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Putin Warns That Lifting Ukraine Missile Restrictions Will Put NATO At War With Russia; IDF Says Two Of Six UNRWA Staffers Killed In Gaza Were In Hamas; 33,000 Boeing Union Members Set To Strike Early Friday; Trump Says He Won't Debate Harris Again; Top AI Leaders Meet With White House Officials. How the Future of AI Could Impact the Environment. White House Hosts Tech Leaders to Discuss AI Energy Needs; More Oasis Tickets on Sale After Sky High Prices; El Salvador: From Murder Capital to Safe Space; Francine Triggers Rare Flash Flood Emergency in New Orleans; Brazil's Historic Drought Drives Up Rainforest Rivers. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired September 13, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[01:00:25]
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone. I'm Michael Holmes coming to you live from Atlanta. Appreciate your company. Coming up here on CNN Newsroom. Vladimir Putin issues a strong warning against letting Ukraine use Western weapons deep inside Russia.
Israel defends its strike on a U.N. agency shelter, saying some of the staffers killed were Hamas members and will drill down on AI's enormous energy requirements And what that means for the environment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with Michael Holmes.
HOLMES: And we begin with a new warning from Moscow that NATO should think twice before letting Ukraine strike deeper inside Russia with Western made weapons. On Thursday, President Vladimir Putin issuing one of his most hawkish statements yet on the subject. He said, if Ukraine gets NATO's go ahead, the alliance could be on a military collision course with Russia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): This is their direct involvement, and this, of course, would in a significant way, change the very essence, the very nature of the conflict, it will mean that NATO countries, the United States and European countries are at war with Russia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: But U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, visiting Poland, indicated that permission is on the table. Ukraine has been asking for a green light to hit deep inside Russia with long range missiles for months, and U.S. President Joe Biden now coming under domestic pressure to allow that. Here's what Secretary Blinken said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Look a hallmark of what we've done from day one, in fact, even before day one of the Russian aggression against Ukraine to 2022 was to try to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs when it needs it to deal with that aggression. And as what Russia is doing has changed, as the battlefield has changed, we've adapted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, that's happening as Moscow tries to retake territory Ukraine captured last month in western Russia. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy confirming Russia has launched an operation to recapture its territory in the Kursk Region. The video there on your screen now showing a Russian attack on a village held by Ukraine at the western edge of the area it controls.
Moscow claims it has already taken back 10 settlements. But according to the Pentagon, the Russian operation is not a game changer. At least not so far.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJ. GEN. PATRICK RYDER, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: What we have seen is Russian units beginning to try to conduct some type of counteroffensive in the Kursk Region. At this stage, I would say that it's, you know, marginal, but something obviously that we're keeping an eye on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Ukraine, says it has captured about 1300 square kilometers of territory and about 100 settlements inside Russia. President Zelenskyy says Kyiv expected Russia to push back, and what's happened so far is in line with those expectations.
I spoke last hour with Mick Ryan, a retired general of the Australian Army, and asked him how important it is for Ukraine, in a military sense, to get Western permission for strikes farther across the border into Russia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJ. GEN. MICK RYAN, AUSTRALIAN ARMY (RET.): It's very important, because what it allows the Ukrainians to do is strike Russian airfields and launch points for aircraft that use glide bombs missiles to attack civil targets, as well as drone launch points, whilst bombers might have been moved further back. Many, many tactical aircraft that are important to Russia's air operations are still within range of America's long range strike weapons. HOLMES: Yes, so important. You wrote in your latest sub stack that
there's no clear U.S. strategy for the war in Ukraine, but that might change. How do you see that strategy unfolding? Or how should it unfold if Ukraine is to win?
RYAN: Well, we've seen reports of a strategy finally being provided to Congress from the Biden administration. That's a good thing. I hope, most importantly, it should provide a clear and compelling vision for why the United States is helping Ukraine and why it's important for Ukraine to win, if it does nothing else but that, that would be a major achievement, and hopefully it will do that.
[01:05:00]
HOLMES: Yes. And to that point, the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, not surprisingly, said quote, we want Ukraine to win this war, but let's listen to how Donald Trump answered that direct question on whether Ukraine should win. Let's listen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you want Ukraine to win this war?
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I want the war to stop. I want to save lives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you believe it's in the U.S. best interest for Ukraine to win this war? Yes or no?
TRUMP: I think it's the U.S. best interest to get this war finished and just get it done.
HOLMES: You know, how significant is it make that that Trump would not answer that very direct question on whether he thought Ukraine should win, just say that the war had to win.
