Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Harris Says She's Ready for Presidential Debate; Israel: Crossings to Jordan to Reopen to Passenger Traffic; Pope Wraps Up Papua New Guinea Visit, Heads to East Timor; China: No More Foreign Adoptions of Chinese Children; Mother of Accused Shooter Phoned to Warn of Emergency; Governor Declares Emergency after Land Movement; Pharrell, G-Dragon Appeal to New Era of Collectors. Aired 12-12:45a ET
Aired September 09, 2024 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers watching all around the world. I'm Lynda Kinkade.
[00:00:35]
Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, we're just hours away from the first U.S. presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, both hoping to win over undecided voters in what appears to be a tight race.
Pope Francis is on his way to East Timor this hour after a stop in one of the most remote areas of the world as part of his Asia tour.
And China formally ends its international adoption program. The country that once enforced a strict one-child policy now facing a plunging birth rate.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Lynda Kinkade.
KINKADE: U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are just one day away from meeting face-to-face for the first time on a debate stage.
That showdown in the first presidential debate with 57 days to go until the November election. And it will come just before early voting begins in several key states and also as new polling shows that the race for the White House remains very tight.
A "New York Times"/Siena College poll shows no clear leader. But a similar theme found in a new CNN poll of polls, which shows Harris at 49 percent, Trump at 47 percent.
The two candidates spent the weekend in battleground states, Harris meeting with voters in Pittsburgh while preparing for the debate as Trump held a campaign rally in Wisconsin.
The U.S. vice president is set to travel to Philadelphia in the hours ahead. And on Sunday, she had this message on how she feels headed into Tuesday's debate. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you, Madame Vice President?
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Ready.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: CNN's Eva McKend has more now from Pittsburgh.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EVA MCKEND, CNN U.S. NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: It is perhaps no surprise --
MCKEND (voice-over): -- the vice president, a former prosecutor, has a reputation for intensely preparing for these big moments. She has likely been poring over briefing books, anticipating what the moderators might ask her, anticipating what former President Donald Trump might say.
We know one thing is for sure, though. Her campaign not so worried about these polls, Brian Fallon, a spokesperson for the campaign, tweeting that they have always viewed themselves as the underdog in this contest, and they still have that mentality. They recognize that they have a lot of work to do in the 50-plus days until the election.
Meanwhile, they're already telegraphing what they're going to do after the debate. A battleground blitz, they're calling it, with the vice precedent campaigning in Pennsylvania and North Carolina, Governor Walz taking to Michigan and Wisconsin. And their respective spouses fanning out across the country, as well.
MCKEND: The campaign will have a presence in every battleground state.
Eva McKend, CNN, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, joining me now from Los Angeles is Ron Brownstein, CNN senior political analyst and a senior editor at "The Atlantic."
Good to see you, Ron.
So, the debate set to take place Tuesday, possibly the only debate we'll see between Harris and Trump. And no presidential candidate has debated more than Trump.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.
KINKADE: This will be his seventh. Is that a huge advantage for him? And if so, what will Harris learn from performances in his previous debates to capitalize on his weakness?
BROWNSTEIN: You know, the history of the presidential debates in the U.S. -- we've talked to political scientists or political strategists -- is that they don't matter except when they do, you know?
KINKADE: Yes.
BROWNSTEIN: And they have often mattered a lot. We've seen that, particularly when candidates are lesser known.
And we have not had a candidate, I think, who comes into a debate with the voter impressions of them as loosely formed as Harris in the debate era, going back to 1960, because of the unusual circumstances in which she was nominated.
And I think that really informs her choice. You mentioned that "New York Times"/Siena poll today. It found that 30 percent of voters said they need to know more about Harris. That rose to 40 percent of black voters, 40 percent of Latino voters, over half of younger voters.
And I think that basically says her challenge is more to sell herself than to make the case against Trump. Although obviously, that could be -- the contrast will be part of selling herself. She really does, I think, this -- she has to view this as much as a job interview as an encounter with the former president.
