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CNN International: Police Use Force To Break Up Protests In Nairobi; Taylor Swift Cancels Austria Shows Over Alleged Terror Plot; Source: Hezbollah Could Strike Israel In The Coming Days. Aired 11a- 12p ET
Aired August 08, 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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RAHEL SOLOMON, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Good morning or good evening, depending on where you're watching. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York.
Ahead on CNN Newsroom, Taylor Swift cancels a leg of her blockbuster tour in Vienna after a suspected terror plot is foiled. We're going to take a look at how ISIS is recruiting teams online. Plus, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, kick off their battleground swing, as the GOP ramps up attacks on Walz's past. I'll discuss with my panel. And we will take you live to Paris with CNN Sport's Coy Wire for a breakdown of all the latest with the Olympics.
All right. We'll get to all of those stories in just a moment. But first, I want to begin with chaos on the streets of Kenya. Police are using force and firing tear gas to clear protesters in Nairobi. Young demonstrators called for the quote, "mother of all protests" today. They say that they're angry over government corruption, high cost of living, and police brutality, and they are demanding President William Ruto resign, even as he swore in a revamped cabinet, a bid to appease his critics. At least 61 people have been killed in weeks of protests nationwide.
Our Larry Madowo has been covering these protests, and was hit by a fragment after police fired tear gas canisters in his direction. Larry, good to see you. I want to show our viewers first what exactly happened to you and your crew not long ago. Look.
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LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Masking their plates are on the streets, applying excessive force on largely peaceful protesters. And then, as we were just speaking, as they're leaving, they fire even more.
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Ah, that was aimed directly at me. He is aiming directly at me. He is aiming directly at me. Ah, he is shooting directly at me. Why are you shooting at me? Why are you shooting at me? Why are you shooting at me? There is a flashback there. Watch out. He is still shooting. The police shot at least two tear gas canisters directly at me while I was looking at them at close range.
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SOLOMON: Larry, we can clearly see that you were wearing your press vest as well as the crew. Talk to us about what happened, and are you OK?
MADOWO: Just moments before that scene you saw there, I was talking about the police van blocking their plates, which they do here to evade accountability. You can't tell which police department they're from or which police station, and they do that because Kenyans have been very vigilant on social media to call out police who are not following the rules. And just shortly after I did that, they drive in front of us, park there, and they aimed at least twice directly at me, even though, like you mentioned, I am clearly identifiable.
CNN has reached out to the Kenyan National Police Service to understand exactly why we were targeted, especially because several other journalists today, local and foreign, have complained about being beaten up by police, being targeted, being tear gassed, flash- bangs being thrown very close to them, Rahel.
SOLOMON: Larry, let me ask. I mean, the President, as we said, has sworn in opposition members as a part of a broad-based government. Based on your conversations with folks out there, does it seem like that will be enough?
MADOWO: Many of the Kenyans who wanted to come out on the streets today are angry about that broad-based government, as President William Ruto calls it, because after public pressure, he was forced to fire his entire cabinet. But, what he did is then reappointed 10, half of the cabinet back, and they were sworn in today. This is the day that Kenyans had called for the "mother of all protests." That didn't happen because police have made sure that people have been violently broken up from the streets. This is supposed to be rush hour, and this is one of the main streets in the capital. It's entirely empty because police are everywhere, making sure that nobody gathers. Whenever they saw two or three people, they would quickly throw -- fire -- tear gas, flash-bangs, shoot in the air to make sure nothing happens.
We have lots of police trucks all around the capital just to make sure that nobody gathers. They're trying to move them home. We heard them telling some people, leave the streets, maybe try tomorrow, but not today. So, it seems like the decision was to make sure that nobody gathers. And part of the anger on the streets was because of this swearing in of the new cabinet today, this broad-based government that President Ruto calls, and people feel slided (ph) by it, because the reason they wanted to fight, the cabinet is gone is because of corruption, because of (inaudible), because of wasted.
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About a third of Kenya's budget every year stolen by government officials, and that's why many people have in the streets. They're demanding accountability. They are demanding good governance, Rahel.
SOLOMON: Yeah. You have to wonder what's next here. Larry Madowo, please be safe. Thank you for your reporting.
All right. Now to some devastating news for some Taylor Swift fans.
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As we can see here, some were in tears after learning that the pop super star will not be performing in Vienna this week as planned. Authorities in Austria say that they foiled an ISIS-inspired suicide attack plot targeting Taylor Swift concerts. The prime 19-year-old suspect has been arrested in Ternitz, Austria. You can see on this map here. It's about an hour drive away from where Taylor Swift was scheduled to perform later today. Now, in response, organizers are pulling the plug on three concerts in Vienna. A 17-year-old suspect was also arrested in Austria's capital, and police say that they found explosive devices at the home of the 19-year-old suspect.
Now, along with detonators and chemicals, these signs are leading authorities to believe that the teenagers were radicalized online. Here is what the head of Austria's domestic intelligence agency had to say about the alleged terror plot. Listen.
