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Israel Behind Lebanon Pager Attack In Joint Mossad-IDF Operation; Sean "Diddy" Combs Indicted On 3 Felony Counts, Held Without Bail; Trump Resumes Campaigning After Apparent Assassination Attempt; Springfield, Ohio, Schools Open With Increased Security Amid Threats; Meeting Members of Springfield's Haitian Community; Displaced Families Struggle to Survive on Gaza's Beaches; Instagram Forcing Millions of Teens into Protected Accounts; Astronauts to get Fashion Makeover. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired September 18, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to CNN Newsroom. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Ahead this hour, Israel's spy agency accused of turning pages used by Hezbollah militants into bombs. We'll have the latest on that attack and the regional response. Rapper Sean Diddy Combs is behind bars, accused of creating a sex trafficking enterprise, and we'll discuss the major changes by Instagram aimed at making the platform safer for teenagers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with Lynda Kinkade.
KINKADE: The Middle East is on edge after thousands of pages simultaneously exploded in Lebanon, killing at least nine people, including an eight-year-old girl, and injuring more than 2,800 people. CNN has learned that Israel is behind the attack, a joint operation between Israel's intelligence service, the Mossad, and the Israeli military, targeting Hezbollah militants.
A Lebanese security source tells CNN the devices were new and had been purchased by Hezbollah in recent months. A warning the images you're about to see may be disturbing.
The pages exploded simultaneously across the country. Tuesday afternoon, the Lebanese government blames Israel, calling it, quote, a serious violation of Lebanese sovereignty.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This is an earthquake that must be met with response from the resistance, a decisive, destructive and shattering response. Even if it leads to war.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It has to escalate. That's how the situation seems. I don't know, action and reaction. No one really knows. Honestly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: The Israeli military officials held a situational assessment meeting Tuesday evening following those blasts. Israel has refused to comment publicly on the explosions, though it has engaged in cross border strikes with Hezbollah since the start of the war in Gaza.
Schools in Lebanon will be closed on Wednesday in the wake of those explosions. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has more again, a warning the images in his report, a graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice-over): At the fruit display. At the checkout. In the street, hard to overstate the psychological impact of hundreds of blasts across Lebanon, mostly in Hezbollah areas. Pagers exploding at about 3:30 according to the group security forces asking Lebanese to stay off the road so the sheer volume of emergency vehicles could get to hospital.
Nearly 3000 patients, at least 170 critical easily the most widespread moment of violence to hit across Lebanon since the 2006 war with Israel, who Hezbollah is now firmly blaming for these new attacks on their TV channel.
We blame the Israeli enemy with full responsibility, the TV anchor said, for this criminal attack that also harmed civilians. Israel themselves declined to claim the attack. To blame, perhaps these tiny devices, according to posts on social media, CNN can't verify the race now to work out, how was it just one type of device, a cyber attack, a battery bomb did they just hit Hezbollah areas.
It comes at yet another critical time. Monday, Israel's defense minister hinted meeting the U.S. envoy, that the time for a diplomatic solution of how to get tens of thousands of Israelis home to the war plagued North had mostly passed, then a military option is all that remains.
The hope had been for calm after the death of Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr also killed in a violation of Hezbollah's stronghold in southern Beirut, led to great fury, but minimal fire, with Hezbollah's retaliation restrained, perhaps by preemptive Israeli strikes. Many felt the moment of conflagration had passed. Now it seems back again, with Hezbollah once more under pressure to hit back hard, but only because another sophisticated attack has made them look weak. Nick Payton Walsh, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:05:03]
KINKADE: For more now I'm joined by Bob Baer, a former CIA officer and the author of "The Perfect Kill - 21 Laws for Assassins." Good to have you with us, Bob.
ROBERT BAER, FORMER CIA OFFICER: Of course.
KINKADE: So this sounds like a pretty sophisticated attack, pages embedded with explosives by Israel, according to information obtained by CNN. Before being distributed to Hezbollah militants and then simultaneously detonated with a push message, how would you describe this attack?
BAER: Oh, it's -- well, one that's devastating for Hezbollah. But more than that, it shows Israel's ability, for instance, to get into logistics chains for his ball that typically is not easy for anyone. So somewhere between Taiwan and Lebanon, they got in the middle of this, and they rigged all of these phones, almost definitely high explosives plastic. In the past, they've used RDX, and it doesn't take much, really, it's like, you know, 10 to 15 grams to do real damage and kill people.
