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Israel And Hezbollah Trade Attacks In Major Flare Up; Harris Campaign Says It Raised $540 Million Since Launch; Trump's Businesses Rake In Millions From Republican Campaigns. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired August 25, 2024 - 15:00   ET

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

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT HOST: He is a Red Sox player.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: That's great.

RIDDELL: And so his manager, Alex Cora has said, yes, we are going to play him in this game so he can make the switch.

WHITFIELD: So, it is going to be like changing jerseys and running out.

RIDDELL: Yes, and now, he is going to be a catcher for the Red Sox.

WHITFIELD: Okay, crazy.

RIDDELL: So, he is going to play for both teams --

WHITFIELD: That's wild.

RIDDELL: -- in the same game.

WHITFIELD: That's wild.

RIDDELL: Very cool.

WHITFIELD: But very memorable.

RIDDELL: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Oh, these very memorable moments that you brought us today. Don Riddell --

RIDDELL: All right.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much.

[15:00:21]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: All right, hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta. My colleague, Jim Sciutto is in Tel Aviv -- Jim.

JIM SCIUTTO CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Thanks so much, Fred. We do begin with breaking news. The Middle East backing away from a

broader war for now after Israel and Hezbollah exchanged an intense barrage of fire across Lebanon's border early this this morning. Both sides are quiet at this hour.

Hezbollah says its attack was in retaliation for Israel's killing of a top military commander in Lebanon last month. After learning, Israel says that a Hezbollah attack was imminent, Israeli forces launched what described as preempted strikes. A US Defense official says the US did help Israel track incoming fire from Lebanon, but was not involved in any Israeli strike inside Lebanese territory.

Both sides appear to be standing down again for now, but the region remains on high alert. Several airlines have suspended flights into the region as a precaution.

We do have full coverage for you. Our Jeremy Diamond is in Haifa, Israel, in the north; Ben Wedeman in the Lebanese capital of Beirut. State Department reporter, Jenny Hansler, she is back in Washington.

Jeremy, let me begin with you. I wonder what pace of attacks, if any, you are seeing up north right now.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, we are not seeing anything, but earlier today, Jim, it was a very, very active day along the border between Israel and Lebanon. Perhaps one of the most intense exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah. We saw the Israeli military around 4:00 AM local time this morning carrying out what they described as a preemptive strike on some 270 Hezbollah targets in Southern Lebanon.

This attack was carried out by over a hundred Israeli fighter jets in one of the most substantial attacks that we have seen since the beginning of this war, and then within the next hour and a half, air raid sirens sounding in Northern Israel as Hezbollah carried out an attack on Northern Israel with about -- with hundreds of rockets, as well as several dozen drones it appears.

The Israeli military claiming that it took down all of the drones that Hezbollah fired, and that no Israeli military bases in either Central or Northern Israel were actually struck despite claims from Hezbollah that that is what they were targeting.

We do know that one home in the city of Akko in Northern Israel does appear to have been partially he damaged as a result of this barrage of strikes, but otherwise, the Israeli military is touting its defense effort and this preemptive strike as a resounding success.

We heard from the Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who said that this was a very successful result, that this preemptive strike prevented the launch, he said of hundreds of additional rockets that Hezbollah has been planning to fire and he said that he believes Israel has now destabilized Hezbollah, and that their operation failed.

For the time being, it seems like both sides are intents on not escalating the situation further, but of course we know in this very volatile region that is an assessment that could change in just a matter of a few days' time -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Jeremy Diamond, thanks so much.

Okay, to Ben Wedeman now in Beirut.

So Ben, you hear Israel claiming that the Hezbollah operation failed. I wonder as you read Hezbollah's statements in the wake of this, are they attempting to claim victory here, at least to signal that they're done for now?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we heard Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary general of Hezbollah, saying that they were able -- that it is not true that the Israelis were able to blunt their attacks this morning. He went through sort of the whole thinking behind the attacks this morning, he said that they were seeking military targets directly related to the 30th July assassination of a senior Hezbollah commander here in Beirut, that they were not planning to strike civilians or civilian infrastructure.

And that they had delayed there response to that assassination to see how this ceasefire talks were going to go and when this strike took place, they say Nasrallah said that they had two main targets beyond those military positions on the border with Lebanon and that was the headquarters of what is known as Unit 8200, which is Israel's Signal Intelligence Unit, in addition to the Mossad headquarters, and headquarters of the Missile Defense Brigade or Unit.

