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Four Individuals Killed in a High School in Georgia; Trump, Harris Nearly Tied in Pennsylvania, Other States Show Mixed Results; Justice Department Sues Russian State Media RT for Pushing Russian Propaganda. Super Typhoon Yagi Traverses Hong Kong and Southern China after Devastating the Philippines; Paris Mayor Wants the Olympic Rings in Eiffel Tower a Permanent Fixture, Most Parisians Object This Move. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired September 05, 2024 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: 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.

A deadly shooting at a high school in Georgia. What we know about how the tragedy unfolded, the suspect who surrendered and the victims who were killed.

And Donald Trump talking to voters at a town hall in New Hampshire, his baseless allegations about the upcoming debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.

Plus, new polling shows Harris and Trump nearly tied in Pennsylvania. What the path to victory looks like for both candidates with just 61 days left in the race.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: And we begin right here in the state of Georgia, where two students and two teachers have been killed and nine others hospitalized in the deadliest school shooting in the United States this year.

It happened at Apalachee High School in Winder, about an hour northeast of Atlanta. Authorities have identified the victims as two 14-year-old students and two math teachers. The suspect, also a 14- year-old student, is in custody and will be charged as an adult.

Authorities say he was questioned last year about school shooting threats, but there was no probable cause to take any action. Police say he used an AR-15 style rifle in Wednesday's shooting and appeared to act on his own.

The motive at this point is unknown. Officials say the suspect surrendered immediately when confronted by school resource officers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. BRIAN KEMP (R-GA): This is everybody's worst nightmare. And I just want to offer my sincere condolences and our thoughts and prayers to the families that have lost loved ones, for those that are injured and continuing to fight through just a tragic time for really this whole community that's been affected by today's actions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: More now from CNN's Isabel Rosales.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): High school students evacuating in Winder, Georgia, one by one, out to safety. Keep your head up.

Some joined a prayer circle after surviving the deadliest school shooting in the U.S. since March of last year. According to the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, two students and two teachers were killed at Apalachee High School. Nine others were injured and hospitalized, four with gunshot wounds.

The shooter, who opened fire Wednesday morning shortly after 10 a.m., identified as 14-year-old student Colt Gray, who surrendered after being confronted by school resource officers.

CHRIS HOSEY, DIRECTOR, GEORGIA BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: Within minutes law enforcement was on scene as well as two school resource officers assigned here to the school who immediately encountered the subject within just minutes of this report going out. Once they encountered the subject, the subject immediately surrendered to these officers and he was taken into custody.

ROSALES (voice-over): Multiple law enforcement officials tell CNN the school received a phone call this morning warning that there would be shootings at five schools, starting with theirs. The call is now being investigated. The sheriff, meanwhile, says he wasn't aware of any calls.

A massive law enforcement response, including the FBI and ATF, were on the scene, working with state, local and federal officers. Junior Laila Foreman was in the bathroom when the school alarm went off.

LAILA FOREMAN, WITNESS: I was scared I was going to die to be honest. And when I heard hard lockdown, I knew it wasn't a drill. I immediately texted my dad and I was just like, I don't know if this is a drill. I'm really scared. And I just kept my feet up and I prayed.

ROSALES (voice-over): Many parents rushed to the school like Erin Clark after receiving these text messages from her 17 year old son, Ethan.

School shooting, I'm scared. Please, I'm not joking. I'm leaving work, says the mom.

I love you. Love you too, baby.

Others in disbelief.

MATTHEW STRICKLAND, PARENT: I tried to get here as soon as possible. I mean, it's just, it's crazy. Something like this happens in such a small town, such a small county. You just never know what's gonna happen. I was just grateful that she was still good.

ROSALES (voice-over): Sheriff Jud Smith vowed to stay strong for his community.

