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Harris Campaign Announces Reproductive Rights Bus Tour; IDF Says It's Located Several Bodies In Gaza Strip; Russia Strikes Residential Area, Killing 8, Injuring Nearly 100 More; Ukraine Counter-Offensive Pushes Deeper Into Kursk, Russia; Mass Polio Vaccination Program To Begin Sunday In Gaza; Report: Netanyahu Clashes With Defense Minister Over Ceasefire Deal; NHL Player & His Brother Killed By Suspected Drunk Driver. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired August 31, 2024 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:23]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean in New York.

Former president Donald Trump has bragged about ending Roe versus Wade using it as a major selling point with his base, which is why many people were shocked when he muddied his position on abortion this week, remarking on a Florida ballot amendment that could overturn that state's ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I think the six weeks is too short. It has to be more time. And so that's -- and I've told them that I want more weeks.

DASHA BURNS, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: So you'll vote in favor of the amendment?

TRUMP: I'm voting that -- I am going to be voting that we need more than six weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: After backlash from conservatives, Trump's campaign tried to clarify his position, saying, quote, "President Trump has not yet said how he will vote," even though we did just hear how he said he would vote at that moment in time, on the ballot initiative in Florida. He simply reiterated that he believes six weeks is too short. And then yesterday, this is what President Trump said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Are you voting yes or no on Amendment Four in Florida?

TRUMP: So I think six weeks you need more time than six weeks. I've disagreed with that right from the early primaries. When I heard about it, I disagreed with it. At the same time, the Democrats are radical because the nine months is just a ridiculous situation where you can do abortion in the ninth month and, you know, some of the states like Minnesota and other states have it where you can actually execute the baby after birth, and all of that stuff is unacceptable. So I'll be voting no for that reason.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Again, a lot of untruths in that statement as well. The Harris campaign now trying to seize on Trump's back and forth stance on abortion over this last week by announcing a new bus tour across several key battleground states. The campaign saying the tour is aimed at advocating for women's rights productive rights and highlighting this issue heading into November.

Priscilla Alvarez joining us now.

Priscilla, what more can you tell us about this bus tour they're putting together and what they're trying to accomplish here?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, it's been the strategy from the beginning that reproductive rights was going to feature prominently in the Harris campaign, and before the Harris campaign, and then Biden campaign. They see it as an issue that really galvanizes voters and that they can get some momentum on, especially as they tried to make inroads with female voters.

Now, this reproductive rights tour is going to kick off on Tuesday and it's notably going to start in Florida. Of course, that is a state that an abortion is on the ballot. Former president Donald Trump saying that he would vote no this week. So expect that to come up quite a bit over the course of the coming week.

Now, this is going to be a tour that includes surrogates mostly. That includes elected officials, for example, on Tuesday, Senator Klobuchar will be in Florida to kick this off. And also the campaign says celebrities and others along the way. This is going to be 50 or at least 50 stops. Now, we don't have details on all of the stops just yet, but what this tells us is that they very much plan to keep this issue front and center.

And we should note that it is an issue that the vice president has been the voice on for the Biden administration. Just at the beginning of the year. She had kicked off a reproductive rights tour. I was at that first stop and followed it thereafter. And it was during that tour that she coined the term Trump abortion ban.

Now that has been used to describe by the campaign and Democrats, all of the abortion restrictions across the country, putting the onus really on former president Donald Trump for the overturning of Roe v. Wade. So this is going to be a theme over the course of the next two months. And certainly one that the campaign is leaning on with this reproductive rights tour kicking off next week.

DEAN: Absolutely. All right, Priscilla Alvarez for us in Washington, D.C. Thanks so much for that reporting.

Former Democratic senator from Alabama, Doug Jones, is joining us now to talk about this and other issues.

