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Israel And Hezbollah Trade Attacks In Major Flare Up Amid Ceasefire And Hostage Talks In Cairo Between Hamas And Israel; U.S. Says It Helped Israel Track Incoming Hezbollah Attacks; Both Campaigns Target Battleground States, Prep for Debate; Soon: Israel And Hezbollah Trade Attacks In Major Flare-Up; Hamas Says It Only Wants To Implement President Biden's July Proposal On Ceasefire Deal; Suspected Cyberattack Leads To Outages Across Port Of Seatle. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired August 25, 2024 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:55]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news, escalating tension between Israel and Hezbollah. We'll take you live to the region.

Plus Kamala Harris' huge haul. The campaign announcing record- fundraising numbers in the month since she has launched her presidential bid.

And flash flood emergency. Dozens of hikers near the Grand Canyon had to be rescued by the Arizona National Guard.

Hello, again, and thank you so much for joining us. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta alongside my colleague, Jim Sciutto, in Tel Aviv -- Jim.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks so much, Fred.

We begin the hour with our breaking news. The Middle East backing away from war, from a wider war, we should say, for now. This after Israel and Hezbollah exchange an intense barrage of fire across Lebanon's border with Israel earlier this morning. Both sides are largely quiet at this hour. Hezbollah says its attack was in retaliation for the killing of a top Hezbollah commander by Israel last month.

After learning that a Hezbollah attack was imminent, Israel says it launched preemptive strikes of its own. A U.S. Defense official says the U.S. helped Israel track the incoming attacks, though that official says it was not involved in any strikes inside of Lebanon.

These attacks came as negotiators in Cairo continued talks on a potential ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza. Just minutes ago, the Hamas delegation that had traveled to Egypt said it only wants to implement President Biden's proposal for a deal from July. That differs from it appears the proposals on the table now.

We've got full coverage for you. Jeremy Diamond in Haifa, Israel, Ben Wedeman in Beirut, Lebanon, and State Department reporter Jennifer Hansler, she is in Washington.

Jeremy, I do want to begin with you. When you speak to Israeli officials, how are they describing last night's strike?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Israeli military says that they believe they headed off a much more significant Hezbollah attack than what was ultimately carried out this morning. And that's because around 4:00 a.m. this morning, the Israeli military launched what they describe as a preemptive strike. About a 100 fighter jets were in the air carrying out attacks on some 270 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, striking rocket launcher sites, munition sites, and much more.

They say that thwarted what would have been a much more significant Hezbollah attack, but a Hezbollah attack did nonetheless come. Hundreds of Hezbollah rockets and drones fired at Israel around 5:30 in the morning. That's when a sirens sounded across northern Israel as well as the Golan Heights. The Israeli military is characterizing that attack, though, as a failure, saying that no Israeli military bases in central or northern Israel were actually struck and they characterize the damage overall in Israel as very minimal.

The Israeli prime minister for his part said that all of the drones that Hezbollah fired were actually intercepted before they could reach their targets. And the Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant calling this a very successful results. He believes that they have now destabilized Hezbollah and showing that Hezbollah's operation has failed. For now at least, it seems that both Hezbollah and Israel are not inclined to escalate this conflict further, at least not in the immediate future.

But of course in this very, very tense region questions still loom because as long as the war continues in Gaza, these exchanges of fire along the Israel-Lebanon border are likely to continue and with that, of course, still carries the threat of escalation -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: No question, nor the threat of misreading the other side's intentions.

Let's go to Ben Wedeman now in Beirut.

I wonder your reaction to Hamas saying it wants to go back to President Biden's proposal from earlier in the summer because the key difference seems to be whether there would be any Israeli military presence in Gaza as part of a deal.

[16:05:08]

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Certainly, Jim, even though as you're mentioning before, it seems we've taken a step back from a regional war. There's been no progress toward peace in Gaza, which is where all of this began. The second round of talks, the first was in Doha, the second in Cairo, doesn't seem to have resulted in anything.

We heard Izzat Al-Rishq, who's a member of the Hamas politburo, saying that they haven't formed the mediators. That they continue to insist on the implementation of President Biden's July 2nd proposals. And in laying out what Hamas wants, he said that they want a permanent ceasefire in Gaza because there's some question after the initial 42- day truce where some hostages would be released, whether Israel would go back to military operations or there would be a permanent ceasefire.

