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CNN International: Israel Declares Tel Aviv Explosion A "Terror Attack"; Tonight: DNC Kicks Off With Biden, Hillary Clinton Set To Speak; One Dead, Six Missing After Boat Sinks Off Sicily; Sources: Former Rep. Santos Expected To Plead Guilty To Federal Charges. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired August 19, 2024 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:00:33]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: It is 8:00 p.m. in London, 9:00 p.m. in Palermo, Italy, 2:00 p.m. in Chicago, 10:00 p.m. here in Tel Aviv.

I'm Jim Sciutto. Thanks so much for joining me today on CNN NEWSROOM. And let's get right to the news.

We are just hours away from the Democratic National Convention kicking off in Chicago where President Joe Biden will speak, passing the torch to his vice president, and now Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala Harris.

Outside the hall, pro-Palestinian protesters have been gathering, calling not just for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, but also an arms embargo to Israel.

The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Israel amid what he described as a decisive moment that is the best, perhaps the last opportunity to get a ceasefire and hostage deal, he says.

Earlier today, Blinken held an hours-long meeting with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and with defense minister, Yoav Gallant. He said the next step in the talks is for Hamas to say yes after he announced that Israel had accepted the bridging proposal presented by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar just last week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: Now, what the challenge, the challenge is besides Hamas, according to the bridging proposal, is to make sure that they're clear understandings on how the different parties are going to make good on their commitments, how they're actually going to implement this agreement. And that's what so necessary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Well, Hamas is accusing Israel of moving the goalposts in this deal and hours after Blinken arrived here in Tel Aviv, Hamas claimed responsibility for explosive -- explosion detonated in Tel Aviv. This video widely circulated on Israeli media, geolocated as well by

CNN, appears to show, there you go, the moment of the blast. Israeli authorities have declared it a terror attack. And as I said, Hamas is now claiming responsibility.

CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson joins me now here in Tel Aviv.

So, Nic, we have a bridging proposal. The U.S. secretary of state says that Israel has accepted the bridging proposal, and now it's up to Hamas to do the same. Hamas accuses Israel of having moved the goalposts on agreements for security and other things in Gaza.

Who's right? And what happens next?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: In fact, Hamas is on top of that as well, saying that this bridging proposal, in essence gives Prime Minister Netanyahu everything that he wanted, the goalposts have been moved, reset, and now, Hamas effectively being asked to accept the new goalpost publicly, they've in essence said no. Secretary Blinken said that what Hamas says publicly sometimes doesn't match what they say privately.

But this is very, very clear. There's pressure going to be applied to them by Qatar, by Egypt. There's no -- we can't be sure that they're going to accept the likelihood and diplomatic process. They accept some, reject some others, tried to put the pressure back on Prime Minister Netanyahu, which is, which is what's been going on.

I think the -- this at the very, very best is incremental and the worst, and this is the really bad part of the scenario, is going to be interpreted by Iran, by Hezbollah, is actually more of the same.

SCIUTTO: And they will accuse the U.S. of being on Israel side, which is a frequent charge.

The area is very much on pins and needles as to the possibility that if these talks go nowhere, then you unleash -- if not a broader regional war, at least the retaliation that Hezbollah and Iran have threatening for Israel strike inside Tehran.

How long is the timeframe?

SCIUTTO: Look, I mean, you could say at the timeframe almost run out last night because Secretary Blinken came here to negotiate. Hamas had already put forward that they think the United States position is Israel's position. And they claim that they sent this suicide bomber last night in the streets of Tel Aviv. They've already counter down the clock.

I mean, is that part of their public answer as well to disrupt the talks process in of itself, then, you know, how does -- how does Hezbollah, how does Iran interpret Hamas's signaling that they're willing to put suicide bombers on the streets? And how will Hamas hope that Hezbollah and Iran ratchet up their military pressure? Maybe not escalatory level, but some kind of -- some kind of action that they've promised that these talks were designed to head off.

I mean, if the worst-case scenario is that's the vacuum or lack of -- lack of movement in the talks -- the bad space that we could be heading into.

SCIUTTO: Listen, this country has horrible memories of the spate of suicide bombings some 20 years ago across this country here. And that blast last night though, it was just the bomber who was killed certainly must have brought back a lot of bad memories.