[03:05:01]

SHERIFF JUD SMITH, BARROW COUNTY, GEORGIA: I went to school in this school system. My kids go to this school system. I'm proud of this school system. My heart hurts for these kids. My heart hurts for our community. But I wanna make it very clear that hate will not prevail in this county.

ROSALES: And the American flag here at Apalachee High School has been lowered to half-staff. A reminder that something terrible has happened here at the school and a mark of respect to for those that have been killed and those students that have been injured as well. We know from the superintendent that they have closed down the schools through the remainder of the week. Meanwhile, officials are vowing to charge this alleged shooter with murder and also to try him as an adult.

Isabel Rosales in Winder, Georgia, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Bobby Chacon is a retired FBI special agent. He joins me now from Los Angeles. Appreciate you being with us to discuss yet another deadly mass school shooting in this country, this time in the state of Georgia and taking the lives of two students and two teachers. The suspected shooter is just 14 years old, a student at the school and now in custody. What was your reaction to the police response to this tragedy?

BOBBY CHACON, RETIRED FBI SPECIAL AGENT AND FORMER FBI DIVE TEAM MEMBER: Well, I think it was a good response. I think the hearing the school resource officer is the one that confronted him first is exactly how the system is set up. These -- these officers are positioned at the schools to be the first one to intercede in these incidents and to know that they were able to not only intercept him, stop him, but actually get him to surrender.

I thought it's exactly how it should happen. All too often, you know, these shooters commit suicide by cop, as we call it by shooting out with the police knowing that the police are going to overwhelm them and kill them. But in this case, it didn't. He got him to surrender. So I thought that the response was very good.

Unfortunately, in these situations, when the shooter unknowingly start shooting, they can kill a number of people before anybody can intercede. And that's what happened today.

CHURCH: And authorities say that the 14-year-old suspect was questioned last year about school shooting threats, but there was no probable cause to take any action at that time. What's your reaction to that?

CHACON: That's right, the FBI's National Threat Center got anonymous tips, plural, in, and they didn't know who it was, but they figured out it had come from Georgia, these threats that were given by these anonymous people. And they referred it down to the Jackson County Sheriff's Office to say, hey, this threat's coming from your jurisdiction, you know, find out who this is.

And the Jackson County Sheriff's did find out this person and this kid. And they went and interviewed both him and his father. And then they at that point, they determined that for whatever reason, they didn't have enough public cause to further an arrest.

You know, I think that's going to be subject to some examination. I don't know the nature of the threats that were made. We don't know how harsh they were or what was included with them. But it was enough for the FBI, at least, to refer them down to the sheriff's office. And the sheriff did identify them. We didn't know who the kid was, but the sheriff was able to identify them. Go talk to him. And unfortunately, it turned out to be the shooter today.

CHURCH: And police say that the suspect used an AR-15 style rifle in this shooting and appeared to act on his own, but we don't know how he got access to that weapon. And we don't know his motive at this point. What would be happening right now to try to answer these questions?

CHACON: A lot of interviews with his classmates, anybody he was close to his family members, friends, the FBI have to call the social media exploitation team that's probably doing a deep dive into his digital footprint and his online activity.

All that is happening now it's been happening since this morning and they're trying to build a picture of who this kid was. He is talking with the at least he's alive and he's in custody so I assume that the investigators are talking to him about what his motive of all too often when the person is killed in these incidents the motive dies with them but Hopefully we'll figure out how we did it.

CHURCH: And Bobby, what needs to be done right now, do you think, to stop these deadly school shootings happening over and over again in this country?

CHACON: Well, look, I think, you know, I think. You know, if you know this kid's 14, he shouldn't have access unsupervised access to a gun. They have to look at how that happened. I mean, we recently had a case in the U.S. where a mother and father are now sitting in jail because their son accessed a gun that they should have kept secure.

I think, you know, if it's the father's gun, you know, you need to start holding people accountable for letting children have weapons like that when they are not legally able to have those weapons. [03:10:07]

If it's -- if it's a crime, then they should be charged with that and accountability should be applied. And, you know, we need to have a conversation about what level of threats we're going to take so seriously that we remove a 14 year old from school and maybe put them in a juvenile facility.

