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Police: One Dead, 20 Plus Shot At Super Bowl Celebration; New Russian Strikes Target Cities Across Ukraine; Ukrainian Military Increasingly Relying On Drone Warfare; Designation of Houthis as "Global Terrorist Group" to Take Effect Saturday; Japan Slips Into Recession Due to Weak Consumer Spending; Private Company Aims to Be First of Its Kind to Land on Moon; Teddy Bear Cop Captures Alleged Drug Dealer in Peru. Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired February 15, 2024 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:32]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, and welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber.

Just ahead, a Super Bowl celebration turned into terror in Kansas City, when gunfire ripped through the massive crowd of fans.

New missile attacks are reported across Ukraine just a day after Kyiv said its forces sank another Russian warship in the Black Sea.

And tensions are flaring between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon after a day of deadly cross border attacks.

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ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM WITH KIM BRUNHUBER.

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BRUNHUBER: We are now 46 days into the year, and already the U.S. has seen its 49th mass shooting. Police say one person is dead and more than 20 others were shot during a celebration for the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

Local hospitals tell CNN, 11 of those being treated are children.

Radio Station KKFI, identified the person killed as Lisa Lopez-Galvan, she worked as a D.J. and programmer who volunteered at the station. Three people are in custody for questioning.

Video shows one man being tackled by bystanders. Police say they recovered guns at the scene, but couldn't say how many. An estimated 1 million people were on hand for the parade and celebration for the Chiefs.

Some of the players were still on stage at the victory rally when the shots rang out. The mayor says all Chiefs players and coaches are safe and accounted for.

We have more now from CNN's Nick Watt.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This should have been a celebration in honor of the Chiefs' back-to-back Super Bowl champion. Instead, yet, another mass shooting in America. There was panic, fire department personnel giving life sustaining treatment on the streets.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody started running. There were screaming. We didn't know what was happening, but this day and age, when people run, you run.

WATT (voice over): Three people were detained, according to police. They are now under investigation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We did see two police officers, at least someone away in handcuffs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is in a red jump -- like a red jumpsuit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

STACEY GRAVES, POLICE CHIEF, KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI: I'm angry at what happened today. The people who came to this celebration should expect a safe environment. We had over 800 law enforcement officers, Kansas City and other agencies at the location to keep everyone safe.

WATT (voice over): The people were not safe and hundreds of thousands were on the streets. Kansas City schools had closed for the day.

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: But an event like this is almost impossible to completely secure. It is a massive open space. Tickets are not required. There are no gates and, you know, admission areas. So, combine that with the fact that Missouri is a state that does not control the carrying of firearms.

Essentially, anyone can carry a firearm. You have a huge crowd and likely a large, you know, significant portion of that population carrying firearms. So, any conflict or dispute can easily turn into a shooting.

WATT (voice over): Still unclear if the parade was actually targeted, the Chiefs say all their players and staff are safe, as are the governors of Missouri and Kansas who are both at the celebration.

Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes posted on X: "Praying for Kansas City."

QUINTON LUCAS, MAYOR OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI: This is absolutely a tragedy. The likes of which we would have never expected in Kansas City and the likes of which we will remember for some time.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WATT (on camera): Now, the police chief who you just heard from was out on the street. She heard the gunfire and described her officers and others running, weapons drawn, towards the danger. This is clearly a very active investigation still, and the police are appealing to the public for help. They also want to narrow down to make sure that there was nobody else involved in the shooting who is not already in custody.

Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.

BRUNHUBER: We are getting reports of a new wave of Russian missile attacks on Ukraine.

According to local officials, explosions were heard in Zaporizhzhia, in the capital Kyiv, as well as Lviv in the west. At least seven people were reportedly wounded.

The U.S. ambassador to Ukraine says air raid alerts were activated across the entire country. Now, the strikes come just a day after Ukraine sank another Russian warship. Military leaders say they used jet ski powered drones to punch holes in the sides of the Caesar Kunikov landing ship, destroying it.

[02:05:08]

We are told the vessel appeared to be loaded with military equipment when it went down near occupied Crimea.

