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Water, Sewage Systems On Verge Of Collapse In Gaza; Growing Indications Ground Offensive May Be Imminent In South Gaza; Biden Says Middle East Conflict Will Not End Until There's "A Two-State Solution That's Real"; Xi and Biden Move Ahead On Military Communications But Little Progress Seen On Taiwan; Colorado Judge Rejects Motion To Remove Trump From Primary Ballot; SpaceX Starship Explodes In 2nd Test Flight But Reaches New Milestones; "Going Home: The War In Sudan". Aired 1-2p ET

Aired November 18, 2023 - 13:00   ET

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

CHARLES LECLERC, FERRARI DRIVER AND VEGAS RAND PRIX POLE WINNER: So, that's all we need. And now, full focus on tomorrow to try and put everything together in the race.

[13:00:05]

MAX VERSTAPPEN, FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPION: Yes, I think already the whole weekend, so far, we've been lacking a little bit of one lap performance. And that was also quite clear in qualifying. But, yes, I hope, of course, tomorrow in the race that -- yes, we are good on the ties again, and then we can work our way forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK SNELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL SPORTS ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: I have mentioned, Fred, first race in Las Vegas, we've been doing our homework check in the stats.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Yes.

SNELL: 1982 was the last one there. F1 also invested $500 million to transform that Vegas strip into a racing circuit.

WHITFIELD: Big money.

SNELL: Big night to have.

WHITFIELD: You know, before even said, I was going to ask if anybody was making comparisons to like Monaco and Vegas, because of all these little tight turns you got to make? And, you know, the buildings are on the way.

SNELL: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Even though it is Vegas, I mean, you know, there is space, but then, not really on the strip.

SNELL: Right. Verstappen, very vocal about it. So, we'll see what plays out later on tonight into tomorrow. WHITFIELD: Oh, it's exciting. All right. I look forward to your report tomorrow.

Thanks so much. Patrick Snell, good to see you.

All right. Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right, let's begin in Israel, where desperate families of the 237 hostages held by Hamas are gathering at this hour. thousands marched today in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, calling on the Israeli government to do more to bring the hostages home, six weeks after they were abducted.

It comes as Israel Defense Forces are now vowing to advance anywhere Hamas is found. There are growing signs that the IDF may soon expand its operations into southern Gaza, but the fighting continues in Gaza City.

Doctors at Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza is largest, say, they were ordered to evacuate by the Israeli military through the -- though, the IDF disputes that claim.

A head doctor says six doctors are staying at the medical complex to treat around 120 patients, two vulnerable, to evacuate.

Meantime, the first plane carrying children from Gaza with urgent medical needs arrived in the United Arab Emirates today. And it comes as the Palestinian Authority's ministry of health says only nine of Gaza's 35 hospitals are still operating.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is in Tel Aviv where that rally for the Israeli hostages is ongoing. Jeremy, what are you hearing from people there?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are hearing constant chants of now, now, now. The people who are here are trying to raise pressure on the Israeli government to reach a deal to free, at least, some of those civilian hostages who are being held in the Gaza Strip.

There are an estimated 237 hostages being held. And here today, you are seeing not only people who are simply concerned for the well-being of these -- of these hostages, and wants to bring them home, but also, family members of some of those hostages.

We spoke just moments ago with Mia Roman, who is the cousin of Yarden Roman, one of the hostages who was taken from kibbutz Be'eri. 42-some plus days ago. She talked to me about the frustrations that they feel and the effort to raise pressure on the Israeli government to get them to reach a deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIA ROMAN, COUSIN OF HOSTAGE YARDEN ROMAN: I mean, of course, I'm frustrated. I -- again, I don't know if I can blame anyone. I don't know what's going on behind the scenes. This is a terrorist organization. I -- I'm not -- whatever. I wouldn't know how to do this kind of negotiation. But I do know on a very basic level that my cousin, an innocent woman, was taken from her home over 40 days ago, and she is still not home.