That's what Hamas is demanding. They want to see a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and freedom of movement for Gaza residents to move back to their homes given that more than 80 percent have been displaced multiple times and of course there's a good question as to whether many of them have any homes to go back to.

And there's the question of the Philadelphi Corridor. That's the strip of land that runs along the border between Gaza and Egypt. Israel insists on maintaining a presence there. It says to stop the smuggling of weapons from Egypt into Gaza. Hamas and the Egyptians are very dead set against that.

And we've also heard from Usama Hamdan, another member of the politburo, who spoke on Al Aqsa TV. He's accusing Israel of setting new conditions in these negotiations and reneging on things that it had agreed to before. So it appears that yet again there has been no progress in these talks and we heard Secretary of State Antony Blinken talking about these round of talks could be the last chance for a ceasefire.

And it certainly seems the American diplomatic efforts to bring this war to a close have only met with continued failure -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Certainly different levels of urgency.

Jennifer Hansler, she's in Washington.

I wonder how U.S. officials you're speaking with are describing the U.S. role in this Israeli attack and defense frankly because there are enormous amount of U.S. military resources right now in the region.

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, the U.S. role is seen as being a supportive one. We've heard from a U.S. Defense official saying that they helped Israel track incoming Hezbollah attacks overnight, but they did not participate in any sort of kinetic way.

Now the big thing that happened here, Jim, is that they are keeping these two carrier strike groups in the region as part of a deterrence effort to stop any further attacks from Hezbollah or Iran. We saw earlier this month the U.S. ordered a massive number of assets to the region as part of that deterrence effort to try to dissuade Tehran or Hezbollah from making any severe moves that could trigger a broader regional war.

Now for the time being, as you were saying, we have stepped back from the brink, it seems, but the U.S. clearly doesn't think we're out of the woods yet because they are keeping these two striker groups there indefinitely. One of them just arrived in recent weeks, one has been in the region for months, so this is clearly meant to be a show of force to deter any sort of broader regional conflict. Now, as we heard from Ben, all this was happening ahead of those high

stakes talks in Cairo aimed at a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal. Now, U.S. officials had hoped that this deal could in addition to stopping the war in Gaza deters Hezbollah from taking any further action to the north and could help solve that issue as well. But as we've seen, there seems to be very little progress coming out of these talks. And this sense of urgency does not seem to be reaching some of those involved there -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Well, the fact that they took place today in light of events last night is perhaps that's something.

Jeremy, Ben, Jennifer, thanks so much to all of you.

With me now is retired Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus. He's a former IDF spokesperson, and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracy.

So thanks so much for joining.

LT. COL. JONATHAN CONRICUS (RET), FORMER IDF SPOKESPERSON: Thank you for having me.

SCIUTTO: So first I wonder if you could discuss events last night. This seems an enormous intelligence victory for Israeli -- for the Israeli military to have seen this planned Hezbollah attack in advance and quite a sizable one without revealing any classified information.

[16:10:03]

Can you describe how Israel managed to see this one coming?

CONRICUS: Yes, it's a very big win on a tactical level. For Israel to be able to penetrate Hezbollah on an intel-level, to have eyes, ears, and other sensors inside the mechanisms, inside the command and control, to have enough indicators of when Hezbollah is arming their missiles or rockets and when they are preparing, what is the time, the specific hour that they're going to launch that attack.

Judging by the results, the IDF have that intel and not only did they have the intel, they also had the ability to act upon it in relevant time and on the tactical level, this is a good achievement. I think that there has been important U.S. input to it. So I wouldn't underestimate how important that input was.

But at the end of the day, I think that as Israelis are going to sleep, Lebanese are going to sleep, tomorrow morning, we may wake up to another day of Hezbollah firing rockets and drones at Israel. And Israelis forced out of their homes, which is not the kind of reality that is a good thing for the region, for Israel, and doesn't bring a good vibe of the stability for the future.

SCIUTTO: Are you saying it's likely that the U.S. contributed to that intelligence penetration of Hezbollah?

CONRICUS: Well, I think it's, for me, it's difficult to assess the situation where that didn't happen because the U.S. and Israel are working together in the most intimate ways, cooperating, sharing intel, sharing assessments, and then preparing for different contingencies. And we've seen high level U.S. officials, military officials here on the ground. So I think one plus one kind of makes two.