Here is CNN's Melissa Bell.

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MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The Caesar Kunikov, moments before it was struck by Ukrainian drones. CNN can't independently verify would happen to the Russia warship, but the drone's own footage shows extensive damage, with Kyiv claiming to have sunk the vessel.

Behind the attack, Group 13, a special forces unit within Ukraine's defense intelligence. The drones they used, the Magura, not the fastest, but maneuverable enough that they can get pass Russian defenses.

CALL SIGN "13", GROUP 13, UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES (through translator): Their weapons are not designed for such small sea drones. In most cases, they use anti-ship guns.

BELL (voice-over): And the drones behind it, part of Ukraine's plan to shift front lines that have seen precious little progress for months now.

MYKHAILO FEDOROV, UKRAINE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION MINISTER (through translator): Technology can really save us. It's already saving us today. Given the shortage of artillery rounds, given the fact that we have much less manpower in terms of numbers. BELL (voice-over): The strike on the Caesar Kunikov just the latest blow to Moscow's once formidable Black Sea fleet. A third of which has now, says Kyiv, been either disabled or destroyed.

JENS STOLTENBERG, SECRETARY GENERAL, NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION: They have actually been able to push the Black Sea fleet away from the western part of the Black Sea. And this is a great achievement, a great victory for Ukrainians.

BELL (voice-over): With important consequences also for Ukraine's ability to get grain in and out of ports, a lifeline for a country fighting not only a land war in the east and south, but an existential political battle to keep allies and funding on side, even as Kyiv ramps up the production of its own much needed weapons.

FEDOROV (through translator): This year, we'll produce thousands of drones. I cannot say how many exactly, but I will say this, there is no limit.

BELL (voice over): Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

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BRUNHUBER: NATO defense ministers are gathering for a day of meetings in Brussels. They are discussing what the secretary general calls historic progress on defense spending. Jens Stoltenberg says he expects 18 allies to reach the target of spending at least two percent of their GDP on defense.

Defense ministers will also discuss their efforts to increase production of ammunition and their support for Ukraine. Stoltenberg urged U.S. lawmakers to approve a major spending package for Ukraine that would also help Israel and Taiwan.

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STOLTENBERG: I count on the House of Representatives to agree support to Ukraine, because this is not charity. This is an investment in our own security.

If President Putin wins in Ukraine, it will send the message to him. But also, other than leaders, that they get what they want when they -- when they use military force. It will make the world more dangerous or small vulnerable.

Today, it is Ukraine, tomorrow it can be the Taiwan. So --

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BRUNHUBER: New U.S. intelligence about Russia's abilities to deploy a nuclear anti-satellite system in space on Capitol Hill buzzing on Wednesday. The uproar started when House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner announced what he called a serious national security threat.

Turner also urged the president to declassify the intelligence, with several senior members of Congress briefed on the matter, say the intelligence about Russia's threatened space is concerning but it doesn't pose an immediate threat to the U.S. or its interests.

Another official tells CNN the threat doesn't involve a weapon that will be used against humans.

Now, Russia has used an advanced hypersonic missile for the first time in combat. That's according to a scientific group in Ukraine, which analyzed missile fragments from a Russian strike on Kyiv last week.

It hit a residential building in the city killing four people and leaving 38 others injured. Ukrainian group says Moscow used the so- called Zircon missile, which is believed to fly eight times faster than the speed of sound. Experts say the weapon can evade even the best of Western anti-missile defenses.

All right. I want to bring in Malcolm Davis, who's a senior analyst for defense strategy and capability at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, and he's with us from Canberra.

Thanks so much for being here over the past. So, I want to go back and start with the sinking of that Russian warship, just the latest which seems to demonstrate just how effective these naval drones can be. Why is that?

MALCOLM DAVIS, SENIOR ANALYST FOR DEFENSE, STRATEGY, AND CAPABILITY, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE: Look, they are essentially a new technology. And I think the way the Ukrainians are using them is to gather intelligence on the whereabouts and locations of these Russian naval vessels. And then, they are using the cover of night and the fact that these drones are very load to the surface of the water.