So, for me, yes, of course, I'm frustrated. I want to see them all now. That our ability to wait is non-existent. And one of our biggest fears is that people will go back to the routine, we'll get back to normal life, while our family is still intact.

So, yes, we're very frustrated, and you know, the roller coaster of is there going to be a deal? Isn't there going to be a deal? We feel it all the time. I see my family, I see Yarden's brother and sister broken. And we -- yes, every day is just terrible. So, we are, of course frustrated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: And as we speak, Fred, some of the families of these hostages are, in fact, meeting with the leaders of Israel's wartime Cabinet. And they hope that, that meeting will help to bring that pressure to bear on Israel's government to reach a deal to free these hostages.

One of the most difficult parts for these families is they have watched for weeks now, as there have been reports about the potential of a deal to free some 50 hostages, women and children primarily in exchange for a pause in fighting. And yet, they are seeing those reports but they have not yet seen that deal actually come to fruition. And that has been one of the hardest parts for these family members as they wait to see if such a deal can be reached.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much.

[13:05:01]

More humanitarian aid is starting to trickle into Gaza. Fuel tankers enter the enclave through the Rafah crossing today. The Israeli war Cabinet, agree to allow two fuel trucks to enter daily. Though Israeli government ministers are meeting soon to review that decision.

The U.N. says that limited amount of supply is far enough to meet Gaza's urgent needs.

CNN's Nada Bashir has more on the critical shortages for civilians on the ground. And a warning, some of the images you're about to see are graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL REPORTER (voice over): In the central Gazan City of Deir el-Balah, heavily bombarded by Israeli airstrikes for weeks now, the Naji (PH) family is forced to live amid the ruins of what once was their home.

Khaled and his wife were rescued from beneath the rubble. Miraculously, they survived. But now, with nowhere to go, this family must make do with what little they have left. When we saw the catastrophe before us, we tried to find shelter at a school or anywhere safe, but it was already too crowded, Khaled says. There isn't anywhere safe to go here. As you can see, it's been raining and there is no aid getting in. I just want somewhere to shelter my family, my children.

The U.N. has warned that some 70 percent of people in Gaza are now forced to drink contaminated water, raw sewage said to be flowing through the streets in some areas.

And while the Israeli government says it will now allow two fuel tankers a day to enter Gaza to support water and sewage systems, the entire strip is said to be facing the immediate possibility of starvation, according to the U.N. World Food Programme.

There is no electricity and no running water here. And as temperatures drop, this family has no choice but to sleep in the cold. Khaled's daughter says she put this sheet of nylon to protect her from the wind and the rain at night. These blankets, all the family has left to keep them warm. The rest of their belongings, tangled and buried amid scorched blackened rubble.

Across North northern and central Gaza, scenes of destruction are all that remain. Civilians told to evacuate southwards. The Israeli military says it is targeting Hamas and allowing for evacuation corridors. But even in the south, there is no escape from this punishing war. The ruins you see here are homes in the southern city of Khan Yunis.

Amid the destruction, members of the Abu Zanad (PH) family standing helpless, loved ones still buried under the rubble.

Every second of every minute, there is another massacre, Hsani (PH) says. Where are the humanitarian ceasefires? Displaced people, women and children, our family members are here buried underneath this home.

They escaped the massacres and war in northern Gaza. They told us that the south would be safe.

On the grounds of southern Gaza's Nasr Hospital, another funeral prayer is held, closed with a message of peace amid unfathomable loss. With fears growing of an expanded ground incursion said to be targeting Hamas in the south, after Israeli forces dropped leaflets near Khan Yunis, warning people to move to known shelters on Thursday.

But with some 1.5 million people already displaced, there is nowhere safe to turn. And as each hour ticks by, there is only more uncertainty and more tragedy.

