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Thousands Protest On Tel Aviv After Bodies Of Hostages Recovered In Gaza; Biden, Harris Reach Out To Parents Of Israeli American Hersh Goldberg-Polin; 10,000 U.S. Hotel Workers Strike During Labor Day Weekend; Netanyahu "Worried" Amid Widespread Protests; Remembering The Six Israeli Hostages Killed in Gaza; Protests Erupt Directing Anger At Netanyahu After Hostage Deaths; Interview With Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA). Aired 7-8p ET

Aired September 01, 2024 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:01:15]

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

And tonight growing tensions in Israel has spilled out into the streets. Heated and passionate protests seen across the country earlier tonight. There in Tel Aviv organizers estimating 550,000 people taking to the streets. And these protesters are demanding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reach a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas. The country's largest labor union is joining that fight, vowing a nationwide general strike tomorrow.

And the mounting anger coming after the tragic news the IDF recovered the bodies of six hostages including an American from a tunnel in southern Gaza. The Israeli Health Ministry saying all six of these hostages were killed by short range shots likely sometime between Thursday and Friday of this week as the IDF was closing in.

CNN's Nic Robertson is joining us live from Tel Aviv.

And Nic, you were there tonight at the height of these protests. You've been covering this for months now. Did this feel different?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It did feel different. There were a lot more young people. There were a lot more people. It would be impossible for us to count them and try to sort of verify that number of 550,000. But certainly a lot more than previous weekends. And these protests have been going on. They began smaller early on in the year and have grown and grown and grown.

But this by far the biggest number. At one point we were trying to walk across the center of the city through the protests from one side to the other. But you couldn't really tell when you've gone to the other side because there were so many people on the streets who was 20 minutes to half an hour of walking, and it was packed and people going in one direction, people going in another direction.

Bands out playing with drums. A lot of people on the megaphone organizing the protesters. And after a while the sort of central gathering was initially right around HaKirya there, the Defense Ministry Building. That's been the focus for so many times. But we saw another place that the protesters often tried to go to, to make their point to get to communicate to the prime minister that they want him to change his position, negotiating position with Hamas, to modify it, to make it -- to put it in a way that Hamas will allow the hostages to be released.

About two-thirds of the country want a hostage deal. The hostages released at any cost. If Israel goes back to war with Hamas after that's all done, that's fine by people, but they want the hostages released as a priority. People went again to the highway, the main highway, four lanes each side, the swoops around the outside of Tel Aviv going from south and north, north to south. They blocked one of the carriage ways.

We were down there. There were fires lit. There were rubber tires burning in the road. There were barricades put up. The police came in. It was mostly peaceful. The police putting out the fires. There were police on horseback there now. At the end of the day, the police are saying that they've arrested 29 people, but I do think it's worth reflecting that by and large this was a very, very peaceful protest and the majority of people coming out purely for that reason to try to get their voices heard.

But I spoke to some of the young people and they are not convinced that even this number is going to change the prime minister's mind. Now we know that the labor unions are calling for strikes on Monday. We know that the municipality here in Tel Aviv and others around the country are calling for strikes. How deep those strikes go, how many people do stay away from work?

They're going to add in and factor in for the prime minister whether or not he needs to make adjustments.

[19:05:07]

But typically in Israel it will be a combination of protests and civil strikes that bring about -- that brings about a change in how the prime minister views the situation on anything. In this case getting the hostages released -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Nic Robertson for us live in Tel Aviv. Thank you so much for that reporting.

Among the six hostages killed was Israeli American Hersh Goldberg- Polin. President Biden speaking with Hersh's parents this morning, offering his condolences, as did Vice President Harris and First Gentleman Doug Emhoff.

CNN's Kevin Liptack is joining us now, and Kevin, Hersh's story and the incredible bravery and tenacity of his parents in the face of this unimaginable nightmare has been well-known to a lot of Americans. They've gotten to know a lot of the politicians here and people within the Biden administration, including the president and the vice president.