[02:10:02]

So, if you look at their design there, you can just barely see them above the surface of the water to essentially close with their target and hit it at relatively high speed.

The Russians don't seem to have found a way to stop them. They haven't adapted to the use of these drones. So, I think this is a battle of adaptation that Ukrainians are winning with this new technology and is coming across as very effective indeed.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, very effective. Obviously, you know, it's a huge threat to Russia's fleet and Ukraine will be getting even more drones from a coalition of NATO country.

So, can these drones sort of compensate for the lack of weaponry caused by the lack of aid from the U.S.?

DAVIS: No, they can't. And I think that's a crucial point to get across. The GOP in Congress, potentially is about to make a horrendous strategic mistake, if it decides not to support continuing aid to Ukraine, if that happens, and the U.S. aid drops off, and then, the European aid drops off, because Europe is not in a position to fill that gap, then, by later this year, or early into next year, Ukraine will not be in a position to counter Russia, which will have had the opportunity to build up its forces and potentially turn the table, turn the tide of the war in their favor.

So, it really is absolutely vital that Congress does pass this aid budget and continues to support Ukraine with as much military equipment as it possibly can.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, we've heard about soldiers having to ration, you know, ammunition and weaponry, you talked about the sort of ticking, you know -- the time ticking here. Is that also because Russia will be able to adapt to the use of these drones by Ukraine, something which you mentioned, it hasn't done so far. But the longer this goes, the more they might adapt?

DAVIS: Well, look, if you look at other domains in the world, you know, the ground domain, the air domain, the Russians are adapting there. So, it's only a matter of time before the Russians work out tactics and capabilities to defeat these drones.

And, you know, the -- in addition, the Ukrainians can't win the war at sea alone. They have to win the war on land, they have to defeat the Russian offensives that are going to come later this year early into 2025.

And unless the Ukrainians have the military assistance from the west, to enable them to do that, they simply won't be in a position to defeat the Russian so, the clock is ticking, as you say.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. I mentioned earlier that Russia has used its advanced hypersonic missile for the first time in combat. How significant is this not just for Ukraine, but also sort of as a threat to other nations because this missile apparently can evade anti-missile defenses?

DAVIS: The Zircon is a range of Russian hypersonic weapons. Hypersonic, of course, means that the missile will travel at five times the speed of sound or greater.

This one, the Zircon travels at about eight times the speed of sound. The faster they go, the more difficult it is for western military forces or Ukrainian military forces to defeat them.

And at a certain point, they can essentially blast through our defenses and deliver lethal payloads on target. So, hypersonic weapons are seriously threatening the Russians and the Chinese are well ahead in terms of hypersonic weapons. The West has some catching up to do.

BRUNHUBER: Also, in the news, and I want to ask you specifically about this because of your particular expertise in space and military technology. There is new intelligence, as I mentioned, on Russian efforts to deploy a nuclear anti-satellite system in space.

Now, it's apparently in its early stages. It's not a weapon per se. But what could it be exactly, and what might it mean in terms of the weaponization of space? DAVIS: Look, I woke up about 5:00 a.m. this morning, Canberra time and I saw this and I thought what on earth has happened? And I think that what you are seeing is Russia, essentially casting aside any pretense of supporting arms control in space, supporting space law.

This looks to be a nuclear powered, anti-satellite weapon. It's designed to generate electronic warfare effects at very long range and very high power.

There was some concern that maybe it was actual nuclear weapons in orbit. I don't think that's the case. I think the consensus view of expertise and my colleagues in the strategic policy community in the U.S. and Australia is that its nuclear power.

So, it's got a reactor on board that powers an electronic warfare capability. And that would be very worrying because essentially, it would give the Russians a very powerful weapon that they could strike at satellites at long range. So, if they deployed it in low earth orbit, close to the Earth, they could strike targets satellites, up in what's known as geosynchronous orbit, a much further away.

