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Swing State Blitz on U.S. Campaign Trail; Polaris Dawn Crew Returns Home; Georgia Sheriff Releases Radio Calls From Mass Shooting; Ad Wars Heat up Between Trump and Harris Campaign; Scientists Explain Vibrations That Rattled Earth for 9 Days. Aired 5-6 am ET
Aired September 15, 2024 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[05:00:38]
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN Newsroom.
The campaign trail is about to heat back up in states likely to decide the next U.S. President. The top of the Republican ticket is digging in on anti-immigrant rhetoric.
Voters are getting a flood of campaign ads in this final stretch of the election. We'll explore where the Trump and Harris teams are spending the money and whether TV is the best approach.
And the Polaris Dawn crew are back on Earth. We'll look at the historic journey home for these trailblazing astronauts.
Announcer: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: We begin here in the U.S. with Election Day approaching fast, now just a little more than seven weeks away. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are ramping up efforts in the election battlegrounds.
In the coming days, Harris will campaign in the blue wall states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, winning those three Rust Belt states, plus the single congressional district in Nebraska known as the Blue Dot would likely put her over the top.
Right now, Donald Trump is set to travel to Michigan, North Carolina and solidly Democratic New York. The running mates, J.D. Vance and Tim Walz, are also both scheduled to rally in North Carolina.
Meanwhile, Kamala Harris spoke at an event hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus in Washington Saturday alongside President Joe Biden. She warned that a second Donald Trump term would pose a profound threat to the future of the country, saying, quote, "Trump and his extremist allies intend to take our nation backward." She also criticized Trump for his failure to outline his health care plans during Tuesday's presidential debate. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, (D) U.S. VICE PRESIDENT & DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We have a vision of our country where we understand that the access to health care should not be a privilege just of those who can afford it. It should be a right. And that is why, together, we cap the cost of prescription drugs for our seniors and will cap the cost of prescription drugs for all Americans. We actually have a plan for health care, not just concepts of a plan. Concepts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: President Biden also slammed Trump for his divisive comments and conspiracy theories while praising Harris.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump is doubling down on his false and offensive claims about immigrants in the United States.
CNN's Alayna Treene breaks down those comments and gives some context.
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ALAYNA TREENE, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: On Saturday, Donald Trump made a brief visit to the Las Vegas Police Protective Association where he thanked local law enforcement on the ground, and he also lobbed attacks at Vice President Kamala Harris and falsely claimed that she has no support from U.S. law enforcement.
But what I found interesting was when a reporter asked him at the end there about whether he denounces some of the bomb threats that have been reported in Springfield, Ohio, they have led to two consecutive days of evacuations in schools. And this comes after both Donald Trump, but also his running mate, J.D. Vance, have been spreading and promoting these rumors about Haitian migrants eating their pets, rumors that we know the Republican governor of Ohio, the police chief, the mayor of Springfield have all said are made without evidence. I want you to listen to what he said.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you denounce the bomb threats in Springfield, Ohio?
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I don't know what happened with the bomb threats. I know that it's been taken over by illegal migrants, and that's a terrible thing that happened. Springfield was this beautiful town, and now they're going through hell. It's a sad thing. Not going to happen with me, I can tell you right now.
TREENE: OK, so a few things there. One is that he said that the city of Springfield has been taken over by illegal immigrants. Just to note, many of the migrants in Springfield, Ohio, are there legally. They have temporary protective status. But the other part of this as well is that he said he didn't know anything about these threats. However, on Friday, a reporter asked him during a press conference in Los Angeles specifically about these bomb threats. I want you to listen to that exchange as well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The mayor of Springfield, Ohio, the police chief, the Republican governor of Ohio have all debunked this story about people eating pets. And now there are bomb threats at schools and kids being evacuated. Why do you still spread this false story?
[05:05:04]
TRUMP: No, no, no. The real threat is what's happening at our border, because you have thousands of people being killed by illegal migrants coming in.
TREENE: OK, so a few things to break down there. One is that some of these bomb threats have been happening after Donald Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance, have continued to promote these rumors about Haitian migrants in the city eating their pets, even though the mayor of Springfield, the Republican governor of Ohio, as well as the city's police chief have all said that there is no evidence for those claims.
