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Tens of Thousands in Israel Rally Calling for Hostage Release; VP Harris Holds Slight Lead Over Trump in Polls, Joe Biden Joins Harris Campaigning; Philippines and China Blame Each Other Over Collision in South China Sea; Dozens Injured in Kharkiv After Russian Missile Strike; Probe of Raisi's Helicopter Crash Caused by Bad Weather; Protests Sweep Across Israel After Hostage Deaths; Thousands Of Hotel Workers Go On Strike; U.S. Military Base In The Heart Of South Korea. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired September 02, 2024 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States, around the world and streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead, grief and rage in Israel. Tens of thousands of protesters filling the streets calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire deal following the deaths of six hostages in Gaza.

We have the first poll numbers following the Democratic National Convention, what they say and where the candidates will be in the days ahead.

And China pushes back on criticism after yet another collision with a Philippine Coast Guard vessel in the South China Sea.

Good to have you with us. It is 9:00 in the morning in Israel where Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv has halted departures and arrivals of flights for at least another hour as part of a nationwide strike. It comes as anger and anguish build over the deaths of six hostages in Gaza.

On Sunday, tens of thousands took to the streets in Tel Aviv and other cities, demanding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reach a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas. One man who came out to protest explained why so many people feel frustrated and angry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAFI KRECHMER, ISRAELI PROTESTED: We are here to protest against the Israeli government that is making wrong decisions. This country was built on some core values. Part of them is strictly that the government of Israel will do everything in its power to bring back hostages and soldiers from captivity wherever they are. And this government, because of political reasons and for the right, extreme coalition of Netanyahu, is breaking those values. And this is the core of the existence of our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: An Israeli official says the prime minister is worried about the widespread protests. On Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu said he was shocked by the cold-blooded murder of the six hostages and said, quote, "those who murder hostages do not want a deal." The Israeli military says it recovered the bodies of the six hostages, including an Israeli- American from an underground tunnel in southern Gaza on Saturday. Israel's health ministry says they likely were killed by short-range shots between Thursday and Friday morning.

In the coming hours, US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are set to meet with the U.S. negotiating team as the push to reach a deal takes on a new sense of urgency. Both Mr. Biden and the Vice President spoke with the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, the Israeli-American who was among the hostages killed to express their condolences.

And CNN's Nada Bashir is tracking development. She joined us now live from London. Good morning to you, Nada. So what impact might these massive protests, and now the strike, have on pressuring Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government to accept a ceasefire and hostage deal in the wake of the discovery of the bodies of these six hostages?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've been seeing these large scale protests taking place within Israel, particularly in Tel Aviv, for months now, pressuring the government, calling on the government of Israel to take action, to strike a deal with Hamas that would ensure the release of hostages and of course a ceasefire in Gaza. But it does feel as though the anger and frustration towards the Israeli government is really coming to a head.

We've seen these huge demonstrations taking place once again, but we're not only seeing this now on the popular front, we're seeing huge division as well within Netanyahu's own government over the course of these ceasefire negotiations, over the lack of progress that is being made to secure the release of hostages, particularly differences, CNN understands, between the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister, Yoav Gallant.

Now, there has been a huge amount of division on some of these sticking points that continue to exist within the ceasefire negotiations. We know that the Israeli government, in particular Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has put forward new conditions from that ceasefire proposal that was put forward by U.S. President Joe Biden in late May. These are areas where we still haven't seen any breakthroughs, haven't seen any sort of agreement between Israel and Hamas.

[02:05:03]

And one of those key areas of division is questions around the presence of Israeli troops along the Philadelphi corridor, that buffer zone separating Egypt and southern Gaza. Now CNN understands that the defense minister, Yoav Gallant, has called for that particular condition for the presence of Israeli troops to be removed from the ceasefire negotiations as it currently stands, or rather from the proposal currently on the table, as this is seen, according to Gallant, as a condition that Hamas simply won't agree to.