Nic Robertson, thanks so much.

Well, CNN's Jennifer Hansler, she's been traveling with Secretary Blinken as he came here and as he moves on to other stops in the region.

Jennifer, I wonder what State Department officials are telling you about their view of where these talks stand.

I know they're not going to reveal the details of this bridging proposal but do they maintain optimism?

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: Well, Jim, they do maintain optimism, but they also acknowledged that there is a long way to go here, even as they are saying the Israelis have accepted this bridging proposal, that is only step one of a multi-step process. We heard from Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying the next step is for Hamas to take advantage and say yes to this proposal.

From there, however, though, the mediators are still working to establish the details of how any agreement would actually come into place, Jim. And Secretary of State Antony Blinken himself acknowledged that those are serious challenges to overcome to make sure that the details are in place, to be able to carry out this agreement successfully and to know that each party agrees to the commitments that they said they would do.

So, there's a lot of work still to be done here. Now, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, just a little while ago, re-emphasize the urgency of getting a deal and he specifically said that there could be, quote/unquote, intervening in events that could take place, that could completely derail the talks. So he said now is the time for this to take place.

So they are moving away from necessarily this outright optimism and moving more towards pressing this urgent deal, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Yeah, those were quite revealing words I think by the U.S. secretary state, I mean, he has to have his own frustrations given its his ninth trip to the region. He's been trying to get a deal like this across the finish line for some time. So he will leave here, go on to Cairo. And what -- what is his goal in the meetings there?

HANSLER: Well, Jim, he's actually heading to a coastal town in Egypt to meet with President Sisi there. He will also be meeting with the Egyptian foreign minister and other top Egyptian officials. He is hoping to get a sense of what Hamas is actual thinking is in these deals.

The U.S. does not interact directly with the group. They count on Egypt and Qatar to do that mediation. So, Blinken said he was going to be looking to see what Hamas is actually saying about this deal, whether they have privately are indicating any flexibility about taking the bridging agreement beyond what they've said publicly as you heard from Nic, Blinken said, sometimes Hamas will say things publicly that don't actually reflect what they are saying privately.

So, he will be looking to the Egyptian mediators to give him a sense of those deals. From there, Jim, he is heading to Doha to meet with Qatari officials. He'll meet with the emir and he'll also be looking to get a sense of what Hamas is thinking and how they can ratchet up the pressure on the group to take this bridging proposal -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Yeah, listen, a lot of mediators, right? Ultimately, Hamas and Israel have to, if they're able to come to an agreement here.

Jennifer Hansler, thanks so much.

Well, before the Sunday terror attack here in Tel Aviv, which Hamas has now claimed, I had a chance to interview Osama Hamdan. He's a senior Hamas official and I asked him repeatedly, does Hamas regret the October 7th terror attacks and take any responsibility for the deaths of civilians in Israel and in Gaza? Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OSAMA HAMDAN, SENIOR HAMAS OFFICIAL: Well, it seems to me that you are giving Israel the right to kill the Palestinians when you ask if we are -- if we feel regret for what Israel has done. You have to understand that Israel has been killing the Palestinians for the last 76 years.

And when the Palestinians react against the occupation who failed the Palestinians, who failed Oslo agreement, continue undermining all the peace process and trying to take over all the Palestinian lands, talking in public about kicking out 2 million Palestinians from West Bank to East Jordan. All this is the right for Israel.

And when the Palestinians react against the occupation, they have to regret to what the Israelis are doing, killing them by thousands --

SCIUTTO: Mr. Hamdan --

(CROSSTALK)

HAMDAN: -- as if the Palestinians were the caused of most killing.

SCIUTTO: -- I have -- I have covered -- I've been coming to this part of the world for more than 20 years and I have personally --

HAMDAN: Yes.

SCIUTTO: -- covered terror attacks by Hamas that killed Israeli civilians more than 20 years. So I'm asking you this just looking at the last what, ten months of this conflict for a moment. Does Hamas accept any responsibility for the deaths of Palestinian civilians in Gaza?

[15:10:02]

Because as you know Hamas tunnels, Hamas military units are based under and around homes, mosques, schools in Gaza. And do you accept responsibility for any of the deaths in Gaza.