RYAN: Well, it's hard to know the motivations for why didn't just say yes or even no, but at the end of the day, the best way to save lives and end the war is for Ukraine to win.
HOLMES: Yes, going back to long range missiles, Russia a warning, as we just reported, of dire consequences if those long range munitions are used, despite, you have to say, the obvious fact that Russia has been firing long range missiles into Ukraine since the start of this war.
What do you make of the threat, though, and at the same time, also Russia launching this counter attack in the Kursk Region?
RYAN: Yes, Michael. I mean, you know, from first-hand experience from the start of the war, the Russians have been using very long range weapons. Far from being escalatory, this is us playing catch up. And you know, from the last couple of years, Putin has been talking about that he is at war with NATO, so his comments about long range missiles being provided meaning NATO's at war with Russia really have no credibility.
HOLMES: Winning the war is one thing, but as I know you've pointed out in your writings, winning the peace is another what sort of security guarantees, what sort of end this war will win the peace for Ukraine?
RYAN: Well, the most important thing will be the accession of Ukraine into NATO. That's extraordinarily important for the future security and prosperity of Ukraine and its people, but also the bilateral agreements with different countries, Poland, the Baltics, Germany and other countries, as well as ongoing military assistance to Ukraine of the type that the United States provides to countries like Taiwan and to Israel at present.
HOLMES: Major General Mick, Ryan in Brisbane, also a new book out the War for Ukraine, and also a terrific sub stack people should read. Good to see you. Mick, thank you.
RYAN: Thanks, Michael.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Ukraine is blaming Russia, meanwhile, for an attack that killed three Red Cross workers on Thursday. Video shows the group truck clearly marked, as you can see there, with the Red Cross on fire after the alleged artillery strike in eastern Ukraine. The International Committee of the Red Cross says its workers were hit while preparing to distribute cooking supplies. The group says two other humanitarian workers were injured, but didn't know who was behind the attack.
Meanwhile, CNN got an exclusive look inside one of Ukraine's hospital trains used to evacuate wounded soldiers from the frontlines. It's equipped with ultrasound scanners, ventilators and even life support machines. CNN's chief international anchor, Christiane Amanpour, spoke to some of the staff and soldiers on board. We're not identifying them by their full names or revealing the train's route for security reasons.
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CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voice-over): On a hot late summer morning departure time is fast approaching at this railway station in Ukraine, but this is no ordinary train. It's a hospital on wheels, evacuating dozens of wounded military personnel away from the Eastern Front as Russia's brutal offensive grinds on.
Paramedics carefully loading patient after patient, many of them unconscious onto repurposed carriages. It's a highly organized special operation, and it's never been seen before. CNN gained unprecedented and exclusive access to what so far has remained a closely guarded military secret.
Before the train moves off, I meet 35 year old Oleksandr, wounded by a drone strike, which has caused him to go deaf in one ear. His call sign is Positive, but he doesn't feel it/
OLEKSANDR, UKRAINIAN SOLDIER: Very tired, but hard times and we must keep fighting no matter how hard it is.
AMANPOUR: Do you feel that you have enough people, enough weapons to defend?
OLEKSANDR: No.
AMANPOUR: You don't have enough.
OLEKSANDR: Not enough. No. There's aren't enough people and there are definitely aren't enough weapons.
[01:10:00]
AMANPOUR: As the train rolls on, we make our way to the Intensive Care Unit, where several soldiers are on life support, bed after bed of broken and battered bodies, lives shattered in an instant. 90 percent of the wounds being treated here are from shrapnel, and yet, many of these patients know they will be patched up just to be sent back to the front as soon as possible.
This train and its cargo sum up Ukraine's state of Military Affairs, mostly ordinary citizens who have answered the call, outmanned, outgunned by Russia, and yet still putting up a hell of a fight. Nurse Yulia makes this journey twice a week.
AMANPOUR: How do you feel being in here with these very badly wounded soldiers? How does it make you feel?
AMANPOUR (voice-over): I'm an empathetic person, so it's difficult, she tells me, but you have to switch off your feelings at the moment of work, and later you can reflect.
And the story of frontline morale is on display here too if electrician Oleksandr was feeling down after 18 months fighting this brutal war, Stanislav, who signed up in March, is still full of patriotic fervor. He can still summon a smile, even though he has shrapnel in his body and damage to his lungs.
STANISLAV, UKRAINIAN SOLDIER (through translator): Personally, I was ready for it. I was ready to trade the shower stall, the good sheets and the bed, the good conditions that I had at home for a foxhole. I knew where I was going and what I was doing.