And in fact, we have heard time and time again now, not only from Hamas officials, but also from mediators on the Egyptian side who have said they are not in favor of seeing that longer term presence of Israeli troops within the Gaza Strip, that they want to see a full withdrawal of Israeli forces in any sort of ceasefire proposal. And in particular, this would include that crucial Philadelphi corridor.

But of course, this is something that the Israeli prime minister has continued to push forward. This is something that members of his cabinet have agreed to, including the Security Cabinet, which voted in favor of maintaining a troop presence along the Philadelphi corridor on Thursday. But again, huge amounts of division within the Israeli government itself on these particular sticking points.

And again, as you mentioned, these huge demonstrations, protests taking place. And we've been hearing from the family members and representatives of hostages who continue to be held captive by Hamas in Gaza, calling on the Israeli government to take tougher action. There has certainly been that mounting pressure from members of the international community and mediators, including, of course, the Biden administration.

We heard from U.S. President Joe Biden over the weekend saying that his assessment, or rather the U.S. assessment, is that there was a potential for this deal to be struck. They were on the verge, getting closer to a final agreement. But it does feel as though we are only further away now. As you mentioned, the Israeli government and Israeli officials have said they believe these six hostages were killed by short-range shots.

Hamas has denied or rejected this. They have said that they were killed in Israeli bombings. Of course, this stands in contrast to the evidence, according to Israeli authorities. But again, that continues to be that division. It does feel as though that pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu is mounting not only from within his government, but also on the popular front as well.

CHURCH: All right, our thanks to Nada Bashir for bringing us that live report from London. Joining me now from southern Israel is Efrat Machikawa, the niece of 80-year-old hostage, Gadi Moses. Thank you so much for talking with us at this difficult time. With the bodies of six hostages discovered in a Hamas tunnel in Gaza, while your 80-year- old uncle remains in captivity, so what are your thoughts at this time as you try to process this shocking news?

EFRAT MACHIKAWA, NIECE OF 80-YEAR-OLD HOSTAGE, GADI MOSES: Thank you very much for having me. Yes, indeed, you know, for 11 months of abuse and starvation and torture, all of those six in the Hamas captivity made it. They were alive, they survived, they made it, they were strong, and yet they were murdered, and that's really scary, and that shows that there is no time. And that the decisions of the Israeli government are wrong and it's time to seal that deal.

There was a deal since May, and we know for sure that those people could have been home, including my uncle. And we are crying out for international assistance and for people within our government, and especially our prime minister who is really making a very dark legacy of what he does to stop and get that ceasefire and get them home. They have to be home.

CHURCH: And we're seeing that pressure, hundreds of thousands of protesters taking to the streets of Israel, we saw that Sunday, angry with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as you are and demanding, as you've just said, that he accept the ceasefire and hostage release deal and now of course Israel's largest labor union calling for a nationwide strike today. We're seeing some evidence of that at the airport and that's all to increase this pressure. How likely is it do you think that Prime Minister Netanyahu will respond to this pressure?

MACHIKAWA: We have been in the streets since almost the very beginning. And I have to tell you that yesterday it felt different. It was -- there were so many people and we did feel that other people who were not out in the streets did come. It was really packed.

[02:09:56]

And we hope that by gathering our only democratic way of protesting is we'll bring the voice of the people to its prime minister who is not taking responsibility, who is not fulfilling what he should do. And I know -- I know that our people are held by a terrible terrorist organization, but we elected our prime minister, and it's his responsibility, and it has been 11 months now. They should have been home.

And for the strike, yes, Israel is on strike, and we are thanking the head of the Federation of Labour for joining us and for understanding that everything should stop. There is nothing more urgent in Israel and in the Middle East right now but the return of the hostages that will rewind the circle of revenge and the killing. We want to stop that. It is time to concentrate on the morals of values we grew upon, morals of life and redemption and growth. We should stop the death cycle.

CHURCH: And some critics are going so far as to say that Prime Minister Netanyahu has failed the people of Israel. Do you agree with that?

