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House Lawmakers Remove Speaker For First Time In History; EU Lawmakers Approve $52.3B In Ukraine Over Four Years; Ukraine Credits NATO Tanks For Offensive Progress; 21 Dead After Bus Plunges From Bridge Near Venice, Italy; Aid Worker: Few Left Behind In "Deserted" City; Multiple Victims In Shooting At Morgan State University; 14- Year-Old Arrested After Deadly Mall Shooting in Thailand; Multinational Force To Face Daunting Challenges. Israelis Hold Jewish Prayer Service Inside Saudi Capital; Trump to Return to Court Wednesday for Third Day of Civil Fraud Trial; China's Economy in a Slump Post-COVID. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired October 04, 2023 - 00:00   ET

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

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[00:00:36]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN NEWSROOM ANCHOR: Ahead here on CNN. So, now what? With no plan and no replacement, hard right Republicans oust the Speaker of the US House, throwing Congress into chaos. Ammunition math. With Ukraine firing it faster than the US and allies can make it, NATO officials warn their stockpiles are running low. And a sign of the times. Israeli officials hold prayer services for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, while on a visit to Saudi Arabia.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE: Great to have you with us. In the end it took just eight hard right Republicans in the US Congress to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. A move without precedent, leaving a chamber without a leader, no obvious replacement, and throwing the business of government into chaos. McCarthy was speaker for just 269 days, the shortest in more than 140 years. And he has no plans to be speaker again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN MCCARTHY, US HOUSE REPUBLICAN: I don't regret standing up for choosing governing over grievance. It is my responsibility, it is my job. I do not regret negotiating, our government is designed to find compromise. I don't regret my efforts to build coalitions and find solutions. I was raised to solve problems, not create them. So, I may have lost the vote today, but as I walk out of this chamber, I feel fortunate to have served the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: McCarthy was the victim of growing infighting within the Republican Party. Just days earlier, he struck a last-minute deal with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown, a concession which was unforgivable for the right wing Republican congressman Matt Gaetz, who led the revolt against McCarthy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT GAETZ, US HOUSE REPUBLICAN: Kevin McCarthy is a feature of the swamp. He has risen to power by collecting special interest money and redistributing that money in exchange for favors. We are breaking the fever, now, and we should elect a speaker who's better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: US House will likely be out of session for the rest of the week. Candidates for the next speaker will be considered, maybe, on Tuesday. A number of names are already being tossed around as CNN's Manu Raju reports from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Republicans are struggling to figure out the way forward after today's historic vote, kicking out Kevin McCarthy, the first time ever a sitting speaker of the House ejected from his seat by his own colleagues. This vote coming after eight Republicans sided with all Democrats to kick him out.

Kevin McCarthy could only afford to lose four Republicans, so he was unable to convince some of those members, on the hard right in particular, who are unhappy about some of his deal making. Really, only two deals in particular. One, to raise the national debt limit to avoid a debt default. He had to get a deal with the White House and Senate Democrats in order to get that through.

Also the other one, to avoid a government shutdown, that's something that he had cut over the weekend and allowed Democrats to help push that through to avoid a potentially disastrous government shutdown and just to keep the government open for another 45 days. That was enough for Matt Gaetz, the counselor from Florida, to lead the charge to seek Kevin McCarthy's ousting.

He got the support of seven other Republican colleagues, enough to kick out McCarthy. In a startling move that really caught many of his own colleagues by surprise, announcing that he would not be a candidate for speaker again. Kevin McCarthy said that he would step aside, he told me that he could potentially get behind a successor but he said he wouldn't disclose who because he didn't know who would possibly run.

Now this all comes as tension is growing among those McCarthy allies going after some of those critics who pushed out Kevin McCarthy, questioning whether they are true conservatives.

AUSTIN SCOTT, US HOUSE REPUBLICAN: I think Kevin recognizes that nobody can meet their demands and the conference is going to have to figure out how we deal with, you know, eight people that are here that candidly aren't interested in governing. They're more interested in grifting. DERRICK VAN ORDEN, US HOUSE REPUBLICAN: Republicans who have been claiming to be fiscal conservatives just voted with every single Democrat in the House of Representatives. That would be the equivalent of every Republican voting for Nancy Pelosi. That's what they did.

