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35 Congressional Democrats Now Urge Biden to Drop Out; Pelosi Slams Trump for Alleged Links to Project 2025; Trump Tries to Distance Himself From Project 2025; First Trump-Vance Campaign Rally Held in Michigan. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired July 21, 2024 - 05:00   ET

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

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[05:00:38]

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm Fred Pleitgen. And this is what's ahead on "CNN Newsroom."

CNN learns former national security officials are now voicing their concerns to Joe Biden about the presidential race, what they're saying, and how the White House is responding.

Donald Trump hits the campaign trail with his new running mate. Hear the message he took to a battleground state in his first rally since surviving an assassination attempt.

And Israel and Yemen launch more attacks against each other as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to visit the U.S.

We are now just 107 days away from the U.S. presidential election, and the race looks very different for the two leading parties. At least 35 Democratic lawmakers are now publicly urging U.S. President Biden to drop out of the race, and he is not taking that in stride.

Mr. Biden is reportedly, quote, "seething" toward Nancy Pelosi amid the growing list of Democratic defections. Ironically, the former Speaker of the House headlined what was touted as a, quote, "unity dinner" in North Carolina.

It's a stark contrast with the Republican Party, where the Trump-Vance campaign is in full swing. The former president held his first rally on Saturday since surviving an assassination attempt a week earlier.

Meanwhile, Mr. Biden spent another day in isolation recovering from COVID in Delaware, and more than three weeks after his disastrous debate performance. The President's campaign says he's standing firm with his run for a second term. They say he's the only Democrat who beat Trump before, and he'll do it again. Priscilla Alvarez reports.

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PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Biden is facing a fresh wave of Democratic lawmakers who say that he should step aside and allow someone else to be the Democratic candidate and nominee. They remain unconvinced that the President is up to the task of taking on former President Donald Trump this election year and continue to pour out letters asking for him to drop out of the race. But as over the course of all of this happening, the President is behind closed doors as he is trying to recover from COVID and has been self- isolating at his residence in Delaware.

Sources telling CNN that the President remains in touch with his close advisers as they grapple with what has become an increasingly challenging moment for this campaign, not only hearing from Democratic lawmakers, but also donors, allies, and in a letter obtained by CNN, former national security officials and high-ranking foreign policy experts who say that it's too risky for the President to stay in the race, particularly because it could allow former President Donald Trump to take a second term and, in turn, potentially have a toll on national security.

So the campaign, however, is remaining firm. They say that the President is going to stay in the race and that there are no plans for that to change. They also say that once the President recovers from COVID, that he will hit the campaign trail again.

Now, the Vice President was on the trail. She had a fundraiser in Massachusetts where she raised more than $2 million. Aides tell me that the Vice President and the President remain close, that there's no daylight between the two, despite some lawmakers floating her name as a replacement for -- to lead the party's ticket.

But the campaign saying that this is the Biden-Harris ticket, that they remain on course, even as it becomes even more challenging for them to stay afloat as Democratic lawmakers continue to ask the President to withdraw from the race.

Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, traveling with the President.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN: Now, we briefly mentioned Nancy Pelosi's appearance at a unity dinner in North Carolina on Saturday. The former Speaker of the House slammed Donald Trump for his alleged links to Project 2025. The Heritage Foundation's controversial playbook for the next Republican president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): Understand this, what they have in their 2025, you know that thing, that Project 2025. What's his name keeps saying, I don't have anything to do with it. I don't even know these people. No, they worked in his office. One was the head of the Office of Management and Budget. The other is a head of personnel. He knows him. He knows him full well. And that is the agenda.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:05:06] PLEITGEN: Trump tried to distance himself from Project 2025 when he appeared with J.D. Vance at a campaign rally in Michigan on Saturday. It was his first rally since surviving an assassination attempt last weekend. The former President told the crowd that he, quote, "took a bullet for democracy." His speech, however, focused on familiar themes of America being in decline and it all being the fault of current President Joe Biden and his Vice President Kamala Harris.

Our own Kristen Holmes has more from Grand Rapids, Michigan.

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KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Former President Donald Trump spoke in Grand Rapids, Michigan for roughly two hours. It was all over the place kind of speech. He seemed very much in his element in this crowd that was thousands of people cheering for him.

