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CNN International: Putin Threatens War With NATO Over Long- Range Missiles; 33,000+ Workers Walk Off The Job At Boeing; U.S. To Unveil Evidence Of RT's Role In Global Intel. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired September 13, 2024 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ERICA HILL, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Good morning. I'm Erica Hill in New York.
Just ahead here on CNN Newsroom, a sinister warning from Moscow, Vladimir Putin threatening NATO -- war with NATO over long-range missiles. Plus, workers walking off, Boeing's union members begin a strike against the aircraft manufacturing giant. And the debate over the next debate, will there even be one? What the candidates are saying today, just ahead.
New concerns this morning that Russia's war in Ukraine could be entering a dark chapter, one that may, in fact, impact the U.S. and other NATO countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin warning that if long-range missile restrictions are lifted for Ukraine, Russia will be at war with the alliance. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (Interpreted): 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)
HILL: Kyiv has, of course, openly been pressing for the use of long- range Western missiles that could strike military targets deep inside Russia. President Joe Biden, though, facing pressure at home to ease those restrictions, even as a number of U.S. officials remain concerned such a move could, in fact, escalate the conflict. This topic sure to be a part of the discussions today, when the UK's Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, meets with President Biden. The two also expected to discuss efforts to secure a hostage release and ceasefire deal for the war in Gaza.
And while the U.S. and the UK debate allowing Ukraine to launch long- range missiles further into Russia, the reality is they're already at use inside Ukraine. CNN's Clare Sebastian has a look here at the potential targets,
though, if Ukraine does, in fact, get that go ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now, Ukraine has been using Western long-range missiles on occupied territory for months. This believed to be a British Storm Shadow, a long-range stealth cruise missile hitting Russia's Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Crimea last year, but Russian territory has been off limits. Now, a major reason for that is, of course, Western fears of Russian escalation. But, recently, the U.S. has also been arguing that actually lifting those restrictions wouldn't make much difference on the battlefield, because it claims many high-value targets, including aircraft that dropped those deadly glide bombs, are out of range.
But, what exactly is in range? Well, this map from the Institute for the Study of War suggests that there are well over 200 targets still in reach of U.S. ATACMS. Those are the red dots you see there. Now, among them, there is also the headquarters of Russia's southern military district in Rostov and dozens of command centers, storage depots, weapons production facilities and military regiments, including, for example, the 52nd Guard's heavy bomber regiment believed to be responsible for a deadly cruise missile attack on an apartment block in Dnipro last January.
President Zelenskyy warning that any further delay may mean the U.S. is proved right.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (Interpreted): Delaying this process leads to Russia moving these military targets deeper into the territory of Russia. So if our partners lift the restrictions, I really want it to be a strategy for Ukraine's victory, not a political strategy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: And our thanks to Clare for that.
Also with me this hour, Natasha Bertrand, who is tracking this story live from the Pentagon in Washington, D.C, and of course, a number of questions about the fallout from those comments from Vladimir Putin and where things stand ahead of these talks, Natasha.
NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Erica. Look, I mean, Putin is really playing into that escalation fear that has plagued the U.S. and Europe over the course of this war, the fear that if they allow Ukraine to do these things, to strike deeper into Russia, to use certain kinds of weapons, then Putin and Russia, they will escalate the conflict beyond how they have previously been conducting the war, potentially even targeting NATO itself.
Now, at this point, that is not the main concern, actually, for why the U.S. is not allowing Ukraine to use these long-range missiles. The reason they say is because they simply don't have an endless supply of these long-range missiles, and that they are actually better used by the Ukrainians against targets in Crimea, instead of kind of disparate targets inside Russia that may have less of a strategic impact, because, as Clare said in her piece there, these long-range glide bombs that Russia is launching against Ukrainians into Kursk, for example, they're launching them from areas that are well out of reach of the ATACMS that the U.S. has been providing.
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And so, the position of the U.S. has been, look, use the ATACMS against the Russians, but use them in Crimea, for example, against places where you know it is going to have a real impact, for example, against Russia's Black Sea Fleet, which has essentially been completely neutered by these attacks by the Ukrainians using the ATACMS.