The wounded rush through the hospital's crowded halls. Children battered and bloody, sharing whatever space is left in this panic- filled emergency room. But as doctors in the south race to rescue the wounded, survivors further north, just like Khaled and his family, struggle to come to terms with this now shattered reality.

Khaled says neighbors thought he was dead when they pulled him from the rubble. Now, he says, he wishes he too had been killed in the airstrike. In Gaza, only the dead are at peace.

Nada Bashir, CNN, in Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And as the war between Israel and Hamas continues to rage on, President Biden is stressing the need for all hostages held by Hamas to be released without any more delays. He made that point during a call to the leader of Qatar on Friday. That country is acting as a broker in the hostage negotiations.

The two leaders also discussed the need for humanitarian assistance in Gaza.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez, joining us now from Wilmington, Delaware, where the president is spending the weekend. Priscilla, so, what more do we know about how potentially influential President Biden can be here?

[13:10:05]

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, he has certainly touted how influential he can be, not only in getting humanitarian aid, but also, in trying to get the release of hostages.

Of course, the question of where that deal remains and whether there will be a breakthrough is still a big question, but we did see a trickle of hostages released weeks ago.

But the resounding message from the president this week, as he was at the summit in California was saying that the quote, only answer to this conflict is a two-state solution. That has been an idea that has been long endorsed by President Biden and he went on to say that Israel occupying Gaza would be "a big mistake," again, reiterating a message there.

But looking to the nearer term, and the urgency right now is the release of hostages held by Hamas. These negotiations have been ongoing for weeks, and they -- administration officials are working feverishly behind the scenes, President Biden even acknowledging that this week saying that he himself is involved multiple times a day on this issue.

But, of course -- and of course, he'd spoke to Qatar yesterday. And in that conversation, they again talked about hostages. And that was the second time the two leaders had spoken in a week, which goes to show how much pressure they are putting on this.

Again, unclear where the breakthrough will be or when there will be a breakthrough. But also, against the backdrop of all of this is the domestic landscape that the president is having to navigate. The politics of the moment that includes wrestling with pushback from members of his own party.

And just in an event last week that I attended in Illinois, the president heard directly from a protester at an event who called for a ceasefire. So, these are issues that the president while he works with leaders around the globe, to try to solve and find breakthroughs in this conflict.

He's also having to wrestle with them -- with them domestically. And so, all of that is what the president will have to work through in the weeks and months to come.

WHITFIELD: All right. Priscilla Alvarez in Wilmington. Thank you so much traveling with the president.

All right. Still ahead, despite a marathon meeting between President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping just days ago. New fears today in Taiwan of a war with China as Beijing continues to step up military pressure on the island.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:16:31]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. A key face to face meeting this week between President Biden and China's President Xi Jinping made some progress on easing frosty relations between the two countries. The two leaders vowing to reopen high level military channels and to combat the fentanyl trade.

But some of the tensions remain on full display after the summit, when Biden described Xi as a dictator.

For the second time this year, there was also little progress to be seen on Taiwan as China continues to step up military pressure on the island. Will Ripley has more from Taipei.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Taiwan we'll never forget those four tense days, when former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi his visit triggered unprecedented Chinese military drills, widely seen as address rehearsal for war.

More than a year later, on the streets of Taipei. For some, the prospect of war feels closer than ever.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Of course, we are concerned that what happened to Ukraine could happen to Taiwan. I'm a mother and I have kids.

RIPLEY (voice over): President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping's marathon meeting in San Francisco aimed at dialing down the temperature on a host of hot button issues, especially Taiwan. "The most important and sensitive issue in U.S.-China relations." Xi was quoted in Chinese state media, Washington has no plans to stop selling billions of dollars in weapons to Taipei, military cooperation, including U.S. training of Taiwanese troops at the highest level in decades.

The U.S. formally switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979. JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We maintain the agreement that there is a One China policy, and that I'm not going to change that.

RIPLEY (voice over): As for the future of this self-governing democracy. Xi says, "China will realize reunification. this is unstoppable."