[15:05:18]

And he said, essentially that we heard this morning that the operations, the attacks this morning by Hezbollah were phase one in their response to the assassination and he held out the possibility of a phase two. This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HASSAN NASRALLAH, SECRETARY GENERAL, HEZBOLLAH (through translator): We will assess the outcome of the enemy's concealment of today's events. If the result is satisfactory and it achieved the intended goal, we will consider the response process to the assassination of Fouad Shukur complete.

If it falls short in our view, we will reserve the right to respond at a later time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WEDEMAN: And as we heard Jeremy saying just a moment ago that the Israelis say that no military facilities were damaged in the Hezbollah strikes and of course, Nasrallah is saying that they may retaliate at another time if the results of their strikes were not satisfactory.

So, it is a lowering of the temperature. He did say that after a month of people here being on edge waiting for Hezbollah's retaliation that now they can go back to their normal lives -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: At least for now, I suppose.

Before we go to Jennifer Hansler in Washington, we did just hear a boom over the skyline here in Tel Aviv just to the south of our position here, it is showing up on the apps that Israelis use which show intercepts from Israel's Air Defense Systems showing that there was one to the south of the city, not clear where that came from. Hearing booms in the sky over Tel Aviv is not an unusual thing, unfortunately, but we are going to be reporting this out to see what more we can learn about that one.

Now to Jennifer Hansler in Washington.

Tell us what we know about the US' role in Israel's response to Hezbollah's attacks.

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT REPORTER: Well, Jim, we know that the US provided help with tracking Hezbollah's attacks overnight. They did not participate in a kinetic way. They did not participate in actually launching any sort of missiles or rockets or anything of that sort, but they did provide intelligence in this way.

And Jim, the US is not backing down from its defensive posture that we've seen here. The Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke a little bit ago with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, and he told him that the US would be keeping its carrier strikes, these two carrier groups in the region for some of this deterrence.

Now, earlier this month, they put a number of US assets into the region for this show of force to try to deter any response from Hezbollah, as well as Iran to the killing of a Hezbollah and Hamas commander earlier this month. They have put these forces in place to try to stop any sort of massive escalation.

Now, overnight we saw a little bit of that escalation and it is clear the US is not prepared to back down and say that this is the extent of what we are going to be seeing.

Now at the same time that this is taking place, there are also those high stakes talks happening in Cairo to try to bring a ceasefire and hostage deal to the finish line in Gaza.

Now, the US had its delegation there. Hamas also sent a delegation, so that is a bit of a promising sign, but we have not heard any sort of outcome and any sort of sense at this talk has actually made it to the finish line there.

Of course the concept of escalation, the idea that these things could be derailed is something the US has warned about. They have been saying it is urgent for this to get done and something that happened overnight, that's exactly what they were worried about -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: So often in this conflict, it is a matter of the degree of the fire across that northern border as opposed to whether there is fire at all. Jennifer Hansler in Washington.

Let's bring in now William Ruger. He is an Afghanistan War veteran, former Afghan ambassador nominee under President Trump and now, president of the American Institute of Economic Research.

Thanks so much for joining us this afternoon.

WILLIAM RUGER, AFGHANISTAN WAR VETERAN: Thanks for having me.

SCIUTTO: Once again, it seemed that we walked right up to the edge of a broader conflict here, but now you have to some degree both sides, Israel and Hezbollah, claiming, I don't want say victory, but claiming that they delivered the message they intended to deliver.

As you look at this last 24 hours, do you see the area is dodging a bullet to some degree of a broader conflict?

RUGER: You always have to be concerned when you see these types of continued tit-for-tat strikes, that what you will see is an escalatory spiral.

[15:10:00]

But I think both sides in this case have been very careful about how high they want to climb up that ladder and I think that that shows that both sides are eager to avoid an all-out escalation.

And another thing about these strikes that I think we should be aware of is the question of who is the intended audience?

There is always an international audience in these cases, right? But there is also domestic audiences that they are trying to please, right? So each side is trying to signal to their own publics, to their own constituencies about their resolve for example, or their ability to defend their constituency.

So again, there is a two-level game happening here.

