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Tensions High After Israel, Hezbollah Trade Fire; Deadly Floods Impact Millions of People in Bangladesh; Zelenskyy: Ukrainian Forces Making Advances in Kursk; Hamas Accuses Israel of Setting New Conditions for Deal; NASA: SpaceX Capsule to Bring Home Starliner Astronauts. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired August 26, 2024 - 00:00   ET

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

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome. I'm Kristie Lu Stout.

[00:00:35]

And ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM. After Israel and Hezbollah exchange heavy fire, the Iranian-backed group says the first phase of its retaliation is complete.

Also --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There are countless numbers who are trapped in surrounding areas, and emergency services are completely overwhelmed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: CNN is on the scene where people are desperate for help. Floods in Bangladesh and India have forced millions from their homes.

And Australia seeks to reclaim a work-life balance with a new law that takes effect today.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Hong Kong, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kristie Lu Stout.

STOUT: We begin in the Middle East, where there's a tense calm following a heavy exchange of fire between Hezbollah and Israel.

It appears the two sides want to avoid escalating the situation into a wider war after launching a barrage of strikes on Sunday.

Now, the IDF says that most of Hezbollah's rockets and drones were intercepted and denies the strikes damaged military bases. Hezbollah's chief says its latest attack on Israel in retaliation for the killing of a top military commander is done, but more strikes are possible in the future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HASSAN NASRALLAH, HEZBOLLAH LEADER (through translator): The result is satisfactory and achieves the intended goal.

And if the result is not enough from our point of view, then we retain the right to respond another time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is also vowing that this is not the end of the fighting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The Israeli army destroyed thousands of short-range rockets, all of which were intended to harm our civilians and forces in the Galilee. Additionally, the Israeli army intercepted all of the drones that Hezbollah launched at a strategic target in central Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Meanwhile, another round of hostage and ceasefire talks in Egypt ended with no agreement, but a U.S. official says talks will continue in the coming days. And negotiating teams will remain in Cairo to iron out the remaining issues.

Now, CNN's Jeremy Diamond has been following the developments and has more from Haifa, Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Early Sunday morning, we witnessed one of the most intense exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah since the beginning of this war.

DIAMOND (voice-over): It all began around 4 a.m. local time on Sunday when about 100 Israeli fighter jets went over the skies of Southern Lebanon, carrying out strikes on some 270 Hezbollah targets.

The Israeli military says that this was a preemptive strike designed to try and thwart a coming Hezbollah attack against targets in Northern and central Israel. About an hour-and-a-half later, air raid sirens sounding across Northern Israel as Hezbollah fired a barrage of hundreds of rockets and drones.

The Israeli military, though, says that it was successful in thwarting that attack. They say that no Israeli military bases in Northern or Central Israel were actually struck.

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that all of those drones that were fired were successfully intercepted.

And so, the Israeli military hailing this defensive operation as a success, saying that they believe that their strikes on Southern Lebanon were able to thwart what could have been a far more significant attack from Hezbollah.

Hezbollah, for its part, says that it is still assessing how successful this attack actually was. It says its attack on Israel is over for now.

But its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, leaving open the possibility of additional attacks, should he deem those Sunday strikes not successful enough.

So, there are certainly still regional tensions, although it appears that, for the moment, at least, there is no immediate risk of significant escalation.

DIAMOND: The Israeli defense minister, Yoav Gallant, for his part, calling this a very successful result, saying that he believes that Israel has destabilized Hezbollah.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Haifa, Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: Steven Cook is a senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

He is also the author of "The End of Ambition: America's Past, Present, and Future in the Middle East."

[00:05:06]

Steven, thank you so much for joining us.

STEVEN COOK, SENIOR FELLOW FOR MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: My pleasure.

STOUT: Now, Israel and Hezbollah, they have been exchanging fire for months, but what do these latest strikes, these preemptive strikes, as Israel calls them, what do they mean for the potential for an all-out conflict?

COOK: Well, these preemptive strikes are perfectly in keeping with Israeli military doctrine. And I think that they have demonstrated a significant amount of technical proficiency and the ability to do damage to his block.

The problem is that, as Israelis do damage to Hezbollah, the Iranians might very well get quite nervous that the Israelis are essentially destroying Iran's second-strike capability, which then may mean an intensification, actually, of this conflict. A sort of use Hezbollah or lose Hezbollah type of mindset may develop in Tehran, which may in fact, despite Israeli efforts to actually pre-empt the intensification of a conflict, may actually contribute to it.