[00:05:11]
KINKADE: Exactly. Because the election, as we know, is just eight weeks away.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
KINKADE: If you were advising Harris, I mean, what should she do to introduce herself to voters who don't really feel they know her? And how should she define herself?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, first of all, you know, when the debates have mattered -- as I said, they haven't always mattered. When they have mattered, pretty consistently, it's been less because candidates win a specific policy debate with each other, than candidates are able to show something positive or negative about their capacity and their character.
I mean, big moments in debates like 1980 with Ronald Reagan, diffusing the idea that he was a scary warmonger with the "there you go again" and his genial presence.
George H.W. Bush checking his watch against Bill Clinton in '92 and seeming to validate the idea that he was kind of out of energy and out of time.
Much of what Harris has to do, I think, is portray -- you know, convey energy, optimism, competence. But I think she also has an additional hurdle here, which is she does have to give voters a better sense of what her priorities would be as president.
It is notable that tonight, just hours before this first debate, they have finally put up a policy section on their -- on their website. And there may be some basic information that she can convey to voters about what she wants to do, how it differs from what Trump wants to do, particularly in areas like taxes.
KINKADE: Yes, it is interesting. As you noted, she put that up on the -- on the website just two days before this debate. Something that the Democrats have been criticized over.
But I just want to look at one other thing from that survey, which -- which found that --
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
KINKADE: -- the majority of Americans have heard about Project 2025, the agenda which outlines a conservative plan to disband Commerce and Education Departments; reject the idea of abortion as health care; rip up climate change protections; and of course, consolidate power around the president.
And the survey found that most voters don't like it.
Interestingly, the Harris campaign is using that in a new campaign ad. I just want to roll that ad for those who haven't seen it.
BROWNSTEIN: Sure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trump's Project 2025 agenda will give him unchecked political power with no guardrails, and it would take black America backwards. Project 2025 would strip away our voting rights protections.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He told us who he was.
CHRIS MATTHEWS, FORMER MSNBC HOST: Should abortion be punished?
DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There has to be some form of punishment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Then --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: So, it is a possible road map for a second Trump term. He -- he's trying to distance himself from that. I'm wondering how Harris should hammer home that message on the debate night.
BROWNSTEIN: Well, you know, Trump really wants the election -- he wants voters to be looking back as they go into the voter booth. He wants to basically be saying -- and I think he may even reprise the famous Ronald Reagan question from 1980. Are you better off than you were four years ago?
He wants to make the case that, you know, people had more money in their pocket at the end of the week; the border was under control; the world wasn't as chaotic when he was president, kind of, you know, memory-holing the 2020 experience with COVID. Harris, like Biden before her, really wants voters more to be looking
forward. I mean, she wants them not so much to be treating this as a referendum on whether they think the Biden years or the Trump years were better for them personally. She wants them to be focused on what the next four years would bring.
And that's kind of the turning the page and a new way forward. Project 2025. And not only that, but what, you know, Trump calls Agenda 47, the videos that he's put out himself on his own website, which overlap a tremendous degree with Project 2025, provides plenty of targets for her.
Economists, for example, will say, you know, multiple economists have said that looking forward, Trump's agenda of tariffs and mass deportation is a greater risk of inflation going forward, than Harris's agenda is.
The challenge, of course, is that a lot of voters -- you know, getting voters to kind of orient that way, as opposed to kind of casting a ballot on their immediate circumstances, particularly if you're talking about that last seven or eight, 10 percent that participate in a presidential election, but not in the midterm. That's not an easy task.
But I am guessing that an early cue for tomorrow -- for Tuesday night will be Harris will be trying to get voters to look forward, talking about things like Project 2025.
Trump will be trying to get them to look back, talking about things like the cumulative increase in grocery prices or gas prices under Biden.
KINKADE: Well, certainly a lot of interest the last debate between Biden and Trump, and that's certainly changed the course of this election. A lot of interest in the debate tomorrow night, Tuesday night.
Ron Brownstein, we will be watching. Thanks so much for your time.
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.
KINKADE: Of course, you can tune into the special coverage of the ABC News presidential debate, which will also be showing here on CNN. It will be aired on Tuesday. That is 9 p.m. Eastern Time, 9 a.m. in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
[00:10:13]
Well, Israel says it will reopen three border crossings in Jordan in the coming hours. They were closed after a gunman shot and killed three Israeli guards at the Allenby crossing Sunday.