SCIUTTO: Yes, it is a great point because Hezbollah, I mean, it is a militant organization no question, but it also is a political organization inside Lebanon and it has a political constituency that it has to listen to.

Iran, I wonder what you view Iran's footing right now, because Iran has said quite publicly, it will exact revenge for the killing of a Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, a Hamas political leader, but that it is not going to do it for now.

So what's your read of when, how long they wait, and how strongly they might respond when they choose to do so, if they choose to do so?

RUGER: Yes, I mean, again, I think they are going to calculate the cost benefits of different options and we see this throughout the Middle East. I mean, for sample that after the Soleimani strike by the United States, you saw an exchange, but a limited one, and then the United States was relatively careful, too.

Again this is a hot, you know, kind of a powder keg, if you will. And I think a lot of different sides want to make sure that they're not setting that powder keg off unless they really wanted to kind of take it to the next level on that spiral.

So they are trying to be very, very careful and I think that is also the case with Iran here, especially with the United States engaging in a form of deterrence with its naval forces in the region.

SCIUTTO: Yes. I wonder what you think the role of that force is because it is quite a substantial US force in the region. We just heard today that the US intends to keep its carrier strike groups here, and that is not the end of it, right? There is guided missile submarines in the region as well as other forces. Do you think that the deterrent aspect of that deployment is working to some degree, signaling to Hezbollah and to Iran that if you go too far, the US might very well be involved in the response.

RUGER: Yes, I mean, deterrence is hard to know whether its successful or not, right? Sometimes, it is the dog that doesn't bark that tells you whether you've been successful.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

RUGER: I think for the United States, one thing they have to be really careful about, right? Especially with the anniversary of the Abbey Gate tragedy and America's withdrawal from Afghanistan coming up next week is how much does the United States want to get involved in the Middle East? Does it want to have more conflicts, or does it want to be able to pivot to Asia as we've talked about for years now, and the United States is putting naval forces in this region, which of course means it is taking them from other areas.

So the question is, does it want to get back to prioritizing other areas or does it want to sink back more deeply in the Middle East? And that is going to be a question for not only this administration for the rest of its days, but the next administration.

SCIUTTO: That is like that line from "The Godfather," just when you're out, you get dragged back in, if you remember that.

RUGER: Absolutely.

SCIUTTO: I do want to ask you about the state of the negotiations. The negotiations did take place today in Cairo, and by the way, that was not -- certainly, not a guarantee this morning as the attacks were underway here that negotiators will show up. They did show up in Cairo, delegations from Hamas, Israel, as well as other mediators. They certainly didn't leave with an agreement.

But do you see the potential for agreement there on a ceasefire?

RUGER: I mean the real challenge, of course, is what our states and non-state actors willing to give here? And as long as the ends that they are seeking from not only what happened on October 7th, but the response to that, as long as the actors have different opinions about what that future looks like, it is going to be very difficult for them to achieve an understanding.

So the question is, can they come together on a second best solution for themselves where they are willing to give compared to say, the war aims that they had at the outset.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Do they feel the same urgency, Israel and Hamas, what for instance, the US does.

William Ruger, thanks so much for joining.

RUGER: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Fred, back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks, Jim.

All right, coming up, more than a half billion dollars, Team Harris' huge fundraising effort all in one month.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:19:32]

WHITFIELD: All right, new today, Vice President Harris' campaign announced it raised $540 million since she launched her presidential bid last month. About one-third of the donations during the Democratic convention came from first-time donors.

This week, both candidates are hitting the campaign trail in battleground states and prepping for their upcoming debate.

Former President Donald trump will be in Michigan and Wisconsin attempting to reclaim the spotlight.

[15:20:02]

Vice President Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz will head south and kickoff a bus tour in Georgia this week as they look to build on the momentum from the Democratic National Convention.

I am joined now by Sabrina Siddiqui. She is a White House reporter for "The Wall Street Journal."

Sabrina, great to see you.

SABRINA SIDDIQUI, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: All right, so that convention that just ended has been called diverse and unified. This, as thousands of pro-Palestinians demonstrated or advocates demonstrated outside the United Center demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza conflict and you reported heavily on the demonstrations.

So did people feel satisfied?

SIDDIQUI: Well, I think that by and large, there has been a dramatic shift ever since Vice President Harris replaced President Biden at the top of the ticket. I do think to some extent she has neutralized at least some of that anger and frustration that was largely targeted toward President Biden over the administration's support for Israel during its military offensive in Gaza and the decision to continue sending weapons to Israel.