OLEKSANDR, UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES MEDIC (through translator): The most difficult part is evacuation from the front line. Combat medics who work on the front of dying just like soldiers.
AMANPOUR (voice-over): As these carriages rumble on through fields of gold, think for a moment of history repeating itself in Europe when thousands of ambulance trains evacuated casualties from World War I's trenches, more than a million to the U.K. alone.
Tonight, darkness descends as we arrive at the destination, and suddenly, there is activity everywhere again, as ambulances line up, collecting and dispatching to hospitals across the country. On the platform, the railway chief describes his pride and his sorrow.
OLEKSANDR PERTSOVSKYI, CEO, PASSENGER OPERATIONS, UKRAINIAN RAILWAYS: You this kids who are saying goodbye to their deaths, who are heading towards the front lines. So seeing those same guys coming back effectively unconscious or with amputations, it feels like the price of the war is incredible.
AMANPOUR (voice-over): Like a conveyor belt industrial scale, conversion of healthy young men and women into this. And yet, as one of them told us, Ukraine is strong and motivated. While Russia has quantity, we have quality and we will win. Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Israel's military is defending its actions after one of its strikes in central Gaza killed at least 18 people, including six U.N. employees. The Israel Defense Forces claims that three of the six UNRWA staff were members of Hamas, but did not immediately provide any evidence. At least 44 other people were wounded.
The IDF admits to carrying out Wednesday's strike on the U.N. school turned shelter where thousands of displaced people have been taking refuge. Israel's military claims Hamas was using the location to plan and execute terrorist attacks. The U.N. says the three people accused by the IDF were, in fact, teachers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNDIENTIFIED MALE: Israel is coming out and again, saying that several of the six unrest staff members were combatants, were fighters, were part of Hamas. Do you have any evidence of that?
STEPHANE DUJARRIC, UNITED NATIONS SPOKESPERSON: We've heard what they said, and I referred it to it in the statement. We have no way of -- we're not in a position to confirm it, to deny it. Our focus is on humanitarian help. What is clear to us is that no one in this conflict, and all parties, and I do mean all parties, should never use civilian infrastructure as a place from which to launch attacks, to target attacks. The use of human shields is condemned -- is has been condemned, and we will continue in that direction.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: More now from CNN's Nic Robertson in Tel Aviv.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: So the single deadliest strike of U.N. workers, UNRWA workers inside of Gaza since October 7, six of them killed, 18 people total killed in these Israeli strikes on this U.N. run school in Gaza. 12,000 people were seeking shelter, there 44 other people injured. It is the fifth time that this particular UN run school has been hit. These are places of shelter and food distribution for people who have lost their homes inside of Gaza.
The U.N. Secretary General is saying that these types of attacks must stop. The U.N. director of UNRWA Operations inside of Gaza has said that if they are allowed these types of strikes are allowed to continue, then this will undermine international humanitarian law, undermine the Geneva Conventions. And the statistics here, in this particular case, are staggering five times the school has been hit. 70 percent of UNRWA run schools across Gaza have been hit since October 7. 220 UNRWA employees have been killed so far in Gaza, according to the Irish Foreign Minister condemning the attack earlier today.
Now the IDF says that they were targeting a Hamas cell there. It was a command and control center for Hamas. The IDF says that they tried very carefully to avoid civilian casualties. Indeed, they say three of the U.N. employees there were members of Hamas.
Now the U.N. has pushed back. UNRWA push back very clearly on this and said these three people that the Israelis claim were working for them, but being members of Hamas. At the same time, they're saying there's no evidence to support that the list that the IDF gives to the U.N. claiming Hamas members working for the U.N., these names don't exist on those lists. That's what the U.N. is saying at the moment.
But the reality here is, for all those civilians living inside of Gaza who depend on the U.N. for these shelters in U.N. run schools, they are all at risk. The IDF says that they will strike Hamas operatives where they have intelligence that leads them. They will try to minimize civilian casualties as best they can, but in this case, 18 civilians killed, 44 wounded. Nic Roberson, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: About 33,000 Boeing union members are set to walk off the job in less than two hours from now. This would be the first strike at the beleaguered airplane maker in 16 years. Union members rejecting a proposed four-year contract, even though union leadership had described it as the best it had ever negotiated, it would have given employees raises of at least 25 percent over the life of the deal.
It comes after a series of problems at Boeing, including layoffs and the shifting of some work from a unionized assembly plant to the company's one non-union factory. Boeing also dealing with quality issues with its planes and its Starliners spacecraft.