What more are you hearing from the White House tonight?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly I think there's just a deep level of sadness that this is how that story ended. And I think for President Biden and for Vice President Harris, it lends a certain degree of urgency to try and get these ceasefire talks over the finish line.

Of course American officials have been trying to do that for the last several months. It had intensified just in the last few weeks. When you talk to U.S. officials today, they do say that this does raise some questions about how serious Hamas actually is towards reaching a deal. And they acknowledged that this will also apply pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu, which is exactly what you're seeing on the streets of Israel tonight.

Now, President Biden, who, as you mentioned, spoke to the family of Hersh Goldberg-Polin earlier today, did release a statement saying that he was devastated and outraged. He goes on to say, I have worked tirelessly to bring their beloved Hersh safely to them. And I'm heartbroken by the news of his death. It is as tragic as it is reprehensible. And the president goes on to say, make no mistake, Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes, and we will keep working around the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages.

And we did hear from President Biden last night after the bodies of these hostages were found, saying that he thinks that they are still on the verge of an agreement and he thinks that they can close the deal. So at least in President Biden's own mind, the deal is not done and certainly they will keep working towards that end.

I think it was interesting thing we also learned today that Jake Sullivan, President Biden's National Security adviser, convened a phone call, a virtual meeting, if you will, with the families of the remaining American hostages who are being held in Gaza. In that phone call, he also detailed for them the ongoing efforts to try and strike some kind of agreement. So certainly American can officials very mindful of the tragedy of this moment, but also very eager to get these hostages and ceasefire talks back on track.

DEAN: All right. Kevin Liptak with the latest from Washington. Thanks so much for that.

Moshe Lavi is joining us now. His brother-in-law, Omri Moran, remains a hostage in Gaza.

Thank you so much for being here with us. I first just want to say I'm so sorry for the trauma that your whole family has endured and I know this has been a horrific almost a year now that you all have had to go through this.

I just want to know what you think as you watch these protesters tonight and are kind of metabolizing all of this news from the last 24 hours, what are you thinking? What are you feeling?

MOSHE LAVI, BROTHER-IN-LAW KIDNAPPED BY HAMAS: First of all, thank you for having me tonight. Second, the pictures from Israel are providing us here in the U.S. a sort of comfort to see that the people of Israel are finally joining us, the families of hostages, in the streets. When I was last in Israel in May, I remember going to so many demonstrations and the numbers were too few because we just come to normalizing the war, normalizing the fact that hostages are being held captive by a vicious terrorist organization.

But this seems to be, we maybe crossed the Rubicon here, and perhaps we'll see more and more demonstrations to push all government, our elected officials to do what they need to do. My sister Lishay spoke at the rally today in Tel Aviv and she'll keep speaking everywhere. We need also people here in the U.S. and all around the world to speak and hold accountable their failed elected officials, including the U.S. administration who allowed this to happen and been prolonged for so long. And the entire international community who emboldened Hamas for 11 months, and thus hurting both Israelis and Gazans.

[19:10:01]

DEAN: And so what would you like to see happen? What do you hope comes from all of these protests?

LAVI: We hope to see a government look at our faces and states what needs to be stated. Either we are continuing the war, and the way it is being conducted now it's hardly a war, about 10 percent, maybe a bit more of soldiers being positioned right now in the Gaza Strip compared to the beginning of the war, or we're going for a deal and preparing for the threats ahead that are looming from northern Israel, Hezbollah, and a greatest threat of Iran.

We need them to look in our eyes and make that commitment. Be honest with us. I'll accept any answer. Mmany of the families of hostages will accept any answer. But they have not been honest with us, our elected officials, and we need that answer. Defense Minister Gallant said today that we need that cabinet, the war cabinet needs to convene as soon as possible and to determine the course, the next course of action of the government. And I support him for that.

DEAN: And you said on X that you blame Hamas and you blame Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Tell me more about that. Explain that to me.

LAVI: I mean, Hamas is to be blamed obviously for kidnapping and murdering and ravaging our communities where I grew up, where I served in the military. Most of my service where my family fell victim to the October 7th attack and victim since I can remember myself because I live with terrorism and rocket attacks all my life.