Now, he did touch on some issues that would affect people in Michigan, this critical battleground state that he won in 2016 and lost in 2020. And really, both Republicans and Democrats believe is crucial to winning back the White House.

He talked about getting rid of electric vehicles. He talked about boosting up autoworkers, bringing more jobs to Michigan. And he also talked about ending this kind of flood of immigration, quote, unquote, "sealing the border" was what he used.

Now, the other thing I want to point out is this was the first campaign rally with his new vice-presidential nominee, J.D. Vance. And it is important to note that it was in Michigan because part of the appeal of J.D. Vance was that he could possibly reach voters in places like Michigan, Wisconsin, obviously Ohio, which is now more of a red state, so votes aren't super needed, but in Pennsylvania. These are all critical swing states because of his working-class background.

We did hear from J.D. Vance. We saw them interact on the stage. Now, the other portion I want to actually show you or have you listen to is when he talked about Project 2025. They believe him, they being Donald Trump and his team, that Project 2025 is an actual liability to him. This, of course, being the think tank Heritage Foundation's transition approach, which has really come under fire for a lot of its controversial and far-right policies.

Take a listen.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND.2024 REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Like some on the right, severe right, came up with this Project 25. And I don't even know. I mean, some of them, I know who they are. But they're very, very conservative, just like you have. They're sort of the opposite of the radical left. OK, you have the radical left and you have the radical right. And they come up with this project. I don't know what the hell it is. It's Project 25. He's involved in Project. And then they read some of the things and they are extreme. I mean, they're seriously extreme. But I don't know anything about it. HOLMES: Now, Donald Trump has tried to diss himself multiple times. At one point, he actually said that he didn't know anyone involved in Project 2025, which is not true. Many of the people who are part of the various groups that are part of 2025 worked in his last administration.

Many of them are still current advisers, are still currently friendly with Donald Trump. And a lot of them are suspected to be part of a second administration. However, he has said that those policies are, some of them at least, are too far, too extreme.

And again, it's not just Donald Trump's team who believes this is a vulnerability for Donald Trump. Joe Biden's team has also been seizing on this, running ads, attacking Trump and Project 2025.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN: Now, we're learning that Trump's security detail complained to the Secret Service over the past two years that they weren't being provided with enough resources. All this follows intense scrutiny over how a sniper was able to get access to a rooftop from which he shot Trump in an assassination attempt.

A spokesman for the Secret Service told CNN that the agency has not provided certain resources itself at times, but state or local partners are sometimes used in connection with a protectee. And it stresses that no requests for extra security were denied for that Pennsylvania rally.

The Director of the Secret Service will likely face questions over these issues during her testimony this coming week. Kimberly Cheatle will appear before several committees in Congress over the security failures that led to the assassination attempt last week.

And, of course, earlier this week, we learned U.S. authorities obtained intelligence about an Iranian assassination plot against Donald Trump, believed to be in retaliation for the 2020 killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.

Trump ordered his death while president and boasted about it. Sources say there is nothing to suggest Iran had any involvement in the shooting last weekend at Trump's rally in Pennsylvania. And our own Fareed Zakaria sat down with Iran's Interim Foreign Minister to ask about it.

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FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST: Are you categorically denying that Iran had any plans or any element of Iran, the Revolutionary Guard, an Iranian- backed militia, had any plans to try to assassinate Donald Trump?

[05:10:10]

ALI BAGHERI KANI, IRANIAN ACTING FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): As I put it very blatantly and openly, I told explicitly that we will resort to legal and judicial procedures and frameworks at the domestic level and international level in order to bring the perpetrators and military advisers of General Soleimani's assassination to justice.

ZAKARIA: But that means not -- not violent measures. When you say legal and judicial measures, you are talking about international courts and things like that.

KANI (through translator): As I told you, we will only resort to Iranian and international legal and judicial procedures. Until now, we have done it. And this is our right. And, of course, we will continue it.

And the Americans openly said that -- that they assassinated the senior Iranian military commander. So it is our natural right in order to follow this issue. And those who are accused in this case, they should be brought to justice in a just court.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: And, folks, you can watch Fareed's full interview with Iran's Acting Foreign Minister, Ali Bagheri Kani, coming up later Sunday on Fareed Zakaria GPS. That is at 10 a.m. in New York, 3 p.m. here in London. Make sure to tune into that.