Now, we do expect President Biden to start considering, if he has not already, allowing other countries, including France and the UK, to give Ukraine permission to use their long-range systems against Russia, deep inside Russian territory. The U.S., at this point, President Biden not poised, we're told, to allow Ukraine to use the U.S.-provided systems, those ATACMS themselves, to launch those attacks. But, for now, President Biden is open, we are told, to the idea of giving the UK and France the green light to use their systems inside Russia, Erica.
HILL: Natasha Bertrand, appreciate the reporting this hour. Thank you.
Well, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that Russia has, in fact, launched counteroffensive actions now inside the Kursk region. It comes more than a month after since -- rather, since Kyiv launched its surprise incursion. The U.S. Defense Department acknowledging that counteroffensive, a spokesperson described the efforts as marginal, however, adding that the U.S. has not yet seen Russia using ballistic missiles delivered from Iran.
At this hour, in the United States, virtually all production of new planes at Boeing has now stopped. More than 33,000 workers walking off the job overnight. Their union called for the strike after its members overwhelmingly rejected a new four-year contract proposal with the company. This is the first strike at Boeing in 16 years. That contract would have given raises of at least 25 percent over the life of the agreement, but 95 percent of the membership voted against us.
With me now, CNN Business and Politics Correspondent, Vanessa Yurkevich, So, Vanessa, there are the questions about why? And you talk about overwhelming, 95 percent of the members said, no, this doesn't work for us. First, talk to us about why.
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, if you ask Boeing, this was a record offer that they put on the table, and if you ask the union leadership, this was the best negotiation that they could do at this point. But, for the membership, it was simply not good enough. And we don't have sort of one single issue in terms of why folks voted to go on strike. It's really sort of a holistic look at the deal. They simply believe that because of concessions that they've made in the past, because of rising inflation, wages simply haven't caught up yet, they wanted to get their traditional pension back. Instead, Boeing offered additional money into their 401(k). So, really just a mismatch of what membership wants and what ultimately resulted in the deal.
And as you mentioned, they wanted 25 percent -- excuse me, they were offered 25 percent as a wage increase. They wanted 40 percent. So, you just see how far apart they are.
We've asked both sides when they're getting back to the negotiating table. No answer quite yet. But, this is certainly something that Boeing, in particular, probably can't afford right now. They've had a string of bad press. They are $33 billion in operating losses. This looks like it might drag out for a while, because union leadership now has to go back to the table and figure out what membership is willing to vote on. That could take some time, Erica.
HILL: Some time, are we talking about days, weeks, months?
YURKEVICH: Hopefully in the next couple of days, they able to get a sense of what the members really want. But, it could take at least a week or so to get back to the table and formalize something. And when you're talking about a week, you are talking about potential losses, economic impacts, suppliers being impacted, maybe some slight delays on deliveries to airlines. I just want to say, though, this will not affect passengers. Everything is OK. You're going to get on your Boeing airplanes of your respective U.S. aircraft carriers. But, this is something certainly that may take a little bit of nuance, as they try to figure out essentially what would satisfy 90 percent -- 95 percent of the membership --
HILL: Yeah.
YURKEVICH: -- Erica.
HILL: Yeah. It is a significant number. Vanessa, appreciate it, and stay with us. We're going to dig a little bit deeper on this coming up.
But, I do want to first get to first get to this breaking news that we're just getting in here to CNN. The Biden administration announced a major effort to stop RT's role in the Kremlin's global intelligence and influence operations.
My colleague Kylie Atwood joining me now from the State Department with more of these details. So, Kylie, share some of your reporting on this. How exactly will this work?
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. So, we're expecting a major announcement today from the Biden administration, which really focuses on RT and makes the case that RT, which is that Russian state media network, is actually fully integrated into Russia's intelligence and influence operations around the world.
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We are going to see declassified intelligence making the case from the Biden administration to this effect today, and we're also going to see the State Department launch a global diplomatic campaign. What U.S. diplomats are going to do around the world is go in and meet with their counterparts to make sure that those countries know the risks associated with RT globally. And you'll recall that just last week, the Biden administration, specifically the Department of Justice, went after RT's efforts, backed by the Kremlin here in the United States, to undermine the 2024 presidential elections. And so, what they're doing today is building on that, but projecting, of course, around the world, saying that this isn't just a problem here in the United States, but this is a problem globally.
