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Mexico Likely to Elect Its First Woman President; Thousands of Mexicans Vote from Abroad in U.S.; African National Congress Loses Majority After 30 Years; Zelenskyy Asks U.S. to Lift Limits on Firing into Russia; N. Korea to Halt Sending Trash-Filled Balloons to S. Korea; Displaced Palestinians Struggling to Survive Amid Conflict; France Welcomes WWII Vets Ahead of Grand Commemoration; Japanese Company Invests $48M in New Whaling Ship. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired June 03, 2024 - 00:00   ET

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

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome, everyone. Appreciate your company. I'm Michael Holmes.

[00:00:36]

Coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM, voters in Mexico and abroad endure long lines. We're live in Mexico as this historic election is poised to elect a woman as president.

North Korea says it's done sending trash across the border, for now.

And Japan's new mothership, a $48 million whaling vessel that is not without controversy.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM, with Michael Holmes.

As Mexico waits, official results from what should be a historic election. The country's two main political parties are already claiming victory.

Voters are set to elect their first female president. A top contender is the former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, a protege of the outgoing president. Her rival, Xochitl Galves, is supported by a coalition of opposition parties.

Now, this race is part of the larger set of elections in the nation's history with more than 20,000 positions on the ballot nationwide. There have been disruptions, long lines, and delays plaguing some polling stations while authorities say voting was suspended in one town because of violence there.

Now this has been a particularly bloody political cycle, one marred by multiple assassinations and violence. One local candidate was killed just hours before voting began.

CNN's Gustavo Valdes joins me now, live from Mexico City. Good to see you, Gustavo. Bring us up to date on the election, an important one for Mexico. When can we expect results? GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Michael, we are expecting

results within the hour. The National Electoral Institute is poised to announce within the next 30 minutes. The first preliminary assaults there are likely to give us a pretty good idea of who the next president will be, even though both main candidates have ready claimed victory.

On the one hand, Morena, the official party, the party in power right now, the head of the party came out early, very early on and claimed not only that they had won the presidency, but also the eight governorships in play. Later, Xochitl Galves, the opposition candidate, came and she didn't quite claim victory. She just stated that they had won, stating that they had had a successful campaign all over the country.

Now, there are some early polls that favor Sheinbaum, the -- Claudia Sheinbaum, the Morena candidate. And there is some early results coming from the official institute that also favor her, but pollsters have been telling us that most of the people they talk to outside the polls were reluctant to talk to the pollsters, so they're not quite sure that their polls are reliable. And that's why there hasn't been anybody calling for the next president.

So that's where we are awaiting, and it was a very interesting day. There were long lines in many places. People abroad were able to vote. And they were frustrated, because more people showed up to vote than there were ballots.

They were -- about 20 percent of the polling stations in the country didn't open for about two or three hours. That delayed the closing of the voting in Mexico.

And as you mentioned, we also saw acts of violence in parts, in South Mexico.

But overall, success. People seem to be expecting the result without any doubt of what is going to happen. So we just have to wait who the next president is going to be.

HOLMES: And I've been watching your coverage over the day, and you've spoken to a lot of voters. What -- what have they told you about what they want from their new government, their new president?

VALDES: So their main concern is public safety because of the -- what we've said about violence. The cartels have increased their struggle (ph) and joined the empty streets of Mexico's capital.

But this is where it gets interesting, because a lot of people think that Lopez Obrador's policies in security, in which he hasn't engaged the army and the police to actively pursue the cartels, is not a good policy, but that is what Claudia Sheinbaum represents, and she seems to be the favorite right now.

[00:05:06]

On the other hand, we have the people who -- who thought we needed a change. But that is not what we are seeing by their results. And there's also a little bit -- the surprise factor here might be that, according to the initial report, only about under 60 percent of the people registered to vote actually came out and voted. There were almost 100 million people registered. People were expecting to go beyond the 64 percent that we saw six years ago, but a lesser number is being reported.

