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Joe Biden to Headline First Night of Democratic National Convention; Blinken is in Israel for Final Hopes of a Ceasefire- Hostage Deal Talks. Uncommitted DNC Delegates Want to Hear Kamala Harris' Response on Gaza; 20 Injured at a Ferris Wheel inside a German Music Festival; Caitlin Clark Breaks WNBA Rookie Assist Record. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired August 19, 2024 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead. Democrats descend on Chicago as US President Joe Biden gets ready to pass the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris. What to expect at the Democratic National Convention?
Plus, will U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Israel help get a ceasefire deal across the finish line? We'll have the latest on the high-stakes negotiations.
And Ukrainian forces blow up another bridge as they continue to push into Russia. A look at the significance of the latest developments.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: Good to have you with us. Well the Democratic National Convention is set to kick off in the coming hours, just one month after Vice President Kamala Harris launched her bid for the White House, setting off a wave of enthusiasm among Democratic voters. Harris is now in Chicago, where she is preparing for the high stakes week ahead and hoping to build on the momentum that's followed her dramatic rise to the top of the ticket. Delegates from across the country have gathered in the city for the four-day event.
Later today, U.S. President Joe Biden will deliver a keynote address at the convention as he passes the torch to Harris, who's expected to be in attendance. And in a symbolic moment, the DNC roll call on Tuesday is set to begin with Mr. Biden's home state of Delaware and end with California and Minnesota, the home states of Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz. The two spent Sunday on the campaign trail, working to get their message out to voters in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS (D), U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We all here, we love our country. And we know our country is going to be as strong as our willingness to fight for it. And to fight for what we stand for. You know, when you know what you stand for, you know what to fight for.
GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), U.S. VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Being an old football coach, there's an old saying, you don't hope you're going to win. You prepare to win. And you give it the best you've got. And you know when that game's over, you want to know you left it all on the field. And that's all we're asking. Let's leave it all on the field. Let's get this thing done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: The race for the White House remains tight. The latest CNN poll of polls, which includes the most recent national surveys, shows no clear leader with Harris at 50 percent support and Donald Trump at 48 percent.
Several top Democrats are hoping to give Harris a boost when they take the stage at the convention this week. CNN's M.J. Lee has the details from Chicago.
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M.J. LEE, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: We are about to see a very different convention than the one that we would have seen four weeks ago. Some of the biggest changes, of course, we have seen so far have been to the programming and the speaking lineup.
While the biggest names that we would have seen speaking before President Biden dropped out, they are still going to be speaking. Some of the timing of when they're going to actually speak throughout the course of the week have changed, including, of course, President Biden now speaking on the first night instead of the final night.
One other person that is going to be speaking Monday night is Hillary Clinton, who of course eight years ago accepted the party's nomination for the presidency at a convention in Philadelphia and speaking with somebody who is familiar with her thinking I am told that in her remarks she is going to be speaking about the proverbial glass ceiling that she failed to shatter eight years ago.
And what she believes is possible if and when Kamala Harris breaks that ceiling herself. Now we are told that Harris and Clinton have actually been in regular touch since President Biden dropped out of the race and that Hillary Clinton was actually one of the first people that the vice president called that Sunday that the president dropped out. That's really interesting.
Speaking to some of the convention planners who say basically that switch at the top of the ticket from President Biden to the Vice President happened just in the nick of time. That a lot of things had been already fully baked in, but those final touches, including even the printing of signs and some of the videos that had to be recorded, that those had not yet been executed.
So what we're about to see this week, again, very different from what we would have seen four weeks ago before President Biden dropped out of the race.
M.J. Lee, CNN in Chicago.
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CHURCH: Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters took to the streets of Chicago ahead of the convention. They marched through the downtown area on Sunday, calling on Kamala Harris to take a harder line with Israel amid the staggering civilian death toll in Gaza. Tens of thousands of protesters are expected to march on the convention this week.
Security has been ramped up across Chicago ahead of those protests. Barricades and fences have been put up around the convention venue and the Illinois governor says around 250 members of the National Guard will be on standby. CNN's Whitney Wild has more.
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WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the Democratic National Convention gets underway, security is a top priority.