But I think the big picture, just to take a step back here about why Donald Trump is talking about this, is because it fits into his rhetoric regarding allegations that migrants, whether they're here legally or illegally, are engaging in acts of violence and criminal activity.
Now, this is all kind of rhetoric that we know he has used in the lead-up to 2016, as well as in 2020, really trying to stoke fears about undocumented immigrants in this country.
And when I've talked to Donald Trump's advisers about this, as well as people close to the former president, they say, whether or not these rumors in Springfield end up being true, it's gotten people talking about it. So, keep that in mind as we continue to cover this.
Alayna Treene, CNN, Las Vegas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: And Donald Trump's running mate also has immigration as his focus around the town of Springfield, Ohio. J.D. Vance is criticizing the program that allows Haitian immigrants to be in Springfield legally. The Republican vice presidential nominee says the policy may make them legal, but it doesn't make them a part of the, quote, "American community."
Here he is.
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J.D. VANCE (R-OH) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I mean, I'm married to the daughter of legal immigrants, and I think it's important that we welcome everybody in this country, but only people who have the right to be here, and, importantly, only people who actually enrich the United States of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, the Ohio community is grappling with a new danger. Wittenberg University in Springfield is taking extreme precautions after receiving an e-mail that threatened an on-campus shooting. A statement from the school says the message targeted Haitians.
The remnants of what was Hurricane Francine continues to affect parts of the Southeastern U.S., threatening to bring heavy rain and flooding to a number of major cities in the region. Widespread rainfall totals of more than six inches are possible. More than five million people across four states are under flood alerts, with Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee expected to get the bulk of the rainfall through the next few days. And there's a new disturbance just off the Southeast Coast that could bring high winds and heavy rain into the Carolinas starting late tonight.
At least 74 people are dead, and scores are still missing in Myanmar after heavy flooding and landslides caused by Typhoon Yagi, state media reports.
Central Myanmar is currently the hardest hit, with the rain mainly affecting the capital, according to the U.N. Myanmar is just one of several countries in the region impacted by Typhoon Yagi, Asia's strongest storm so far this year. It brought heavy winds and rain to the region last weekend. The devastation caused by Yagi even prompted Myanmar's military junta to make a rare request for foreign aid.
Meanwhile, in parts of Central and Eastern Europe, Storm Boris continues to bring heavy rain in decades to the region. The storm has already dumped a month's worth of rain onto several cities, causing rivers in Poland and the Czech Republic to burst their banks. Red alerts, the highest level of warning, have been issued across several countries.
Four people have died in Romania, where the rainfall left hundreds stranded. Authorities warn they've recorded the heaviest rainfall in a century over the past 24 hours. CNN Meteorologist Elisa Raffa has the latest.
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ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: This slow and stalled storm continues to swirl its way through parts of Europe, dumping some heavy rain, already causing problems with dams and water rescues. Some of the rainfall totals already are more than a month's worth.
Look at some totals the last 48 hours in Prague. 73 millimeters, almost double the monthly average for September. Vienna, Austria as well, got 71 millimeters of rain in the last 48 hours. Again, more than the entire amount of rain they would get in a month. Some totals are already approaching 200 millimeters.
Look at some places in Czech Republic, up towards 190 millimeters. St. Wolfgang 144 millimeters, again, some totals even well over 120 millimeters for some cities in the Czech Republic. We're also getting the snow part of this too, up in the Alps, where
those temperatures are cold enough. We're getting massive snow totals in some of these mountains here, so just incredible to see how hefty some of the snow has been as well with this storm.
The storm continues to sit and swirl in more or less the same spot as we go through Sunday and even into Monday as well. Again, also notice that line of snow in the Alps where it will continue to pile on some of that snow there.
We don't really find this thing starting to weaken or move anywhere until maybe Tuesday, so this could still go on through the next 48 hours.
[05:10:04]
Look at the additional rainfall totals possible. All of this yellow is some rain still up to 100 millimeters possible for some of that rain. When it comes to the snow in the Alps there, you can still find additional snow totals over 30 centimeters. So again, significant amounts of rain and snow when we already have a lot on the ground.