STOUT: Iran is watching this very closely, looking at Israel's preemptive capabilities, on full display over the weekend. Hezbollah, the group, on Sunday called the strikes, quote, "the first phase of its response to Israel."

So, what does that signal? What could come next?

COOK: Well, I think it's clear, after Hezbollah has taken a drubbing, that the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, needed to say something.

And of course, Hezbollah did fire about 300 rockets back in Israel. They did a minimal amount of damage. But this is a lot of the kind of huffing and puffing that we see from Middle Eastern leaders over the course of the last ten or 11 months, about their ability to strike at their enemies.

It seems that Hezbollah is returning towards a situation where it wants to go back tit-for-tat with the Israelis, because the Israelis have demonstrated so much firepower, particularly with this preemptive strike.

STOUT: Let's talk about the Israelis, then. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said, quote, "Whoever hurts us, we hurt him."

So, what is Israel signaling about how it will act next? Will there be more tit-for-tat? Or could Israel change the equation?

COOK: Prime Minister Netanyahu is essentially articulating deterrence by punishment. That if Hezbollah or Iran were to attack and do significant damage to Israel, where they're killing large numbers of civilians or doing damage to an Israeli military base, Israel will respond in kind and then some.

And this is a way of trying to convince Israel's adversaries to think twice before striking.

STOUT: Got it. Now, right now, an Israeli delegation is in Cairo for ceasefire and hostage release talks. There were already a number of sticking points.

So, do the weekend strikes for the complicated deal and also, would Hezbollah necessarily stop if there is a ceasefire with Hamas?

COOK: There's a lot of diplomacy going on right now to try to de- escalate the situation, fearing that these strikes will complicate ceasefire talks.

The Qatari prime minister was due in Tehran to talk to Iranian leaders to get them to agree to de-escalate. All that being said, it strikes me that the leadership of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar in particular, is not particularly interested in a ceasefire.

He believes that Hamas is winning. Prime Minister Netanyahu's partners in this government that is the most right-wing government in Israel's history don't want a ceasefire. They want the destruction of Hamas.

So, it's very hard to imagine that, even under the best of circumstances, that there would be a ceasefire, given these diametrically opposed views.

It is a credit to the negotiators that they continue to seek something that makes -- make something out of nothing. But these strikes certainly don't help. But the situation was not very good to begin with.

STOUT: Steven, we appreciate your analysis at this critical juncture. Steven Cook, thank you.

COOK: Thank you.

STOUT: Israel's military is ordering more evacuations in central Gaza, where about 40,000 Palestinians are sheltering.

But it is unclear how many people are currently aware of the order. The evacuation zone has five school shelters, tents, houses, and al- Aqsa hospital. And many of those living in the area previously fled from Rafah, and they are expressing their frustration, having to flee yet again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[00:10:07]

SAWSAN ABU AFESH, DISPLACED PALESTINIAN (through translator): Everyone with a conscience, hopefully, can see us and bravely see that we are dying. No one is watching. Please, watch us with mercy. Watch how we are moving from a place to another. And we have no idea where to go. I have no place. I am moving with my kids and what it can carry, my furniture left behind, and I will sleep tonight on the ground.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Meanwhile, polio vaccines have arrived in Gaza in preparation for a mass vaccination campaign there. The Palestinian Health Ministry says more than a million doses are being stored in a warehouse. And they're working to secure several hundred thousand more in the coming days.

The Ministry says it is coordinating with UNICEF to vaccinate about 640,000 children with two doses each.

Now, we are tracking Typhoon Shanshan as it moves through the Pacific toward Japan. And according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, this storm has sustained winds close to 150 kilometers an hour.

And it is less than 800 kilometers from the Japanese coast. Now, Shanshan is expected to grow even stronger before making landfall on Wednesday.

And some parts of Japan could see up to 250 millimeters of rain, along with high winds and dangerous storm surge.

In Bangladesh, crews there are rushing to save residents stranded by floods, floods that have already killed at least 18 people.

And hundreds of thousands of people now living in relief camps in the Southeast Eastern district of Feni. Many there are taking refuge in government buildings and schools.

Our CNN's Anna Coren and her team witnessed these rescues as the search for survivors becomes more desperate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) COREN (voice-over): Wading through the muddy waters, a handful of belongings clutched above their heads, the residents of Feni make their way to higher ground.

A district of one and a half million people underwater in the epicenter of one of Bangladesh's worst floods in living memory.