So despite the long lines and the enthusiasm that we saw all day long, it seems like a lot of people stayed home.

HOLMES: All right. I appreciate your coverage there. Gustavo Valdes in Mexico City. We'll check back in with you when we get more information. Appreciate it.

Now, 1.4 million Mexicans were eligible to cast their ballots abroad in this election. And earlier, CNN's Camila Bernal was with some of those voters in Los Angeles, where the turnout exceeded expectations.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Mexican officials estimate that about 223,000 people will vote in these Mexican elections from abroad and about 70 percent of that coming from votes in the United States.

Now, this is just one of the 20 locations across the U.S. Here in Los Angeles, thousands of people have shown up to vote.

The problem is that there's not enough capability for all of these people to actually vote. So what officials said was that about 1,400 people here in Los Angeles registered to vote, and they had an additional 1,500 spots. By seven in the morning, they already had about 2,000 people lined up to vote, so they already knew that those spaces that they had saved for those people that had not registered to vote were already taken.

You see this line wrapping around multiple times around the entire block. These voters are excited. There are many issues that feel -- that they feel are important for them, especially because a lot of their family members are still in Mexico.

But there are things like this historic election and electing the first woman president.

Also, the fact that there is a security issue, the migration issue; the economy, the trade between the two countries. Those are issues that are important to voters, both in the United States and in Mexico.

Take a listen to what one voter told us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's very important for us to elect a woman as president, no matter who wins. But I say it isn't for me. It's very important, because the womans [SIC] are -- are leading contenders to be the next president of Mexico. But also, it's the first time that we Mexicans who live abroad going to cast a ballot here. Used to be by mail or electronically, but now we're going to have that opportunity. BERNAL: And you're, of course, hearing people shout "Morena," which is

the party of the current president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, and of the favorite to win this election, Claudia Sheinbaum. That's what you're hearing from a lot of these voters, who continue to be extremely passionate and who are voting in person for the first time here in the United States.

So again, officials here saying that they're excited about the turnout, and they hope that, in the future, more and more people will register to vote so that they don't have to turn people away.

What's also very interesting in this election is that, in Mexico, you have six-year terms for the president to here in the U.S., you have those four-year terms. This is the one year where those two align. It happens every 12 years.

So it will be extremely important to see who leads Mexico and who leads the U.S. and how that relationship is going to play out.

Camila Bernal, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: The results of South Africa's elections are in, and for the first time since the end of apartheid's white minority rule, the African National Congress has lost its majority, the ANC winning just 40 percent of the vote.

Still, President Cyril Ramaphosa called the results a, quote, "victory for democracy," because the ballot was fair and free from violence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CYRIL RAMAPHOSA, SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT: We have held another successful election that has been free, fair, credible, and peaceful. The independent -- Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The party of Nelson Mandela must now cobble together a coalition government if it wants to remain in power. They have two weeks before the new Parliament convenes to select a president.

If no coalition has been formed by then, new elections must be held.

CNN's David McKenzie takes a look at what's ahead for the ANC.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sometimes change comes slowly.

RAMAPHOSA: Our people have spoken. Whether we like it or not, they have spoken.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): Sometimes, it comes fast. In just one election cycle, the ANC, the party of Nelson Mandela, with a staggering drop in support.

[00:10:06]

After three decades of dominance, the voters have spoken. The party that has defined South African politics losing its outright majority.

T.K. POOE, WITS SCHOOL OF GOVERNANCE: I think it means that society is passed the NCBI. We've always been waiting for the moment. We just didn't know the appropriate vehicle.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): Many South Africans were fed up with rampant corruption, huge unemployment, and deep inequality.

But the ANC collapse came, in large part, thanks to this man: disgraced former ANC president, Jacob Zuma. In just a few months, his new Umkhonto we Sizwe party, or M.K., bled votes from the ANC, tapping into Zoomers; loyal support in KwaZulu-Natal province.

Zuma and his party have, without evidence, claimed there were irregularities at the polls, threatening trouble if results were announced.