We're also tracking a typhoon in Asia. Typhoon Bebinca is cutting across some of these southern islands here in Japan and has his eyes set on China as we go into the work week. Could be making landfall right around Shanghai as we go into Monday. Shanghai on its own has a population of 24 million people, so a lot of people could be impacted by this, but we also have the Mid-Autumn Festival going on, so there are a lot of tourists in the area, so this could be really impactful with the amount of people kind of in this storm's way.
So again, expecting a typhoon landfall sometime Monday local time around Shanghai that could come with the intense wind storm surge and some heavy rain. It works its way inland and starts to dissipate by Tuesday into Wednesday. Rainfall totals around Shanghai could be hefty there, too, looking at 100 to 150 millimeters, which could definitely cause some problems with some flash flooding.
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BRUNHUBER: The all-civilian Polaris Dawn crew have emerged from their Dragon capsule. They were smiling after successfully splashing down off the coast of Florida after they completed a historic boundary- breaking mission. Listen.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And there you can see them.
(CHEERING)
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BRUNHUBER: Cheers erupted at mission control as parachutes on their capsule deployed after a picture-perfect return to Earth in the Gulf of Mexico. They've flown farther from the Earth than any human since the Apollo astronauts more than 50 years ago. They walked in space, advanced technology, and after the nighttime landing into the calm, dark waters, the capsule was met by recovery boats and hoisted onto a ship.
Earlier, I spoke to Daniel Dumbacher, CEO of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and this is how he summed up the mission.
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DANIEL DUMBACHER, CEO, AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF AERONAUTICS AND ASTRONAUTICS: It looked really, really well done, and everything seemed to work according to plan, just as they wanted. And the reentry looked good. The chute deployment all looked good. The splashdown, the recovery, right per plan. And that's the way you like to have it. The SpaceX team has done a fantastic job.
BRUNHUBER: They didn't spend a lot of time in space, but still there are effects on the human body. Walk us through that. What will they be testing them for?
DUMBACHER: Well, and like you pointed out, every mission is different. They're going to be particularly interested since they went outside the Van Allen belt and the radiation protection to see what kind of radiation environment they might have been subjected to and what the reaction to that will be.
Obviously, with the opening up of the spacecraft and the spacewalk, any effects from that and see how it compares to the rest of the information we have from all the years of spaceflight. Did we see anything new? Did we -- did SpaceX learn anything? Is there some new information that we can gather out of this mission?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: All right, after the break, thousands of frustrated protesters in Tel Aviv are demanding more action on a hostage deal.
Plus, authorities in Georgia released audio from calls they received in the middle of last week's high school shooting. Hear what a family member of the accused shooter had to tell police. We'll have details just ahead.
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BRUNHUBER: Two words that are synonymous with terror in American schools, active shooter. Those words are heard over and over again in newly released 911 calls from the Apalachee High School shooting in Georgia, where two teachers and two
students were gunned down. CNN's Rafael Romo reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Those late to rest Saturday were 14- year-old student Mason Schermerhorn and teacher Cristina Irimie. They were among the four people killed in the shooting at the school in Winder on September 4. On Friday, the Barrow County Sheriff's Office released the 911 calls and more than 500 radio messages between emergency personnel during and right after the shooting.
AUTHORITIES: There's a shooter.
DISPATCH: Active shooter.
AUTHORITIES: We have an active shooter at Apalachee High School.
ROMO: Computer aided dispatch reports show the first call for the shooting came in at 10:22 a.m. Eastern Time, according to dispatch reports obtained from the Barrow County Sheriff's Office through a freedom of information request made by CNN.
Two minutes later, at 10:24 a.m., authorities had the suspect's name as Colt and one student was dead, according to the reports. At 10:30 a.m. the suspect was in custody, not injured. Then then at 11:45 a.m., a woman who identified herself as Colt Gray's aunt made a tearful 911 call saying she was afraid her 14-year-old nephew was involved in the shooting. This is part of what she told the dispatcher.
AUNT: Hey, um, my mom, just texted me and said that my nephew texted his mom and dad this morning and told them that he was really sorry and he goes to the High School Apalachee.
DISPATCH: OK.
ROMO: Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said in an interview with CNN affiliate WXIA, the AR-15 style rifle used in the shooting was hidden in Gray's backpack when he left home for school that morning, as well as the bullets he was going to use. Let's take a listen.