And in this case, I think that maybe it's not convenient for political purposes, but at the end of the day, there's good cooperation, which I think is super important. This cooperation prevented bloodshed in Israel. Lots of bloodshed in Lebanon. And I think that everybody that had a part of it should be proud of themselves.

SCIUTTO: When you look at the combination of these strikes here to prevent that Hezbollah attack and the response, a combined response of allies, Israel, U.S. and others, in April to shoot down the vast majority of the missiles and drones that Iran fired, do you believe that that combination has successfully deterred for now broader Iranian or Hezbollah attacks on Israel? In other words, blunted their efficacy.

CONRICUS: I think you make a very good point. However, I look at it differently. I think that Iran have not -- they have not yet retaliated against the killing of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah tried now but they didn't. One of the reasons I'm not sure that the defensive part is really that's influencing Iranian decision- making. I think it's much more about the offensive capabilities that both Iran and Hezbollah know that Israel possesses, and this is without any direct U.S. or otherwise regional involvement.

And I think that the Iranians are aware of the fact that if they again try what they did in mid-March to fire rockets and drones and missiles at Israel, they will be exposing themselves to a significant Israeli retaliation. My assessment is that that is the reason that has been, you know, keeping them at bay. However, it's also perhaps Iranian strategic wisdom, because Iran, for 20 or so years, they've been very disciplined at building this strategy of encircling Israel in a ring of fire of their proxy organizations.

That ring of fire is there. And it wouldn't serve Iranian purposes to start injecting itself directly. What they want to do is to calm the situation, have their proxies around Israel continue bleeding Israel every cut every day, and not to get involved themselves. Israel should do exactly the opposite.

SCIUTTO: Let me ask you this because there's a sense among American officials that they need to keep these hostage and ceasefire talks alive, not only to achieve objectives in Gaza, stop the fighting, the bloodshed, get some of the hostages home, but also to reduce the likelihood of significant Iranian response.

Do you believe that there needs to be an agreement in Gaza to prevent, in the most catastrophic terms, a larger war in the region?

CONRICUS: What I believe is that we need to have our 109 Israeli hostages home. I believe that it should be at the very top of Israeli government priorities. I understand that we are dealing with a ruthless, soulless enemy. Reports coming out of Cairo, not yet confirmed, are negative. Hamas has rejected the offer, but we'll have to wait for official statements. And at the end of the day, I see the linkage between ending the fighting or at least putting a ceasefire on the fighting in Gaza, getting hostages back and pumping more humanitarian aid and improving the situation for Palestinians in Gaza.

[16:15:09]

And also allowing Israel to focus on what's going on up north and really focus on Hezbollah.

SCIUTTO: You believe that, but do you believe the Israeli prime minister sees that?

CONRICUS: I do not know what he and his close advisers believe. I know that the entire defense establishment, the chief of staff, the minister of defense, the head of Mossad, head of Shabak, have all said and given this recommendation. Let's do a deal now because this would probably be the best chance of getting our hostages back. 42 days and then if needed, and probably we will need to because Hamas isn't going away, we'll go right back at defeated in from Hamas and straightening things out.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Well, the hostage families certainly looking for that outcome.

Jonathan Conricus, we appreciate you taking time this afternoon.

CONRICUS: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Fred, back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jim, thank you.

All right. Still ahead this hour, a record-breaking fundraising haul for Vice President Kamala Harris. New details on the massive amount of money her campaign has raked in since launching her presidential bid.

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[16:20:52]

WHITFIELD: All right. The race for the White House will kick into high gear this week with the candidates for both parties hitting the campaign trail in battleground states and preparing for their upcoming debate. Former president Donald Trump will be in Michigan and Wisconsin attempting to reclaim the spotlight. Vice President Harris and her running mate Tim Walz, will head south and kick off a bus tour in Georgia.

Harris is hoping to build on the momentum coming out of the Democratic National Convention that saw her add to her staggering fundraising totals since she launched her presidential bid one month ago.

CNN's Daniel Strauss joining us now.

Daniel, great to see you again. So what can you tell us about these new fundraising numbers and what the campaigns have planned this week?