Just later this month, we're going to have that UN General Assembly. A senior administration official who I spoke to about this story said that they're going to try and use that as creating some momentum for this effort here, to try and get other countries on board, to try and go after RT around the world, to make sure that people know that it is not just a news channel, a news gathering and spreading operation. It also has Russian intelligence operations fully integrated into it. So, that is a critical new development that we'll see today. We'll watch and look for what exactly the details that the State Department provides later today on this are.
HILL: Kylie, really appreciate it. Thank you.
I want to get back now to the story on Boeing, of course, that strike, and of course, how long it could last, what it could mean for a company that is already struggling a fair amount.
Richard Aboulafia is joining us now, the Managing Director of the AeroDynamic Advisory, an aviation expert. Good to have you with us. You wrote a great article, a great piece for CNN back in March, so long before we got to this place and the strike, of course, that was OKed overnight, and you said at the time that Boeing's excessive focus on financial returns is what led to the company neglecting its two greatest resources, its people and its suppliers. Do you feel that they heard any of your concerns back then?
RICHARD ABOULAFIA, MANAGING DIRECTOR, AERODYNAMIC ADVISORY: Well, I think the fact that for the first time in decades, they've appointed an actual executive from the aerospace industry, who really knows the truth of what we all think, I think in the industry, is indicative that they have heard. It's been quite a while since you had someone like Kelly Ortberg, the new CEO running the show, who really knows the industry, the importance of good labor relations and good supplier relations.
HILL: So, as we look at where things stand now, as my colleague Vanessa Yurkevich was just reporting, it could be at least a few days before everybody gets back to the bargaining table. The fact that 95 percent of the union members voted this down, that sends quite a loud message to Boeing itself, to the leadership. How much do you think they will take from that?
ABOULAFIA: Well, I think they've heard it, I think, to a certain extent. A lot of that anger that was built up over the past couple of decades was frankly inevitable and had to show up somehow. So, the workability, the offer that was presented earlier this week is almost kind of immaterial to that anger. But, on the other hand, I think what we'll see, perhaps, is a repeat of what we saw last summer at Spirit AeroSystems, where it was a relatively brief period before the company came back with a new, more compelling offer, and the risk of a -- well, a -- the danger of a much longer strike was basically eliminated.
HILL: When it comes to Boeing itself, I mean, just looking at the company, there have been a fair amount of issues, right, that they've been dealing with, I think, is putting it mildly, in the last several months, also the fact that this went through -- Boeing is going -- goes from being one of the premier U.S. companies to where we see it today. How much does even this strike with union workers, how much is that tarnishing the brand, and what does that mean for Boeing writ large?
ABOULAFIA: If this is a multi-month strike, that could do a lot of damage to the company's reputation for competence, especially since you have this new promising CEO. That's why I think he is going to move very quickly and aggressively to head off that risk. And if we're talking about just a week-long strike, I think then people will regard this almost as an act of de-risking, maybe an opportunity to bring the workforce back in harmony with management and the company's goals.
HILL: We will all be watching, and of course, as you noted, the first month or so on the job for the new CEO, a lot to come into, but you know that going in, right? So, it will be interesting to see how that turnaround happens.
Richard Aboulafia, great to have you here today. Thank you.
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ABOULAFIA: My pleasure.
HILL: Well, the countdown, of course, to the next U.S. presidential debate is on, but basically on pause. Will there even be a rematch? What the candidates are now saying? Plus, voters in the swing state of North Carolina, what did they see ahead and how did the debate impact their thoughts and their votes?
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HILL: And these are, I believe, just confirm with me if you wouldn't mind, friends in the control room, I think these are live pictures from Sag Harbor, New York, where Justin Timberlake is just now leaving his court hearing. He should be coming out that door any moment. This, of course, is -- he may have just come out, hard to see with the scrum of everybody out there. And as you can see, plenty of interest here in Justin Timberlake. Of course, this was related to that DWI charge from over the summer in Sag Harbor, New York. This is, of course, in the Hamptons, out on Long Island. He was expected to enter a guilty plea as part of a plea deal to that driving while intoxicated charge. We are going to take a quick break, maybe reset the -- from this, reset the cameras on that. We'll bring you up to speed on that in just a moment. While we do that, let's get you up to speed on the race for 2024, the
race for the White House, and where things stand this morning, just over 50 days of course to go until Election Day. And if you were hoping in the next few weeks that there would be another Trump-Harris debate, you may be out of luck.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When a prize fighter loses a fight, you've seen a lot of fights, right, the first words out of that fighter's mouth is, I want to rematch. I want to rematch. And that's what she said, I want to rematch. 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. We got to vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: So, there you have it, the latest from the former President campaigning in Arizona on Thursday, saying yesterday, he has no plans for another debate. He is set to speak to the press in California next hour, and will be at a rally in Las Vegas later today. We'll see if anything has changed overnight.