Because up until the day of the shooting, it's only a threat and a lot of these threats are not taken seriously. But I think that it's a multiple-tiered solution. I think you have to have less access to those weapons. You have to have more accountability to anyone that allows access to those weapons, to children like this who are troubled.

And you need to have better monitoring procedures in place at schools when a kid is identified as somebody who made a threat. What are we doing to monitor that kid and his behavior? So it's a multifaceted solution. It's a difficult solution. And that's why it hasn't happened yet.

CHURCH: Bobby Chacon, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

CHACON: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: U.S. President Joe Biden says he and First Lady Jill are mourning the deaths of those whose lives were cut short by more senseless gun violence. He went on to say, students across the country are learning how to duck and cover instead of how to read and write. We cannot continue to accept this as normal. Former President Donald Trump posted on social media, our hearts are with the victims and loved ones. These cherished children were taken far too soon by a sick and deranged monster.

Vice President Kamala Harris also addressed the school shooting during a campaign stop in New Hampshire. She called it a senseless tragedy and said, it's outrageous that parents in the U.S. send their children to school worried about whether or not they will come home alive.

More now from CNN's Priscilla Alvarez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Vice President Kamala Harris traveling to New Hampshire on Wednesday where she unveiled a new slate of economic proposals, but before doing so, addressing that tragedy at a high school in Georgia, saying that it was tragic and that it should not happen.

VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS (D), U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our kids are sitting in a classroom where they should be fulfilling their God-given potential, and some part of their big, beautiful brain is concerned about a shooter busting through the door of the classroom. It does not have to be this way. It does not have to be this way. And this is one of the many issues that's at stake in this election. ALVAREZ: Now the vice president has been the lead of the White House

Office of Gun Violence, an office that has been focused on identifying any executive actions or measures that can be taken by the administration outside of Congress. But the vice president clearly keeping the focus and the pressure on lawmakers. Also noting over the course of her remarks that while she is in favor of the Second Amendment, she is also in favor of gun safety laws.

Now again, the purpose of the visit here in New Hampshire was on the economy. In that front, she introduced multiple proposals that she argued would help entrepreneurs and small businesses, including, for example, removing the tax deduction or, excuse me, expanding tax deduction, removing regulatory hurdles, and increasing community-based lending.

All of that with the goal of increasing, exponentially increasing, the number of small businesses if she were to win a term in the White House. Now again, the Vice President has been focused on the economy over the course of the week, looking ahead to that presidential debate, framing her proposals as helping the middle class, a critical constituency heading into November.

Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, traveling with the Harris-Walz campaign.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: At a Fox News town hall in Pennsylvania on Wednesday night, Donald Trump said he was going to let Harris talk when asked about the upcoming debate. He also cast doubt on the fairness of that debate, claiming Kamala Harris wanted notes in a desk, something the debate rules don't allow, and made a baseless allegation that Harris would get the questions in advance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A lot of people are going to be watching to see how nasty they are, how unfair they are. I agreed to do it because they wouldn't do any other network. The other thing is, her best friend is the head of the network. Her husband's best friend is married to the head of the network. And they're gonna get the--

I've already heard they're gonna get the questions in advance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:09:55]

CHURCH: Of course that will not be happening. The former US president also stressed that he quote, "really wants to win New Hampshire." That is after a top Trump volunteer emailed other volunteers that quote, "the campaign has determined that New Hampshire is no longer a battleground state and urged them to turn their focus to Pennsylvania."

Well, meantime, a new CNN poll shows Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are locked in close races in key swing states with no clear leader in the battleground states of Georgia, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. Harris holds an advantage over Trump among likely voters in Wisconsin and Michigan, and Trump has the edge in Arizona, while Georgia and Pennsylvania are the key toss-up states.