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OMAR HAIJAWI-PIRCHNER, AUSTRIAN DIRECTOR OF SECURITY SERVICES: So, they are using all kind of social medias we know. So, they are giving private messages. So, it's encrypted communication. In Austria at the moment, we don't have any chance to influence encrypted communication or to read encrypted communication as security authority, and for future investigations, we would need that, of course.
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SOLOMON: OK. Let's go straight to CNN's Nick Paton Walsh, who is standing by for us in London. Nick, what more have you learned about the suspects and the foiled plot.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it's startling details about a plot involving only three teenagers, all Austrian-born, one 19-years-old. He is said to have announced in late July that he was leaving his job and was planning something big and then changed his appearance. Police searched his home yesterday in Ternitz, you showed it on the map there, about an hour away from the Taylor Swift venues, and found the precursor chemicals for bomb making, bomb detonators, 21,000 Euros in counterfeit currency, knives.
They believe part of his intention was to use another thing they found in his home, a police blue flashing light to gain easier access for his vehicle into the crowds around the periphery of the Taylor Swift concerts. That he would use to bring the explosive device in, and they believe he intended to die either in the delivery of that device or potentially in using knives to attack people there as well. That's the allegations against him, and then also that he was radicalized online by the Islamic states through social media platforms. Austrian officials have complained about today as being so encrypted, they can't often read what's happening there.
The second individual here arrested in Vienna hours later, 17-years- old, apparently broke up with his girlfriend recently, important, because police try and work out the state of mind of individuals in moments like this. He appears to have been more involved in the plot. And then the third individual, just a 15-year-old boy, also Austrian- born, may have known about the plot, but being less involved. Investigators are still really at the stage of questioning that individual.
But, it's kind of stunning, frankly, that we are talking about a plot so close towards its moments of execution that involved three teenagers, nobody else that Austrian officials are looking for right now, suggestions possibly other people online may have known about it. And of course, Austrian officials want to know who was involved in their radicalization, but startling how close to completion this appears to have got.
SOLOMON: Absolutely. And as you point out, both the age of the suspects, but also you imagine the age of a lot of those folks who would have been at a Taylor Swift concert. We'll leave it here.
Nick Paton Walsh, thank you.
All right. As Israel braces for potential attacks from Iran and its proxies, sources tell CNN that it looks increasingly likely that Hezbollah may strike independent of whatever Iran may intend to do. Hezbollah is based in Lebanon, and sources say that that proximity to Israel means that it could act with little to no notice. Iran and its allies have vowed to retaliate for a series of assassinations claimed by or blamed on Israel. An emergency meeting of Islamic nations yesterday in Jeddah condemned Israel's actions, saying that they undermine regional security and stability. The conference also reaffirmed solidarity with the Palestinian cause.
Let's get to Jeremy Diamond, who is following all of these developments from Haifa in northern Israel. Jeremy, a source says that Hezbollah could act with little or no notice at all. I mean, what are you hearing?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, and a lot of that has to do with just Hezbollah's proximity to Israel and the fact that, according to the sources familiar with the intelligence, Hezbollah appears to be further along in its preparations for a potential attack against Israel than Iran is at the moment.
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Iran, according to one military official, has made some but not all of the preparations that would be required, most likely, for a significant attack against Israel. And keep in mind, it's been eight days now since the assassination of Hamas' political leader in the Iranian capital, eight days since Iran vowed revenge, vowed to retaliate for that killing. And yet, we haven't seen that action actually unfold yet. And so, now there is this question, and even this emerging theory, it seems, that perhaps Hezbollah will strike first, not only in response to the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, but perhaps more significantly because Israel, also hours before that assassination, killed its senior most military commander, Fuad Shukr, a close adviser to Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
And so, now there is this real possibility in the air of Hezbollah carrying out a significant strike of its own, questions about whether that would be here in northern Israel, where we are, or perhaps in Tel Aviv, where there are several key military bases, but also, of course, a major population center. And so, the risk of a misstep there and significant civilian casualties is very real. And so, we are reading warnings in the Israeli press that Israel will respond in a disproportionate manner, should there be a number of civilian casualties, in particular in Tel Aviv. And so, that is putting everyone on edge.
At the same time, we have seen over the course of the last couple of days some real diplomatic activities, some real efforts to try and de- escalate this situation, and some indications that perhaps a ceasefire in Gaza, should the Israelis be pressured into that, that that could potentially provide an off-ramp for the kind of significant Iranian retaliation that so many have feared could plunge this region into deeper conflict.
SOLOMON: And Jeremy, beyond what we're hearing in Israeli press, as you just pointed out, I mean, what more are you learning about how Israel may be preparing for that possibility?
DIAMOND: Yeah. Well, there are still no changes to the Home Front Command guidelines issued to civilians in terms of telling them to be closer to bomb shelters, to limit large gatherings, effectively to be at a heightened state of alert. But, the Israeli military itself is clearly at a very heightened state of alert, as is this city of Haifa, where we are now, and that's because Haifa has been through this before. In the 2006 war, it was a major target of Hezbollah, and there are fears that it could be the same once again, should there be a significant escalation in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
And so, Israel -- the Israeli military has been adding troops to reinforce this city's defenses, including search and rescue teams, we understand, and there have also been steps at the municipal level here. Haifa's port and the Haifa Bay, they are limiting the amount of hazardous materials and chemicals that are being brought in at this time because of the potential for that to make the situation that much more dangerous, should the port be struck, for example. And so, there are a number of preparations being made at the city level as well, as people here are certainly getting to a higher state of alert. Rahel.