As for his opponent, the Vice President, she is back in Pennsylvania today after spending her Thursday in North Carolina, where she made clear she is in for round two.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S., (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald Trump and I had our debate. I believe we owe it to have another debate. We owe it to the voters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: CNN Senior White House Reporter Kevin Liptak joining me now. So, in terms of the great debate that will or will not be, Donald Trump says no today. The Harris campaign says we're not taking that as a final answer.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah. And I'm not sure anyone should take that as a final answer.
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Donald Trump sort of has a way of turning an opportunity down, but eventually finding a way to yes in the end. So, I don't think that this will be the last word on this, and certainly it won't be the last word from the Harris campaign. You can bet that a version of what she said yesterday in North Carolina will be a part of many stump speeches to come, essentially saying Donald Trump is too afraid to revisit the debate stage after her performance this week.
But, I think for the Harris campaign, they are very much now entering what I think could be described as the grinded out portion of this campaign, very much looking to get the candidate in front of voters at these big campaign rallies, but also among voters in these kind of retail politicking stops, and she will be doing that in Pennsylvania today. She is going to two counties that Donald Trump won back in 2020. Her campaign says that she is going to look for votes anywhere that she can find them. The first stop in western Pennsylvania will be at a small business. It's not a big rally. She'll be talking to voters there. Her campaign really thinks that this puts her in a good light, sort of a humanizing light, and then from there, it's onward to Wilkes-Barre, where she will have a rally.
But, it is interesting. If you're looking for any more clue at how central Pennsylvania will be in this year's election, you just have to look at the calendar of Kamala Harris' last eight days, seven of those days, all are part of them, have been spent in Pennsylvania. So, it's certainly a linchpin to her electoral strategy. Of course, yesterday, we did learn about some fundraising numbers from the Harris campaign. We learned they brought in $47 million in the 24 hours after that debate. Of course, with a massive amount of fundraising, with a big degree of momentum, also comes the fears of overconfidence, and certainly the campaign is trying to guard against that. They say they remain the underdogs in this race.
HILL: Yeah. They are very clearly pushing hard to make sure that stays a part of the messaging.
Taylor Swift, of course, coming out in the wake of the debate, endorsing Kamala Harris. The Harris campaign, with the permission of Ms. Swift, putting up some new ads. I want to show some of those in Times Square and Las Vegas. And Kevin, I know there is also some early numbers from vote.org in the wake of that endorsement. What do they show? Does Taylor Swift -- I mean, how much of an impact does she have on voters?
LIPTAK: Yeah. And I'm someone who sort of thinks the celebrity endorsement might be overstated. But, if there is any person who seems like they would have an impact, it is probably Taylor Swift, and you are seeing that in some of the numbers. She posted a link in her Instagram endorsement to the website vote.org, and we are learning from the person -- the people who run that website, the GSA, part of the U.S. government, that traffic has spiked to that website. There have been about 52,000 Americans who have registered through that website since she posted that link. Almost 150,000 other people have verified their registration status. And when you just look at traffic to that website, it's gone up exponentially.
So, there are signs that this endorsement is having some effect for now. Whether that actually translates to votes in November, remains to be seen. You're also seeing the Harris campaign raise some money off of it. They started selling the Taylor Swift Eras Tour friendship bracelets. They sold out of those pretty quickly. You saw the signs going up in Times Square and on the Vegas Strip, very much trying to capitalize on what could be the biggest pop culture endorsement that she will receive this cycle.
HILL: And we will be watching to see if there is any more fallout or impact from that. Kevin, good to talk to you. Thank you.
LIPTAK: Sure.
HILL: Well, in terms of the debate and hearing from the candidates, what really matters is how the voters feel.
My colleague Dianne Gallagher spoke to swing voters in North Carolina, where Harris, of course, was holding a campaign event on Thursday. Here is what they thought.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Are we going to do this, North Carolina?
DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Vice President Kamala Harris back in battleground North Carolina --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm feeling a lot of hope now, which I wasn't feeling before.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): -- fresh off a debate performance, her supporters believe will help flip the state blue in November.