DANIEL STRAUSS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's pretty amazing. $540 million in a matter of weeks. I've seen campaigns win on less money, even a half of that or a third of that. What's also telling is what the Harris campaign is doing in this upcoming week. They are not doubling down on those so-called blue wall battleground states in the Midwest, they are going through the south, they're going somewhat on offense to places like Georgia.

And this is in contrast to Donald Trump and his campaign, which is making stops in the Midwest. In essence if you were to take this week out as a perfect sample of the election cycle, it would be a complete reversal from just a month or two ago when the Trump campaign was looking at states like Minnesota to go on offense in, and Democrats in the erstwhile Biden campaign, were looking at the Midwestern blue wall states as states that they just had to defend and couldn't really devote time or extensive resources to reach states. But now that campaign and the Democratic Party is in a different position.

WHITFIELD: All right, Daniel Strauss, it's going to be another pivotal week. Thank you so much.

STRAUSS. Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right. Joining me now to talk more about the race for the White House is Sophia Nelson. She's back. She's a columnist for the "Atlanta Journal Constitution," former counsel for the House GOP Investigative Committee, and the founder of Childless Checks for Harris. That's new since the last time we spoke.

SOPHIA NELSON, COLUMNIST, ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION: You had it last time and you laughed at me last time. I know you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK. I didn't remember that one, but OK. All right. Well, good to see you again. So you wrote in the "AJC," you know, about the DNC and you used words like extraordinary, vibrant, connected, deep unity.

Do you see all that motivating people to register to vote and then actually get to the polls in just now 72 days?

NELSON: I actually do. You know, this reminds me of the Obama campaign, which I covered and you covered, and enthusiasm, excitement and joy and vibrancy brings people out. It brings people to like, it inspires people, and look, we've been through a dark period, Fred, with COVID and with death and not being able to bury our loved ones, not be able to have our kids in school and do all the things that we do.

And I think it's like coming out of the darkness and Vice President Harris has given us a ray of light. Do I think the campaign boils down to just that? No, of course not. But I think that having something that makes you hopeful and inspired versus being angry and upset and offended all the time, and I don't see that motivating people to get out and vote. WHITFIELD: You know, it's interesting on a lot of the Sunday morning

shows from Reince Priebus to Lindsey Graham, I mean, they're calling this joy, the use of the word joy as like gimmicky. How do you respond to that kind of criticism?

NELSON: That's very typical from that bunch. That is an angry MAGA-ed out, upset all the time, angry and bothered about everything all the time. So they don't live in a place of joy. They don't live in a place of exuberance, and maybe that's what's wrong with the country. That's why we're so divided that we've had leaders who divide us and pit us against one another instead of trying to bring out the best in us, our better angels.

And I feel like Walz and Harris are on to something. Look at the crowds. I mean, it's like Obama, it's bigger than Obama, I think, Fred.

[16:25:01]

WHITFIELD: Yes. And I'm asking you that because you've been a longtime Republican, you know, but, you know, as in the last time we talked, you know, you're kind of changing your point of view about a lot of things. And in your "AJC," right, you remind everyone that this really is a historic time in so many levels. And what does it feel like for you in your lifetime to have, you talked about in your 20s, you've met, you know, Shirley Chisholm, the first woman to seek the Democratic nomination.

And then to see along the way the ushering in of other women in politics, Geraldine Ferraro, Hillary Clinton, who did when the nomination and now Kamala Harris accepting the nomination.

NELSON: I mean, it's an amazing time to be a woman, right. You know, Vice President Harris or Harris is an age cohort. She's only a few years older and she's achieved the pinnacle of her career, if she were to stop at vice president. She's already done something extraordinary, but you know, I've lived to see the first black president, the first woman on the Supreme Court, the first black woman on the Supreme Court.

I mean, all these historic things were pretty amazing. And it does feel good to see a woman be not just taken seriously as Hillary Clinton was, but I think Vice President Harris has a real shot, more than a real shot. I think she's not the underdog actually. I think she's in the lead. I think Trump is the underdog and I think this has flipped on its head.

I think the history has been downplayed a little bit, Fred, by the Harris team and I think that's smart. I think Hillary played it up a lot more and Vice President Harris is more focused on the joy and what she's going to bring to unite the country.