[02:15:07]

And they could generate lethal effects very quickly. So, this represents an entirely new class of anti-satellite capability. And as I said, it completely undermines any attempt towards arms control and space and preventing those weaponization of space.

BRUNHUBER: All right. So, worrying, but no immediate concern at least. We'll have to leave it there. Malcolm Davis, thank you so much for speaking with us.

DAVIS: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: Well, as international opposition grows, Israel's prime minister appears to be doubling down on plans for ground offensive in Rafah. We'll have the details ahead.

Plus, CNN gets an up-close look at efforts made by the U.S. Navy to protect international shipping from Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

That's all coming up. Please stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Israel has launched a new round of strikes in Lebanon, and is warning, the next one could be much worse. The IDF says its warplanes hit Hezbollah targets in five separate areas on Wednesday, aiming at military compounds control centers, and what it called terrorist infrastructure.

That was strikes came hours after a deadly attack in northern Israel, which the IDF says came from Lebanon.

Israeli officials say an Israeli soldier was killed and multiple civilians were wounded. Hezbollah hasn't claimed responsibility for the attack. But the IDF Chief of Staff is warning that Israel's next campaign across the border will include a very strong offensive. Listen to this.

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LT. GEN. HERZI HALEVI, CHIEF OF THE GENERAL STAFF, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES (through translator): In the end, we will be ready for war. If it doesn't end in war. It won't end by compromising the achievements. Hezbollah will not be present here on the fence.

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BRUNHUBER: Medecins Sans Frontieres or Doctors Without Borders has condemned Israel's order to evacuate Gaza's Nasser Hospital amid heavy fighting. Crowds of civilians are fleeing the hospital in Khan Younis, which has been under siege for weeks. The Israeli military says it has opened a secure route for evacuations.

But doctors and medical officials in Gaza say Israeli snipers have shot and killed at least two people trying to flee and wounded several others over the past few days.

The World Health Organization says it's gravely concerned about the situation.

The head of the agency says hospitals must be safeguarded, but that there is no safe corridor at the Nasser complex and his team has been denied access.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is vowing powerful action in Rafah despite mounting international concern over an expected ground offensive in Gaza's southernmost city.

Netanyahu says action in Rafah would come after Israel allows the civilian population to leave battle zones. More than 1 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering there, and it's not clear where the civilians can go to find safety? And some are expressing their frustration.

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[02:20:04]

HAMDY AHMAD, DISPLACED FROM GAZA CITY (through translator): This is the fourth time we are displaced, and no one is taking care of us. Only God is with us. May God have mercy on us.

We have been humiliated and suffered from one place to another, and we don't know where to go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Israel says it will continue to engage in talks towards a hostage deal and pause in fighting but a diplomat tells CNN that so far, it's rejected a counter proposal by Hamas that demands the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners.

CNN's Nic Robertson has more from Tel Aviv.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: But Prime Minister Netanyahu really seems to be doubling down on his position on the negotiations over the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas, he is saying it's up to Hamas to change their position. He is also appearing to double down on the threat of an IDF ground operation in that -- in the border town of Rafah, right at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, where there are about 1.4 million Palestinians at the moment.

He is saying that there will be a military operation there. A powerful one he is saying. He does say, however, that that's once the civilians from that area had been evacuated, although, no plan for that evacuation has yet been articulated publicly. And this comes at a time when there is growing condemnation.

A group of Arab nations is going to recommend to the U.N. Security Council that they vote on a resolution to have an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said that his concern that there could be a massacre of people inside of Rafah.

The U.N.'s Special Rapporteur on preventing genocide says that there could be atrocity crimes and Rafah. The International Committee for the Red Cross have also raised their concerns.

The German foreign minister in Israel, Wednesday, raised her concerns as well. So, there is a growing drumbeat of international opposition to any military offensive in Rafah. But the prime minister here is still talking about it being a possibility.

Now, is this language that he's using to increase the pressure on Hamas to give into his demands and his terms for the release of Israeli hostages. That's unclear, but he does seem to be doubling down on his positions at the moment.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Tel Aviv, Israel.