AMY STEELE, REGISTERED DEMOCRAT: Races are won or lost on the margin in North Carolina. I think she did enough to convince people who were on the fence to go toward her way.
RAKI MCGREGOR, REGISTERED DEMOCRAT: She came out on top. It wasn't close, head and shoulders.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): Republicans here say criticism of former President Donald Trump's debate showing is overblown --
MARIA ELENA CONAWAY, REGISTERED REPUBLICAN: It was three against one.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): -- and won't matter come November.
CONAWAY: I think (inaudible) we lost this country and lost the people of this country. I think he wants the best for us. He wants to fight.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): But, in this critically close state --
MAIGAN KENNEDY, REGISTERED DEMOCRAT: There was nothing in the debate that helped me make the decision that I made.
[11:25:00]
GALLAGHER (voice-over): -- not everyone has made up their mind.
GALLAGHER: You are an undecided voter.
JIBRIL HOUGH, REGISTERED DEMOCRAT: Undecided who is strongly looking towards third party.
GALLAGHER: Did the debate change anything for you? HOUGH: No, it didn't.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): Jibril Hough says he will only vote for a candidate who supports an arms embargo on Israel and ceasefire in Gaza.
HOUGH: That's more important than the economy. That's more important than healthcare. That's more important than so many other things, because we have to stop this genocide.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): Others want more specifics.
KENNEDY: There wasn't a lot of policy that was talked about, just kind of like aimless plans and vibes, honestly.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): Naomi Hernandez Hall, a registered Republican who voted for Trump in 2020, has not been swayed by Harris, but remains frustrated by the former President --
NAOMI HERNANDEZ HALL, REGISTERED REPUBLICAN: And I was just really disappointed because he hasn't shown and proven himself like he did with the first campaign.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): -- especially on reproductive rights.
HALL: He kind of deflected on it. He didn't really speak on it like I wanted him to when they kept asking if the bill came to his desk, would he veto it or would he ban it?
GALLAGHER (voice-over): With 50 plus days to decide, Hall says she is going to take her time.
HALL: I'm going to continue to look to see what they're going to say for the next couple of weeks, to kind of weigh it out.
GALLAGHER: And undecided voters like those truly could make a difference here in North Carolina, where polling shows that Trump and Harris are virtually tied. Both campaigns have already spent millions of dollars here with millions more in ad reservations through the election. It is no coincidence that the first post-debate stop for Harris, a pair of rallies right here in North Carolina, where every vote truly does count. As a parent, there are still some that are up for grabs.
Dianne Gallagher, CNN. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: Well, as we count down to the election, there are still concerns over voter intimidation this year. Just ahead, CNN Legal Analyst Norm Eisen will join me with a look at one case that could have an enormous impact on those efforts. So, be sure to stay with us for that. Also ahead here this hour, Russia expelling six British diplomats, as tensions rise over the possible phase, this next phase of the war in Ukraine. And a glacier collapse sparks nine days of global shaking, leaving scientists scratching their heads for nearly a year. What they learned?
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HILL: Welcome back. Thanks for being with us here on CNN Newsroom. I'm Erica Hill in New York. Here is a look at some of the international headlines we're watching at this hour.
Take a look at this time-lapse video.
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It's of a glacier melting in Greenland, which then triggered a landslide and a mega tsunami. So, this happened last September, and it is now finally offering some answers to puzzling seismic activity that lasted for days after the event. Scientists at the time couldn't figure out why the Earth seemed to be rumbling for nine days, and not only near that glacier. Well, a new report in the journal Science linked it back to the mega tsunami and warned that similar events may in fact become more common and more deadly as the planet continues to warm.
New photos from North Korea show -- North Korean media, rather, show leader Kim Jong Un touring what state media says is a uranium enrichment facility. The location and the exact date of these photos was not shared. Experts, however, say the images are evidence of North Korea's growing confidence in its position as a nuclear power. Earlier this week, Kim pledged to exponentially expand North Korea's nuclear arsenal.
Russia expelling six British diplomats accused of spying and threatening Russian security. Moscow's Federal Security Service offered no evidence for those claims. But, the move does come just hours after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived here in the United States to meet with President Joe Biden about easing restrictions on Ukraine's ability to strike targets deep inside Russia.