And we hold them accountable for murdering those six hostages and many other hostages, even though the traditional media including CNN have yet to correct on X headlines seen that hostages were found dead rather than murdered. But I also blame our prime minister and what I said in that tweet for normalizing the reality. And by that I mean normalizing to us, this very society, the fact that we can break the social contract, the social contract that philosophers, that Janja Crusoe spoke about, that as soon as any mentions of their fell to the state, what does it matter to me, the state may be given up for lost.

And I disagree with that. We cannot give up our state for lost. We have to fight for our rights, fight for our enshrined democratic rights, and show what we think and the majority of Israelis, according to all polls, want a deal, want the current deal that is on the table. A difficult deal, a deal that is not good, but it will save the hostages in the short term, and allow us to prepare for greater threats in the long run.

DEAN: And we're getting these details, they're really, they're difficult and horrific that these hostages were alive and that as the IDF was closing in that they were murdered at very point-blank range essentially within just the last few days.

I can't imagine what you and your family go through every night worrying about your brother-in-law and wanting him home, but knowing this, knowing these details, what do you think of that and does it add even greater urgency for you, if that's even possible?

LAVI: Clearly it does. These six hostages who were murdered alongside many others who were murdered earlier in this war, for the past 11 months, could have been saved if we prioritized the sanctification of life. If we chose the path of viable deal to bring them home. I don't know if a deal would have been succeeded. Hamas is not a good faith partner to any negotiated treaty. It's a terrorist organization that needs to be destroyed both materially and ideologically, just like the Nazis were destroyed, and just like other vicious ideologies were destroyed in the past.

But we need to prioritize the hostages now, and we already achieved so many military achievements in dismantling Hamas military capabilities. So what we want to see is that we prioritize them because when we saw Omri last in their psychological warfare video showcased by Hamas in late April, it gave us hope that we can still bring him home. It's now more than four months later. Hersh Polin-Goldberg was also filmed in a similar video in late April. His life was -- he was murdered by Hamas. This could happen to my brother-in-law Omri. This could happen to the rest of 101 hostages, those who are still alive. We need to prioritize them over other objectives.

[19:15:10]

DEAN: Do you feel that the Israeli government, that the prime minister has failed you and your family thus far?

LAVI: I don't know if he failed us, but I do get the sense that he prioritized other interests, some of them might be political, the preservation of his government. Some of them might be legitimate security concerns, like holding the Philadelphi Corridor, although that corridor was not held by the IDF until very late in the war.

I am not a policy-maker, I'm not a military strategist. I don't know what is right and what is wrong. I'm a mere citizen. And I'm a concerned family of a hostage. But what I want for my prime minister is, as I said earlier, to look in our eyes and be honest with us. Our family met with him in the past, met with the entire security operations and political establishment. And we have not gotten that sense.

Essentially we have gotten there we know that the play Julius Caesar from Shakespeare play, talks about the abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power. And that's what I feel when I read about Prime Minister Netanyahu, and members of his coalition. I hope I'm wrong. And I hope this will bring a change to the discourse in Israel and will get answers we deserve.

I don't want a pyrrhic victory where all the hostages who remain in captivity are going to be found dead. The real victory for Israel will be bringing them home and preparing for the threats ahead and preserving the social contract I alluded to earlier in the spirit of what the prophets of Israel from the bible have spoken as well.

DEAN: Before I let you go, tell me about Omri. What's he like?

LAVI: Omri is a beautiful human being. If you look at his photos you see that bashful smile. The kind as you see from his eyes. Loves sports, especially basketball. Avid reader of Haruki Murakami, is a Shiatsu therapist and a gardener, healing people in his clinic, healing nature in Kibbutz Nahal Oz which was ravaged by Hamas terrorists on October 7th. He was an amazing -- he is an amazing father to my two nieces, Roni and Alma, who are missing him dearly and see him as a poster now. He's an incredible husband to my sister Lishay.