JUD SMITH, SHERIFF, BARROW COUNTY, GEORGIA: He got on the bus with a backpack and we believe he had concealed the firearm in the backpack. We know that he concealed it was some sort of something that he had wrapped around it as if it was a project, a school project, if you will. He had obviously stored magazines and rounds in that backpack with it as well.
ROMO: Colt Gray, who authorities say confessed to the Winder High School attack, is charged with four counts of felony murder and will be tried as an adult. His attorney, Alfonso Kraft Jr., declined to comment Wednesday when reached by phone. School administrators are planning for a gradual reopening of Apalachee High School the week of September 23rd.
[05:20:03]
Rafael Romo, CNN Atlanta.
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BRUNHUBER: Despite repeated frustrations and setbacks in negotiations, Israeli protesters aren't giving up their demands for hostage release deal. This huge crowd turned out in Tel Aviv Saturday to keep up the pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to bring the hostages home.
And Houthi militants are claiming it was their new hypersonic missile that was launched into central Israel from Yemen on Sunday. The missile fell into an open area. No injuries have been reported. But it is rare for a missile to penetrate so far into Israeli territory since the war in Gaza began.
Now, in Gaza City, the Israel Defense Forces say they've carried out more airstrikes targeting Hamas operatives. Here with more is CNN's Matthew Chance, who gives us a rare and close look at the destruction in Gaza.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Israel's been carrying out more deadly airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, hitting a school compound in Gaza City, which the Israeli military says was being used by Hamas to plan and carry out terrorist attacks. Earlier, an airstrike targeted what the Israeli military says were buildings used, among other things, to manufacture weapons. Now, there are reports of casualties, but the Israeli military insists it took numerous steps to mitigate the risk to civilians.
This, as CNN was given access to the strategic Philadelphi Corridor in Gaza, the Israeli military telling us they've now dismantled Hamas military formations there, allowing us a rare glimpse of the level of destruction.
(On camera): We've got to the first stop on this tour, and we're inside the Gaza Strip right now. And you can see that moonscape over there, an entire area absolutely devastated. I've spoken to the IDF about how it is that such destruction could have been wrought. Was it an aerial bombardment, for instance, which we've seen so much of and heard so much about? But they say it's not.
They say they've been destroying tunnels under the ground here in the southern Gaza Strip. And they've been demolishing buildings, they say, that were booby-trapped. But take a look at that. That is absolute devastation.
Well, the presence of Israeli troops there in the Philadelphi Corridor has emerged as a major sticking point in negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
Meanwhile, here in Israel, there are growing calls for an immediate deal to free the more than 100 Israelis still being held in Gaza, with thousands of people across the country demonstrating once again on the streets.
Matthew Chance, CNN Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE) BRUNHUBER: French prosecutors will resume the trial this week of Dominique Pelicot, the man accused of sexually abusing his wife for years and enlisting other men to join in. The gruesome case has horrified the French public. Now women across the country are rallying around the victim, who's become a symbol of courage and strength in the face of sexual violence.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Hundreds of people gathered in cities across France on Saturday in solidarity with the woman at the center of a harrowing trial. In a case that has shocked the nation, a man is facing charges after being accused of drugging his wife before inviting dozens of men into the house to rape her while filming the act. The ordeal lasted for almost a decade, police said.
The wife, Giselle Pelicot, will now come face-to-face with her alleged abusers as her husband and 50 other men stand trial. After several hearings, her husband was finally due to testify this week. Before, the much-anticipated testimony was postponed due to illness. He's now expected to testify on Monday.
The case has received international attention for both the seriousness of the crimes and the resolve Giselle has shown. Her lawyers say she declined a private trial and insisted on the proceedings being public to raise awareness for victims.
In the midst of the turmoil, Giselle has emerged as a figure of strength and defiance, heading into court with her head held high each day.
NADEGE PENEAU, SPECIALIST EDUCATOR (through translator): I have total admiration for her. I think what she's doing is very courageous. She carries the voice of so many children, women and even men.
BRUNHUBER: Outside the courthouse, crowds held signs applauding her fearlessness and calling for the end of shame for victims of sexual abuse, using her image as an icon for the movement. Some said they hope the trial will lead to a reckoning with how cases of sexual abuse are handled in France, but they temper their expectations.