After the break, Donald Trump says no more after Tuesday's presidential debate. Kamala Harris says, let's do it again. We'll have the latest on the debate about another debate.
Also, happy astronauts after a walk in space and into the history books, all of that and more when we come back.
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HOLMES: Donald Trump now says he will not participate in another presidential debate after Tuesday's ABC showdown, but Kamala Harris says she would love to do another round. CNN's Steven Contorno with more from the campaign trail.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Donald Trump on Thursday visited Tucson, Arizona for his first campaign event since Tuesday night's debates. On the stage, he attacked the debate moderators, put his own positive spin on the events and suggested that it was rigged. However, he also made clear that he will not participate in another debate.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: So because we've done two debates and because they were successful, there will be no third debate. It's too late. Anyway, the voting has already begun. You got to go out and vote.
CONTORNO: Trump's speech on Thursday was billed as an address on housing and the economy. He unveiled a new proposal to get rid of taxes on overtime wages, but he spent most of his time here talking about immigration, it's one of his top issues, and an issue that they believe will resonate here in Arizona, a border state. A recent CNN poll showed that Trump wins on this issue by a 17 point margin over Vice President Harris.
TRUMP: People said that I was angry at the debate. Angry. I was angry. And yes, I am angry because he allowed 21 million illegal aliens invading our communities. Many of them are criminals.
CONTORNO: Trump also continued to suggest that migrants are eating pets and stealing geese. He continues his West Coast tour on Friday, with events planned in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Steve Contorno, CNN, Tucson, Arizona.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Kamala Harris was back on the campaign trail on Thursday, holding rallies in the swing state of North Carolina. She continued to call for another debate with Trump and to hammer home the importance of the upcoming election. CNN's Eva McKend with more from North Carolina.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EVA MCKEND, CNN. U.S. NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Vice President Harris, eager for another matchup with former President Donald Trump. She believes the debate showed clear contrast and illustrated in her view, that Trump is unfit for the presidency.
KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Two nights ago, Donald Trump and I had our debate. You watched it? Did you watch it? And look, I believe we owe it to have another debate. We owe it to the voters. Because here's the thing, in this election, what's at stake could not be more important. On Tuesday night, I talked about issues that I know matter to the families across America, like bringing down the cost of living, investing in America's small businesses, protecting reproductive freedom, and keeping our nation safe and secure.
MCKEND: And Democrats believe North Carolina is in play this cycle for a number of reasons. There are nearly a dozen historically black colleges and universities in this state. We know the campaign has been doing direct outreach to those communities.
They have seen more than 160,000 North Carolinians request early ballots to vote early the vice president referencing that early voting in particular, and they believe that the Republican candidate for governor is especially weak and that he'll bring down the entire ticket.
So, it is for those reasons and the strength of their argument that they believe they have on reproductive rights that they are investing so heavily in this state. Eva McKend, CNN, North Carolina.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Spirits are rising for the Harris campaign in the days following the debate. The Harris team says it raised $47 million in the first 24 hours after the showdown, one of its strongest single fundraising days yet. But amid this news, many of Harris's ally are battling against complacency within the party.
[01:25:00]
Surveys in battleground states indicate a very close contest, and many Democrats fear that fact is being obscured by Harris's momentum. Here's Michigan representative Debbie Dingell.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEBBIE DINGELL, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: We've got the first poll that's been done post Tuesday night by Mitchell Research for Mirrors (ph), and it shows that what my gut said this morning is correct. It shows that it's a statistical dead heat in a head to head just between the two of them. It's 48-48 while 56 percent of the people think that she won the debate. If you take all of the candidates that are on the ballot, she's up by one point, which, for me is not comfortable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: In the first major post-debate poll, a Reuters and Ipsos survey is finding little change in the numbers from August. Quick break, when we come back, concerns are growing about the future of AI and its impact on the environment. What the White House is doing to address the technology's massive energy needs. That's when we come back.
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HOLMES: Well, getting a rare look inside North Korea's nuclear program. The reclusive nation has released images of leader Kim Jong Un touring a uranium enrichment facility. State media says the site is used to produce weapons grade material for Pyongyang's growing arsenal.
Kim pledged to exponentially expand his nuclear inventory during a speech on Monday celebrating the country's founding. It's not clear when or where these newly released pictures were taken. A former CIA officer has been sentenced to a decade in prison for
spying for the Chinese government. According to his plea arrangement, Alexander Ma arranged for himself and a relative to meet with Chinese security officers in Hong Kong and hand over classified material in exchange for $50,000.