CNN has gained exclusive access to a medical evacuation train used by the Ukrainian army to transport injured soldiers from the frontline. The hospital on wheels, essentially, operates in complete secrecy. That is why CNN is not revealing the route, nor identifying the staff by their full names. But, it is important story.
We want you to see Christiane Amanpour speaking now to the people who help keep this train running and make sure those injured soldiers are being cared for.
(BEGIN VIDETOAPE)
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.
AMANPOUR: But, everybody is still --
AMANPOUR (voice-over): 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: I'm very tired, but these are hard times. And we must --
OLEKSANDR (Interpreted): -- 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.
OLEKSANDR (Interpreted): There aren't enough people, and there definitely aren't enough weapons.
AMANPOUR (voice-over): 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?
YULIA: I empathy --
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, Stanislaw, 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.
STANISLAW, UKRAINIAN SOLDIER (Interpreted): Personally, I was ready for it.
[11:35:00]
I was ready to trade the shower stall, the good sheets in 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 (Interpreted): The most difficult part is evacuation from the frontline. Combat medics who work on the front are 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 UK 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 see these kids who are saying goodbye to their dads, who are heading towards the frontlines. 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)
HILL: A shakeup within Israel's Defense Forces, as intelligence commander Brigadier General Yossi Sariel resigns. This after being accused of failing to prevent the October 7th attacks. That resignation comes on the heels of an IDF strike on a large shelter in central Gaza that killed at least 18 people, including six UN employees. It is the highest death toll for UN workers since the start of the war. The IDF defending that strike, saying three of six UNRWA staff were members of Hamas, but the IDF did not immediately provide any evidence.
CNN's Nic Robertson is live in Tel Aviv at this hour with more. So, you have the Israeli intelligence commander stepping down. We have this latest attack. Bring us up to speed on what more we know about where things stand and what this means moving forward, Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah. I mean, what it means moving forward is there are likely to be some reforms in the way that Israel gathers its intelligence, uses its intelligence, and makes definitive or best possible decisions about actions it should take having that intelligence, because this military investigation that Brigadier General Yossi Sariel is responding to is to the massive intelligence failure that allowed Hamas to have that huge, brutal attack on October 7th.
His unit, the 8200 intelligence unit, had staff around Gaza who were monitoring activities in Gaza, monitoring what they were seeing Hamas doing, and it's been widely reported here in Israel that many times the junior staff members, the information they were seeing that was telling them something was different, there was perhaps a rehearsal, a planning, a practice by Hamas that they were watching, wasn't getting up the sort of organizational food chain and being acted upon by senior commanders.
So, when you say what could change here, one of the things in the resignation letter that the Brigadier General says is that there needs to be some organizational changes. Whether he is referring to the fact this information wasn't either taken seriously, passed up or acted upon, isn't clear. But, he is also saying very clearly he is responsible, apologizing to the country, apologizing to his junior staff members, apologizing to his commanders. But, there is a lot in this letter that offers mitigating circumstances.
But, I'd say one -- take one step back from this. This resignation has come because of the internal military investigation. They wanted a fast investigation because they're still fighting a war. There has been no broader investigation that would pull in people like the Prime Minister at a political level for their decisions, and that's something the Prime Minister has been pushing off. So, the military is making its changes and adapting and trying to learn from a massive intelligence failure. The politicians, on the other hand, are not taking that accountability as yet.
HILL: Yeah. An important point. Nic, appreciate it. Thank you.
A lawsuit four years in the making with the potential to play a pivotal role in the November election, just ahead, the details on the legal fight to stop efforts to intimidate voters and poll workers.
[11:40:00]
That's just ahead.
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HILL: Until the 2020 election, poll workers were largely anonymous, really the unsung heroes in many ways of the voting process. But, of course, since 2020, many have been the targets of harassment, some of them even facing death threats. Now, a case brought by black voters to prevent former President Donald Trump and the Republican Party from potentially intimidating poll workers and voters is making its way through the courts, but the clock, of course, is ticking, especially if there is to be an impact on the November elections. At the heart of this lawsuit, it claims that the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee tried to disenfranchise black voters in major cities in 2020. Trump attorneys say this case has no merit. They say it should be dismissed.