SOLOMON: OK. Jeremy Diamond reporting for us there in Haifa. Jeremy, thank you.
And still to come for us, the U.S. presidential race is now a sprint to the finish. We will show you how both campaigns are stepping up their efforts and focusing on the battleground states, with fewer than 90 days left until the election. Plus, the Trump campaign launches a new line of attack, as it tries to slow the momentum of Kamala Harris. But, will it work? We'll ask our political panel.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. And right now, you can call the U.S. presidential race the battle for the Midwest. Both the Harris and Trump campaigns are laser focused on that part of the country this week.
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The new democratic duo of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz remain in Detroit today, as they try to capture the support of auto workers. The two held rallies in the critical Midwestern states of Wisconsin and Michigan on Wednesday. Now, for the first time in her young campaign, Harris was faced with the ongoing fractures among Democrats over the Israel-Hamas war. The Vice President was interrupted by a group who appeared to be pro-Palestinian protesters.
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KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S., (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know what? If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I'm speaking.
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SOLOMON: Now, one thing the party remains united on is beating Donald Trump this fall.
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HARRIS: Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. You know what? Here, hold on. Here is the thing. The courts are going to handle that. We're going to beat him in November. We're going to beat him in November.
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SOLOMON: And Republican J.D. Vance also making stops in Wisconsin and Michigan, where he questioned his Democratic rival's military service.
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SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), 2024 VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When the United States Marine Corps, when the United States of America asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it. I did what they asked me to do it, and I did it honorably, and I'm very proud of that service. When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, you know what he did? He dropped out of the army and allowed his unit to go without him.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SOLOMON: Now, CNN has reported that Walz retired two months before his
unit received orders to deploy to Iraq. As for Donald Trump, he is not on the campaign trail this week, but he is planning to hold a news conference at Mar-a-Lago in just a few hours.
Joining us now from Washington is CNN's Alayna Treene. So, Alayna, Trump announced that he would be holding this press conference later today at about 02:00 p.m. Eastern. What can we expect to hear?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, it's really interesting, Rahel, because this week has been a massive week for the Harris campaign. She announced her running mate, Governor Tim Walz, and then hit the trail very hard. They've been all over the country, visiting Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin.
And rather than Donald Trump holding rival events, we've actually seen the Trump campaign deploy his running mate, J.D. Vance, to do that. We saw the same day that Harris announced Walz and had hit their big roll out event for him in Philadelphia, Vance was there as well, just four miles away, attacking both Harris and Walz and trying to paint them as being radically liberal, dangerously liberal, and arguing that the Minnesota Governor actually is pushing that ticket to the left. We then saw him travel to Wisconsin and Michigan yesterday. In Wisconsin, they were actually in the same exact city, Eau Claire, all of the top candidates, including Harris, Walz and J.D. Vance.
But, we have not yet seen Donald Trump since that VP announcement from the Harris campaign. The last time we actually saw him publicly was when he held a rally over the weekend, last Saturday in Atlanta. Now, we are going to see him today for this press conference, and then tomorrow, he is actually holding a rally in Bozeman, Montana. But look, I think, for your broader question about what we can expect, what they're trying to do here is really needle the Harris campaign. We know that Donald Trump is going to attempt to define both Harris and Walz in the way that they want voters to see them, and part of this is they want to try and get out ahead of the messaging, particularly when it comes to Walz, before a lot of voters can make up their minds.
We also know that Trump has struggled over the last several weeks, since Biden ended his campaign, about how to best level his attacks on Harris. He has been throwing kind of a lot of different attacks out there, kind of throwing the kitchen sink at her. And what I'm told from my conversations with senior advisors is that they're still figuring out what exactly sticks. You're going to see some of that attempt to define her as well as Walz during this press conference.
But, I also think one thing that they're really trying to make the point of and having him come out and take questions from reporters is they have been arguing over the past several days now that Harris is not doing that, that she is refusing to sit down for any big media interview or to hold a press conference, which is true.
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We have not seen her do so since she effectively became the presumptive Democratic nominee. And I think you're going to see some of those attacks today as well. I know that will probably have a lot of fact checkers following up on that after these remarks. But, it will be interesting to see what Donald Trump has to say, given it is his first public appearance since Walz was announced as her running mate. Rahel.
SOLOMON: OK. So, a lot to listen for. Alayna Treene live for us there in Washington. Alayna, thank you.
Let's bring in our panel now to discuss further. CNN Political Commentators Shermichael Singleton, a Republican strategist, and CNN Political Commentator Paul Begala, a Democratic Strategist. Good to see you both.
Paul, let me start where Alayna left off, these concerns or criticisms from the Trump campaign that he is at least speaking to reporters and Kamala Harris and her campaign are not. What do you think? Should she be?
PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, & DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I don't care. She should talk to voters. I mean it. I'm in the press. So, I want press conferences. OK? So, I have a bias here. But, I've never met a voter who said, gee, I think politician x should have more press conferences. We all think that in the media. But, she has -- she hasn't set a foot wrong yet. It's been remarkable. Now, I've done this a long time. 75 percent of a politician's mistakes occur in the first 25 percent of the politician's campaign. That's why this very late start was really, really treacherous for Kamala Harris. And yet, so far, she'll make her mistakes, believe me, but so far, she hadn't made a mistake yet. So, I don't fault her campaign at all for keeping on the trajectory they're on right now, because right now, it's a rocket ship.
SOLOMON: Shermichael, let me ask, on the flip side, we haven't really seen Trump as much on the campaign trail as we have Walz, as we have Harris. Is that a mistake? It got my attention that I heard you say last night that you give credit to the Harris campaign because they are out there. They are talking to voters. They are drumming up fundraising.
SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, & REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Yeah.
SOLOMON: What do you think?
SINGLETON: Yeah. I mean, look, I think strategically speaking now, when you have momentum on your side, you want to go and bring that momentum and your case to the voters in those crucial battleground states. I do think it's important, however, to talk to journalists, because there are some consequential questions that journalists will ask, particularly when a candidate is changing their views on certain issues, like Vice President Harris is moderating more. I understand why she is moderating more from her pre-positions that were far more progressive. But, a journalist will have the skills to ask the questions of, why, from some of the swing voters in the middle who may be wondering, well, where does she stand on this particular issue now? Maybe why she changed?
With that said, I think Trump needs to get out there. He needs to get out there and build the case for why he would be a better leader on a whole host of things, and not doing that I think is a structural disadvantage. I think it's a mistake, to be quite frank. J.D. is out there, and that's good, but the top of the ticket needs to be out there as well.
SOLOMON: Paul, let me ask, the top of the ticket is obviously Harris, but we've seen the campaign focus on Walz, and Alayna sort of touched on perhaps why that is because they're still trying to figure out perhaps what the best line of attack is with Harris. But, how should the campaign be responding to these attacks against Walz?
BEGALA: This is a huge issue within Democratic politics, right? There is this big myth that Democrats lose because they don't respond well. Democrats lose because they don't attack well. I'm a George S. Patton Democrat. General Patton said the purpose of war is not to die for your country, but to make the other guy die for his country. The purpose of a campaign is not to respond to their attacks. It's to launch your own.
So, on this, for example, and I'm not running the campaign, obviously, for Kamala Harris, but if I were, I would have -- they're attacking Master Sergeant Walz's military record, 24 years in uniform in the National Guard. I would, instead of saying, well, he did this, he did that, I would point out that Donald Trump avoided service altogether by faking that he had bone spurs. I would point out that Donald Trump called our war dead, suckers and losers. I would point out that Donald Trump refused to visit the cemetery in France of better men than he who died so we could be free, that Donald Trump was quoted and saying he didn't want military veterans who were wounded to come to his rallies, because he said, quote, am I get the quote right here, "Nobody wants to see that." In other words, I would go on the offense.
Donald Trump said that John McCain wasn't a war hero because he was a POW. Of course, he was. In other words, Democrats need to not be defensive here. They need to get on offense and make the issue Donald Trump and his fitness to lead a great military.
SOLOMON: Shermichael, is it a mistake for Republicans to be focusing on Walz --
SINGLETON: Rahel --
SOLOMON: We -- yes.
SINGLETON: Yeah. Yeah. Well, I think I know where you're going with that question.
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I was going to respond to Paul. I actually don't think it's really about Governor Walz's military record. I think what Vance is attempting to do here, which I think it's a sound strategy, they recognize the momentum has changed against them. They recognize that the media attention is no longer on them. I think Vance is trying to disrupt that momentum by having the media sort of ask these questions to slow down the momentum we've seen thus far, to give the campaign an opportunity to readjust and reassert itself back into the national conversation. I think it's less about the governor's record and more about how do we disrupt this so that we can sort of level the playing field.
SOLOMON: Interesting. Paul, let me ask, Shermichael admits that there is a certain momentum that you are witnessing with Harris, with Walz. Are Democrats overestimating their strength, though? I mean, when you look at the latest Poll of Polls --
BEGALA: Yeah.
SOLOMON: -- from CNN, I mean, it's still essentially tied. It could still go either way.
BEGALA: Absolutely. Rahel, one of my rules of politics is there is only two ways to run for office, unopposed or scared. OK? Kamala Harris, not unopposed. She doesn't -- there is a new poll out today that shows her with a -- the first time with a clearly, the Marquette University Law School poll, it is a good poll, shows her up six. If I were advising the Democrats, I would say, look, this is a dead heat race. This could go either way. It's a jump ball. Pick your metaphor. But, any Democrat who thinks that this thing is in the bag is completely wrong. I mean, it's not even in a grocery cart yet. The Democrats are going to have a convention. Let's see how they do there. My hope is they will emerge from that more unified and more moderate.
Shermichael is right. Kamala Harris has taken -- changed positions to become a more moderate candidate. She has picked up a veteran and a football coach as her running mate, also I think to be more moderate. I think it's a good thing. Let's see how they do.