And it's just a matter, yes, go on.
KINKADE: I mean, Israel has a history of carrying out complex attacks like this. Just tell us what you witnessed. Bob.
BAER: Well, I was investigated an Israeli assassination of a Hamas bomber in Gaza. And what they did there was they put explosives in a cell phone, 15 grams of RDX, and as soon as he got on the phone and they heard his voice, they remotely detonated the phone, and he had the phone to his ear so it blew half his head off, and it was didn't kill anybody else in the room. And it was a very neat operation. And this man had been wanted for a long time. He killed something like 90 Israelis with suicide bombs.
So they do know what they're doing, and they also know the technical sides of this is that it is possible to hide explosives in a pager or a cell phone, put a miniature detonator and make sure that the connection is encrypted, so code is sent. The deencrypts (ph) the detonators explodes all at one time.
Now, to get this many pagers all at once, and apparently it's Hezbollah's primary communication network is, like I said, it's devastating for Hezbollah, and takes an enormous amount of skill, which no country in the world, probably even the United States, could pull this off.
KINKADE: Wow. And in this attack, we know that several people were killed, thousands injured, almost 200 critically injured, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, what is the risk calculation? Why would Israel do this?
BAER: Well, I can speculate, and I think it's a provocation against Hezbollah, because I usually keep reading the news, and lot of smart people are saying that Netanyahu wants to go into southern Lebanon and remove Hezbollah especially the rockets.
Now is this is what Netanyahu has in mind when they have claimed the attack. I don't know. And will Hezbollah respond to the attack? Is another question, because, I mean their responses to Israel have been relatively measured. I mean, they could do a lot more damage with their rockets, but they haven't. But is this the tipping point? An escalation? It very well could be.
KINKADE: I mean, that is the big question, right? Whether this could be a prelude to a wider regional war, because we know that at least since the October 7 attack, Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire across the Israeli Lebanese border. Surely, this sort of an attack that we've just witnessed won't make Hezbollah roll over and stop, right?
BAER: No, this is a guerrilla organization. It can absorb losses like this Fuad Shukr was assassinated couple weeks ago. He was a key military figure. But there's younger groups that that can come along, and they can operate all across southern Lebanon into the Indivka (ph) Valley. They're everywhere, and they're not going away.
KINKADE: And you mentioned Bob, just how crucial these pagers are to communication within the Hezbollah organization. I mean, they've been described as the most sacred form of their communication, and if that, of course, is the case, how could that disrupt their planning going forward?
BAER: What they did they got caught with cell phones too many times, people carrying them were hit with drones. I got involved in investigation. They killed the Prime Minister. They were caught because of cell phones. So gradually they've gone away, and since seven October, they've definitely gone away from cell phones.
Now, pagers are impossible to track. Our special forces use them because all they are is receivers. They don't transmit. An iPhone, you can track it anywhere, any kind of phone you can track, but pagers no.
[01:10:04]
And this is what they have defaulted to since seven October. But the Israelis, rather than trying to track these pagers, like I said, they can't, as used them as assassination devices.
KINKADE: Wow. Interesting insight. Bob Baer, former CIA officer, great to have you with us. Appreciate your time.
BAER: Thank you.
KINKADE: Music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs is being held in a federal Detention Center in New York until his next court appearance on Wednesday. Combs pleaded not guilty Tuesday in response to a scathing three-count indictment alleging he ran a quote criminal enterprise built on sex trafficking and prostitution, among other crimes. CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister has more details on the indictment.
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ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sean "Diddy" Combs, one of music's biggest stars, ordered behind bars after pleading not guilty to a sweeping federal indictment charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. The grand jury indictment accuses the music mogul of running a criminal enterprise over decades. DAMIAN WILLIAMS, U.S. ATTORNEY FOR SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: Between at least 2008 and the present Combs abuse, threatened and coerced victims to fulfill his sexual desires protect his reputation and conceal his conduct.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Combs was seen dining out in Manhattan Friday before his arrest on Monday night in New York. According to the U.S. attorney prosecuting the case --
WILLIAMS: Combs allegedly planned and controlled the sex performances, which he called freakoffs, and he often electronically recorded them.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Hotel surveillance footage obtained exclusively by CNN back in May appears to corroborate some of the allegations of abuse against the rapper now cited in the new indictment. The video captured on multiple cameras shows Combs wearing only a towel, assaulting his then-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura at a Los Angeles hotel in March, 2016. Combs has repeatedly denied multiple allegations against him, saying that his accusers are looking for money, but he issued an apology for his conduct on the video only after it came to life.
