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CNN International: Foreign Ministers From Islamic Nations Meeting In Jeddah; U.S. Pressing Israel, Iran And Allis To De- Escalate; Hamas Names Yahya Sinwar New Head Of Political Bureau. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired August 07, 2024 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers from around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Erica Hill in New York.
We'll get you up to speed on what we're covering at this hour. High- stake talks in Saudi Arabia happening at this hour, as the region waits for Iran to retaliate. We are live in Jeddah and Haifa with the very latest. Plus, Russia now claiming a massive cross-border attack by Ukraine. What it could mean for the ongoing war? And from a relative unknown to Kamala Harris' running mate, Governor Tim Walz making his campaign debut.
Well, from an extraordinary meeting in Jeddah to behind-the-scenes diplomacy in Washington, the high-stakes meetings that are happening right now, which could determine whether a simmering conflict in the Middle East actually escalates into a full-scale regional war. Foreign ministers from dozens of Islamic nations are gathered right now in Jeddah at the request of Iran, which has threatened retaliation, of course, against Israel, following high-profile assassinations, including the killing of a Hamas leader on Iranian soil, Iran's proxies also threatening action. Hezbollah in Lebanon says it is keeping Israel waiting as quote, "part of the punishment". The U.S., for its part, wanting all sides to de-escalate here. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, who you see there, says Washington is working around the clock, reaching out to allies.
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ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: In those conversations, we've heard a clear consensus, no one should escalate this conflict. We've been engaged in intense diplomacy with allies and partners, communicating that message directly to Iran. We communicated that message directly to Israel.
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HILL: Secretary Blinken also said the fate of a Gaza ceasefire plan is now in the hands of Yahya Sinwar. Hamas named him its new political leader yesterday, following Ismail Haniyeh's assassination. Sinwar, of course, is considered more of a hardliner, and was, of course, a mastermind of the October 7 attacks.
For the very latest on all of these developments that we're following, Nic Robertson is in Saudi Arabia at that emergency meeting in Jeddah. Jeremy Diamond is in Haifa.
Nic, I want to start with you. In terms of this meeting, there may be some hope riding in it. How much influence could it actually have?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It could have significant influence. But, at the moment, I think it's heavy on hope and really short on substance. And the reason I say that is, our Becky Anderson spoke with Ayman Safadi, the Jordanian Foreign Minister, who was actually inside the meeting, just over the courtyard there from me right now, and he outlined the situation as this, that, in essence, what Iran is saying, to stop them retaliating against Israel, they need to see a path to a ceasefire in Gaza.
So, absent that agreement from Israel, from Prime Minister Netanyahu, to change his position, soften his position, potentially, because that appears to be what's being implied here, if he doesn't do that, then that's not going to offer Iran what it's come to Jeddah, the foreign minister -- the acting Iranian Foreign Minister come here saying that they want to get.
There are, of course, back channels that we don't see. And I know from talking to sources yesterday, there was some hope that maybe the Israeli position might soften a little bit. But, again, this is why I say it's heavy on hope. And I think it was significant, and is significant today that inside the meeting, although you have the acting Iranian Foreign Minister and you have almost 50 other foreign ministers, the Saudi Foreign Minister is missing. His deputy is there. This may hint at the back channel diplomacy. But, in terms of diplomatic messaging, it's not that positive. It doesn't mean that nothing positive can happen, but it's just not such a good signal right now, Erica.
HILL: All right. Nic, I know you'll continue to keep us updated on those developments there. Appreciate it.
I want to bring you now Jeremy Diamond, who, of course, is in Haifa.
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As we just heard from Nic this sort of hope that perhaps the Israeli position may soften in some regards, where do things stand today, Jeremy?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a lot of uncertainty. I mean, there is no question that those regional tensions remain very, very high. It seems that there is perhaps an inkling, a possibility in the air of an off-ramp here, as Nic was just talking about. But, for now, I think the overriding sentiment is that this is very tense, and that Israelis are waiting to see when and how severely Iran will retaliate for the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas' political leader, in Tehran. I've spoken with a number of Israeli officials who tell me that they
believe that the length of time that has passed so far, this waiting game, is kind of a part of Iran and Hezbollah's psychological warfare against the Israeli people. For now, though, the Home Front Command guidance issued by the Israeli military to civilians has yet to actually change, and many Israelis are actually continuing to go about their lives, although some have begun to stock up on provisions in the event of a worst-case scenario.
Amid all of this, we learned that Hamas has now selected Yahya Sinwar as its new political leader, and that tells us a few things. First of all, as you mentioned before, Sinwar is viewed as one of the more hardliners in Hamas, a more extremist element there. And so now, effectively, that signals quite a lot about the direction that Hamas is going in, whereas Ismail Haniyeh, that political leader who was assassinated, was viewed as somewhat more pragmatic, especially at the negotiating table.
