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CNN International: Biden, Macron to Lead Commemorations in France for the 80th Anniversary of D-Day; Israeli Airstrike on U.N. School Kills 45; Millions Under Heat Warning as U.S. Heat Dome Worsens; British Royals Mark D-Day Anniversary. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired June 06, 2024 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

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

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, welcome to our viewers joining us from around the world. I'm Max Foster. It is Thursday, June 6th, the 80th anniversary of D-Day, beginning this hour at the American Cemetery in the Normandy region of France.

You're looking at live pictures here as U.S. President Joe Biden is preparing to meet with veterans and their families and then deliver remarks. It was on this day in 1944 that tens of thousands of Allied service members stormed the beaches of Normandy, eventually liberating France and leading to the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. And now, 80 years later, war is once again on Europe's doorstep with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

CNN's Kayla Tausche is traveling with the President and joins me now from Normandy. So it's about the veterans and so many world leaders out there to pay their respects to them.

KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It is Max, President Biden, and the First Lady currently aboard Marine One on their way here to meet with some of those veterans to recognize the heroic efforts of those who served on that day. Many of them, the youngest of which is 96 years old, likely the last major commemoration ceremony that veterans will be able to participate in with more than 10,000 troops memorialized here at this American cemetery. The President is expected to visit many of those gravestones and to lay a wreath here at the memorial.

But between those two events is one of the main events for this commemoration ceremony, the official program where much pomp and circumstance, many world leaders giving remarks, including French President Emmanuel Macron, President Joe Biden, as well as Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

And aides say that President Biden's message is going to be one where he tries to draw a through line between what happened in World War II, what happened on the shores here in Normandy, and what is happening on the front lines of Europe today, that the mission is still incredibly important to defend democratic nations against tyranny, against dictators who they say are ready to march through Europe once again.

But that message is also being delivered, Max, at a time when European capitals are preparing for populist waves in their own countries. And they're also bracing for the potential for an isolationist America to return, with former President Donald Trump currently seeing an edge in polls and new momentum in fundraising.

Of course, that is momentum that President Biden wants to stop. He has a goal of being here this week to establish a contrast with his predecessor and show empathy, to show commitment to allies around the world, and to show that the U.S. will continue being there for this mission for the long haul -- Max.

FOSTER: I think what's so striking about the veterans that are there this year is how they were all so young at the time, because we're talking about the surviving veterans effectively being teenagers when they stormed that beach, and it's quite hard to fathom, isn't it?

TAUSCHE: It's nearly impossible to fathom what they went through when they were on those boats, in those planes, when they were coming to these shores after receiving those orders from General Eisenhower on the eve of the invasion. Those 16-year-olds had to lie about their age in order to enlist because they were, of course, below the mandatory age of 18. So that was an incredibly brave act that those individuals undertook, and many who have met with leaders and with journalists say that it was still worth it to serve in that fight to protect a nation and a world order that remains free in the West today, and that is a message that I know that President Biden is going to deliver to them as well, his sincere gratitude for that mission.

FOSTER: Do you think there'll be a through line, as you describe it, to NATO and the importance of NATO and this being the, you know, real symbolism of what allies can do together and then throwing ahead to the sense that perhaps President Trump wouldn't be as committed?

[04:05:00]

TAUSCHE: Absolutely, Max. In the Atlantic Ocean there are ships stationed from 30 NATO countries, essentially a show of force from the alliance that they remain as unified as ever today in the face of war in Ukraine.

It's something that is also going to be a message for the next several weeks too with a key NATO summit happening in Washington, D.C. in mid- July. There are major milestones, not just for the D-Day anniversary, which of course happened 80 years ago, but NATO turns 75 this year. Next week at the G7 summit in Italy, that will mark 50 years since that group's inception.