HAMDAN: Yeah. Unfortunately, you have covered this region for 20 years, but you were watching, you was watching the region by the Israeli eyes. You didn't saw the Israelis killing thousands of Palestinians within those 20 years.

In 2014, Israeli attack Gaza and they killed more than 4,000 Palestinians. You didn't see that. They attacked Gaza and they killed in one day, 1,000 Palestine in 2008, and you didn't see that.

Those attacks --

SCIUTTO: Actually, I was here I was here in 2014. I was here in 2014 and I was here 2008.

(CROSSTALK)

SCIUTTO: I'm asking you if Hamas accepts -- I do. If you wanted to, what you're saying is factually not true. I was here for both -- I was here for both of those conflicts.

My question is, does Hamas accept any responsibility for the deaths of its own people in Gaza?

(CROSSTALK)

HAMDAN: You can't -- excuse me, you can't ask and answer by yourself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Well, I didn't get an answer to that question. Does Hamas accept responsibility for some of those civilian casualties in Gaza, particularly with Hamas fighters, often taking cover under residential areas and around?

Joining me now to discuss the current state of negotiations is Aaron David Miller. He's a former Middle East negotiator for the U.S. State Department, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Good to have you on. I'm sure hearing that difficult interaction with a senior Hamas official is familiar to you, and, by the way, one that you can hear, frankly for many players in this region, right, which is a refusal to take any responsibility for their role in any part of this conflict.

I want to ask what your view is of these current negotiations because a similar phenomenon is taking place right now in that you have each party saying it is the other party that is standing in the way of an agreement. And from your perspective, is this a good faith negotiation at this point?

AARON DAVID MILLER, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT MIDDLE EAST NEGOTIATOR: Well, it's a better day than yesterday, Jim. And you know, nobody ever lost money betting against Israeli-Palestinian agreement, let alone Israeli-Palestinian peace.

I think we are in many, in many ways, closer than ever. But ever is a complicated proposition. The prime minister has accepted bridging proposal. Now he's accepted American ideas in the past and then loaded the Christmas tree up with any number of ornaments that are deal breakers.

But now I think the administration has focused on Hamas response. I think the best outcome, frankly, the most realistic outcome right now would be Hamas comes back, not with an abject total rejection but essentially accept some elements, and we're back at the negotiating table.

I think the idea that Hamas is simply going to buy on to a proposal which they know has been to some degree precooked between the U.S. and Israel at least elements of it has it's probably slim to none. But I don't think this means the end of the negotiations, which is why we really shouldn't talk about one last chance, one more last chance. How's that?

SCIUTTO: Yeah. I mean, that's exactly how Blinken is describing it. And I think his words were revealing, as he said that.

So it goes to Hamas right now and if you're right and you have a lot of experience here, so I trust your gut here. If Hamas says, well, we agree to some and not others. You go back to Israel, I presume, and go back to the negotiating table, you hope.

But what does the timeline on these talks right? Because the other pressure is from Hezbollah and Israel, both saying that they're going to exact revenge on Israel for (AUDIO GAP) Haniyeh in Tehran?

MILLER: Look, as long as -- as long as there is what I would describe as a credible process in train with the U.S. trying to figure out how to reach an agreement that satisfies both sides' interests. I don't want to compare Hamas with the government of Israel, but there's clear absence of urgency in the part of both Prime Minister Netanyahu, you know, he's signed up to the bridging proposal and Hamas to come to a quick -- a quick and easy deal.

So again, I -- I think here you also have and he referred to it, interceding events. Can you imagine what the impact would have been if a suicide bomber yesterday would have caused a mass casualty event? You wouldn't have had just a breakdown. It might have been canceled foreseeable future.

[15:15:04]

So I think that's the danger of waiting, but I don't think Iran and Hezbollah are interested in quickly responding. I think they both have problems in their response and they'd like to see this ceasefire agreement actually work.

SCIUTTO: I -- I was sadly imagining the consequences had that suicide bomber made it to a target -- crowded target, and carried out a mass casualty event. So what pressure can the U.S. put on Hamas? And can it put on Israel to bring the two sides to an agreement here?

MILLER: I mean, again, I really think if you look at the course to check during the last 11 months now, the 11th month of this war, the reality is that both of these combatants seem to be immune even if some pressure were applied. And I'm not sure the United States could apply it in, in a symmetrical way.