Sinwar, though, has had considerable influence since October 7, in particular at the negotiating table, even as he has been ensconced in tunnels beneath Gaza, at least that is the understanding, and that's because, as the leader in Gaza, he effectively has veto power over whether or not Hamas actually moves forward with a ceasefire. So, this really doesn't change a whole lot at the negotiating table, but it certainly does solidify and kind of officialize his influence over Hamas, and now his status as Hamas' overall leader. We know, of course, that the fact that he is in Gaza has led to delays in the negotiation. Sometimes, it could take days for messages to get to him in tunnels and then back outside to the negotiating table in Doha or in Cairo. And so, certainly, that will be something to consider as we move forward. Erica.
HILL: Absolutely. Jeremy, appreciate it. Thank you.
Turning now to the ongoing war in Ukraine, Russia today claiming that Ukraine has launched a massive attack into Russia's Kursk region. The Russian defense ministry saying Ukrainian land and air units hit Russian positions in what President Vladimir Putin is calling a quote, "large-scale provocation". Russia's military going on to say that the incursion has been halted, but there are reports of heavy shelling, which persist. As for Ukraine, well, for its part so far, it is not commenting on these claims from Russia.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is following all of this for us at this hour. So, no word at this hour from Ukraine. What more do we know, though, about these claims from Russia, and what's actually being seen on the ground?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. It's been nearly two days now that we've seen ferocious military activity around this town of Sudzha, on the border with Ukraine, just north of Sumy, an area that itself in Ukraine, has been bombarded heavily by Russia over the past days. Yet, now, it's Russia that appears to be struggling to prevent some kind of incursion deep inside their territory. Sudzha does appear to have Ukrainian forces in it, according to some local officials, one describing the situation there as, quote, "very tense". There have, Russian officials said, been dozens, hundreds, thousands even of people who fled the area around there because of these clashes.
You're showing now some Russian Ministry of Defense videos that they say are part of their bid to keep Ukrainian forces out. But, they've said hundreds have been involved in this assault, and some of the videos we've been seeing suggest they've got possibly slightly further to the northeast of Sudzha as well. Sudzha has some potential importance and fits into maybe the wider Ukrainian pattern of targeting Russian infrastructure, and the Sudzha has a gas terminal in it. That is one of the key ones for ferrying Russian gas through Ukraine onto Europe.
Yes, that's still happening in the third year of the war, apparently not impacted at the moment, but when people are trying to work out precisely why this Ukrainian incursion may be happening, I should say no official comment from Ukraine, but it's pretty unlikely anyone else is behind this. It may be because that is their goal, or is it potentially to keep Russian forces off balance, to force them to drag reinforcements in from elsewhere, and also to give Ukraine maybe a rare moment of a headline in which it's on the front foot.
Erica, this comes after weeks, frankly, of bad news for Ukraine on the frontlines in the Donetsk region, Russian forces smoothing very incrementally, very slowly, but very deliberately towards a key Ukrainian military hub called Pokrovsk.
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Some concerns, they may be with an artillery range of that fairly soon, another bad news along the frontline there. Ukraine running low on manpower, having a lot of its military decisions questioned internally and often publicly as well. In fact, even today, some Ukrainian observers are wondering, why is it that if indeed Ukraine's military is behind this incursion into Russia, they're doing that at the expense of reinforcing frontlines under pressure in Pokrovsk.
So, a lot going on here. But, being no doubt, when Vladimir Putin says they're experiencing, quote, "a major provocation" and claims that Ukraine is shelling Russian civilians indiscriminately, some degree rich after the damage done to Ukraine's civilian population over the last two plus years by Russian Armed Forces, that's significant embarrassment to the Kremlin, even though now the Russian Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov is suggesting that this advance has been halted. Still signs there is ferocious activity inside of Russia's borders. Erica.
HILL: Absolutely. Nick Paton Walsh, appreciate it. Thank you.
Well, you may want to buckle up here, because the election matchup that frankly no one saw coming just a few weeks ago is officially on. Vice President Kamala Harris and her new running mate, Governor Tim Walz, hitting the road to rally in key battleground states. Of course, they're not the only ones in those states. We have a live report just ahead. Plus, Republicans for Harris, we'll speak with George's former Lieutenant Governor about the effort to reach out to Republicans who aren't sure they want to vote for their own party's nominee.
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HILL: We are now officially less than three months out until Election Day here in the U.S., and the freshly minted Democratic ticket is hitting the campaign trail with a planned blitz of battleground states over the next week. Vice President Kamala Harris and her new running mate, Governor Tim Walz, set to appear at a rally in Wisconsin in just a couple of hours. Later, they'll be at an event in Detroit. This is on the heels, of course, of Walz making his debut as Harris' VP pick. That happening in front of a pretty raucous crowd in Philadelphia.
