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Israeli military On High Alert For Potential Imminent Attack By Iran; Rambling Trump, Musk Interview Marred By Tech Issues; Putin Vows Response To Ukraine Over Kursk Incursion. Zelenskyy: "Justified" to Destroy Russian Terrorists Anywhere; Extremely "Dangerous Wildfire" Approaching Athens, Greece; Source: Hamas to Attend Ceasefire-Hostage Talks; U.S. Clears Aid for IDF Unit Accused of Rights Violations; Kim Jong-un Rejects Foreign Aid, touts Self-Reliance. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired August 13, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[01:00:25]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm John Vause. Live from Studio H here in Atlanta. Coming up this hour on CNN Newsroom.
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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: An Iranian attack on Israel could come within a matter of days.
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VAUSE: Soaring tensions and growing speculation about how and when Iran will strike Israel, 13 days after the presumed Israeli assassination of a senior Hamas leader in Tehran.
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SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Who started this take --
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VAUSE: Ukrainian forces taking control of dozens of Russian towns and villages as an ongoing brazen and stunning offensive raising hopes of turning the war.
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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: We have numerous places that could end up in World War III right now, for no reason whatsoever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Elon Musk promised Trump's interview on X would be unscripted with no limits. What we got was more than two hours of technical glitches and softball questions and rambling Donald Trump. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: Israel's military has been now placed on high alert, and the U.S. is bolstering its military presence in the region, with expectations growing that Iranian attack on Israel could come soon. Iran and its Lebanon proxy, based proxy, Hezbollah, have warned Israel of retaliation after two high profile assassinations last month, the deputy leader of Hezbollah was killed in an Israeli air strike, while Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed while visiting Tehran.
The strikes could come at a critical moment in negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza, scheduled to resume this week. The USS Georgia, a nuclear powered submarine armed with cruise missiles, is now en route to the Middle East, and the Pentagon has ordered the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group to hasten its arrival in the region, to join another carrier strike group already there.
Meantime, as Israel waits, the military continues preparations to both defend the country as well as offensive operations.
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REAR ADMIRAL DANIEL HAGARI, ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES SPOKESPERSON (through translator): We've increased the patrols in the Lebanese skies and are prepared to intercept threats in real time. We take the statements of our enemies seriously, and are therefore prepared at the highest level of readiness.
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VAUSE: The very latest development announced from CNN Jeremy Diamond reporting in from Haifa.
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DIAMOND: Well, there are growing indications within both the U.S. and Israeli governments that an Iranian attack on Israel could come within a matter of days. The exact timing and most importantly, the scope and scale of such an attack are still unclear, but there's no question that there is real concern in this region at the moment about the possibility of further escalation, escalation that could potentially spiral this region further into conflict.
The Israeli military says that it is now at quote, peak readiness, making preparations for both offensive as well as defensive scenarios here, increasing flights over Lebanon, where the key Iranian proxy of Hezbollah is based. At this hour, though they still have not made any changes to those Home Front Command guidelines giving no new instructions to civilians to prepare for the possibility of war.
But even as these preparations are being made, there are still intensive diplomatic efforts being directed at Iran to try and get it to change its calculus, both the British prime minister as well as the German Chancellor speaking with the Iranian president, trying to urge restraint, trying to urge deescalation.
And one of the key reasons for that, of course, is what's expected to come later this week, and that is on Thursday, when the United States, Egypt and Qatar are trying to convene Israel and Hamas for the next round of negotiations to try and finalize a cease fire agreement.
Already, though there have been questions about whether or not Hamas will actually attend those talks. And then, of course, there's the possibility of this regional escalation, should an Iranian attack happen before those talks on Thursday, that could certainly put that effort into doubt and put the possibility of a cease fire that could really lower the temperature in this region even further into question. Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Haifa, Israel.
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VAUSE: To Washington now joining me see their military analyst and retired U.S. Air Force, Colonel Cedric Leighton. Good to see you, Cedric Leighton.
COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good to be with you, John.
VAUSE: OK, so anyone's guess right now on what Iran is planning. On Monday, the White House National Security communications adviser John Kirby told reporters it's difficult to ascertain at this particular time if there is an attack by Iran and its proxies what that would look like.
We have to be prepared for what could be a significant set of attacks, and part of the U.S. military preparation has the -- submarine the USS Georgia, which is capable of firing guided missiles sending to the region, while the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group has ordered to accelerate deployment.
[01:05:06]
That's replacing but will be joined by the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group, which is already there, and additional fighter squadron also en route as well.
So just by looking at the pieces here on the chess board and the military build up, what does that indicate about the possible types of attack from Iran, which the Pentagon is actually planning for which actually things might happen.
LEIGHTON: Yes, I think what it really tells us, John is that they're thinking it's going to be somewhat like what happened on April 13, and that would be a massive attack in terms of rockets, missiles and drones that would emanate primarily from Iran, potentially also from areas in Iraq, and, of course, Hezbollah controlled areas of Lebanon. So that is basically what the Pentagon seems to be looking at based on the types of forces that they're deploying to the region.