CNN's chief global affairs correspondent, Matthew Chance, has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, tonight, all the land crossings from Jordan into Israel and the West Bank remain closed as Israeli security forces continue to secure the area --
CHANCE (voice-over): -- where a Jordanian gunman fired on Israeli workers, killing three of them before being shot dead.
Jordanian officials say their preliminary investigations suggest the attacker was a truck driver carrying commercial goods from Jordan to the West Bank, who they believe was acting alone.
But there's been condemnation, understandably, from Israel, with the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, calling the attacker a despicable terrorist who murdered Israelis in cold blood.
In a statement, Hamas praised the attack but stopped short of claiming responsibility, saying instead, it was a natural response to the war in Gaza.
Israel is already reeling of course, after the killings by Hamas last week of six more Israeli hostages held in Gaza. Tens of thousands of demonstrators staging angry protests across the country in recent days, demanding an immediate deal to bring more than 100 Israelis still held in Gaza back home.
CHANCE: This latest attack across the normally calm border from Jordan is raising tensions even further
Matthew Chance, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, Israel's defense minister says the military is ready, as needed, to shift its focus to Israel's Northern border.
Yoav Gallant spoke with the Israeli troops in Gaza Sunday. He told them the Israeli military could be quickly utilize -- moved to the fight against Hezbollah, if needed. But he also said they would cripple Hamas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YOAV GALLANT, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): In Gaza, we need to achieve our two goals: both to eliminate Hamas and to return the hostages. And we are on this matter with all our might.
At the same time, we are looking at the entire war fronts. And this means that, while you are fighting here in Gaza, we are preparing for anything that can happen in the North, and moving the center of gravity can be quick.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, the United Nations has started the third phase of its polio vaccination campaign in Gaza. The U.N. plans to vaccinate 150,000 Palestinian children in Northern
Gaza. Health workers vaccinated more than 400,000 children in the South over the past week.
Syria's state-run news agency says Israeli airstrikes killed five people and wounded at least 19 others on Sunday. The agency says there were several explosions and air defense engagements in central Syria.
When CNN asked the Israeli military about the incident, the IDF said it does not comment on reports in foreign media.
Venezuelans' opposition presidential candidate has landed safely in Spain, where he's seeking asylum. Edmundo Gonzalez had been in hiding since the day after the July 28 presidential election, where he ran against the longtime leader, Nicolas Maduro.
Maduro claimed victory, despite overwhelming evidence, sparking massive deadly protests. Since the disputed election, the Venezuelan government has charged Gonzalez with terrorism, conspiracy, and other crimes.
Gonzalez's lawyer says the decision to leave Venezuela came last minute after threats to his safety.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSE VICENTE HARO, EDMUNDO GONZALEZ'S LAWYER (through translator): Put yourself in his skin, in his mindset, and the situation he was facing are real fears for his life and that of his family. At that moment, the bare survival instinct prevailed over everything else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Gonzalez is thanking supporters for showing solidarity and says he hopes to continue the fight for freedom and democracy in Venezuela, even in exile.
Still to come, Pope Francis is on the next leg of his tour of Southeast Asia. What's planned for the pontiff's stop in East Timor, when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:16:33]
KINKADE: Welcome back. In the coming hour, Pope Francis is set to arrive in East Timor, the latest stop of his tour of Southeast Asia and Oceana. And he will be welcomed by the country's president.
It's the third leg of his journey after leaving Papua New Guinea early Monday.
The pontiff's trip marks a significant shift for the Vatican as it places renewed focus on his congregations across Asia.
Well, CNN's Kristie Lu Stout joins us now, live from Hong Kong. Good to see you, Kristie.
So, Pope Francis left Papua New Guinea this morning for East Timor, which is of course, one of the world's newest and predominantly Catholic nations.
Just what's on the agenda and what's at stake with this visit?
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR/CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Lynda, the pope is continuing this marathon tour around Asia now with a visit to East Timor, a deeply Catholic nation. In fact, 97 percent of its population identifies as Catholic. That's the highest proportion outside of Vatican City.