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The Minnesota Governor stepping onto the national stage alongside Harris, and quickly embracing his role as attack dog, going after the Trump-Vance ticket.
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GOVERNOR TIM WALZ (D-MN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In Minnesota, we respect our neighbors and their personal choices that they make.
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WALZ: Even if we wouldn't make the same choice for ourselves, there is a golden rule -- mind your own damn business.
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HILL: Former President Donald Trump quickly calling the Harris-Walz ticket the most radical left duo in American history. The Trump campaign plans to paint Walz as an anti-gun, anti-cop candidate with a liberal stance on the border. Trump's running mate, Senator J.D. Vance, says Harris caved to pressure from the far left in her pick of Walz. On Tuesday in Philadelphia, Vance slammed the newest addition to that Democratic ticket.
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SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), 2024 VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Tim Walz is a guy who wants to take children away from their parents if the parents don't agree to do sex changes and the school wants to. Tim Walz is a guy who wants to ship more and more American manufacturing jobs to China. This is a guy who, when rioters were burning down the biggest city in Minnesota, was actively cheering them on.
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HILL: CNN National Politics Correspondent Eva McKend is in Washington, following the, Wisconsin rather, Eva, sorry, following the Harris campaign. CNN's Alayna Treene also tracking the Trump camp, joining us. She is in Washington. Good to see both of you.
Eva, to you first. So, this is, I guess, the first stop on the first full day for this ticket. What are we expecting?
EVA MCKEND, CNN U.S. NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, they are here to highlight the choice before blue wall voters, not only voters here in Wisconsin, but also in the pivotal battleground states of Pennsylvania and Michigan. And they hope, by deploying Walz, that he can make this argument directly to a Midwesterner as a Midwesterner himself. They will argue that the Trump -- a second Trump administration would weaken unions, that a second Trump administration -- it seems like the crowd is just coming in here now, Erica. But, they would also argue that a second Trump administration would advance tax cuts for the wealthy.
Meanwhile, they are characterizing themselves as principally concerned with everyday people, arguing that a Harris administration would not only work to make sure that Americans get by, but they truly get ahead. Take a listen to how Walz is making this argument against Trump.
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WALZ: Donald Trump sees the world a little differently than us.
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WALZ: First of all, he doesn't know the first thing about service.
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WALZ: He doesn't have time for it because he is too busy serving himself. Violent crime was up under Donald Trump. That's not even counting the crimes he committed.
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MCKEND: And Erica, I think it's instructive to look at some of the policies that the governor implemented as a way that he'll campaign and talk about these issues at a national scale. He passed a generous child tax credit, free college tuition for families making under $80,000, expanded the supply of affordable housing, and those are popular Democratic issues that he has been able to make palatable to a swing state audience. And so, that is how they are hoping to deploy him here in Wisconsin and throughout the region, Erica.
HILL: So, that is the plan from one side, of course. Eva, appreciate it, as always. Thank you.
As for how the Trump-Vance campaign would like to paint the governor, that is an altogether a different viewpoint, as we know.
CNN's Alayna Treene has more now on that.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Right. Well, Erica, they are racing to define the governor, really, before Americans themselves can make up their own minds about him, and part of that is because they are still struggling with how to best define Kamala Harris. Remember, it was just two weeks ago, or a little bit over two weeks ago, that Biden had ended his campaign, and Harris very quickly became the presumptive Democratic nominee.
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And really, I mean, from my conversations with Donald Trump's most senior advisors, they've privately admitted that they did not anticipate this kind of enthusiasm and momentum she is seeing to continue. She has really sustained it longer, I think, than they had expected. And so, that's why they're actually viewing her pick of Walz as an opportunity to try and define them both together. Now, the plan is to attack him as being more liberal, radically liberal, in their words, than Harris and Joe Biden. They're really trying to paint him as someone who will move the entire Democratic ticket to the left, while already painting Harris herself as someone who was very much progressive.
Now, their plan is to really focus on Walz's record over the last four years, specifically. He has been governor in Minnesota since 2019, but before that, he was in Congress for about 12 years. Now, while in Congress, he was a much more moderate Democrat. We know that he had worked with Republicans to try and strengthen the border, to lower the national deficit. He was backed by the NRA, although they later pulled their support of him.
However, as governor, he was a bit more progressive, and what the campaign is really going to focus on is a couple key laws that he had signed. One was enshrining abortion rights into law. The other was trying to protect gender affirming care. He also expanded universal gun background checks in Minnesota. And so, all of those things are part of what they're going to point to as him being just as representative of California, as Harris arguing that he is not a true Midwesterner.