RAJIB BAURA, VOLUNTEER: This is a very, very bad situation. In Bangladesh, people need help. We need help.

COREN (voice-over): The military has been mobilized, along with an army of volunteers. But it's slow-going.

COREN: The people who can walk out, no matter how deep the water, no matter their age. They are doing so, but there are countless numbers who are trapped in surrounding areas.

And emergency services are completely overwhelmed, which is why volunteers are stepping in.

COREN (voice-over): As far as these people are concerned, this is no natural disaster.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We hate you, India.

COREN (voice-over): They believe India is squarely to blame for this catastrophe. India denies that but confirmed that one of its dams across the border automatically released water, due to excessive levels.

But what really angers the Bangladeshis is that India failed to issue any warning about the surge, citing a power outage and communication breakdown.

A diplomatic row has erupted between the two countries, a senior Bangladeshi advisor even accusing India of being inhumane.

Food and clean water are now in short supply. But for some, they have more pressing problems.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm feeling very heartbroken because I couldn't rescue my family. Actually, I don't know where they are right now.

COREN (voice-over): This woman boards our boat in desperate search of her sister and 1-month-old baby, who is sick. With all communication down, she can't reach her.

"I'm so worried the baby won't make it," she tells me.

As dusk falls, we pass houses packed with people calling out for assistance.

When we finally arrive at the school where her sister is thought to be sheltering, hundreds of faces appear. But she's not there.

We join another rescue, headed by a man who flew in from Qatar to save his stranded family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no boat, no support, no -- no rescue team.

COREN (voice-over): They find them, exhausted but relieved.

COREN: It's just gone 9 p.m., and while this has been a successful rescue, these boats will continue to operate up and down these floodwaters throughout the night to bring other families to safety.

Anna Coren, CNN, Feni, Bangladesh.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: Powerful footage there of the devastation and the rescues underway in Bangladesh.

Now, we are also following a Category 1 hurricane that is now moving away from Hawaii's big island. Hurricane Hone is dumping rain on parts of the Hawaiian islands while creating life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.

Now, the U.S. National Hurricane Center says that this storm will pass well South of Hawaii's smaller islands in the coming hours as it begins to weaken.

Hone is expected to become a tropical storm at some point on Monday. Ukrainian forces are pushing further into Russia.

And up next, we're going to take a look at how their incursion is affecting Russian President Vladmir Putin.

And the U.S. presidential candidates are stepping up their campaign efforts as election day draws closer. A preview of what's to come this week, next on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: Now, Ukrainian officials have confirmed that a British citizen was killed by a Russian attack in the Donetsk region.

Now, Ryan Evans, a former British shoulder, was serving as a safety adviser for Reuters journalists in the city of Kramatorsk. Their hotel was hit by missile on Saturday night.

At least six other people were injured in this attack, including several journalists. The Ukrainian regional military leader says the victims were citizens of Ukraine, the U.S., Latvia, and Germany.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian forces are continuing their intense assaults in Eastern Ukraine. But he says Ukrainian troops are making progress and are taking more land in Russia's Kursk region.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I just spoke with Commander in Chief Syrskyii. We have advances in the Kursk region ranging from one to three kilometers. We brought under our control two more settlements, and active developments are ongoing concerning another settlement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Jill Dougherty is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. She is also CNN's former Moscow bureau chief, and she joins us now.

Jill, it is so great to see you. Thank you so much for joining us.

And we've got to talk about how Russia is taking all this in. Russia's perspective into Ukraine's incursion. How are the people of Russia responding to this significant turn of events?

JILL DOUGHERTY, ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: It's very complex, because if you look at the people of Russia who lives, let's say, in the big cities -- Moscow, St. Petersburg, et cetera -- they are still relatively untouched by this war.

I mean, there have been, you know, drones that have made it to Moscow, et cetera.

[00:20:06]

But they're really not suffering the way the people who are on the border, specifically in the Kursk region, that Ukraine invaded recently a couple of weeks ago.

And those are the people that I think are very interesting to look at. It's a little bit difficult, because Russians do not want foreign journalists to get in there.

But if you look at Russian social media and also the reports by Russian -- we'll call them opposition media, who are located outside of Russia but continue to report and get information.

And I'd say, you know, my -- my biggest takeaway would be there's a disconnect between what the people there who are actually being evacuated, you know, temporarily and they're all wondering, what does temporary mean?