Of course, the seven wealthiest economies in the world getting together to solve like-minded problems with like-minded solutions. So they are recognizing these institutions that have been around for some time but also seen some fractures of late. Donald Trump's policy officials who are conceiving what a second term could look like have acknowledged that if he won a second term that he would almost assuredly pull out of NATO as one of his first orders. So that is no small possibility here, and that is why President Biden and NATO leaders are seeking to bolster that alliance, to future-proof it as much as possible, and to prepare for the potential of a day- after scenario where European nations need to spend more on defense or as much on defense as the U.S. has, and that's something that I know the countries are working on right now.

FOSTER: Kayla Tausche in Normandy, thank you so much.

Well, commemorations are already happening beyond France. A drone show dazzled spectators on Wednesday in Portsmouth, England. It featured images of a Spitfire fighter aircraft, a soldier, and the words, I can remember. British Army paratroopers recreated a drop into the fields of Normandy on Wednesday. More than 150,000 service members from the U.S., U.K., Canada, and other allied nations stormed the French beaches in 1944.

We'll continue to cover the anniversary events out of Normandy throughout the day. We're going to get to some other top stories right now for you, though.

Officials in Gaza say dozens of people have been killed and wounded in an Israeli airstrike on a U.S.-run school housing displaced Palestinians in the heart, heart of the enclave. CNN's Nada Bashir following these developments for us -- Nada.

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Look, Max, this is yet another attack we have seen on a part of central Gaza which is known to be sheltering thousands of displaced civilians. But this particular attack on the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza targeted a U.N.-run school.

Now, according to eyewitnesses on the ground and a CNN photojournalist stringer on the ground, the school was struck by three separate missile strikes overnight. The school is said to have been housing around 20,000 people, not just within the school but around the school's grounds in these displacement camps that we have seen popping up from the outset of this war.

And, of course, important to remember that what we have seen over the last few days and weeks is civilians who had been displaced to southern Gaza, and in particular the city of Rafah, have now been returning back to central Gaza because of fears over an increased Israeli military presence and offensive in the south. So we have seen civilians returning there.

According to hospital and health officials, dozens more have been injured. At this stage the death toll is currently at least 39, but health officials say they expect that figure to continue to rise, that they are still receiving casualties at the hospital nearby the Nuseirat camp.

And, of course, this comes just a day after we saw another round of strikes in central Gaza targeting the Deir al-Balah region, again another area that is densely populated.

In both instances the Israeli military has said that it was targeting Hamas militants and infrastructure. In this particular case the Israeli military has said it was targeting a Hamas compound within the school, but we have heard from a spokesperson for the U.N. agency for Palestine refugees reiterating that U.N. premises should never become targets during times of war, particularly when they are sheltering civilians. But, of course, this comes, as I mentioned, just a day after the targeting of the Deir al-Balah region.

At least 65 people killed in those rounds of strikes. And, of course, as we have heard from medical officials, hospitals overwhelmed in that incident as well. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASHIR (voice-over): What is left to say for the children of Gaza? Wounded and killed in their thousands by a months-long Israeli military onslaught. For so many there are no words.

The wounded are rushed to hospital beside the dead. This child clutches on to her father, terrified but alive. For so many others in the central city of Deir al-Balah there is only grief and suffering, as the bodies of Gaza's latest victims fill overrun mounds.

Dozens were killed in overnight strikes by the Israeli military, said to be acting on intelligence targeting Hamas militants. Dozens were killed in overnight strikes by the Israeli military, said to be acting on intelligence targeting Hamas militants and infrastructure. But this was an area, as is so often the case, where thousands of displaced civilians had been sheltering, and a region many displaced Gazans in the south had returned to in recent days.

Among them were Um Taha's (ph) daughter and her son, his lifeless body beside her. Her four other children have been left fighting for their lives in intensive care.

What did they do to deserve this? They were just children, not fighters, Um Taha says.

As the dead are laid to rest, the living must grapple with a humanitarian catastrophe that is only getting worse. Mountains of waste piled high.

Raw sewage contaminating the strip's heavily restricted water supplies. The U.N. now warning of severe health and environmental risks, with diseases feared to be spreading rapidly through Gaza's densely populated displacement camps.