In the meantime, Tehran is condemning Israeli airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday and warning of a wider escalation in the region. Yemen's Houthi-run Ministry of Health says at least three people were killed and another 87 wounded when Israel struck the port of Hudaydah. Israel's Prime Minister accuses Iran of using the port to help the Houthi rebels.

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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The port we attacked is not an innocent port. It was used for military purposes. It was used as an entry point for deadly weapons supplied to the Houthis by Iran. They used this weapon to attack Israel, to attack the countries of the region, to attack an international shipping lane, one of the most important shipping lanes in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: Israel's military said early Sunday that it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, adding that the projectile did not cross into Israeli territory. Houthi rebels confirmed they did launch ballistic missiles towards Israel.

And despite the escalating regional tensions, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to travel to Washington, D.C. He'll meet with U.S. President Joe Biden Tuesday afternoon. That is according to the Prime Minister's office. He'll also deliver remarks to the U.S. Congress on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the White House National Security Council says the U.S. did not coordinate with Israel when it struck Yemen, but added that Washington does recognize, quote, "Israel's right to self-defense."

Journalist Elliott Gotkine joins me now in London with more. And Elliott, got to stick with these strikes and counterstrikes going on. How dangerous do you think this is for Israel?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Look, I think, Fred, things can definitely escalate. We could see more ballistic missiles, drones and the like being fired by the Houthis towards Israel. But it's important to note that the strike that got through, the drone that got through on Friday and that slammed into an apartment block in Tel Aviv about 100 yards away from the U.S. consulate, this wasn't an isolated event in the sense that Israel says that more than 200 projectiles, be they drones or ballistic missiles or whatnot, have been fired towards Israel by the Houthis since the Hamas terrorist attacks of October the 7th.

The difference is, of course, that the one on Friday actually got through something that Israel is putting down to human error. But Israel, as we see, struck the port of Hudaydah attacking, it says, Houthi targets on Saturday.

And the reason why the IDF is saying that it struck this time around some, what, 1,800 kilometers, more than 1,000 miles away in Yemen this time around is because an Israeli citizen was killed on Friday, a 50- year-old man who'd only moved to Israel a couple of years ago from Belarus. And that is the reason why Israel struck on this occasion.

Now, the Houthis say that they are prepared, in their words, for a long war and that Tel Aviv is not safe. And we saw, as you said, another bout of, a batch of ballistic missiles, the Houthis say, that were fired towards Israel, towards the southern city of Eilat. Israel says that it used the Arrow 3 aerial defense system to take out one surface-to-surface missile this morning, that it didn't enter Israeli airspace, that the sirens sounded just as a precautionary measure.

So I think things can heat up a little bit. But because of the distance of the Houthis from Israel and because of the danger, therefore, that they present to Israel, I don't think it's going to heat up to the extent that things have been heating up between Israel and Iran's main proxy, Hezbollah, in southern Lebanon.

[05:15:11]

Fred?

PLEITGEN: Elliott Gotkine, thank you very much, covering the story from us -- for us in London.

And more details are now emerging about Donald Trump's phone call with Ukraine's president. Still ahead, a piece of advice that Trump reportedly gave Volodymyr Zelenskyy about rumors that his second term would be good for Russia.

Plus, what are Ukraine's options on the table if Trump does win another term? We'll talk to a military expert about that coming up.

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J.D. VANCE, U.S. REPUBLICAN VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: There's nothing radical about having a strong national security that when we go to war, we punch and we punch hard, but being cautious and not trying to get America involved in every far-flung corner in conflict in the world. Sometimes, my friends, it just is none of our business, and we ought to stay out of it.

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PLEITGEN: That was Donald Trump's running mate, J.D. Vance, arguing against U.S. involvement in foreign wars. He spoke at his first joint rally with Trump since their nomination on Saturday.