BRUNHUBER: And joining me now from Sarajevo is H.A. Hellyer, a senior associate fellow in International Security Studies at the Royal United Services Institute for Defenses and Security Studies. Thanks so much for being here with us.

So, I want to start there with that possibility that Nic raised of in Israeli military offensive in Rafah, and the question of, you know, whether these threats to go in are Netanyahu, trying to pressure Hamas to force a better deal.

DR. H.A. HELLYER, SENIOR ASSOCIATE FELLOW, INTERNATIONAL SECURITY STUDIES, ROYAL UNITED SERVICES INSTITUTE: I don't think about Netanyahu trying to put pressure on Hamas about a deal. I think, unfortunately, this is the logical consequence of Netanyahu strategy or lack thereof over the past four months.

I think that all of the signals are that indeed the Israelis intend to go into Rafah. And if they do, I think there will be massive consequences, not least of which will be applied to the Palestinians. Gaza, on its own is usually under the best conditions, one of the most densely populated areas in the world.

Rafah, it's far more than that. And I don't think that there is any possibility of the IDF or even the most incredibly strategic and moral army in the world going into Rafah and not having a mass casualty event.

And unfortunately, what we've seen over the past four months is that the IDF has acted with, you know, incredible disproportion of means. I think that the inevitability of a huge massacre is really staring at us in the face, and it's incredibly important that the Israelis do not go into Rafah.

BRUNHUBER: OK. We've heard warnings from countries like the U.S. Israel shouldn't go into Rafah without a plan to protect civilians. Or you argue those warnings from allies are unlikely to sway Netanyahu, why is that?

HELLYER: No plan that could possibly exist. There is nowhere for the civilians to go. The Israelis have made sure of that up and down the Gaza Strip. So, the exhortation publicly, verbally from the United States. In this regard, is really quite groundless. So, that's point number one.

Point number two, the Israelis have no reason to listen to the United States, because they know that these are words.

[02:25:00]

There is tremendous leverage that the United States -- the United States could use on the Israelis in order to force a change in behavior, and we haven't seen any of that being used over the past four months, nor even the threat of it being used.

We seen on the country, political support at the United Nations, we have seen military support, in terms of the provision of arms, we've seen a continued declaration of support for Israel in this conflict.

So, I don't think the Israelis would take seriously any "warnings" from the Biden administration, when the Biden ministration has made it very clear that they won't actually do anything to affect any change in behavior.

BRUNHUBER: All right. So, going into this week, we heard there about all the international outcry, one of the loudest voices, of course, has been Egypt, what's at stake here for them? If Israel does go into Rafah and you know, what's at stake, you know, in terms of their relations with Israel?

HELLYER: I think it goes far beyond that. If there is an incursion of the Israelis into Rafah, more deeply, and there is a massacre, there is a mass casualty events, I think those nations that have diplomatic ties with the Israelis are going to be placed under tremendous pressure from their own populations to downgrade or suspend those ties. And, of course, this completely changes the security architecture of the region. I think it also has an impact and repercussions on those nations' relationships with the United States and Israel's backers, at this particular moment in time. Even if the leaderships of those countries, are uninterested in reconsidering the regional arrangements or security architecture of the region. In that regard, that the relations are going to be changed irrevocably.

Already what we've seen across the world in the Global South, but really just across the world, is a recognition that when the West and particularly, United States talks about the rule of law, a rules-based order internationally, human rights, invasion, occupation, people laugh. I'll be very frank with you.

I've done a lot of meetings over the past four months in different parts of Europe, in different parts of Africa and Asia, and the credibility of particularly the United States, but also other European countries that are backing the Israelis at present, it's extraordinary. I've never seen it like this.

When the Israelis are currently in the dock at the International Court of Justice being accused of genocide. And you have states like the U.S. and Germany and elsewhere, saying, no, we don't see that there's any basis to this case, when literally the highest court in the world considers the case to be plausible enough to be heard, then, we have a big problem in terms of how the rules-based order goes forward.