MELANIE VERWOERD, POLITICAL ANALYST, FORMER ANC MP: Jacob Zuma is different. It's always dangerous to let ethnic and tribal tensions rise too much. I don't foresee it being an issue in the foreseeable future, but it is something that one always needs to watch.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): What to watch for next, coalition politics. The ANC likely must choose to combine with pro-business Democratic Alliance or the leftist Radical Economic Freedom Fighters, perhaps even adding Zuma's M.K. No one knows for sure.

FIKILE MBALULA, ANC SECRETARY-GENERAL: We call on all South Africans to resist the efforts of those forces who want to weaken our democracy, who want to undermine our electoral processes, and who want to disregard the will of the people.

JOHN STEENHULSEN, DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE LEADER: Coalitions can work. They work all over the world. It requires maturity. And yes, there's going to be choppy waters ahead for South Africa, but we'll navigate them.

MCKENZIE: Do you want to be part of a governing coalition?

STEENHULSEN: Of course. I mean, the whole point of being in politics is to get into government.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): The results are deeply embarrassing for President Cyril Ramaphosa. He staked his reputation on reviving the ANC.

MCKENZIE: Is Cyril Ramaphosa under pressure now?

POOE: Oh, no. He's beyond under pressure. I think he might need to start looking for a new job. He always styles himself as the next incumbent [SIC] to President Nelson Mandela. But last recollection, President Nelson Mandela never lost an election.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): But Ramaphosa is well-known as a skilled negotiator. A skill that will now become very handy, indeed.

David McKenzie, CNN, Johannesburg.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Ukraine's president is continuing his Asia-Pacific trip with a visit to the Philippines on Sunday.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrapping up his surprise meeting at the Shangri-La Dialogue Security Conference in Singapore, where he met with the country's president and prime minister.

Mr. Zelenskyy is making personal appeals to leaders in the region to join the upcoming Ukraine peace conference in Switzerland.

Mr. Zelenskyy also met with the U.S. defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, while he was in Singapore, thanking the U.S. for giving limited permission to fire U.S. weapons into Russian territory.

But he says Washington needs to lift more restraints so Ukraine can properly defend itself.

CNN national security correspondent Natasha Bertrand joins me now from Singapore, where she's been covering this dialogue. An important visit there to Singapore by President Zelenskyy.

Is there a sense, from what he said, that he got what he wanted from his meetings, including with the U.S. defense secretary and the visit in general?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes and no, Michael.

So in his meeting with Secretary of Defense Austin, he did thank, of course, the U.S. for allowing Ukraine to finally be able to use those U.S.-made weapons to strike inside Russian territory, a major victory, really, for the Ukrainians, something they've been pushing for for quite some time now.

And according to the Pentagon, Secretary Austin did discuss Ukraine's most urgent battlefield needs with Zelenskyy, including that need for more air defense systems, something that the U.S. now is working to surge to Ukraine amid those missile barrages by the Russians inside Ukraine, against Ukrainian cities.

But when it comes to his interactions, or I should say, lack thereof with the Chinese, he really did not get what he came here for. He had hoped to set up meetings with Chinese officials while he was in Singapore in order to try to get them to attend this peace summit that Ukraine is set to hold in about two weeks' time in Switzerland.

But according to Zelenskyy, the Chinese refused to meet with him. And that is significant because, according to the U.S., according to the U.K., the Chinese have been actively supporting the Russians and their defense sector for the better part of a year now: providing multiple and several, you know, technology -- technological, dual-use items that Russia can then use to build weaponry and build other military equipment that is essentially allowing them to continue their war in Ukraine.

[00:15:13]

Given all of the sanctions the international community has imposed on them, they still have managed to maintain their defense industrial capacity. And that is, of course, allowing them to continue bombarding Ukraine with missiles and drones.

And so President Zelenskyy did not get the opportunity to speak face- to-face with Chinese officials about this while he was here in Singapore. So instead, he kind of spoke to them indirectly.