Now, another interesting thing I want to note is how they've been viewing not only Walz, but who Harris did not choose, and what that decision means. We've really seen Donald Trump and his team criticize Harris for not selecting Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, even as they privately acknowledge that they kind of collectively breathed a sigh of relief yesterday, because they were very worried that Shapiro could help boost Harris' chances in that important battleground state. We heard Donald Trump address this this morning on Fox & Friends. Take a listen.
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DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (VIA TELEPHONE): But, when he didn't pick Shapiro, and I don't think Shapiro was the second best person or the third, I think there were other people better than him. I know him all. And you know -- so -- but I was shocked when it came in to the final two that he didn't pick Shapiro. I was very surprised.
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TREENE: So, Erica, there, Donald Trump is kind of saying -- he said maybe he wasn't his first choice, but I can tell you that. There is a reason both Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance, had been ramping up their taxes, specifically after Shapiro, and again, that is because they were concerned that Pennsylvania, which is a state that both campaigns really view as vital to winning the race overall in November, as being someone who could have helped Harris clinch that state. And so, they are happier that someone like him is not on the ticket.
But, again, they're really going to try and work to define Walz over these next few weeks. They're going to be throwing out a series of attacks, as well as attacking him over his handling of the Minnesota protests in 2020 after the aftermath of George Floyd's death. A lot of other areas that they'll be touching on, and you'll see a lot of his surrogates out there hitting the airwaves to try and do that. Erica.
HILL: Yeah. We will certainly see all that to come in. Interesting, we should note, Governor Shapiro last night in Philadelphia, making it pretty clear. I think he plans to spend a lot of time doing his best to drum up support --
TREENE: Right.
HILL: -- and deliver his state. So, we'll see how all that plays out. Alayna, appreciate it.
Joining me now, CNN Political Commentator Geoff Duncan, the former Lieutenant Governor of Georgia, of course, a Republican who says he is voting for Kamala Harris in November. It's good to have you with us. As Alayna was just laying out there, and Eva as well, there is this race now to define -- it was the race to define the Vice President. Now, it is more the race to define Governor Walz. I just want to play a little bit of what we're seeing in terms of this Trump attack that's going to be on the airwaves already hitting. Take a listen.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tim Walz will be a rubber stamp for Kamala's dangerously liberal agenda, like allowing convicted felons to walk free, embracing anti-American Green New Deal policies, and giving up control of our southern border to criminal aliens and violent drug cartels.
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HILL: I'm curious, how is that hitting with Republicans that you've been speaking to, this real push to focus on, his time as governor, and painting him as this very progressive liberal?
GEOFF DUNCAN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah. I think there was this uncomfortable gap between the announcement yesterday that it was Tim Walz, who is a relatively unknown governor from Minnesota across the country, and then until the he actually spoke. And I think once he spoke at that rally, and they saw the genuine, authentic voice that showed up there that was charismatic, outgoing, and to the point, I think that uncomfortable gap was weird for Republicans to think, why would she have made this pick? And then, when they met him, they realized it.
He is obviously going to be hammered for his liberal record as a governor. But, I think the way he answers those is very authentic.
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It's very built out of compassion and not party politics, and he is just trying to explain how he tries to take the best care of Minnesotans throughout his job as being governor. So, look, I think this is another example of the last two weeks where the Biden-Harris campaign -- or the Harris campaign is playing chess and the Trump campaign is playing checkers.
HILL: I think his history is, as you know, authentic. I noticed you used the word authentic twice. You talked about him being the -- his compassion in explaining these moments. There are small numbers -- a small number at this point of undecided voters in this country. But, I know you've said in the past that you believe that, and I'm paraphrasing a bit here, so forgive me, that those voters are going to look to more than just whether a candidate aligns mostly on the issues with them, but the character is really important to those voters. To that point, how does an authentic, compassionate candidate play to those voters?
DUNCAN: I think it's huge. The 10 percent in the middle, as you just paraphrased very well, by the way, is not necessarily all aligned on policies. I think they're looking for an adult in the room to show up, an adult that can talk and act like a President and a Vice President. And Tim Walz certainly is that character. He shows up there and authentically understands the issues, talks about them, and doesn't necessarily defend in a defensive posture like a J.D. Vance. I mean, comparing soundbites the last 24 hours between Tim Walz and J.D. Vance, it's like apples and oranges, as you watch this go forward.
Even Harris's most stringent opposition has to compliment the fact that there has been this unbelievable wave of momentum. Now, whether or not Trump's team can figure out a way to side track that, I don't know. But, the last two weeks have been an amazing journey for these folks trying to climb back from really a desperate position when President Biden was leading the ticket.