MACHIKAWA: Sadly, I totally agree with that. I think that he had so many chances. We know -- we know that at least the deal from May was on the table and sabotaging and giving all these excuses of suddenly we hear of the Philadelphi corridor or other things. He -- I think as many others that he is doing this for his own political survival and he forgets that as a prime minister he should first take care of his people and his state and, yes, also of our neighborhood and region.

This is his responsibility. He has to be the one to sign that deal not to abandon everybody, but to bring them back home by a deal, by a ceasefire. It is time for them to come home, including my very, very dear uncle, Gadi Moses, who is a peace activist who was traveling around the world saving other people's lives through agriculture, through the correct use of wastewater. He saved so many lives and yet he is somewhere, we don't know where, in Gaza kept as no one should be treated in the whole wide world.

CHURCH: Efrat, tell us more about what you would like us to know about your uncle. I mean he has an extraordinary background, doesn't he?

MACHIKAWA: Yes, please excuse me. Gadi Moses is the kindest person. He is the guy that is within a group, always shines with joy and kindness. He is a very, very strong, spiritually strong man. And I believe he is holding up there. I believe that everybody around him already learned how kind he is and how knowledgeable he is. He is, as I said, a peace activist.

He was working with different Arab countries like Egypt and Jordan. He was even guiding Palestinians all his life to try and to overcome hardships through innovation in agriculture. And you know, there are 12 grandchildren waiting for grandpa to come back. And we want to have his hug. We want to hug him. We want everybody back. They should be able to rehabilitate and we should have all those who were murdered back for respect for burial.

And Gadi, Gadi loves wine and he and his friends in Kibbutz Nir Oz were, unfortunately, one of four people who were either brutally murdered or abducted, they have planted a vineyard and they have their own grapes and they make their own wine.

[02:14:58]

And I wish for him to have that freedom and that sense of normality back and may we be able to toast for life, cheers for life, once he is back.

CHURCH: Efrat Machikawa, we wish the same and I know how difficult this has been for you to come on and speak to us, to all our viewers and to tell your story and to talk about your uncle and what this means for you and we hope this all ends very well and very quickly. We hope that all the hostages are brought home.

MACHIKAWA: And we -- thank you so much.

CHURCH: Thank you. Thank you so much.

MACHIKAWA: Thank you very much. And we really do hope it's up to our prime minister. He has to do the right thing and bring his citizens back home.

CHURCH: Thank you, Efrat Machikawa. Appreciate it. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: To the 2024 presidential race now and it seems Kamala Harris is not enjoying the post-convention bounce she might have expected. A new national poll from ABC News and Ipsos shows the Vice President holding a narrow lead over Donald Trump.

[02:20:02]

Harris is at 50 percent and Trump is at 46 percent among registered voters. That's nearly identical to the poll results from early August before the Democratic National Convention. President Joe Biden will join Harris on the campaign trail for a Labor Day event in Pittsburgh on Monday. CNN's Danny Freeman has more.

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On Monday, we're expecting to see the first campaign appearance featuring both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris since the Democratic National Convention, specifically since Harris officially became the Democratic nominee for president. And notably, this will also be the first time that the two of them will campaign together since Biden dropped out of the race.

Now, where are they off to? Of course, they're going to the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania. Specifically, they'll be heading to Pittsburgh, but we don't have a tremendous amount of details about what they'll be doing once they get down on the ground in Western Pennsylvania. However, President Biden himself has gone to Pittsburgh for a number of Labor days in the past. As recently as 2022, he actually went there to rally steelworkers. So you can expect we're going to see something similar to what he's done in the past.

Now, the Harris campaign clearly sees value in having President Joe Biden on the ground in states like Pennsylvania because he's Scranton Joe and they hope to appeal to that white working class voter that is crucial when it comes to, again, a swing state like Pennsylvania. But we shall see what the president's campaign schedule actually looks like in the future. Biden said on Saturday he plans to be on the road from Monday on.

Meanwhile, we've learned that on Tuesday, the Harris campaign will kick off a bus tour starting in Palm Beach, Florida, with a number of surrogates, celebrities and more all on that bus tour promoting reproductive rights. That's an issue that this campaign really wants to focus on. The bus is expected to make about 50 stops and will also try to grow the campaign's infrastructure, specifically by energizing volunteers along the way.