And he said, look, China's support for Russia really is prolonging the war in Ukraine. And he hoped that he would get opportunity soon to meet with them. But it does not look at this point like the Chinese are going to entertain that meeting.

However, Secretary Austin, in his meeting with the Chinese defense minister, he did say that there would be consequences from the U.S. and its international allies if China continued that support.

However, when I asked him earlier today what those consequences might be, he declined to lay them out. And he also declined to say whether the U.S. has actually seen that support cross over, not just from dual-use items that can support the technological aspect of Russia's military, but actually lethal aid itself.

The U.S. so far declining to say what they have actually seen China at this point provide weapons to Russia, but they are very concerned about that.

HOLMES: All right. Natasha, thanks for the coverage there. Natasha Bertrand in Singapore for us.

Now, North Korea says it is temporarily halting sending trash-filled balloons into South Korea. Seoul officials reported about 700 of the airborne waste deliveries floated into South Korea over the weekend, littering parts of the country with things like cigarette butts, paper, and pieces of both.

In response, the South Korean officials said the country will take, quote, "unendurable measures" in the coming days against North Korea.

For more on all of this, I'm joined by CNN's Mike Valerio in Hong Kong.

What -- what a story. I mean, these balloons actually stopped operations at one of the busiest airports in the world, Incheon. I mean, tell us about that and the general disruption of this rather bizarre balloon trash operation. MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I mean, Michael, you

really got a feel for the air traffic controllers at Incheon who see floating garbage, and that leads to everything stopping at Incheon, not once but twice.

And as you mentioned, this is not just a tiny airport. This serves a metropolitan area of 24 million people, the fourth largest urban area on earth, stopped because of floating garbage.

So Saturday, Michael, we actually had an incident of one of those floating garbage parcels crashing onto the runway and stopping everything at Incheon briefly.

Everything is back to normal. But the North is saying, you know what? We're going to press pause on this campaign for the moment.

And, you know, putting this into perspective, why this is happening right now, for years, Michael, the South Korean government and human, you know, agencies or I should say human rights agencies in the South have been sending these floating balloons North over the DMZ, replete with leaflets, with medicine, and also sometimes flash drives loaded with K-dramas, K-pop albums.

And also images that show what it's like to live in South Korea: to cook with hot water on a regular basis, to have electricity whenever you want. Images that could be threatening to the North Korean regime.

So the North is saying that tactic is trash. So here is our garbage. But listen to what it's been like on the ground around Seoul over the past few days, Michael.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SONG KWANG-JA, YONGIN CITY RESIDENT (through translator): I had goosebumps. It felt like a childish prank. I was surprised to hear about it.

KIM MIN-HEE, YONGIN CITY RESIDENT (through translator): Why are they sending things like this? I'm worried that they might send something dangerous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIO: So in terms of where we go from here, we've spoken with two groups who say they are not deterred. We're talking about human, you know, rights groups in South Korea who are saying they are still going to send up their balloons, despite what has happened with this balloon belligerency -- Michael.

HOLMES: Incredible story. Mike Valerio in Hong Kong with that for us. Appreciate it, Mike. Thanks.

Now, Donald Trump says he wouldn't mind going to prison. Coming up, why he says that putting him behind bars could be, though, a breaking point for his supporters. Plus, it's getting even harder to get food and supplies into Gaza since Israeli troops pushed into Rafah. We'll have a look at the challenges faced by aid groups on the ground when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:21:52]

HOLMES: Former U.S. president and now convicted felon, Donald Trump, says he would be OK with serving prison time. This coming just days after he was found guilty on all 34 charges in his hush money criminal trial.

But as he awaits sentencing on July 11, the Republican candidate for president warns a harsh punishment could lead to a breaking point among his supporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The judge could decide to say, hey, house arrest or even jail.

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He could. He could.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- face what could be?

TRUMP: I'm OK with it. It's -- one of my lawyers the other day on television saying, oh, no, you don't want to do that to the -- I said, don't, you know, beg for anything. You just -- the way it is.