SU TZU-YUN, DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE FOR NATIONAL DEFENSE AND SECURITY RESEARCH, TAIWAN: Beijing's activity become something like Nazi Germany did during World War II.

RIPLEY (voice over): Su Tzu-yun is director of Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research. He warns China's military buildup, the biggest in a century may be just beginning. He says it can only be deterred by massive military power.

RIPLEY: Does that deterrent force need to include the help of larger militaries like the U.S., like Japan?

SU: Sure, Taiwan enjoys a very important location.

If Beijing can occupy Taiwan, it's become a so-called, Hawaii -- Chinese Hawaii. They can send their submarines from east of Taiwan. And such submarines can reach the West Coast of the United States. To strike the United States.

RIPLEY (voice over): Last year, Beijing fired ballistic missiles over Taiwan.

RIPLEY: Here in Taiwan, people have lived their entire lives with the reality that China has an arsenal of missiles pointed at this island. That could be raining down in a matter of minutes. That's why here in Taipei alone, there's an estimated 90,000 air defense shelters ready for whatever comes.

RIPLEY (voice over): When the People's Liberation Army surrounded the self-governing democracy. Chinese state media said, they were simulating a blockade, practicing a possible precursor for a full- scale invasion.

[13:20:01]

Jolting Taiwan into a new risk-filled reality, putting high stakes diplomacy to the test.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY (on camera): We're also watching very closely some major developments here in Taipei. On Saturday, two opposition parties announced their joint presidential ticket. They are going to be posing an unexpected and very credible challenge to the ruling DPP. The current vice president is the presidential candidate. He was considered a shoo in by many analysts until this surprise union between these two opposition parties, which notably tend to have a more pro-Beijing, or at least pro cooperation with Beijing stance, whereas, the DPP has long said that you have to stand up to China, with strength. If you give an inch, they say they'll take a mile.

But either way, the result of next year's Taiwanese presidential elections will have huge implications for Taiwan, and also the U.S.- China relationship. Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's talk more about this week's events. David Sanger is a CNN political and national security analyst and a New York Times a White House and national security correspondent. David, great to see you so.

So, you are you that there was a subtle shift in power at the meeting between Biden and Xi to what degree?

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, I think what we saw Fredricka, and I just got back from the summit meeting in in San Francisco, is that the Chinese were of a somewhat more accommodating tone.

Now, whether the reality turns out that way well, we'll have to see over time.

And we think that's largely because their economy is in far tougher shape than it's been at almost any point, in 30 or 40 years, they've been holding meetings like this with the United States.

You know, It used to be fairly standard fair for the Chinese to come into these meetings with either a stated or unstated assumption that they are on the rise, we're on the decline. They were growing at eight percent.

Now, all of a sudden, Xi Jinping showed up, having to talk to Americans about investing in China at a moment that there has been disinvestment. He's got a huge property crisis with this overhang of debt. He's got economic slowdown, he's got troubles getting employment for young Chinese where the employment levels, unemployment levels, looked to be running above 20 percent.

And so, the question that American officials were asking was, can he afford a conflict over Taiwan or other confrontations in the short term?

WHITFIELD: Do you suppose China is hoping they can count on the U.S. easing tariffs, export controls on technology?

SANGER: So, there were two things that seemed to bother Xi Jinping the most that he brought up in that closed door meeting with President Biden and his aides. One was the unrelenting anti-China tone you hear here in Washington. Right? From Democrats and Republicans. Which he thought was sort of feeding a cycle between Washington and Beijing.

And he's right about that, it is feeding a cycle because the more people in Beijing here, trying to patch in here, the more they do the same, and, of course, everybody is under pressure to step up their military exercises, and so forth.

The second thing he complained about was the export controls. And these were the controls on the most advanced computer chips and the equipment to go make them. President Biden has said, we're not backing down on those, those are not about an economic advantage. They're about a military advantage, and not giving the Chinese military the ability to get the most high-end chips. So, he said, this is on national security grounds.