All of this, between the Labor Day events and this buster coming up, shows how crucial these next two months are going to be as this most intense part of the campaign season really kicks off. Danny Freeman, CNN, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

CHURCH: Tensions are high between China and the Philippines after a series of incidents in the South China Sea. The most recent one took place on Saturday when coast guard vessels from both countries collided. China and the Philippines are blaming each other saying the collision was deliberate. The U.S. and European Union have condemned China's actions. CNN's Marc Stewart is following the story for us and he joins us live now from Beijing. So Marc, what is the latest on this back and forth?

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, we have been describing this as an emerging flashpoint. And if you look at the video, you can understand why. The South China Sea has often been a very volatile part of the world. But in this most recent case, this tension between the Philippines and China is happening off the west coast of the Philippines, in an area where there are some low-lying reefs.

But this back and forth is drawing condemnation from the E.U. toward the Chinese Coast Guard. In fact, some of the language that we have been hearing from the E.U. describing this as unlawful, undermining international law, threatening peace and stability in the region, again, toward the Chinese Coast Guard. Similar condemnation also coming from the United States.

It was just last week that U.S. National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, was here in China, part of a regular agreement to hold meetings between the two nations. He held a question and answer session with reporters after, and I talked to him about this ongoing tension. He said, first of all, there is a need to de-escalate things, not so much a surprise. Take a listen, though, to what else he had to say from his stop here in Beijing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Nobody is looking for a crisis, not the Philippines, not the United States, and we hope not the PRC. But I did raise our concerns about some of the destabilizing actions that have taken place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: So this is drawing condemnation from the United States, from the E.U. China has been responding in effect to this most recent statement from the E.U. saying that it has no right to dictate the South China Sea issue, saying that it's ignoring the facts. We may hear more from Chinese officials in the next 30 minutes or so, Rosemary. That is when we have a daily Ministry of Foreign Affairs briefing. This likely could be one of the topics discussed.

CHURCH: All right. Our thanks to Marc Stewart joining us live from Beijing. Appreciate that update. Ukraine says at least 47 people, including seven children, have been wounded by Russian attacks in the city of Kharkiv.

[02:24:56]

Several Russian missiles struck a shopping mall, a sports center and residential buildings on Sunday, causing massive damage and possibly burying people in the rubble. Ukraine's president says it's Moscow's latest effort to target civilian infrastructure and terrorize residents. Fred Pleitgen has the details.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Russians certainly continuing their aerial campaign against Ukrainian towns and cities and really Kharkiv, which is really close to the Russian border, suffering the brunt of some of those attacks. On Sunday, there was an attack against areas inside of Kharkiv. The Ukrainians saying that the rubble was still being cleared in some of those places. Some of the children on the ground there were also wounded in that attack.

And this comes after several days that the Kharkiv area and the city of Kharkiv have been targeted by the Russians. On Friday, seven people were killed in a massive attack by aerial glide bombs and on Saturday another aerial glide bomb hit a village in the Kharkiv area killing two people there and the Ukrainians say that the Russians used what's called a FAB-500 bomb that has half a ton of explosives inside it and obviously causes considerable damage.

The Ukrainians however appear to be fighting back. The Russians are saying that there was a massive drone attack on Sunday by the Ukrainians against Russian territory. The Russians say that they shot down almost 160 drones in 15 regions across Russia. However, there appear to have been hits namely an oil refinery in the Moscow area and then also an energy facility in Tver that is very far away from the Russian border. So it appears as though the Ukrainians must have been using long distance drones for that. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Kyiv.

CHURCH: We are learning new details about the plane crash that killed Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi earlier this year. The Associated Press, citing Iranian state media, reports that the crash was caused by what's being described as challenging climatic and atmospheric conditions.

An official Iranian investigation found that a sudden dense fog appeared and rose upward, causing the helicopter to collide with a mountain. The report says there were no signs of sabotage. President Raisi and seven others, including Iran's foreign minister died in May when the helicopter crashed in a remote mountainous area in northwestern Iran.