[05:20:08]

And Vance is known for his opposition to Ukraine aid, and he said Kyiv should negotiate with Moscow because the U.S. can't afford to keep supporting it. But when it was Trump's turn to speak, he went into rather apocalyptic territory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I will have the horrible war between Russia and Ukraine settled, and I will be the only one that can make this statement. I will prevent World War III from happening. You're very close to World War III.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: But Trump has told Ukraine's president not to assume that his election would be good for -- good news for the Kremlin. That's from Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Press Secretary following Friday's phone call between the two leaders. The spokesperson said Trump told Mr. Zelenskyy to ignore what Trump called, quote, "fake news" that his re- election would be beneficial to Russia.

Earlier, Mr. Zelenskyy said Trump had agreed to meet him and discuss possible ways to end the war. The spokesperson says the details of that meeting are yet to be worked out. For more analysis, we're joined from Canberra by Mick Ryan, a Retired General of the Australian Army. He is also the author of the book, "War Transformed: The Future of Twenty-First-Century Great Power Competition and Conflict."

Mick, thank you very much for joining us. How concerned do you think Volodymyr Zelenskyy really is about a possible second Trump administration that he's already agreeing to meet with the former president before he's even elected?

MAJOR GEN. MICK RYAN, AUSTRALIAN ARMY (Ret.): Well, I think President Zelenskyy would be concerned that some of the statements from Trump previously and his vice-presidential running mate haven't exactly been very positive towards Ukraine. And whilst the presidential candidate Trump has said his election won't be positive for Russia, he didn't say it would be positive for Ukraine either.

PLEITGEN: One of the things that we keep hearing about a lot now, we heard it from J.D. Vance, we heard it from -- from Donald Trump and from others, is the possibility of negotiations. But of course the big question there is how do those negotiations start? Where do those negotiations start? Are they even possible with Russia?

I want to play to you really quick something that Oleksiy Goncharenko, who is of course a member of Ukrainian parliament, said about that. Let's listen in.

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OLEKSIY GONCHARENKO, UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT MEMBER: Russia understands one language, the language of force. So the question is about what is the subject of negotiations and do we have enough force to make Russia listen. That is in the hands of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: Do the Ukrainians have enough means to force the Russians into negotiations?

RYAN: Well, I think the Ukrainians at the moment understand that they probably don't. They need to work with NATO, they need to work with the United States. And even if negotiations did occur, there's no guarantee that the Russians would stick by any promises they made. They've broken just about every promise they've made over the last 30 years to Ukraine. The Ukrainians expect them to do it again.

PLEITGEN: Do you think the Russians are up for negotiations at all? I mean, you touched on it a little bit, but when you hear Vladimir Putin speak about this, he keeps saying, look, his demands are still very much the same as they've always been, that they have to cede all those territories, a lot of which Russia doesn't even control at this point in time, that they have to stay out of NATO and stay neutral and other things as well. I mean, it seems like something that's just not feasible for the Ukrainians.

RYAN: Yeah, it's much tougher for the Ukrainians. Putin could potentially sell a freezing of the front lines at the moment as a victory to his own people, whilst ensuring that he gives his military a chance to reconstitute for what might be subsequent phases of future aggression against Ukraine.

PLEITGEN: One of the things -- and I want to talk a bit about the situation on the battlefield, because it is also, of course, key to any negotiations that would pick up, where do you see things stand at this point in time? Because if you look bigger picture, the front lines really haven't changed very much in the past one and a half years, even though scores of people have been killed. But it also appears as though at this point in time, the Ukrainians, at least to an extent, have managed to stabilize things. If you look at the Northeast, but if you look at the East, also the area around Chasiv Yar as well. RYAN: Yeah, the Russians have managed to squander what was a big opportunity in the last six months with the Ukrainians at their lowest step in manpower in the frontline brigades, as well as drastic shortages in firepower and air defense weapons. And the Ukrainians have still managed to keep the Russians to minimal territorial gains.

So over six months, the Russians have probably made around five to 600 square kilometers of gains at the cost of about 180,000 troops. That is a very, very poor return on investment.

PLEITGEN: Yeah, that -- and that's one of the other key things. One -- one of the interesting things that I heard J.D. Vance say in his Vice Presidential acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention is he said the Ukrainians need to stop, in his mind, with costly counter-offensives.

