the new supplies.

The images were captured at the popular tourist destination, Longwood Gardens, a sprawling site with more than two hundred acres of the gardens, meadows and trails, adding to the already challenging terrain in the area.

BIVENS: What have you though are significant parcels of wooded area with a lot of undergrowth so thick that our searchers can't be more than a couple yards apart where they at times lose sight of one another.

FREEMAN (voice-over): The search has now expanded about five miles south of the Chester County prison where Cavalcante escaped last Thursday.

[04:25:02]

The latest sighting causing two school districts in the area to shut down for the day. Police helicopters circling the area are now playing a recorded message from Cavalcante's mother urging him to surrender as the community remains on edge.

RYAN DRUMMOND, SAYS CAVALCANTE CAME INTO HIS HOME WHILE FAMILY WAS SLEEPING: I woke up my wife, I said, hey, I think there might be somebody downstairs.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Ryan Drummond lives in the area and says last Friday, Cavalcante came into his house while his family was sleeping.

DRUMMOND: What I decided to do was flip the light switch on and off three, four or five times, pause, and then he flipped the light switch from downstairs three or four times which was the moment of like oh, my God, this guy is down there.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Thankfully, Ryan says he only took food and then left. Police urging residents to stay vigilant as the manhunt continues.

BIVENS: He will slip up. He did here. He walked into a trail cam and didn't know it. He'll slip up. We're making him move and that's a good thing.

FREEMAN: Pennsylvania State Police estimate there are well over 200 officers now participating in this manhunt. That includes new resources from the FBI and from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Police, still hoping they can resolve this peacefully.

Danny Freeman, CNN, Chester County, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: Ukrainian military officials say air defenses shot down several Russian missiles over Kyiv Wednesday morning. Some were cruise missiles and others were presumed ballistic missiles. There have been no reported injuries or deaths, though some of the missile fragments set fires in the city.

FOSTER: On the battlefield, Ukraine is continuing its push along the southern front around the village of Robotyne in Zaporizhia. Whatever gains they are making -- they're pretty fluid -- Russian forces are putting up what Ukraine calls a very tough fight along their first lines of defense.

NOBILO: The U.K. is set to classify the Russian mercenary group Wagner as a terrorist organization.

FOSTER: Britain's Home Office as a draft order that's being put before Parliament and would take effect a week from today. Salma is with us. Would that make any difference?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think that's the key question here is, what effectiveness does the Wagner mercenary group still have? Of course, we know the head, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was recently killed in a very mysterious plane crash. Over the course of the last few months, even before his death, Russia, the Kremlin has been taking steps to essentially absorb members of the Wagner mercenary group into the regular military. You might also ask about the Gray Zone operations. I'm talking about

cyber operations. You'll remember the accusations of election interfere in the United States. There's indications that Russia's military intelligence branch would co-opt those portions potentially, of the Wagner mercenary group. Look, absolutely for the U.K., for human rights groups, for Western allies, they will point to Wagner and they will say this is a barbaric group. They accuse them of horrendous atrocities across the Middle East and Africa.

The U.K. sees this as a way of criminalizing the group, limiting potentially its assets in particular. If you'll remember, of course, CNN reporting around the mining that's being done in Africa to fund and fuel this group.

But when you're looking at the waning days, if you will, of a Wagner mercenary group, where their influence and power is under question, where their men are being absorbed into Russia's regular army. The question is, how will the U.K. be able to target specifically the Wagner Group as it gets co-opted into regular forces.

In the United States there's been a similar debate in recent months about a terrorist designation for the group. But there is also concern about how that might impact relationships throughout some African states. So it is a significant move, but some might say maybe a little too late.

FOSTER: Salma, thank you so much. Always says it so well.

NOBILO: She does. I was thinking the same thing.

FOSTER: Still ahead, the top doctor on Capitol Hill evaluated Mitch McConnell after the Senate Republican leader froze while speaking. We'll have the doctor's findings for you next.

NOBILO: Plus, billions of dollars have been pledged at Africa's first ever climate summit. Those details ahead.

[04:30:00]