DEREK MAYER, DEPUTY SPECIAL AGENT IN-CHARGE, U.S. SECRET SERVICE: It takes several days to put these security parameters into effect.
WILD (voice-over): Secret Service Deputy Special Agent in Charge, Derek Mayer, has spent more than a year directing the planning for this massive event.
MAYER: The United Center has been closed down now for almost a month. As you can look at this entire perimeter, we'll take over the work that goes into putting something like this into effect.
WILD (voice-over): Non-scalable fencing will surround two locations: the United Center and McCormick Place. Law enforcement will also have support from the air, on the ground and in the water. Security officials are on alert for possible retaliatory attacks against Democrats more than a month after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, according to a new intelligence report on the DNC obtained by CNN.
MAYER: I think the world is a very dangerous place nowadays.
WILD: When you look at the overall threat landscape, what is the most concerning thing to you?
MAYER: I mean, I think from a Secret Service perspective overall, I think everything. You have to take every risk, every threat seriously. WILD (voice-over): As war rages in the Middle East, angry protests are
expected during the DNC. The Chicago metropolitan area is home to the largest Palestinian population in the U.S. And thousands of pro- Palestinian protesters have marched downtown for months.
HATEM ABUDAYYEH, CO-FOUNDER, U.S. PALESTINIAN COMMUNITY NETWORK: Absolutely, there will be tens of thousands of people, especially if there's an expanded war.
WILD (voice-over): Chicago has hosted several political nominating conventions in the past, none more notorious than 1968. The city has been unable to shake the memory of those violent clashes. Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling says the department is training for high stress and high risk.
LARRY SNELLING, SUPERINTENDENT, CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT: But we've also given our officers extensive training to help them deal with these types of protests through stress inoculation training, just putting them through real-time scenarios, which is going to help them out there in the field.
WILD (voice-over): Chicago police will lead any response while under scrutiny themselves.
WILD: What is a realistic measure of success for you and for your officers?
SNELLING: Everything that we trained to do was in full effect, and our officers are safe. The residents here and our businesses, they were here long before the DNC ever thought about coming here, and they will be here long after it's gone.
WILD: In addition to this massive police presence, the Illinois governor says that up to 250 members of the National Guard have been authorized.
Whitney Wild, CNN, Chicago.
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CHURCH: The Trump-Vance campaign will be working overtime this week. The Republican ticket is holding daily events in battleground states and launching an all-out media campaign. They say it's an effort to prevent the Harris-Walls camp from having, quote, "free shots on goal during the convention."
In the meantime, Trump isn't backing off his outlandish allegations that Harris is promoting communist policies. He posted a fake image on social media of someone with Harris' likeness speaking in front of a communist symbol at what's supposed to be the DNC. It's just the latest instance of Trump ignoring the advice of top Republicans who want him to avoid the insults and stick to the issues.
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GOV. CHRIS SUNUNU (R-NH): Trump can say, look, I'm entitled to personal attacks. Nobody cares what you're entitled to. Do what you have to do to get the votes and win. This is an election. It's about delivering those votes.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): His policies are good for America. And if you have a policy debate for president, he wins. Donald Trump, the provocateur, the showman, may not win this election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Joining me now from Los Angeles is Caroline Heldman, a democratic strategist and professor of critical theory and social justice. Appreciate you joining us.
CAROLINE HELDMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST AND PROF. OF CRITICAL THEORY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE: Good to see you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: So we're just hours away from the DNC getting underway and Vice President Kamala Harris is calling herself the underdog despite enjoying a honeymoon period that's put her ahead of rival Donald Trump in some key battleground states and in national polls. That's boosting morale of course within the party but how tough will this fight be for Harris and can she maintain that momentum with panicked Republicans suggesting the honeymoon is over?
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HELDMAN: Well Donald Trump is really giving her this honeymoon, right? He is not staying on script, he's not doing what his handlers in his campaign are telling him to do, which is stop the personal attacks and focus on policy. Instead he is going into these grievances he's talking for example about how he's better looking than Kamala Harris or how a magazine cover didn't reflect her, it looked more like his wife. So he's -- he is giving her this honeymoon period, I think she may have seen a slowing up that happy actually given her some competition.