I don't know that the public would stand it, you know. I don't -- I'm not sure the public would stand for it. With a --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: House arrest or -- or --

TRUMP: I think it'd be tough for the public to take. You know, at a certain point, there's a breaking point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, Trump did not stop there. When asked if he would seek revenge if reelected, here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It's a very interesting question. My revenge will be success. And I mean that.

But it's awfully hard when you see what they've done. These people are so evil.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now the latest Quinnipiac poll taken before the hush money verdict showed U.S. President Joe Biden and Donald Trump in a dead heat.

They will face off for the first time in a CNN debate on June 27. That's two weeks before Trump sentencing and just days before the Republican National Convention.

Meanwhile, President Biden's son, his trial on federal gun charges will begin in the coming hours. Hunter Biden accused of illegally buying and possessing a gun while abusing or being addicted to drugs. That's a felony charge.

He's pleaded not guilty but has been open about his struggles with alcohol and crack cocaine addiction in the past.

The case was bought -- brought by a former U.S. attorney appointed by Donald Trump. If convicted, Hunter could face up to 25 years in prison.

This is the first time the child of a sitting U.S. president will go on trial.

The U.S. secretary of state spoke with two Israeli ministers on Sunday, Antony Blinken assuring Yoav Gallant and Benny Gantz that the U.S. president, Joe Biden's, peace proposal would, quote, "advance Israel's long-term security interests."

A proposal that the Biden -- that said was Israel's idea. Here's more from the U.S. national security spokesperson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, SPOKESMAN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: Where we are right now, is that proposal, an Israeli proposal, has been given to Hamas. It was done on Thursday night, our time. We're waiting for an official response from Hamas.

We would note that publicly, Hamas officials came out and welcomed this proposal.

We have every expectations that -- that if Hamas agrees to the proposal, as was transmitted to them, an Israeli proposal, that Israel would say yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Meanwhile, families of hostages being held in Gaza gathered outside Benjamin Netanyahu's office, putting pressure on the Israeli prime minister to accept the new proposal and bring home their loved ones.

[00:25:05]

Meanwhile, months of war has left Gaza decimated and Palestinians with barely enough to survive day-to-day. Israeli bombardment has damaged or destroyed water and electricity infrastructure, housing, hospitals, and schools. Gaza's health ministry says more than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed so far, more than 82,000 wounded. CNN cannot independently verify these numbers.

Israel is preventing international journalists from getting into Gaza.

The situation also remains dire for displaced Palestinians with more than 75 percent of the enclave under evacuation orders.

The World Food Programme calling the situation apocalyptic, with people living in makeshift tents, which -- which in some areas have been flooded with raw sewage. And there's barely enough to eat.

Shaina Low is communication adviser with the Norwegian Refugee Council. She joins me now, live from Jerusalem.

Good to see you again, Shaina.

The crucial Rafah crossing, of course, remains closed because of Israels refer offensive. What impact has that had on aid operations? The crossing, of course, used to be see the central artery for aid getting in.

SHAINA LOW, COMMUNICATION ADVISOR, NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL: Well, since May 6, aid operations in the Rafah area and throughout Gaza have -- have really suffered.

We already were facing unimaginable challenges. But since -- since the Rafah operation began and the first event population orders were issued, it's been incredibly difficult.

The Norwegian Refugee Council, where I work, has not received any new shipments of aid since May 3. So we're basically at the end of what we've been able to stockpile in terms of distributing.

Meanwhile, thousands and thousands of people are continuing to be displaced, with little aid to support them once they reach new locations.

HOLMES: Yes. I think the number of trucks getting into Gaza the last few days has hovered around 58 or so. That's down from around 175 before Israel's Rafah offensive.

And for context, Gaza was getting North of 500 trucks a day before this conflict. That is an incredible, unimaginable deficit. It must be literally costing lives, surely.

LOW: Absolutely. And you have to remember that when those 500 trucks per day were coming in, Gaza had industry inside. They were able to grow their own food. There was product -- food production and other production within Gaza.