Senator, great to have you. Thanks so much for coming on this Saturday afternoon. We know, as Priscilla just reported, the Harris campaign trying to make abortion front and center in this race. And honestly, it was an issue that Republicans and former president Trump at the RNC when President Biden was still on the ticket had seemed to kind of felt like they had put it to bed. They had put it to the side and were going to be able to kind of press on focusing on other issues. But do you think it's as potent of an issue for voters as it was in 2022, especially now with Vice President Harris at the top of the ticket, who's been really the chief communicator on this issue for the Biden administration?

DOUG JONES (D), FORMER SENATOR FROM ALABAMA: Yes. I think it's a much more potent issue right now.

[16:05:01]

Earlier in the year and in the summer, I think the thought that they could just kind of leave it alone, not address it, it would go away because there were other issues when President Biden was on the ticket, now they've got probably the administration's chief spokesman, person on the abortion issue. This has been the issue that Kamala Harris has gotten her voice, gotten her platform, and they see that across the country.

And all of a sudden now they're having to scramble and you see answers that are just all over the board. They know -- exactly know what to do. Also since that time, you've also had things like the Alabama IVF ruling that put IVF and contraception front and center. I think Republicans along the way and especially Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are really struggling to try to find answers to these questions that satisfies their very conservative pro-life base. But at the same time doesn't alienate so many women across this country. And that's a very delicate balance and I don't think they're doing a really good job of right now.

DEAN: And so much of the data is showing us that what is driving Harris' momentum right now in large part are a lot of female voters of all ages, but especially young women as well. I'm curious at what you, how you think strategically the Harris campaign or Democrats writ large are going to use President Trump's back-and-forth on the proposed Florida abortion legislation that we were just hearing about there to their benefit?

JONES: I think they're going to continue to hammer that home not just in Florida. I think they're going down to Florida for this because the media is going to be there. They're going to cover this, but they're going to go all over the country with the same message. That's the thing about Democrats right now. We have got the same message that speak to women, that speak to America about this issue.

Republicans don't. They are trying to struggle, and that's exactly what you see. So I believe that you're going to see the Harris campaign continuing the same message. It's going to be front and center wherever they go, whether it is Georgia, whether it's Pennsylvania or Wisconsin, Michigan. It is going to be front and center on this issue to remind people, constantly remind people of how the Republicans have taken away so many freedoms of women in this country and the rights that are being taken away, and the rights that are being threatened in the future regardless of what Donald Trump say to folks right now. Those freedoms are threatened in the future.

DEAN: And Vice President Harris sat down with our colleague Dana Bash on Thursday for her first interview since she became the Democratic nominee. She was asked about some of her previous policy positions. I just want to listen to these clips and we can talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: In 2019. I believe, in a town hall, you said -- you were asked, would you commit to implementing a federal ban on fracking on your first day in office, and you said there's no question, I'm in favor of banning fracking, so yes. So it changed in that campaign?

KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In 2020 I made very clear where I stand. We are in 2024 and I've not changed that position nor will I going forward. I kept my word and I will keep my word.

BASH: What made you change that position at the time?

HARRIS: Well, let's be clear. My values have not changed.

BASH: Something that you said in 2019 when you first ran, there was a debate. You raised your hand when asked whether or not the borders should be decriminalized. Do you still believe that?

HARRIS: I believe there should be consequence. We have laws that have to be followed and enforced that address and deal with people who cross our border illegally. And there should be consequences.

Dana, I think the most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is my values have not changed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: So, Senator, just first, you think all of this is a pivot to the middle on a lot of these issues?

JONES: I don't know if you could say it's a pivot to the middle. I think it is an education process that the vice president has gone through as vice president of the United States. It's one thing to be in the Senate to have one view representing a state, a very large state, by the way, and then running for president. It's another thing to be able to be vice president of the United States working with an administration on all of these issues, getting all of the information, educating yourself, and being able to modify positions as you see that they are effective and that you want to do.