LOU SALOME IMESSAD PATOUILLARD, PROTESTER: I expect a lot from this trial, even if I don't think it will really change the system, because people are not ready. Men are not ready. Women are not ready. The system is not ready. There are too many taboos.
[05:25:02]
BRUNHUBER: As the trial proceeds, a galvanized public continues to express their support for Giselle in her fight for justice.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: And the trial is expected to continue for the rest of the year with a verdict due in December. Well, as the race for the White House heats up, so will the attack ads
from the Harris and Trump campaigns. But will they work to persuade undecided voters? We'll look at that when we come back. Please stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN Newsroom.
More on one of our top stories this hour. As we get closer to Election Day here in the U.S., the campaign ad war between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris is also heating up.
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HARRIS: It's about two very different visions for our nation. One focused on the future, and the other focused on the past. When the middle class is strong, America is strong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Another day under Bidenomics. Morning coffee costs 65% more. Gas for getting to work costs doubled.
HARRIS: Bidenomics is working, and we are very proud of Bidenomics.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pleasant dreams --
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Now, those are just two of the ads flooding the airwaves in certain parts of the country. In fact, if you live in one of those all-important battleground states, it might seem like ads are about the only thing on the air at times. But follow money, see who's spending what and where, and you get a sense of the party's priorities.
Republicans have matched Democrats dollar for dollar in Pennsylvania, with both sides reserving more than $70 million in airtime there this fall. The same goes for here in Georgia to the tune of $40 million. Elsewhere, Democrats are poised to far outspend the Trump campaign. The Harris team is reserving twice as much airtime in Michigan, three times in Wisconsin, and nearly four times in Arizona.
[05:30:13]
To shed some light on this, I'm joined now by Jeff Gulati, he's a Senior Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Political Science at Bentley University, and he joins us from Wellesley, Massachusetts.
Thank you so much for being here with us, I really appreciate it.
So, you know, no surprise we're seeing so many ads at this point in the race, especially in swing states like here in Georgia, I mean, we're just inundated with these ads. What are you noticing this year in terms of themes that stand out as being perhaps different from the last election?
JEFF GULATI, POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR, BENTLEY UNIVERSITY: Well, one thing that's very interesting is how the two candidates have tried to tell the story about themselves. So any good ad campaign starts with a candidate being able to answer the most basic question, why do I want to be president? And they have to be able to tell a story about themselves. And the two candidates are doing that, but in a different way.
So Kamala Harris is telling a story about herself, that she's, you know, the embodiment of the American dream, she's fighting for the middle class and fighting for our freedoms. You know, we're not going back is what she's saying. And she's trying to position herself as a candidate of change in a very subtle way because she can't distance herself that much from the Biden administration.
The Trump campaign is very different. He is a challenger, but he also was president for four years. But what he's done instead of giving a rationale for his candidacy, he has told a story about why we should not elect Kamala Harris. She's one that is dangerously liberal, is a flip-flopper, someone that we can't trust, and is a part of a very unpopular administration.
BRUNHUBER: Yeah, and certainly as we saw from the ads that we played there, the economy is certainly a theme that will resonate for folks. Do you think that will sort of be central to the Trump campaign?
GULATI: Oh, absolutely. It gets a little bit off message with the focus on immigration, but that is another topic that Americans care about and also see as Republicans better able to handle that issue.
And so what Kamala Harris has tried to do is to go on offense and say that not only has Donald Trump opposed a border security bill, but she's the only candidate who is a member of law enforcement who has tackled human trafficking rings and organized crime. But the economy is still the number one issue, and you see how Kamala Harris is, again, trying to separate herself from President Biden, saying there's a lot -- understanding that people are hurting, and there is still much more that needs to be done to bring that economic security or that economic freedom, and she calls it her opportunity economy to the American people.
BRUNHUBER: All right. So they're obviously both trying to get these things to resonate. Historically, what has actually been proven, if you can use that word, to work?
GULATI: Well, you'll be surprised that -- or your viewers will be surprised that with all the millions and millions of dollars spent on ads -- and you noted some of the figures being spent this time around -- political scientists have found that in a presidential election that these campaign ads really have very little effect on the outcome of the election. The effects tend to be short-term, very, very minor, and there's -- I'll give you a few reasons for that.
