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CNN International: Pope in Indonesia for Start of 12-day Trip; Israeli PM Under Growing Pressure Over Hostage Deal; W.H.O. Says Over 161,000 Children Have Received Polio Vaccine in Gaza So Far; Harris, Walz Court Blue Collar Workers for Labor Day; Trump to Return to Campaign Trail on Wednesday; 129 Killed in DRC Amid Attempted Mass Prison Break; Bipartisan Opposition Grows Over $14 Billion U.S. Steel Takeover; Student-led Protests Grow Into a National Uprising in Bangladesh; 41 Killed, 180 Injured in Russian Strike on Ukraine; Beetlejuice Sequel Hits Theaters 36 Years After Original; Oasis Ticketing Fury Prompts Probe Into Dynamic Pricing. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired September 03, 2024 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:10]
AMARA WALKER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi, everyone and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Amara Walker. This is "CNN Newsroom." Just ahead, breaking news out of Ukraine, officials say Russia has launched a massive strike on a military college. Plus, deadlock and doubling down, Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu defends his strategy in Gaza despite days of protests, while Hamas makes new threats to harm the more than 100 hostages still held in Gaza. And then an attempted prison break in the Democratic Republic of Congo ends in horror. What are learning about, how the escape attempt unfolded, just ahead.
We are getting early information about a Russian strike against a military college in central Ukraine. The country's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy says at least 41 people have been killed. It is one of the biggest death tolls from a single attack of the war. This comes as the head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog is on the ground in Ukraine, after officials warn the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is at, what they call, increased risk of danger. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is joining me now, live in Kyiv with more. Fred, what do we know about this attack?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Amara, as you mentioned, this is still obviously the very early stages and this information is really coming in fresh to us. We have gotten that information from Ukraine's president saying that 41 people, at least at this point in time have been confirmed to have been killed and about 180 have been injured in that attack. The details that we are getting so far, they are pretty scant, but we are getting some apparently, and this is according to the defense ministry of Ukraine. The Russians used two ballistic missiles to hit that military educational facility, apparently in this attack, the telecommunications institute of that facility was partially destroyed.
Now, what the Ukrainians are saying is that the time between the air raid alerts that way and off and those missiles hitting was so short that many people were simply caught off guard as those missiles hit while they were trying to get to safety, trying to get to bomb shelters. We are getting some information also from the emergency services that are obviously working there on the ground now. They obviously say that they're -- people are sifting through the rubble, sifting through the debris, trying to get some people out, apparently there are still people who are trapped underneath the rubble.
However, they say that because they were onsite so quickly, they managed to get 25 people out of the debris, some of them obviously stuck under larger pieces of debris. So, that operation is still very much ongoing. We've heard the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rip into the Russians for attacking this facility. The other thing that we also are looking at is what exactly the Russians are saying about this, Amara. And so far, there have been no comments from Russia's defense ministry or any other official channels. However, there is a very well-known Russian military blogger who did say that the Russian military fired ballistic missiles at this military installation.
This is in the town of Poltava. Poltava, I would say, is about a four- hour, three-and-a-half to four-hour drive east of Kyiv. It's sort of locked between Kyiv and Kharkiv in pretty much in the center of the country and it is obviously a place that many people would go through when they go towards the eastern regions of the country of Ukraine as well. This, obviously, a big blow for the Ukrainians. That's something I think can already be said. And at the same time already, a lot of people here absolutely shocked at the fact that so many people were killed in this one attack, as you mentioned. Certainly one of the law largest attacks that we have seen here are one of the largest death tolls resulting from an attack that we've seen here in Ukraine in the past couple of months, Amara.
WALKER: A devastating blow for Ukraine, obviously. We are still awaiting more information regarding this and the impacts. Fred Pleitgen, we will stay in touch with you. Thank you so much. Live for us there in Kyiv.
Turning now to Israel where more protests are planned, a day after the prime minister rejected calls to make concessions in the talks about a Gaza ceasefire and the release of hostages. On Monday, Israel saw a second straight day of mass protests in the streets, all fueled by anger over the killing of six hostages in Gaza over the weekend. Some protesters gathered outside one of Benjamin Netanyahu's private homes and lit fires. The prime minister is vowing that Hamas will pay a heavy price for murdering the hostages. It is saying in response, more rescue by Israel, more rescue attempts by Israel will lead to more hostages being killed.
Mr. Netanyahu is also facing criticism from Israel's closest ally, U.S. President Joe Biden says the Israeli leader has not done enough to secure the hostages' release. CNN's Arlette Saenz is at the White House.