We need this kind of human being, so we need to put the toxicity, the toxic discourse we see online and on the streets aside and prioritize human beings whether they're Israeli, Gazans, and others. We need to see Omri home because beautiful human beings like him deserve to be with his family.

DEAN: I hope he is back with his family very soon.

Moshe Lavi, thank you for sharing this with us. We appreciate it.

LAVI: Thank you.

DEAN: Stay with us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:23:04]

DEAN: Over 10,000 hotel workers are walking off the job this evening in hotels across the country. They are asking for higher pay and better working conditions.

This video was taken in Boston earlier today as the strike got underway. It now is happening at 24 hotels across the country that could expand.

Joining us now to discuss the strike is Brian Kelly, also known as the Points Guy. He founded that travel site that everyone goes to, Brian, to learn how to use our points the best. Thanks for being here with us. I first just want to get your take on

this strike and if you think the workers are in a strong position to try and get what -- to actually get what they want. The hotel industry has changed a lot since the pandemic.

BRIAN KELLY, FOUNDER, THEPOINTSGUY: Yes, and hotels cut back a lot on services, whether that was housekeeping. Now you have to kind of beg for it. So while room rates have gone up, you know, there was a recent study, they're now more than double the amount of hotels that charge $1,000 a night, unfortunately the services have not gone up. And what these hotel workers are saying is the staffing levels haven't gone up, workforce to do more and our pay hasn't gone up as much as rates have been going up.

So I do think the workers are in a good position. Certainly these hotel brands, major hotel brands do not want this happening because I've stayed at a hotel with striking employees and it is not a fun experience for the guests.

DEAN: Yes. Is there any indication why? You mentioned that stat. Double the number of hotels costing $1,000 or more a night. Why is that?

KELLY: You know, consumers just want to travel and they're willing to pay, and the hotel, the hotel industry, you know, airlines are still struggling. There are a lot of airlines are still not profitable. It's really expensive, but the hotel industry by and large is doing very well and they've gotten used to getting consumers use to less of those really expensive services that used to cost them a lot of money.

So they are walking a fine line. And this is the employees' way of saying, hey, you know, you need to offer better benefits because we're carrying an even bigger burden today.

[19:25:04]

DEAN: And so you mentioned staying at a hotel when there are striking workers. How do you anticipate the people out there are maybe headed to a hotel where this might happen or already staying there? How might it affect them?

KELLY: So unfortunately there are no legal rules that state that you can get your money back. So the normal cancellation policy. So say there's no housekeeping,

it's really loud, your kids can't sleep and you want to change rooms, technically you aren't owed anything beyond your current cancellation policy. But I highly recommend talk to the GM of the hotel, tell them if you want to go and change to a different hotel, they should allow you to change free of charge.

If you've been inconvenienced, I saw on Instagram or on Twitter today, there were people go into the hotel lounges, you know, in Hawaii on vacation, and the lounges are closed because they don't have the employees to staff them. So if you're experiencing less definitely go to the hotel itself. Also e-mail the hotel chain and ask for compensation, especially points. They do have the ability to give you a lot of points if you've been inconvenienced.

And if you really feel like you've been done dirty and you didn't get what you wanted or thought you were, always go to your credit card company. They can dispute it and get you potentially even a free stay if you indeed did not get what you thought you were paying for.

DEAN: It is a great tips and it's a good reminder that you have to be your own advocate sometimes in some of these situations.

Brian Kelly, the Points Guy, thanks so much.

KELLY: Thanks for having me.

DEAN: Yes. Coming up, we're going to take a closer look at the lives of the six Israeli hostages whose bodies were just recovered hours ago.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:31:03]

DEAN: We're continuing to follow breaking news tonight out of Israel. An Israeli official telling CNN Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "worried" as organizers say 700,000 people joined protests across the country. The country's largest labor union also joining the fight vowing a nationwide general strike tomorrow.

Now, this all comes after military officials announced the recovery of the bodies of six hostages from an underground tunnel in Southern Gaza. They had been murdered.