One is we know most of the -- we know the presidential candidates. There's not much more we can learn about Donald Trump. So Kamala Harris is a little different. She got into the campaign a little late, and you can see both candidates are trying to tell a story about -- an alternative story about Kamala Harris.
Another reason is that these ads are targeted toward these persuadables. There are not many of these persuadables left. But to try to reach someone, to get someone to change their mind about a candidate, it takes someone six times to be able -- they'll have to watch an ad six times before they really process it and maybe change their thinking.
[05:35:02]
Think about today how viewers watch television through streaming platforms and on-demand services. It's just very hard to reach people.
BRUNHUBER: Yeah.
GULATI: And furthermore, there are just -- there are just not many persuadables left out there. And I'll just say one last thing, you know, I've said that these ads don't really make a difference, but there is no candidate that's going to take a chance and start spending their money elsewhere.
So both candidates are spending this extremely high amount of dollars, and those messages are canceling each other out. And so you might see a very effective ad by Harris, and then that viewer sees a very effective ad by Trump. And so the net result is you see very little movement.
But you know, if an election that is this close, just that tiny, tiny movement could make all the difference in a couple of these swing states.
BRUNHUBER: It's a heck of a lot of money spent for very little gain, but as you say, the margin's so thin, it might make the difference in the end. So we'll have to leave it there. Jeff Gulati, thank you so much for being here with us. Really appreciate it.
GULATI: Thank you for having me.
BRUNHUBER: All right. Now, CNN Senior Data Reporter Harry Enten breaks down what post-debate polling shows for both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: This is basically what we're looking at, right? It's a race to 270. You get the blue states for Kamala Harris, the red states for Donald Trump, and those yellow are the toss-up states, the states that are within three points in the polling.
And what do we see right now? We see really a race in which no one's anywhere close to 270 electoral votes. We got Kamala Harris at 226, Donald Trump at 219, and you got those seven key battleground states, we've been talking about them over and over and over again, that are still not anywhere close to being decided.
Of course, those key great lake battleground states right up here, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and of course down in the Sun Belt, down in the southeast, North Carolina and Georgia, Nevada and Arizona in the southwest, that's where this election's going to be decided.
And even post-debate, there is no sign that those states are moving anywhere out of the toss-up range. The bottom line is this race has continued to be the closest one in a generation, certainly since I've been alive consistently, and there is no sign that's anywhere changing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Venezuela is accusing the CIA of orchestrating a plot to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro and other top officials, it says, to destabilize the country after a disputed presidential election.
In a news conference, Venezuela's Interior Minister said 400 U.S. rifles were seized and six foreigners were arrested, including a U.S. Navy SEAL and two other Americans. The U.S. State Department calls Venezuela's accusations, quote, "categorically false" and says, quote, "the U.S. continues to support a democratic solution to the country's political crisis."
The Biden administration has unveiled declassified evidence that a Russian intelligence unit embedded in the state media network RT has played a key role in gathering global intelligence for the Kremlin.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken says RT had cyber capabilities and took part in covert information and influence operations.
Now, the revelations come one week after prosecutors brought charges against two RT employees for secretly funneling nearly $10 million to a Tennessee company to promote Russia-friendly content.
CNN Contributor Jill Dougherty, our former Moscow Bureau Chief, talked about how the Kremlin goes about sowing division with disinformation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JILL DOUGHERTY, FORMER CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: I think the main thing that they do and is probably the most successful is to exploit existing divisions among Americans. I mean, you know, you know how divided we are. So it's actually not that hard to zero in and to amplify the anger that one party has against the other. I mean, they were back in 2016, they were actually urging people from different sides to go at it in the streets. So they are very, you know, open to anybody.
They're not -- they're not really taking an ideological approach. What they're just saying is, you know, mix it up, create chaos, and then exploit all of these divisions.
BRUNHUBER: Blinken said the RT campaign was also aimed at other nations, including next month's vote in Moldova on joining the E.U. Well, scientists recorded mysterious vibrations that shook the earth
for nine days. Now they say they have the answer. It has a lot to do with climate change. We'll speak with a scientist who took part in that research. That's coming up. Stay with us.