Life here is so much more difficult than you could even imagine, Abdul Rahman (ph) says. Raw sewage, mosquitoes, no water, the smell at night. Our children can't sleep. There are sick people here, the elderly.

More than a million people in Gaza are now facing catastrophic levels of hunger. A group of independent experts warned on Wednesday that famine may already be underway in the north. Children across the strip have been left to scavenge for whatever they can find to feed their families. Scraps of paper and plastic gathered from the street, used in place of firewood to bake bread.

My children haven't eaten all day, this mother says. This is all we have left to feed them for the whole day.

And as Israel deepens its offensive further south, humanitarian operations have been left on the brink of collapse.

I have one question, this woman says. Why are they doing this to us? What did we do to deserve all this?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASHIR (on camera): Look Max, we did hear yesterday from the NGO Doctors Without Borders issuing a statement with reports from their own medics on the ground responding to this particular incident.

The statement really paints a picture of what medical staff there are facing, saying that the odor of blood in the hospital's emergency room this morning was unbearable. There are people lying everywhere on the floor outside. Bodies were being brought in plastic bags. The situation is overwhelming.

And this is a situation that is reflected across the Gaza Strip in whatever hospitals are left able to actually provide care for patients injured in these sorts of attacks. And what we've been hearing repeatedly from humanitarian organizations, from medical officials on the ground, is that they are simply beyond capacity, that these humanitarian operations are on the brink of collapse -- Max.

FOSTER: Nada, thank you.

Meanwhile, fighting on Israel's northern border has surged in the past 24 hours, leaving two renewed fears of a wider regional conflict. Cross-border attacks from Hezbollah and militants in Lebanon sparked fires across northern Israel, forcing evacuations.

The Israeli military says approximately 30 rockets and drones were launched from Lebanon towards Israel on Wednesday, while Israeli airstrikes targeted Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the border area and had this warning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Whoever thinks that they can hurt us and that we will sit idly by is making a big mistake. We are prepared for very intense action in the north. One way or another, we will restore security to the north.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, the U.S. remains incredibly concerned about the risk of escalation on the Israeli-Lebanon border. The State Department says they're engaged in intense diplomatic talks to prevent further escalation and called it an untenable situation.

Severe storms and at least eight tornadoes reported in the U.S. state of Maryland on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. A Maryland resident captured this video as a tornado moved through Montgomery County just over half an hour away from Washington, D.C. The twister uprooted trees, caused damage to multiple homes.

First responders were able to rescue five people stuck inside the home with the most damage and homes with the most damage and to get them to hospital as well. A fire department spokesperson says one person suffered traumatic injuries.

A scorching heat dome is sending temperatures about 20 to 25 degrees above normal in parts of western United States.

[04:15:00]

The National Weather Service has issued excessive heat warnings for 17 million people in California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and South Texas. Temperatures could reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit or nearly 49 degrees Celsius in Death Valley in California. Here's how visitors to Death Valley are coping.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTA FISCHER, TOURIST FROM GERMANY: I like it warm, but it's a little bit too much. Could be a little less.

HEATHER KEMP, TOURIST FROM ENGLAND: It's quite a shock. When you come back from England --

JOHN KEMP, TOURIST FROM ENGLAND: It's quite a shock. But we knew we were going to experience this in Death Valley, and that's why we wanted to come.

H. KEMP: What we didn't appreciate was, we'd been to the canyon before, so we knew what to expect. I had no idea what to expect here. It is absolutely stunning.

J. KEMP: It's as stunning as the Grand Canyon.

H. KEMP: Yes, it is. Absolutely.

MATTHEW LAMAR, PARK RANGER, DEATH VALLEY, CALIFORNIA: There's no doubt about it. We're going to be in the high teens today, and we might even be in the low 20s Thursday and Friday. So, it's pretty hot.