And across East Timor, we know that security is tight. And there's also a festive mood, with banners and billboards filling the streets now.
We understand that, at this moment, the pope is en route to Dili, the capital of East Timor. He will, when he touches down shortly afterwards, attend a welcome ceremony outside the presidential palace and meet with local officials.
And a huge turnout is expected, especially given the church's ties to East Timor's independence in 2000. Its prime minister, the independence hero, Xanana Gusmao, in fact called the Catholic Church, quote, "the backbone of the resistance."
Now, East Timor has had a very dramatic history, including decades of brutal and bloody occupation before its independence over two decades ago, as well as church sexual abuse scandals, including a bishop who won the Nobel Peace Prize in the mid-90s.
Two years ago, the Vatican said it secretly disciplined Carlos Jimenez Bello in 2020. It responded to allegations that he sexually abused boys in East Timor decades ago. And it is not clear whether or not Pope Francis will address the scandal.
There's also something else hanging over this visit: the price tag. There's been criticism and eyebrows raised about the $12 million budgeted and paid for this papal visit.
Now, East Timor is one of the world's most poor countries. It has struggled to diversify its economy, and many residents there do live below the poverty line.
Now, on Sunday, pope was in Papua New Guinea, and he visited a remote town there, where thousands of people turned out to see him. And there, he delivered medical supplies and aid.
And he also delivered a critical message for the region. I want you to listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POPE FRANCIS, LEADER OF CATHOLIC CHURCH (through translator): Peace. Peace for the nations and also for creation. No to rearmament and exploitation of our common home. Yes to the encounter between peoples and cultures. Yes to the harmony of men and women with creatures.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT: The pontiff mentioning two key themes of his pontificate there. Now, the 87-year-old pope, he has been on this, again, marathon 12- day, four-nation tour across Southeast Asia and the South Pacific.
This is his longest and farthest trip ever.
Back to you, Lynda.
KINKADE: All right.
Kristie Lu Stout on the papal visit. Good to have you with us. Thanks so much.
Well, China has officially ended most foreign adoptions of Chinese children, scrapping a policy that had been in place for more than three decades.
[00:20:04]
It now leaves people who were in the middle of the adoption process wondering what happens next.
CNN's Steven Jiang reports from Beijing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: This announcement didn't come as a total shock, because the number of international adoptions from China have been in decline in recent years, the program, of course, came to a sudden halt during the pandemic and never really recovered even after COVID.
JIANG (voice-over): But still, this marks a major change to a policy that has seen more than 160,000 Chinese children being adopted all over the world since the early 1990s, about half of them going to the United States.
But remember, this program began when China was dealing with an overpopulation problem, the government very much enforcing its draconian one-child policy that basically limited most couples in cities to one child, forcing many families to abandon children, especially girls and disabled kids.
JIANG: Now fast-forward to today. They are dealing with the opposite problem, a shrinking labor force and a rapidly aging society.
That's why, within the last decade, the authorities here have twice relaxed its one strict family planning policies, now allowing most couples to have up to three children.
But none of that seems to have worked against this backdrop of a slowing economy and young people's changing attitudes towards marriage and parenthood. Now, the Chinese reaction to this policy change seem to be mixed on
social media, but those applauding this decision seem to be expressing a nationalistic sentiment, saying China's now rich and powerful enough to take care of its own abandoned children, and often citing rising tensions between China and the United States and other Western nations, as well.
But none of this economic, social, and political realities, of course --
JIANG (voice-over): -- offer any real comfort to the hundreds of international families in the middle of adopting children from China, because the government here has reportedly indicated this ban goes into effect immediately, with very limited exceptions, leaving hundreds of Americans in limbo --
JIANG: -- and potentially heartbroken.
Steven Jiang, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Joining me now is Mei Fong. She is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and the author of "One Child," a book on China's one-child policy. Good to have you with us.
MEI FONG, JOURNALIST/AUTHOR: Great to be here.
KINKADE: So, China, of course, once punished families for having more than one child. It's now encouraging families to have three. And they want to keep all babies born in the country, in country, making foreign adoption illegal.
Explain this policy and what your view is on it.