HILL: It's fascinating to watch too the conversation over whether the Vice President on the ticket here, the vice presidential nominee, I should say, matters or doesn't matter, right? And in many ways, it's like polling. You sort of bring in the ones that work for you and you forget the ones that don't. Do you think it is a different scenario, though, in 2024? Do these two nominees for the number two spot in their party's ticket, do they matter more this go around?
DUNCAN: Yeah. I mean, I think when it's all said and done with, it will be a fractional matter, but that's what these elections all seem to become, down to its fractions. I think if you're being -- giving a mature analysis, J.D. Vance is a net drag to that ticket, and I think Tim Walz is going to continue to be a net gain for his ticket. And so, the delta between Tim Walz and J.D. Vance is probably a couple of points. And so, I do think it is going to help in the overall ticket, as they try to march through some of these swing states, like a Georgia, like a Pennsylvania, where it seems like Josh Shapiro is going to be a huge supporter of the ticket still.
HILL: Well, we look at some of those swing states. We look at where the campaigns are going to be this week. A little overlap there in Wisconsin and Michigan. But, we know, when it comes to Georgia, Donald Trump up about three percentage points, I think, there in the latest polling. I want to ask you a quick question about your state before I let you go. The state elections board in Georgia yesterday passed a motion along party lines to increase partisan poll watchers. I'm just curious your reaction to that.
DUNCAN: Well, I haven't seen the finite details of whatever they proposed and passed. They have been trying to ankle bite at our current laws, and trying to virtue signal that the election was rigged in some sort of fashion in 2020. It's just this continued effort. I mean, the genuine, honest facts are that this state in 2020 and continues on to have the safest, legal, best, fairest elections of any state in the country, and we've certainly proved it multiple times. And so, to think that they're going to try to continue to ankle bite at some of these issues is just kind of a waste of time, unless it's some sort of genuine push. It hasn't really proved to be that over the past couple of months, years.
HILL: Former Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan, always good to talk to you. Thank you.
DUNCAN: Thank you.
HILL: Still ahead here, questions still unanswered over just what caused that door blowout mid-air on an Alaska Airlines flight. CNN's Pete Muntean joining us with the very latest from today's hearing in Washington. Plus, Tropical Storm Debby leaving behind a massive trail of destruction, and this storm continuing to push ahead through the U.S. We're live in Charleston with the very latest.
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HILL: Welcome back. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Erica Hill in New York.
Violent far-right riots breaking out across several British cities just in the span of the past week, and a number of those rioters have already been handed lengthy prison sentences, including a 58-year-old who has been given a three-year sentence after admitting to violent disorder and assaulting an emergency worker in Southport last week. Police, at this point, are bracing for more anti-immigrant demonstrations in the next few hours.
Nada Bashir is tracking all of these protests, and joins us this hour from Sheffield, England. Nada, good to have you here. What more are you seeing and hearing there on the ground?
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, there is certainly a significant police presence here in Sheffield in anticipation of potential riots later this evening. Earlier this morning, we did see some protests and rallies taking place, a dozen, perhaps, supporters of this far-right movement gathering here in the city center, but they were suddenly overpowered by a far larger group under the "Refugees Welcome" banner, taking a stand against these far-right riots that we have seen sweeping across the country.
Now, earlier today, this part of the city center was filled with riot police preparing for any sort of violence or disorder. It certainly has calmed down now in the last hour or so, but there is still the potential for further protests and perhaps riots to take place later this evening. That is certainly the fear across the country. We have seen calls on social media from far-right organizations calling for supporters to take to the streets to riot. They have said that they need to mask up. And of course, there has been warnings from the police and government officials that they will be using the full force of the law against these rioters. But, what we have seen across the country is counter-protests. Take a listen to one counter-protester we spoke to earlier today.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to come out and show that there is more of us than there are then, just to show that the weight of the uncertainty in Sheffield is that we don't want these violent anti- immigrant people to think that they represent the people here. And the people of Sheffield don't stand for that. We're not here to cause trouble. We're just here to show that Sheffield is a welcoming city. Sheffield is a non-racist city. So, that's where we stand.
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BASHIR: Now, Erica, these riots are really triggered by a disinformation campaign centered around false claims that the attacker who killed three young girls in Southport in late July was an immigrant. He was, in fact, a British citizen. But, far-right groups have seized on this claim. They have spurred on these far-right riots that we've seen across the country. The Prime Minister himself has characterized this as racist far-right thuggery, in his words. He chaired an emergency cabinet meeting with ministers yesterday, again ramping up the law enforcement presence across the country. The Metropolitan and police in London has described this as a national critical incident. They are certainly ramping up police presence across the capital as well ahead of this evening.
At this stage, more than 400 people have been arrested so far in connection with the riots that we have seen over the last few days.