DOUG OLSON, VISITING FROM OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA: In terms of, you know, the obvious question about climate change, I think more people should come here and realize what it's really like to be in this kind of heat.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Well, CNN's Chad Myers now has more on the forecast for the heat dome. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, like many places around the globe, it has been an early spring for many of us here. Still, some places north of the jet stream stay cooler than normal, but it's the heat dome that we have over the southwestern part of the U.S. that has really affected that area. Think of a heat dome like parking the car with the windows up in the sunshine.

The dome, which is high pressure, wind doesn't blow very much, no clouds, and the sun just beats down on the earth all day long, and things warm up rapidly, way more rapidly than we would like.

Excessive heat warnings posted throughout the southwest, where temperatures are going to be record-breaking. More than 100 daily records will be broken by the end of this week.

Look at the temperatures even for Las Vegas for today, 110 degrees. Phoenix, even a little bit warmer than that. These now rival the temperatures we should be seeing in late June and early July.

If we see another heat dome in July and August, these numbers could certainly be even higher than this. This is just a timing thing, how it is so early in the season to be seeing temperatures like this, even for Sacramento, at 101.

It does cool off a little bit, things kind of loosen their grip, but it is a dangerous heat and heat index for many people out here in the western part of the United States.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Now Britain's royal family is in France to honor World War II veterans who stormed the beaches of Normandy. The messages from King Charles and Prince William, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Live images from Normandy, France, where King Charles and Queen Camilla will be joined by French President Emmanuel Macron and the French First Lady.

[04:20:00]

The British Memorial Ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day about to get underway. And that memorial is brand new.

Joining me now from the Normandy region of France is Jack Hemmings, a World War II veteran who served in the British Royal Air Force. And you're there remembering your best friend, Jack.

JACK HEMMINGS, BRITISH ROYAL AIR FORCE VETERAN: Correct. Stuart King, yes.

FOSTER: Take us through his story. HEMMINGS: Stuart's story is that he was an engineer officer on a typhoon squadron. The typhoon was a two-foot velocity, almost a ground attack, and there was no air activity. And Stuart and other war runners from the squadron were sent to shore on this day, D-Day, 80 years ago.

And they were put ashore and had to wade through low water, scrambling up the beach. The Germans had machine guns and other weapons, and he managed to get ashore on Earth. And waded ahead, and they captured an airfield, and the squadron flew in and faced themselves.

And, of course, once they were there, the German fighters and ground attackers launched an attack on them to try and nullify their approach. And, again, Stuart survived all the attacks. He'd be working on aircraft, and that would come.

They'd dive into shelters, and then the attack would be over, and they'd get back to work. And so it went on day after day, but successfully.

FOSTER: I think what's so striking about this anniversary, obviously it's been 80 years, so the veterans that are there were teenagers at the time. Many of them, I understand, 16 years old, lying about their age, some as young as 14 years old. So that's what's so striking about the people we see there today.

HEMMINGS: Well, I've just been to the War Cemetery, and you walk along the lines of gravestones with the name and so on, and their age of death. And nearly all are in their 20s. Some of them are as young as 18, but I think 19 was supposed to be the age of the youngest soldiers. But so many were in their 20s, as you say.

FOSTER: I wanted to ask you one question, which brings it up to date. Obviously, I know you're very keen for young people to know these stories so they can realize what you went through, but also so they don't have to go through it themselves.

President Biden will be talking about the specter of war in Europe again today, as we understand it, talking about Ukraine. Do you think there are lessons of what your best friend went through and what you did in the wider war that can inform decisions today?

HEMMINGS: Well, I'm surprised that in the 80 years since then, world leaders have slowly come to the conclusion that wars are not really worth it. And they cause so much harm in the waging, and very often little or no gain in the end result. So why Russia, and a bit, I must say, on the part of Israel, to be so keen to hurt other people, when the energies of the world can so positively be employed on tackling world problems, like climate change, like the temperature variations that you've been talking about back on CNN.

[04:25:04]

FOSTER: Jack Hemmings, we really appreciate your time, and I hope you have a fulfilling day there, remembering your best friend and all of the others who obviously fell on this day 80 years ago. Thank you, Jack.