I mean, the administration has been reluctant to impose a single cost or consequence on Israel that normal humans would regard a significant or serious pressure, conditioning military assistance know introducing your own security council resolution critical of the Israelis are signing up for somebody else's know, recognizing unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state know for any number of reasons.

And we could spend the next hour discussing why they haven't done that. I think the pressure on Hamas comes from funders, Qataris, and Egyptians who by reason of their geography, it's a pretty important player in Hamas's calculations.

But whether or not, Jim, they can effect the calculations of one Yahya Sinwar ensconced below ground somewhere in Rafah, in Khan Younis, probably surrounded by hostages, who believes he actually may be winning. I'm not sure that's going to be possible.

So again, I think there's a chance negotiations will continue. Hard to imagine an agreement and even if we could get one, it's probably going to be one that won't go beyond phase one, limited exchange of hostages for a six-week ceasefire. You could get that. You'd be way ahead of the game.

SCIUTTO: Yeah, there's been some discussion. Is that being the fallback position, but even that, of course, would be something of a hill to climb.

Aaron David Miller, thanks so much.

MILLER: Thanks for having me, Jim.

SCIUTTO: And coming up, it is day one of the Democratic National Convention with President Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton taking the stage tonight. We are live in Chicago with all that's ahead this week.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:20:53]

SCIUTTO: Tonight in Chicago, Democrats kick off their party convention cementing the switch at the top of the ticket from President Biden to Vice President Kamala Harris, an historic move that is injected fresh energy, optimism, and enthusiasm into this gag gathering that is clear in the crowds. Also the polls, about a polling over the weekend makes clear just how much Harris has transformed this race, polling neck and neck, or in this case for the first time ahead of Donald Trump nationally.

And she appears to be gaining ground in battleground states such as Arizona and North Carolina as well.

Tonight, Democrats cheered the man who made those gains possible, they say. President Joe Biden with his stepping aside, he delivers tonight's keynote address, passing the torch on officially to his running mate.

CNN senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak is on the ground.

Kevin, what's the message we expect tonight from President Biden speech?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, first, I'll let you know, Jim, that the American country music star, Mickey Guyton, is doing her sound check behind me. So ill be screaming a little bit while I give you to this dispatch from Chicago, but it does give you a sense of the enthusiasm that Democrats are coming into this convention with. And, of course, President Biden will be the first out of the gate tonight.

He has spent the weekend drafting his speech up at Camp David, and it gives you a sense of just how seriously he is taking this address. And I do think he feels the weight of this moment. You know, he first came to a Democratic national convention back in 1972. He was back then a candidate to be the youngest person in the Senate. Now he is the oldest sitting president in history at the very end of that long political arc.

You know, there's no question this is not the speech he wanted to give. It's not the speech that he was hoping to give. And when you talk to people around him, certainly, they say he is still processing that prolonged effort to remove him from the top of the Democratic ticket, but he does want to look ahead when we hear from him tonight, he will really try and frame the Vice President Kamala Harris as the best possible person to carry on what he started while he was in office in the best possible inheritor of his legacy.

He will also, of course, frame the stakes of this election and try and remind Americans of the threat that he views president Trump posing to democracy and to that end, we will hear from, for example, members of Congress who sat on the January 6 investigative committee will hear from a police officer who was injured in the Capitol riot, all sort of making the point that Donald Trump poses a grave threat to democracy.

Kamala Harris herself will also be in the arena this evening to listen to President Biden's speech. After that, the Biden's are heading off on vacation in California and essentially giving the keys of this convention over to Kamala Harris. And organizers, I think have a couple of objectives when you look at the roster of speakers that they have laid out.

One is to kind of introduce the vice president to an American public that may just be tuning in and may not have been paying attention. And they will have a lot of help on that. You know, two former presidents, President Obama, President Clinton, two former first ladies, including Hillary Clinton, who will be speaking this evening.

The other objective I think they have is trying to remind people of what Donald Trump is planning to do if you were to come in an office and you'll hear from that from lawmakers, from cabinet secretaries, from this roster of high-wattage Democrats and it will all culminate in Kamala Harris's speech on Thursday evening.