[08:05:00]
But let's begin with Jeremy Diamond, who is joining us now live from Tel Aviv, Israel. Jeremy, tell us more about the anger that we are seeing spill out -- continuing to spill out into the streets against Netanyahu. What have we been seeing? What are they saying and what are we expecting today?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, over the past few days, we have seen hundreds of thousands of Israelis pour into the streets, not only of Tel Aviv, but in cities and towns across Israel, demanding that the Israeli prime minister prioritize a hostage deal and reach such a deal quickly, so that the remaining 101 hostages still in Gaza can come back, and so that most of them can come back alive rather than in body bags as we saw over this past weekend.
But last night, we heard from the Israeli prime minister directly, and it appears that those cries, those chants, those protests from so many Israelis have fallen on deaf ears, as the Israeli prime minister acknowledged what -- the anger that he was hearing in the streets, acknowledged the grief of the families, but ultimately, doubled down on one of his key demands that has become a major sticking point in these negotiations, and that is Israeli control of the Gaza-Egypt border, that critical stretch of lands known as the Philadelphi Corridor.
The Israeli prime minister going into detailed explanations of why he believes it is so critical for Israel's security that they maintain control of that corridor. But there is one major issue and that is the fact that the prime minister's security and defense establishment, his national security experts who are advising him, including the Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, they believe privately at least, and some of them publicly, that Israel can return to that Philadelphi Corridor at a later date. And that right now, it is more important to reach a hostage such deal.
And so, the Israeli prime minister doubling down on that notion, it leaves us at an impasse as Hamas continues to insist that Israeli troops do withdraw from that corridor during the first phase of an eventual ceasefire agreement. And so, even as there is an international effort to try and restart these hostage negotiations, the U.S. now expected since likely put a final proposal on the table to try and get these two sides to reach an agreement, it's very difficult to see where these talks can go from here as the Israeli prime minister digs in his heels, as Hamas shows no signs of budging from its demand that Israeli troops withdraw from that same area.
And now, there is also heightened concern for the lives of the hostages after Hamas acknowledged that it executed those six hostages and warns that more hostages will return in coffins should Israel continue to try and free those hostages through military means rather than at the negotiating table. Amara?
WALKER: Yeah, Netanyahu still remaining defiant. Thank you so much, Jeremy Diamond. Let's turn it over to Arlette Saenz who is at the White House and Arlette, I mean, President Biden has expressed his frustrations publicly about and overt (ph) Netanyahu, and they're at odds again. Tell us more about what you're hearing from the White House regarding this. ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Amara, this really marks just the latest tension point in a long running frustrations that the White House has had towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Now, the president typically has been reluctant to criticize Netanyahu in public, instead trying to exert that pressure privately. But yesterday, he answered tersely and very bluntly, when he was asked whether he believed Netanyahu was doing enough to try to get a ceasefire and hostage deal across the finish line. I want to play that exchange for you from yesterday right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think it's time for Prime Minister Netanyahu to do more on this issue? Do you think he's doing enough?
JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAENZ: Now, the Israeli side had pushed back a bit on the president's comments, saying that they have been there in serious negotiations about this deal. A U.S. official later responded that the president something has been clear that Hamas has been responsible for the death of these hostages, but also saying that they are pushing the Israeli side to address this with a bit more urgency. Now, President Biden yesterday, assembled his national security team, including those who are directly involved in these negotiations, really to chart a path forward for how they will approach these talks down the road.
The president himself has said that he anticipates he could soon present a final deal to both sides. The U.S. has been working for weeks now, trying to come up with a framework that would bridge the gaps between Israel and Hamas in these negotiations. We also know that the officials who have been involved in these talks have been working the phones. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, yesterday, spoke with Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, as well as the Qatari prime minister in another attempt to try to move these negotiations along.
[08:10:00]
But even as the president is expressing some cautious optimism about trying to present a final deal soon, it still remains entirely unclear what the path forward to getting this deal across the finish line will look like at a time when both Hamas and Israel, so far have really dug in on their positions relating to a possible agreement.
WALKER: They sure have. Arlette Saenz, thank you so much. And our thanks to Jeremy Diamond as well.
Meanwhile, inside Gaza, the World Health Organization says the campaign to vaccinate hundreds of thousands of children against polio is actually ahead of its targets. The W.H.O. says more than 161,000 children under ten have received the vaccine in central Gaza. The next phase will take place in southern Gaza and that starts on Thursday. Israel has agreed to a series of pauses in fighting during this vaccination campaign.
For more now, let's go to CNN's Nada Bashir, live in London. I mean, this is a rare bit of optimism when we are talking about Gaza for what really still remains a monumental task.
NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. We've been hearing from U.N. officials on the ground on relief workers who have described the first three days of what is a 12-day process to have been a success. They've seen a positive at turnout in the words of the U.N. Agency for Palestine Refugees. We've seen in videos of families lining up, waiting to have their children vaccinated. Just yesterday, we saw really workers visiting U.N. run schools, many of which have become shelters, of course, for civilians across the Gaza Strip who have been displaced, going classroom by classroom to vaccinate children under the age of ten.