At the end of the day, you're right, Rosemary, she is really about three weeks in the polls five out of seven keys swing state she is ahead, in national polls she's finally pulled ahead, enough that she's out of the margin of error. But she's right, she's an underdog. There are many pathways to 270 for both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris and I would say don't discount the bias that women and especially women of color face when they're going for the highest office that is so often associated with masculinity.
CHURCH: And Caroline, how will the DNC differ from the RNC and how much effort will go into trying to contrast the hope and joy offered by the Democratic ticket compared to the fear and gloom on the Republican side?
HELDMAN: Well you noted that the Republican National Convention and I'm was really talking about how they were going to win. There were a shoe in but Kamala Harris is going to be talking about how she's an underdog right? So that'll be a big difference in the framing, I think, another big difference is we will see past presidents from the Democratic party. Donald Trump can burn that the Republican party down and rebuilt it in
his own image so you didn't see George W. Bush there but you will definitely see as we know. We'll see Bill Clinton, we'll see Barack Obama, we'll even see Jimmy Carter's grandson, we'll going to see Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, so the party royalty will be there as a sign of continuity. And of course, Joe Biden will be passing the baton.
All of this is vitally important because it validates her leadership and she has such a short period of time to prove that she is up for the task and you'll notice, you know, one of the criticisms they've lobbied at her is that she's not doing a lot of interviews and that sort of thing. She's really being cautious about how she's defining herself early on.
CHURCH: And how much will the controversial issue of abortion feature this week with Democrats highlighting a woman's right to choose and how will the party deal with the high number of pro-Palestinian protesters expected to turn up as they try to put a spotlight on the Biden administration's support for Israel and its war in Gaza?
HELDMAN: Well, we know that there will be protesters outside starting tonight in Chicago and every single night. But she has, and the Democratic Party has, put an immediate ceasefire on the agenda. Harris seems to be more aggressive and appealing to young voters, and indeed we've seen a swing with young voters supporting Harris more so than Biden.
Abortion's going to be a huge issue. We also know the economy is going to be a big issue. The tax on billionaires, you know, cutting costs. And I would also add to that one of the party platforms that will be highlighted is clean energy. So taxes on billionaires, clean energy, abortion and a ceasefire, I think, are themes we're going to hear a lot this week.
CHURCH: And what are the main highlights that we should look out for and how will Trump deal with all the attention being focused on Harris and the Democrats this week?
HELDMAN: Great question. I think we'll probably see what we have seen, which is when Harris has the headlines and the spotlight, Donald Trump doesn't like it. He goes off-script. He has maybe, you know, unscripted moments, some meltdowns. I would imagine that he is not going to respond positively. He'll have a lot of counter-programming and we will see Donald Trump in, kind of, his most untethered form, which again, you know, his folks are definitely trying to rein him in.
CHURCH: Caroline Heldman, many thanks for joining us. I Appreciate it.
HELDMAN: Thank you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: And still to come, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says this could be the last chance to bring Israel's hostages home. Ahead, what he's doing today in Israel to push for a ceasefire deal.
Plus, flash flooding and mudslides have prompted water rescues in the US state of Connecticut and the severe storms have led to hundreds of flight cancellations in the region. We will have the very latest.
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CHURCH: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the current ceasefire proposal could be the last chance to bring Israel's hostages home. A short time ago, he met Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv as he tries to push for a ceasefire and hostage release deal. Blinken says this is a crucial time in the negotiating process.
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ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: This is a decisive moment, probably the best. may be the last opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a ceasefire, and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security. It's also time to make sure that no one takes any steps that could derail this process. And so we're working to make sure that there is no escalation, that there are no provocations, that there are no actions that in any way could move us away from getting this deal over the line.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Blinken will meet separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant later today. Netanyahu says Israel will not give in to demands to end the war in Gaza as a condition for a deal. And Hamas claims Netanyahu is obstructing a possible agreement.
In Gaza, hospital officials say an Israeli strike on Sunday killed six children and their mother and injured their father. Since the start of the war last October, more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed and much of Gaza has been reduced to rubble.