And as you mentioned, polls do show her entering this convention on a swell of momentum. She has taken a slight lead in national polls. But when you talk to Harris campaign officials, they do say this is going to be a very close election and that the real work will begin once this convention wraps up.

SCIUTTO: Kevin Liptak, thanks so much.

Let's go now to our political panel, Shelby Talcott of "Semafor", and Ron Brownstein of "The Atlantic".

Good to have you both on.

Ron, Harris is riding on a good number, of good polls here.

[15:25:02]

Is it correct to say that a large portion of the country will be introduced to her tonight and this week throughout the convention to get a better sense of exactly who she is and what her campaign represents?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yeah, I think so. I mean, I think that impressions of her going into her convention are probably more shallowly held than they have been for any nominee, possibly since Wendell Wilkie that the businessman that the Republicans recruited at the last minute in 1940.

Jim, she's the first nominee since Hubert Humphrey in 1968, who either wasn't an incumbent president or had spent the previous year running for president year-and-a-half through primaries and accumulating triumphs and setbacks and becoming known week-by-week. She's the vice president, but the vice presidency is a little like entering the witness protection program.

People and, you know, strategists in both parties say voters have very little idea about who she is or what she's been doing.

And the initial reaction is clearly been positive. She has a stronger favorable rating than either Donald Trump or Joe Biden. But a lot of that is skin-deep. And certainly I think beyond any other the goal this week for Democrats, it's to give Americans a deeper sense of who she is personally and how her agenda is an outgrowth of her experience just like, you is the phrase I heard the most when talking to convention planners and the days before this got underway.

SCIUTTO: Another theme, Shelby, is for the people, a reference to Harris as a prosecutor, it is remarkable in this Democratic Party that a background that might've been viewed as a liability in the past and was for Harris herself is now viewed as a strength here to tell us why exactly and how they plan to work that into the overall message.

SHELBY TALCOTT, POLITICS REPORTER, SEMAFOR: Well, I think there's a few reasons. One, of course, being just the general crime is really big issue when I talk to voters on both sides of the aisle, that's one of the top things that they mentioned along with the economy.

And so, I think that just the dynamics of the country have shifted a little bit in that regard. But she's also running against Donald Trump, right, who has his own slew of legal issues. And so they believe that that is a way to highlight those legal issues in a way that Joe Biden really couldn't or did not want to because he wanted to keep distance from that. Not so that he wouldn't sort of feed into Donald Trump's argument that this was all politically motivated.

And so this is a way for the Harris campaign to hone in on that aspect and that vulnerability of Donald Trumps in a way that the Democratic Party really has not been able to so far.

SCIUTTO: Yeah.

Ron, there was a lot of attention last week to the rollout of Kamala Harris's economic message in this speech she gave on Friday.

Can you explain or give a sense of how that economic message in plan is being received?

BROWNSTEIN: Yeah. Well, look, I mean, I think that it got at best a mix receptions and aspects of it got a very poor reaction even from some Democratic leaning kind of media outlet. You know, she wanted to lean into her identity as attorney general and the experience she had. They are suing companies that abuse consumers and I think that is going to be important for her.

It's another way for her to demonstrate strength, which is the underlying issue in the crime and immigration ads. And really what I think is going to be the fulcrum of this race. Can she convince enough, you know, white working class and older white voters in those Rust Belt states that we always need to get back to? Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, that she's strong enough to keep them safe, and showing that she can take on big companies on behalf of average Americans as part of the way she can do that.

I think that kind of very uneven reaction to that is going to reinforce their instinct that they're not going to be putting out a lot of policy white papers. Now, I wrote last week, we have a very good idea of what the Harris presidency would be about because over 90 percent of what she might plausibly do as president is already clear in the agenda, of the Democratic Party. I mean, there is an agenda out there on things like health care and

childcare and gun control and voting rights and abortion rights. Almost all of which passed the House in '21 and '22 before being blocked by Manchin and Sinema.

We have a pretty good idea of what she's going to do. I'm not sure after this experience, they're going to be getting us a lot more of these kind of policy rollouts because it was -- it was an unsteady moment for them.