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[05:42:43]
BRUNHUBER: It's a problem that's been rattling scientists for almost a year. Last September, a melting glacier in Greenland collapsed and caused a massive tsunami which sent off vibrations that seismologists kept picking up for nine days. No one knew why they were happening, and scientists from 15 countries spent months trying to figure it out while they finally came up with an answer published in the journal "Science."
They say the tsunami wave ended up trapped in a narrow fjord where it sloshed back and forth for days on end. The incident is another warning about the dangers of climate change, which is blamed for the glacier's collapse.
I want to bring in Kristian Svennevig, a senior researcher at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland. He's one of the scientists who worked on that international project. He's speaking to us from Copenhagen.
Thank you so much for being here with us. So, as I mentioned, this mystery dates back to September 2023. So take us through how scientists around the world experienced this and wondered what was going on?
KRISTIAN SVENNEVIG, SENIOR RESEARCHER, GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF DENMARK AND GREENLAND: Well, we observed this tsunami and landslide in the northeast Greenland, a very remote place, so no one was there, but we picked up the seismic signal from the landslide and we also saw the results of the tsunami in satellite images and on an abandoned research station.
While some of us were studying that part, seismologists from all around the world observed this strange signal that made their seismometers shake back and forth roughly every 90 seconds. So it was in a way that was never observed before. Some of our colleagues thought their instruments were broken, while others, they actually noted it down as a USO, Unidentified Seismic Object, just stressing how puzzling this was.
BRUNHUBER: All right. So I imagine there were plenty of challenges trying to get to the bottom of what was causing this. It really took scientists from all over the world to put it all together. So how did you go about actually solving this mystery?
SVENNEVIG: Well, we could see from the seismic signal, that was very strange. It had to be associated to the landslide and tsunami because they occurred at the same time in the same place. We could see the seismic signal had properties that was matching the geometry and the mass of the waters in the fjord up there.
[05:45:09]
So that pointed towards that, but it was only when we had access to some declassified bathymetry, the seabed mapping from the Danish Army, that we were able to actually model the whole chain of events and actually match the seismic signal. So that was what really solved it for us.
BRUNHUBER: So this was just water sloshing back and forth in this fjord, right? What's the link with climate change?
SVENNEVIG: Well, we have these giant landslides and tsunamis. They are extreme events, but they're happening more and more frequently in the Arctic. So the link for this one is, as you mentioned in the intro, that we see below the mountain peak that collapsed, that there was a glacier, and that glacier had been thinning significantly over the years prior to the failure.
So the glacier thinned so much that it couldn't really sustain the mountaintop that had some geological weaknesses in it. So the whole thing collapsed onto the glacier and into the fjord. So that's the link to climate change here.
BRUNHUBER: I want to get to the big picture shortly, but just concretely, more short term, what are the immediate threats to humans and to property if this type of thing happens more often?
SVENNEVIG: I mean, it's a very real threat. There are slopes in Alaska, for instance, that are being monitored now because of the fear that they may fail into fjords, and there are settlements in the fjord. This happened in a very remote fjord where we only have this research base that was unoccupied at the time.
But we do have cruise ships passing through the fjord, not where the landslide happened, but further out. But luckily, no one was in the fjord when it happened.
BRUNHUBER: Yeah, I can imagine. So bigger picture here, the fact that a climate change event like this can literally have reverberations around the world, I mean, that can't be good, right?
SVENNEVIG: Well, I mean, the shaking we observed is very subtle. So you need these very advanced seismometers to pick it up. But it tells us, we believe it's the first time that you actually can kind of hear climate change all around the world because it's the first time we observed such a signal that we could hear it in Antarctica on the seismic stations down there. So in that way, it's also very spectacular.
BRUNHUBER: Yeah, but just more symbolically, the fact that literally we are feeling this in the Earth around us as a sort of a metaphor for the effects of climate change, it really underscores how important this issue is.
SVENNEVIG: Definitely, yes. And it also shows that we need to look into these ways of monitoring Earth in the future, also for understanding how climate change has an impact.
BRUNHUBER: Yeah. We'll leave it there, but really appreciate getting your expertise on this interesting phenomenon, Kristian Svennevig. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
SVENNEVIG: Thank you.
BRUNHUBER: All right, still to come, an NFL star running back gets pulled from the next four games just as the new season gets underway. We'll have details on that ahead. Stay with us.