RAJU: Mr. Jordan, how disappointed are you with what happened here and speaker McCarthy?

[00:05:03]

JIM JORDAN, US HOUSE REPUBLICAN: I thought it was unfair to Kevin. Kevin, I think, has done a fine job and he and I came in together. He is a good man, and he didn't deserve this, in my judgment.

RAJU: Will you run for speaker?

JORDAN: That's a decision for the conference.

RAJU: So are you open to it?

RAJU: That last comment could be significant. Jim Jordan was House Judiciary Committee Chairman, pointedly declined to say whether he would rule out running for speaker. He had typically, in the past, ruled out running for speaker. This is the first time he has indicated that he in fact is not ruling out the possibility of running for speaker, saying that it is the conference discussion. So we'll see what he ultimately decides.

But he could have a race. Kevin Hern was a chairman of the Republican Senate Committee, the largest group of conservatives, is open to the idea of running. He is putting his name, according to sources that we have spoken to. Also we'll see what Tom Emmer, the Republican whip, decides to do. Or if he gets behind Steve Scalise, he's the current number two, the House majority leader.

Whether he decides to run for speaker. So, a lot of questions in this tumultuous moment for the GOP. Can they pick up the pieces, can they get their agenda going, can they avoid a government shutdown? All huge questions after Kevin McCarthy becomes the first speaker to meet his fate on the floor of the House. Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Ron Brownstein is CNN's senior political analyst and senior editor for the Atlantic. He joins us now from Los Angeles. Good to see you, Ron.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi John.

VAUSE: Okay so at this point in time with the federal government about a month or so away from another funding crisis, the House decided that this was a good (INAUDIBLE), ousting the speaker with no one in line waiting to replace him. What happens now?

BROWNSTEIN: Yeah. Look, yeah. You know, first of all, how many nights have we been here and said, this is a day we've never seen in American history? This is a day we have literally never seen in American history. The only other time there was a motion to vacate, it was instigated by the speaker himself, Joe Cannon, considered by some the most powerful speaker ever.

And he won that vote after losing some preliminary votes that weakened his power. So, the lesson here is that there is a portion of the Republican conference that feels that it has to be seen always taking every confrontation to the max, and that any form of collaboration or cooperation or compromise with Democrats really is another word for capitulation.

And, you know, this decapitation of the House leadership is going to loom over whoever replaces McCarthy and how they approach this next government shutdown because, you know, it's pretty ironic that Kevin McCarthy is taken down on the grounds that he was insufficiently committed to confronting and combating Democrats. I mean if you look at his record, there are a lot of things you can accuse Kevin McCarthy of, but the idea that he was some sort of rampant deal maker with the two big exceptions is pretty farfetched.

VAUSE: Well Kevin McCarthy knows who is to blame for all of this. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCARTHY: I think today was a political decision by the Democrats. I think the things they have done in the past hurt the institution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So, it was the Democrats, but what about that Republican congressman from Florida, Matt Gaetz. Trump supporter, bomb thrower, who formally introduced the motion to vacate? Again, here is Kevin McCarthy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCARTHY: You all know Matt Gaetz. You know it was personal. It had nothing to do about spending.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So, what? The Democrats are to blame because they didn't defend their Republican speaker from fellow Republicans? It's all their fault. Explain the politics here and how this all erupted with basically the far-right siding with the Democrats to get Kevin out of the job.

BROWNSTEIN: Yeah. Look, I mean, as I said, there has been for a long time a portion of the Republican conference whose principal goal is to cause maximum disruption in Washington. They are reflections of the same impulse that has allowed Donald Trump to emerge as leader of the Republican Party.

There is a big portion of the Republican base that is so alienated from what America is becoming and the way it is changing that they believe any means necessary and are not only justified but required to fight the Democratic agenda. And anything short of, essentially, total war, is grounds -- is kind of viewed as treasonous.

This was the charges that John Boehner faced when he was speaker, and he quit the job kind of one step ahead of the mob ready to push him out. Paul Ryan came in and faced the exact same dynamic. Even Newt Gingrich, whose career began by accusing his own era of leadership in the '80s of being too cooperative with Democrats. He faced a rebellion on the right and ultimately left. This is a long-standing dynamic in the Republican Party.