SCIUTTO: Shelby, before we go, Harris had a moment on the campaign trail over the weekend where she referred to Trump without naming him as a coward. And I wonder, is there any adjustment that you're seeing and hearing in the Harris campaigns plans as to how they deal with and refer to Donald Trump, of course, for a couple of weeks, all the talk was about this weird attack.

[15:30:10]

Where does it go from here?

TALCOTT: Yeah, it's a good question and I think what's interesting is that the Harris campaign has not really taken up the Joe Biden torch of really pushing that threat to democracy message. They've altered it and so they're trying out the weird message. They're trying out the coward message. They're trying to find new ways to define Donald Trump.

I think the coward thing is going to be a thing that we hear a few more times throughout the next few weeks but throughout this presidential campaign, I think it's clear that the Harris campaign is going to try to define Donald Trump by his record and his history in a way that's different than how Joe Biden was trying to define him because they saw that that necessarily -- not necessarily stick with voters that wasn't, you know, when I'm out on the ground and talking to the swing state voters who are not sure who they're going to vote for. They don't often say -- well, Donald Trump is a threat to democracy. So I can't vote for him.

But some of these other things that the Harris campaign is beginning to bring up is sticking in a different sort of way based on Donald Trump's record.

SCIUTTO: Interesting and listen, it's a shorter campaign, right? I mean, it's what a two month campaign, so they're there kind of testing out I imagine these messages in real time.

Shelby Talcott, Ron Brownstein, thanks so much to both of you.

TALCOTT: That's right.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

SCIUTTO: Well, as Democratic Party leaders unite behind Harris, divisions remain not too far below the surface. Outside the venue, thousands have already gathered in protest of the Biden-Harris administration's arm sales to Israel amid the ongoing war in Gaza, urging Harris to adopt, not just knew rhetoric, but a new policy for the conflict has taken an enormous toll on Palestinian civilians. There are some making comparisons to the Democratic national convention of 1968 in Chicago where demonstrators took to the streets opposing the war in Vietnam.

But the numbers and scales so far don't compare to that. Certainly an enormous amount of police resources in place though.

CNN's Shimon Prokupecz is there for us.

Shimon, what has been the turnout so far among these protests where you've been there?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME & JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, I think you have it exactly right. And the numbers are just not there, you know, there was some of the group organized -- organizers were saying they were expecting maybe up to 100,000 people here at this park. We're not seeing anywhere near that. Jerry, lets walk.

So were seeing thousands. But were not seeing hundred thousand, Jim. The police presence, they're here. The police are here. It's a large police presence.

Right now, what everyone is waiting is for the speeches to end. They've been going for about two-and-a-half hours now, Jim, and we expect that at some point, they're going to start marching. They're going to take to the streets here on this side over here. Jim, you can see there are some police officers out here ready on bicycles -- they're waiting. They're waiting for them to get going. And then they're expected to march as close as they can possibly get to the United Center where the convention is taking place.

But there are barriers all over the convention area, so it's not really clear how close they're going to be able to get. The police have designated an area for them. They're not happy about that. They wanted a bigger area. They want it to be well to march a little longer for about a mile and-a-half.

So we'll see what happens as we get closer to the convention center. Do they veer off the path? And that's where, Jim, as you know, its likely we could see some possible conflict. But for now, everything has been peaceful. And I think the point that you make is a good one that were not seeing the numbers that certainly the organizers were hoping for or expecting.

Yeah, that's notable, especially, if it stays that way. Good to have you there monitoring events, our Shimon Prokupecz outside the venue in Chicago, amidst those protests.

Thanks so much to him.

And we'll be right back with more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:37:33]

SCIUTTO: We're going to return now to the Democratic National Convention. Not all of the delegates have pledged to back Kamala Harris's nomination. Dozens say they will withhold their support until Harris addresses their concerns about the war in Gaza, in particular, the civilian casualties there.

CNN's Donie O'Sullivan talked with some of them in Chicago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ABBAS ALAWIEH, MICHIGAN UNCOMITTED 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 Democrat primary.

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: This is a meeting of uncommitted Democratic delegates here in Chicago on the eve of the Democratic National Convention.

ALAWIEH: But it's not sustainable for our own government to fund that 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 and they are either committed to the candidate -- to one of the candidates or not. In our case, we're not committed because we haven't heard what we wanted to hear, looking for a ceasefire. We're looking for a strong commitment on a cease-fire. 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 VP Harris, there is a key base of over 730,000 anti-war voters who are telling you that we want to turn the page on as the 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 ten months to one that saves lives.

