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Last Chance For Olympic Triumph; Microsoft Warns of Foreign Election Interference; Pressure Mounts on Israel and Hamas to Resume Cease-Fire Talks. Aired 11:30a-12p ET
Aired August 09, 2024 - 11:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:30:02]
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone smashes her own record in one of the must-see races of the Olympics. CNN spoke to the Team USA superstar.
Stand by. We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back to a special edition of the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting live from Tel Aviv, Israel.
[11:35:03]
There's now increased pressure this hour on both Israel and Hamas to return to the negotiating table. Mediators are urging the two parties to strike a cease-fire deal to end the war in Gaza and to release the hostages, this as fears of a wider, much wider regional conflict grow by the hour.
I'm joined now by CNN's chief international correspondent, Clarissa Ward, who's here with me in Tel Aviv, and CNN's chief national security correspondent, Alex Marquardt, who's in Washington.
Alex, first to you.
Where do things stand now on these possible negotiations? I know the mediators have been trying to bring these parties together to try to reach a cease-fire deal.
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf, we have this very notable new statement, not just from the mediators, but from the leaders of these three countries, the U.S., Qatar, and Egypt, that they put out just last night, really highlighting the urgency that they feel a cease-fire needs to be reached.
There is a little bit of exasperation, if you read behind the lines. They're essentially saying that, after 10 months of this horrific war, that the suffering needs to end.
I want to read you a part of this statement from these three heads of state. They say: "The three of us and our teams have worked tirelessly over many months to forge a framework, and that is now on the table with only the details of implementation left to conclude. There is no further time to waste, nor excuses from any party for further delay. It is time to release the hostages, begin the cease-fire, and implement this agreement."
They go on to talk about a possible bridging proposal, as they call it, that they could put forward. And, in that, you get a sense that they are tiring, perhaps of the proposals and counterproposals that have gone back and forth between Israel and Hamas.
They are proposing a new date for this meeting. That is next Thursday, August 15. If this meeting goes ahead -- and Israel has said they will send a delegation, Hamas has not yet responded -- it would be attended by the main mediators.
And in that case, as you see there on the screen, from here in the U.S., it would be the CIA director, Bill Burns. We have heard in the past few weeks that U.S. officials believe that a deal is close. But the death of the head of the Hamas political wing, Ismail Haniyeh, in Iran last week, believed to have been at the hands of Israel, that dealt a major blow to these negotiations.
So this is certainly a step forward, an indication that these talks may be back on track. But make no mistake, Wolf, there are still major gaps that remain, a senior administration official saying just yesterday that they will be working feverishly in the next week leading up to this potential meeting to try to bridge those gaps, the urgency only heightened by the potential for those Hezbollah and Iran strikes on Israel that could be expected in the coming days -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Yes.
And, Clarissa, as you and I well know -- we're both here in Tel Aviv -- a lot of Israelis want these negotiations to succeed, so these hostages, finally, after so many days and months, could finally come back to Israel. It's a tense situation.
What are you hearing, first of all, right now, Clarissa, about the situation inside Gaza?
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I would argue, well, along particularly with those hostage families, there is nobody who wants a cease-fire deal more than the people of Gaza, and particularly at the moment.
We are seeing another offensive taking place in the beleaguered city of Khan Yunis. This is the third time that the IDF has announced operations in Khan Yunis. They most recently pulled their troops out around July 30. So this is feeding into this fear that many on the IDF side have that Hamas is just continuing to regroup after the IDF pulls out of different areas.
Most importantly, it is creating an absolutely hellish situation for the people who have been sheltering in Khan Yunis, many of whom have been displaced five, six, even seven times, Wolf. And we have been seeing these images, just biblical, of people walking exhausted, mattresses on their back, through the rubble.
Many of them, according to eyewitnesses, are literally sleeping out on the streets because there is nowhere to go, there is nowhere to sleep. And the U.N. satellite agency has just put out some new data that they have been crunching, which is really, truly shocking, Wolf.
Two in three buildings now in Gaza have either been damaged or destroyed; 30 percent of buildings in Gaza have been completely destroyed. And this is perhaps the most striking of all. In 10 months of fighting in Gaza, the total amount of debris created by all those strikes is 14 times greater than the combined debris from all conflicts around the world in the past 16 years.
So what we are seeing in Gaza is truly unprecedented. It is extraordinary. It is horrifying. And so, of course, there is all that more urgency to try to get that cease-fire agreement. Now, I will say, though, Wolf, when I talk to people in the region, mostly off the record, they're not that optimistic that they can close those gaps, that they can bridge those gaps.
But you can see why the U.S., Qatar, and Egypt are really having a sense of urgency, not just in terms of averting the retaliation from Iran or Hezbollah, but in terms of trying desperately to alleviate the situation that people in Gaza are going through and also, of course, the families of these hostages.
[11:40:12]
BLITZER: Let's hope these mediators, the U.S., Egypt and Qatar, succeed. It is so important, not only to the people in Gaza, but to the Israeli families who want their hostages back as well, and that potentially could lower the temperature in the region as well...
WARD: That's the hope.
BLITZER: ... the possibility of a much wider war unfolding if there is a new cease-fire agreement there.
Clarissa, we will continue these conversations. Thank you.
Alex, thanks to you as well.