[00:10:02]

It has been turbo charged by the emergence of Donald Trump. And, you know, the question will be, McCarthy by and large seeded to these demands. I mean he launched the impeachment inquiry without any hard evidence against Joe Biden. The censored Adam Schiff. He mainstreamed Marjorie Taylor Greene. He voted to overturn the 2020 election.

But twice, when he faced the risk of destabilizing the global economy, he would not jump into that abyss on the debt ceiling or the government shutdown. And that was too much for this band of Republicans. And it really does make you wonder, whoever takes the job, can they maneuver in any way to avoid, kind of, economic calamity or just really to keep the lights on, do the bare minimum of what government needs to do?

VAUSE: Well, the die was cast it seems back in January. It took 15 rounds of voting, all of a couple days, before McCarthy was actually elected speaker. Here he is speaking then on why that was actually a good thing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do you expect to govern this way if it has been taking this long to get the conference united?

MCCARTHY: See, this is the great part. Because it took this long, now we learned how to govern. So now we'll be able to get the job done. Thank you all very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Did we learn how to govern? I mean, that amendment to the rule which basically gave a one vote as a motion to vacate, which is what Gaetz used to get rid of him, does that make this job just a poisoned chalice that no one actually wants? Because they're now talking about Donald Trump taking it.

BROWNSTEIN: Yeah. Yes. I mean look, McCarthy was clearly one of the weakest speakers since the beginning of the 20th century. Some people described him as Speaker in name only, and he took the job under circumstances that really made it impossible to do the job. You do wonder if whoever takes the job next will demand a change in that provision to get to at least some reasonable number. Because in the end, McCarthy did hold the vast majority of his caucus

with him and it was only eight that were needed to take him down. I mean the idea that Democrats would protect McCarthy after the comments you saw before, him blaming them, or him blaming them for the shut down over the weekend, or him launching an impeachment inquiry on his own dime after saying that he was going to bring it to a vote, or him voting to overturn the 2020 election.

It was kind of absurd that he now casts himself as some kind of paragon of institutional responsibility, and, you know, knocking him out is kind of threatening the pillars of the House itself. He was a deeply partisan and polarizing speaker whose general strategy was to give the right almost everything it wanted, and expect that the members from more competitive districts to ultimately go along.

The almost was the rob. And, you know, twice he would not take the risk with the global economy. And you do wonder if, kind of, the Wall Street wing of the Republican party, you know, was saying to him, in effect, okay, this is just too far. We are not going to countenance going to this direction, and that ultimately set him in collision with the hard line MAGA forces in the coalition.

VAUSE: That line from Batman that Alfred said, sometimes people just want to watch the world burn, Ron?

BROWNSTEIN: Absolutely.

VAUSE: Thank you, sir.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you, John.

VAUSE: Well, with the future of US aid for Ukraine now in limbo, the European Union is stepping up. Lawmakers have approved a four year, $52 billion plan to support Ukraine's recovery from the war. This is separate from any military assistance. European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen says the Bloc's support for Ukraine is unwavering. Meanwhile, in the US, the Pentagon says there is enough funding to meet Ukraine's battlefield needs for now, but is urging congress to act soon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SABRINA SINGH, DEPUTY PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: We know that their priorities are air defense and artillery and also mine clearing equipment. So that's what our focus is on so that of course is what we're inevitably going to be refilling as well. But, you have to remember, in the beginning of the war we were also sending Javelin Stingers, other things like that. So those also are being replenished, but we've done so overtime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: NATO's top military official is warning that Western allies are running out of ammunition to give to Ukraine. Admiral Rob Bauer says, quote, "The bottom of the barrel is now visible, and industry needs to step up production." Senior UK defense official James Heappey echoed the warning during the same panel discussion at the annual Warsaw security conference.

He says Western allies can't stop giving just because stock poles are running low. It's not just ammunition that's needed in Ukraine according to soldiers on the front lines, Western tanks are making a major difference on the battlefield. Here's CNN's Fred Pleitgen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ukrainian troops trying to push forward on the southern front.

[00:15:00]

Leading the charge, a German made Leopard Two Main Battle Tank, showing, the Ukrainians say, that they've gotten much better at using Western armor.

PLEITGEN: But in general, it's more of a fast assault type way of using a tank, I assume.