[05:25:13]

Now, as critical as he is of Ukraine aid, is that something that you think is also maybe an idea that the Ukrainians might heed, considering that they have so few resources at hand? And the other question is, how long can Vladimir Putin sustain the kind of losses that are happening now, even though it appears clear he's willing to sacrifice a lot of soldiers?

RYAN: Well, at this point in time, President Zelenskyy's been very clear. They wish to liberate all their territory that the Russians have taken, including Crimea. So, the Ukrainians are going to have to undertake offensives in the future, but do it more carefully and better than what they did in 2023.

As for the Russians, no-one's really sure how long they can last. The former commander-in-chief, General Zaluzhnyi thought that once the Russians suffered 150,000 casualties, they would go home. Well, they've now suffered over 500,000, and they still be.

PLEITGEN: Major General Mick Ryan, thank you very much.

And I'm Fred Pleitgen, thank you for joining us. For those of you watching in North America, we'll have more CNN Newsroom after this break. For those of you watching internationally, it is "Inside Africa." Stay tuned for that.

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[05:30:31]

PLEITGEN: Thank you for joining us here on CNN. I'm Fred Pleitgen.

Uncertainty hangs over the Democratic Party less than 30 days before they convene in Chicago to officially choose their presidential nominee. At least 35 Democratic lawmakers are now publicly urging U.S. President Biden to drop out of the race. Others, including Barbara Lee of California, say they are sticking with Biden to be the party's standard bearer in November.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. BARBARA LEE, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: He has a record to run on. He and Vice President Harris, they've delivered. They've lowered costs for people. They've been fighting for people, fighting for reproductive freedom, fighting to make sure that insulin is capped at $35. So they have a record, and they beat Donald Trump in the past. Now, that only is an indicator of what they will do in the future.

I'm sticking with the President. If he changes his mind, of course, the person who would be the next person would be Vice President Harris. But I believe that President Biden is in this to win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: Meanwhile, President Biden spent yet another day in isolation, recovering from COVID in Delaware. He says he is looking forward to getting back on the campaign trail next week.

As for the Republican ticket, Donald Trump held his first campaign rally with his new running mate, J.D. Vance. The former president told a large crowd in Michigan that he, quote, "took a bullet for democracy" after a gunman opened fire at his rally last week. He urged his supporters to get out and vote in November, but he also took time to slam his political rivals.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: And as you're seeing, the Democrat Party is not the party of democracy, they're really the enemies of democracy, the parties of corrupt insiders like Whitmer, special interests and the failed political class, that's what they are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: Joining me now from Ann Arbor is Rick Pluta, a Political Correspondent for the "Michigan Public Radio Network," and he has been covering Michigan's politics since the 80s.

And Rick, I got to ask you, what did you make of Trump's event and his speech last night? Very, very long and obviously very divisive once again.

RICK PLUTA, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, MICHIGAN PUBLIC RADIO NETWORK: Yeah, it was the -- the same old Donald Trump that we've certainly come to expect. I was surprised at how long it was and a lot of speeches at political rallies are not a new thing, but these -- these really go on.

PLEITGEN: Yep, they certainly do, they certainly do. Former President Trump also attacked the head of the United Auto Workers, which, of course, is a big deal when you do that in Michigan. I want to listen in to what he said about that and then get your take on it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The leader of the United Auto Workers should be fired immediately and every single auto worker, union and non-union, should be voting for Donald Trump because we're going to bring back car manufacturing and we're going to bring it back fast.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: How does that go down with -- with the crowd there? Or does Donald Trump maybe have a point that maybe union leadership is, to a certain degree, out of touch with some workers?

PLUTA: Well, it's always a goal of Republican campaigns in Michigan to try and cleave off that conservative, politically conservative portion of the union vote that doesn't always align with leadership on political matters. And right now, union membership and even a lot of union leaders are butting heads with President Biden, Democrats, Governor Gretchen Whitmer here, who was mentioned by the former president in his speech, that they are concerned about the conversion to a green economy, electric powered vehicles, that it's not going to be as many union workers in the factories. And so that's got rank and file union members rattled. And so Republicans think that maybe they can capitalize on that.