FONG: Well, the one-child policy initially, it's been going on for some more than three decades, so long enough to shape a whole generation.
And one of the most painful consequences, the most visible public consequences of that, was the girls, many of them, mostly girl babies that were forced to -- abandoned or given up, or in some cases, seized and stolen and put on the global adoption market.
This is one of the things that, I think, even for households as far as America and Europe have experienced firsthand off the one-child policy.
KINKADE: Exactly. I mean, China's not alone when it comes to countries dealing with an aging population and a declining birth rate. But as you point out, China also have this issue where an estimated 20 million girls disappeared during those decades of the one-child policy.
Talk to us about how big of an impact that has had on women there today, who otherwise may have had a family. FONG: Well, I think one of the real issues right now -- and this is
the one that a lot of people talk about -- is the fact that China's birth rates are falling very sharply right now.
And despite the government, the Chinese Communist Party moving from a one-child to a two-child to a three-child policy, people don't want to have more children. And in many cases, people don't want to have any children at all.
And many of the reasons cited are, you know, reasons many people around the world have for not wanting bigger families. It's more expensive. People are starting families later. Women are more educated and have smaller families.
But the one thing that's very unique for China is the one-child policy on top of that, and what it has done is created a -- it's reshaped family structures.
I mean, all -- many of the -- the women today, while being asked to have one child, have grown up in -- to have more children, have grown up only in one-child families. They've been told all their lives that the one-child family is the best structure ever. And so, it's hard to turn on a dime about that.
And in addition to that, there's also the issue of generational trauma. You know, the one-child policy was enforced very strictly and very painfully, in many cases, with forced abortions and abandoned children.
[00:25:00]
These are now -- this is the generation that's inherited it. They've -- you know? And so, I can't imagine why any -- many of them tell me that they find it incredibly hard to build happy families with such painful memories.
KINKADE: Yes, exactly. And certainly, in some areas, especially in rural areas, under the one-child policy, there were exceptions. If you had a female child, you could then potentially go again and have a male child.
So, even the value system around females born during that time must impact women today of reproductive age.
I'm wondering if you've heard from women in China, or women that have been adopted, what their views are on this new policy.
FONG: Well, I think many of them feel that -- that they're being -- they're still, once again, being expected to do something for the country. And many of them are resisting.
So, for example, one of the problems that the one-child policy met when it swift moved to a two- and three-child policy, is now that there's workplace discrimination against women of a childbearing age, because many employers don't want to give, you know, two or three lots of maternity leave and maternity benefits. So, any women say that they're being asked to, you know, promise, which is illegal, but it's common, that they won't have more children. They're not being promoted under a suspicion that they might have more children.
So, the -- the sad fact is, whether or not -- you know, the women were punished in a one-child policy for having more children. And now they're being punished under a suspicion that they might have more children. In any case, the end results are not great.
And of course, the other part of it, just a very practical matter, is because of the one-child policy and the fact that it forced many families to limit the sizes, they -- there grew up to be a huge shortage of women. So, there's something like 30 million surplus bachelors in China.
These are what they call bare branches men: who will most likely never have a chance to get married, because the girls are -- just aren't there. And these are mostly rural men.
So, you have a real issue there, just -- just finding women to -- to build families.
KINKADE: And just finally, if, given that no China babies will be allowed out of the country now, under this new adoption policy, what real impact will that have on population growth?
FONG: It doesn't do much. I mean, the actual numbers of, you know, adoptions out of China were -- were never that huge. I mean, hundreds -- they're huge in the --relative to the adoption market, but not huge relative to the size of China's population, for example.
But what it does do is it puts the final -- it's one of the milestones marking one of the sad consequences the one-child policy.
You know, you've gone from a nation that you -- that said, you can't have any children, and gave away their children, to -- to one now where they're desperate to have more children, and they can't. So, they shut the doors on the global adoption process.
KINKADE: Mei Fong, you make some really good points. Great to have you on the program. Thanks so much for your time.
FONG: Thank you. My pleasure.
KINKADE: Well, still to come, an urgent manhunt in Kentucky stretches into its second night as the gunman accused of shooting into random cars continues to elude police.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:39:47]
KINKADE: Welcome back.