But what -- but, how -- disconnect between what they are going through and what's happening with Ukrainians who are going through for two- and-a-half years, you know, an attack from Russia.

They don't seem to understand that those two things are connected. So, it's a little complex.

STOUT: There's a disconnect at how the Russian people are viewing the war. But what about how they're viewing Vladimir Putin? Because Putin is now the first Russian leaders since World War II to have foreign troops fighting on his soil. How is that going down inside Russia?

DOUGHERTY: You know, again, judging by social media and things to really try to listen to what the people are saying, I think a lot of them, especially in that region, right along the border, are blaming local officials.

They're saying, Hey, even when we were invaded a couple of weeks ago, nobody warned us. Nobody evacuated us. The -- if there was an evacuation, it was completely botched, and we were not protected by our government.

So, there is quite a bit of frustration.

On the other hand, does that translate to Vladimir Putin and blaming Putin? It doesn't appear to.

And this again -- you know, there are not a lot of -- there are no polls being done in that region at this point. But they don't seem to take it to the next level and to say, you know, Putin started this war.

Therefore, the result of this is -- you know, from his war.

STOUT: This is, at the end of the day, a huge embarrassment for Putin. Russia may have the advantage in this war in terms of soldiers, in terms of armory, and firepower, but this incursion by Ukraine shows that it is vulnerable.

So, what does it reveal? What does it say about Russia's overall vulnerabilities?

DOUGHERTY: I think the biggest lesson would be that it even could happen.

I mean, that is the border of Russia. And it was relatively undefended. If there were people there, they tended to be kind of, you know, raw recruits who weren't trained, not expecting that they would be in any type of fight.

And then the reaction was completely chaotic. Those who -- I think the big takeaways from this, long-term. And then Putin's reaction, what he's tried to do is downplay it, say that it's not that big a deal. He traveled during this period.

And he's tried to give the impression that, you know, this happened, but it's not a big deal. I don't know how that message is actually being taken by the Russian people.

Because it is, as you point out historically, it is incredible that you have a president of Russia, right now and an invasion of Russia for the first time since World War II.

So that fact is not being driven home, obviously, by Russian propaganda. The media is the propaganda organs anyway. And they are not talking about that.

But it is a fact.

STOUT: Yes, it is a fact. This incursion is underway. What is Ukraine's ultimate goal here with its incursion into Russia? I mean, how far will Ukraine push into Russian territory? And is there a danger for Ukraine of pushing in too deep, too far?

DOUGHERTY: Definitely. I mean, this is the big question, and nobody still quite knows. There are a lot of reasons that they did it, that you could postulate.

But what the -- you know, the ultimate aim, it is embarrassing for Putin. It does kind of, you know, change the narrative. Now the Ukrainians are on attack.

But remember at the same time, they are being attacked in the Donbas region. And the Russians are moving forward, albeit slowly.

So how far will the Ukrainians go in Russia? They were -- they went really fast in the beginning. Right now, it has slowed down.

[00:25:05]

It's unclear how far they want to go or how far Russia will let them, because Russia is eventually now making it more difficult for them.

But I think, you know, in the end, the question will be, do they want to keep that territory that they've taken? Or do they, you know, go in, hold it for a while, use it for a trade, if there's ever a peace agreement?

Or do they pull out, because they are vulnerable when they are in that area? They could be surrounded.

So, it's -- it's a difficult and complex and kind of odd, you know, motivation for -- that nobody quite -- even at this point, quite understands.

STOUT: A difficult and complex situation. Still so much unclear. This could be a game changer in the overall war. It's wait and see.

Jill Dougherty, we thank you for your insight. Take care.

DOUGHERTY: Sure.

STOUT: Thanks.

In the coming hours, the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, plans to visit a community trying to recover from a deadly stabbing attack.

Police in the Western city of Solingen say a Syrian man is in custody after confessing to the attack that left three people dead at a music festival on Friday. Several others were wounded.

Prosecutors accuse a 26-year-old man of being a member of ISIS. The terror group claimed responsibility for the attack but offered no proof to back up that claim.

The suspect turned himself in after a major manhunt after the attack at the Festival of Diversity. The assault is already prompting calls for a crackdown on knife crime and for tighter rules on immigration.

Now, the Telegram messaging app says its CEO has nothing to hide after he was detained in France.

Billionaire businessman Pavel Durov was taken into custody at an airport outside Paris on Saturday. BFM-TV reports a French arrest warrant alleges a lack of moderation on Telegram has led to it being used for money laundering, drug trafficking, and sharing of pedophilic content.