PLEITGEN: It was interesting because -- because Donald Trump obviously also attacked the green transformation in his acceptance speech at the RNC. But another person I want to talk to you about is J.D. Vance and what he brings to the table for Republicans with a sort of working- class background. It seems like a rally like the one we saw yesterday is exactly the reason why Donald Trump brought him on.

[05:35:04]

PLUTA: That seems to be exactly -- as you said, exactly why Vance was put on the ticket, and that was to appeal to working class voters in Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, which are, you know, going to be big battleground states. And the industrial Midwest could very well be where the election is decided.

PLEITGEN: What are the main issues for the voters there in Michigan? You touched on it a little bit, that there is that fear of a possible green transformation, possibly going into directions as bad for Michigan, because we know Michigan obviously has a huge auto industry, but it's not just that there's a lot of manufacturing in general going on in the state.

PLUTA: Manufacturing jobs, the economy in general are always going to be a big deal in -- in Michigan, manufacturing in general, but also in this election. One of the unique aspects is people are very invested in winning, that they want the candidate who is going to prevail over the -- over the other ticket.

And, you know, in Michigan, we just had a big -- a big sweep of Democratic victories, a lot of it rooted in abortion rights. And so Republicans want to win that back, not just at the presidential level, but going down to the statehouse level. And Democrats are really trying to hang on to it. And all the polling shows that Michigan is still very, very close. PLEITGEN: Yeah, I was going to say you were obviously reporting on politics in Michigan since the 80s and -- and at least as far back as I can remember, which is about the 80s. It's been a swing state. Obviously, President Trump or former President Trump won it in 2016. The Democrats won it in 2020. How are things looking right now and how concerned are the Democrats?

PLUTA: I mean, look, the Democrats are very concerned. I have not spoken to a Democrat on the street who isn't afraid about the results of the election and what's happening with -- with the president.

Another thing I'll point out, it's kind of a wrinkle in -- in Michigan politics is, in Michigan, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is on the ballot. He is the natural law party candidate, which is a minor nominee -- which is a minor party on the ballot that he was able to snag the -- the nomination for at a party convention. That's like maybe three percent of the vote, but that's -- that's a big deal.

You know, Donald Trump has never won the majority of the vote in Michigan that President Biden has. He's gone over 50%. But that three percent could make the difference between Donald Trump getting over 50% or staying under 50%. And that could decide the election.

PLEITGEN: And while I have you on, I do want to ask you one more -- more thing, because we've been speaking so much about domestic issues about the economy being, of course, big in this election. What role does foreign policy play, especially the situation in Israel and Gaza without which obviously some places in Michigan that do have substantial Palestinian American communities?

PLUTA: Yes, and -- and Jewish communities as well, and it's really fracturing the -- it's really fracturing the state and fracturing our politics. And again, you know, when we've been talking about just getting down to the craven numbers, that small groups of people turning out to vote, not turning out to vote, sticking with the ticket or finding an alternative could -- you know, everything could turn on that. And people here in a lot of neighborhoods are very angry about what's going on in Israel and Palestine.

PLEITGEN: Rick Pluta in Ann Arbor, Michigan, thank you very much for joining us in this very early morning.

And the worst may be over after a massive tech outage that affected computer systems worldwide. But there's still no end in sight for many U.S. air travelers. That is coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:42:22]

PLEITGEN: Welcome back, everyone. Computer systems are back online after a global tech outage. But the fallout is far from over. More than 2000 domestic and international flights in the U.S. were canceled on Saturday and more than 8000 were delayed. The most affected airline is Delta, which is now putting on hold its unaccompanied minors program until Monday. But in Europe, officials say the situation is largely back to normal

at British and French airports, as well as the U.K. train service.

Many international carriers say their systems are back or close to being restored, including Turkish Airlines, Jetstar Japan and Hong Kong Express Airlines.

Airline passengers across the U.S., though, are still stranded because of the lingering effects of that tech outage.

Isabel Rosales spoke to some people in Atlanta who couldn't get on their connecting flight, but flying back home is not an option either.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What we're seeing is really a concentration of that mess with one carrier, and that's Delta. Take a look right up here at the departures, sign after sign after sign here, cancellations and delays. So this is a huge headache for Delta customers.

And that tracks because this is Atlanta, Hartsfield-Jackson. This is Delta's headquarters. This is their largest hub. The most amount of flights from Delta right here.