CNN's Nic Robertson has a closer look at the lives of those six victims who were kidnapped and taken hostage on October 7th, held for months and eventually killed in captivity.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON (voice over): Alive and with them, real hopes of their release until recently. Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov, Ori Danino -- found the by the IDF in a Hamas tunnel in Gaza. Forensic evidence showing they were executed less than three days prior.

DANIEL HAGARI, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES REAR ADMIRAL, SPOKESPERSON (through translator): They were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists a short while before we reached them.

ROBERTSON (voice over): American-born Hersh Goldberg-Polin, happy-go- lucky, according to his family. A hero, on October 7th losing part of his arm trying to save others from Hamas gunfire and grenades at the Nova Music Festival.

HERSH GOLDBERG-POLIN, HOSTAGE KILLED BY HAMAS: Hersh Goldberg-Polin. ROBERTSON (voice over): Becoming an the international icon of the hostages' horrific suffering forced to perform a propaganda video for the terror group.

(PEOPLE CHEERING)

ROBERTSON: His, oh so hopeful parents at the Democratic National Convention, less than two weeks ago, telling him to hold on until a release deal reached.

JON POLIN, HERSH GOLDBERG-POLIN'S FATHER: The time is now.

RACHEL GOLDBERG, HERSH GOLDBERG-POLIN'S MOTHER: Hersh, if you can hear us, we love you. Stay strong. Survive.

J. POLIN: Bring them home.

ROBERTSON (voice over): Today horrible truths piling on the pain.

Israeli officials telling CNN, Hersh and Eden and Carmel all slated for the first phase of releases in hostage negotiations.

Heartbreak, anger, and anguish at Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's failure to deal, save Hersh and the others. An emotive cocktail surging unprecedented numbers of anti-Netanyahu protesters onto the streets across the country, an outpouring to get the other hostages home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need a deal now for his future, for our future.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This shouldn't have happened. It shouldn't have happened.

ROBERTSON (voice over): Eden Yerushalmi was just 24-years-old, a bartender at the Nova Music Festival when Hamas attacked, calling her two sisters her last words, "They've caught me."

Carmel Gat, a 40-year-old occupational therapist was visiting her parents at Kibbutz Be'eri next to the Nova Music Festival, saw her mother killed before she was snatched by Hamas.

Twenty-seven-year-old Almog Sarusi was at the music festival with his girlfriend. When she got injured in the Hamas attack, he stayed with her trying to staunch her fatal wounds before he was captured.

Alexander Lobanov was the bar manager at the festival, 32 years old, a Russian-Israeli. His wife, Michal, gave birth to their second child this year, a son, he will never meet his father.

[19:35:04]

Ori Danino, was another October 7th hero. The 25-year-old fled the music festival, taking friends to safety in his car, then returned to help Maya and Itay Regev. The three got captured. Maya and Itay released last November. BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translator): Hamas is continuing to steadfastly refuse all proposals. Even worse, at the exact same time, it murdered six of our hostages, whoever murders hostages does not want a deal.

ROBERTSON (voice over): The prime minister insisting Hamas, not him, responsible for the untimely deaths.

ROBERTSON (on camera): And the prime minister's message just not cutting it on the streets here at all, there are growing tensions within his government.

The anger on the streets here is growing. This city, the municipality is threatening to go on strike on Monday. Some of the country's biggest labor unions threatening to do the same.

This country could be on the cusp of change, but no one here is going to take that for granted.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Nic, thank you so much for that reporting.

And joining us now is Democratic congressman from Massachusetts, Jake Auchincloss. He also commanded infantry in Afghanistan and special operations in Panama. Congressman, thanks so much for being here with us, we really they appreciate it.

We're getting some new information in, the White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has told the American hostage families in a virtual call this afternoon that the ensuing days will be "critical" in the push to release the remaining hostages.

Do you agree with that assessment?

REP. JAKE AUCHINCLOSS (D-MA): Every day is critical, Jessica, and every day I know that American negotiators are using the utmost leverage to secure a deal that will bring the hostages home and I understand that there's frustration with Prime Minister Netanyahu.