And the question really, that's hanging out there is can trying to make up for this on its own? They have been having trouble doing that. Or would they basically hope that another administration would ease up on those controls?

I don't think Biden's going to ease up on.

WHITFIELD: Now, what about when the two talked about Taiwan? Or what -- to what extent did they talk about that? Or, you know, even laying the groundwork on, you know, the road ahead.

SANGER: So, it sounded like the beginning of the Taiwan conversation was pretty familiar, you know, with Xi Jinping saying, we're -- this is an issue that it's got to get resolved at some moment. If he has made it pretty clear, he wants it resolved, while he is president. That would presumably be 70, now assume, you know, another 10 years.

But he also said, I don't know where all these artificial deadlines come from. The -- all this talk about 2027. Well, it comes from him.

[13:25:00]

I mean, he is the one was told the Chinese military they have to be ready by 2027 to take the island. That's a different thing by saying -- from saying that he'll be ready to go do it.

Because, frankly, an invasion that resulted in significant economic sanctions against China will be a lot more harmful with a slow growing China, the one we're seeing now than with a fast growing one.

WHITFIELD: And what would the U.S. do if China were to invade Taiwan?

SANGER: You know, Fred, I think from the tabletop exercises we've seen, it all depends on how they do it. If they -- if the Chinese invasion was a full-scale invasion into the island, I think the U.S. and others would respond militarily.

I also think that's the less likely scenario, because China needs Taiwan Semiconductor, which makes most of the world's most leading- edge chips, as much as we do. And destroying that on the way in would be counterproductive for China as well.

It is, I think, more possible that they could do the slow squeeze. And you heard, Will talked a little bit about that in his piece, which is surround the island, cut off its communications, do some kind of embargo on goods coming in and out that they would have to inspect, and basically slowly take over the island that way.

And without the show of military force, I think that would be a much harder response for Washington. WHITFIELD: All right. Lots on the table. David Sanger, good to see you. Thanks so much. And have a great holiday week.

SANGER: Good to see you. You too.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead, a Colorado judge rules Donald Trump can be on the ballot, but also says he engaged in the January 6th insurrection. We'll talk about what that means next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:31:02]

WHITFIELD: A Colorado judge ruled that former President Trump engaged in an insurrection on January 6th. But at the same time, the judge rejected a motion to remove the former president from the 2024 presidential primary ballot there, citing the 14th Amendment.

The district judge says, quote, "The insurrectionist ban does not apply to presidents."

It marks the first time any court determined that Trump engaged in an insurrection.

The former president faces federal charges related to efforts in overturning the 2020 election results in Washington, D.C.

Joining me now is Gloria Browne-Marshall, a constitutional law professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and author of the books "The Voting Rights War" and "She Took Justice."

Good to see you, Gloria.

Let's break this down for everybody. It's complicated. At the same time, it can be looked at in a very simplistic way.

These three decisions have shared rulings to keep Trump on the ballot, but all had different standards to meet.

Colorado said it's unclear if barring insurrectionists from public office applies to the presidency.

In Minnesota, the court said Trump can remain on the ballot because political parties have sole choice over who appears.

Then there's Michigan, where the judge ruled Congress is the proper forum for deciding whether Trump is on the ballot.

Is it all "case closed" now, no openings for other states to challenge whether Trump should be on their ballots, or is it ultimately just simply up to voters?

GLORIA BROWNE-MARSHALL, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW PROFESSOR, JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE & AUTHOR: I think all of the above apply. I'll tell you why. I truly believe that other state courts and federal courts should weigh in, because they all have different interests. I also believe that the Colorado case is going up on appeal and that

that appeal is going to be expedited.

Unfortunately, we have a super majority of conservatives that have already shown their allegiance to Donald Trump, so we don't know what's going to happen at the Supreme Court level. But I think it deserves to be there.