Having said that, there is still a faction of voters, and I think especially when you look at the state of Michigan, where there is a large population of Arab and Muslim American voters that Vice President Harris is going to have to persuade who want to see more of a shift on policy, not just a rhetorical shift that you've seen with her in terms of the empathy that she has demonstrated for the Palestinian side of this conflict.

But as you mentioned, convention was very diverse. It was this big unifying moment for the Democratic Party. You talked about that massive fundraising haul for the campaign. It is really hard to overstate just how much things have turned around from just over a month ago when another Trump presidency almost seemed inevitable, and now, it is still going to be a very close race.

But Vice President Harris has either cut President Trump's lead in number or former President Trump's lead number of key battlegrounds, or she is even meeting him in some of these critical swing states.

WHITFIELD: And more on that empathy that you just spoke of, you know, in Harris' acceptance speech, she vowed steadfast support for Israel to defend itself and that in Gaza, the scale of suffering is heartbreaking. Did that go far enough?

SIDDIQUI: It really depends on who you ask, so there was this controversy toward the end of the convention because there was a movement to try and have a Palestinian American speaker address the convention. That was something that the DNC and the Harris campaign ultimately denied or and I think that created some tension because there was a feeling of an imbalance because they did have the parents of an Israeli American hostage, of course, speak in a very emotional and moving speech. There was a desire by some of these uncommitted delegates and voters to also hear from the Palestinian side.

I do think that there is a lot -- there are a lot of Palestinian American and Arab American leaders I've spoken with in my reporting who say that they do see Vice President Harris as distinct from President Biden and they don't necessarily blame her for his policy in the region, which she doesn't ultimately have control over. But at the same time, I think that a ceasefire is certainly something that would go a long way. That's why these negotiations I think are so important with just a couple of months wants to go until the election.

And then of course, there is still this pressure to stop -- the administration to stop sending weapons to Israel as part of its war effort. That is something that the Harris campaign says that she opposes. She does not support an arms embargo against Israel. Now, whether that is going to ultimately matter in November, I think that might impact a smaller number of voters. You are seeing her perform better with some of these groups who are turned off by Biden's handling of the war, like young voters, Black voters, and even like I said, some Arab and Muslim American voters.

So it looks like a rhetorical shift could be enough to satisfy some voters, but of course, when it comes down to tens of thousands of votes in key battleground states, I think the campaign knows it can't take anyone's vote for granted.

WHITFIELD: Yes, it might be a difficult tight rope because, you know, how does Harris, the sitting vice president be aligned with the sitting president and at the same time initiate or introduce a promise of her own agenda as the nominee without undermining her current role.

SIDDIQUI: That's really what this -- you know, that's what this is making this so complicated, right? Because ultimately she has been a part of a lot of the president's meetings on this issue, and she has been part of some of the calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but she is not the one who is ultimately driving the policies.

So a lot of it comes down to what kind of signals is she really sending to the people who are frustrated by the administration's approach here? Now, she opposes arms embargo against Israel, but are there other places where she might distinguish herself from President Biden?

[15:25:07]

You know, is talking a lot more about the suffering of civilians in Gaza and being more direct? You know, she had that speech in Selma in March where she said there were no excuses to be made for Israel's conduct in the war if they didn't allow more humanitarian aid in. Some of those rhetorical shifts signaling that she could perhaps take a tougher approach on Israel, even as she is still supporting its war effort.

I think that could be something that could satisfy enough people who think that that is her way of signaling, that she may have a different approach than President Biden does.

But again, I do think that this was a much larger issue when it was President Biden at the top of the ticket. I still think it remains an issue for some key elements of the Democratic base, but I don't think that it perhaps would be as defining of an issue in this campaign as it would have been if President Biden were still the one who is at the top of the ticket in November.

WHITFIELD: All right, fascinating, Sabrina Siddiqui. Thanks so much.

SIDDIQUI: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [15:30:34]

WHITFIELD: We are continuing to monitor the volatile situation in the Middle East.

Earlier this morning, we witnessed a dizzying barrage of rocket fire between Israel and Hezbollah on the border with Lebanon, both sides seem to have paused their attacks, but remain on high alert.