Schools will be closed Monday in Laurel County, Kentucky, as authorities try to track down a gunman. They've identified this man, Joseph Couch, as the suspect, accused of firing into several cars along Interstate 75 on Saturday, wounding five people.
Authorities believe he's still in the densely wooded area near where his car and a rifle were found. The sheriff's department says it doesn't appear the gunman targeted anyone in particular, but that the attack was likely planned.
Some of the injuries are considered very severe, with one victim shot in the face, another in the chest.
The White House says President Biden has been briefed, and they are in touch with state and local officials.
The mother of the accused 14-year-old shooter at the Apalachee High School in Georgia made a warning call to the school just before that attack. That word comes as the small community continues to mourn the loss of the victims.
CNN's Rafael Romo has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a new and dramatic development.
We have learned that Marcee Gray, the mother of the 14-year-old accused of the shooting, called the school counselor roughly 30 minutes before the shooting --
ROMO (voice-over): -- and described a, quote, "unspecified emergency."
This was first reported by "The Washington Post" and later confirmed by CNN with Annie Brown, the teenager's aunt.
That emergency turned out to be an alarming and apologetic text from Marcee Gray's son, Colt Gray. The text simply said, quote, "I'm sorry, Mom," as CNN confirmed earlier today with Charles Polhamus, Colt Gray's maternal grandfather.
It was after receiving that text that the mother placed the call to the school before beginning a 200-mile drive from Fitzgerald to here in Winder, but by the time she arrived, the tragic shooting had already happened.
The painful question that hangs in the air here in Winder is whether this tragedy could have been prevented, based on the new information we have learned about what the suspect's mother tried to do.
The answer, of course, is that we will never know, but these new revelations are very consequential and may widen the investigation into the shooting.
Throughout the weekend, we have witnessed how thousands of people have arrived here at Apalachee High School in Winder to pay their respects, bring flowers, and show support to the families of the deceased and the school itself. And the Atlanta Falcons decided to also show their support Sunday.
This happened ahead of their season-opening home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Atlanta Falcons players wore Apalachee Wildcats T-shirts during pre-game warm-ups. Also, a moment of silence was observed before the national anthem in Mercedes Benz Stadium to honor those affected --
ROMO: -- by the deadly shooting, roughly 50 miles from downtown Atlanta.
Rafael Romo, CNN, Winder, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, still to come on CNN NEWSROOM, hundreds of firefighters are battling a wildfire in California that's spreading incredibly fast. And now, the weather could complicate things even more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:36:04]
KINKADE: Welcome back.
Thousands of people are fleeing a massive wildfire in Southern California as forecasters warn of record heat over the coming days.
The Line Fire has more than quadrupled in size since Saturday morning, threatening more than 35,000 homes and buildings.
The fire is so intense, it's creating thunderstorms that are causing very erratic behavior.
Officials say more than 600 firefighters are struggling to get control of the fire, which was not contained at all as of Sunday morning.
At least three people have been injured, and California's governor has declared a state of emergency.
Well, Governor Gavin Newsom also stepped in to help a community close to Los Angeles, where landslides are ripping homes apart, buckling roads, and leaving hundreds without power.
CNN's Stephanie Elam explains why officials say the area has experienced slow land movement for decades.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's as if the earth is wiping away what's been built upon it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm no geologist, but when you see the road turning into a roller coaster, you know something's wrong.
ELAM (voice-over): Here in Rancho Palos Verdes, an affluent community coveted for its expansive Pacific Ocean vistas, the land is sliding dangerously.
BARBARA FERRARO, RANCHO PALOS VERDES CITY COUNCIL MEMBER: This is unprecedented. No one knows, really, in a way, what to do.
ELAM (voice-over): While the land has always slowly shifted here, local leaders say it's accelerated tremendously.
GREG MONTGOMERY, RESIDENT: Unbelievable. In the last four months, it's constant. I mean, it's just -- what do you do? I -- we're sitting here on a keg of dynamite. And we can't go repair anything, because the ground continues to move.
ELAM (voice-over): So much so, some residents had their natural gas service discontinued in July, with more shutoffs recently added.