Ma pled guilty in May. He became the target of an undercover operation after applying to work as a linguist at the FBI field office in Hawaii. The U.S. Justice Department says the bureau hired Ma to work in an offsite location where his activities could be monitored. He allegedly took a digital camera into the office to photograph sensitive documents that he planned to give to his Chinese handler.
Top tech leaders met with White House officials on Thursday to discuss artificial intelligence. The first of its kind roundtable included executives from Microsoft, NVIDIA and OpenAI and others as well.
[01:30:00]
They focused on how. Meet the significant demand for electricity required by advanced AI systems in a sustainable way. For example, a single request on ChatGPT uses about ten times as much electricity as a typical Google search.
The White House announced a new task force that will work with AI infrastructure leaders to come up with solutions. The CEO of ChatGPT Sam Altman spoke earlier to Oprah Winfrey about the future of AI
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SAM ALTMAN, CEO, CHATGPT: Even though I'm so convinced that the upside would be so tremendous, and I think we're also excited about it, we do have to be responsible for the whole package.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Andy Leonard is a tech journalist and author of the book "Bots: the Origin of New Species". You see it there on your screen. He joins me now from Berkeley, California.
It's good to see you. I was -- you know, I was reading that generating for images using AI uses the same energy as fully charging your electric vehicle. And your article for the Sierra Club pointed out that just one proposed data center in Wisconsin dedicated to artificial intelligence software would consume five gigawatts of electricity, enough to power 3.7 million homes.
So just how big of an energy drain is AI
ANDREW LEONARD, TECH JOUNALIST: Well, it turns out to be quite large. This new breed of what's called Generative AI, the programs like ChatGPT and Elon Musk's Grok, they are computationally intensive.
They make computers work really hard. And when computers work really hard, they generate a lot of heat. And that heat needs to be cooled down. That means a huge electricity bill. HOLMES: Even just ChatGPT fielding requests last year -- I mean, hundreds of millions of requests daily -- took enough electricity to power 20,000 to 30,000 houses a day. How big of an environmental issue is this at a time when the need is to move away from fossil fuels. Is AI going to mean renewable options won't be able to cope and there will be more burning of greenhouse-causing fuels?
LEONARD: It's a serious issue in the regions where there are a lot of data centers running AI programs. The energy demand is growing extremely rapidly and it's going much faster than new sources of renewable energy are growing.
So what we're seeing is that power utilities are asking permission from the government to build new fossil fuel-powered plants to meet this AI demand. For environmentalist, this is just a huge step backwards, you know.
We can't -- AI supposed to solve problems and here we have it creating problems, in effect making our fossil fuel bill even larger.
HOLMES: Yes. And of course, it's important to remember AI is in its infancy. I was also reading that the banking giant Wells Fargo predicts, you know, while AI will use less than 1 percent of all U.S. power this year that could leap ten-fold by 2030.
So how much worse or bigger could the energy demands get in the next few years as AI grows?
LEONARD: Well, that's a good question. I mean, if it grows at the same rate it has in the last three years, it could end up being truly astronomical. But that would require that businesses actually use this stuff to make money.
Right now, the people are making money from AI are the Nvidias who are selling the chips that the computers run on, and the companies Google, Amazon, Microsoft that are building the data servers.
HOLMES: Yes.
LEONARD: This is like the gold rush in California. The people making money are the ones selling the picks and shovels. We don't yet know whether your regular company that is using AI in their business is actually seeing real, you know, profit-enhancing stuff.
So it's quite possible that this could be another tech bubble, you know, if the companies aren't making money, they'll stop building the data servers.
We don't know yet. There's -- there's no doubt that this AI advance, is more real than some things we've seen in the past, like the NFTs and the blockchain, which blew up really quickly.
What -- what these programs do is a significant step forward from the past.
HOLMES: Yes. LEONARD: So --
(CROSSTALKING)
HOLMES: Yes. No, it's an excellent point. And when we talk about AI's drain on energy, we haven't talked about cryptocurrency and what that drains as well from the grid.
You sort of touched on something that made me think if AI is this kind of problem, can AI be used to solve the problem?
[01:34:52]
LEONARD: Another good question. One of the reasons why until recently energy use in the information technology sector has actually grown very slowly is because machine learning has increased energy efficiency.
But that's a totally different kind of AI than what we're now looking at. A machine-learning algorithm that kind of monitors a factory's temperatures according to weather conditions, can fit on a laptop.