RUSLAN, UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES: Yes, you use it on assault, but not on the minefield.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): It was a major issue when Ukraine first started using tanks like these in its large-scale counteroffensive in late June. Expected to be an immediate game-changer, the Ukrainians now acknowledge losing both Leopards and American made Bradleys in the vast minefields the Russians had planted. But a tank unit that uses the Leopard Two tells us they've vastly improved their skills.

BAHRS, UKRAINIAN TANK UNIT (through translator): We realize what we need to know with this tank, he says. The more you work, the more you understand and start working automatically.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): That soldier, whom we can only identify as Bahrs, even briefed Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the Leopard Two, saying it easily withstood an explosion from a Russian Kamikaze Drone.

BAHRS (through translator): It's a good tank, he said. It withstood the hits.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): The crew says Western tanks like this also have better guns, better range finding and night vision capabilities than Russian tanks. Major assets both on the southern and eastern frontlines.

PLEITGEN: The Ukrainians say that they've always known that these tanks have exceptional capabilities, but now they say they're increasingly getting used to using them effectively for assault.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): The southern front remains the main thrust of Ukraine's counteroffensive. Kyiv releasing this video purporting to show Russian vehicles hit near the town of Tokmak, leading to massive explosions, even though Russia's defense minister claims the Ukrainians haven't managed to break through Moscow's defenses there. SERGEI SHOIGU, RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): Through active actions, our troops significantly weakened the enemy's combat potential and inflicted serious damage to him, he says.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): But the Ukrainians say they are the ones with the momentum, also thanks to their improved use of tanks they've received from NATO countries. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, in eastern Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: In northern Italy, at least 21 people were killed when a passenger bus careened off a bridge near Venice. Two of the victims are children. Italian authorities say 18 others were hurt. The bus broke through a wall of an overpass before falling to the ground and catching on fire. Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the crash. A crane lifted the overturned bus from below the bridge.

Officials say the bus driver was among those who were killed. It took Azerbaijan's military little more than a day to take control of the independent enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. But a crisis response leader for the Red Cross tells CNN the main city there is nearly completely destroyed. Only those unable to travel or with no family left behind. CNN's Scott McLean has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The view from the ground shows road after road of abandoned shops and homes. From above, what was once a bustling city just two weeks ago, now all but cleared out. The town square, a desolate ghost town filled only with belongings left behind.

On the road to Armenia, broken down vehicles have been ditched. One still with a trunk full of clothing. A UN mission reported estimates of between only 50 and a thousand ethnic Armenians still inside Nagorno-Karabakh. Everyone else was either afraid or unwilling to live under Azerbaijan rule.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): My nine-year-old son says let's go back to Stepanakert and live in a brickade without any suites or any food. But at least in a home.

MCLEAN (voice-over): The Red Cross is now going around the empty city of what Armenians call Stepanakert, looking for the tiny number of people still left.

MARCO SUCCI, INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS: Elderly who cannot move, bed ridden patients who were left with food provisions and water just close to the bed in order to be fed and fine for a few days. Is really heartbreaking to see how difficult it's been for those leaving, but also how difficult it is for those who remain here.

MCLEAN (voice-over): All told, well over a hundred thousand people have fled to Armenia.

MCLEAN: Is that the desired outcome?

HIKMET HAJIYEV, ADVISER TO AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT: Actually no, no way that's in the desired outcome. Because Azerbaijan on multiple occasions and through different channels and also publicly stated they we are providing rights and security of Armenian residents in Karbach. Most conflict stations are elements of panic, unfortunately it also happens. And also, what we see is several elements of manipulation by the illegal regime, as they strive also to spread a panic among the civilian population.

MCLEAN (voice-over): Hajiyev would not unequivocally say that all ethnic Armenians would be entitled to keep or sell their homes in Nagorno-Karabakh.

[00:20:04]

But Azerbaijan has promised and delivered freedom of movement to allow people to leave, even for those who took up arms. Though there are some high-profile exceptions, like the former state minister Ruben Vardanyan arrested on the border. His children have pleaded for international help, securing his release. Meanwhile, the president of the former separatist government Samvel Shahramanyan is still in the region.

MCLEAN: He has not been arrested?

HAJIYEV: He is not under the arrest, and he continues his interaction with appropriate Azerbaijani authorities.