SOLOMON: Shermichael, one thing that Paul said yesterday that got my attention as well is he talked about the chemistry of Walz and Harris and how it was sort of similar, if I'm not mistaken, to sort of what you witnessed to some degree with Bill Clinton and Al Gore. Do you think that J.D. Vance and Donald Trump have that same sort of energetic chemistry thing working for them? Is this something you think about, and could it have it have an impact with voters?
SINGLETON: I think so, and I think that's why you're seeing J.D. out there more than Trump. I think the chemistry wasn't there, and the former President didn't have trust in JD, sort of political soundness, if you will. I do not think Trump would be comfortable with J.D. being out there, going to critical battleground states, attempting to make the Trump-Vance message or argument, rather, to potential voters. I also don't think he would trust Vance would attempting to develop in very real time messaging or targeting of the other vice presidential candidate, which we've been seeing for the past 24, 48 hours, again, talking about Walz and his record during the National Guard.
So, I think chemistry is going to be important. I think trust is important. But again, Rahel, I want to overemphasize, Republicans have got to figure out a way to showcase that they have a level of momentum and that their message can penetrate. Yes, the race is still even for the most part. But, once we get towards the end of September, early October, we're going to really start to see where this race is headed. And I'm being honest here. I'm not convinced that we're doing enough on my side to assure that we have a strategic advantage 30 days out.
SOLOMON: Fascinating. Paul, let me let you have the last word here. You said earlier that, so far, she has done everything right. The campaign has been smooth thus far. So then, what do you worry about? What keeps you up at night with this campaign?
BEGALA: Everything. Again, if you run a campaign, Shermichael knows this as a strategist, you just -- they pay you to worry, and they're not paying me anymore. So, maybe I shouldn't worry. But, I always -- again, the party that wins is the party that is both more unified and more mainstream. That's hard to do. Now, it's easy to unify if you're extreme. Only pick a far leftist. Only pick a far rightist. I think this way, Mr. Trump has actually made a huge mistake in picking J.D. Vance, who is the most unpopular running mate of my lifetime in the polling.
What a different race we would have. Imagine, if Donald Trump had picked Nikki Haley or Chris Christie or Mitt Romney or Shermichael's friend, Dr. Ben Carson, it's just impossible to hate on Dr. Carson. OK? And so, he could have reached out to a whole lot of voters that I think J.D. Vance can't. But, what I worry about for Democrats is that they'll form their circular firing squad that they sometimes do. But so far, right now, Kamala Harris has done a remarkable job of unifying her very diverse and formally depressed party.
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SOLOMON: OK. Well, we shall see. Things can sometimes quickly change in politics. So, a lot to watch.
Shermichael Singleton. Paul Begala, thank you so much for being here. Good to see you both.
BEGALA: Thanks, Rahel.
SINGLETON: Good to see you.
SOLOMON: And as we mentioned -- likewise -- Donald Trump has announced that he will hold a press conference in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, at 02:00 p.m. Eastern Time. So, stay tuned to CNN for that.
Well, still ahead, an extraordinary come-from-behind win for Quincy Hall at the Olympics in Paris. We will have a live report with the highlights coming up. Plus, as Tropical Storm Debby roars through the southeastern U.S., millions of people are already counting the cost. Our meteorologist has the latest.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. You're watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Rahel Solomon, live in New York. And here are some of the international headlines we are watching for you today. It appears that fighting continues for a third day in Russia's Kursk
region, even though Russia claims that it has halted a Ukrainian incursion there. Ukraine has not commented on the brazen attack, which appears to be one of its largest since the war began more than two years ago. Russian claims seem to be at odds with reports on the ground that there is heavy shelling in the region.
Minutes ago, Nobel laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus was sworn in as the head of the Bangladesh interim government in the capital of Dhaka. This comes after weeks of violent protests, left hundreds of people dead and led to the resignation of the country's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Now, before Yunus arrived for the swearing in, he called on the citizens of Bangladesh to be, quote, "ready to build the country".
Now, what could have turned into more rioting by far-right groups in the UK, appears to have been stopped in its tracks by anti-racism protesters. Far-right groups have used social media to call for demonstrations targeting the offices of immigration lawyers and visa processing centers on Wednesday. Well, that's when thousands of people showed up in dozens of cities to guard the centers following days of violence.
Well, it is day 13 at the Olympics in Paris. An action on the track is making news. Quincy Hall from the U.S. raced to the Top in the 400 meters. Now, he trailed for much of the race, but then pushed through at the end that got Hall ahead of Great Britain's Matthew Hudson-Smith at the finish line. There are 27 medal events today. Taking a look at the medal count, the U.S. and China, both tied for gold with 27 each, although the U.S. still holds the overall medal count, and Australia is in third with 18 gold medals.
All right. Joining us now from Paris is CNN World Sport's Coy Wire. Coy, Paris, Olympics, tough assignment. Break it all down for us.
COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORT: It is hot out today and things are getting even hotter, Rahel. The newly crowned 100 meter champion Noah Lyles is going to put it all on the line for a chance at the elusive double.