The stuff that were looking at right now is taking up massive data centers. And yet we don't know whether it's solving any problems. In theory, yes, this stuff should be used to solve problems, but we haven't seen it yet. Right now, it's burning up more energy than it's, than it's saving.
HOLMES: Yes. Yes. I mean I urge people to read your piece for the Sierra Club. It was fascinating and you wrote about, you know, the breadth of the technology that is drawing on energy and we mentioned cryptocurrency.
Do you think people realize how big this draw and will become? I mean, we all play into it, even storing our photos in the cloud is a factor.
LEONARD: Well, we're all part of it and that's why it's been growing so fast for so long. I mean this call we're on right now is going through a data center somewhere, you know, every, every TikTok, every -- every Spotify stream.
But I think what we do as individuals does not compare to, what is being done on the big scale for the AI rush to feed kind of the hype machine that the companies are interested in. It's just a much (INAUDIBLE) scale.
We as individuals I don't think need to be too worried about what we're doing. What we do need to be worried about is the lack of regulation of big tech that just allows them to build as much as they want without looking at the environmental impact.
HOLMES: What a great point to make, a great summary. We're going to leave it there, unfortunately. It's a massive issue, an important issue.
Andrew Leonard in California, thanks so much. LEONARD: Thank you. Glad to be here.
HOLMES: Well, the four civilian astronauts on the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission made history, of course, with their successful space walk on Thursday.
Afterwards, they got out of their new protective suits, shared a meal and connected with their families. And as you see, there, took a selfie.
CNN's Brian Abel has more on the historic mission.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN ABEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: SpaceX mission control erupting in cheers as the hatch of the Crew Dragon capsule opens, exposing the four crew members inside to the vacuum of space.
Over the following two hours, billionaire tech CEO Jared Isaacman and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis, complete the world's first commercial spacewalk. For about ten minutes each from outside the capsule, Isaacman taking in views of earth passing by some 450 miles below your home.
JARED ISAACMAN, BILLIONAIRE TECH CEO: Back at home, we all have a lot of work to do, but from here earth sure looks like a perfect world.
ABEL: The mission commander, also bending and stretching. This space dance meant to test how their suit's move.
COL. CHRIS HADFIELD, FORMER ASTRONAUT, INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION COMMANDER: No one has ever used this spacesuit out in space before. So it opens up a whole new capability. We haven't had a new spacesuit in over 40 years.
So all the latest technology since then integrated into a new tech suit.
ABEL: Former International Space Station commander Chris Hadfield says Thursday's mission opens the door to exciting new opportunities.
The SpaceX capsule has never gone down to the zero-pressure vacuum of space before, testing the hatches and all the equipment inside that everything worked.
ABEL: The Polaris Dawn crew will spend another couple of days in orbit checking off remaining mission goals and working through a list of experiments. The Crew Dragon spacecraft could make its return to earth this weekend.
In Washington -- Brian Abel reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, stop the clocks, more Oasis tickets have gone on sale for new tour dates after fans were stung by sky-high prices a couple of weeks ago.
So what's the story, morning glory? See what I did there? Anna Stewart reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's the reunion fans had been calling for.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've both come together throughout --
STEWART: The Gallagher brothers are getting back together after 15 years.
Fans were left looking back in anger over ticket shortages and supersonic prices.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will never spend 350 (EXPLETIVE DELETED) quid for a standard ticket to go and see a band.
STEWART: It's all down to the controversial use of dynamic pricing for concert tickets and a U.K. watchdog is now investigating.
[01:39:46]
NICOLAS DE ROOS, PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS, UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL: If a seller is not sure how many people will want to turn up, they might want to adjust prices over time as they get more information.
STEWART: In the case of Oasis tickets, fans waited hoping to buy a ticket for 135 pounds on Ticketmaster. But then some tickets went for more than 350 pounds.
There was definitely maybe a feeling of injustice but maybe the prime minister will be the one to save, well, Oasis fans.
KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: From what I've discerned, about half the country, probably queuing for tickets. I'm committed to putting fans at the heart of music and stop price retail or we're (INAUDIBLE) a consultation to work out how best we can do this.
STEWART: Oasis announced new tour dates days after tickets went on sale. Music to the ears of those who didn't get any. But is it fair for those who had already splashed out?
DE ROOS: It's not illegal to have dynamic pricing. What is potentially illegal is the transparency elements. So if there's any deception and if it can be -- can be argued that consumers were deceived when they, when they began to purchase.