VAUSE: Yes, every general what fights the last war, I think, is the saying is that the case here? We seem to be looking at the last war, not the next one?
LEIGHTON: Yes, I think that's always a danger. And of course, the last war sometimes being fought by the other side as well. But, there are some indications that that could be the case. What is different -- what is potentially different, though, John, is that this could be a combined operation where there's some degree of synchronization between Iran and Hezbollah, and that, of course, could really strain the air defense system that the Israelis have set up. And of course, anything that the allies, such as the U.S. and Western powers add to that.
VAUSE: You know, the Middle East is no stranger to periods of tension to military buildup at the time, but in sort of historical context here, does this military build up? How does it compare to other periods short of all that war?
LEIGHTON: Well, there have been several build ups. For example, in the 1973 War, the United States positioned a lot of its forces near the eastern Mediterranean or in the eastern Mediterranean to help protect Israel, but none of them came close to the more modern versions of what we see here.
So in the last about three or four deployments that the U.S. military has had into the region, there has always been the threat of Iranian attacks against Israel, and these kinds of attacks that you, you know, that we're preparing for at this particular point are attacks that we believe, that the U.S. believes can be defended against using the types of weapons systems that we bring to bear, coupled with, of course, the Israeli air defense systems, most famously the Iron Dome system.
VAUSE: Some speculation that one of the weak points here, the Achilles heel for the Iranians could be their nuclear program, and that Tehran would be more interested in defending that, as opposed to launching some significant, all out strike on the Israelis. How do you read it?
LEIGHTON: Well, the Iranian nuclear program is certainly a crown jewel for the Iranian state and for the Revolutionary Guards, as well as the Iranian military. So the Iranians will do what they can to protect it. They don't want to put that program at risk.
On the other hand, they believe that that is kind of the thing that they hold in reserve. So in order to prevent a major attack on Iran that would potentially cripple the Iranian state or the Revolutionary Guards. They will keep the nuclear part in reserve before they use it, and they will use other means to attack. Those other means would include the rockets and missiles that we've seen before, plus, of course, their drone force, and that would be what we would expect to see from the Iranians, at least at the moment.
VAUSE: And along the way, it seems longer Israel has to prepare. He's the Israeli Defense Minister. Listen to this.
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YAOV GALLANT, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): We're in a period of vigilance and preparation at a time when the threats from Tehran and Beirut could materialize.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: There is a lot of focus right now in Tehran. There's a government there. It has an address, there's people to speak to. Hezbollah seems kind of a different case altogether, and that was that's why it's a wild card here. The militant group could just simply backed without Tehran, just go ahead, launch its own military exercises, offensive rather?
LEIGHTON: Yes, it's possible that they will act on their own. There is, however, this belief, at least in the West, that Hezbollah and the Iranians would work together, now that might mean that they do things at exactly the same time. In other words, they synchronized attack, that is one that is simultaneous, or they could act in a way that would mean one attack happens first and then that's followed by the other ones.
So one possible scenario that Hezbollah attacks first followed by the Iranian attack, and if that were to happen, that could potentially strain the resources of the Israeli air defense systems, then either one could really pose a significant threat to the ability of those systems to handle the incoming rounds.
VAUSE: Colonel Leighton, good to see you, sir. Thank you for your time.
LEIGHTON: You bet John, anytime.
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VAUSE: Elon Musk may have promised an unscripted, no limits interview with Donald Trump on X after a 40 minute delay, came more than two hours of rambling at times in coherent statements from Trump, mixed with sycophantic softball questions from Musk, who failed to challenge blatantly wrong and incorrect statements from Trump. Here's one of the exchanges. Listen to this.
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TRUMP: I could have stopped that, and a smart president could have stopped that. It wouldn't have happened. But we had -- we had a man that actually made it more prevalent. It was so bad. The words that he was using, the stupid threats coming from a stupid face that he was using, I said, this guy's going to cause us a war. He's going to cause us. And let me tell you, it can lead to World War III. That can lead to World War III, the Middle East can lead to. We have numerous places that could end up in World War III right now for no reason whatsoever.
ELON MUSK, CEO, TESLA MOTORS: I think you're right. I think people under underrate the risk of World War III, and it's just the, you know, when looking at the risk of global thermonuclear warfare, it's game over for humanity.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: So any guesses on who he was referring to? There it was actually, at times, President Joe Biden. At several points in the interview, Trump sounded as if he has a list, sort of a slur, and the initial delay of 40 minutes, according to musk, was because of technical problems. In fact, he said a cyber attack, a denial of service attack by those who did not want to hear the words from Donald Trump.
The former president also slammed vice president Kamala Harris during that conversation with Musk, calling her a lot of names, slamming her stand on the economy as well as immigration. CNN's Kristen Holmes reports, Trump has lately stepped up his attack on his Democratic rival.
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KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the momentum around Kamala Harris continues to build, Donald Trump promoting far-right conspiracy theories around his Democratic challenger, falsely claiming on social media that the crowd size at Harris Detroit rally was AI generated writing quote, this is the way Democrats win elections by cheating, and they're even worse at the ballot box, adding that anyone who is willing to fake their crowd size, quote, will cheat at anything.