This is not a political flip-flop as much as it is an educational process. The political flip-flops are what you're seeing on the other side between J.D. Vance and Donald Trump on every issue. It's very transactional. If they get hurt by veterans for some of the crazy things and weird things that Donald Trump says about veterans, he tries to do something at Arlington Cemetery for a photo op which also blows up in his face.

[16:10:05]

So I think the vice president has done what we expect our political leaders to do, and that is to educate herself and be able to work with the -- educate and the things that she sees that works best for the American people. That's what I think we're going to see in this campaign.

DEAN: But what would you say to the voters out there who watch this and say, well, but is she flip-flopping like, is it the same? Are they all flip-flopping? What would you say to them? I hear what you're saying, in your view this is more of an education and she's evolved over time. But you can understand that some voters have a hard time kind of separating all of that out and making the distinction.

JONES: Sure. I see that on one level. But I'd like for folks to listen to what she says and understand how people change. Everyone should, even political leaders, should be able to not only change their mind, but also to evolve with changing circumstances and an education. We don't want somebody so dogmatic that they're not going to listen to the other side and potentially be swayed by what they hear.

That's what I think Kamala Harris has done. She has been in a room where it happens for three can and a half, almost four years now. And she has learned a lot. She has seen things that she didn't see as an attorney general and prosecutor, seeing things that she has not seen as even a United States senator for a couple of years. So I think people should appreciate politicians, public officials, public servants, who will listen to people and get to know the issues and make adjustments to what they want to do going forward because that's the key now.

What is she saying that she's going to do as policy-wise going forward and I can assure you that what she is telling folks now that policies that she wants to see implemented going forward. She's not saying one thing in a bait and switch, and going to try to pull something else. That's what I believe folks are going to be seeing from the Trump- Vance team. She's telling people where she is now after the experience that she's had being vice president of the United States.

DEAN: And obviously this is early, it's not even Labor Day yet, but of course there's always speculation about if X candidate wins, then who might they fill their cabinet with. Axios has reported recently your name has been floated as a potential attorney general in a potential Harris administration.

I know you at least well enough to know that you're not going to go down any road there, but I am curious if you are interested in doing something like that, serving with her and if you've been contacted by anyone working on a transition plan. JONES: Well, yes, look, the first things first. You know, my goal

right now is to do whatever I can to help Kamala Harris and Tim Walz get elected. I think they will be a great president and vice president of the United States. That's goal number one. Then we'll just see anything I can do that might help this administration -- the next ministration be successful. That's what all Americans should be wanting to do. And that's where I've got my eyes set right now, making sure that someone I knew and served with that I think is a great leader and will be great for the United States is both elected and as successful as president of the United States.

DEAN: Senator Doug Jones, thanks so much for being here with us. We appreciate it.

JONES: Thank you, Jessica.

DEAN: Still ahead, how months of intelligence work led American and Iraqi forces to an ISIS hideout in the desert and a raid that injured several U.S. soldiers. Plus, you're going to see a new inside look at Ukrainian troops pushing deeper into Russia as Russia makes major advances of its own into Ukraine.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:18:29]

DEAN: We are following breaking news out of Gaza.

CNN's Nic Robertson is joining us now from Jerusalem with what he's learning.

Nic, what is the latest?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, we're getting new information coming in here from the IDF, the Israeli Defense Force. They say that they have located a number of bodies of hostages during a combat operation in Gaza. At the moment that operation is ongoing and they're working to retrieve and identify those bodies.

This is an early statement by the IDF, but it does seem that they are preparing the way here for more details which are clearly going to be absolutely brutal, harrowing, and horrible for the families of these bodies that they say that they've discovered. We don't have any other details about who these hostages may be or whom they may be. Indeed, the IDF is urging people stay away from speculating about it.

But they are clearing the way here for what we're going to say. So what we know from the IDF, just to be very clear what we have from the IDF. They are not saying specifically these are hostages. They are saying that they have found bodies. This is what the IDF is saying. Vert clearly that they have found bodies and they're working to retrieve those bodies and identify them.