MCLEAN: Is it possible that he will get arrested?

HAJIYEV: I don't know, I don't have an answer to that question, because it's a legal question, and therefore there should be a legal answer for that.

MCLEAN (voice-over): Meanwhile in Armenia, the parliament voted to join the International Criminal Court. The hope is to get justice for alleged crimes across the border in Azerbaijan. On a piece of land that very few Armenians still live on. Scott McLean, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: In the US, first initial reports from a campus in Baltimore say at least four people have been wounded during a shooting at the university there, but it's no longer considered to be an active crime scene. Morgan State is a small, historically black, university. Police and university officials are urging anyone on campus to shelter in place until further notice.

We'll bring you updates on the story as we get them. Still to come, chaos at a crowded hall in Bangkok, when a gunman opens fire. What we're learning about the teenage suspected of carrying out this deadly attack.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) VAUSE: In Bangkok, a 14-year-old boy is believed to have shot and killed at least two people in a shopping mall and wounding five others. This video shows the moment police arrested the suspect after he surrendered. Officials say he has mental health issues. It's not entirely clear how he obtained the gun. The videos show panicked crowds running away from the gunfire.

Witnesses described the shooting as taking place in just a few minutes. Well, in the gang ravaged Caribbean nation of Haiti, many are feeling cautious hope a day after the UN Security Council authorized an armed multinational security force to try restore order. But as CNN's Patrick Oppmann reports, it will be facing some daunting challenges battling the gangs and widespread poverty as well as deep mistrust.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As rampant gang warfare, rising hunger and political instability push Haiti to the brink of collapse, the international community is at long last sending reinforcements to Haiti's outgunned police force.

SERGIO FRANCA DANESE, PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF BRAZIL TO THE UN: The result of the voting is as follows. 13 votes in favor, two abstentions. No votes against.

OPPMANN (voice-over): Following months of increasing violence, on Monday, United Nations Security Council voted to authorize a Multinational Security Support or MSS Force to try to halt the gangs' assault on Haiti that has displaced more than two hundred thousand people.

[00:25:05]

JEFFREY DELAURENTIS, US ACTING DEPUTY REP. TO THE UN: The resolution makes clear the MSS mission will operate in strict compliance with international law, and include dedicated expertise in anti-gang operations, community oriented policing, children and women's protection, and preventing and responding to sexual and gender based violence.

OPPMANN (voice-over): Kenyan troops are expected to lead the force with one thousand police officers on the ground for a mission that the UN authorized to last for 12 months. Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica, and the Bahamas are also expected to provide personnel. The US state department has promised over $100 million in aid for the effort. But foreign interventions and US peacekeeping missions to Haiti have a troubled past.

In 2010, UN peacekeepers working Haiti accidentally reintroduced cholera, killing nearly 10 thousand Haitians and infecting an additional eight hundred thousand people. And a report found that UN peacekeepers fathered hundreds of children with Haitian women, and then abandoned them. The UN Secretary General told CNN it was up to the peacekeepers' home countries to make them provide for their children. ANTONIO GUTERRES, UN SECRETARY-GENERAL: But it has been very tough to make things move, very tough. There's a lot of reluctance. And my appeal to member states is to really make sure that those that have children recognize them and do the best they can to assume their responsibility as fathers.

OPPMANN (voice-over): In the aftermath of natural disasters, the assassination in 2021 of the Haitian president and now out of control gang warfare, Haiti's barely functioning government was forced to plea for the return of a UN led armed force.

JEAN VICTOR GENEUS, HAITIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): Deploying the force as a first stage is essential to create a security environment that is conducive to the normal functioning of institutions. But it's not enough. Socioeconomic development must also be taken into account to once and for all address extreme poverty, which is the source of all of our problems.

OPPMANN (voice-over): Any international police force that arrives in Haiti will likely find well armed gangs prepared to fight back, widespread official corruption and a local population that is skeptical of their mission. Help may finally be arriving for Haiti, but it remains unclear if it has come in time. Patrick Oppmann, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Up next here on CNN, an unprecedented Jewish prayer service in Riyadh. We'll discuss the message being sent by both the Israelis and Saudi Arabia.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: It wasn't remarkable for what it was, but rather for where it happened. A small group of visiting Israeli officials, including Israel's communications minister, holding a prayer service to celebration the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

[00:30:14]

But it was in Riyadh.