Then, in the last week, more than 200 homes had their power cut indefinitely as the shifting ground threatens utility lines.
LARRY CHUNG, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON: On August 29, the fire that occurred near Narcissa Drive, the land movement caused a power line to fall to the ground and ignite a small fire.
ELAM (voice-over): That fire was quickly extinguished, officials say, but the incident exposed the threat posed to basic infrastructure, including water and sewer lines.
MICHAEL CHEE, LOS ANGELES COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICTS: We are dealing with incomprehensible amounts of earth with unimaginable movement, pulling our infrastructure in ways that it is not designed or intended to move, or resist this level of dynamic activity.
ELAM (voice-over): Allowing officials to funnel resources toward the emergency response, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in the city this week, noting the land movement accelerated significantly following the 2023 and '24 severe storm events, with the land now sliding at an average of nine to 12 inches per week.
JANICE HAHN, LOS ANGELES COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS: I think we're all learning that there's no playbook for an emergency like this one. We don't have a step-by-step guide to follow.
But what we do know is that many families are struggling, are suffering, are feeling great anxiety about what is happening. They are watching their homes. They're watching their streets crumble around them.
ELAM (voice-over): And for some residents, the only option is to remain in their damaged homes.
CRAIG CADWALLADER, RESIDENT: Everybody must assume that people who live in Rancho Palos Verdes are infinitely wealthy. That's not the case, especially for me. And so, I literally don't know where I'm going.
MONTGOMERY: We've lost our ability to live normal lives. I mean, we have plans to go places, and we can't go. We have to stay here. ELAM: For some of the residents in these neighborhoods, it's not just their homes that are being impacted, but also their livelihoods, as well, which is making the situation even more dire for them.
[00:40:03]
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Our thanks to Stephanie Elam there.
Well, you could own a piece of K-pop history if you're willing to pay enough.
K-pop superstar G-Dragon has opened up his collection of jewelry, designer clothes, art and much more to the public, with the help of musician and digital auction house owner, Pharell.
CNN's Mike Valerio has more on the push to join a new type of collector.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHARRELL WILLIAMS, MUSICIAN AND DIGITAL AUCTION HOUSE OWNER: They're called possessions for a reason. And it's not just because you possess them, but sometimes these things and there's the weight of the memory possesses you.
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pharrell Williams and G- Dragon have come together, not in a song but for a sale of the K-pop legend's treasured possessions.
WILLIAMS: This guy has opened up his trove of things that were very close to him, from the things that he's customized to the jewelry that he's created.
VALERIO (voice-over): Since 2022, Pharrell's Joopiter auction houses teamed up with numerous celebrities. Those who not only shaped culture, but voraciously collected.
WILLIAMS: Your possessions, they actually hold energy. The beautiful part about it is, is that as you're parting ways with it, somebody else has taken on his energy.
VALERIO (voice-over): The auction market is fast evolving, whereas major artworks in jewelry once dominated record-breaking headlines, nontraditional objects are also fetching high sums.
CAITLIN DONOVAN, GLOBAL HEAD OF SALES, JOOPITER: What we consider collectible and who we consider a collector has completely shifted and changed.
WILLIAMS: You know, the traditional and institutional auction house consumer and space could have been perceived as a bit stuffy. The average collector now are into designer sneakers. They're into
collectibles. They're until a whole lot of things that they probably wouldn't have been into in the '90s.
They're all walking in wearing their Yeezys, right? So that space has transformed. That customer and consumer is much more curious about culture and subcultures.
VALERIO (voice-over): Mike Valerio, CNN, Seoul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: We'll always have Paris. A spectacular fireworks show illuminated the sky above the Stade de France on Sunday, concluding the Paris Paralympic Games.
Meanwhile, inside was a closing ceremony to remember. One hundred and sixty-nine delegations paraded to the tune of French classics before the DJs took over and transformed the stadium into an electro party.
The only wrinkle of the night was that the Olympic cauldron could not be flown in the stadium because of the rain.
Thanks so much for joining us for this edition of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Stick around. WORLD SPORT is next, and then I'll be back with much more CNN NEWSROOM in about 15 minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:45:34]
(WORLD SPORT)