So this is a very early signal at the moment that the IDF has information, new information in Gaza. And I think we're going to -- we'll clearly be waiting for the updates from the IDF tonight.

[16:20:06]

DEAN: OK, Nic Robertson, stand by for us there in Jerusalem.

We also have Alex Marquardt, who is standing by in Washington, D.C.

And so, Alex, we're getting this information. The IDF, again, just to remind everyone, it's very sparse information at this point. But the IDF saying that only that it's found bodies in Gaza. Of course, this is coming as these talks continue, as the U.S. continues to try to pressure both sides to come to a ceasefire and hostage deal. What more are you tracking right now?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is just obviously an extremely difficult situation for the families to be in because they start to hear these rumblings and they start to wonder who it is who has been found. Now you can be certain that the IDF is going to be telling the hostage families first who it is that they have found out.

Now, Jess, this comes on the heels of an Israeli Bedouin hostage who was rescued alive just a few days ago. He was the eighth Israeli hostage to have been rescued since October 7th alive in the past 10 months of this war. But there have been more than that who have been recovered, who have passed away either because they were killed on October 7th and their bodies were taken into Gaza by Hamas and other militant groups, or because they were killed during the course of this war in the past 10 months.

But this will really underscore the need from -- for so many people for a ceasefire deal to get the remaining hostages home both those who are still alive. We believe there are dozens of those who are still alive, and the remains of those who have been killed. There are more than 100 hostages all told. Israel tends not to the differentiate between those who are alive and who are dead.

In terms of the actual ceasefire negotiations right now, the talks are ongoing, but it does not appear that we're on the brink of anything imminent. In speaking with sources from the region, as well as here in the United States, they're trying to work out those final details, the choreography of how this would play out. But there are still some significant sticking points. And as this drags on, we see not only the desperation of the people in Gaza who really need a ceasefire, who really need aid to get into Gaza, but also the anger growing in Israel against Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government who many accused -- who many say are focused more on the military operation and trying to go after Hamas than they are -- than they are to bring those Israeli hostages home -- Jessica.

DEAN: Yes. And Alex, you can't help but think of these families of these hostages and the loved ones who have spent nearly a year now wondering how they are, where they are exactly. And now of course with news, again, that we don't know exactly if it is hostage bodies, but simply that the IDF has found several bodies there in the Gaza Strip. Nic, Alex was just talking there about where these negotiations stand.

And of course, the international community watching all of this. But you're there in Israel and it's Saturday night. We've seen those protests in Tel Aviv almost every Saturday, especially with hostages' families trying to convince the government to accept a deal and get these hostages home. What is the feeling where you are when it comes to getting these hostages back?

ROBERTSON: Yes. The majority of people here would like to see a deal that brings the hostages home. And that's about more than 60 percent of the country, almost 70 percent of the country believes that that is the right thing to do. But actually within the government, that's not the opinion and in fact the tensions within the government are really getting bigger and bigger and bigger over this.

There's a huge blow up on Thursday when the prime minister forced a vote on his plan to offer a slightly reduced number of troops along the contentious Philadelphi Corridor radar, that almost nine-mile long border between Gaza or in Egypt had put forward as part of the U.S. bridging proposal, a plan that would offer to reduce the number of Israeli troops along that borderline.

Now the bus stop, when this came to a vote, was with his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, who said, look, you just don't need to push this issue. If you push this issue right now then Hamas is not going to go with it. You know, after six weeks of a truce to get the hostages out, then you could just put the troops back in there, is essentially what he was saying, and his comments really showed the gap between him and the prime minister.

He said this is being essentially micromanaged by the prime minister. It's the prime minister who put forward and has forced on everyone his map of where the troops should be along that border. He is dictating the terms of how they negotiations should go.