Now, that has basically come to a standstill.

What we are seeing day by day is more and more desperation. People are needing more and more assistance, and less and less is getting in. So the needs keep on growing, and we're struggling to provide even any type of meaningful assistance under these conditions.

On top of that, it's increasingly dangerous and difficult for humanitarians to maneuver, and we're facing shortages of fuel and other supplies that are needed in order to even carry out distributions and provide assistance.

We are really working under impossible circumstances, and aid operations are basically coming to a halt.

HOLMES: Yes. Yes. Getting the aid in is one thing. Getting it around is another, and that's proving problematic.

The level of damage in Gaza defies belief. So much has been damaged or completely destroyed.

Yesterday, I was speaking with a Gaza journalist and human rights worker, Mah Hosseini (ph), who -- and I asked her if, you know, after the war, if she thought Gaza would even be able to function as a society.

What -- what are your thoughts on that? What, what's going to be left for people to return to and have a life in?

LOW: You know, it sounds -- what I'm hearing from my colleagues in Gaza is that there's very little left already.

But people are desperate for this war to end. They are desperate to be able to return to their homes and start rebuilding. Every day, my staff is telling me that all they want to do is go home and just start to get their lives back to normal, some degree of normal, at least without bombardment.

But this is going to -- the amount of devastation and destruction will take years to rebuild, billions and billions of dollars. And that's nothing to say of the unimaginable trauma that Palestinians have been facing over the last eight months.

HOLMES: Yes, the mental trauma is a whole other thing. I mean, NRC does really important work in the territories. I've seen them on the ground.

What is the situation, though, for your humanitarian workers and others, those meant to help and feed people? Because the reality is, most of them on the ground, they're largely displaced and dispersed, along with the people they're meant to serve, aren't they?

I mean, what sort of toll is that taking?

LOW: Most of our staff have been displaced multiple times -- 5, 6, 7, 8 times over the last several months. And so they are desperate to want to provide assistance, continue to help their communities, provide life-saving aid to people in need.

[00:30:02]

But they are facing the same struggles that everyone in Gaza is facing: wondering where they're going to be sleeping, if their family is going to be safe, if they're going to have access to clean water and food. There -- there is no -- there is no escaping what is happening in Gaza. It is impacting every single person inside Gaza, whether they're humanitarian, whether they come from the upper class, whether they come from the lower class.

Everyone is facing displacement. Everyone is facing shortages of food, clean water, other vital needs. And really, we're struggling to do the best we can to support our staff so that they can support the -- the civilians of Gaza. But it's -- each and every day, it's getting more and more difficult.

HOLMES: It's an unimaginable situation.

Shaina Low in Jerusalem. Good to speak with you again. Thank you so much.

LOW: Thank you.

HOLMES: All right. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: And welcome back to our viewers all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Now this Thursday marks the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion during World War II, when 160,000 Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy in the largest seaborne invasion in history.

Well, this year, France is going all out, hosting a grand commemoration featuring world leaders and, more importantly, veterans who survived that bloody day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES (voice-over): A hero's welcome. More than 60 World War II veterans arrive in France ahead of the 80th anniversary of D-Day this week, many over the age of 100, having lived a lifetime since serving their country.

But the gratitude for those who fought and died on those fateful Normandy beaches is timeless.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's unreal. Unreal.

HOLMES (voice-over): On the 6th of June, 1944, more than 150,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches of France, under heavy fire from Nazi Germany's forces. The fighting intense: more than 9,000 Allied soldiers killed or wounded.

But it was a turning point in the war.

Eight decades later, these men and women, some who fought in Europe, others in the Pacific, know firsthand the sacrifices made on that day and the days to follow.

BILL WALL, WORLD WAR II VETERAN: I was in it from the beginning. I lost some great friends. All of these people who are out there under crosses and unmarked graves are the true heroes.