Take a look at this line right over here. These are people who have had some sort of an issue with their flights. They are waiting to talk to a customer service agent. And over here to the left, yet another line. Those are people waiting here. They've been canceled. They're trying to get their luggage back. So a nightmare scenario for so many travelers.

I want to also introduce you to some passengers right over here. This is Richard and this is Johnny. Tell me, where were you guys supposed to be today?

RICHARD: Portola Valley, California, for my mom's wedding.

ROSALES: You're missing the wedding.

RICHARD: Yep.

ROSALES: And you're trying to get back home to Tampa, Pasco County, to be precise. How has that experience been like for you guys to get some answers from Delta and get back home?

JOHNNY: It's been nearly impossible. We've been waiting on line for about 24 hours to talk to someone. He's still waiting. Last night, he was 2001 in line. And then two hours later, he was about 2300 in line. And this morning, he's still we're still about a good two hours away to hear from anybody.

So we're waiting to see if we can either get a plane home to Tampa and if not a rental car. But that also is looking nearly impossible right now.

ROSALES: Yeah, tell me more about that, about the alternatives of getting back home if you can't fly.

JOHNNY: Well, yeah, the alternative would be a rental car. We want a one way. But of course, only companies will only give a certain amount of those one ways out.

So when we got there, there was only one left. They had gouged that price up to about $586. And then there's other options, you know, buses, trains. The train was about a thousand dollars per person Amtrak. So it's just -- it's nearly impossible.

[05:45:15]

So we're just waiting here. We're at the mercy of the travel gods right now. And just praying that something is going to open up for us.

ROSALES: In one quick word, how would you describe this entire experience?

RICHARD: Therapeutic.

ROSALES: You guys are in high spirits. Keep that up. And I hope you get back home soon.

JOHNNY: Thank you.

RICHARD: Thank you so much.

ROSALES: Thank you. Back to you.

PLEITGEN: Pretty sure that dog doesn't feel it's therapeutic to be stuck at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta.

Now, the chaotic aftermath has many asking if this is likely to happen again or if hackers could exploit such a flaw in software updates for their own purposes. Our own Jessica Dean put that to the same question to a cyber security expert.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I just want to ask you, too, about this reporting that hackers are already taking advantage of this. They've set up phony URLs meant to appeal to people who are obviously trying to get more information about how to fix this, you know, get solutions. Well, what should people be on the lookout for? And it seems unfortunate. But -- but this seems like the reality in these situations. Hackers want to take advantage.

GLENN GERSTELL, FORMER GENERAL COUNSEL, NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY: After every one of these outage, criminals jump on it and create spoof websites that mimic CrowdStrike's own websites. And maybe it says, I don't know, make it up CrowdStrikefix.com. I'm just making that up.

And -- and in this particular case, the people who would be drawn to that are not the average consumer, because the average consumer's computer wasn't hit by this. Presumably relatively sophisticated IT personnel at companies are engaged in fixing this. So I don't know that those spoofs in this case are going to be all that important. But you can see how that could in other situations be a big problem.

And then lastly, foreign countries such as Russia, China, North Korea, Iran are adversaries in the cyber realm. They're going to look at this kind of bug, see if they can replicate it, reverse engineer it and use it in their nefarious activities in the future. So we've got to be on the lookout for that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: Just to get in there with that interview, and we will be right back after this.

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[05:51:18]

PLEITGEN: In sports, the WNBA all-stars taking down the U.S. women's Olympic team as they prepare for the Paris games. The great Andy Scholes joins me now with more. And the all-stars certainly weren't messing around with it.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: They were -- I mean, a lot of them may be a little sour that they aren't on the U.S. women's national team, but you know, this year's WNBA all-star game, it featured the U.S. national team taken on those WNBA all-stars now rookie sensation Caitlin Clark. She was left off the national team. So she was teaming up with Angel Reese to take on team USA.