Under Saudi law, Islam is the only religion which can be practiced in public in the kingdom. Notably, though, Israeli and Saudi officials are working to normalize relations.

Joining us now is Steven Cook, senior fellow for Middle East studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

It's good to see you again.

STEVEN COOK, SENIOR FELLOW FOR MIDDLE EAST STUDIES, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Great to be with you.

VAUSE: OK, so this kind of was an amazing moment, in and of itself: a prayer service for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, taking place in Saudi Arabia, in Riyadh. And clearly, both sides are sending a message here, because these images remain public, so what's the message?

COOK: Yes, it's -- it's something rather extraordinary, something I never thought I would see in my lifetime, a Jewish prayer happening in Riyadh and that it be broadcast to the world.

I think it's yet another signal from the Saudis that they are interested in normalizing relations with Israel, and importantly -- importantly -- normalizing Judaism in their society.

It was not long ago that official Saudi media sources referred to Jews as the descendants of pigs and apes. So this signals a major change in the direction of Saudi Arabia's view, not just in Israel but Judaism as a religion.

VAUSE: I want you to listen to the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking last month at the U.N. General Assembly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: There is no question: the Abraham accords heralded the dawn of a new age of peace. But I believe that we are at the cusp of an even more dramatic breakthrough: an historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So, is the biggest challenge to that peace deal, is that coming from within Netanyahu's own far-right coalition government and those members who opposed to giving concessions to the Palestinians?

COOK: Yes, absolutely. That really is the problem. The Saudis have been very clear that it's not a question of if but a question of when.

But Netanyahu has a problem within his coalition, in that he does have a variety of very far-right members of his governing coalition who, if you asked them whether they preferred normalization with Saudi Arabia or annexation of the West Bank and changing the status of the holy sites in the old city of Jerusalem, they would pick annexation and changing the status of the -- of the holy sites.

Until he resolves that political problem, I think the Saudis will take the kinds of steps that we've seen without there being the kind of big agreement that Prime Minister Netanyahu is hinting at, at the U.N.

VAUSE: And also thrown into the mix here, five years ago, Jamal Khashoggi, the writer for "The Washington Post," a Saudi dissident, was murdered on the orders of the Saudi crown prince.

So how much of this diplomatic deal, this outreach with Israel, is being driven by, you know, the kingdom's desire to improve relations that have been frayed by that -- by that -- basically the murder of Khashoggi, and you know, trying to improve its image, if you like?

COOK: Yes, I think in an indirect way, it is. I think the -- the broadcast of this prayer service, the very public visits of two Israeli ministers in a row, are an effort to demonstrate to the U.S. Congress, in particular, that there are benefits to normalization.

And because Israel remains so popular among members of Congress, this will rebound to the benefit of the Saudis.

It's not a bad bet for the Saudis to make. But there are, for some members of Congress, the Saudis remain beyond the pale.

VAUSE: Well, also beyond the pale, it seems, for Iran's supreme leader. A warning that any Muslim country considering normalizing relations with Israel. Quote, "The definitive stance of the Islamic Republic is that the governments which prioritize the gamble of normalization with the Zionist regime will incur losses. As the Europeans say, they are betting on a losing horse."

He then went on to predict that Israel would be destroyed.

Is this all a bit complicated for Iran. They just recently reestablished diplomatic ties with the Saudis.

COOK: Yes, the supreme leader was particularly active on Twitter today, with his threats to Israel and warnings to those countries that would normalize relations with Israel.

I think it suggests that the Iranians are quite nervous about this normalization. But not just the normalization with Israel, but a major defense pact that may be part of any normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia, will come with a defense pact between the United States and Saudi Arabia.

The Iranians would like to push the United States out of the Gulf region. A defense pact would mean the United States is there on a more permanent basis.

VAUSE: Steven, as always, great to have you with us. Thank you.

COOK: Great to be with you.

VAUSE: Donald Trump will be back in court on Wednesday for day three of his $250 million dollar civil fraud trial in New York.

[00:35:05]

What remains unclear is will he continue to publicly vilify the judge, his clerk, and other court officials? Because if he does, Donald Trump could face some very serious consequences.