WHITFIELD: The state of Georgia, you know, it's become a vital state, you know, on the road to the White House during the DNC. The Trump- Vance ticket seem to think so as well. J.D. Vance, you know, popped into a donut shop in South Georgia's Valdosta. Take a listen to, I don't know, do you call this an awkward interaction? But take a listen and watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm J.D. Vance. I'm running for vice president. Good to see you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

VANCE: We're going to do two dozen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

VANCE: Yes. Just a random assortment of stuff here. How long have you worked here?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been here since the beginning of July.

VANCE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Of this year.

VANCE: OK. How about you, sir?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Almost two years?

VANCE: OK. Good. How long -- just everything. Yes. Give me a lot of glazed here, some sprinkle stuff. Some of these cinnamon rolls. Just whatever makes sense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And so, you know, retail politics is really important. I mean, maybe this didn't give the results that he and his camp were looking for, but later on this week, Harris and Walz are going to be in South Georgia. How do they make sure that they get better results when they are having facetime with just ordinary folks?

NELSON: Fred, I wish you had shown the clip with vice president nominee Walz and his wife walking into a donut shop outside of Chicago after the convention and the reception was entirely different. The energy was entirely different. To my point, J.D. Vance has this kind of awkward darkness about him. This kind of like roughness. It's not warm energy, it's like, you know, when you saw the dog at the firehouse when Vice President Harris walked in and the dogs just laying down and rolling around and all over her.

Animals have good instincts and people have good instincts. And I think that it matters a lot. I think you're going to see the energy that you saw at the convention when they go to Georgia later this week. It's palpable. You can feel it. Again do I think that that means that she's won the election? I do not. But I think it's a big thing I'd rather have in my favor than to not have people turning out and be excited about me.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sophia Nelson, thank you so much. Of course, I remember the AKA thing, but the Child with Chicks for Harris, I would have remembered that. But now --

NELSON: Girl, you did go. Look at the clip.

WHITFIELD: Now I'm definitely going to remember that one. That was good. OK.

NELSON: See you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Sophia.

All right. A U.S. official tells CNN the ceasefire and hostage talks in Cairo are, quote, "continuing and constructive." We'll get a live report from Cairo when we come right back.

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[16:33:42]

JAMES SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. We continue our coverage from here in Israel, where we saw flurry of back and forth attacks overnight between the Israeli military and Hezbollah. Despite those strikes, delegations from Israel and Hamas did return to the negotiating table in Cairo these for those high-level cease-fire and hostage release negotiations. Those talks are now over for the day, with the Hamas team telling mediators it only wants the deal proposed by President Joe Biden back in early July, not the so-called Bridging proposals since proposed by the U.S. and other mediators. CNNs Nada Bashir is live for us in Cairo with the latest.

And Nada, that position from Hamas means big differences, right? Because the Biden proposal, including things such as no Israeli military presence in Gaza. Now that seems to have changed, certainly from Israel's perspective, but the US seems to be allowing some leeway for that. So if that is the daylight that's a problem?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. And despite these bridging proposals that we have seen put forward by the Biden administration, the statements, the messaging, and positions of Hamas officials, frankly, aren't too dissimilar from what we've been hearing from Hamas over the last few weeks, since that initial peace proposal was put on the table and presented by U.S. President Joe Biden, a deal which Hamas says they still want to see implemented, that was presented in late May. Hamas has said that they agreed to it in early July, and want those conditions to be met. And now this Hamas allegation that was in Cairo on the weekend has now left Cairo.

[16:35:23]

We've received a statement from Hamas officials outlining exactly what they still want to see in the deal. Hamas officials saying that any deal in the future must include the terms for a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from within the Gaza Strip, the freedom for Palestinians to move from Southern Gaza to the north, particularly those that have been forced to evacuate parts of northern and central Gaza, as well as relief and reconstruction efforts being guaranteed in the Gaza Strip, and in their words, a serious exchange deal.

Now, as you mentioned, we have seen revisions put forward with regards to that initial proposal presented by U.S. President Joe Biden, including provisions for the presence of Israeli troops within the Gaza Strip. The Israeli delegation putting forward a proposal which would see a reduced number of Israeli troops and military posts on the Philadelphia corridor, that buffer zone between Egypt and southern Gaza. But again, that is still a presence of Israeli troops. That is something that Hamas does not want to see. And frankly, we've heard from Egyptian officials in the past week saying they also are not in favor of seeing that permanent, long-term presence of Israeli troops.