Joining me now is CNN Legal Analyst Norm Eisen, who, of course, served as counsel to the House Judiciary Committee in Donald Trump's first impeachment trial, and has also litigated a number of cases involving the former President. Norm, good to see you my friend this morning. So, when we look at this case -- so, the suit was originally brought because they didn't want voters being intimidated, poll workers being intimidated, whether it was counting ballots, going to cast a ballot. And so, what they're asking for now is court-ordered supervision. I mean, what would that change? What would that actually look like?
NORM EISEN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST, & FMR. HOUSE JUDICIARY SPECIAL COUNSEL, TRUMP'S FIRST IMPEACHMENT TRIAL: Erica, so good to be back with you, as we so often together cover this impactful development of legal cases, and this is one. The plaintiffs in this case allege that Donald Trump, the Republican Party, and Trump's allies have been part of a conspiracy in 2020 to attack elections in the swing states based on racial grounds, and that that's a violation of two federal statutes, the Voting Rights Act, that they're impinging on the right to vote on discriminatory grounds, and also another civil rights statute, the Ku Klux Klan Act, passed to limit racially-based wrongdoing in the 19th century.
It is not -- and they're asking the court here in the District of Columbia to oversee and supervise Trump, the Republican Party, and Trump's allies, so that when they make moves, they're not discriminating racially because of this past pattern. And Erica, that is not as unusual a remedy as it may sound. For years, the Republican National Committee was under a consent decree because of their history of doing just this. We know how disproven and debunked but damaging Donald Trump and his allies' conduct was in 2020. And court supervision was applied in that election, for example, over the movement of postal ballots.
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There was a judge who oversaw the Postal Service. So, it seems that the plaintiffs have a good ground to get the court to give them the relief they want.
HILL: So, this started, though, this legal effort started just after the 2020 election. I mean, here we are now staring down the 2024 election. In recent weeks, they had initially requested damages as well, the plaintiffs. They have dropped that request. All of this was sort of on hold, essentially, while we were waiting for the ruling from the Supreme Court in terms of immunity. Given that we now have that ruling, given that they have dropped to the request for damages, do you anticipate this will move through the courts in time for there to be a resolution before the election?
EISEN: It has to. That doesn't mean it will. By dropping the damages element of the claim, they have taken this totally outside of the scope of Trump v. U.S. Erica, as you know, that case is about official conduct being protected and immune, but unofficial conduct is not protected, is not immune, and Trump v. U.S. says you can proceed. And what is the example that that case gives? When the President is acting as a political candidate. That is what this is about.
The Republican National Committee is not a government operation. This would apply to Donald Trump's conduct in 2024 and that of his allies. He is not in office. I think there is sound grounds to give the plaintiffs the relief they want. But, we know this Supreme Court has not always been honest. They have bent over backwards to favor Donald Trump. They have terrible financial and other conflicts. And so, we're going to see what happens, both in the trial court and then if there are emergency appeals. Relief is merited here, but we don't know if we'll get it.
HILL: Yeah. We'll have to keep watching. Countdown is on, as we know, just a few weeks away now, of course, from November. Norm, good to see you my friend. Thank you.
The U.S. Justice Department is expected to announce criminal charges against Iran-backed hackers who they say targeted the Trump campaign. According to U.S. officials, hackers stole internal Trump campaign documents and then provided them to news organizations. Now, of course, CNN has been reporting U.S. officials believe the hackers are actually working for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. CNN has requested comments from the Justice Department
Joining me now, CNN Cybersecurity Reporter Sean Lyngaas, who is in Washington, D.C. So, Sean, what more do we know about this.
SEAN LYNGAAS, CNN CYBERSECURITY REPORTER: Erica, this is a pretty swift turnaround in terms of the Justice Department filing -- or expected to file charges in a national security case. It was only in June that the Iranian hackers allegedly broke into the email account of longtime Trump operative, Roger Stone, and used that access, as CNN, as previously reported, to target other members of the Trump campaign. And shortly after that, we had this mysterious anonymous email account using an AOL email account, emailing reporters, trying to get them to publish internal Trump campaign documents that apparently weren't that terribly interesting.
So, this is a playbook from -- that we saw in 2016 that the Russians used to try to influence the election then, and the Iranians have learned from that, and they're trying to replicate that, according to our sources. But, going back to the timing, it's really quick. Usually, it takes a long time for the Justice Department to -- or longer time to build a case of this magnitude. But, I think what they're trying to do is disclose this information well before the election, to try to blunt the impact of this influence operation, and say to Americans, this is what's going on behind the scenes. Don't believe everything you read, as we approach November, Erica.