Of course, this is somewhat a sign of optimism there. They had projected around 150,000 immunizations to take place in the first two days of this vaccine rollout campaign. As you mentioned, they've reached at least 161,000 according to the World Health Organization, but they are aiming to vaccinate some 640,000 children over the course of this 12-day rollout program. That's over 90 percent of children under the age of ten in the Gaza Strip. And again, this is the first three days of what will be three phases. So currently, focusing on central Gaza, then moving on to southern Gaza, and then the third and final phase will focus or northern Gaza.
So there is still a way to go and we've been hearing from officials from the World Health Organization warning that we still have to maintain a close eye on whether or not those pauses in fighting are actually maintained and respected. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. RIK PEEPERKORN, W.H.O. REPRESENTATIVE: Until now, things are going well. Again, this is only the third day, so this area-specific humanitarian pauses, until now, they work. We of course expect that this will continue and that all parties as such will contribute to this, and to make sure that we can continue. We still have ten days to go, at least.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASHIR: Of course, there are a huge number of civilians displaced in southern Gaza. That will be the focus of the next phase of this program to try and vaccinate as many children as possible over this 12-day process. But of course, it's important to note that there are logistical challenges ahead for relief workers on the ground. Not all of these medical points or vaccination points are actually located within humanitarian zones, so there are security concerns and that is why this pause in fighting, which will focus on these specific locations, is so crucial not only to ensure the safety and security of the family members who are, of course, queuing up, lining up to get their children vaccinated, but of course, for the relief workers on the ground who have to coordinate the logistics of not only getting to these locations, but also deploying and distributing these vaccines to those children in need.
But again, it is a hugely important campaign, very urgent campaign according to U.N. officials. But so far, they have seen a success in this first initial phase of the process.
WALKER: All right. Nada Bashir, thank you for your reporting. Kamala Harris and her closest allies are making it clear how they plan to win the Midwest swing states. They're going after blue collar union workers. For Labor Day, Harris brought her boss, President Joe Biden, along as she courted voters in Pennsylvania. It came after an earlier rally in Michigan. Biden is seen as one of the most pro-union presidents in history and he said Harris will be the same.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Kamala --
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: -- believes as I do that unions are the spine of this economy. She will be a historic, pro-union president.
KAMALA HARRIS, (D) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let's not pay too much attention to the polls. Let's know, like labor always does, we are out here running like we are the underdog in this race because we know what we are fighting for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: And Harris' running mate, Tim Walz also spent Labor Day talking to union voters in the upper Midwest as he appeared at a rally in Wisconsin.
[08:15:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. TIM WALZ, (D-MN) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you want to attack me for standing up for collective bargaining, for fair wages, for safe working conditions, for health care and retirement, you roll the damn dice, I'll take my chances on that.
(CROWD CHEERING)
WALZ: I'll take my chances.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is tracking the Harris campaign for us. Hi there, Priscilla. You know, blue collar workers are one of the key piece in the Democratic coalition, but they've been trending for Trump recently. How is Harris trying to win them back, and how did it go over as Biden campaigned with Harris for the first time?
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well in two ways, trying to meet them where they are. But this is where the campaign thinks they can really utilize President Joe Biden as well, because he does resonate with labor groups, with union workers, and it was notable, of course, that the first campaign event that the two did together was in Pennsylvania as they tried to do exactly that. Now, of course, the president is in a transition from the candidate to the surrogate, and he has forcefully said on the trail yesterday that he planned to help from the sidelines. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: We made a lot of progress, and Kamala and I are going to build on that progress, and she's going to build on it. I'll be on the sidelines, where I'll do everything I can to help.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALVAREZ: Now, of course, Pennsylvania is one of the places that is part of the blue wall states that we often talk about, that helped hand President Biden his election victory in 2020. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania specifically is one that he lost -- or he won, I'm sorry -- by less than two percentage points. So that gives you a sense of how close it is and why the -- now Harris campaign is pushing so hard to make sure that she can also pull in those labor groups.
Now, she's also focusing on the economy to do just that. And that is something that we have seen her fine-tune her messaging on specifically focusing on affordability. And today, the campaign released yet another economy ad. This is one that's going to run between Labor Day through Election Day. It's also part of that broader strategy of ad-buy of $370 million, so they are being aggressive on the air waves just as much as they plan to be on the campaign trail.
And Amara, it is also important to note that the economy, an issue that is top of mind for voters, is also one that she has lagged behind when compared to Former President Donald Trump. So that is where she is trying to get an edge in. And tomorrow, she will be heading to New Hampshire where she's going to be talking about innovation, small business, and entrepreneurship, something she teased last week saying that she wanted to propose tax credits for small business start-ups. So clearly trying to hit all parts of the coalition here as she tries to get a better standing on economy when compared to her Republican rival.