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Journalist Elliott Gotkine joins us live now from London with more on the ceasefire talks and Blinken's mission. Good morning to you Elliott. So, U.S. officials remain optimistic a deal can be reached but say this may be the last chance. Obstacles remain of course, where do these negotiations stand right now and where are the main sticking points?
ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Rosemary, right now the negotiations stand where they have stood for the past nine months of on-and-off talks ever since the last one and only ceasefire collapsed at the end of November. But certainly the pressure on both parties and certainly from the part of the United States on Israel has perhaps never been greater to do a deal. And there are several reasons for that. First and foremost is to try to forestall an attack by Iran and or its proxy Hezbollah to avenge the assassinations of Hezbollah's top military commander and the head of Hamas's political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Then, of course, you've got the death toll, as you mentioned,
breaching 40,000, figures that don't distinguish between combatants and civilians, and the humanitarian situation deteriorating to the extent that you've now had the first known outbreak of polio in the Gaza Strip in some 25 years.
And then, of course, the 115 or so Israeli hostages, around a third of whom are believed to be dead and who have been in captivity now for 10 months since being kidnapped in the Hamas-led terrorist attacks. Now, for all of those reasons, you saw Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying effectively that it's now or never to try to get a deal done.
President Biden on Friday said, in his words, that we were closer than we've ever been. Just after disembarking Air Force One on Sunday, he sounded slightly less optimistic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Any update on a ceasefire, sir?
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Still underway, we're not giving up. Still possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOTKINE: Of course, the big problem is that the two parties involved here, Israel and Hamas, still seem very much at odds in terms of trying to reach an agreement.
We had a statement from Hamas saying that Israel has been changing the proposals, the latest proposals it says do not, they don't include a permanent ceasefire before getting into the kind of three phases that President Biden outlined at the end of May, which includes to begin with a temporary ceasefire. They say that introduces new conditions regarding the swap of Palestinian prisoners, the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages.
And as you say, they accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of effectively trying to sabotage this deal for his own political ends. Israel, for its part, is saying, well, Prime Minister Netanyahu putting out two statements over the weekend, one saying there are certain things they can be flexible on and certain areas where they will not budge. And the two areas that he mentioned that Israel will not budge on is, first of all, that it won't agree to an end to the war before signing up to this three-phase ceasefire plan.
And the other is Israel insisting that it remain in control of the so- called Philadelphia Corridor that runs between the southern Gaza city of Rafah and the Egyptian border in order to prevent, in Prime Minister Netanyahu's words, terrorist elements from rearming. Now -- So as a result of all of that, the two sides are still, you know, far apart. Talks do continue, though, today in Cairo, and there is still hope, I won't say optimism, but hope that a deal can still be done at some point. Rosemary.
CHURCH: Our thanks to Elliott Gotkine for that live report. I Appreciate it.
Gideon Levy is a columnist for the "Haaretz" newspaper and a former adviser to Shimon Peres. He joins me now from Tel Aviv. Appreciate you being with us.
GIDEON LEVY, COLUMNIST, "HAARETZ" AND FORMER ADVISER TO SHIMON PERES: Thank you.
CHURCH: So U.S. officials are optimistic about this latest round of talks for a ceasefire and hostage release deal. But now Hamas says Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is obstructing a possible agreement by adding new conditions, while Netanyahu says Israel will not give in to demands to end the Gaza war as a condition for a deal. So how can this end in a negotiated deal, do you think?
LEVY: I wish I could share the optimism of American negotiators. But I think they think that spreading optimism will bring a deal. But it doesn't work like this. And it seems now that we are very far from a deal, and spreading optimism is not the way to bring a deal.
Blinken is urging the Israelis to go for the deal. No, it's not about urging them. It's about taking measures, because urging the Israelis will not change their mind and Israel wants to continue this war, at least the Israeli prime minister and the Israeli cabinet. And as long as the United States will not turn into real actions, real pressure, and no talking, nothing will move, I'm afraid.
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CHURCH: But U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, he says he will meet separately with Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to push ahead. with ceasefire talks. What is it that he needs to say then to make a deal happen? Is there anything he can say? Would he use leverage perhaps with weapons from the United States?
LEVY: That's the only way. He does not need to say much and he's saying too much. He needs to explain Israel that it is the interest of Israel and the United States and the world to stop this war immediately and he has the best leverage to do so, namely supplying Israel weapons and ammunition.