[16:25:04]

One of his top negotiators, David Barnea, the head of Mossad, head of Israel's intelligence, who's doing the actual negotiating here, even he said he didn't see the point in having a vote at the cabinet over this on Thursday night. So those tensions within the government there, the signals from society, the protests that you're seeing on the streets in Tel Aviv that want Netanyahu right now to do the deal, the majority of people within the country that want to deal.

This is not saying they want to roll over and let Hamas have its way. Far from that, they want to see Hamas destroyed, but they do want to get the hostages home. And the takeaway, when you listen to that, what the defense minister had to say was, even this latest hostage deal, and we've heard this from John Kirby at the White House saying this as well, really this multi-phased potential hostage deal has really now come down to a single phase of six weeks.

That's the best that they hope that they can do to get out about 33 hostages. The women, the elderly, and the sick, and the very young, to get them out in those first six weeks. But where we're at right now it appears to be a moment of intransigents, both Hamas on their side not accepting to keep any Israeli troops it appears along the border with Gaza and Egypt, the Philadelphi Corridor.

And it appears the prime minister of Israel insisting, according to his defense minister, that he is setting the agenda to keep the troops there, which is the thing that is not allowing the talks to proceed. So this is an incredibly contentious time. And as the IDF works to recover those bodies, and we don't know what bodies they are, but works to recover those bodies, and we should be very clear at the moment.

The IDF is only reporting that it has found bodies, that it's working to retrieve them and identify them at the moment. But as it works to do that, and more details may become available, that I think will help inform the picture that we have about the negotiations. Right now the prime minister has insisted all along that the way to get the hostages home is to destroy Hamas, to keep the military pressure on them.

There was a comment by one of his hardline ministers just a few days ago saying that we will get all the hostages home, but you just have to keep that military pressure on. This is going to be a very, very difficult evening for all the families of all the hostages and many more people in Israel besides.

DEAN: No doubt about that.

All right, Nic Robertson and Alex Marquardt, we want you to stand by.

Again, we're continuing to monitor this breaking news that is coming out of the Middle East. The IDF locating a number of bodies in the Gaza Strip. We're told that troops are still operating in that area. They are carrying out a process to extract and identify those bodies. And that's going to last several hours. Again, that is from the IDF. We'll continue to track this. We will have the latest for you as we get it.

Let's take a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:31:40]

DEAN: In Russia's war on Ukraine, the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv has declared a day of mourning after Russian strikes killed at least eight people, including a child in a playground.

Russian bombs hitting an apartment building, wounding nearly 100 other people.

CNN senior international correspondent, Frederik Pleitgen, is in Ukraine's capital of Kyiv.

And, Fred, this attack on Kharkiv is coming after a week of aerial attacks from Russia that Ukrainians have been describing as massive.

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they certainly have been massive. And they really started on the Monday of this past week with a giant barrage of missiles drones that the Russians fired off.

And just on that, one day, on Monday, they used over 120 ballistic and cruise missiles and over 100 drones as well. It's really something that's been carried over throughout the entire week.

And you can see the result of that as power outages in large parts of the country that do go on for an extended period of time.

But the situation there that you we're talking about in Kharkiv is certainly one for the Ukrainians that's very difficult as well.

If we look at that bombing yesterday that happened in the city of Kharkiv, the authorities there are saying that the Russians used glide bombs dropped opt by some of Russia's frontline bomber aircraft.

These are very, very heavy bombs that killed several people on the ground in Kharkiv and badly damaged about 20 apartments in that area as well.

Well, today, less than 24 hours later, another town in the Kharkiv province was apparently hit by one of these bombs again. Ukrainians are saying it was a bomb that's called a Fab 500. And the 500 stands for half a ton of TNT being in the explosives, being inside that bomb.

So a very heavy weapon that's making things very difficult for the Ukrainians, not just on the front lines, but, as we can tell, for Ukrainian civilians in the cities as well.