WALKER: Well, one edge that she has over Trump is on the issue of abortion right, and she's kicking off this 50-stop bus tour to highlight reproductive freedoms. Tell us a little bit about that because she's kicking it off in Trump's own backyard really.
ALVAREZ: Yeah. And reproductive rights was mentioned in a campaign memo over the weekend where they called it a powerful piece of the campaign. So clearly, it ranks high in those issues that they think they have an edge over Former President Donald Trump, and as you mentioned, kicking it off today in Florida where abortion is on the ballot, where Former President Donald Trump has flip-flopped on how he would vote on the measure. Now of course, this is a reproductive right where that's going to be primarily composed of surrogates, elected officials, and the campaign says celebrities. It's going to be at least 50 stops and it's going to run to Election Day. So clearly, they are trying to keep this issue front of mine. They know that it galvanized voters in 2022 and they want to try to replicate that now in 2024. And I should also mention this is an issue that the vice president was positioned to be the voice on at the start of the year when the then Biden campaign, she kicked off her own reproductive rights tour at the time, coining the term 'Trump abortion ban along the way.'
So this is something that she herself has been a voice on and now. They're trying to pull in surrogates to continue that message on the road as she's also expected to do, but certainly, to try to hit more places more often.
WALKER: Priscilla Alvarez, good to see you. Thank you so much.
Well, there's a tangible sign of how the race for president has changed lately. The Donald Trump campaign no longer thinks it has a chance to win in New Hampshire. That is the state that was seen as a possibility for Trump earlier in the campaign and this is all according to a leaked email from a top Republican official in neighboring Massachusetts. His email tells Trump supporters to switch their campaign efforts to Pennsylvania, saying, "If we lose Pennsylvania, we lose the election."
The Trump campaign denies that it is pulling out and says the official who wrote the email is no longer with the campaign. Steve Contorno is following the Trump campaign for us.
[08:20:00]
Yeah, Steve, talk to us more about how the dynamics seemed to have changed for Trump and when he returns to the campaign trail tomorrow, he's headed right back to those Midwest swing states.
STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: That's right, Amara. If you look at where the Trump campaign is spending its time and spending its money, it is in those seven battleground states that this race was really fought over in 2017. That is those three Midwest states, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, as well as the Sun Belt states Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, and North Carolina. And for a time, there seemed to be a suggestion by the Trump campaign that the map for them could be expanding. We saw him hold rallies and suggest that Minnesota was in play. We saw him in Virginia, making a play for that state which hasn't been a battleground since the 2012 election.
We've seen him attempt to turn the dial in New Hampshire. And for a while, his campaign was suggesting that we could be headed toward an electoral landslide. Obviously, so much has changed since the top of the Democratic ticket has switched from Joe Biden to Kamala Harris. And now, we are sort of seeing a retrenching in those more familiar battlegrounds and the Trump campaign over the next few days, really showing their cards here. He has a campaign rally -- or excuse me, at a town hall he is planning in Pennsylvania tomorrow. He is going to North Carolina to speak to police on Friday. And on Saturday, he has a rally in Wisconsin.
Those are three places we expect to see Donald Trump spend a lot of time over the final six weeks of this -- nine weeks of this race.
WALKER: All right, Steve Contorno, good to see you. Thank you.
Total chaos and a deadly stampede, a mass escape attempt at the largest prison in the Democratic Republic of Congo ends in tragedy. We'll have the details ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: At least 129 people have been killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo as an attempt by convicts to force their way out of prison ended in horror. Authorities say, most of the casualties were crushed in a stampede. In a social media post, the interior minister said it happened early Monday morning at the country's largest prison in the capital of Kinshasa. He said at least two dozen people were killed by gunshots as they tried to escape. An investigation is underway.
CNN's Larry Madowo joining me now in Nairobi, Kenya with more. Larry, what are you learning about how this prison break unfolded?
LARRY MADOWO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Amara, we've seen some horrific video on social media that purports to show what happened when this attempted prison break happened early Monday morning, the government there stressing that it was an attempt. No prisoners escaped according to a prison official, but what they say is that 129 people were killed, some 24 of them were shot after being warned not to escape, and at least 59 people were injured in this prison in the Kinshasa, capital region of the DRC.