O'SULLIVAN: You got to meet Harris briefly in Michigan.

LAYLA ELABED, CO-CHAIR, UNCOMMITTED NATIONAL MOVEMENT: Yes. We wanted to be able to speak to her directly in 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 bombs. 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.

[15:40:00]

Palestinian children can't eat words.

O'SULLIVAN: Is there more hope in this movement right now with Harris at the top of the ticket 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's a little bit more wiggle room we feel like with Vice President Harris. We've already seen her changed 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 is 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)

SCIUTTO: Our thanks to Donie O'Sullivan there.

Coming up, expelled from Congress and now expected to plead guilty to fraud. George Santos is making an appearance right now in a New York courtroom. We're going to have more on that story, just ahead.

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SCIUTTO: Rescuers off the coast of Sicily are still searching for survivors from a sunken yacht. Authorities say the vessel may have been hit by a waterspout that formed during a storm. One person was killed, six others remain missing.

CNN's Barbie Nadeau is following developments from Rome.

Tell us what we know about not just who was on this yacht, but the ongoing search and rescue operations. It's alarming to hear six are still missing.

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Yeah. You know, here in Italy though, there's not much of a distinction between rescue and recovery, so they're saying they're still searching for the six people were going on, you know, 17, 18 hours now since this boat went down, hit, struck by, as you said, a waterspout which is like a tornado early this morning and storms that hit Sicily.

[15:45:12]

What we know though is that among the missing are -- this is a very important tech mogul in the UK. His name is Mike Lynch. He's been described as sort of a British Bill Gates. He's been described as sort of Steve jobs, very important in the UK.

He was kind of a side acquitted of tax fraud charge in San Francisco just two months ago. But we know that he had taken some of his employees and colleagues and collaborators on this Mediterranean cruise when this tragedy struck, among them, a 36-year-old woman who said she worked for him, who was able to rescue her 1-year-old daughter in her arms in these waves this morning, she told local media who had gathered in Sicily that she had lost contact with his one- year-old baby for a couple of minutes, was able to rescue this child they were, brought to safety.

So there are some stories of incredible heroic save -- lifesaving measures. But, you know, these six people still missing, very likely still in that luxury vessel at the bottom of the Mediterranean, telling rescue saying that they'll update the situation, but they're going to be working overnight. They brought in us special curb divers who normally work in caves which I think speaks to the complexity of this operation, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Yeah, it sure does. But, boy, at least that one lucky mother there with a remarkable rescue. Barbie Nadeau, thanks so much.

Well, right now, as we speak, the disgraced former U.S. Congressman George Santos is in a New York courtroom, expected to plead guilty to federal fraud charges. There are, in fact, 23 charges, including wire fraud, money laundering, identity theft, and embezzlement.

CNN's Brynn Gingras, she's outside the courthouse covering the story.

Brynn, it's quite a remarkable turn for Santos, but what is the latest and what was this? What will this mean in terms of jail time? These guilty pleas?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. I mean, major fall from grace, right, Jim,

You know what, I'm keeping my eye on the door behind me because I do think the hearing might be wrapping up, but yet we haven't heard from our colleague, Mark Morales, who is inside the actual hearing.

But, listen, this is what we are expected to happen in the last half hour since court started. We expect Santos to plead guilty to at least some of those charges that he faced from U.S. attorneys last year, 23 in total.

But look, Jim, he has been adamant that he would never ever take a plea deal in this case. He said that moment multiple times, even last week when he appeared in court for a pretrial hearing, that trial expected to start in just a couple of weeks where U.S. attorney said, listen, we've got dozens of witnesses. We're going to come out in, speak out, and take the stand against you. He still maintained his innocence.

So something has changed. Now, what he pled guilty to, that's a big question. What you just asked, Jim, what sort of sentencing could he face? That's also another one of the questions that we are waiting to hear what we do understand is he is going to plead guilty to some and will likely get a full explanation of what he's pleading guilty to, right, in an allocution.