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[05:52:25]
BRUNHUBER: Many TV viewers here in the United States are breathing a sigh of relief. A short but contentious dispute between the streaming service DirecTV and Disney is now over. Both sides came to terms on a new deal and service has now been restored.
Disney supplies television networks and shows but last week more than 11 million subscribers were affected when Disney pulled ABC and ESPN and other services from DirecTV's lineup. The blackout came ahead of the presidential debate, final rounds of the U.S. Open tennis and the start of the NFL season.
Speaking of football, college football is in full swing but one school was forced to cancel their game this week for unusual circumstances.
Andy Scholes joins us now with more details. So take us through this.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yeah, Kim, you know, I don't think I've ever heard this one before but Portland State was supposed to play South Dakota yesterday but they had to call it off due to a whooping cough outbreak going through the team.
Portland State released a statement saying that a case of whooping cough got into the team two days ago and that many team members have since been exposed to it. Now, whooping cough, highly contagious, affects the lungs so team doctors advised against playing on Saturday and the Vikings did note that none of their players are seriously ill at this time.
Now, Florida State, meanwhile, probably wishes they did not play yesterday. They lost yet again, this time to Memphis. The Seminoles, three first-half turnovers. They did have a Hail Mary attempt to try to tie it but it was batted down. So Florida State loses to Memphis 20-12, dropping them to 0-3 on this season. This was after going undefeated last year.
And just when you thought things couldn't get any worse, check out the press conference after.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE NORVELL, FLORIDA STATE HEAD FOOTBALL COACH: But, I mean, I think from their attitude, their approach, I mean, even they're in the locker room all disappointed. But, you know, we continue to work and continue to pour into each other and the opportunity we have.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, thanks coach.
FIRE ALARM: You are to leave the building by the nearest exit or stairway.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Fire alarm. It prompts Mike Norvell for not stopping there. Unranked Kentucky, meanwhile, giving top-ranked Georgia all they could handle last night. Dogs were down 9-6 in the fourth quarter when they finally found the end zone on Branson Robinson's three-yard score here.
Georgia would squeak out the win 13-12. Kirby Smart saying afterwards they did what they had to do but they did not play well.
Now, someone who did play well yesterday, that was Arch Manning. Peyton and Eli's nephew coming off the bench after Quinn Ewers strained an oblique. His very first pass, a 19-yard touchdown.
[05:55:01]
Then look at Arch on this play. He's going to take it himself, turns on the jet, and he is just gone. Way faster than his uncles. That was a 67-yard touchdown. Arch, four passing TDs, one rushing there. Texas wins big over UTSA, 56-7.
All right, today, the second Sunday of the NFL season. Bad news for 49ers fans. Anyone who's got Christian McCaffrey on their fantasy team. The team placing the star running back on injured reserve with his injured calf. That means he's going to miss the next four games. This comes as a rather big surprise. McCaffrey had said he was going to play in the opener.
The 49ers are taking on the Vikings on the road today. Here are some of the early matchups you can look forward to. The Jets are going to be at the Titans. Aaron Rodgers has never started a season 0-2.
You've got the Ravens also looking to get their first win, hosting the Raiders. Dak Prescott and the Cowboys, they're hosting the Saints. And, Kim, in that one, Tom Brady is going to be on the call. He got mixed reviews in his first game last week.
BRUNHUBER: I was just going to say that.
SCHOLES: Yeah, but he said he knows it, and he's vowing to do better.
BRUNHUBER: Well, it's good to see that he's human. I mean, he's just so amazing at everything. It's good to see that, you know, it takes a while to perfect broadcasting, as you well know, Andy.
SCHOLES: Yeah, and the reps. Yeah.
BRUNHUBER: Andy Scholes, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.
Well, another Olympic ring structure is on display in Paris. This one can be found on the Lena Bridge facing the Eiffel Tower. Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo was there to present the temporary display. Hidalgo wanted to keep the rings on the Eiffel Tower, but heritage conservationists said that would be sacrilege.
A much lighter version of the rings is expected to go up on the tower until 2028.
All right, that wraps this hour of CNN Newsroom. I'm Kim Brunhuber. For viewers here in the United States, CNN This Morning is next. For the rest of the world, it's Marketplace Asia.
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