Telegram posted a public statement saying this: quote, "It abides by E.U. laws, including the Digital Services Act. Its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving," unquote.

Now, with ten weeks to go before election day, Donald Trump is reportedly kicking his campaign into high gear in an effort to take back the spotlight from his new opponent, Kamala Harris.

Sources tell CNN that the former president is aggressively ramping up his campaign schedule, with plans to visit several battleground states every week.

This week alone, he plans to visit Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania before ending his week in Washington, D.C.

Kamala Harris and her vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz will also be on the move this week. The pair is expected to crisscross the battleground state of Georgia in a tour bus.

Harris is also hoping to keep the financial momentum going following her appearance at the Democratic National Convention. The campaign says it raised $82 million during the DNC for a total of 540 million since she launched her presidential bid last month.

And in a twist, that could help him with moderate voters, Trump's V.P. choice, J.D. Vance, appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press" to talk about how a second Trump administration would handle the issue of abortion on a federal level.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE (R), VICE-PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: California wants to have a different abortion policy from Ohio, then Ohio has to respect California, and California has to respect Ohio.

Donald Trump's view is that we want the individual states, and their individual cultures, and their unique political sensibilities, to make these decisions.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If such a piece of legislation landed on Donald Trump's desk, would he veto it?

VANCE: Oh, he'd be very clear, he would not support it. I mean, he said that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would he veto it?

VANCE: Yes, I mean, if you're not supporting it as a president United States, you fundamentally have to veto it. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, he would veto a federal abortion ban?

VANCE: I think he would.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. And up next, the Middle East is on edge after Israel and Hezbollah exchange fire, the most since the start of the war in Gaza. We'll have the details after the break.

Also protecting Australia's right to disconnect. We have more on the new law letting employees leave work at work.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:31:54]

STOUT: Welcome back to our viewers around the world. I'm Kristie Lu Stout, and you're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Hong Kong.

More on our top story this hour. Tensions are high in the Middle East after Israel's military launched, quote, "pre-emptive strikes" on Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the militant group fired hundreds of rockets in response to the killing of a top commander.

The IDF says that they intercepted most of those rockets and drones. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is warning that it is not the end, and the fighting may not be over.

Now, ceasefire talks have again paused without any breakthrough. Hamas and Israel continue to disagree over terms for a ceasefire. But a U.S. official says there will be more discussions over the coming days.

CNN's Nada Bashir is in Cairo and has more on the negotiations.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, following ceasefire talks here in Cairo --

BASHIR (voice-over): -- the Hamas delegation has now departed and have issued a statement reiterating their call for the ceasefire put forward and presented by U.S. President Joe Biden in late May to be upheld.

This is a deal which Hamas officials have said they agreed to in early July and have accused Israeli officials of presenting new conditions to try to undermine the progress of ceasefire talks.

BASHIR: Now, in its latest statement, Hamas officials have reiterated that they want to see guarantees that there will be a transition to a full and permanent ceasefire.

Those guarantees, as far as indications suggest right now, have not been upheld or committed to, rather, by Israeli officials. BASHIR (voice-over): We've heard from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin

Netanyahu in the past few weeks, saying that while Israel might welcome a temporary pause in fighting, that first phase of the deal, of course, presenting a six-week pause in fighting.

Israel wants to see a continuation all the way in order to eradicate Hamas's military capabilities. This despite the fact that the current U.S. assessment is that Hamas's military capabilities have so far been downgraded.

Now of course, there are also other key sticking points, namely surrounding the longer-term presence of Israeli troops within the Gaza Strip. We know that Israel has presented a revised proposal which would see a reduced number of Israeli troops stationed along the Philadelphi corridor, a buffer zone separating Egypt from Southern Gaza.

But Hamas has, in the past, rejected any suggestion of a longer-term presence of Israeli troops in any sort of post-war agreement. And they have reiterated the fact that they want to see a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.

Now of course, these talks have been focused on the so-called bridging proposals put forward by the Biden administration in an attempt to narrow the gaps between Israel and Hamas.

BASHIR: And while it appears as though there hasn't been a huge amount of progress in trying to narrow those gaps so far, we know that working-level conversations will continue over the coming days between mediators and representatives of both Israel and Hamas to try and hammer out those final details of the ceasefire agreement.

But at this stage, there have been no major breakthroughs. And all eyes will be watching to see whether we see any further negotiation talks being held between Hamas and Israeli delegations.