I also believe that, when Judge Wallace decided in the Colorado federal court that Donald Trump had participated in an insurrection, that was pivotal. That's what was missing here.

I said this before, that until he has been seen as an insurrectionist by a court, then it's difficult to view the statute that's based on insurrection.

So we've actually overcome a very high hurdle with that determination in the Colorado case.

WHITFIELD: Because that's the most stunning portion, right, that the Colorado Judge Sarah B. Wallace did conclude that the former president engaged in an insurrection against the U.S.

Now, was that a reach for her to do that, or was that within her confines of her justification of the ruling to say, while I do believe that he should be on the ballot, let me just say I do believe he was responsible for an insurrection?

BROWNE-MARSHALL: I think part of the standard that was before her was the basis of the provision in the 14th Amendment of Section III. Was the provision regarding an insurrectionist not being able to be on the ballot applicable?

So they had to determine whether or not Donald Trump had engaged in insurrection. She did that. That was one part of the standard.

Remember, the other two courts didn't reach this point because they believed they were not the proper forum for this issue.

She actually reached the part of the standard as to whether or not insurrection had taken place, whether or not he was an insurrectionist.

[13:35:03]

But she said, in applying the law, it didn't reach to the president. And about that, I disagree and I think other scholars will as well.

WHITFIELD: The group that brought this challenge, do they feel more emboldened now as a result of her comments about the insurrection to appeal that ruling?

BROWNE-MARSHALL: I believe so, because, to this point, we saw insurrectionist behavior. We saw the engagement of the president in this behavior. And yet, there has been no ruling that Donald Trump was, indeed, an

insurrectionist, that he had incited the riots that led to the January 6th attack on the capitol.

Now we have that connective piece. Once that's in place, as it is here, the idea that when, who does this pertain to, if it pertains to state and federal officers, then why not the president?

The reason why I say this is because, back in 1868, when the 14th Amendment was enacted, there were, of course, certain federal positions, but nothing like we have today.

There are thousands of places in government that could not have been thought of back in 1868. You can't limit it to just what was thought of there as an officer.

I was a law clerk in federal court. I raised my hand and swore to protect the Constitution. Think of all of the different jobs that are in federal, local and state government where that's done. And of course, in the military and such.

So I don't think it should be limited based on the wording that doesn't specifically include president, because it could also include justices of the Supreme Court.

Think about this. You can't put everybody in that position. So I think this is an issue worthy of appeal and it should be taken quite seriously.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Very fascinating.

All right, Gloria Browne-Marshall, thank you so much and have a great Thanksgiving holiday week.

BROWNE-MARSHALL: You, too.

WHITFIELD: All right. In the race for 2024, President Biden is facing an uphill battle with a bloc of voters critical to putting him in the White House, young voters.

In 2020, exit polls show Biden won young voters in Georgia by 13 points, but recent polls show those same voters are now split between Biden and Trump.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny traveled to Georgia to find out why some of them are less inclined to support Biden this time around.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KERRY (ph) SINGLETON, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE SENIOR: People may not vote because they'll say, well, this happened under the Biden-Harris administration.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): As Kerry (ph) Singleton looks ahead to the next presidential election, he is thinking back to the promises he heard President Biden and Vice President Harris deliver on a visit to Atlanta.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Pass the Freedom to Vote Act.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: Pass it now.

ZELENY: On that winter day, the President was closing in on his first year in office. Hopes were high for Singleton and other students on the grounds of Clark Atlanta University and Morehouse College.

Since then, voting rights legislation stalled. The Supreme Court rejected a student loan forgiveness plan. And high prices, from food to housing, are fueling economic anxieties.

SINGLETON: I do think that everyone is willing to hold the administration accountable for some of those promises that were made. And if they don't happen, I think it's going to be a scary election.

ZELENY: For all the warning signs facing the President a year before the election, the skepticism and apathy of young voters rank high.