A mounting anger in Israel and calls to shut down the entire economy, a nationwide strike and mass protests ramp up the pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu to bring the hostages home. We'll have more details on the other side of the break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:31:39]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Returning to our top story now. A nationwide strike is underway in Israel to demand a ceasefire and hostage deal, one day after huge protests following the deaths of six hostages in Gaza.

At Ben-Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, departing and arriving flights will continue to be halted for at least the next half hour as part of the strike. On Sunday, organizers say 550,000 people turned out in Tel Aviv alone. Protesters are demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reach a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas.

The frustration boiling over as police clashed with protesters. More than two dozen people were arrested.

CNN's Nic Robertson is following developments and has more now from Tel Aviv.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (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 by the IDF in a Hamas tunnel in Gaza. Forensic evidence showing they were executed less than three days prior.

REAR ADMIRAL DANIEL HAGARI, IDF SPOKESPERSON: They were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists a short while before we reached them.

ROBERTSON: American-born Hersh Goldberg-Polin, happy go lucky, according to his family, a hero on October 7 losing part of his arm trying to save others from Hamas gunfire and grenades at the Nova music festival.

HERSH GOLDBERG POLIN, ISRAELI-AMERICAN HOSTAGE: Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

ROBERTSON: Becoming an international icon of the hostages' horrific suffering, forced to perform a propaganda video for the terror group.

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

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

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

J. POLIN: Bring them home.

ROBERTSON: Horrible truths piling on the pain.

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

Heartbreak, anger and anguish at Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's failure to make a deal saved 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, shouldn't have happened.

ROBERTSON: Eden Yerushalmi was just 24-years-old, a bartender at the Nova Music Festival when Hamas attacked, calling her two sisters. Her lost words: they've caught me.

[02:35:03] 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.

Ori Danino was another October 7 hero the. Twenty-five-year-old fled the music festival, taking friends to safety in his car, then returned to help Maya and Itay Regev. The three GOP captured. Maya and Itay released last November.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (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: The prime minister insisting Hamas, not him, responsible for the untimely deaths.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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. That anger on the streets here is growing. 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.

CHURCH: Some news just coming into CNN. The U.N.-led polio vaccination campaign reached around 87,000 children on Sunday, its first official day. That is according to the U.N.'s agency for Palestinian refugees, citing the World Health Organization. Israel has agreed to temporarily pause during the -- during the vaccination campaign. That's a pause in fighting clearly, the drive comes after the highly infectious polio virus was found in sewage samples in the territory in June.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:40:33]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

Marine biologists are mourning the death of a beluga whale that might have been operating as a Russian spy. Five years ago, Hvaldimir was discovered near an island in northern Norway. He was interested in humans and was wearing a harness with a words equipment, St. Petersburg and appeared to have amount for a small camera.

Moscow never responded to allegations at the whale was used in espionage. A marine NGO says Hvaldimir was not just a whale, but a beacon of hope and a reminder of the strong bond between humans and nature. Just gorgeous.

Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church.

For our international viewers, WORLD SPORT is coming up next.

And for our viewers here in the United States and in Canada, I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM in just a month. So, stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:45:37]

CHURCH: Welcome back to our viewers here in North America. I'm Rosemary Church.

Thousands of hotel workers went on strike on Labor Day in the United States, saying hotels are making record profits, but are not sharing the wealth.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Unite Here is the union that's representing these workers which voted to authorize a strike.

It's currently happening across eight different cities and 24 hotels. There's at least 10,000 workers who have joined the picket line asking for better wages and better working conditions. Take a look at how many cities are being affected all across the country, Boston, Greenwich, San Francisco, Seattle, Honolulu, all over the country, and during the Labor Day weekend, a time when we are expected to see more travelers and hotels are expecting to get more business.

Now, each a city strike will take between two and three days, or at least until they can get a deal with their employers. The strike is currently affecting three hotel chains, including Marriott, Hyatt, and Hilton.