[08:25:14]
Now, this is a prison that was built to contain about 1,500 people. But according to Amnesty International, it's got at least 12,000 people. Some official figures say there could be as many as 15,000 people inside this prison. So, it is heavily overpopulated. During this attempted prison break, there was also a fire that broke out according to the government in the administrative building the prison, in the food depots, as well as the hospital, and some women were raped in the process, in that chaos. So, just really tragic situation all around. This is how the authorities in the DRC explain what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACQUEMAIN SHABANI LUKOO BIHANGO, CONGOLESE INTERIOR MINISTER (through translator): On a material level, we deplore the fire in the administrative buildings of the registry, the infirmary, and the food stocks. The government is pleased with the restored calm, condemns these unfortunate incidents, and presents its deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims. Investigations are continuing and the public will be informed of the outcome.
(END VIDEO CLIP) MADOWO: There will be a lot of outrage about that investigation, how this could happen in the country's largest prison when the government is in the process of decongesting prisons and improving the conditions of inmates at this present. Again, Amara, most of this inmates are awaiting trial but not been officially sentenced to long prison sentences.
WALKER: What's also notable is that it's not the first time we've seen this kind of incident at this prison, correct?
MADOWO: It's not. At this same prison in 2017, a religious sect broke in and freed some of their members as well as other prisoners, about 50 people escaped from the same Makala prison in 2017. But, prison breaks generally are not uncommon in the DRC. In 2020, a rebel group affiliated to ISIS broke into another prison in Beni in the north east of DRC and freed hundreds of inmates from that. And there's been other reported cases of attempted or successful prison breaks in other parts of the country. And again, that goes to the general overpopulation, terrible conditions that prisoners in the DRC live in, and sometimes those on the outside try and free them from those conditions. And even though the government says it's improving those conditions, it is not happening fast enough.
WALKER: What an extraordinary story and just incredibly tragic. Larry Madowo, thank you very much. Live for us there in Nairobi.
Still to come, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris makes her position on the proposed sale of U.S. Steel, known for the first time. We'll have a live report ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:30:38]
WALKER: Welcome back. Let's update the breaking news this hour, at least 41 people have been killed in a Russian strike on a military college in central Ukraine. These are the first pictures we are getting from the scene in Poltava. According to the Ukrainian president, two ballistic missiles hit the facility and a nearby hospital. It is one of the highest death tolls from a single strike in the course of the two-and-a-half-year war. More than 180 people were injured in that attack and we will have much more from Ukraine in the coming hours.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is pushing back for the first time over the proposed sale of U.S. Steel. Harris joined -- used a joint campaign appearance with U.S. President Joe Biden in Pittsburgh on Monday to say that U.S. Steel should remain domestically owned. Japan's largest steelmaker, Nippon Steel, is set to take over U.S. Steel in a deal worth $14 billion. The White House has already opposed the sale, something Harris acknowledged.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: It is vital for our nation to maintain strong American steel companies and I couldn't agree more with President Biden, U.S. Steel should remain American owned and American operated.
(CROWD CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: All right, CNN's Matt Egan joining me now live in New York with more. So, we heard there from Vice President Kamala Harris that she believes U.S. Steel should remain American owned. What happens from here then?
MATT EGAN, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Well, Amara, this deal has turned into quite the political football. And I guess I'm not shocked. I mean, we are talking about a foreign takeover of a legendary American manufacturer during an election year. And this is a symbol of blue- collar jobs and it's based in Pennsylvania, the must-win battleground state. And so, yes, with Vice President Harris going to the steel city, to the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers to voice her opposition, yeah, this deal does look like it is very much in doubt.
And look, it was controversial from the moment that Nippon Steel came out with this $14 billion takeover offer back in December. To try to address some of the these concerns, the company said that U.S. Steel would keep its iconic name, its headquarters would remain in Pittsburgh. But the deal has been delayed in terms of closing because it has to get sign off from regulators, not just the green light from the Justice Department, but also from CFIUS, that's the inter-agency panel that examines foreign investment in the United States.
Now, as Vice President Harris acknowledged there, U.S. Steel is such an iconic company, right? I mean, when it was founded 123 years ago, it was the biggest company on the planet. It helped to make America into an economic superpower. Its steel went into roads and bridges and skyscrapers and appliances and cars, you name it. But, look, U.S. Steel, this company has been in decline, not for years, but really for decades. Consider that during World War II, it employed over 300,000 people. Now, less than 22,000. It has faced so much competition not just from overseas, but from U.S. rivals as well. So, production has fallen really sharply.
And now, this deal faces a bipartisan backlash, right? Vice president Harris joins a long list of politicians opposing the deal, including her boss, President Biden, who came out back in March, in his own visit to Pittsburgh, against this deal. We've also heard from Rust Belt Democrats, including Sherrod Brown, John Fetterman, some Republicans including Josh Hawley and Marco Rubio, and the Republican ticket in Trump and Vance, they're all opposed. And so Amara, now the question is whether or not this deal can overcome that amount of political opposition, and that remains an open question at this point.