STATE SEN. NABILAH ISLAM PARKES (D-GA): Folks just feel poor right now than they did two years ago. There is going to have to be a lot of conversations about how we feel like our issues are being heard.

ZELENY: Nabila Islam Parkes is the youngest woman to win a seat in the Georgia Senate. In 2020, she went door to door in the Atlanta suburbs, building a coalition to help Biden turn the state blue.

That coalition, she said, could fracture by the President's handling of the Israel-Hamas war.

PARKES: I think that young voters recognize you can't bomb your way to peace and security. And so, we do feel uncomfortable with that.

ZELENY: Rachel Carol's (ph) first vote for President went to Biden. She said she doesn't regret it, given the alternative, but finds herself disappointed by some priorities of the White House.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If they can fund a war, they can find the money to pay off our student loans.

ZELENY: Young voters were a critical component of the President's victory, particularly here in Georgia, where Biden defeated Donald Trump by only 11,779 votes out of nearly five million cast.

Exit polls in 2020 show that voters 18 to 29 made up 20 percent of the Georgia electorate, the only state of the top-six battlegrounds where the

percentage of young voters exceeded the national share of 17 percent.

(CHEERING)

ZELENY: Biden won young Georgia voters by 13 points, according to exit polls. But now, a year before the 2024 election, surveys show a far closer race.

[13:39:59]

With voters under the age of 30 here in Georgia split 46 percent for Trump and 44 percent for Biden, according to a "New York Times"/Siena College poll.

AYLON GIPSON, STUDENT, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE: The excitement is not as high as it was last time.

ZELENY: Aylon Gibson and some of his classmates wish they had more inspirational and generational choices.

GIPSON: We had to pick between two different people who are very, very old and up in the age.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We would like to see Biden pass the baton.

(CHEERING)

ZELENY: The vice president, whose college tour brought her back on campus this fall, resonates more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think she sparks that energy. She is like -- when she came to Morehouse, it was fun. I feel her passion.

ZELENY: But with Biden at the top of the ticket, potentially facing a rematch of the 2020 race, voters say the burden rests on him to deliver on his promises and not take their support for granted.

SINGLETON: This is why we hold Trump accountable. We have to hold Biden accountable.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, Jeff Zeleny, thanks so much.

All right, there was success and failure for SpaceX Starship this morning. We'll explain what happened and why not all was lost, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:45:16]

WHITFIELD: The most powerful rocket ever built, SpaceX's Starship, exploded this morning and was lost over the Gulf of Mexico during its second test launch. But apparently, it's not all bad news.

CNN's Kristin Fisher joining me now from South Padre Island in Texas.

Why are scientists saying this is halfway successful, halfway bad?

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE & DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, SpaceX is calling it a success, because this second test flight was far more successful than the first back in April. This time, all 33 of these big raptor engines all ignited at once,

something that's never been done before on this rocket.

And then they were able to do the riskiest maneuver of this test mission, something they'd been very worried about, called the hot staging technique. This was the moment of separation, the moment when everything went wrong back in April.

So the fact that that was a success today, some great news for SpaceX.

And then they also didn't blow up the launch pad, which they did last time, totally destroyed it. That's a success as well.

But it is also a failure, because this rocket did not complete its ultimate mission, which was to do almost a complete lap of planet earth and then splash down into the Pacific Ocean.

So now it ended in an explosion or a rapid unscheduled disassembly, as SpaceX likes to call it.

Because it ended in an explosion, that now triggers an immediate mishap investigation by the FAA, which could theoretically delay a next test flight attempt, Fredricka.

But NASA, very pleased. The administrator congratulated SpaceX today calling this big progress. This, of course, critical to NASA's Artemis program to return American astronauts to the moon.

WHITFIELD: All right, finding the silverlining. OK.

Kristin Fisher, thank you so much.