STEWAT: A Ticketmaster spokesperson told CNN, the company doesn't set ticket prices. That's decided by promoters and artists and they can be fixed or dynamic.
It's not the first time Ticketmaster has been under scrutiny. Taylor Swift fans crashed the site, trying to book tickets to the Eras Tour prompting the DOJ to file an antitrust suit, which its owner Live Nation called faithless (ph).
Ultimately, the stadiums were packed for Swift. And there are always fans willing to pay a high price to see a rock and roll star.
Anna Stewart, CNN -- London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: From murder capital of the world to a destination for reverse immigration. How El Salvador has been transformed. We'll have that after the break.
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HOLMES: The United States has imposed sanctions on 16 Venezuelan officials aligned with President Nicolas Maduro.
The U.S. says, members of the National Electoral Council, the country's Supreme Court and others helped Maduro obstruct a free and fair election. Edmundo Gonzalez is considered by many countries as the rightful winner. He's been granted asylum in Spain amid threats of arrest and persecution by the Maduro government.
Now talk of criminals entering the U.S. illegally has put a spotlight on its southern border. But in El Salvador, a remarkable transformation has taken place. It's seen thousands of gang members put in prison and now, instead of trying to enter the U.S. many Salvadorans are renewing their lives there, some are even crossing back the other way to return home.
CNN's David Culver with that story.
[01:44:53]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're layering up to walk through a notoriously gang-infested part of El Salvador's capital. The country's defense minister is our tour guide.
And this area, especially --
RENE MERINO, EL SALVADOR DEFENSE MINISTER: Was very, very, very, very dangerous.
CULVER: He said, go back three or four years. And the folks who lived in this area didn't even want to look police and military in the eye.
MERINO: If the bad guy knows that some civilian people say hi to us, they kill them.
CULVER: For decades gang violence suffocated nearly all aspects of life in El Salvador.
But now, walking these once-deadly streets with the defense minister feels more like a victory parade. Handshakes, hugs, photos, even carrying babies.
For some even asking about the past brings out tears.
"Only God knows what it was like here before," she says.
Less than a decade ago, El Salvador was labeled the deadliest country in the world. Murders have since plummeted according to government data from more than 6,620 in 2015 to 154 last year. Life has seemingly returned to these streets.
Now I feel a little bit silly, even having to wear this. The biggest threat is a slowdown in going to where you need to go because of I've taken photos and saying hi to people.
But how did it all change so quickly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bukele.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bukele.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Bukele.
CULVER: Most crediting Nayib Bukele, the country's president. In 2019, he came into office.
His actions controversial, consolidating power, tightening his grip of control, and essentially eliminating any political opposition.
Under a state of emergency, more than 81,000 people arrested. Bukele, even boasting that El Salvador now has the highest incarceration rate in the world.
The government says the most hardened gang members end up here at the terrorism confinement center. Government images from inside have been widely-shared on social media.
But most of those arrested are actually kept in facilities like these a side of El Salvador's prison system few have seen.
You can actually see this where we are. There's row after row after row.
This facility alone holds roughly 30,000 inmates. Prisoners are put to work tasked with rehabilitating themselves and their country.
You can even see there's a police vehicle that they're working on.
We tour another facility where inmates are making government uniforms and building desks for local schools. Some inmates are sent into communities to help heal the nation by erasing parts of a painful past.
President Bukele ordered the inmates to shatter gang tombstones.
So this is one of them here and you can see this is all broken off. They're still buried here and they still have a plot.
But any mention of their past gang affiliations and nicknames destroyed.
Driving through the capital, we see kids playing parks packed with vendors and families, and lots of traffic. It all might seem normal.
But locals stress to us this is all new to them. It's calm.
Before nobody would visit here, not even your own family.
Though feeling safer, this woman tells me the drastic changes have come at a devastating cost.
She's saying her son who helped her normally financially is in jail. So for her, yes, it might be safer here, but economically it's no better.
She says her son is being held at one of the work prisons we visited but that he is innocent and has not been given the opportunity to defend himself. It's a claim many have made against the government.
But the Bukele administration is adamant that they've taken lawful and necessary steps to liberate this country.
We meet this woman who says she's been able to move in thanks to the changes. So for her to be here in this space now to have a little business, she says it's been a blessing.
Keeping the gangs out has meant military patrols at all hours. Though now, even the sight of armored trucks with flashing lights surrounded by heavily armed soldiers, no longer intimidating for residents so much as fascinating.