And as I said, they are asking for better working conditions and specifically a restoration of some of the cuts that were made as a result of the pandemic. They say that the tourism industry has bounced back since the pandemic their wages are not reflecting that.

I spoke to a woman who works at two different hotels in San Francisco. She told me that she has to work two jobs in order to make ends meet in a place like San Francisco. She says it's not just her who works two jobs, but also many of her colleagues.

Take a listen. APPLE RATANABUNSRITHANG, STRIKING HOTEL WORKER: The health is, of course, you know, it's going down sleep two hours here, two hours there, you know, two hours when you get home, you know, and to hour before you start you know, another job you know. So, my health kind of gone down. So you don't only have time to maintain, you know, your living standard.

PAZMINO: She also told me one of the key issues that they are concerned about is the issue of health care. Many of the hotel workers that are on strike have worked that the hotel for 10, 20, 30 years. And she points out that it's a physical work and I just how important their health care benefits are to her.

Now, we did hear back from one of the hotel chains. We heard back from Hyatt who told us that while they were disappointed that the workers had voted to go on strike, they look forward to continuing to negotiate fair contracts and recognize the contributions of Hyatt employees.

In the meantime, hotels are expected to remain open, although they will be having to decrease and cut back on some of their services, and they will be operating with smaller staffs.

In New York, Gloria Pazmino, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: This month, 32,000 Boeing workers in Washington state could go on strike, putting more strain on a company already under massive pressure. The contract between Boeing and the International Association of Machinist Union is set to expire on September 12. And union leaders say negotiations for a new deal or not going well.

The strike would mean a significant hit for Boeing and for the U.S. economy. Boeing is already facing steep losses and debt after a series of safety disasters rocked the company's earnings and reputation.

The largest U.S. overseas military base in the world is within driving distance of North Korea, and the 41,000 people living in it like to experience both American and Korean culture.

CNN's Mike Valerio reports from Camp Humphreys in South Korea.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's where rock concerts roar and where families find new homes in Korea.

Like the Cooke (ph) family, trading their lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, for Camp Humphreys, South Korea.

It's the Army's busiest airfield in Asia, and the biggest U.S. 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.

[02:50:08]

More than 40,000 people called Camp Humphreys home, including the Cookes. They have not one but two sets of twins, the youngest, just eight months old.

They came here because of Sargent Terry Cooke (ph), an Army I.T. specialist, here to support the critical U.S. South Korea military alliance.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We met in Cincinnati, Ohio.

VALERIO: But in dad mode with his wife Reeh (ph), he says its all about supporting bringing his parental platoon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's really like a, you know, spend as much time of the maximum my time to get this whole unit I got here.

VALERIO: Just look how you look right now, you're literally a super dad.

Camp Humphreys host the only U.S. Army Division, which is partially made up of South Korean soldiers. But the goal for families here is to immerse in Korean and culture, which is especially important for Reeh, since she lived in Germany as a kid when her dad was a sergeant in the Army.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Being able to provide my children with the same cultural experiences that I was given other child, it is extremely important to me as a mother.

VALERIO: But for those looking for a slice of America, there's plenty. Texas Roadhouse, the on-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. Jubilation after years in the Army finally becoming American citizens. Noncommissioned officer and CO, Sergeant Vanessa Ramo, was born in the Philippines, supported here at her naturalization ceremony by her platoon.

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

VALERIO: 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)

CHURCH: The reigning U.S. Open Women's champion, Coco Gauff, won't defend her title after losing to fellow American Emma Navarro. It's Navarro's second consecutive win against Gauff and comes at the same point in the tournament, the fourth round, as his previous meeting at Wimbledon.

Navarro advances to the quarter finals where she will face Paula Badosa of Spain.

Meanwhile, WNBA rookie Angel Reese continues to break records in Minneapolis on Sunday. The Chicago Sky star netted her fourth 405th rebound against the Minnesota Lynx. With that, she broke the league single season rebounding record that was held by former WNBA center Sylvia Fowles. Reese became the fastest player in WNBA history to hit 20 double-doubles in one season. And she holds the record for the most consecutive double-doubles in league history.