As long as he does not use this leverage, all the talkings are really hollow. I'm sorry to say so, but they are really hollow. And Israel knows to ignore those good advices from the good friend in Washington. No, that's not the way. The way now, because the situation is so serious and at stake is no less than preventing a regional war with a lot of possible bloodshed. The way now is to move from talking to real actions. You want our aid, we are very happy to supply it, but it must be conditioned in stopping this war today.
CHURCH: Iran, of course, meantime, is still weighing a possible retaliation against Israel for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. saying revenge is coming. Could Iranian retaliation be averted if by some miracle a deal is reached in the next few days, perhaps weeks? LEVY: The Iranians say so and Hezbollah says so and the real danger
right now is Hezbollah more than Iran because Hezbollah is much more eager to retaliate for the assassinations and Hezbollah was very clear once there is a ceasefire we will get into diplomatic negotiations about the border with Lebanon.
In any case, a ceasefire will create a new atmosphere. And in this atmosphere it will be very hard, neither for Iran nor for Hezbollah, to continue their attacks on Israel, sure, not the direct attacks. So the key is stopping the war. And the key to this key is in American hands, I'm afraid.
CHURCH: And critics say Netanyahu doesn't want a ceasefire deal. You've pretty much said this yourself. Some go even further, suggesting he is sabotaging U.S. efforts to make a deal. Do you agree with that assessment?
LEVY: I agree. I tend to think that he does not do it only, as most of the commentators say, only because of personal reasons, namely that he knows that his government will not continue to serve the moment the war is over, I don't think that's his only consideration. I think also he does not believe in any agreement with the Palestinians, and this is true for all his years, that he does not believe in any kind of settlement with the Palestinians.
And maybe, I hope I'm wrong, but maybe he sees this time now as an opportunity to attack Iran together with the Americans. This is a very explosive and dangerous. scenario, but he might want to push the United States into a war against Iran, which will so called solve the problem of the Iranian nuclear. I hope he does not go so far. And if he does, that's a very dangerous adventure.
CHURCH: Yeah, very sobering indeed. Gideon Levy, joining us from Tel Aviv. Many thanks for your analysis. I Appreciate it.
LEVY: Thank you.
CHURCH: Still to come, dozens of uncommitted Democratic delegates are still not backing Kamala Harris. CNN speaks to some of them to find out why.
Plus, we are monitoring Hurricane Ernesto as it makes its way north towards Canada. The latest forecast after a short break. Stay with us.
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." I'm Rosemary Church. Want to check today's top stories for you.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the current ceasefire proposal could be the last chance to get Israel's hostages home. Blinken met with Israel's president and called this a decisive moment in the ceasefire talks.
Security is tight across Chicago as tens of thousands of protesters are expected to march on the Democratic National Convention. The Illinois governor says he expects the protest to be peaceful, but around 250 members of the National Guard will be on standby.
Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris spent Sunday on the campaign trail alongside her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Their bus tour through Pennsylvania just one day ahead of the convention. is signaling just how important the battleground state will be in this year's election.
Well Kamala Harris is now in Chicago where she is preparing for the high-stakes week ahead and day one of the convention kicking off in just a matter of hours. Monday's theme is "For the People", when Democrats will look to show how they're fighting for everyday Americans while Donald Trump puts himself first.
Harris is set to accept the nomination for president on Thursday, but ahead of that, a number of key Democrats will speak at the convention, including the man who was long expected to be at the top of the ticket, President Joe Biden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: How are you feeling about your speech tomorrow?
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Good. Real good.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: CNN's Jeff Zeleny is following developments and has more now from Chicago.
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JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: The Democratic National Convention opens on Monday night in Chicago, where Vice President Kamala Harris now is the party's standard bearer. But President Joe Biden will arrive here in Chicago and deliver something of a valedictory, talking about his accomplishments and his record in office before turning the page and literally passing the torch to his vice president.
There is no doubt this party is an entirely different place than it was just one month ago before President Biden made that difficult decision to step aside. But after he addresses the convention on Monday night, he will take his leave, and this will be Vice President Harris' party, her convention.