WALKER: That'll be interesting, especially when you see this kind of bipartisan opposition as you showed us there. All right. Matt Egan, thank you very much. Good to see you, live for us there in New York.
Let's talk about all of this, not just the business aspect, but of course, the politics behind it. Let's welcome Daniel Lippman. He is the White House reporter for Politico. Daniel, good to see you. So, what did you think --
DANIEL LIPPMAN, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, POLITICO: Good to see you too.
[08:35:00]
WALKER: Thanks. What did you think of Kamala Harris' comments? That was the first time that we've actually heard her talk about this and say that yes, she does not -- she does believe that U.S. Steel should remain domestically owned and not -- should not be sold to Nippon Steel in Japan, Japan's biggest steelmaker. Do you think he said this deal could get scuttled?
LIPPMAN: I think that's definitely a risk. But, what she didn't say is exactly how she would stop it. And so, she doesn't want to, I guess prejudged the CFIUS process. What was also noteworthy is how long she waited to actually oppose the deal because, as Matt mentioned, Biden opposed it in March. It's now September. And so, you have to wonder whether she waited until 64 days before the election -- I think that's today -- to have maximal political impact because she knows -- hey, I'm going to be in Pennsylvania a lot during this campaign cycle. This is a must-win state for her.
WALKER: Obviously, a strategic stop for Harris and Biden given that the state is a strong labor union state which has had a long relationship with Biden. And this was the first time that we saw President Biden campaigning with Harris. Are going to see a lot more of the Harris campaign deploying Biden like this? And if so, where? Because we heard Biden say there in Pittsburgh, that would be mostly on the sidelines.
LIPPMAN: Yeah. I think what they want to avoid is what happened with Al Gore when he was the vice president to Bill Clinton. Remember, Bill Clinton had that sex scandal with Monica Lewinsky in the late '90s and Gore very publicly distanced himself from Clinton, did not deploy him much on the campaign trail and then lost to George W. Bush. And so, they feel like Biden is a key ally for them, especially in places like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, rust belt states especially since Biden is from Pennsylvania. Those are states that they are struggling with a bit more than places like the Sun Belt, so that's -- we are talking Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona. They seem to be slightly more ahead of Trump in those states.
And so, they're having to focus on those north Midwestern states. And that's one reason they picked Tim Walz, who is the Governor of Minnesota because he is seen as someone who can reach out to those voters, for someone unlike Harris as much because she's from California.
WALKER: So, let's look at the state of the race then, now where things stand, you mentioned 64 -- 63 days before Election Day. There's a new ABC News-Ipsos poll that is out and it showed -- it's another poll that shows that Kamala Harris didn't really get a convention bump, a post-convention bump. But this one does show that she has a narrow lead over Donald Trump, 50 percent to 46 percent Trump outside the margin of error. I guess, what is notable here is that there is a gender gap when you look at the polling, where Harris leads by 13 points with women whereas Trump, no surprise there, leads when it comes to men by five percentage points. But when we look at this gender gap for the women, I mean, this is not good news for Donald Trump, especially as Harris is embarking on her reproductive freedoms tour.
LIPPMAN: It's not and remember, we had lots of talk about the red wave in 2022 because people were mad about inflation and the border, and that did not turn out to be the case because you had Roe v. Wade got overturned. And so that's still an issue that is on many women's minds and also male allies who support abortion rights. And so, even though the supreme court ruling was a few years ago, Trump -- the Harris campaign is kind of pointing to Trump and saying, hey, he's all over the map on abortion rights. How can we trust him? He was the president who put three justices on the supreme court that took away that right.
And then more recently, in the last ten days or so, he has talked about how he's going to be a great advocate for women and their reproductive rights. And so, I think that this is what happens at the end of an election cycle where candidates tack to the middle and appear more moderate. But I think that J.D. Vance, his running mate's comments decrying women who don't have kids, that's going to be hurtful for his campaign in the next few months.
WALKER: And quickly, Daniel, before I let you go, I mean, given that this is such a truncated timeline and the fact that Kamala Harris just joined the race a little over a month ago, do you expect that despite all their campaigning, it's really all going to come down to this one debate next week?
[08:40:00]
LIPPMAN: I think that's going to be a very critical debate. If she flops, then she'll have to give major cleanup. But right now, if it's a draw, then Harris has the momentum and there's not -- we don't know if there's going to be a second or third debate. And so, this might be the one and only shot for Trump to regain some of the momentum.
WALKER: All right, Daniel Lippman, we are going to leave it there. Good to see you.
LIPPMAN: Thank you.
WALKER: All right. Just ahead, CNN is traveling with Pope Francis as he begins a marathon trip to Southeast Asia and the South Pacific. We'll look at why the visit indicates a big shift inside the Catholic Church.