[00:35:08]

Nada Bashir, CNN, in Cairo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. And up next, after being stranded in space for months, NASA has announced when two astronauts will finally get to come home. But it won't be anytime soon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:37:40]

STOUT: The body of a missing hiker was recovered along the Colorado River on Sunday after flash flooding in Grand Canyon National Park prompted the rescues of more than 100 people.

On Saturday, the Havasupai tribe closed and evacuated a remote village some 12 kilometers below the rim of the canyon. The Arizona National Guard used a Blackhawk helicopter to bring those

stranded to higher ground.

Australians can finally put their phones on silent after leaving the office and not worry about missing a work email or a phone call. And that's due to a new law that is taking effect today, protecting their, quote, "right to disconnect."

Basically, it says employees can refuse to read or respond to any contact from their employers outside of regular work hours, and they can't be punished for it.

Well, countries like France, Germany, Spain, and other E.U. members already have similar laws in place.

Now, a group of Australian employers says the law is, quote, "an unnecessary overreaction to the problem." While some workers welcome the change, others are not confident it will take hold.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID BRENNAN, WORKS IN FINANCE: I think it's an excellent idea. I hope it catches on. I doubt it will catch on in our industry, to tell the truth, though.

RACHEL ABDELNOUR, WORKS IN ADVERTISING: I think it's actually really important that we have laws like this. We spend so much of our time connected to our phones, connected to our emails all day. And I think that it's really hard to switch off as it is. So having these laws come into place where, you know, we -- we really do disconnect is really important.

ROBERT RUSSELL, PRODUCT AND MARKETING ANALYST: I think it's on the corporations to -- to adopt and embrace them. I think if you set the right pace and culture within the workforce, it's going to give the right results. So yes.

I think inherently, people want to achieve things in their work. So, if you give them an avenue to do that, it's going to yield positive results.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: This is a hot topic for all of us at work. And a poll that was taken by the British analytics from YouGov shows that 86 percent of Australians support the new law and leaving work at work.

And do tune in the next hour for my conversation with an expert on employment and contract law on the potential effects of this new right to disconnect.

Now, NASA has decided the fate of two astronauts who have been stuck in space for nearly three months.

[00:40:06] Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will abandon the Boeing Starliner that has been plagued with issues. And instead, they will return to Earth on a SpaceX capsule early next year.

Michael Holmes reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voice-over): A village in India is seeking some help from above to bring U.S. astronaut Suni Williams back to Earth.

Williams's father was from the village, so locals feel a special kinship to her and are praying for her safe return after an extended stay in space.

But NASA has finally given a more down-to-earth solution on just how and when Williams and fellow Boeing Starliner astronaut Butch Wilmore will return to Earth, after spending nearly three months aboard the International Space Station on a mission that was only supposed to last a little more than a week.

BILL NELSON, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: NASA has decided that Butch and Suni will return with Crew-9 next February, and that Starliner will return uncrewed.

HOLMES: It was Starliner's first time carrying astronauts to the ISS. But technical issues with thrusters made NASA reconsider the ride home, opting instead to return the crew on a SpaceX spacecraft that's scheduled for an upcoming mission.

It's a setback for Boeing, which has struggled to keep up with SpaceX in NASA's commercial crew program. But Nelson says hard lessons from the past, including the losses of two space shuttles, weighed heavily on the decision.

NELSON: Our core value is safety. And it is our North star.

HOLMES: NASA says it's reconfiguring the upcoming SpaceX Crew-9 mission to send only two crew members to the ISS instead of four.

Williams and Wilmore are both veterans of two long-duration stays on the space station. And NASA says they're not only prepared to fill out the Crew-9 team but they're already hard at work.

DANA WEIGEL, NASA ISS PROGRAM MANAGER: Since they've been up there, they've been a welcome set of helping hands. They've already done about 100 hours of work on 42 different experiments. And they've helped us with some of the critical station maintenance that we've had on board.

HOLMES: Wilmore's family said that they were aware there could be a delay, which means more months of facetiming to keep in touch.

DARYN WILMORE, DAUGHTER OF BUTCH WILMORE: It is so cool. He gives us a lot of earth views. I especially like seeing the sunset. HOLMES: And there'll be plenty more of those in space for Williams and

Wilmore, which at least in NASA's view, is a safer option.

Michael Holmes, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: Thank you for watching. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. I'll be back with more news in 15 minutes. But do stick around for WORLD SPORT.

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