I have been frustrated with Prime Minister Netanyahu and I've been outspoken about that. Well, let's be very clear that it is Hamas that executed six hostages.

It is Hamas that executed an American 23-year-old, a young man whose parents I was able to meet a young man who had strong connections to Massachusetts and I was able to learn something about the warm and wonderful person he is and how he made everyone around him better.

This young man had his whole life ahead of him, and he was killed simply because Hamas did not want him to see his family again. And Americans throughout this country should be united in seeking justice for his executers. The same justice that Osama Bin Laden received. DEAN: Yes, you tweeted Hamas murdered these hostages knowing that rescue was imminent. It is further evidence of the unbounded depravity of these terrorists. And together, the United States and Israel will get justice.

So what happens now, Congressman? What's next?

AUCHINCLOSS: What's next is, another day in the Middle East, which is the hardest place in the world to try to secure peace.

The Americans are going to continue to use the leverage that we have over Qatar, over Egypt, over Israel, of course, to bring the parties together to try to secure a temporary ceasefire in exchange for hostage release. But we also must remain committed that Hamas can have no place in governance for Gaza going forward.

Because Hamas is an organization that has, as part of its charter, the genocide of Jews worldwide and has broken every single ceasefire its ever inked.

It will break another ceasefire. It will take more hostages. It will commit the same atrocities, including rape, and torture, and murder, and hostage taking and this cycle of depravity will continue unless they are defeated.

DEAN: And yet, there's been this push and pull between -- that we've talked about for the last three hours on this show, between eliminating Hamas over here and getting these hostages back and the idea that you may not be able to do both at the same time.

Where do you come down on that?

AUCHINCLOSS: Well, President Biden's three-part plan actually threads that needle, I think quite effectively.

Part one is, I'm sure you know, Jessica, is a temporary ceasefire in exchange for hostage release. It is not codified that Israel must accede to permanent cessation of hostilities before for Hamas has been fully marginalized because Israel has every right to say that as a matter of security, it cannot abide a terrorist-run Gaza Strip going forward

My frustration with Prime Minister Netanyahu is not on his insistence that Hamas be defeated. I agree with him on that. It's on his lack of strategic execution to defeat Hamas.

He has only a military approach as opposed to a governance approach that would be Palestinian led, and Arab-backed and Western supported that would truly marginalize Sinwar and his nihilistic vision.

[19:40:04]

DEAN: And I'm sure you've seen the large number of protesters that are out in Israel -- that were out in Israel tonight. And also of course, the planned strike for tomorrow. What comes to mind when you're seeing this? Do you see it potentially as a tipping point or do you think this will go on for a lot longer?

AUCHINCLOSS: I won't make conjectures about Israeli domestic politics. American politics are enough to keep my hands full. What I will say is that Israeli's hearts are broken and I know a lot of Americans' hearts are broken too. There's vigils in my district this evening that I intend to join because people want to be together right now.

People are angry. People want these hostages reunited with their families and this incident in particular is so heartbreaking.

These were young heroes who were close to being reunited with their families and Hamas, yet again demonstrated for the world, they're unbound to depravity by executing them simply because they did not want them to see freedom again.

DEAN: All right Congressman Jake Auchincloss, thank you so much. We appreciate it

AUCHINCLOSS: Good evening.

DEAN: We'll have more news in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:46:01]

DEAN: The San Francisco 49ers wide receiver, Ricky Pearsall is in good spirits according to his mom. The team says he's out of the hospital just a day after he was shot in the chest.

Earlier, his mother posted to Facebook the bullet went through his chest, right out his back, and luckily missed all of his vital organs. Authorities now saying a 17-year-old suspect is in custody after an attempted robbery.

CNN's Camila Bernal has been following this story.

Camila, what's the latest?

CAMILA BERNAL CNN CORRESPONDENT: Look, both the shooter and the football player, they're expected to be okay. But you saw the mother there. She was saying that it was God who essentially saved him and she was saying that he is just thankful to the alive and in good spirits. So, really good news today.