The credibility of those in the West that are constantly trying to say that Israel is legitimate in pursuing and prosecuting this war, despite the fact that around 30,000 people, the vast majority of whom are civilians have been killed over the past four months.

I think we have to stop and really think what this means not only for today, not only for the region, but really for international order, for Ukraine, for the future of any rules-based international order.

BRUNHUBER: All right. We'll have to leave it there. H. A. Hellyer, thank you so much for joining us. Really appreciated it.

HELLYER: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Coming up, U.S. Navy pilots have only seconds to react the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. We'll show you how they do it.

Plus, Japan had the third largest economy in the world, but not anymore.

Land at the rising sun has sunk into a recession.

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BRUNHUBER: Yemen's Houthis are threatening to ramp up their attacks on ships in the Red Sea if the U.S. enforces its designation that the group is a global terrorist organization. The militants warned on Wednesday that what comes next will be "worse than what came before." U.S. put the Houthis back on the list of global terrorist groups last month, following the attacks in the Red Sea. Restrictions and sanctions that come with the designation are set to go into effect on Saturday.

The Head of UN Aid Operations for Yemen say they are worried about the impact that terror designation will have on Yemen's economy and civilians. U.S. warships in the Red Sea are responding nearly every day to Houthi missile and drone attacks. Natasha Bertrand goes aboard some of those ships and shows us how they're dealing with that constant threat.

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NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is what the crew of a U.S. warship here is when a Houthi missile is headed their way.

CNN embedded (ph) with the U.S. Navy in the southern Red Sea where sailors have been on the front lines of the fight against the Iran- backed rebels for over two months.

BERTRAND: We're on our way now to the USS Gravely, which is one of the destroyers that has been shooting down missiles and drones that they have been firing indiscriminately into the Red Sea.

BERTRAND (voice-over): Here off the coast of Yemen, U.S. warships tried to shoot down the Houthi missiles before they can cause any real damage. But the sailors have little time to respond.

LT. J.G. JAMES RODNEY, U.S. NAVY: We could have seconds or we could have minutes based on -- I won't say much more than minutes.

BERTRAND (voice-over): The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier, which the president ordered to the Red Sea in November in response to the Houthi attacks, has been working at a frenetic pace to keep up with the threat.

CAPT. MARVIN SCOTT, CARRIER AIR WING COMMANDING OFFICER: They have tried to target coalition forces, U.S. forces through swarm attacks, using multiple UAVs, using multiple anti-ship ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles. They are trying everything that they can, but we are prepared for anything that they might throw our way.

BERTRAND (voice-over): Fighter jets are launched from the Ike roughly 50 times per day, staying airborne for hours at a time, so they can quickly strike targets inside Yemen and over the Red Sea.

BERTRAND: We were woken up early this morning around 4:30 a.m. to the sounds of alarms blaring on this aircraft carrier, a sign we are told of a potential imminent threat by a Houthi drone that was flying over the Red Sea. That alarm indicating and these fighter aircraft behind me, they had to be ready to respond potentially at a moment's notice.

BERTRAND (voice-over): That drone was quickly deemed no longer a threat, but it demonstrates how risky the mission is. The Houthis have also been trying to hit the jets flying over Yemen with surface to air missiles, officials told CNN.

BERTRAND: You're flying these missions against the Houthis. Can you talk a little bit about what is unique or the most challenging aspect of these missions they are doing on a near daily basis?

CAPT. JAMES HUDDLESTON, CARRIER AIR WING 3: Well, first off, this isn't exactly where we expected to be on this deployment.

[02:35:00]

HUDDLESTON: Whenever you're doing something for the first time in a region, that's not without risks, but we have managed that risk to our strike group and our air crew through the management of combat power.

BERTRAND (voice-over): With no end in sight to the Houthi attacks, U.S. officials tell CNN, they don't know how much capability the rebels have left as they continue to be resupplied by Iran.

REAR ADM. MARC MIGUEZ, COMMANDER, CARRIER STRIKE GROUP 2: (Inaudible) is electronic attack.