Joining me now is Larry Sabato, Director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics and editor of the book, "A Return to Normalcy? The 2020 Election That (Almost) Broke America." Good to have you with us, Larry.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA-CENTER FOR POLITICS: Always a pleasure. Thank you so much.

CHURCH: So a new CNN poll shows Vice President Kamala Harris enjoying a lot of momentum in key swing states, leading her rival Donald Trump in Wisconsin and Michigan. While Trump leads in Arizona, Harris is ahead in Georgia and Nevada, but it's within the margin of error and we see the two candidates in a dead heat in the must-win state of Pennsylvania. So what do you make of these numbers?

SABATO: I thought they were interesting because they focused with a large enough sample on all seven of the swing states. The states are going to determine the result of the election. And Harris is beyond the margin of error in Michigan and Wisconsin, two of the three blue wall states that are very important, if not essential for her to win.

The one she is going to have to focus on more than any other is Pennsylvania. And clearly that's what Trump is doing too. Supposedly the Trump people are saying they're confident about their polling in Pennsylvania. Well, the same can be true on the Democratic side did particularly well in Arizona. Now, I don't know that he is as well off in Arizona as this poll showed, but that's what the poll showed. If you add it all up, it tells us what we have known all along. This is going to be a very competitive, close race.

CHURCH: Yeah. So this very tight race. So what are the potential paths to victory for each of the candidates?

SABATO: Well, for Kamala Harris, potentially, and we love talking about this because we like 270 to 268 in the electoral college, but potentially Kamala Harris could win with just those three blue wall states, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, as long as she wins all the other normally democratic states, which she almost certainly will, and the one key electoral vote in the state of Nebraska centered on the city of Omaha.

That is because Nebraska has a special system, along with Maine, of dividing up their electoral votes per congressional district. It's a Democratic district. It went for Biden in 2020, though Trump won it in 2016. So that's the easiest path of victory, if it actually falls together.

But Kamala Harris needs backup. Every candidate needs backup. And her backup is the southern route, North Carolina. Georgia plus the southwestern route, Nevada and Arizona. A combination of those states would allow her to lose, for example, Pennsylvania.

For Trump, it's very similar to the path that he won in 2016. He didn't win the popular vote, but that doesn't count. He won the electoral vote, and he won the three blue wall states in the north, that plus all the normal Republican states would be enough to put him well over 270. So we've got a real horse race. It is very close. That makes the upcoming debate next week even more important.

CHURCH: Yeah, and of course, we are also seeing warning signs ahead for Harris in those latest polls. She's apparently struggling with mail voters, perhaps traced back to the issue of most concern, the economy. Why do you think she's having problems with some male voters?

SABATO: This has become the norm in American politics. The male vote tends to go more Republican, usually Republican over 50 percent. And the female vote goes Democratic. And it's a battle of the sexes, if you will, as to the margins. Now, men are only about 48 percent of the electorate. Women are a little over 52 percent.

So, ideally, if you're going to lose men by 10, you could carry women by just nine and still win. So, there's a lot of calculus going on and it isn't just men versus women, but the gender gap has been part of our vocabulary politically since 1980. That's really when it started, in the first Reagan election.

[03:15:05]

CHURCH: Interesting. And in other big news Wednesday, conservative Liz Cheney announced she will be voting for Kamala Harris because Trump, she says, represents too big a threat to democracy. So how significant is this and could she convince other conservatives, do you think, to do the same?

SABATO: This is very significant. And I don't say that because she's one of my colleagues at the UVA Center for Politics, just to disclose that. She is the most significant Republican by far who has endorsed Kamala Harris. And notice, she's not doing what some other Republicans are doing, which is saying, I will not vote for Trump, but I can't vote for Harris either. She's more liberal than I like.

So I'm going to write in Ronald Reagan or whoever it is they choose to write in. She has gone all the way and said, I'm voting for Kamala Harris. I'm not just opposing Donald Trump. I'm voting for Harris. So did former Congressman and her colleague on the January 6th committee, Adam Kinzinger. He did the same thing at the convention.