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If he can claim gold in the 200 meters tonight as well, he'd be the first person to do it since the legend Usain Bolt. Only nine men have ever done it. And the last event of the night is going to be the men's 110 meter hurdles final, and it's going to be a USA-Jamaica showdown, three Americans, three Jamaicans, defending world champ Grant Holloway blazing to a 12.98 in qualifiers. That's seven one hundredths of a second off the Olympic record. Now, he used to be a promising football player, Rahel, but he quickly realized that that wasn't the path for him. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRANT HOLLOWAY, 3-TIME MEN'S 110M WORLD CHAMPION: No, I'm not a team player. Football, I have to rely on 10 other people on the field with me. So, I wanted to kind of just take it into my own hands.
WIRE: Multiple time world champ. What would winning that gold in Paris represent?
HOLLOWAY: One of the only few things that I'm missing from my bucket list, Olympic gold medal and a world record outdoors. But, we can't get too ahead of ourselves. When the big dance is here, we are ready to show out.
WIRE: You going to be dancing?
HOLLOWAY: I'm going to be dancing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Now, Rahel, one thing you have to see, I had a little outfit change, the future of athlete performance and recovery is now. Nike and Hyperice teamed up two years ago to create two game changers. You may have seen some of the athletes rocking these, not yet available to the public first. This vest impacts thermal regulation. If you are hot, you push a button, the vest gets cold electronically, no ice, no water. These little touch points get down to 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Incredible. It's like a HVAC for your body, your own micro climate, if you will, wherever you go, whenever you go. Oh, and if you need to be warmed up, you push another button and it gets hot.
And these boots are compression devices you can wear wherever. Fluids pull at the feet and ankles, right, Rahel? There is an air compressor in here, tiny tubes that make these things come to life, get that junk moving out, increasing your mobility in your ankle, blood shooting back up your leg, like an oil change for your body without having to go to the shop. Think about long plane rides. This stuff is incredible. And by the way, they look pretty sweet. I must say so. I mean, I'm the --
SOLOMON: Coy, I was --
WIRE: -- coolest dude in Paris right now, literally.
SOLOMON: Look, you are the coolest dude often. I was with you until you said they look pretty cool. They sound like great technology, Coy. But --
WIRE: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
SOLOMON: (Inaudible). That's why you're the coolest man. Coy Wire --
WIRE: You got it.
SOLOMON: -- live for us in Paris. Thank you, Coy.
All right. Still ahead, Silicon Valley investors are showing support for U.S. presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Our guest will explain what VCs for Kamala is doing to help her. Plus, some good news for the U.S. economy. The Department of Labor has just released the latest look at unemployment claims. We will take a closer look in just a moment.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. Let us get a quick check of the markets right now. Take a look at the U.S. markets first. The Dow was seeing some gains, some nice gains, up above 500 points, or 1.4 percent. The NASDAQ up the most among them, 2.18 percent -- 2.16 percent, and the S&P also up, a little bit less than two percent, likely some welcome news for many investors watching. And in Europe, we'll pull up Europe, more of a mixed picture, with the DAX closing up about one third of a percent, the FTSE off, as well as the CAC 40. Asian markets, meantime, also close mixed, with the Nikkei closing lower, which looks like that come back that we saw in those stocks, appear to be short lived, at least for now. We'll keep watching.
Also what we continue to watch, the weekly jobless claims here in the U.S. So, this number came in lower than expected. It gives us a sense of how many Americans are filing for unemployment benefits for the first time, and first-time claims fell last week to 233,000. That's about 17,000 fewer than the week prior.
Let's bring in CNN Anchor Julia Chatterley, who joins us live from New York. Julia, always good to see you. I don't have to tell you, but with the week we've had between the jobs report, the market volatility, there was a lot of focus on this report. Did the lower claims come larger concerns?
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN ANCHOR, FIRST MOVE: You and I both know that one weekly data point shouldn't have the kind of impact on U.S. stocks that this data point is having taking them soaring from unchanged at the open. But, that gives you a sense, one of the volatility of what we're feeling at the moment, and underlines to your point, Rahel, the concerns about the U.S. economy. So, it's not a good number. We're talking about people who, insecure about their jobs, are asking for help from the government in the interim. But, it was better than expected, and that was enough.
One of the things that leapt out to me about this report too was Texas. We saw the biggest drop in people filing for first-time unemployment benefits. Why does that matter? Well, Hurricane Beryl hit Texas during the data collection period for Friday's job numbers. So, the fact that it impacted these numbers perhaps tells me that we might see a bit of give back on that weaker jobs number that we got on Friday. You can understand why investors are optimistic, I think, because this is calming fears. Yes, the jobs market, it's slowing, but it's not falling off a cliff.
And just to give you a sense, if we were talking about imminent recession, that number at 233,000 would be more like 300,000, 350,000, and were simply not there. This number is consistent, I think, with a quarter of a percentage point cut from the Fed in September and nothing more. So, for now, we've got a positive move in stocks. We're calm to some degree. Continue to watch the tech stocks, because they're a real determinant of market moves at the moment.
SOLOMON: So, nothing more, perhaps, and nothing sooner, perhaps, in terms of an emergency rate cut.
Julia, let me ask, next week, we'll turn our attention to fresh inflation data. What are we expecting on the inflation side of things, which is critically also important?