BERTRAND (voice-over): The commander of the carrier strike group told CNN, they will stay in the Red Sea for as long as necessary.

MIGUEZ: The sustainability, we can go for a long time. We've got our logistics train already mapped out, to stay here as long as the president needs us stay here

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERTRAND: Now, one of the big questions that we were left with coming off of those warships was just how much of the Houthi's capabilities the U.S. has managed to destroy in its repeated strikes inside Yemen on Houthi targets? Strikes that have become a near daily occurrence. But officials on board those ships could not give us a good sense of just how much of the Houthi's weaponry they have actually managed to degrade. And that's is obviously going to be a very key part of having the U.S. figure out just how long they are going to have to actually sustain this operation against the Houthis. As of now, officials say, it could go on for quite some time.

Natasha Bertrand, CNN, in Bahrain.

BRUNHUBER: Japan's once bustling economy is now in a recession. Latest government data shows two consecutive quarters of a shrinking economy and it is no longer the world's third largest economy. We go live now to Tokyo and CNN's Hanako Montgomery. So, Hanako, take us through these numbers and how significant they are for Japan.

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Kim, of course. So, one of the reasons why we are seeing that the Japanese economy, the Japanese GDP is going down, is because Japan is facing a demographic crisis. We know that over 10 percent of the Japanese population is over the age of 80 and nearly a third of the country is 65 and above, which is retirement age. Now, what this means for the Japanese economy is that its less productive. You have less people working for the economy, less people contributing to it, and that means that the GDP continues to shrink and shrink.

Now, the latest government data released earlier this morning show that the 2023 nominal GDP for Japan was $4.2 trillion. Germany on the other hand was $4.4 trillion in 2023, which of course means that Germany has now the third largest economy in the world. Now, I've been living in Japan for over three years now, and it's very obvious that it is a super-aged society. You don't have to go very far, just going to the doctor's office or the beauty salon, for instance, and most of the other people there are elderly people.

So, again, these demographic changes that we've been seeing in Japan for the past 10, 15 years have greatly affected the country's GDP. Now, another factor here are currency developments. So last year, the Japanese yen on average was about 141 yen to the dollar. Ten years ago, it was 80 yen to the dollar. We calculate GDP, of course, in dollar terms. So on the whole, it looks like Japan's GDP has gone down.

Now, the last factor here contributing to Japan's now position as fourth in the world in terms of how big the economy is, is private consumption. In Japan, private consumption makes up about half of the economy. But in the last quarter, private consumption went down 0.2 percent. Why? Because prices in Japan have been increasing, people are spending less and less. They're holding onto their wallets and they're not spending as much in the country. So again, these are all factors that contribute to Japan's position now as fourth in the world in terms of its economy, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right, Hanako Montgomery in Tokyo, thanks so much for that. After a 24-hour delay, a private company's lunar lander heads for historic touch down near the moon's south pole. I have details after the break, stay with us.

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[02:41:15]

BRUNHUBER: About 90 minutes ago, NASA, SpaceX, and a company called Intuitive Machines launched Intuitive's lunar lander " Odysseus" atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Have a look.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one, ignition and lift up, go SpaceX! Go IM-1 and the Odysseus lunar lander!

BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Company expects Odysseus to touch down on the moon next Thursday. If this mission is successful, Intuitive would be the first private space company to land on the moon. And it would be the first moon landing for the U.S. since the last of the Apollo Missions in 1972. There are several NASA science experiments onboard and its paying the company $118 million to deliver them to the moon.

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BRUNHUBER: Agent Teddy Bear captured an alleged drug dealer in Peru. Have a look how a Peruvian police officer dressed as a Teddy bear, you see there, was poised outside a suspect's house in northern part of Lima. The teddy bear held a heart-shaped balloon and a sign reading, "You are my reason to smile." The female suspect appeared to take the bait and other officers rushed in and once the police got in the house, they found what they say were bags containing illegal substances stored under the mattress.

I am Kim Brunhuber. "World Sport" is next. I'll be back in 15 minutes with more "CNN Newsroom."

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