The frontline troops are also saying that they're getting hit by these bombs.

And one of the things, of course, that has been going on over the past two days, that senior Ukrainian officials, including the defense minister, traveled to Washington.

And asked the United States to lift some of those restrictions are longer-distance weapons that the Ukrainians want to use to hit the air bases that the Russians are taking off from. So far, there hasn't been a decision by the U.S.

And if we look at the situation on the ground, Jessica, the Ukrainians are still making gains into Russian territory in that incursion that they're doing.

But they are also under a lot of pressure in the east of the country. And one of the main reasons there, again, is their use of Russian airpower -- Jessica?

[16:35:06]

DEAN: And, Fred, we're also seeing new images of Ukraine's attack on Russia with its troops actually crossing the border into the Russian territory of Kursk. What more can you tell us about that? PLEITGEN: Yes, exactly. So this is video that we obtained a couple of

days ago. And it's really from the early stages of when the Ukrainians crossed into Russian territory, so in the beginning of August.

But it was video that has not been seen before and shows just how quickly they crossed the border and then moved into Russian territory.

Those Ukraine bringing forces then coming under fire after a little bit of time, but still managing to further advance into Russian territory.

And one of the things that's been really remarkable about that incursion that Ukrainians have been conducting is that they say, even more than three weeks after they initially started, they are still gaining ground inside of Russia.

The Ukrainians in the past couple of days saying they've gotten between one to three kilometers further and deeper into Russian territory. This, as the Russians are scrambling to try and put together a force to counter all this and to hold the E.U. units up.

So far, the Russians not really managing to do that. Their air campaign has become more intense. The Ukrainians are acknowledging that it's getting more difficult, but they are still making advances.

But at the same time, of course, the Ukrainians do remain under pressure on other fronts where the Russians are not letting up at all -- Jessica?

DEAN: All right, Fred Pleitgen, for us in Kyiv tonight, thank you so much for that reporting.

I want to talk more about all of it with CNN military analyst, retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton.

Colonel, thanks so much as always for being here with us.

Let's talk more about what Fred was just describing to us. He mentioned that the Ukrainian defense minister was at the Pentagon yesterday, asking the U.S. to lift these restrictions against using long-range weapons inside of Russia.

Where do you think that's ultimately going to land? Is this going to potentially be one of those things the U.S. starts off saying no to, but comes around on, or do you think this will be a firm no?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, Jessica, I think it's going to be one of those things that, in part, the U.S. will come around on.

And as Fred was pointing out in his report, there are a lot of aspects to this war that are basically fought from a distance. And what the Russians are doing is they're using what are called standoff ranges.

So they are not as close to the Ukrainian border or the Ukrainian front line as Ukrainians would need them to be in order to push them out of the sky in the case of the airplanes.

So what the Ukrainians want to do is they want to be able to hit air bases where these planes are being staged out of. And if the Ukrainians get the go ahead, the greenlight to do that, that will make a major change to the war effort. And it could signal a big change for Ukraine's fortunes.

Right now, we're dealing with a war of attrition. That could change that. That could potentially, potentially move things forward.

But I think what the United States is still concerned about is the possibility of reaching some kind of Russian red line, which would then precipitate the use of weapons like, in the ultimate case, nuclear weapons.

I don't think that's likely. But I do think that the Russians are certainly going to threaten that kind of usage. And the United States, of course, wants to avoid that escalation.

DEAN: Yes, they certainly -- they certainly do.

There are some, though, that have criticized this administration for being too cautious in a way not -- not giving Ukraine the ability to use some of these weapons in this way or slow to say yes on F-16s or fill in the blank of other things that they've ultimately given Ukraine.

What do you -- what do you make of that criticism?

LEIGHTON: Well, I think that criticism is at least partly correct.

You take the case of the F-16s, Jessica, one of the things that you need when it comes to F-16s is you need a lot of training. It takes about a year after initial pilot training for the U.S. Air Force to, in essence, graduate F-16 pilots.