She's campaigning across Pennsylvania on Sunday, making her way here to Chicago. She talked a bit about her speech and called herself an underdog in this race.
[03:35:04] VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS (D), U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's obviously a lot at stake, but there's also a lot to feel good about in terms of the future of our country. So there will be a lot that is about what I believe is a way forward, a new way forward, and bringing everyone along in that.
ZELENY: The vice president making the case there that she's still working on her speech, and clearly this is a big moment for her, one for her to introduce herself to the country. Fill in some of those blanks for what people may not know about her.
Of course, she's famous in some respects in political circles, but also so much is unknown about her. And that's what this convention is also about. Former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton will be making the argument for her, trying to give Democrats a road map and draw a contrast with former president Donald Trump.
Of course, in the final some 70, 75 days of this campaign, she is certainly in a much better position than President Biden was. But the purpose of this convention is to try and build on that momentum here in Chicago and take it for the rest of the general election that is still a very, very tight race to come.
Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: But not all of the delegates have pledged to back Harris' nomination at the convention. Dozens say they will withhold that support until she addresses their concerns about these civilian casualties in Gaza. CNN's Donnie O'Sullivan talked with some of them in Chicago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ABBAS ALAWIEH, MICHIGAN UNCOMMITTED DELEGATE: We've got 30 uncommitted delegates that are representing over 740,000 uncommitted voters nationwide who voted uncommitted as a pro-peace, anti-war vote in the Democratic primary.
DONNIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: This is a meeting of uncommitted Democratic delegates here in Chicago on the eve of the Democratic National Convention.
ALAWIEH: It's not sustainable for our own government to fund the mass killing of civilians.
JEREMIAH ELLISON, MINNESOTA UNCOMMITTED DELEGATE: Folks become delegates at their state party and then they come to the National Convention to the candidate, to one of the candidates or not. In our case, we're not committed because we haven't heard what we've wanted to hear. Looking for a ceasefire, we're looking for a strong commitment on a ceasefire. We're looking for an arms embargo for us to stop sending weapons that are contributing to the genocide there.
ALAWIEH: I represent some of the over 101,000 voters in Michigan who voted uncommitted as a pro-peace anti-war vote.
LEXIS ZEIDAN, CO-DIRECTOR, LISTEN TO MICHIGAN: Nobody wants to see Trump in November. We are a very anti-fascist movement. We are actually doing what we can to save the Democratic Party by saying, listen, V.P. Harris, there is a key base of over 730,000 anti-war voters who are telling you that we want to see you turn the page on Gaza policy and save Palestinian lives.
O'SULLIVAN: What do you want to hear from Harris in Chicago this week?
ALAWIEH: I want to hear from Vice President Harris how it is that she's going to turn a new page on Gaza policy from the destructive and disastrous policy of the last 10 months to one that saves lives.
O'SULLIVAN: You got to meet Harris briefly in Michigan.
LAYLA ELABED, CO-CHAIR, UNCOMMITTED NATIONAL MOVEMENT: We wanted to be able to speak to her directly. The fact that Michigan voters would want to support her in the November election, but we can't do that right now while our family members, our friends, our loved ones are being killed with U.S.-funded bonds. I told her that we need a policy shift that will save lives in Gaza.
My community is telling me that they're losing tens and hundreds of their family members. And she said it's horrific. She's been incredibly empathetic. I do have to say that more. We have seen more empathy and compassion from Vice President Harris, but that is not enough. Palestinian children can't eat words.
O'SULLIVAN: Is there more hope in this movement right now with Harris at the top of the tickers than there was when Biden was there?
YAZAN KADER, WASHINGTON UNCOMMITTED DELEGATE: I think that in general we would all say we're cautiously optimistic. There is a little bit more wiggle room we feel like with Vice President Harris. We've already seen her change the rhetoric a little bit, but words are not enough.
O'SULLIVAN: You heard some cautious optimism there. Those delegates, those activists, they're going to be in here. They're going to be in the convention most of this week, working the room. Of course, there's expected to be thousands, potentially tens of thousands, of demonstrators outside the convention. for the pro-Palestinian cause.