The threat of these kinds of strikes are ever present for the people in Israel and also in Gaza. CNN's Jeremy Diamond is back with us now.

Jeremy, you met a Palestinian woman who says Israeli soldiers killed her family members, but then an Israeli soldier may also have saved her life.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Fredricka.

Sanaa Sham's story is an extraordinary one. I've been covering this war from the very beginning, and I have never come across a story quite like this and that is partly because in war, many stories are not simply black and white and this one certainly is not.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIAMOND (voice over): Five-year-old Sham's eyes are a portal to the past she cannot forget. There are the streets and homes scarred by war, this building where she recited her final prayers, and then there is the indelible sight of her father and sister shot dead before her eyes.

Sham's mother Sanaa, who suffered burns as a child, will never forget that day.

(SANAA ABU TABAQ speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: I wish we hadn't returned. I lost the most precious people.

DIAMOND (voice over): But there's more to their story than tragedy and loss in war-torn Gaza. Sham's and Sanaa's story is unlike any other we have come across in 10 months of war. That's because Sanaa doesn't just accuse Israeli troops of killing her husband, Akram and daughter, Yasmeen, an Israeli soldier may also have saved her life.

On November 24th, the week-long truce between Israel and Hamas begins. Thousands of people begin heading back to their homes in Northern Gaza. Sanaa and her family are among them.

But as they approach the Salatene neighborhood where they lived, they find themselves walking alone, and then shots ring out.

(SANAA ABU TABAQ speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: My God bless her soul, Yasmeen. One bullet in her back and one in her shoulder. I was hit in my leg. And my husband was hit in his stomach.

So we all sat on the ground. We couldn't move. And we were bleeding. Sham is the only one who wasn't hit.

DIAMOND (voice over): Her husband soon decides to crawl away to try to find help, but moments later, he is shot again, fatally. Sanaa lies on the ground bleeding, cradling her eldest daughter, Yasmeen.

(SANAA ABU TABAQ speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: She was saying, Mom, did you die? Please don't die and leave us. I'm still alive. I held her and I told her, no my dear, we are not going to die. The ambulance is coming. I was trying to give her hope. Even though I knew there was no hope.

DIAMOND: As a mother, I mean, you must have felt absolutely helpless in that moment.

(SANAA ABU TABAQ speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: I wasn't able to do anything, and that was the hardest situation. I couldn't. She was even asking for water, and I couldn't give her water.

DIAMOND (voice over): Yasmeen soon died in her mother's arms. For hours, Sanaa lies here with Sham unable to move until she finally finds the strength to crawl down the street and into this nearby home. We obtained footage from that house after our first interview with Sanaa. This is the first time she and Sham are seeing it.

(SANAA ABU TABAQ speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: This is the bathroom we hid in.

DIAMOND (voice over): And Sham begins to tell my colleague, Abeer Salman what happened to her.

(ABEER SALMAN, CNN PRODUCER speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: What happened in the morning?

(SHAM speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: The tanks came.

(ABEER SALMAN, CNN PRODUCER speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: How do you know the tanks had come?

(SHAM speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: I heard their sound.

(SANAA ABU TABAQ speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: I told her, they've reached us. We've recited the Shahada. She said, hide me so I don't see them when they shoot me.

[15:35:00]

DIAMOND (voice over): An explosion then rocks the bathroom. Israeli soldiers enter the house and call out in Arabic. What happens next is captured on muted body camera footage provided by the Israeli Military two soldiers treating Sanaa's gunshot wounds.

(SANAA ABU TABAQ speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: I told him, please have mercy. Didn't you see my daughter who was killed at the door? I beg you, please don't kill us, it's enough. He told me, it wasn't us who killed her. It was Sinwar. I told him, I have nothing to do with Sinwar, or anyone else. You took my daughter and you took everything.

DIAMOND (voice over): The medic soon realizes her condition is serious. She needs to get to a hospital.

(SANAA ABU TABAQ speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: The one who spoke Arabic started to make his calls. Then he told me, we decided to help you and take you with us.

DIAMOND (voice over): Israeli soldiers carry Sanaa out of the building on a stretcher, her hands clutching Sham. Nothing about this footage should be extraordinary. Militaries must protect and care for wounded civilians when possible under international law. But in this war, this site is exceedingly rare.