And then they still go through a large training process once they're assigned to their units. And the same is true, really, of any pilot in any nation.

The Ukrainians are trying to fly these airplanes with a minimum amount of training. And a lot of the training that they get is really the bare basics. And it's not even sufficient to deal with the kind of environment that the Ukrainian finding themselves in.

This is an environment where there's a lot of electronic warfare, a lot of jamming that goes on, and that can really hurt the ability of the pilots to achieve their operational goals.

DEAN: Colonel Cedric Leighton, thank you as always. We appreciate that context and analysis. Thanks so much.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Jessica.

DEAN: Still ahead, a pause in the fighting in parts of Gaza this weekend as the U.N. works to prevent a polio outbreak now in hundreds of thousands of children in that region.

[16:39:52]

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: And we are following breaking news out of Gaza where the IDF says it has located, quote, "a number of bodies." Now, Israeli forces have not yet identified those bodies. They are working to do so. And of course, we're going to bring you more information as we learn it.

Also in Gaza today, a first group of babies receiving polio vaccinations ahead of a United Nations-led campaign that officially begins tomorrow.

[16:44:58]

The U.N. -- the main U.N. agency in Gaza plans to vaccinate over 600,000 children during a series of pauses in fighting that's been agreed to.

The highly infectious virus was found in sewage samples in June. And a case was reported earlier this month. That's the first case of polio in Gaza in 25 years.

CNN's Elliott Gotkine joining us now.

And there are a lot of moving parks to make this work, Elliott, walk us through this complicated process.

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Jessica, I think you said the operative word there, "complicated," because, even in the best of times, carrying out a vaccination campaign of this nature, where they're aiming to vaccinate more than 640,000 children under the age of 10, would be a tough ask.

But these are clearly not the best of times in Gaza. As of Sunday, in fact, it'll be entering, what, it's 11th month of fighting since the Hamas-led terrorist attacks of October 7th.

So there are a lot of challenges, not least, the security situation. Then you've got to deal with damage to roads and infrastructure and the like as well.

And then also, of course, so many people in Gaza, most of the population, in fact, has been displaced multiple times. So it could be challenging for them to get to where they need to be vaccinated, to be fully aware of what they need to do or where they need to be at particular times.

And I suppose, even though Hamas has said that it will observe these three -- three-day pauses in fighting, and Israel has said that it will do so as well, it's always the danger, the concern that perhaps Hamas will use this for cover, or perhaps to launch attacks. And likewise that Israel may see assets on the ground, whether it's

militants or military equipment used by Hamas, which it feels that it must take out in order to avoid the risk of danger to its own forces or to Israelis.

But there is hope that this will proceed smoothly. But of course, even if all of those challenges can be overcome, they then have to do this again in four-weeks-time because it's a two-dose vaccination.

So the first doses will be given in the central part of the Gaza Strip the first three days of September in the southern part and the northern part. Then they'll have to do it again in four-weeks-time.

That said, if this does proceed according to plan over the next 12 days, there will be hope that, look, they've managed to do it once and everything went smoothly. So there's no reason that it shouldn't be able to be done again for the second dose of the vaccination -- Jessica?

DEAN: And then separate from this vaccination campaign, Elliott, there seems to be a major dispute that's brewing between Israelis Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defense -- and his defense minister, Yoav Gallant.

What more can you tell us about that dynamic?

GOTKINE: Quite. It's very hard to describe just how -- how detailed and how angry the exchange between Prime Minister Netanyahu and his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, seems to have been. This has been reported widely in Israeli media, including by CNN affiliate, Channel 12.

Now, there's no secret that Netanyahu and Gallant loathe each other. Netanyahu tried to sack Gallant. In fact, he did sack him. Then and sacked him during the controversy over the government's judicial overhaul plans last year.