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WALKER: Pope Francis is in Indonesia at this hour kicking off a marathon trip, taking in four Southeast Asian and South Pacific countries. Despite health issues, the 87-year-old pontiff is undertaking the longest tour he has ever made as pope. He is starting in Jakarta, the capital of the world's largest Muslim majority country, as he seeks to deepen understanding with people of other religions.
CNN's Christopher Lamb is traveling with the pope. We join him now, live from Indonesia's capital Jakarta. Chris, you've been traveling with the pope. Tell us what you've been seeing so far.
CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Amara, Pope Francis was in good spirits when he joined us at the back of the aircraft, on board the flight from Rome to Jakarta, 13.5-hour flight. He greeted the journalists individually as he always does. He thanked us for accompanying him on this trip which, as you say, is the longest trip of his pontificate. And I think he's very keen in this trip to highlight the importance of religious co-existence, of building dialog and harmony between faiths.
Of course, he is in Indonesia which is the world's most populous Muslim country. And on Thursday, he is going to be going to the Istiqlal Mosque, the largest mosque in Southeast Asia, for a meeting between religious leaders. And afterwards, he is expected to sign a declaration with the Grand Imam of Indonesia. Now, all of this is about sending a message -- sending message to the world that dialog between religions is essential for building peace. And I expect him to want to try and get his message out as widely as possible.
Given the rise in religious extremism, given the global conflicts, he wants to ensure that this emphasis that he has played throughout his pontificate, the religions to talk together, to work together. This is really at the center of what he's doing in Indonesia. Now, this is the first leg of a long tour. After Indonesia, he's going to Papua New Guinea, and then to East Timor, and then Singapore.
[08:45:00]
And some people have asked, how is the pope going to do this? He uses a wheelchair. He's had some health challenges. However, Francis has shown his determination to carry out this trip. And I think that also sends a message to those in the church who might be doubting whether Francis has got much left to do, that yes, he still has very important messages he wants to give to the world. Amara?
WALKER: Oh, this is obviously a very important message for the pope as he embarks -- is on this journey. And he turns 88 in December, amidst his health issues. Christopher Lamb, good to have you. Thanks so much.
In Bangladesh, many are still picking up the pieces after a mass uprising that ousted the country's former prime minister. It came after she ordered a brutal crackdown by police, leaving some protesters with deep scars. And now, some victims are coming forward. CNN's Anna Coren has their stories.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The fresh faces of the future against that of the past, choose hanging in the face of Bangladesh's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the ultimate insult and show of defiance in a country where people on the streets achieved the unthinkable. What began as a student-led protest against government quotas in early July morphed into a mass uprising after Hasina, who had been in for more than 15 years, ordered police to open fire on the crowds. Over the following weeks, hundreds of people were killed, while thousands were arrested.
NUSRAT TABASSUM, POLITICAL SCIENCE STUDENT OF DHAKA UNIVERSITY: They came to my house; they broke three doors. They took me with them and oh, my god, the physical torture that was miserable.
COREN (voice-over): Nusrat Tabassum, a 23-year-old political science student, says she was beaten for hours on end. Her face repeatedly hit, some of her teeth now loose, her right ear drum burst.
TABASSUM: Without hearing aid, I can't listen in my right ear.
COREN (voice-over): After five days in custody, Nusrat was paraded in front of the cameras. The only female in the group of prominent student leaders, forced to make an apology.
For fellow student, Iftekhar Alam, his detainment was even more sinister. Snatched from his home before dawn, he was blindfolded, handcuffed, and believes he was taken to a notorious military intelligence facility in Dhaka where over the years hundreds of Bangladeshi considered anti-state have been disappeared.
IFTEKHAR ALAM, STUDENT PROTESTER: I was like there is no escaping from this and my life will end here, and no one will know.
COREN (voice-over): The law student says for hours, he was beaten with a metal rod, breaking bones in his feet. A burning cigarette was then pushed into his fingers and toes as part of what they called the little game.
ALAM: When I close my eyes, I remember that. I went to that horrible day.
COREN (voice-over): Once released, he discovered Hasina had resigned and fled to India.
ALAM: The people's Bangladesh, it is the people's country.
COREN (voice-over): The capital now awash with colorful murals, has a very clear message. There is no going back. As the U.N. investigates the hundreds of protester deaths, the people have entrusted Interim Chief Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus to bring about desperately needed reform.
COREN: The fall of the government has unleashed a spirit that has electrified every level of society. It has given a voice to everyone, to students, to doctors, even rickshaw drivers, as they take to the streets to make their demands.
COREN (voice-over): But change doesn't happen overnight, especially in a country of 170 million people where the iron fist ruled, and corruption and cronyism reigned.