Here's CNN's Kara Scannell.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Day two in court for former President Donald Trump, and a gag order from Judge Arthur Engoron, after Trump attacked the judge's clerk in a Truth Social post, claiming without evidence that she was Senator Majority Chuck Schumer's girlfriend. The judge saying, quote, "Personal attacks on members of my court

staff are unacceptable, inappropriate, and I will not tolerate them under any circumstance."

The judge ordering all parties not to speak publicly about members of this court staff, under threat of serious sanctions. The post has since been deleted, but yesterday, Trump attacked the clerk outside the courtroom.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This rogue judge, a Trump hater. The only one that hates Trump more is his associate up there, his person that works with them. And she's screaming into his ear almost every time we ask a question. A disgrace. You want to know the truth? It's a disgrace.

SCANNELL (voice-over): The second day of the civil trial to determine the future of Trump's business, starting with further attacks from Trump on New York Attorney General Letitia James.

TRUMP: This case should not be dismissed. This is not a case. And she should probably be dismissed also, because she's terrible and grossly incompetent.

SCANNELL (voice-over): As he defends the valuation of his properties and the Trump Organization.

TRUMP: She said it was $18 million. It's 1.5 billion. Likewise, we just recently sold two properties for many times what they were worth, many times what they were worth.

SCANNELL (voice-over): Trump's former accountant, Donald Bender, continued to testify, as Kevin Wallace, a lawyer for the attorney general, methodically reviewed accounting engagement letters for 2012 through 2020, making the point that it was up to the Trump Organization to provide accurate data to accounting firm Mazars for its annual financial statements.

Bender testified that he later learned the Trump Organization withheld appraisals from his firm. Had he known that at the time, he said, they would not have compiled the financial statements.

Entering a break, Trump confirmed that he plans to testify in his own defense. His name had been on the trial's witness list.

SCANNELL: Mr. Trump, will you be testifying?

TRUMP: Yes, I will. At the appropriate time, I will be.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Our thanks there to CNN's Kara Scannell for that report from New York.

We'll take a short break. When we come back, growing concern over China's economy. A look at the factors dragging down growth, and why the government is putting a different spin on the post-COVID recovery. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: The World Bank has downgraded next year's growth forecast for China by 0.4 percent, in part blaming a weak housing market and high levels of debt.

But at the same time, it seems other sectors of the economy there are doing much better. CNN's Marc Stewart explains.

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MARC STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): China, the world's second largest economy, is in a slump. Prices are dropping; the real-estate market is in a cash crunch; the youth unemployment rate is so bad the government stopped publishing it.

And some local governments are so broke, medical benefits for seniors have been cut, leading to protests. Tough times across the country.

Yet this is the Chinese economy government officials are eager to show the world. Bustling factory floors, a free trade zone, and an industrial park dotted with international companies, among the sites we saw on a state-sponsored trip to Northeastern China. Rare access inside the heart of what many call China's Rust Belt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you able to have success despite all of the economic challenges facing China right now?

FU QIANG, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, DALIAN FREE TRADE ZONE ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE (through translator): China's economy as a whole is improving. We are confident that we can make a corresponding contribution to the general trend of development.

STEWART (voice-over): That confidence seems like a contrast to reality. Officially, China's economy is improving, based on GDP. But the rebound isn't as fast as many investors had hoped, especially in a post-COVID world.

STEWART: The Chinese government is certainly looking to foreign investment to help jump-start its economy. But it's also focusing on factories like this one.

STEWART (voice-over): An effort to make sure it still churns out enough products for export, keeping China as the world's factory.

At the same time, upgrading key industries, especially tech, to become self-reliant or even leaping ahead of the U.S. and other rivals. Needed solutions, as China remains one of the biggest drivers of global growth.

ALFREDO MONTUFAR-HELU, THE CONFERENCE BOARD: A slowdown in China is going to impact everyone else in the world. You will have the effect, of course, in demand. You will have the effect in prices, and so on and so forth.

STEWART (voice-over): China saw so much growth in the past, economists say eventually it would hit a wall. Now, it's hoping some of the industries we saw here on this trip will help the nation climb over it.

Marc Stewart, CNN, Dalian, China.

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VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. I'll be back with more news at the top of the hour. In the meantime, WORLD SPORT is back after a very short break. We'll see you soon.

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