Recent polling showing Harris improving on President Joe Biden standing in several battlegrounds with a close race in the critical states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, Trump's allies imploring the former president to focus on policy, not personal attacks.
KEVIN MCCARTHY, FORMER U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: You've got to make this race not on personalities. Stop questioning the size of her crowds, and start questioning her position when it comes to what did she do as Attorney General on crime,
TRUMP: And I will never, ever let you down.
HOLMES (voice-over): Trump trying to get back on message, releasing a series of videos on X, including one painting Harris as a quote San Francisco radical, the former president also expected to hit the campaign trail Wednesday with what's being billed as an economy focused speech in the crucial state of North Carolina.
Paris has promised to put out details about her economic policies this week as Republicans hammer away at the lack of details around her policy plans. Over the weekend, Republican V,P, nominee J.D. Vance taking on the role of attack dog sitting for interviews as Trump campaign aims to highlight Harris's decision so far not to take a lot of questions from the press.
J.D. VANCE, U.S. REPUBLICAN VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think that what it is, is two people, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, who aren't comfortable in their own skin because they aren't comfortable with their policy positions for the American people, and so they're name calling instead of actually telling the American people how they're going to make their lives better. I think that's weird, Dana, but like, they can call me whatever they want to.
HOLMES: Now, Kamala Harris is also expected to be back on the campaign trail on Thursday with President Joe Biden. It's going to be their first joint campaign appearance since Joe Biden dropped out of the race. Now it's going to be interesting to watch how Kamala Harris navigates this, because on one hand, she of course is going to want to stand next to the man who essentially put her at the top of the ticket, who made her vice president, but yet, at the same time, she has already tried to distance herself from some of his more unpopular policy decisions, particularly around immigration or inflation and crime.
We also know Republicans are seeking to tie her to Joe Biden in a negative way, so she's really going to have to walk this fine line as she figures out how she's going to campaign with Joe Biden in this now very tight race. Kristen Holmes, CNN, Washington.
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VAUSE: Longtime Republican strategist and co-founder of the Lincoln Project, Mike Madrid is with us now from Sacramento. Now from Sacramento. Mike is also co-chair of the League of Minority Voters and co-host of the Latino Vote Podcast. That's a lot of cooing in there. Good to see you, Mike. Thanks always.
MIKE MADRID: Great to be with you. Thanks for having me.
VAUSE: OK, so we had this 40 minute long delay before the interview actually got underway with X, formerly known as Twitter, blaming what quote, appears to be a massive DDOS attack on X denial of service working on shutting it down.
[01:10:05]
So here's the question, why would anyone want to derail whatever Trump had to say? This was Musk's explanation.
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MUSK: As this massive attack illustrates there's a lot of opposition to people just hearing what President Trump has to say.
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VAUSE: Yes, it could be true. Could also be that ever since Musk support and gutted Twitter now X, technically it sucks. Has anyone called Ron DeSantis to see if his presidential bid for the nomination died in vain for nothing?
MIKE MADRID, CO-FOUNDER, THE LINCOLN PROJECT: Look, I think the people that want this most pronounced is going to be the Kamala Harris campaign. I mean, this was a peculiar, rambling discussion that had nothing germane to do with what was going on the U.S. presidential election, at least very little, might as well have been talking about the price of olives in Barcelona. Like none of this had anything to do with what we were talking about.
And this reboot, trying to get his campaign back on track, was a dismal failure. Now, set a load -- set aside the technical difficulties, and on a platform like this in 2024 the embarrassing rollout of that the Donald Trump is not able to prevent a coherent case as to why he should be the president United States, and he keeps putting on full display he's become his own worst enemy here.
VAUSE: Yes. OK, so what -- Trump actually said, what was so important, you know, that team of saboteurs was dispatched to try and silence him. So this is some part of what the twice impeached, four times indicted convicted felon had to say. He talked about the real threat the world is facing. Here it is.
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TRUMP: You know, the biggest threat is not global warming, where the ocean is going to rise one 1/8 of an inch over the next 400 years, the big and you'll have more -- you'll have more oceanfront property, right? The biggest threat is not that. The biggest threat is nuclear warming, because we have five countries now that have significant nuclear power.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
VAUSE: That stuff went unchallenged by Musk. He just let it go by. And we also heard from Trump talking about his friends and the people he knows. Again, listen to this.
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TRUMP: And I know President Xi. I know Kim Jong Un of North Korea. I know every one of them. And let me tell you, people will say, Oh, this is terrible. He said, I'm not saying anything good or bad. They're at the top of their game.
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VAUSE: We could go on and on, you know, because -- this was kind of Trump's Greatest Hits, but not really, as you say, is even sort of incoherent at times. It sound like you had a list.
MADRID: That was what I wanted to point out to your viewers here. Notice the decline, the physical decline, not just the cognitive decline. This is a man who is experiencing significant aging, who's no longer capable of serving as president United States. There's a very discernible slur in his speech now, which is a sign of that cognitive decline. This is dangerous. This is scary. He's now talking about World War III. You're going to see more and more extremist language coming out from Donald Trump as the polling gets worse.