The reason this is so significant is Liz Cheney is one of the best recognized Republicans in the country. Her father was a two-term vice president under President George W. Bush. Dick Cheney is a very conservative Republican. Now, he's very anti-Trump, too. He hasn't said what he will do presidentially, but this is kind of a hint.

And to Republicans who are mainstream conservatives who supported the Bushes and the Cheneys, and the other Republican nominees that came up in the 90s and the first couple of decades of the 2000s, this is a very significant move. It gives them permission to not only refuse to vote for Trump, but to vote for Kamala Harris. So you'll see a lot of loose chaining between now and November 5th.

CHURCH: Larry Sabato, always appreciate your political analysis. Thanks for joining us.

SABATO: Thank you so much, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Donald Trump wants a change of venue for his hush money case. When we come back, details on the former president's latest attempt to delay his sentencing.

Plus, new allegations of a Russian scheme to meddle in the upcoming presidential election. We'll have a live report on this developing story.

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[03:20:00]

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CHURCH: Donald Trump is asking a federal appeals court to stop his sentencing until his motion to move his hush money case to a federal court can be heard. The last ditch request comes after the lower court judge rejected Trump's motion to move the case and delay sentencing, which is set for September 18. His lawyers argue the case should be moved into federal court after the Supreme Court granted Trump limited immunity.

A federal judge is set to hold a hearing in the coming hours to consider the next steps in the election subversion case against Donald Trump. This is the first hearing since the Supreme Court ruled that Trump had some immunity from prosecution while performing presidential duties.

That ruling prompted special counsel Jack Smith to file a superseding indictment last week that scaled back some of the charges against Trump in his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Attorney General Merrick Garland says Smith's new indictment does not violate Justice Department policy against publicly investigating a candidate close to an election.

Well, the U.S. Justice Department is accusing the Russian state media company RT of funding a Tennessee company to push Russian propaganda. It was meant to influence the U.S. presidential election and help put Donald Trump back in the White House.

Prosecutors say another goal was to weaken opposition to Russian interests, especially its ongoing war in Ukraine. CNN has confirmed that the company referenced in the indictment is Tenet Media. Officials say it's linked to right-wing commentators with millions of subscribers on YouTube and other social media platforms.

And CNN's Clare Sebastian has been monitoring the story. She joins me now live from London. Good morning to you, Clare. So what more are you learning about this Russian meddling story? CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Rosemary, this seems to be a

pretty broad effort by the U.S. government to get out in front of what appears to be a scheme by Russia, multiple different schemes that have been growing in sophistication. Obviously, 2016 is pretty fresh in people's minds, but it's clear from these allegations, if they are true, that Russia has advanced in sophistication since then.

We've got sanctions that were announced on Wednesday. We've got domains, seizures, 32 domains seized. But also this criminal indictment targeting two employees of RT, the Russian state media company T.V. channel that has really been growing in power and importance in terms of its efforts in propaganda and what appeared to be going beyond that now. And they are accused of running this almost $10 million scheme, setting up this company that we have, as you say, confirmed.

It was called Tenet Media in Tennessee, not really a news outlet as such, but more of a sort of network of influences that called itself a network of heterodox voices bringing together these right-wing influences.

And the Justice Department says that since November, some 2000 videos were posted garnering some 16 million views on YouTube alone. They were, it seems, heavily curated in Russia's interests. Take a listen to the Attorney General describing the content of these videos.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MERRICK GARLAND, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: The subject matter and content of many of the videos published by the company are often consistent with Russia's interest in amplifying U.S. domestic divisions in order to weaken U.S. opposition to core Russian interests, particularly its ongoing war in Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:30:00]

SEBASTIAN: Well now, if this is true, this does suggest that the role of RT has advanced well beyond a media company perhaps picking up the baton from what we saw in 2016, the operation run by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the late Yevgeny Prigozhin's Internet Research Agency, the sort of, Discord in America through social media.