[11:35:00] Around 100 are said to have already been charged. But again, a lot of anticipation on what we may see this evening across parts of the country.
HILL: Yeah, absolutely. Nada, really appreciate it. Thank you.
After seven months of investigations, crucial questions remain over just how a Boeing 737 MAX was delivered to Alaska Airlines without the four bolts needed to keep a door plug in place. We are now in the second and final day of the National Transportation Safety Board's hearing over that door blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight. The company's Senior Vice President of Quality admitting it is still not clear when that door plug was meant to be in place, nor who is responsible.
Our Aviation Correspondent Pete Muntean has been following all of this for us and joins us now live from Washington. So, still many questions and not a lot of answers, it seems, Pete.
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. A lot of big concerns here coming to light about Boeing that workers felt that they were pressured to the point that they would make mistakes on the factory floor, that they made no paperwork entries about the door plug work that took place at the factory in Renton, Washington, before this plane was delivered new to Alaska Airlines. But also one big mystery really emerging right now that both Boeing and the NTSB, both still do not know how that plane left the factory without those four critical door plug bolts in place.
We got this new timeline from Boeing that the door plug was removed and opened for work on September 18, 2023 because of rivet work that needed to take place nearby on the fuselage, near where the door plug is located. The door plug was then closed the next day, on September 19, 2023. And under questioning from the NTSB, Elizabeth Lund, Boeing's head of quality control, said, still not totally clear why that door was closed, and they don't really know who was responsible for it. I want you to listen now to NTSB Jennifer Homendy, who said this about that realization.
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JENNIFER HOMENDY, NTSB CHAIR: The name of individuals or an individual is not important to the NTSB, how this happened, how this occurred, because it could have been anybody, right? How did that happen? We have not been able to accurately nail down because you saw at the beginning where we had a graphic which showed at some -- at this point, we knew it was open. At this point, we knew it was closed. What happened on the in between? We don't know, and neither do they. That's a problem.
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MUNTEAN: Boeing also laying out some significant changes here to how it does work on the factory floor, also how the door plug will be designed. They will redesign the door plug, Boeing says, and offer a retrofit kit to other operators of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 to make sure that the door plug cannot be fully closed if the bolts are not in place. Also, there will be a warning light in the cockpit for pilots. Some of the changes are small. They're including tags on the door plug while the airplane is still in the factory that says, "Do not open this without approval from a higher up who deals specifically with quality control". That is what this all comes down to, Erica, major problems with Boeing's quality control, and we will see what comes out of day two of this hearing taking place right now.
HILL: Yeah, absolutely. Pete, appreciate the update at this hour. Thank you.
We are keeping a close eye on Tropical Storm Debby, as it continues to linger along the southeastern coast of the United States, drenching the Carolinas, which at this point have already seen over a foot, or some 30 centimeters of rain. The heaviest downpours still expected to come today. Debby is expected to strengthen off the coast before once again making landfall tomorrow, and then making its way up the East Coast of the U.S. The City of Charleston right now in South Carolina has actually lifted its curfew that had gone into place on Monday night, but the city now saying, it does appear it's safe enough to return to normal activities.
Joining me now, Ryan Young who is there in Charleston for us. So, it looks a little, a little less busy for you at the moment, but boy, what a couple of days it's been for you.
RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look, let's be honest here. This is like the worst on again/off again date I've had in quite some time. You think she is coming, then she is not, and then she has decided to go away again. That's where we are right now with this storm. In fact, the mailman just passed us. He is going to deliver the mail today. So, you understand, if the mailman is out, that means the storm conditions should not be that bad today.
But, people are still concerned, Erica. Look, you can look up here and see the sand bags are still in place at a lot of businesses here because they know at any second they can get more water. Now, one of the things we also know about is the fact that many times around here, it just takes a quick second for that flood water to start pouring in again, 11 inches of rain in the last four days or so.
[11:40:00]
So, you understand why so many businesses are relying on these more than 50,000 sand bags were passed out, and we just talked to our weather center. They said the storm has strengthened again. It's more than 150 miles wide. It's up to 60 miles per hour, and they believe we're near the center wall of what was left of that storm. So, as you can see, the rain is starting to pick up during this live shot. They believe tonight, more rain will start pounding in. And when you think about this, the ground is already saturated, and that's what they're concerned about, the large trees in this area with saturated ground and then some heavy winds, that can start tossing some of those trees down to the ground.
So, once again, people are trying to figure out when the storm is going to hit. They've been inside their homes for several days, and now they're starting to come out, because, look, folks are getting sort of tired of being home, and they're starting to venture back out. But, at the same time, officials are still warning them to be careful, especially at night, because, as you know, flood waters can be in the road. You don't know till it's too late, and then your car starts to flow. So, Erica, maybe, maybe the rain is coming this time, maybe it's not. That's been the big question. But, obviously, people are kind of concerned about that at this point.