You're going to see, I think, more resorting to inciting his own base towards violence and towards again, these more extreme measures. This is a height of irresponsibility for a nominee of a major party United States, to be talking about a third world war, a nuclear war. And again, this is something that I think is going to turn off independent voters. The only shameful part is it's not turning off more Republican voters to turn against this campaign.
VAUSE: Because there was a time not that long ago when, you know, the politics ended at the shores. You don't, you know, bring in other countries. You don't take the overseas. That's now obviously gone by the by. What are the implications here? What are the real world implications of Trump continually talking about possible world war three? Because he does it all the time.
MADRID: Well, look, I mean, this is a man who has shattered our standing in the world as United States. He's, you know, shaken to the core our alliance with NATO, with our Western European allies, and our neighbors and our friends, people who we rely on to stabilize the world order.
This is not just a concern, obviously, for the United States. It's not just a concern for this campaign and for all domestic policy issues. This is a wake up call for the world that this man is not capable of serving in the Oval Office again, lest we experience something twice, three times as significantly worse than what we experienced during his first term.
VAUSE: I want you to listen to Donald Trump talking to Musk at the very beginning of this interview, here he is.
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TRUMP: Congratulations, because I see you broke every record in the book with so many millions of people, and it's an honor. We view that as an honor.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
VAUSE: I think he was talking about the people who are trying to listen at the beginning of the interview, when everything crashed, this obsession with numbers, and it's playing out in the rally numbers and the fake photos, and it's just -- it's a superficial stuff, which just seems to be the important stuff.
MADRID: Well, look, he's a malignant narcissist by definition. And I don't say that as a pejorative. I say that is he meets all of the criteria for malignant narcissism. This is man who is solely and exclusively focused on the worldview that surrounds himself with just Donald Trump.
[01:20:05]
That's the danger of the moment here. Again, to be worry about how many people are calling in. To be worried about and threatened by the size of Kamala Harris's crowd size, to compare himself to Martin Luther King, to say that he got a larger crowd than Martin Luther King, these are not the signs of a healthy individual.
And again, every time your listeners hear these clips, they really need to be especially tuned into the slurring speech. This is significant cognitive decline where the nominee of the Republican Party is increasingly not mentally nor physically capable of serving as the commander in chief.
VAUSE: Yes. Well, Mike, but there's also just finish up here with that comment, which some have made about the repeating of phrases, of familiar words and terms is also a sign of cognitive decline, especially in this instance.
But Mike, thank you so much for being with us. Mike Madrid, there.
MADRID: Thanks for having me.
VAUSE: Well, a bold incursion catches the Kremlin off guard. We'll look at the impact in the Fallout Ukraine's military offensive inside Russia. That's ahead.
Also, smoke from out of control, wildfires tainting the air in Athens, Greece. We'll bring you the latest on the fire's rapid progress in a moment.
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VAUSE: Russian officials have confirmed dozens of towns and villages have fallen to a surprise attack by Ukrainian forces, a stunning and brazen military offensive ongoing for a week now. Russian President Vladimir Putin says this offensive is an attempt by Ukraine to improve its negotiating position ahead of any possible peace talks.
But he asked, without any apparent irony, how Russia could negotiate with people who indiscriminately strike its civilians and threaten nuclear power facilities.
Ukraine's president says Russia brought the war to others, and now it's coming home. And Volodymyr Zelenskyy argued that the incursion is actually self-defense. The Ukrainian military chief says the Ukrainians now control about 1,000 square kilometers around the Kursk Region. More details now from CNN Fred Pleitgen.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Ukrainian troops sweeping through Russian territory. Dear Ukrainians, this soldier starts and then says, his forces went into a Russian supermarket, but that Ukrainian stores have a better selection.
Videos released of several areas inside Russia, showing Ukraine soldiers taking down Russian flags and raising Ukraine and while the Kremlin claims its forces have held up Ukraine's advances in some areas, posting videos of bombed out, alleged Ukrainian vehicles, the numbers the Kremlin does admit are staggering.
Almost 30 villages under Ukrainian control, more than 120,000 Russian civilians evacuated in the Kursk region alone, and more under evacuation orders in Belgorod region to the south. Russian President Vladimir Putin irate vowing to respond while ripping into Ukraine and its Western allies.
[01:25:05]
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): It appears that the enemy with the help of its western masters is fulfilling their will, and the West is fighting us with the hands of the Ukrainians. So, it looks like the enemy is seeking to improve its negotiating position for the future. The enemy will certainly receive a worthy response, and all our objectives will undoubtedly be achieved.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): All this as Russia and Ukraine blame each other for what appears to be a major fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine, an area under Russian control. So far, no increased radiation levels have been detected.
Kyiv has published little information about its offensive into Russian territory, but Ukraine's President justifying the incursion.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): From the beginning of this summer and only from the Kursk Region, our Sumy Region suffered almost 2,000 strikes artillery, mortars, drones, we also monitor every missile strike, and each such strike deserves a fair response.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): And it seems Ukraine's response is not over yet, even as Moscow scrambled to prevent further loss of territory. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Beth Sanner is a CNN national security analyst with 35 years experience in the U.S. intelligence community, which includes her time as Deputy Director of National Intelligence. Beth, thanks for being with us.
BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Thanks for having me, John.
VAUSE: OK, so an honest assessment from either side about, you know, the success or otherwise of this push seems unlikely at this stage. Nonetheless, here's Alexei Smirnov, the Acting Governor of the Kursk Region, and this week, told Putin on Monday.
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ALEXEI SMIRNOV, ACTING GOVERNOR, RUSSIA'S KURSK REGION (through translator): Currently, the situation in the region is difficult. 28 settlements are under the control of the enemy. The depth of the incursion is 12 kilometers. The width along the front is 40 kilometers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So for the Ukrainians, the concern here would be that taking territory is a lot easier than holding territories. But more importantly, for the Russians, it would see, you know, this is a colossal failure, not just for the Russian military, but also for Russian intelligence.
SANNER: So you know what that clip didn't show was Putin's reaction to the governor's remarks, and he admonished him kind of angrily for going into military things he didn't have any role in doing. He just wanted to hear about the socio economic things.
And the reason is that for that is because Putin has been trying to downplay this whole thing and call it, you know, kind of a terrorist attack. And so, this kind of truth about how big this incursion is and how badly things are going is not the narrative that the Kremlin has put out there.
And so, you know, he's trying to tap things down and look in control. And man, that's not going so well for him. So, yes, this is a huge humiliation, but it's also, as you were saying, it's a failure. It's an intelligence failure, it's a military failure.
VAUSE: Apparently, the Russian president is outraged by a sovereign nation invading another sovereign nation. He also says it's upsetting for a lot of Russians as well. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PUTIN (through translator): Another of the enemy's obvious goals is to sow discord, discord in our society, to intimidate people, to destroy the unity and cohesion of Russian society. That is to strike a blow to the domestic political situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And maybe, just maybe, bringing the war home to everyday Russians, bring the fear and the terror, which until now they've been spared. That could be what this invasion does in terms of that could pay the biggest dividends here.
SANNER: It really could. And whenever I listen to Putin, I think, wow, you know what he says is exactly what he does to other countries. So discord, divisions, 2016 elections that ring any bells for anyone? It's like he's literally talking about the playbook that he has imposed on others, the United States and, of course, Ukraine.
But yes, you know, I think clearly Russians 133,000 many estimates, but that's one that I've seen have been evacuated in Kursk Region and now starting in Belgorod Region, which is next door along the border there where Ukraine does a lot of cross border bombings.
So this is hard to hide. People are upset, and you're seeing some of the interviews and being published, and people are like, you know, why is the government lying to us? So yes, this could be a big score for Ukraine on this part.
VAUSE: We also heard from the Ukrainian president Zelenskyy, some explaining as to why this offensive has happened. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ZELENSKYY (through translator): It is entirely justified to destroy Russian terrorists, wherever they are, wherever they launch their attacks from Russian military airfields, Russian logistics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:30:00]
VAUSE: And here's the response by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, sort of typical of most U.S. lawmakers. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRAHAM: What I think about Kursk? Bold, brilliant, beautiful. Keep it up. Putin started this, kick his ass.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Ok. Maybe a tad more enthusiastic than most. But does that sort of mean that we can now move way past this asinine argument that any offensive actions by Ukraine inside Russia could play to Putin's false narrative about Russia being the victim here?
BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I think it -- I mean, certainly it could play to that. But I think that the big three strategic things are, you know, Zelenskyy is trying to change the domestic mood both in the military and among the civilian population.
People are depressed and demoralized. This has changed the public mood like that.
Secondly, it changes the international narrative about what Ukraine can do. Listen to Lindsey Graham. I mean, that's kind of amazing, right. So that's a huge thing.
And you know, and then the last thing I think is that, you know, ultimately Zelenskyy has to figure out how we can end this war. And by taking this land maybe they have some kind of trade space to negotiate from. Now they have some leverage.
So if Trump wins and he says, oh, I'm going to negotiate an end to this war. I'm going to you know, end this. Well now, Zelenskyy can go into something like that with actually a few cards in, in his hand, rather than nothing.
VAUSE: Yes, He'll actually have something to negotiate with, which I guess is --
SANNER: Yes.
VAUSE: -- if it does get to that it's a good thing to have.
And Beth, it was good thing to have you with us as well, thank you.
SANNER: Thanks, John. VAUSE: Authorities in Greece have ordered the evacuation of dozens of
towns on the outskirts of the capital. Patients in a number of hospitals have been relocated as firefighters struggle putting a two- day wildfire under control. But strong winds, extreme heat and drought conditions continue to fuel the blaze. Emergency air and ground crews are on route to Greece from neighboring countries.
We get the very latest now from CNN's Chad Myers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, the winds on Monday did not cooperate at all, 60 to 70 kilometers per hour. It will be better today slightly, maybe 30 to 40 with a gust to 50, but that's still enough to take these embers and push them a kilometer or more downwind. It is still going to be a level four out of five day to day.