CHATTERLEY: It really is. And I'll say what we hope is that nothing that derails exactly what I just said, that quarter point cut from the Fed in September. So, we're currently sitting around three percent annualized for U.S. inflation. It's still above that two percent target. So, we're going to be watching shelter. We're going to be watching food prices. Inflation in terms of what's going on in the energy market, well, oil is down around nine percent over the past month. So, that should help us. So, the hope is that we get something three percent or less and doesn't derail the hopes for that Fed rate cut in September.
SOLOMON: Yeah. It'll be interesting to watch, because as we just discussed, I mean, the markets seem incredibly sensitive to the latest data, even if it is --
CHATTERLEY: Yeah.
SOLOMON: -- just one data point.
CHATTERLEY: Yeah.
SOLOMON: CNN anchor Julia Chatterley live for us. Thank you, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Thank you.
SOLOMON: Well, strong tech support for Donald Trump has led to a bit of a counter-campaign, and it's called VCs for Kamala. It has the support of some major funders such as Mark Cuban and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, in part. The supporters say, quote, "We believe that strong, trustworthy institutions are a feature, not a bug, and that our industry and every other industry would collapse without them. That is what's at stake in this election. In this pivotal moment, we are united in our support for Vice President Kamala Harris."
And joining us now from San Francisco is Eric Ries. He is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Long-Term Stock Exchange. He is also a supporter of "Venture Capitalists for Kamala." Eric, good to have you. Talk to us a little bit about what made you want to get involved. You were apparently one of the first or earliest volunteers for this effort.
ERIC RIES, FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, LTSE: Yeah. Usually, I do my political advocacy behind the scenes. But, in the days since the President announced he was not going to seek reelection, the energy in Silicon Valley for Kamala Harris has just been off the charts, and it's been a really remarkable turnaround.
SOLOMON: And how would you explain that energy that you're seeing for Kamala Harris? Is it just, as we pointed out in that statement, the upholding of institutions, or is there another issue that seems to be garnering a lot of support among the tech community? [11:45:00]
RIES: What I've noticed is that people really think that she is going to be a pragmatist, that it's going to be a big tent. Silicon Valley is not a monolith. Innovators have lots of different political beliefs. But, there is a kind of a sense that we can make common cause in defense of the rule of law, and that's a really important part of having a stable business environment, a stable economy. People are pretty fired up about it.
SOLOMON: And on the flip side, I mean, what concerns would you share among some tech investors about a future President Trump?
RIES: Well, it's a bit of back to the future. We all remember what that was like. But, I think really the issue is much more that people are looking for a forward-looking agenda. I think it helps a lot that the Vice President is significantly younger, and that there was kind of this silent majority who was supporting President Biden. People -- if you look at the data, people who work in innovation, people work on entrepreneurship and technology, are overwhelmingly on that side. And yet, people didn't feel, for whatever reason, inspired to speak out, didn't feel like technology was a vital part of the President's agenda. And that sudden change has just unleashed all this energy.
SOLOMON: Eric, I heard you mention that there is a feeling that perhaps she will be a pragmatist when it comes to certain issues with Big Tech. I wonder, though, how that conversation is squared with concerns about perhaps more regulation for Big Tech. How much of that as a part of the conversations you and the other founders and investors are having?
RIES: That's a good question. I haven't -- it hasn't really been so much of a concern. People definitely think smart regulation is important, especially as we think about the emerging opportunities and threats of things like AI. But, I also think people -- the phrase I've heard a lot is that this is not the second Biden administration. This will be the first Harris administration. It's going to be new appointees, new team, new approach. And people remember the tech alliance with President Obama, the idea of government efficiency of bringing innovation and innovators into government very fondly. And I think there is a lot of hope that we could see a repeat of that kind of alliance in the administration to come.
SOLOMON: And talk to me a little bit more about what your group hopes to accomplish beyond, obviously, Kamala Harris in the White House. I mean, is there also perhaps an effort to perhaps provide a more nuanced picture of Big Tech? As you said, it's not a monolith, and so, perhaps to provide a bit of a counter depiction of Big Tech.
RIES: Big Tech is not really what any of us come from. I mean, of course, every startup aspires to be part of Big Tech one day. But, the real question is, what is going to allow entrepreneurs to start companies and to get venture capital flowing? And I think there has been a lot of concerns about the lack of liquidity in the ecosystem, about the difficulty of companies going public. That lack of liquidity ultimately affects the ability to form new small businesses in the first place. So, I think that's really more what people are excited about, is to show that there is like a wide diversity of views in Silicon Valley. It's not a monolith. But, that -- we really want to get people civically engaged. It's easy for people who are working on the future to feel like politics is mired in the past and to not want to get involved.
So, there is a number of these groups. There is the VC group, but there is also tech for Harris, and there is founders for Harris even. So, they see these groups kind of grassroots organizing to get people civically engaged and just -- we don't necessarily want to tell people what they should believe or what they have to do. We want people to be engaged to vote and to see being part of the political process as part of their civic duty as citizens.