HILL: Concerned about it, a little on edge, a little frustrated being inside. In many ways, it's almost like you're in the eye of the storm, right, waiting for that back wall to come your way.
YOUNG: Yes.
HILL: Ryan, appreciate it, as always, my friend. Thank you.
Well, he is a former U.S. congressman, a teacher, a high school football coach, a veteran. Who is, though, Tim Walz, the politician? I'm going to speak with a Minnesota journalist who has covered him, knows the governor and his record well. Also ahead this hour, sprinter Gabby Thomas cruising to a gold medal. We'll look at the very latest from the Summer Olympics in Paris.
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HILL: There you go. The debut there of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as Kamala Harris' running mate, a challenge he is embracing with open arms, as he noted, when he was introduced on Tuesday in Philadelphia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALZ: So, we got 91 days. My God, that's easy.
(AUDIENCE CHEERING)
WALZ: We'll sleep when we're dead.
(AUDIENCE CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Walz also went on to talk about his Midwestern roots, his military service, his record as governor. It was his attacks, though, on former President Donald Trump and Trump's running mate, Senator J.D. Vance, that drew some roars from that friendly crowd.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALZ: If Trump gets the chance to return, he is going to pick up exactly where he left off four years ago. And I've got to tell you, his running mate shares his dangerous and backward agenda for this country. These guys are creepy, and yes, just weird as hell. That's what you see. (AUDIENCE CHEERING)
WALZ: That's what you see.
(AUDIENCE CHEERING)
WALZ: So, you know what's out there. So, say it with me, we aren't going back.
[11:45:00]
AUDIENCE: We are not going back!
WALZ: We aren't going back.
AUDIENCE: We are not going back!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: J. Patrick Coolican is the editor-in-chief of the Minnesota Reformer, and joins us now from St Paul. Great to have you with us. So, for a lot of folks across the country, they're kind of just being introduced to Governor Walz at this point, really doing his best to talk about those, his Midwestern roots, right, where he comes from, how he can relate to people. We know that is something that, of course, the Harris, now Harris-Walz campaign wants to capitalize on. For someone who doesn't know him well, how is he seen in Minnesota?
J. PATRICK COOLICAN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, MINNESOTA REFORMER: I think he is an interesting figure because he has a whole life before politics. He was raised by his mother after his father died when he was a teenager. They had to rely on Social Security survivor benefits. He went to a small kind of teachers college, and he wound up in Minnesota after he met his wife, and was a teacher for a long time, just a social studies teacher and a football coach. And I think that kind of grounded him in different existence than the average politician. And I think that is -- that's -- he has done well because of that.
HILL: You mentioned that. I was speaking just a short time ago this hour with the former Lieutenant Governor of Georgia, Geoff Duncan, who characterized him as being really authentic in the way that he speaks about, not only what he is doing there on that stage next to the Vice President, now as the nominee, but in the way he has walked through some of his decisions in terms of legislations and policies that he has pushed through to calling it compassionate and authentic. Is -- would you agree with that assessment?
COOLICAN: Yeah. I mean, he is not someone who I've ever thought of as real calculating in the way of a typical politician. I mean, I think he is shrewd, but he is kind of what you see is what you get. And when you see that joy that you just saw on the stage, I mean, that really is who he is. He loves people and he loves politics. So, I'm not surprised that the early reviews have been pretty solid for him, given his retail politics skills, which I think are pretty considerable.
HILL: We know Team Trump and -- is really trying to paint him as this incredibly progressive, far-left liberal. His record, of course, in Congress, a little bit more moderate, a little bit more centrist. Since he has been there, though, as governor in the state, how does his record stack up?
COOLICAN: The first term was marked by divided government. And so, there was plenty of compromise. And of course, he was managing the crises of both the pandemic and also the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd. The second -- but he did win reelection fairly convincingly, despite inflation and all those crises, and he ushered in a all-Democratic legislature, and they did, despite a narrow majority, they passed a long wish list of progressive items, paid family medical leave, a big child tax credit. They legalized marijuana. So, he did become a progressive governor.
The problem I see for the Trump campaign is that they're going to have to -- they're trying to paint someone as a wild eye kind of California liberal, when, if you just look at the guy, that's really not the vibe he gives off. And so, he sort of -- he codes as a Midwestern kind of, as you said, moderate guy, but he certainly did govern. He has governed as a progressive.
HILL: Having covered him for so long, were you surprised at all that he was ultimately the pick?