What is at the center of this dispute is that you have Gallant and the defense establishment saying, look, Israel can withdraw from the so- called Philadelphi Corridor.

This 14-kilometer border strip of land between southern Gaza and Egypt, if it means getting a ceasefire deal with Hamas, and getting some of the hostages home in exchange.

Prime Minister Netanyahu is adamant that Israel will not withdraw from control of the Philadelphi Corridor. And so you have these quite astounding exchanges of words.

Gallant saying to his prime minister, "You've got two choices effectively, either to stay in the Philadelphi or to bring back hostages. You decide to stay in Philadelphi. Does that make sense to you? There are people alive here."

And the point being that Hamas will not accept a ceasefire deal if Israel stays in control of the Philadelphi Corridor. In fact, even Herzi Halevi, the head of the chief -- the chief of

staff, saying that Israel could quite conceivably relinquish control of the Philadelphi Corridor in order to get a six-week temporary ceasefire in the beginning of this three-phase ceasefire talks that we've been talking about for so long.

And then go back and take control afterwards, saying there are enough constraints for negotiations. There is no need to add another one.

Netanyahu got a vote through the cabinet, eight to one, saying that Israel will stay in control of the Philadelphi Corridor -- Jessica?

DEAN: All right. Elliott Gotkine, with the latest for us there, thank you so much for that reporting.

[16:49:25]

And we're going to have more news for you in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: New today, the widow of an NHL star, Johnny Gaudreau, is speaking out for the first time since her husband was killed along with his brother in a cycling accident.

This morning, his wife, Meredith, paid tribute to her husband on Instagram, posting, in part, "Thank you for the best years of my life. Despite losing you, I am still the luckiest girl in the world. I have been yours. I love you so, so much. You were perfect. Some days, it felt too good to be true."

CNN's Polo Sandoval reports on what's being called an unimaginable tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hockey star, Johnny Gaudreau, and his younger brother, Matthew, killed by an alleged drunk driver Thursday night on the eve of their sister's wedding, where they were set to be groomsmen.

State police confirm the siblings were bike riding and southern New Jersey when they were hit by an SUV.

Sean Higgins is believed to have been the driver. The 43-year-old now charged with two counts of second-degree vehicular homicide. Police records say that he admitted to drinking five to six beers before the accident and that he failed a field sobriety test.

[16:55:09]

Higgens made an initial court appearance Friday where a judge ordered he be held until his next hearing.

UNIDENTIFIED JUDGE: We'll see you back in court on Thursday.

HIGGINS, SUSPECT IN ALLEGED SECOND-DEGREE VEHICULAR-HOMICIDE CASE: So I'm here until Thursday?

UNIDENTIFIED JUDGE: Yes, sir.

(CROSSTALK)

SANDOVAL: Gaudreau, who earned the nickname Johnny Hockey, was drafted by the Calgary Flames in 2011.

ANNOUNCER: -- Johhny Gaudreau!

SANDOVAL: Signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2022.

"Johnny played the game with great joy," read a statement from his team. "The impact he had on our organization and our sport was profound, but pales in comparison to the indelible impression he made on everyone who knew him."

But despite the success in the rank, the true passion appeared to be off the ice, as a loving husband and proud father of two babies, the youngest born this year and carries dad's name.

Matthew followed in his brother's footsteps, playing side-by-side with Johnny in Boston College. Coaches there described the brothers as full of joy for the sport.

JERRY YORK, FORMER HEAD COACH, BOSTON COLLEGE MEN'S HOCKEY: If you ask us the name of our favorite players, you know, they've got to be -- both boys are going to be among them.

SANDOVAL: An uncle of the Gaudreau brothers releasing the statement saying: "Last night, we lost two husbands, two fathers, two sons, but truly two amazing humans."

Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Just an awful story.

Up next, we have breaking news out of Gaza where the Israeli military has located a number of bodies. We'll have more for you when we come back.

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