Well, Scottie Scheffler is the newest PGA Tour champion and FedEx cup winner. He wrapped one of the best seasons in recent memory on Sunday and he's now $25 million richer.

Our Don Riddell talked with him about his incredible year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Scottie, well played and many, many congratulations. You've just had an absolutely extraordinary year with an awful lot of winning.

How are you feeling about what you've achieved here this weekend?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER, PGA TOUR CHAMPION: Yeah, feeling -- feel good. Yeah. Like you said, it's been its been a funny year, was able to get some wins and really just grateful, grateful for this week and kind of just finished off the season the right way and being able to win the Masters.

RIDDELL: Somehow, you make this game that can credibly easy. And anybody that's played it knows that it's not. So, what's your secret?

SCHEFFLER: I don't know. I feel like it's pretty difficult at times. So if I figure out the secret, I'll let you know, but right now, just kind enjoying the challenge of the game and just trying to our best.

RIDDELL: One of the things I've heard about you this week is that when you're angry, you almost play better, and you can't say that about a lot of other golfers.

How are you able to do that? Because you had some tough moments today and you followed it up with any credible bounce-back?

SCHEFFLER: Yeah. I think that's something that I think its really been a huge part of why this year has been so successful as those little moments in the round where you get frustrated. I've really done a good job of turning those into positives. You know, you look at a day like today, I bogey seven and eight, eight with a silly mistake with the shank and bogey and drive a hole and all of a sudden, the tournaments lot closer now and then I bounce back really nicely there with three birdies on 9, 10, 11 to kind of extend the lead again.

So really just overall, just proud of the year, proud of the fight that we put on this a year and they are ready to go.

RIDDELL: Trophies this season and incredible seven wins on the PGA tour. That's not to mention the gold medal in Paris at the Olympics. That is a season of Tiger Woods proportions. And now people are comparing your game and your dominance to his and what he did.

How do you feel about that?

SCHEFFLER: I mean, anytime you can get mentioned in the same breath as Tiger, it's pretty special. But at the end of the day, there's not going to be anybody like Tiger I don't think ever in our game, in our sport.

You know, I'm just -- I'm just myself.

[02:55:01]

I'm just a kid from Texas that loves playing golf and I'm just trying to get the most out of myself. And, you know, this year has been really fun and just going to continue to put in the work and see what that leads us.

RIDDELL: To say that this has been an eventful year I think would be an understatement. A lot of ups, some downs. One day, when young Bennett is old enough, he might look you in the eye and say, dad, tell me about the year I was born. What are you going to say?

SCHEFFLER: No idea, probably I'm going to laugh, because out of the -- you know, there's not really knowing what to say, but, yeah, I think it took some notes this year, some stuff that we want to remember, his first few months being alive, and, yeah, I'm excited to be able to share with him one day.

RIDDELL: Final question. After you won the Masters, you told me that you won't going to let up because you knew that Bennett was on his way and you didn't let up at all. In fact, maybe you even got better. How would you say that his arrival has changed you?

SCHEFFLER: I mean, it definitely has changed our home life significantly. There's not much time to really spend doing anything else other than taking care of him and spend some time at home, but it's been -- it's been a lot of fun. It's been a joy to watch him grow up and it's really incredible. Just the little things and how much joy just brings me and Meredith, you've seen him smile when we get home and when he wakes up in the morning, he can recognize this now and smile and it's -- it's been a lot of fun.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Two of Hollywood's biggest stars proving they still have the power to make waves and caused a frenzy.

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CHURC: In case you've been living under a rock, that is George Clooney and Brad Pitt in Venice on Sunday, pulling up in a boat along the canal ahead of the world premiere of their new film, "Wolfs". The comedy thrillers screened later at the Venice film festival as cool as they may look, and they are very cool. Clooney was currently hot, commenting that he was sweating as he

signed autographs and posed for photos.

Thank you so much for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment. Do stay with us.