[01:49:49]
CULVER: They're just curious and wanting to take a picture and video of the inside of some of his military equipment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President says this is a miracle, he says. It's a miracle.
CULVER: And perhaps like a miracle El Salvador's transformation has its skeptics and doubters but most everyone we find here will be able to -- for now at least, devout believers hopeful this change will last.
MERINO: See, they're going off.
CULVER: But it seems the impact of President Bukele's crackdown is going beyond the borders of El Salvador.
In fact, we looked at the numbers from Customs Border Protection here in the U.S. and starting in roughly early 2022, around the same time that that controversial state of emergency began in El Salvador up until 2023. The number of encounters of folks from El Salvador at the U.S. southern border dropped 36 percent. Now, it's on track to drop even further this year.
What's more is when we were down in El Salvador we met a lot of folks who for years lived in the U.S. and who in the past few years have decided to uproot their lives in the United States and cross the border south into El Salvador, where they're now building a new life for many of them back home where they started.
David Culver, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Brazil in the grip of a historic drought, drying up rivers that once flowed through the Amazon and impacting the lives of those who live there. We'll have that after the break.
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HOLMES: Well what was Hurricane Francine is now a post-tropical cyclone, but the storm still poses serious risks to the southeastern United States. Francine battered Louisiana, where it made landfall as a category two hurricane on Wednesday.
CNN's Michael Yoshida brings us that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dramatic rescue caught on camera when ER Nurse Miles Crawford saw another man stuck in a truck submerged in floodwaters.
He sprang into action. After running to his home to get something to break the truck window Crawford waded into the flood and helped pulled the man out.
MILES CRAWFORD, ER NURSE: I wasn't really thinking about my safety. I knew I'd be safe and I knew that there was right there behind me in case we needed to get anybody else to come rescue me or anything.
YOSHIDA: scenes like this played out across parts of Louisiana as Francine made landfall in Terrebonne Parish Wednesday as a category two hurricane. With it more than a month's worth of rain to New Orleans within hours in a rare flash flood emergency. Traveling became dangerous and water rushed into homes.
They Lafourche Parish sheriff's office said they pulled 26 residents, many from their flooded homes Wednesday night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We even had our protective dam up. We even had the sandbags up. 0
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All a sudden we saw water starting to come in from all different areas of the house.
YOSHIDA: Hundreds of thousands are without power in Louisiana and Mississippi after wind-fallen trees ripped down power lines.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, certainly -- certainly worse than we anticipated.
YOSHIDA: In Houma, Louisiana the winds were so strong the roof of this flea market was torn off. As the storm moves inland, more than 10 million people from Arkansas and Tennessee to southwest Georgia and the Florida panhandle could see flood level rainfall.
In New Orleans -- I'm Michael Yoshida, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:54:45]
HOLMES: At the opposite end of the spectrum, rivers that once flowed through the Amazon are drying out as Brazil endures a record drought, and the country's geological service warns conditions are expected to worsen.
Elisa Raffa reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELISA RAFFAH, CNN METEOROLOGIST: These people are walking on what would normally be a river. The Madeira River, a major tributary of the Amazon, is experiencing historically low water levels this year.
A government organization that monitors natural disasters says Brazil is suffering through its worst drought in history and communities who live on the riverbanks are struggling.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When it's dry here, it's a sacrifice for everyone. We suffer.
RAFFA: Because of the drought, there's a shortage of water that is safe to drink. And residents say low water levels make their river difficult to navigate.
With no rainfall in the forecast, water levels are expected to keep falling, making the water crisis worse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Without water nobody lives. There is no way.
RAFFA: People in the community, not only rely on the river for water, but also for fishing and transportation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's drying up a lot, too much. This season is very hard for us. We live far away and it's very difficult to fish.
RAFFA: La Ninas usually bring wetter weather to Brazil, but the weather phenomenon is coming later than forecast this year. And rain isn't expected until the fall.
The drought could also impact soy and corn shipments, driving up prices.
Elisa Raffa, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: A runaway penguin lost at sea off Japan for two weeks is now safe. The penguin unimaginatively named Pen (ph) was swimming with a staff from a traveling zoo when she escaped.
Since Pen was born in captivity and had never been in open waters, her chances of survival were dim. But then Typhoon Shenzhen (ph) hit. A zookeeper telling CNN that probably helped her survive.
She was found Sunday, 12 kilometers from where she went missing.
Should have called it Brian.
I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate you spending part of your day with me, CNN NEWSROOM continues with my friend and colleague Kim Brunhuber next.
[01:57:09]
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