Now, will that remains a key sticking point? One of the fundamental issues that we are repeatedly hearing about now is those guarantees of a permanent and lasting ceasefire, as we understand that the first phase of what is a three phase ceasefire proposal would see a six-week pause in fighting. We've heard some Israeli officials saying that they would be welcome to that six-week pause. However, Hamas wants to see guarantees for that transition in the second phase to a permanent ceasefire. That is something, as far as we understand it, that Israel has not yet agreed to and continues to be one of the most significant points in these ongoing negotiations. Jim.

SCIUTTO: No question, and those are big ones, right? Because if we're talking about an Israeli military presence there, and also the length of the ceasefire, difficult to see at this point, how they easily bridge those differences. Nada Bashir in Cairo, thanks so much, and we'll be right back.

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[16:42:02]

FREDRICKA WHITEFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Officials in Washington State say a possible cyber-attack is behind outages at the Port of Seattle and the Seattle Tacoma International Airport. SeaTac first reported the outage Saturday, alerting passengers to disruptions with their internet systems. TSA officials tell CNN there is no impact to their operations at the security checkpoint. CNN has reached out to port officials for details on the scope of the potential cyber-attack.

And a welcome home party it just wrapped up for Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, celebrating his return to the U.S. after a historic prisoner swap in Russia. He was one of 24 detainees who were released in the largest exchange between both countries since the Cold War. Gershkovich was detained and accused of spying for the CIA while reporting for The Wall Street Journal in March of 2023. CNN national correspondent Gloria Pazmino joining me now from New Jersey.

All right. So the party happened, and how did it go?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, they gathered and waited and Evan did not come. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. You know, they were kind of prepared for the possibility that he may not be able to make it, just because they're not quite certain if Evan is really ready to gather with friends and to be back here in his hometown, but still, they held this event today in celebration of the fact that Evan is finally home.

You see Fred, this is Princeton New Jersey, and this is the community that saw Evan grow up. This is where he played soccer in high school. This is where he brought home the state championship when he was a senior in high school, and his soccer coaches told me all about what he was like when he was a kid in high school. They also told me what the last year or so was like for them as a community.

They tried to gather to support Evan and his family in their own way, they partnered with the Wall Street Journal and held a number of events to just make sure that Evan's name and his story was in people's mind. While Evan was still being held in captivity, they worried that people would forget about him, so they held these events. In fact, today's event was originally scheduled to be one of these Evan awareness events. But as you know, this story has a happy ending, and it was on August 1st when we got the news that Evan was coming home, that they decided to still hold the event, invite him, and gather to celebrate the fact that he is finally back in the United States and free. Take a listen to his high school coaches talking about what this has been like for them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WAYNE SUTCLIFFE, FORMER VARSITY SOCCER COACH, PRINCETON HS: Thankfulness and relief, and it couldn't have come at a better time. And I know not just for people that are going to be at this event and over the last 16 months who have supported him, including, most importantly, all the members of the Wall Street Journal staff, but for him, his family, I can't imagine. So it's really great. It's really kind of like the cherry on the ice.

[16:45:19]

SALVY BALDINO, FORMER VARSITY SOCCER ASST. COACH, PRINCETON HS: We held our breath for about a day. And then when we finally found out he had landed in Turkey, is when really the excitement really started building and the happiness really started setting in.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAZMINO: Fred, and really they held our breath for 491 days. That was the amount of time that Evan was held in custody. And throughout that time, his coach here told me that he never lost hope. There were many days where he worried, where he felt like the situation looked really bleak, where he looked at the stories of other prisoners and felt like maybe Evan wasn't going to come home, but they're so glad that he's finally back, and whenever he's ready, they're waiting for him here in Princeton. They want Him to come to this hometown, big Syria, where they gather to celebrate so many times before for a slice of pizza and a beer whenever that he's able to make it back here together. Fred.

WHITEFIELD: So nice, so many who love Evan from -- at the newspaper to his community family. I mean, so many of them showed, in so many different ways, how much they love him and happy that he is home. Thanks so much, Gloria Pazmino, appreciate it. All right, and this incredible rescue, as more than 100 people need to

be evacuated from the Grand Canyon after monsoon storms hit the region.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

Hey guys, it's al. We got some rough weather heading your way. I don't have to look like it right now, but it is going to Hey, BMW, play my music.