But let's go back to what happened yesterday. This happened at 3:30 PM at Union Square. This is a very popular shopping area in San Francisco. And he was walking alone according to the San Francisco Police Department, when this 17-year-old came up to him and it was an attempted robbery.

He was armed and at some point there was a scuffle, there was an altercation and that gun went off in during both of them. That 17- year-old tried to run away, but police arrested him very quickly and took him into custody and he is expected to be charged, possibly Tuesday or Wednesday.

This will be in a juvenile court because he is just 17 years old, but this has also sparked a lot of conversation and attention to the San Francisco and the national conversation of the safety of the city and the high-profile crimes that we've seen in San Francisco.

And so, the mayor saying this is a setback, I want you to take a listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR LONDON BREED, SAN FRANCISCO: We are glad that the victim will be okay, but this incident does set us back from all the hard work that we've done in order to make significant changes in public safety in San Francisco.

We still have the lowest violent crime rate of any major city. We are on track to have record-low numbers of gun violence in particular in the city.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: So she is pointing to these statistics, but the person running against her for mayor, Matt Feral saying enough is enough and saying there needs to be some change in the City Hall. So again, just that conversation around the safety and what's happening in San Francisco -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Camila Bernal with the latest for us. Thanks so much.

Well be right back

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:53:10]

DEAN: Tonight, a look inside the largest US Military base outside the US, Camp Humphreys in South Korea. It is just 60 miles from North Korea. The base is home to more than 40,000 people, from music, concerts, to cooking kimchi, it's a unique blend of American life and Korean culture.

And CNN's Mike Valerio takes us there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's where rock concerts roar and where families find new homes in Korea. Like the Cook family trading their lives in Cincinnati, Ohio for Camp Humphreys, South Korea.

It's the Army's busiest airfield in Asia, and the biggest US military base overseas. Camp Humphreys, is about 60 miles away from North Korea, driving distance from the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone, the DMZ, which divides the Korean peninsula. More than 40,000 people call Camp Humphreys home, including the Cooks. They have not one but two sets of twins, the youngest, just eight months old.

SGT. TERRY COOK, US ARMY: And when you set this, you won't have --

VALERIO (voice over): They came here because of Sergeant Terry Cook, an Army IT Specialist here to support the critical US South Korean Military Alliance.

REE COOK, WIFE OF SGT. TERRY COOKE: We met in Cincinnati any Ohio --

VALERIO (voice over): But in Dad mode with his wife, Ree (ph), he says it's all about supporting his parental platoon.

T. COOK: I just really like to, you know, spend as much time - maximize my time with this whole unit I've got here.

VALERIO (on camera): I just like your new group right now, you are literally super dad.

VALERIO (voice over): Camp Humphreys host the only US Army Division, which is partially made up South Korean soldiers. But the goal for families here is to immerse in Korean culture, which is especially important for Ree, since she lived in Germany as a kid when her dad was a Sergeant in the Army.

R. COOK: Being able to provide my children with the same cultural experiences that I was given as a child. It is extremely important to me as a mother.

[19:55:01]

VALERIO (voice over): But for those looking for a slice of America, there's plenty.

Texas Roadhouse, Young Base Golf Course, and one of the biggest Fourth of July celebrations on this side of the world.

There's also the feeling of belonging.

(CHEERING)

VALERIO (voice over): Jubilation after years in the Army finally becoming American citizens, non-commissioned officer NCO Sergeant Vanessa Ramo was born in the Philippines supported here at her naturalization ceremony by her platoon.

STAFF SGT. VANESSA RAMO, US ARMY: I didn't expect it to be here, honestly. It's great to do it overseas somewhere, especially in Korea. I love Korea.

VALERIO (voice over): A slice of America, inextricably part of the Korean tapestry and for its newest residents, hardly far from home.

Mike Valerio, CNN, Camp Humphreys, South Korea. (END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Mike Valerio, thank you for that.

And thank you for joining me this evening. I'm Jessica Dean. We're going to see you again next weekend. Have a great night.

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