SOLOMON: And Eric, we just sort of had a scrolling list of some of those names who have signed on to the pledge. Anyone that perhaps surprised you? I mean, are these all Democrats? I mean, this is a quick look, but anyone that signed on that you sort of raise an eyebrow, that's pretty cool.
RIES: Yeah. There were quite a few actually. Even some partners at firms that have famously come out for Trump, there has been dissension on that side. Of course, there is some major donors like Reid Hoffman. But, if you look at someone like Vinod Khosla, who has been a climate investor, but not necessarily a political partisan in the past, that surprised me, and even Mark Cuban's turn as being politically engaged in the cycle has been pretty interesting to watch.
But, I think it's very natural for the press, and of course, to focus on the biggest names, the most famous names. If you look at The New York Times article about it, very interesting who they selected to be in the cover photos. But, if you actually scroll through the list, it's a remarkably diverse list, both in gender diversity, racial diversity, but also in geographic and regional diversity. And you see there is a kind of a whole new universe of emerging venture capitalists and managers who are changing the way Silicon Valley operates, and I think that's pretty exciting too.
SOLOMON: Yeah. That context is really interesting. As I said, it was a quick scrolling list. So, nice to have that context of sort of who signed on to this.
Eric Ries, we appreciate your time today. Thank you.
RIES: My pleasure. Thanks so much.
SOLOMON: Yep.
All right. Still ahead, it has been one year since those devastating fires in Maui. In today's one more thing, we will take a look at the recovery process. We'll be right back.
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[11:50:00]
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. Tropical Storm Debby has made its second land fall on the coast of South Carolina. It's also impacting North Carolina with tornadoes and heavy rain and disastrous flooding. There is a high risk for excessive rainfall in North Carolina and Virginia. Debby is expected to become a tropical depression later today, racing through the Mid-Atlantic and northeast regions on Friday.
CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar has the latest on Tropical Storm Debby from the CNN Weather Center. So, Allison, we sort of touched on where it appears the storm is going. What else are you watching? What can we expect?
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. It's all about that word you just used, racing. So far, this snow -- this storm has been so slow, crawling at a pace, and that's allowed for it to dump a tremendous amount of rain, and, yes, even caused some severe weather. Here is a look at one of the tornadoes from yesterday. This was along the Pender, Pender and Sampson County line, there in North Carolina. That was one of at least three tornado reports that we know of in just the state of North Carolina alone.
We have another Tornado watch in effect for portions of North Carolina and Virginia. This is valid until 01:00 p.m. Eastern local time there. You've got several tornado warnings that have been off and on in this state throughout much of the morning. Only one active at this point in time, near Kinston, North Carolina. But again, a lot of them could continue to pop up as we go through the day, and more of that moisture continues to spread northward, not just in Virginia, but eventually into some other Mid-Atlantic and even states into the Northeast.
The short-term concern, especially still for the southeast, is that flooding component. All of these counties you see here in red under flash flood warnings. Many of these areas have picked up at least eight to 10 inches of rain just in the last 48 to 72 hours. We're going to be adding even more rain on top of that. So, you still have that high risk for flooding for today across those pink regions, and even some of the areas around it, may not be as high of a risk, but there is still a risk in general, and then tomorrow, another risk, a moderate, but notice, it shifts more into the northeast, states like Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, really going to be the focal point there.
And here you can see, all of that moisture beginning to spread off to the north. You're looking at widespread totals of two to four inches. But, some spots not out of the question to get five, six, maybe even seven inches before a lot of that moisture finally moves away. Here is a look at the system again, very slow so far, but in about 24 hours from now, the bulk of it will already spread into the Mid-Atlantic and then into the northeast by the time we get to Friday evening. In fact, by very early Saturday morning, the moisture is really just left right there, along coastal regions of Massachusetts and up into Maine, everywhere else, finally starting to dry back out, and they certainly need that drier air.
Tropical Storm Debby just holding on at about 40 miles per hour for those sustained winds, but that forward speed now up to 10 miles per hour, much faster than we have seen this system move in the last several days, and that's really what's going to give those folks in the southeast a much needed break.
SOLOMON: Absolutely. OK. Allison Chinchar live for us there. Allison, thank you.
And before we go, one more thing. It has been one year since those devastating fires in Maui, Hawaii, that killed 102 people. It's one of the deadliest fires in the U.S. in 100 years, and destroyed the town of Lahaina. Residents are still recovering, and rebuilding has been slow. But, there are some promising signs. Locals and officials are now trying to return the burned out region to be more representative of Hawaii. Non-native plants and grass, well, they're being removed in favor of native plants. And through it all, locals are turning to each other for support and the strength to move forward.
[11:55:00]
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UILANI KAPU, DIRECTOR OF NA'AIKANE-MAUI CULTURAL CENTER: I tell people, you have to cry. You have to let it out so we can move forward. Don't give up. Never give up hope, because the only person that can help us is Keokua (ph), and if we believe him, we'll get through this together. That's what it's all about. We work together. We can do it. We can do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: And for more information on how you can help the victims of the Maui fires, go to the special section of our website. That's cnn.com/impact.
All right. Good to be back with you today. Thanks for spending some time with me. I'm Rahel Solomon in New York. Stick with CNN. One World is coming up next.
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