Now, separately, the FBI has alleged that President Putin himself, his office, directed three Russian companies to set up multiple fake accounts to sort of spread Russian false narratives on social media. 32 domains, as I said, have now been taken down. And of course, we've got new sanctions against RT executives and others allegedly involved in these schemes.

So I think what you can see here is that if these allegations are true, Russian efforts to influence the outcome of the election have stepped up. And in particular, I think the urgency clearly has increased because of the war in Ukraine and U.S. support for Ukraine so far having a real-world battlefield impact. Rosemary. CHURCH: All right, our thanks to Clare Sebastian joining us live from

London with that report.

Well, in the coming hours, Ukraine's parliament is expected to consider the resignation of Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. He and five other cabinet ministers submitted their resignations Wednesday. Only four have been accepted so far. Kuleba is one of the most widely recognized members of the Ukrainian government.

Shortly before announcing his intention to step down, he spoke to CNN urging Western allies to send more powerful missile defense systems. If lawmakers approve his resignation, Kuleba's departure will be part of a major government shake-up, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says is needed to give the war effort some new energy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I am very grateful to the ministers and the whole government team that worked for Ukraine and the Ukrainians for four and a half years, and some for five years. We need new energy today. And these steps are related only to the strengthening of our state in different directions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Well, now to a whale of a mystery in Norway, where a beluga believed to be a Russian spy may have been assassinated. Nicknamed Hvaldimir, he rose to fame in 2019 when he was seen wearing a harness and camera mounts which read Equipment St. Petersburg, leading to speculation the whale was trained by the Russian military, a claim the Kremlin has never confirmed.

Hvaldimir quickly became a celebrity in Norway. He'd swim right up to boats and even let people pet him. But animal rights groups say he was found dead off the Norwegian coast over the weekend with gunshot wounds. They want a criminal investigation.

Well straight ahead, under pressure and doubling down, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is refusing to make concessions for a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas amid reports he torpedoed a potential deal in July.

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[03:35:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom," I'm Rosemary Church. Let's check today's top stories.

Investigators have identified the victims of Wednesday's school shooting in the U.S. state of Georgia. Two 14-year-old students and two math teachers were killed in the city of Winder about an hour northeast of Atlanta. The suspect, also 14, is now in custody, his motive unknown.

Donald Trump taking questions from voters at a Fox News town hall in Pennsylvania Wednesday night. He spoke with Sean Hannity for about an hour, railing on Kamala Harris' policy proposals and the state of the economy and the border.

Trump and Harris will face off in their first debate on September 10. ABC News is hosting and the network released a list of agreed-upon rules for the debate Wednesday. The debate is expected to be 90 minutes with no props or notes allowed on stage, a two-minute limit for closing statements and candidates' mics will be muted when the other is speaking.

Well despite nationwide protests and international pressure, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is doubling down on his handling of the Gaza ceasefire negotiations just days after the bodies of six hostages were recovered from the enclave. Speaking to the media on Wednesday, he said he is not going to change his policies to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza and claimed the Israeli military is already taking unprecedented steps to do so.

The Prime Minister again blamed Hamas for the lack of a ceasefire deal. Despite a report in Israeli media, he derailed a potential agreement in July by adding new demands. One of the main sticking points, Mr. Netanyahu insists Israel retain control of Gaza's border with Egypt, known as the Philadelphia Corridor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: We also agree to begin discussions about a permanent ceasefire. And the conditions that we shall have for a permanent ceasefire must include a situation where the Philadelphia Corridor cannot be perforated. Somebody has to be there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: A senior U.S. official says the Prime Minister's comments on the corridor are not helping the ongoing negotiations.