Well, Britain's King Charles and Prince William will be taking part in those ceremonies in France today. On Wednesday, they honored World War II veterans in Portsmouth, England, where many of the boats left from to take part in that operation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER (voice-over): A royal wave from a 99-year-old British World War II veteran. D-Day soldiers who are still here to tell their stories, revisiting their past as a lesson for the future.

Some even travelling across the sea from Portsmouth in England to mark the 80th anniversary of the U.S.-led landing in Normandy, France. They were joined by British royals and a handful of world leaders who celebrated their allied efforts, urging the next generation to listen to those who came before.

KING CHARLES III, UNITED KINGDOM: Our role is not purely passive. It is our duty to ensure that we and future generations do not forget their service and their sacrifice.

FOSTER (voice-over): The ceremony, the first major event since King Charles' cancer diagnosis, saw him side-by-side with his wife, Queen Camilla, who shed a tear amid the somber occasion. As well as his son and heir, Prince William, their rare family show of force a representation of unity amid a time of global division. Charles and William using the moment to remind their country and the world of the need for civic duty, sacrifice and the strength of allied cooperation.

PRINCE WILLIAM, UNITED KINGDOM: I am deeply honored to join you today to recognize the bravery of all of those who participated in the D-Day landings. The start of the liberation of France and Europe that led to victory of the allied powers.

FOSTER (voice-over): Royal ties to the Second World War are far from forgotten. Keen not to be hidden during the war, after bombs dropped on Buckingham Palace, the then King George VI and Queen Elizabeth decided to stay put in solidarity with those living through the Blitz. And at just 19 years old, a teenage Princess Elizabeth carried out her first public duties during the war, joining the women's military, training as a driver and mechanic.

Former reflections were mixed with this week's commemorations, rich in symbolism and resonance of current times, a commitment and plea to learn from the past.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER (on camera): I'll just show you images from the British War Memorial, which was opened this year, effectively. The idea came about 10 years ago from a veteran who was there for the 70th anniversary, saying Britain was the only one of the key allied nations that didn't have a memorial there in France.

And it's being attended there by the British Royal Family. The Macrons will also be there. And as Jack, our veteran earlier, was saying, one of the most poignant things is that all the names that are written on the memorial tended to be people in their 20s and as young as 17, 18.

And you'll see also how there's a field of statues of soldiers walking up there from the beach onto the land, which obviously triggered the end of World War II. But the King will be there, involved in other events as well through the course of the day. As we head towards the main event of the day, where the heads of state will be gathered from around the world to mark the event, won't see the King.

We'll be seeing Prince William because the King is still undergoing treatment and isn't able to attend all of those events. But quite a poignant moment for Prince William, I think, to be seen amongst the heads of state. So a vision forward, really, for his monarchy and future.

But this is really about the veterans and what you the impression you get from the veterans is that they almost don't want the attention because they there's a sense of guilt almost that they survived and their friends fell. So really, it's the -- it's the veterans who fell that today is about.

And there we see Queen Camilla with King Charles. And if anyone saw the event in Portsmouth yesterday, you would have seen the Queen shed a tear when she heard one of the stories of one of the veterans who survived D-Day.

[04:30:00]

So very emotional for her family links to World War II. And as someone in her 70s, it's a lot closer to her than it is to many other people.

But she's about to come out. She'll meet the Macrons. But the priority, as I understand it, is to spend time with the veterans. They are dwindling in number.

And as I was describing earlier, the only ones surviving today were either teenagers or in their early 20s, very early 20s. And it really shows, you know, the bravery of those young men, mainly, who took that commitment. And lots of questions about whether or not young people today would make the same commitment.

But we see there, the King and Queen of the United Kingdom at the new British War Memorial, going off to meet veterans and local dignitaries at the beginning of a day of events for them.

Still to come, Russia's president weighs in on Donald Trump's criminal conviction, and what it says about the U.S. legal system.

And later, a flyover and explosions as the U.S. and South Korea launch a new military drill. We're live near the DMZ.