For eight months, Sanaa and Sham have lived in this Jerusalem hospital. Their journey here was no less traumatic. Interrogation and strip searches came before treatment at an Israeli hospital. Israeli authorities are now planning to send them back to Gaza next month, unless another country takes them in.

The Israeli military, for its part, told CNN in a statement that Sanaa and her family were caught in the crossfire. The IDF says its soldiers issued verbal warnings after the family stumbled upon a concealed military position drawing a militant attack.

"The four people who entered in the area were caught in the intense exchange of fire between the terrorists and our troops. The troops did not open fire at the four people, nor did they aim at them."

(SANAA ABU TABAQ speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: They are lying. There was nobody in that area.

DIAMOND (on camera): I wonder, what would you say to that one soldier, if you could see him again?

(SANAA ABU TABAQ speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: It's true he helped me. But he also took from me the most precious thing I had. I can't even thank him, because he had mercy for us by the will of God, not by his own will. Because if he had compassion, he wouldn't have deprived me of the dearest people to my heart.

DIAMOND (voice over): Sanaa's pain is as raw as ever, and seeing her home again in footage film this spring brings a flood of emotion.

(SANAA ABU TABAQ speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: These are Yasmeen and Sham's shoes. I bought these shoes for Eid.

DIAMOND (voice over): Mundane objects are transformed into relics.

(SANAA ABU TABAQ speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: This is Yasmeen's dress and this is Sham's dress. She always loved pink. This is her dress.

DIAMOND (voice over): And Sanaa is taken back in time to the life she will never get back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DIAMOND (on camera): And Fred, Sanaa and Sham now risk being ripped away from the safety of their Jerusalem hospital room in just a couple of weeks when Israeli officials are planning to send them back to Gaza.

And I spoke with Sanaa just a couple of days ago, she told me that she is terrified of having to go back to Gaza while this war is still raging, terrified for herself, but especially for her little daughter, Sham.

I first met Sham back in March. She has made so much progress mentally, emotionally in that time, and her mother now worries that if they are sent back to Gaza, all of that progress will be erased.

There is another option though, if a third country comes in and says that they will resettle Sanaa and Sham, then they will not, we expect to be deported back to Gaza -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: That reluctance, understood.

All right, Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:43:49]

WHITFIELD: All right, after four years in office and three presidential campaigns, Donald Trump has full control of the Republican Party.

Trump's time in politics has also had a major impact on his many business ventures with his political allies and his own campaign, pouring millions of dollars into his businesses.

CNN's Kyung Lah looks at how the past eight years have filled Trump's pockets.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, CURRENT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My new book, "Save America," published by Winning Team Publishing is now available for order.

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In all the ways you already know former President Trump publicly makes money selling books and Bibles.

TRUMP: God bless the USA Bible.

LAH (voice over): Gold sneakers

TRUMP: That's the real deal.

LAH (voice over): And trading cards.

TRUMP: It's called the America First collection.

LAH (voice over): It's at Trump properties like Mar-a-Lago, Trump's opulent Florida home where Republican campaign dollars are pouring into Trump's own pocket.

More than 150 congressional candidates and political groups have spent millions at Trump properties and associated businesses.

According to a CNN analysis of federal campaign finance data with 2024 on track to be the biggest year of spending since 2016. The vast majority of the candidates are Republican and most endorsed by Trump.

[15:45:13]

BERNIE MORENO (R), OHIO SENATE CANDIDATE: A vote for Trump and Moreno is a vote to put America first.

LAH (voice over): A clear example is Ohio businessman, Bernie Moreno, a political novice who made his fortune selling luxury cars. The same month, Moreno announced his run for the US Senate last year, he spent $13,000.00 on event catering at Trump's Mar-a-Lago.

The same day one of the payments was made, Trump posted on Truth Social, "Moreno is a highly respected businessman who is thinking of running for the Senate." Trump endorsed Moreno months later, calling him a MAGA fighter.

Two days after the endorsement, Moreno spent $17,000.00 at Mar-a-Lago and a month later $80,000.00 more on a fund raiser at the private club attended by some in Trump's inner circle.

KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE, MEDIA HOST, DONALD TRUMP JR.'S FIANCEE: We asked him to come here to Florida so we could bring him here to the president's home, so we could share him with you.

LAH (voice over): Moreno is now locked in a competitive battle for Ohio's Senate seat with Trump by his side.