And look, a question these activists get a lot is could this uncommitted movement, this saying we will not vote for Harris unless she changes policies on Gaza, could that potentially help Trump win the election? Those activists that we spoke to said that's not their problem, that is for the Harris campaign.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Water rescues are underway in Connecticut after torrential rain caused flash flooding on Sunday. An emergency was declared after up to 10 inches or more than 25 centimeters of rain fell in just a few hours. The downpour triggered mudslides and washed out roads and bridges in the area north of New York City. A gas leak in Danbury, Connecticut forced the evacuation of an apartment complex. Hundreds of flights at major airports in New York and Newark are grounded, and the flooding has shut down some rail services as well.
[03:40:04]
Ernesto is a hurricane once again. The storm regained category one strength on Sunday, but conditions will likely change as it moves towards Canada. Forecasters say the center of Ernesto is expected to pass near southeastern Newfoundland sometime late Monday, dangerous swells caused by the storm are still impacting the Atlantic coasts of the U.S. and Canada and life-threatening surf and rip current conditions will likely continue this week.
Well meantime high temperatures pose a threat to residents across the southern United States. More than 20 million Americans in parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana are under excessive heat warnings or heat advisories through Monday night. Parts of Texas could feel like 115 degrees Fahrenheit or 46 Celsius, according to the National Weather Center.
Coming up, Ukraine says it's gaining ground inside Russia while trying to fend off Russian advances inside its own borders. We'll have the latest from the battlefield.
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CHURCH: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country's forces continue to make progress inside Russian territory, gaining a stronger foothold and reinforcing their positions in the Kursk region. They also say they destroyed a second bridge in the past few days using precision airstrikes, likely further disrupting Russia's supply lines.
It's been nearly two weeks since the surprise incursion and Ukrainian forces say they now control more than a thousand square kilometers of territory in southwestern Russia. While this is happening, Russia's president is out of the country. Vladimir Putin traveled to Azerbaijan on Sunday for a two-day state visit.
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Meanwhile, his forces are having more success in eastern Ukraine. They have launched a massive assault around the city of Pokrovsk, a key supply hub for Ukrainian forces in the Donetsk region.
And CNN's Clare Sebastian joins me now live from London. Good morning to you, Clare. So, Ukrainian forces have blown up another bridge as they continue their incursion into Russia. What is the latest on this and of course the advances Russia is making?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Rosemary, I think, look, what we see now from Ukraine is a consolidation. This is not an operation that intended or at least has developed into something that was sort of an in-and-out designed to send a message. They are now really based on the communications we're getting from them trying to, in Zelenskyy's words, reinforce their positions, trying to create this sort of buffer zone over the border inside Russia to prevent those Russian attacks coming back across the border into Ukraine, and in his words, to destroy as much Russian war potential as possible. So in that sense, Ukraine continues to reinforce the point that this is a defensive operation.
In that vein, the Ukrainian armed forces put out this video on Sunday of what they say at the Sivalka flamethrower systems, these are thermobaric missiles the kind of missiles at that sort of put out a cloud aerosol, cloud of gas all chemicals around them and can be extremely deadly. They say that this was aimed at enemy manpower and military equipment and the Russians suffered considerable losses. Obviously, we don't have any way of verifying that's but some from pretty dramatic video of Ukraine's ongoing operation on the Kursk region.
And of course blowing up bridges which they now claim to have blown up two of them on this river the same river that runs east to west across the Kursk region about 50 or so kilometers north of Sudzha, this video showing what purports to be the second explosion on a bridge on Sunday. That is of course part of the same picture trying to stop Russia resupplying forces or bringing more forces into the area where Ukraine now has a foothold.
But of course as they're doing this as you say Russia is making gains in the east and that is really sort of the opposite of what Ukraine wants here. They are trying to pull Russian troops away from the more vulnerable areas of the front and we see Russia inching forward, Ukraine speeding up evacuations in these most vulnerable areas of the eastern front, the small town of Toretsk and of course the bigger defensive stronghold of Pokrovsk.
I think the big question now is Russia clearly defending still in the Kursk region at what points do they managed to bring in enough reinforcements to launch an actual counterattack to try to push Ukraine out. As you say, right now, President Putin clearly trying to play down the significance of this attack, continuing with a sort of diplomatic blitz, his visit to Azerbaijan, his second big international meeting since this operation in Kursk started. Rosemary?