[16:51:27]

WHITEFIELD: This weekend, the Arizona National Guard evacuated more than 100 tourists and tribal members from the Grand Canyon due to flash flooding from a few days ago. Rescue teams are still searching for 33-year-old hiker Chinoa Nickerson, who may have been swept away into the Colorado river without a life jacket. Joining us now, CNN Correspondent Camila Bernal. Camila, what's the latest on the search and rescue efforts?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred, so the latest we heard is that they are still searching that this is an ongoing search for Chinoa Nickerson and authorities saying that they believe that she might have been swept away on Thursday after these flash floods, and they say it could be near the Colorado river confluence. Now she was there, as you mentioned, without a life jacket, but she was hiking with her husband. Authorities saying that her husband was rescued and that he is okay. He's actually among 104 people that had to be rescued after this storm on Thursday, and authorities saying that they did everything they could to get these people out and that they are still searching for the 33-year-olds.

The National Guard was actually activated by the Arizona governor, and you see right there, they used a Black Hawk helicopter to get people out of this area that included tribal members and the hikers that were there. I want you to take a listen to what one of the hikers that was rescued and what she had to say.

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LATRICIA MIMBS, EVACUATED GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK: We made it out with probably 40 or 50 of us stuck together and helped each other across the water. The fact that she's still missing breaks my heart. We've cried about it a lot today, and we've prayed about it a lot.

BERNAL: Now that hiker saying that she's gone to that area many, many times, but saying that she learned her lesson and that she is not going to go back during monsoon season. This, of course, affected the hikers and the tribal community there that was shut down about eight miles below the rim. So again, this just impacting so many people in a family who is still hoping that they find her alive. Fred.

WHITEFIELD: Yes, indeed. What an effort. Camila Bernal, thanks so much. Keep us posted.

All right. Hurricane Hone, bearing down on Hawaii, the Big Island is facing multiple warnings for heavy rain, flash flooding and strong winds. Governor Josh Green declared a state of emergency. Joining me right now. CNN Meteorologist, ELisa Rafa. What's the biggest threat?

ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We're still watching for the threat of some flash flooding and heavy rain. We've got some rain totals over a foot on the Big Island already. It is still a category one hurricane right now, with winds at 80 miles per hour, gusts up to 100. The speed has picked up some, but it really slowed down today. That meant that it is going to get lashed with a lot of these outer bands for longer, if this thing just continues to slow to a crawl.

Now we do have the tropical storm warnings in effect for the Big Island. Hurricane warnings off of the coast, still a category one hurricane. It pulls out into the Pacific, but again, pretty slowly. On radar, you can see where the outer bands of the heavy rain kind of lashed the Big Island, and it comes in at the exact angle. Remember, this is a volcano, so we've got mountainous terrain here.

When that heavy rain comes in, it's into the mountain. It could get that rain to come down even heavier because of the terrain. So something to watch for, flash flood warnings continue to be in effect for most of the big islands, rainfall rates were two to three inches per hour at one point. Hilo has gotten more than five inches of rain out of this event. Some totals on the Big Island already up to a foot or more. So again, flash flooding, mudslides are concerned.

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Winds still gusting over 50 miles per hour for some of these islands here. Winds right now gusting up to 45 miles per hour for some of these islands. Honolulu wind gusts at 43 miles per hour. That's going to kick up significant wave heights. Really worried about some breaking waves as well, warnings for wave heights up to 18 feet.

WHITEFIELD: Oh my goodness. All right. Thank you so much, Eisa. Appreciate it.

All right. Finally, the happiest headline of the day. We want to welcome the newest and youngest member of our team. This is baby Charlie. I love a girl with a guy's name. Our associate producer Frank and his wife Lexus, welcome their first child, this bundle of joy, into the world. Just a few days ago, she weighed in at a very healthy seven pounds, 14 ounces. Frank says they're all doing just fine, and he actually says that baby Charlie seems to be sleeping pretty well so far. Congratulations to the new parents, and we're so glad to welcome yet a new member of the team.

All right. Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Frederica Whitfield. The CNN Newsroom continues with Paula Reid after this.

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