Here's where the fires started to the north and to the northeast of Athens. But look now, it is all the way down into the eastern suburbs. Homes are burning, neighborhoods are on fire to the east of Athens.
The smoke even visible on the satellite. More wind for today and for tomorrow, still calming down until Thursday when another big gust of wind could come through somewhere in the 40 to 50 kilometer-per-hour range.
So it is not over. In fact visible from Athens right now. So the fires are very close to the -- especially the eastern part of the city.
But as we zoom out, look at all the fires everywhere else. Europe is in a drought in places and this is the problem when you have dead or dry vegetation, heat sparks, wind, all of a sudden those fires can really get out of control. And that's exactly what we have.
The heat, the lack of humidity, the lack of rainfall and no help for firefighters at least until the weekend.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Our thanks to Chad Myers for that.
We had this note as well. More than 47,000 deaths last year being attributed to a heat wave in Europe. That's according to a report by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health.
Using records from 35 European countries, researchers found Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, and Spain have the highest number of heat-related deaths. 2023 was the world's hottest year on record. Data shows that Europe is the fastest warming continent.
In a moment here on CNN, the U.S. bolstering its military presence in the Middle East making sure it's ready to help defend Israel against a possible attack from Iran. More on that in a moment.
You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
[01:33:59]
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VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone.
I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Well, amid expectations of an Iranian strike on Israel, Hamas officials still plan to attend ceasefire talks set for Thursday, according to a regional source who spoke with CNN. The talks are set to take place in either Doha, Qatar or Cairo, Egypt.
Over the weekend, Hamas tells mediators to implement the ceasefire plan for Gaza put forward by U.S. President Joe Biden and the U.N Security Council last month.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VEDANT PATEL, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON: And we fully expect these talks to continue to move forward.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And who in -- who in U.S. view at the moment, who is the biggest obstacle to achieving a ceasefire and hostage deal?
PATEL: So I'm not going to color it one way or the other, but let's not -- let's not forget that it was early last week the prime minister of Israel immediately welcomed this initiative and confirmed that the Israeli team will be there and they'll be prepared to finalize the details of implementing the deal.
We, also in coordination, we believe our partners in Egypt and Qatar are emphasizing to Hamas that the onus is on them to agree to a ceasefire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Just what impact an Iranian strike would have on those ceasefire talks remains unknown.
The U.S. is bolstering its military presence in the region, including sending a guided missile submarine in anticipation of attacks by Hezbollah based in Lebanon as well as Iran.
CNN's Pentagon correspondent Oren Liebermann has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: It's rare that the Pentagon talks publicly about its submarine fleet. The ballistic missiles subs, the guided missile subs, the fast attack subs. They all operate in near complete secretly.
So it is a big statement when Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and the Pentagon publicly announced that the USS Georgia, a guided missile submarine is headed to the Middle East as the U.S. prepares for an Iranian attack on Israel and perhaps a conflict that could spark a wider region in the war.
This is very much in and of itself a message of deterrence to Iran and its proxies but it's more than that. To this point, the U.S. has described its force movement in the region as quote, "defensive in nature".
But guided missile submarines that are armed with land attack, cruise missiles and anti-ship missiles are not defensive. They are offensive weapons with powerful ways of attacking adversaries. That's the threat the U.S. is putting on the table by publicly talking about the movements of the USS Georgia.
It is a warning to Iran and its proxies that the U.S. has significant forces in the region and should Iran decide to escalate the situation, the U.S. may well be prepared to use those forces.
But it's not just the USS Georgia. Austin also ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, which was in the Pacific Ocean just a couple of days ago, to speed up on its way to the Middle East. And that will add even more to the U.S. forces already there.
There's the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group. There's an amphibious ready group in the Mediterranean Sea, additional fighter squadrons, including advanced F-22 fighters. All of that already in the Middle East as the U.S. prepares to see what Iran and its proxies will do and on what scale they decide to act.
Oren Liebermann, CNN in the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: The war in Gaza is taking a toll on Israel's economy with Fitch downgrading its credit rating from A plus to A with a continuing negative outlook.
[01:39:46]
VAUSE: The agency notes the war could last well into next year with a significant rise in military spending and further damage to infrastructure. An A rating is still considered safe for investors.
Moody's also downgraded Israel's credit rating in February.
The U.S. State Department will not restrict military aid to an Israeli military unit accused of human rights violations after a determination (ph) the violations were quote, "effectively remediated".
The decision comes months after the U.S. accused, the Netzah Yehuda battalion of violations against Palestinians in the West Bank which occurred before the war in Gaza.
In April, the U.S. said four other Israeli security units also accused of human rights violations have effectively remediated them as well. The State Department says remediation includes two soldiers from the battalion being removed from combat positions and marked as ineligible for the reserves. Enhanced screening requirements for those recruited to Netzah Yehuda,
which is an Orthodox Jew brigade, and new control mechanisms during training. It's unclear when those measures were taken and when the information was (INAUDIBLE) to the U.S.
The state department deputy spokesperson was pressed about the latest case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATEL: We've determined that violations by this unit have been effectively remediated consistent with the Leahy process.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will these individuals be prosecuted in Israel.