CHURCH: Alright. Our thanks to Clare Sebastian for bringing us that live report from London.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is accusing Ukraine of massing tens of thousands of troops along their shared border. Here's what he said in an interview with state media.
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ALEXANDER KUKASHENKO, BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): There are over 120,000 Ukrainian troops on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border. They are keeping them near our border. Seeing their aggressive policy, we have introduced there and placed in certain points, in case of war, they would be defense, our military along the entire border.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: Lukashenko says the border is heavily mined and warned Ukrainian troops not to cross it. But Ukrainian officials deny his claims, saying the situation at the border is unchanged and that the Belarusian president is just escalating the situation to appease Moscow.
Turkish officials warn there's a high risk of wildfires this week in parts of the country due to dry weather and high temperatures. Crews have contained more than 200 fires since Thursday morning, including a large blaze in the western province of Izmir. Other fires are still burning but Turkey's forestry minister says none of them are cause for concern right now. Turkey has seen intensifying wildfires in recent years which experts attribute to climate change.
More than 20 people were injured when a ferrous wheel caught fire at a music festival in Germany. The fire started in gondolas at the top of the ride. Some of the victims have burn injuries or fell and others suffered from smoke inhalation. Rapper Ski Aggu was on stage when the fire started. He stayed to help direct people to safety. A post on his Instagram says he was dismayed and shocked.
Still to come, basketball star Caitlin Clark continues to redefine what's possible in the sport. The details of her latest record- breaking feat after a short break. Stay with us.
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CHURCH: WNBA star Caitlin Clark's rookie season is proving to be one for the books. On Sunday, she broke the assist record for a rookie. It came as her Indiana fever beat the Seattle Storm 92-75. When asked about her latest milestone, Clark had other things on her mind.
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CAITLIN CLARK, INDIANA FEVER POINT GUARD: I thought it was a really fun game. These fans have just been crazy and so into it. And I feel like especially with how we started the season. Like I feel like they definitely deserve it. And I think they're starting to see how, how much potential this, you know, this team has. But yeah, I mean, the assist record is cool too.
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CHURCH: With 12 games to go, Clark is on pace to break the season record for assists.
Poland's Katarzyna Niewiadoma has won this year's Women's Tour de France in a thrilling finish. The 29 year old fought off a late surge by defending champion Demi Fjolering, winning by just four seconds on Sunday. This is the first Tour de France victory for the Polish cyclist and her first major state race win since 2017.
Well the Premier League is back and the defending champions have started their season with a win. World Sport's Don Riddell has more on Manchester City's quest for a fifth straight title.
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DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: The reigning Premier League champions back in action on the first day of the new season. Manchester City have won the last four league titles and they'll be fancied to make it five in a row and they certainly began as I'm sure they mean to go on.
On Sunday afternoon, Man City traveled to Chelsea in West London and their megastar striker celebrated what was a milestone occasion on his 100th appearance for his club. Erling Haaland scored his 91st goal. City 1-0 up. They doubled their advantage in the second half when the former Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovicic curled one in from just inside the area. 2-0 the final score. City's manager is very happy.
PEP GUARDIOLA, MANCHESTER CITY MANAGER: For me it's an immense privilege. So, I cannot be more honored to be a manager of these guys. So, they gave me everything, the joy, the happiness, the commitment to defend the club they represent. I'm so fortunate I could not say more.
ENZO MARESCA, CHELSEA MANAGER: We don't like to lose for sure but I think the performance was there. We compete against probably the best team in this moment. For a large part of the game we were at the same level or even better. We create chances. I think the big difference between us and them today was just inside the box. They were much more clinical than us but the important thing at the end is to create chances and we're going to score.
RIDDELL: Yeah, I think Chelsea have a lot of work to do. The first round of games in the league this season has been spread over four days. We've had nine games played so far. The last of them, the 10th, will be in Leicester on Monday night between Leicester City and Spurs. Back to you.
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CHURCH: And thanks so much for spending part of your day with me. I'm Rosemary Church. "CNN Newsroom" continues next with Ivan Watson.
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