COOLICAN: Certainly. Two and a half, three weeks ago, this is not something that I saw happening, but they have been laying the groundwork for this in a kind of quiet way. They -- he is the chair of the Democratic Governors Association. I think he has been creating relationships with labor leaders, national labor leaders. He certainly has that career in Congress. I think he kept up those relationships. So, even though this is a surprise to a lot of people, there was a lot of work that was going on to prepare for some off-chance eventuality like this.
HILL: There has been a lot made of his use of the word "weird", now for his opponents. How much do you think that may have solidified his place here on the ticket?
COOLICAN: Well, they have road tested that attack, and I'd say that it's another instance where he -- they were ready once the opportunity presented itself.
[11:50:00]
But, I definitely think that that become becoming a kind of viral lean definitely launched him into the short list. Once Democrats became more aware of him, I think they liked what they saw, and that certainly started it.
HILL: Yeah. Patrick Coolican, great to have you with us. Appreciate your insight here. Thank you.
And we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HILL: Well, the U.S. is leading the gold medal and overall medal count
at the Summer Olympics in Paris, 24 gold, 86 total medals for the U.S. You see China there following, 22 gold, 60 medals in all. Australia, in third place, struck gold 15 times so far during these games. One of those gold medals for the U.S. came from sprinter Gabby Thomas in the 200 meters. What a moment.
Patrick Snell joining us now with more. I'm not sure there is anything that she can't do.
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: I agree with you, Erica. Yeah. And those images there of her just reflect the numerous story lines, really great emotionally charged story lines at these Paris Games, the joy, the elation, the pure raw emotion. That's why we love these Olympics. Take the USA's Gabby Thomas, as you say, who says it was an unbelievable, indescribable feeling to claim Olympic gold in the women's 200 meters. The Atlanta-born star beating Saint Lucia's 100 meter champ Julien Alfred in the process in that final to claim victory, not only for Team USA, but to become the first, the only Harvard University graduate to win Track and Field gold at an Olympics. It was watching Allyson Felix in London 2012 that inspired her. She won seven Olympic goals in a career. But, Gabby will still be hoping for more in the 4x100 100 meter relay.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GABBY THOMAS, 200M GOLD MEDALIST: I thought, OK, if I get an Olympic gold medal today, what's next for me? Because I've accomplished almost everything that I have wanted to do up until this point. I got my undergraduate degree in neurobiology at Harvard, which was my dream. I went and got my Masters in Public Health, and now I'm an Olympic champion. I don't know what's next, and I will figure that out. But, for now, I'm just really enjoying where I'm at.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNELL: I bet, I love those words, and now I'm an Olympic champion.
All right, let's get to Cole Hocker's victory in the men's 1,500 meters. This had been billed as a race for the ages. The Olympic champion was up against the world champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen, against Team GB rival Josh Kerr, but the 23-year-old Hocker had other ideas. The American stormed from fifth place to first over the last 300 meters to set a new Olympic record on the way to taking gold ahead of Kerr in silver, an absolutely epic contest, and congrats to Cole there.
Now, it's the end of an era too for one of the greatest Olympians of all time, the Cuban wrestler Mijain Lopez, after winning the Greco- Roman wrestling title for an unprecedented fifth straight time, just two weeks before his 42nd birthday. That in itself is quite incredible. Lopez untying his boots, placing them in the center of the mat, and brought to an end a storied Olympic career, which started 20 years ago in Athens, Greece, it was, in 2004. This is six games, and in that time, he has lost just one of 23 Olympic contests. Now, I mentioned, Erica, the joint elation of victory. But, the other
side of the coin can also be, at times, the sheer heartbreak of it all, the Romanian gymnast Ana Maria Barbosu thought she locked up the bronze medal earlier in the week.
[11:55:00]
This was in the women's floor exercise final. But, a change in scoring seeing Team USA's Jordan Chiles bumped up from fifth to third, Barbosu down to fourth and without a medal, the 18-year-old left absolutely distraught. And Erica, Romania's Prime Minister now saying he won't be attending the Olympics closing ceremony in protest, with you, and that right back to you.
HILL: All right, I'll take it. Patrick, appreciate it. Thank you.
Before we leave you this hour, just one more thing, nominations for the MTV Music Video Awards are out, and perhaps not a surprise here, Taylor Swift is leading them.
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The singer picking up 10 nominations, mostly for that video Fortnight. The song here, of course, with Post Malone, of her latest album "The Tortured Poets Department". Post Malone, by the way, scoring nine nods of his own. Sabrina carpenter and her song of the summer "Espresso", six nominations. Ariana Grande and Eminem also cleaning up here, Megan Thee Stallion says that each worked with five nominations. The VMAs will air live right here in New York on September 10.
Thanks so much for joining me this hour. I'm Erica Hill in New York. Stay tuned. One World is up next right here on CNN.
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