PATEL: That is up for -- that's not for the United States to speak to this. It's a question for the Israeli justice system.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you sought that from them?
PATEL: Again, that's a question for the Israeli justice system. That's not something I would speak to from up here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, but for Israeli settlers for example, in the West Bank, you have taken action when they haven't prosecuted them. So are you applying the same criteria to this one or not?
PATEL: So these are a little bit different circumstances.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The U.S.A. is resuming offensive weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, ending a suspension which started at the beginning of the Biden administration over concerns about human rights violations during the Yemen civil war.
A State Department spokesperson denies the move is linked to plans to normalize relations between Israel and the Kingdom until Saudi Arabia made efforts to reduce civilian harm in Yemen. That war between the Saudi-backed coalition in Yemen and the Houthi rebels ended over two years ago with a U.N.-mediated truce.
It seems North Koreans can't even chat about the weather. There might be extreme rain and flooding but according to state media, all is well, nothing to see here. Besides the Dear Leader Kim Jong-un will save the day.
More on that in a moment.
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VAUSE: Funeral services have been held for the pilot of a plane which crashed in Sao Paulo in Brazil. 35-year-old Daniel Romano (ph) and 61 other people died after a sudden loss of altitude sent the passenger plane plunging into a residential area.
Romano was a pilot with ten years' experience. Friends are shocked by his death.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONIO CARLOS TANGIONI, LATE PILOT'S FRIEND: And then (INAUDIBLE) Danilo became a pilot. His dream was to be a pilot. His father did all for him. He was an only son.
Unfortunately, a tragedy like this happens. It's very difficult for us to accept a situation like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:44:48]
VAUSE: All the victims' bodies have been recovered. Investigators are now reviewing data in the black boxes, the voice recordings, as well as flight data recordings as well.
Well, the Caribbean islands are under warnings and watches for tropical storm Ernesto moving towards the Leeward Islands with a top sustained wind around 65 kilometers-per-hour, expected to get stronger in the days ahead.
After the Leeward, Ernesto is forecast to impact the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico by Tuesday.
As North Korea recovers from weeks of heavy rain and flooding, Dear Leader Kim Jong-un has been cast as a savior by state media. He'll be meeting with displaced families, delivering assistance and promising housing to thousands of those that have been affected.
But with a regime shrouded in secrecy and Kim rejecting any foreign assistance many around the world are asking how much devastation is the world not seeing.
Here's CNN's Will Ripley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: On his emerald green bulletproof train loaded with supplies from the capital Pyongyang, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is portrayed as a hero on state TV, traveling to areas devastated by flooding.
Record rains left entire towns and villages underwater, just miles from the Chinese border in the northwest of the country.
State media reports thousands of evacuations, but no deaths, a claim impossible to verify with no foreign aid organizations allowed in.
Kim delivering a defiant speech from the rail car carrying his armored limousine, declaring with confidence North Korea is fully self- reliant. Rejecting all offers of international aid, even from allies China and Russia, at least for now.
Some fear Kim's deepening military partnership with fellow strongman Vladimir Putin could be giving his economy and confidence a boost. Russia effectively vetoed United Nations sanctions monitoring earlier this year, opening the door for illicit trade, the U.S. says, perhaps emboldening Kim to shut the door on international aid and diplomacy.
LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: We are prepared to have an open dialogue with the North Koreans without preconditions. We want to pursue diplomacy.
RIPLEY: U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield, visited the Korean Demilitarized Zone this spring, telling "OUTFRONT" at the time any top-level meeting, like Former President Trump's summits with Kim, would require lots of legwork.
THOMAS-GREENFIELD: Before any meeting like that could happen, we have to have engagements at other levels.
RIPLEY: Trump signaling he'd be willing to engage directly with Kim if re-elected.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I got along very well. North Korea, Kim Jong Un, I get along with him. He'd like to see me back too. I think he misses me.
RIPLEY: Vice President Kamala Harris taking a decidedly unfriendly stance during her visit to the DMZ in 2022.
KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE: In the North, we see a brutal dictatorship, rampant human rights violations, and an unlawful weapons program that threatens peace and stability.
RIPLEY: Kim blasted South Korean media for speculating about massive flooding casualties, calling it a smear campaign from a dirty, rubbish country. North Korea even tried sending another round of trash balloons, following South Korea's offer of humanitarian aid. South Korean media reports shifting winds blew all but 10 of them back.
South Korea's unification ministry accuses Kim of trying to shift focus away from the devastating flood damage, visible even in these carefully edited state TV images.
This is what North Korea wants the world to see. Kim visiting flood survivors living in tents under the sweltering summer heat as many wonder what state media is not showing. How many people may be suffering for the sake of self-reliance?
Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: New data from a retired NASA mission found evidence of an underground water reservoir deep beneath Mars' surface. The water apparently trapped in a tiny cracks and pause (ph) of rock in the Martian crust.
Scientists believe they may be enough water to fill oceans and oceans and oceans on the surface.