TRUMP: He's a hero, he's a winner.

KATHLEEN CLARK WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS LAW PROFESSOR: That coincidence of this significant spending nearly coinciding with the Trump endorsement doesn't prove beyond reasonable doubt that there has been a bribe.

That pattern does and should raise questions in the minds of voters about what's really going on here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The incredible Kari Lake.

KARI LAKE (R), ARIZONA SENATE CANDIDATE: I will do everything in my power to make sure this man gets back in the White House. We need him now more than ever.

LAH (voice over): Another Republican endorsed by Trump is also one of Mar-a-Lago's top political spenders. This year alone Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake's campaign spent more than $100,000.00 on lodging, catering and facility rentals.

Other top spenders at Trump properties include retired football star and former Georgia Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker. His campaign spent the most of any Congressional candidate in the last decade, nearly $215,000.00 at Mar-a-Lago. Trump's Golf Club in West Palm Beach and his Las Vegas hotel.

TRUMP: You know Herschel is not only a Georgia hero, he is an American legend.

LAH (voice over): Trump endorsed Walker who would go on to lose his race.

Political groups also drop big money at Trump's businesses. The RNC spending more than $2 million since 2016, but at that top spot by far is Donald Trump himself whose campaigns and associated political committees have funneled more than $28 million in political contributions to his businesses from renting his ballroom to his campaign to using election donations to pay for his private jet, Trump Force One.

Trump the candidate has been paying Trump the businessman.

DAN WEINER, BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE: It's not illegal. The law is that, candidates can spend money at their own businesses provided that the businesses provide really good services at a fair market rate, but it certainly raises at least an appearance of self-filling that is very concerning from a corruption standpoint.

LAH (voice over): In a statement, the Trump campaign told CNN these allegations are false adding, committees are paying the fair market rate for all venues and services. LAH (on camera): Spokespeople of Bernie Moreno and Herschel Walker did

reply to our request for a comment and they say that the Mar-a-Lago fundraisers were wildly successful.

Walker adding that he and Trump have known each other for 40 years and his events had nothing to do with Trump's endorsement.

We did reach out to the Kari Lake campaign, but did not hear back and it is important to note that despite the criticism you heard in our story, none of this is illegal.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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[15:53:36]

WHITFIELD: All right, Yellowstone is America's oldest national park. You might think the park's greatest challenge is the large population of bison, grizzly bears, and wolves, but, it is actually the people.

CNN's senior national correspondent, Ed Lavandera, on a four-day assignment to Yellowstone is there to investigate and he is joining us now -- Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, in this hour, we are going to explore a fascinating topic. We've seen over the last several years that millions and millions of Americans and international tourists are flocking to America's national parks. They do so for a bunch of different reasons. But it has also created kind of an interesting problem, if you will, and that is how tourists behave in the wild.

That's why we are calling this "Close Encounters: Tourists in the Wild" and we explore what happens when tourists don't follow the rules of the road in these national parks and we kind of get it into the reasons why so many people are flocking to these parks and what it means, kind of almost like on a therapeutic level and kind of get into all of this.

It is just a fun, fascinating hour after we spent four days in Yellowstone Park earlier this year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the largest wildlife and visitor interface in the world.

We hit a million visitors in the park for the first time in a single year in 1948 and then we hit 4.8 million in '21.

LAVANDERA: Is it sustainable for the park?

[15:55:10] Is there ever going to be a point where we say, hey, is there a limit

to how many people can come?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, there is going to be a limit. I don't know exactly what the point in time is or what that that number is.

LAVANDERA: Is it possible to build more roads? I guess the more roads you build, the more impact you have on the wildlife.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This isn't a problem that we are going to build our way out of. The park is 2.2 million acres, less than 2,000 acres are pavement, and the vast majority of visitors never get more than a half mile away from their car.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: In this hour, we are going to introduce you to all sorts of fascinating people. One of those is a man who is the former historian of Yellowstone National Park, he literally wrote a book called "Death in Yellowstone," a reminder that there are all sorts of ways to get yourself in trouble in very real trouble out in the wild -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh, Ed Lavandera, we can't wait to see all of it. Thank you so much.

And be sure to tune in to an all new episode of "The Whole Story" with Anderson Cooper, one whole hour, one whole topic airing tonight at 8:00 PM only on CNN.

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