Up next: Microsoft is now warning of foreign interference in the upcoming election in the United States, specifically Iran, now that threatens the presidential race. That's what Microsoft is warning.
We will have details when we come back.
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[11:45:26]
BLITZER: A major warning from Microsoft about foreign interference in the upcoming U.S. presidential election.
Researchers say that Iran is ramping up efforts to try to influence the 2024 presidential race by creating fake news outlets targeting liberal and conservative voters.
CNN national security correspondent Katie Bo Lillis is joining us right now. She's in Washington.
Katie Bo, what can you tell us? What are you hearing about these fake news sites?
KATIE BO LILLIS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf, the intelligence community, a warning last month that Iran is trying to launch a covert influence campaign targeting the 2024 election designed to both undercut the campaign of former President Donald Trump, as well as sow general social division across the United States.
And so what Microsoft has done here is provide two concrete examples of how Iran is doing that. They have created -- Iranian operatives have created these two fake Web sites, both designed to look like news resources.
One of them targeting a more left-leaning audience called former President Trump a -- quote -- "opioid-pilled elephant in the MAGA china shop" and a -- quote -- "raving-mad litigiosaur."
Another fake Iranian-backed outlet targeting more conservative audiences represented itself as a trusted news source for conservatives in Savannah, Georgia, titling itself -- quote -- "Trusted Source For Conservative News," and really emphasized LGBTQ issues, as well as gender reassignment.
Wolf, the Microsoft report also revealing an effort by Iranian operatives to try to hack the e-mail of a senior campaign official for a presidential campaign without detailing publicly which campaign that was.
So, Wolf, what you're seeing here, a really broad-based effort by the Iranian government to try to join other nations like Russia and China who the intelligence community has said publicly are attempting to influence the outcome of the 2024 election.
BLITZER: All right, Katie Bo Lillis, thank you very much for that report, very disturbing, indeed.
Meanwhile, the pursuit of gold in Paris is now stronger than ever, as many athletes face their last chance for Olympic triumph. The events to watch today, we will have details. That's next.
Stay with us. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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[11:52:08]
BLITZER: In Paris, here's a closer look at the latest standings right now. The U.S. leads the pack in overall medals with 103, but China currently has the most gold medals with 32. Team USA is back on the track today, and that's where American star
Sha'Carri Richardson will compete in her last chance to win a gold medal at these Games, when the women's 4x100 meter relay finally takes place in just a few hours.
CNN sports anchor and correspondent Coy Wire is joining us from Paris right now.
Coy, it's coming down to the wire for many of these athletes still hoping to take home the gold.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, as these Games whittle down to just a few days, as of today, there were still 75 medal events remaining at these Games.
And one of the hottest is going to be tonight, what you mentioned, Team USA's 100-meter silver medalist and reigning world champion Sha'Carri Richardson representing the U.S. in that women's 4x100 meter relay. And with the new 200-meter champ, Gabby Thomas, on the squad as well, the Americans, Wolf, are heavy favorites to take gold.
And she has done it again, American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone breaking her own world record in the 400-meter hurdles, a time of 50.37 seconds. Nobody before had ever won back-to-back Olympic golds in this event. She turned 25 this week in Paris, Wolf. She's broken the world record a mind-boggling six times now.
I caught up with her moments to go to ask about this big moment. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SYDNEY MCLAUGHLIN-LEVRONE, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: Unreal, honestly, full circle moment.
WIRE: Yes.
MCLAUGHLIN-LEVRONE: First, I feel like full Olympic moment with friends and family there, so it was just -- it was a great night.
Wow.
WIRE: And we wanted to wish you a very happy birthday at these Parisian Olympics.
MCLAUGHLIN-LEVRONE: Thank you.
WIRE: Can make any wish you want. Congrats, champ.
Yay!
MCLAUGHLIN-LEVRONE: Yay!
WIRE: Woo!
(END VIDEO CLIP) WIRE: We don't have any fun over here at these Olympics, Wolf.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone one of the most dominant athletes in their event we have ever seen.
And breaking news. Today is the first day of the highly anticipated first ever Olympics breaking competition, Wolf. B-girls and B-boys, as they're called, they're going to be repping their nations, popping and locking for gold. And watch out for Team USA's Sunny Choi.
She's 35 years old, left her corporate career, but has found her second calling in life. I caught up with her ahead of the Games. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUNNY CHOI, TEAM USA BREAKING: I was previously a director of global creative operations at Estee Lauder. I was comfortable. There were all of these like, but I had a plan B, so what's really stopping me?
And turns out it was just, like, not wanting to fail, and especially not wanting to fail publicly, and not wanting to let myself down. And so I just, like, wasn't allowing myself to dream.
So I was like, you know what? I'm going to allow myself to, like, have this childhood dream and see it to fruition.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:55:06]
WIRE: Incredible story, Wolf.
You see, it's never too late to trade in your gig to become an Olympian. How's your popping and locking, Wolf? Come on, tell me you got something for them. Get that gold medal, baby.
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: These athletes are amazing. I love them all.
Coy, thank you very much.
WIRE: You got it.
BLITZER: Coy Wire in Paris reporting for us.
And to our viewers, thanks very much for joining me for this special edition of the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Tel Aviv. I will be back later tonight, a two-hour special "SITUATION ROOM" 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
Stay with us. "INSIDE POLITICS" with Phil Mattingly starts right after a short break.