Still to come, battle for the bronze at the Paris Olympics. No resolution in a dispute between the United States and Romania. Hear what the courts have to say. That's in a moment.
Also Barack Obama releasing his summer list of top books. When we come back a look at the reads resonating with the former president.
[01:49:24]
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VAUSE: A new study finds cancer deaths among men could nearly double worldwide by the year 2050 from what was 5.5 million in 2022 to 10.5 million.
Cancer cases could also surge by 84 percent. Most of the increases are expected in men 65 and older.
Lung cancer expected to remain the leading cause of death with the largest increase in deaths coming from prostate cancer.
Researchers in Australia analyzed cancer patients and death from 30 types of cancer in 185 countries and territory to make these projects.
They say better health care, access and infrastructure as well as expanding universal health coverage worldwide might help improve cancer outcomes.
Maybe if you stop drinking, it will help as well.
The Olympic flag arriving in Los Angeles on Monday. That's the L.A. Mayor Karen Bass waving it with great joy, glee, and delight. The next Olympics still four years away but the mayor is warning games organizers, they need to let out, put the foot on gas she told them.
This will be the third time Los Angeles will host the games. 1984 was unforgettable and made a profit. And then everyone else followed suit.
Well, U.S.A. gymnastics said the Court of Arbitration for sport has rejected their appeal over Jordan Chiles' Olympic bronze medal. This chapter (ph) in the U.S. and Romania' battle over the medal.
World Sports' Don Riddell breaks it all down.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORTS ANCHOR: The joy of the Paris Olympics might be over, but sadly the controversy is not. Over the last few weeks, many athletes have told us that the greatest single moment of their games were standing on the podium receiving their medals.
And this was arguably the most iconic shot for the first time ever, an all-black podium in the sport of gymnastics. Brazil's gold medalist, Rebecca Andrade being praised by the U.S. athletes Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles. But everything has changed since then. Chiles is no longer the bronze
medalist. Instead, it's Romania's Ana Barbosu, who initially thought she'd won the bronze until the American's appealed to the judges. A successful appeal resulted in Chiles' being adjusted and promoted up into third. Hence that iconic podium scene.
Romania though were furious and it sparked something of a diplomatic incident with the Romanian prime minister promising to boycott the closing ceremony.
But then the Romanians launched an appeal of their own, taking the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and they won the medal back for Barbosu. The reason that they were successful, well, because apparently the Americans had taken too long with their appeal.
So now Jordan Chiles is devastated. She's removed herself from social media as she tries to cope with the crushing disappointment.
But this isn't the end of it. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee say they will appeal the appeal of the appeal, saying they firmly believe that their original appeal was actually done within the allocated amount of time. And they say they now have the video evidence to prove it.
Their statement said, quote, "We firmly believe that Jordan rightfully earned the bronze medal, and there were critical errors in both the initial scoring by the International Gymnastics Federation and the subsequent Cas appeal process that need to be addressed. We remain dedicated to supporting her as an Olympic champion and will continue to work diligently to resolve this matter swiftly and fairly."
But it's not going to be easy. On Monday afternoon U.S.A. Gymnastics said that the Court of Arbitration for Sport told them that their rules don't allow for any reconsideration even when new evidence is presented. So they're now considering an appeal to the Swiss Federal tribunal.
For now, the gymnastics floor routine bronze medal is in limbo, but everybody will be hoping this can be resolved as soon as possible.
But I'll leave you with this scene from the Paris Olympics. American figure skaters finally being handed their disputed gold medals from the Winter Olympics 2.5 years ago.
[01:54:54]
RIDDELL: Chiles and Barbosu can only hope that it doesn't take that long to sort all of this out.
We shall see. For now though, back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well, one of Vincent Van Gogh's most famous paintings has now come to life in a nature park. Bosnian businessman has taken Van Gogh's "Starry Night" turn into the
green hills and the meadow near the town of Visoko (ph). It's apparently 20 years in the making, stretches ten hectares. That's about 24 acres. Features 130,000 lavender bushes, medicinal, and aromatic herbs or herbs, as well as 13 lakes created from existing natural streams.
The park will focus on art programs and promoting central Bosnian cultural heritage.
If you're looking to read like a president, well Barack Obama's got you covered. The former president released his annual summer reading list on Instagram, continuing the tradition from his White House days. He recommends eight fiction and non what -- 14 nonfiction titles. Books exploring global and American history, democracy, culture, religion, gender identity, and more. Nonfiction reads include "The Wide, Wide Sea" about Captain James Cook and exploration in the 18th century. Along with "Of Boys and Men: why the modern male is struggling". Maybe one for me.
For fiction, Obama recommends "The God of The woods by Lismore, a thriller about missing children whose disappearance sent shock waves through different communities. It's the feel-good book of the year. "The Ministry of Time", a time travel love story by Kellyanne Bradley.
14 books. Enjoy.
Thank you for watching. I'm John Vause.
CNN NEWSROOM continues with my friend and colleague Rosemary Church after a short break.
See you back here tomorrow.
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[01:59:59]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max.
I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead -- Ukraine's risky counter punch, Vladimir Putin vowing a strong response --