All right, still to come, CNN's Nima Elbagir returns to Sudan as her home country is being ripped apart by war. A preview of her powerful report for "THE WHOLE STORY," next.

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[13:51:45]

WHITFIELD: In Sudan, war has been unimaginably brutal, with reports surfacing of potential war crimes. Communications in the Darfur region have been actively blocked by the Rapid Support Force, or RSF, who are in a battle with the Sudanese army for control of the country.

CNN's Nima Elbagir and her team traveled to a border town in Chad where many survivors of the atrocities have fled.

We've got to warn you, the content you're about to hear and see is disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One by one, survivors come forward wanting to share, to document what has happened to them. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): I held my 5-year-old

brother and ran with him to the mosque. The RSF chased us, shooting at us. A bullet hit my brother's head.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The RSF said, leave these ones. We will find better ones to sell. These ones, let's rape them.

ELBAGIR: Textbook ethnic cleansing. These are the hallmarks of genocide.

We interviewed over a dozen survivors and eyewitnesses, who witnessed the abduction of at least 200 other girls.

Through their testimony, we were able to pinpoint key neighborhoods in Angeneta (ph) where civilians were targeted and where women were being sold from slave houses.

Places like Eljick (ph) and Hayla (ph) and a dormitory where survivors say they counted 75 girls abducted in one fell swoop.

There is nowhere safe in Angeneta (ph).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN chief international investigative correspondent, Nima Elbagir, joining me right now.

Nima, this is not the first time of genocide in Darfur. I mean, this is your home country, too.

You covered the initial campaign of atrocities as a young journalist. This has to be so incredibly disturbing for you and so many. Do you feel like it is worse now?

ELBAGIR: Absolutely. Unfortunately, we see this, time and time again. When you are not holding forces like this accountable, it only ever gets worse.

The leadership of the RSF were implicated in the previous genocide. And now their forces are better equipped, better trained. They have much more resources.

It is a descent into what actually one U.N. official called on Friday "evil." And I think that is probably the best script of it.

The level of depravity, the intent to humiliate and terrorize so people cannot go back to their homes, so that land is cleared.

It is heartbreaking that, after the first genocide in Darfur, there was such a public outcry around the world, especially in the U.S., and so many people called for action.

So to come back 20 years later and have to say, actually, we failed these people, it's very -- it's difficult to see.

WHITFIELD: Nima, you're in an incredible position because you have the power to help enlighten the world by the people that you're talking to, the images that we're seeing.

[13:55:03]

Yet, at the same time, this is going home for you, you know?

And I wonder, too, if people felt a particular comfort being able to share with you, share with you details that people haven't felt like anyone would believe, nor did they know who to trust in which to share it.

What was that position that you --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: -- have here to do that?

ELBAGIR: I have to say, Maggie (ph), the young boy in our documentary, was one of those people who felt that kind of, I suppose, degree of comfort and familiarity.

And we had -- because he's only 17, although he had a guardian there, we had felt -- we had felt uncomfortable on his behalf and wanted to talk him through the ramifications of being identifiable.

And he just looked at me, and he said, " I want you to believe me when I tell you that I have nothing to be ashamed of."

And I guess I hadn't really thought about that until you asked that question.

I think the familiarity, perhaps, allowed him that confidence at 17 years old to feel, no, I want to tell my story, I want to show my face. The enslavement and the humiliation and what was done to me, that doesn't chain me.

So I hope -- and it's amazing we're getting to do this whole hour and it's going to go out on CNN tomorrow.

Because I really hope that people are able to watch this and take on board the risks people have taken, the bravery that they are showing, so that they can get the world to take notice.

WHITFIELD: Yes, indeed. And all of that that you and your team were able to do as well, the bravery and the risk to get this story out.

Nima Elbagir, thank you so much. Of course, we will be watching. Everyone should watch.

Tune in to an all-new episode of "THE WHOLE STORY", with Anderson Cooper, one whole hour, one whole story, airing tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, only on CNN.

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