TABASSUM: My country is sick, but our people, we stand together. I believe there will be sunshine in future.
COREN (voice-over): A future this generation will continue to fight for.
Anna Coren, CNN, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: It has been more than 30 years since moviegoers first heard this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Beetlejuice; Beetlejuice; Beetlejuice.
CATHERINE O'HARA, ACTRESS, "BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE": Nobody should say it three times.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: Beetlejuice is haunting theaters all over again with a sequel to the classic film. The stars talked to CNN about how it feels to be back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:51:35]
WALKER: The ghost with the most is coming back to the big screen this week. "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" is the highly anticipated sequel to Tim Burton's beloved 1988 classic. The movie is a Warner Bros. production which, like CNN, is part of Warner Bros. Discovery. CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister spoke with some of the film's stars.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Beetlejuice; Beetlejuice; Beetlejuice.
ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three iconic words.
O'HARA: Nobody should say it three times.
WINONA RYDER, ACTRESS, "BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE": I'm like worried about saying it twice.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Three iconic women returning to that ghostly comedy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The juice is loose.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): 36 years after the original, Catherine O'Hara -- O'HARA: I'm trying to capture the perfect primal scream.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): -- and Winona Ryder --
RYDER: I can't believe I'm doing us.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): -- reprise their roles in the long-awaited sequel to "Beetlejuice."
WAGMEISTER: It took a long time, but why is now the right time for this?
O'HARA: Jenna had to be born.
RYDER: Yeah.
O'HARA: Become an actress.
JENNA ORTEGA, ACTRESS, "BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE": I think I'm going to love it here.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Fresh off Netflix is Monster Hit Wednesday, Jenna Ortega plays Ryder's daughter and O'Hara's granddaughter.
ARTHUR CONTI, ACTOR, "BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE": Is your mom, Lydia Deetz?
ORTEGA: Unfortunately, yeah.
CONTI: She's a legend.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): All three women sat down with CNN ahead of the film's release.
WAGMEISTER: I love sitting with the three of you because it's the three generations of women of this film. Jenna, what did you learn from working with Winona and Catherine?
ORTEGA: First of all, comedy legend --
O'HARA: Yes, that's what I call myself.
ORTEGA: Everything that she does is absolutely perfect. I feel like Winona has this quality to her that's why you're the perfect Lydia, because we feel like you know -- where you feel like you relate to her, but there still something there that's unattainable and it belongs to just you.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): The sequel finds the Deetz family back home were Beetlejuice first haunted them. When Ortega's Astrid accidentally opened the portal to the afterlife, Michael Keaton's Beetlejuice is unleashed all over again.
O'HARA: I honestly did not know that this movie was so loved. They are at the right age, I guess that --
RYDER: Yeah.
O'HARA: The nostalgic sort of value of it really means something to them.
RYDER: There's just nothing like it. It's in its own genre. That is like a testament to Tim.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Tim Burton returns to direct the sequel to the 1988 classic.
TIM BURTON, DIRECTOR, "BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE": Is that a movie that could have been made in like 1989? It really was the anchor to this three generations of the Deetz.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Burton also made "Wednesday" with Ortega, a natural choice for Beetlejuice, even though she wasn't born when the original came out. She saw it decades later at age nine.
WAGMEISTER: And what do you remember about watching it?
ORTEGA: I remember sweating a lot because I saw a drunk Beetlejuice costume when I was six-years-old at a Halloween costume party.
(LAUGH)
ORTEGA: And she terrified me.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): As for her third movie likely titled with those three cursed words --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): These generational stars say they could be back for more.
O'HARA: Yeah, I'd like to be alive another (ph) 30 years.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Elizabeth Wagmeister, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: Yeah. So much nostalgia. Elizabeth, thank you for that. And finally, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is vowing to tackle surge pricing after complaints about ticket prices for the first batch of Oasis reunion shows. The Brit pop band announced their reunion tour on August 27th, tickets went on sale this past Saturday for their U.K. and Ireland shows, and sold out in less than a day. Fans who queued up online for tickets were stunned to see prices soar to as much as GBP 4,000 a piece.
[08:55:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL SCHULZ, BANK CLERK: It's the biggest comeback for me to see this band live again, but I think if I see the prices going from, I don't know, GBP 100 to GBP 3,000 or more, it's too expensive. But I think I'd go a little higher this time to see them, but it's -- I think it's a little too much.
SOPHIE CHANNEL, STUDENT: It was ridiculous. My friend bought some for GBP 2,500 each. She got four of them. That's too much, too expensive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: British regulators received more than 400 complaints about Ticketmaster saying advertisements for Oasis ticket prices and availability were misleading.
That's my time. Thank you so much for joining me here on "CNN Newsroom." I'm Amara Walker. "Connect the World" with Becky Anderson is up next.
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