[00:35:02]

HOLMES (voice-over): But for one veteran and his companion, who arrived in France ahead of the others, it was a bittersweet trip and a chance for a new beginning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just such an experience for us. And we're very happy and very much in love.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By the way, we're getting married in France.

HOLMES (voice-over): The leaders of France, the United States, the U.K., Canada, and Germany will attend the anniversary ceremonies on Thursday.

In the past 80 years, the world has changed. Presidents, prime ministers, and chancellors have changed, but some of the surviving members of the Greatest Generation are still here, keeping watch for a grateful nation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Hunting whales commercially has long been a controversial subject, of course, but one Japanese company is investing millions of dollars to create the biggest and most advanced vessel of its kind to re-energize the industry.

CNN's Hanako Montgomery went on board.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Marvels of the deep blue, are to others a meal. Whaling in Japan is poised for a major comeback with the launch of this vessel.

MONTGOMERY: This vast new whaling mothership, the Kangei Maru, cost nearly 50 million U.S. dollars to make. And it just goes to show how Japan is not only continuing to hunt whales but also is trying to revitalize this shrinking industry in a very, very big way.

HOLMES (voice-over): We get a tour of the ship, led by Hideki Tokoro, the president of Kyodo Senpaku, the whaling company that made it, who doesn't hide his fondness for whale meat and rejects the idea of changing his business model.

HIDEKI TOKORO, PRESIDENT KYODO SENPAKU (through translator): We will not switch to whale watching, unless it is eating whale while whale watching, which sounds very chic.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): This ship hunts whales in Japan's territorial waters, before getting served in the country's supermarkets, school lunches, food carts, and vending machines.

But public appetite for whale meat, just 1 percent of its former peak, according to government data, is still far from satisfactory for Tokoro. And with the launch of this expensive new boat, Tokoro says bills are piling up.

But even if the new boat sinks him into bankruptcy, Tokoro insists there's no Plan B.

Internationally, whaling is criticized as a brutal and unsustainable practice that once pushed many of these mammals to the brink of extinction due to centuries of overhunting. And may still carry environmental consequences today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The things that we're learning about whales is that they're not just consumers in this ecosystem, but by the fact of them consuming so much food, they recycle a ton of nutrients into the environment that actually helps to stimulate plant life growth.

[00:40:09]

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): But Japan's fisheries agency says there's nothing wrong with whaling. They claim Japan should continue whaling, because their research shows it's sustainable, and whale populations in Japanese waters are increasing, allowing them to hunt even endangered species, even if whale meat's declining popularity is a regrettable trend for the agency.

TAKAAKI SAKAMOTO, DIRECTOR, WHALING AFFAIRS OFFICE, JAPANESE FISHERIES AGENCY (through translator): Since we are promoting increased consumption of marine products, I think it is unfortunate that consumption is decreasing.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Japan's whaling industry, attempting to revive its shrinking business, betting on a future that may never materialize.

Hanako Montgomery, CNN, Tokyo.

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HOLMES: Well, days of heavy rain has caused deadly flooding across Southern Germany. A firefighter was killed over the weekend while trying to rescue people trapped by the floodwaters.

Thousands are being forced to flee their homes as the water cut off access to some areas. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expected to visit the region in the coming hours.

Now to a celebration they've become quite familiar with in the Spanish capital, as the kings of Europe, Real Madrid, brought home their record-extending 15th European Cup trophy, presenting the dazzling piece of hardware to thousands of fans in central Madrid on Sunday.

Los Blancos received a heroes' welcome and tickertape parade a day after their two-nil victory against Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League final.

A historic win for golfer Yuka Saso, who took home her second career Women's U.S. Open title on Sunday.

Saso's victory makes her the first Japanese national to win the tournament. Her compatriot, Hinako Shibuno, finished runner-up at one under par, while Americans Andrea Lee and Ally Ewing finished tied for third at even par.

Thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'm Michael Holmes. You can follow me on Instagram, @HolmesCNN. Stick around. I'll be back with more news in about 15 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, WORLD SPORT coming up next.

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