And CNN's Paula Hancocks is following developments for us. She joins us live from Abu Dhabi. So Paula, what is the latest on those negotiations to try to reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, a senior Biden administration official has given CNN the most detailed look so far at what this proposal looks like. Now, the reason for doing so, you can only assume, shows the frustration that they are feeling with the process. And also we know there is frustration with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

[03:40:01]

Now, what this senior official has told us is that the deal is 90 percent done, saying that it is an 18 paragraph proposal and all but four of those paragraphs have been agreed to and signed off on by both sides. Now what they say is still the sticking points is, as you say, the exchange of prisoners for hostages and also the redeployment of forces in Gaza.

Now in recent days we've had two press conferences from the Israeli Prime Minister and in both of those he has doubled down and pointed out how important it is for the Israeli military to stay along that border between Egypt and Gaza, the Philadelphia Corridor.

Now, the U.S. official says that there was no mention of the Philadelphia Corridor in the bridging proposal, which it says that Israel had agreed to in the past. So there is frustration and a belief, both inside and outside Israel, that the Israeli Prime Minister is moving the goalposts and putting blocks in front of a possible deal.

Now the official did say that it's not constructive what the Prime Minister is saying about the Philadelphia corridor, also saying, quote, "staking out concrete positions in the middle of a negotiation isn't always particularly helpful."

Now the official also says that the killing of six Israeli hostages recently by Hamas also has colored negotiations, saying that it throws into doubt Hamas' willingness to agree to a deal, also calling Hamas a frustrating negotiating partner. Now we have heard from Hamas obviously seeing the disagreement between the U.S. and Israel and presumably trying to capitalize on it, saying that these new proposals by the Israeli Prime Minister are unnecessary and an attempt to thwart reaching an agreement.

But we have heard from the senior Biden administration official that the talks are ongoing at this point to try and get an agreement on those final issues. Now in phase one of this three-phase deal there was an agreement within this bridging proposal for Israel and the military to leave all densely populated areas of Gaza. Israel argues that the border is not a densely populated area and that is something that Netanyahu is sticking to. Rosemary.

CHURCH: Alright. Our thanks to Paula Hancocks for bringing us that live report from Abu Dhabi.

Still to come, mainland China and Hong Kong issue severe weather alerts as a powerful storm approaches. We will have the latest on super typhoon Yagi as it barrels through the South China Sea. Back with that and more in just a moment.

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[03:45:00]

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CHURCH: In the coming hours, Pope Francis is set to celebrate mass in Jakarta with more than 80,000 people expected to attend. The Catholic leader is in Indonesia on a whirlwind tour of the region. He spent the morning with the Grand Imam of Southeast Asia's largest mosque in an effort to strengthen bonds with Muslim leaders. The pontiff said the visit to the Muslim holy place on his third day in Jakarta was a quote "great gift." But his work is hardly over after leaving Indonesia. He'll visit Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore.

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is scheduled to travel to Haiti in the coming hours. He is one of the highest level U.S. officials to visit the embattled Caribbean nation. Blinken is to meet with several officials, push for elections, and to reemphasize U.S. support for the Haitian people. The capital, Port-au-Prince, has been devastated by a brutal wave of gang violence.

But the deployment of the multinational security support mission, led by Kenyan forces, has brought some stability to Haiti in recent months. Officials say the U.S. may also push for the support mission to become a formal U.N. peacekeeping operation.

Super typhoon Yagi is moving through the South China Sea and getting stronger. The storm experienced rapid intensification at a rate rarely seen thanks to abnormally warm waters. Now it's on a direct course for China and expected to make landfall by Friday.

Our Kristie Lu Stout is following developments. She joins us live from Hong Kong. Good to see you, Kristie. So the super typhoon edging closer. How is Hong Kong bracing for its arrival?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Rosemary. Hong Kong and southern China are bracing for the arrival of super typhoon Yagi, a powerful storm that has already killed more than a dozen people in the Philippines. This storm is expected to skirt around 300 kilometers to the southwest of Hong Kong tonight and tomorrow morning and conditions as you can see behind me, they're mild right now but the weather will deteriorate.