HILL: Yeah. Sean, really appreciate it. Thank you.
When it comes to the election, there is a big focus, of course, on the youth vote. Attracting the youth vote, getting young voters to the polls, can be a challenge in any election. TikTok, though, may be changing things in 2024.
Here is Donie O'Sullivan with a look at how content creators are getting noticed.
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DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: What's your most viewed video?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Born in Iran, raised in Iran, but more patriot than those who wrote blue. There is a Trump flag in my office.
(VIDEO PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That was a couple days ago in the airport on my way here to Atlanta.
MARIANNA PECORA, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, @VOTERSOFTOMORROW: Donald Trump is the biggest, most existential threat to Gen Z's future.
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O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Nearly all TikTok users said in a survey that they use the app because it's entertaining, but more than a third said they also use it to keep up with politics.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Listen to this rant that Donald Trump just went on --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's been a really fun time to be on the internet.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): So, I met with two Gen Z TikTokers to talk about how and why they make political videos.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You guys want to know what's worse than a liberal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Despite what some people refuse to believe, Donald Trump is receiving so much support from people that are young, like kind of like my age.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Nessa (ph) is an Iranian immigrant who has amassed thousands of followers with her pro-Trump TikToks, many of which show off this mega store in Forest Lake, Minnesota.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You will get compliments from most people on social media as long as you support their opinions. And I believe the algorithm also plays a huge part, specifically on TikTok. God bless you. I followed your facts.
O'SULLIVAN: You know when you're posting this stuff that it's going to start a debate.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
O'SULLIVAN: And that's kind of the point?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kind of. Yeah. I believe I'm providing a space for Republicans and Democrats to have debates.
O'SULLIVAN: What are you seeing on your feed? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mostly see Trump stuff.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Finish getting ready with me while I talk about --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I went to the same high school as Barron Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- as Barron Trump. For those of you who don't know --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to save this to watch it later.
PECORA: Sure you might have been seeing online engagement for Donald Trump, but that's because young people are really, really scared of it.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Marianna Pecora works with Voters of Tomorrow, a nonprofit focused on getting Gen Z to the polls.
PECORA: Quick take. What's your least favorite thing in Project 2025?
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Marianna is a big fan of Vice President Harris.
O'SULLIVAN: You had to do this?
PECORA: This one, I had some help from one of our younger volunteers. We were specifically trying to reach like a younger Gen Z, almost Gen Alpha-leaning audience with that. We've been talking about what Congress can do to support young people. Congressman Bowman, what you got?
REP. JAMAAL BOWMAN (D-NY): Congress.
PECORA: At this point, just about every member of Congress has either like a Facebook page or an Instagram or a Twitter. Not all of them are on TikTok, and I think that's OK.
O'SULLIVAN: Yeah.
PECORA: Like not everybody is suited for it, but I think it's really important and exciting that there is a lot of young people working in politics that are focused specifically on content creation right now. The best messenger for a member of Gen Z is another member of Gen Z.
O'SULLIVAN: And yeah. What's really interesting there is you can see just how different the content you guess is depending on your politics, depending on what the algorithm thinks you want to see you can get, two very different experiences, two very different types of streams of videos coming at you every day. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: All right. That's for sure. Donie, appreciate it. Thank you.
There is a new McLaren hitting the racetrack. This one isn't just about style and speed. It goes a little bit deeper. Look at that construction there. Does something look different to you? It's rather unique. Stick around. We'll tell you why.
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HILL: One more thing before we go. In full disclosure, this marries two things that I really love. Take a look at the latest McLaren P1. It is sleek. It's sort of a golden yellow, and it's all made out of LEGO. Yep. That is British Formula One driver Lando Norris behind the wheel, taking the LEGO car for a test spin around the track. It's the first LEGO scale model that actually has been able to turn corners and therefore complete an entire race circuit lap. It features more than 342,000 LEGO technic elements and an electric motor. 23 LEGO Group and McLaren automotive specialists collaborated on that build. Very cool stuff.
That's going to do it for this edition of CNN Newsroom. I'm Erica Hill in New York. Thanks for joining me on this Friday. Have a great weekend. But, don't go anywhere just yet. One world is up next right here on CNN.
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