So, we're waiting to get some information from our colleague about all that. But like you said, Jim, a major fall from grace for this, a former Republican Congress this man of the third district here in New York, who of course, was accused of lying about so many things, having to do with his personal life, his resume and also just lying on campaign fine. Finance reports, taking money from donors and sealing their identities allegedly, and using the money to really just by a lavish lifestyle for himself.

Again, we're waiting to see he actually has pled guilty to, though, and we're also waiting to see if he talks. He has never been shy from the camera even after he was expelled from Congress for all these alleged crimes. He's always said something, so we're waiting to see if he talks and we do possibly expect to hear from the U.S. attorneys office as well, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Yeah, and, of course, after he was expelled, it was a Democrat who won that seat back for the Democratic Party. Brynn Gingras, outside the courthouse, thanks so much.

Just after the break, framing his legacy, handing over the reins, what to expect from President Biden's keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention. That's tonight.

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[15:51:53]

SCIUTTO: Live pictures now. President Biden, just moments ago arriving in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention. There he is leaving Air Force One tonight. He's going to take center stage at the Democratic National Convention to highlight his administration's achievements and also make the case for Vice President Harris.

In a primetime address, the president expected to lay out what he sees as the stakes of this election. And called out former president Donald Trump by name, something he has often not done. This is, of course, not the speech President Biden hoped to deliver just a month ago. But now, since he has withdrawn from the presidential race, he's going to pass the torch to his vice president.

Joining me now to help preview this moment for Joe Biden is Evan Osnos, CNN contributor. He is author of "Joe Biden: The Life, The Run, And What Matters Now".

Evan, you have interviewed the president so many times. This is not the moment he wanted. It's not the speech he wanted to give. I wonder personally, how you think he's feeling tonight.

EVAN OSNOS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: You know, I think he is very conflicted, Jim, I mean, he is on the one hand about to get up and do the thing that he promised in some senses as a candidate, which was to be a bridge to a new generation of talent.

The truth was, he always figured that would be after eight years, I asked him earlier this year, was there ever a moment after getting into the White House where you seriously considered not running again. And he said no, I think by the time he got there, having been through January, having COVID still defining the country in so many ways, he really felt like this was an a here project. And, of course, it hasn't been.

And what you've seen over the course of the last month is him coming to terms with that bit by bit. And it's not easy. Let's be honest, I think its a pretty hard thing for anybody particularly when you're standing up in front of the largest audience, probably the largest audience he will have between now and the end of his term.

SCIUTTO: Yeah, it's a good point. I mean, in effect, his last big speech. One might say as president.

So the message then, I mean, he's already made clear that he's on team Harris now, and wants to help get her elected. So how does he deliver that message? How does he make that pitch tonight?

Well, you know, in some ways, they find themselves now with their fates entwined because ultimately, his legacy, his contribution in American history will hinge partly on how things go for her in November.

And so what I've been hearing from some of his aides and in the days leading up to this speech, is that this is a chance for him probably to talk less about himself personally than it is to talk about what this administration has done over the last three-and-a-half years. Very specifically, Jim, meaning going from a position of great peril in January of 2021 with disease, with division with literal armed violence at the Capitol to where we are today, which is, of course, not perfect, but a long way away.

[15:55:09]

And you're likely hear him talk about some of the enduring things they've done legislatively like drug prices like climate, like infrastructure, things that will long out outlive Joe Biden. And -- but the balance to strike and I'll be listening for this is how much is he prepared to say in effect, my season of public service is coming to a close. And it is now time for you to throw your support and your enthusiasm behind a new generation.

That is really what the moment calls upon him to do.

SCIUTTO: Quickly. Do you expect a little bit of humor? He sometimes will inject some humor in difficult moments like this. OSNOS: Yeah, I think so. I just noticed he's gotten a little bit more pugnacious happily. So when it comes to Donald Trump, I think you'll hear and make a joke perhaps about his own age. And I think you'll hear him go straight at the Republican nominee.

He seems to be enjoying it and he's unburdened by the contest and now enjoying being the executive chairman of this operation.

SCIUTTO: Evan Osnos, certainly a moment for you to witness, given all the reporting you've done on him. Thanks so much for joining me today and thanks so much to all of you for joining me today as well.

I'm Jim Sciutto reporting from Tel Aviv.

"QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is up next.