A rough shooting night for Clark. She went over seven from three, but she did dish out 10 assists, including this one right here to Reese in the fourth quarter. Reese finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

The second half of this game though, it belonged to a Arike Ogunbowale. She exploded for 34 points. All of them coming in the final two quarters, Arike leading the WNBA to the wind beating team USA 117 to 109. She was named the game's MVP for a second time and credited coach Cheryl Miller for getting her going.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARIKE OGUNBOWALE, 2024 WNBA ALL-STAR GAME MVP: Coach actually called me out in at halftime in front of everybody was like, just take a deep breath and play your game. And then I guess you guys saw what happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right. The U.S. men, meanwhile, playing a tune up against South Sudan in London yesterday. Team USA was favored by 43 and a half in this one, but South Sudan giving them all they could handle leading by 16 at one point.

LeBron though would lead a furious rally in the third quarter to bring the U.S. back then down one under 20 seconds left. LeBron here, the drive gets the layup to go to put the U.S. up by one.

Team USA would then survive two game winning attempts by South Sudan to win this one. 101 to 100 narrowly avoiding an embarrassing loss.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEBRON JAMES, USA BASKETBALL FORWARD: I'm going to be honest: I like those better than the blowouts. At least we get tested. I like being tested.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right. American Billy Horschel, meanwhile, overcoming the wet and windy conditions

yesterday to take a one stroke lead in today's final round at the open championship, Horschel looking to win his first major. And he said he always pictures himself being in this position every night when he closes his eyes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILLY HORSCHEL, SEEKING FIRST MAJOR TITLE: Something I've done this year, I've done a better job this week of it or try to do a better job is sort of manifest, seeing myself holding the trophy before I go to sleep every night, envisioning myself holding that trophy on 18, walking out to the crowd and being congratulated as -- as open champion. You know, and that's -- that's what I'm going to do again tonight. And hopefully that comes true tomorrow. If it doesn't, then I'll get back on the grind and -- and work harder to get back in a position like this again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right. We'll see if it comes true. PGA champ, Xander Schauffele, he's one stroke back. World number one, Scottie Scheffler. He's two back, Fred.

So, we have a crowded leader board. Could be an exciting day. Leaders tee off at 9:25 Eastern this morning.

PLEITGEN: Yeah. And that wind and weather is going to be an issue again. Thank you, Andy.

And after fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan, a young Afghan girl is on the road to the Olympics. Breakdancer Manizha Talash will be competing with the refugee Olympic team in Paris this month. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz has her story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Training to perfect every move. This 21-year-old is preparing for her big debut. A refugee from Afghanistan, Manizha Talash fled the Taliban three years ago, leaving her home and family behind.

Talash took the risk to freely pursue her passion. Now she's headed to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. A competitive form of breakdancing, breaking was not widely accepted in her Kabul community. Talash was also the only female member of her breaking crew. Word spread of the first Afghan b-girl, as they are called. And while Talash received disapproval from her family, she also got death threats.

[05:55:15]

In 2021, the Taliban took control of Kabul. Among many other professions, music and dancing were outlawed.

MANIZHA TALASH, AFGHAN BREAKDANCER (through translator): When the Taliban came, I thought it was a very difficult time. What do I want to do? Do you want to be here with your family or do you want to do more than being in Afghanistan?

ABDELAZIZ: Talash chose not to be trapped in a place where her passion was not accepted. After spending a year in Pakistan, she was then granted refugee status in Spain.

TALASH: I had a dream, but now I can live that dream and I can reach it. If I were in Afghanistan, I could not live because the Taliban does not like this sport. And it is very dangerous for me and my family. But I'm doing it here and I'm not afraid.

TALASH: Securing a spot on the refugee Olympic team for the Paris Games, Talash trains her breaking skills six days a week. Added to the Olympic Games in 2024, 16 b-boys and 16 b-girls will be judged based on the types of moves in their routine, the technique, how each move is executed and the originality of the routine. As she prepares to be judged on her skill set, Talash says breaking is not just for her. It serves a greater purpose.

TALASH (through translator): For the girls who are in Afghanistan, it is very difficult to do anything. For example, to go out of the house or to study. They can't do anything. But I am happy that I am here and now I want to do something for my people who are in Afghanistan, my girls, my friends.

ABDELAZIZ: Salma Abdulaziz, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN: And that wraps this hour of "CNN Newsroom." I'm Fred Pleitgen. Thank you for joining us. "CNN This Morning" is coming up next.

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