Now, Yagi is expected to make landfall Friday evening across southwestern portions of China near the northern tip of Hainan and that projected landfall is rare. In fact, from 1949 to last year, 106 typhoons hit Hainan, but only nine were super typhoons.

Now, storm preparations are underway across the region here in Hong Kong. Signal number three has been raised. That's the second lowest typhoon warning. And the observatory here says it will consider raising that number later today in about a couple of hours. And when it issues a signal aid, Hong Kong's stock will be suspended and because of the typhoon today, kindergartens, schools for children with special needs have been suspended and we also learned that all-day schools in Hong Kong will be suspended tomorrow.

There've also been flight cancellations. Let's bring up the chart for you. We know that Hong Kong Express, this is the budget wing of Cathay Pacific, has canceled six flights. United has also canceled flights to Hong Kong. Hong Kong's Greater Bay Airlines has also announced cancellations. And in mainland China, meanwhile, Hainan's International Airport is canceling all flights from 8 pm Thursday evening to Friday midnight. Now, southern China will certainly feel the effects of the super

typhoon, especially the island province of Hainan. It's known as the Hawaii of China. It's famous for its sandy beaches, its five-star resorts, and the government there on Hainan has upgraded its emergency response.

We know that bus services there, ferries, rail lines, along with flights, all suspended there. And residents and tourists have been advised to not go outside unless necessary. And we also learned that fishing vessels have also been recalled in Hainan, as well as neighboring Guangdong province.

[03:49:56]

Now, Chinese authorities, they're not taking any chances. This summer, China has had another cruel summer, devastating season of extreme rainfall, deadly flooding, hundreds that are missing, over a million people relocated, devastating financial losses. So residents across southern China, across the region and especially here in Hong Kong are being advised to take precautions. Back to you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Our thanks to Kristie Lu Stout for that live report from Hong Kong. I Appreciate it.

Well the Mayor of Paris is looking to make a permanent addition to the Eiffel Tower. Coming up, why some Parisians are not happy with her push to keep the Olympic celebration alive in Paris.

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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. The Paris Games may be over but the logo will apparently live on as part of a Parisian landmark. Paris' mayor has decided to keep the Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower but not everyone's happy with her decision.

CNN's Saskya Vandoorne reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN SR. PRODUCER: This was the iconic symbol of the Olympics this summer, but why is it causing so much controversy?

UNKNOWN: I think it's an eyesore. It's something different, but the Eiffel Tower has been there for years and years, and I don't think it needs to change.

[03:55:05]

VANDOORNE: These Olympic rings could soon be a permanent fixture.

UNKNOWN: I think it's OK for now, but not forever, because it's a historical monument.

UNKNOWN: For me, the tower is amazing, you know, it's so beautiful, but with the ring, it looks a little bit different, so I think it's not very aesthetic. VANDOORNE (voice-over): The city of Paris owns the Eiffel Tower, and

officials say the decision is up to them.

PIERRE RABADAN, PARIS DEPUTY MAYOR: This event was a massive success, probably all around the world, and it will change Paris forever in a good way, visually, when you all be in Paris, remember that this moment was a key in the history of Paris. So that's why we choose that symbol.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): For descendants of its creator Gustave Eiffel, they don't want his legacy to become an advertising platform.

SAVIN YEATMAN-EIFFEL, DESCENDANT OF GUSTAVE EIFFEL: So Gustave Eiffel is my great-great-great grandfather. We were very happy to have the rings during the Olympic Games. It was a great moment. But the premise was permanent. The Eiffel Tower was never meant to be a billboard for any other company or brand no matter how prestigious it may be.

VANDOORNE: If the plan does go ahead, it won't be these rings, but lighter ones designed to resist the harsh winter winds.

Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And thanks so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. "CNN Newsroom" continues next with Christina Macfarlane.

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