SEAN "DIDDY" COMBS, MUSICIAN: My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my ashes in that video, disgusted. I was disgusted. Then when I did it, I'm disgusted now.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): His attorney responding.
MARC AGNIFILO, ATTORNEY FOR SEAN "DIDDY" COMBS: He's going to fight this with all of his energy and all of his might and the full confidence of his lawyers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're appealing the decision to hold him without bail.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Combs faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years imprisonment, and could face life in prison if convicted.
WILLIAMS: In addition to the violence, the indictment alleges that Combs threatened and coerced victims to get them to participate in the freakoffs. He used the embarrassing and sensitive recordings he made of the freakoffs as collateral against the victims.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): The criminal charges come as Combs faces 10 civil suits all filed over the last year, nine of which accused him of sexual assault. He has previously denied the accusations of abuse, saying, I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. In March, authorities searched Combs' homes in Los Angeles and Miami, as part of a months' long federal investigation by a team that specializes in human trafficking crime that led to today's indictment.
Among the items seized firearms, including three AR-15, ammunition, more than 1,000 bottles of personal lubricants such as baby oil and video evidence of freakoffs, according to the indictment.
WAGMEISTER: Now, Cassie, who is Diddy's ex girlfriend, who was shown in that disturbing hotel surveillance footage, declined to comment on these new charges against Diddy. I reached out to her attorney, who says that they will not have anything to say about this indictment.
But we have heard from some of the accusers and their attorneys. Aubrey O'Day, who is a singer from the band Danity Kane, which is a band that did he formed on his MTV show Making the Band. Here's what she had to say. Quote, I feel validated. Today is a win for women all over the world, not just me. Things are finally changing.
And Tyrone Blackburn, who is an attorney who represents three Diddy accusers who have filed civil suits against him, said that this was the first step for justice. Quote, we knew this was coming. The evidence is very clear, and it was only a matter of time. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, criminal defense attorney Bernarda Villalona joins me now. She's also a former New York prosecutor. Thanks so much for your time tonight.
BERNARDA VILLALONA, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Thank you for having me.
KINKADE: So this indictment is damning. It alleges that Combs engaged a persistent and pervasive pattern of abuse towards women and other individuals, including physical violence, in order to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct.
[01:15:12]
What are the most serious charges in this indictment, and if found guilty, what punishment could he face?
VILLALONA: Well, Sean Combs is facing serious charges. The first charge is the first charge is the one that's most serious for me, which is the racketeering conspiracy. And the reason why is that, but for that charge, there wouldn't be a federal case, because that racketeering charge is what allows this case to be in federal court, and also because of the timing, because we're talking about 2008 the racketeering charge allows for this type of case to go on because of the age of the alleged incidents, but that is the most damaging charge in this indictment.
Wouldn't be surprised if he gets charged with additional counts, but we'll see in the future to see if, whether the prosecution will bring additional charges. But just on racketeering alone, he faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years incarceration and up to life imprisonment.
KINKADE: Wow. And it was interesting to note that despite offering a $50 million bond as well as home detention, he was denied bail. He's been locked up in a special housing unit in Brooklyn. Why would they make that call to deny bail? What are the risks?
VILLALONA: Well, first off, the purpose of bail and even setting bail is to assure that the person returns to court. And I don't think that was the issue that the judge had with puffy returning to court, especially with offering so much collateral of $50 million and also telling the judge that he plans on selling his plane and offering his home, as well as the home of his mom, for him to return to court.
The main issue that the judge had is that a lot of these allegations took place inside of a home, inside of a hotel room, inside the privacy where pretrial detention wouldn't be able to supervise that type of conduct because it's taking place inside of a home.
Also, what was concerning for the judges, that there's allegations that he tampered with witnesses, that he was intimidated witnesses, and for the prosecution, they have already stated that this investigation is ongoing and that they believe that this type of conduct would obstruct the future investigation, having to deal with females coming forward in the future and accidents actually enhancing this prosecution.
KINKADE: And prosecutors highlighted what happened to Combs' former girlfriend, how he was seen beating her in the corridor, the hallway of a hotel. I want to show our viewers some of that video and a warning it is disturbing.
We know that Combs initially denied that this took place, saying that she was out to get money. But after CNN obtained that video and after it aired, he apologized. Now his attorney spoke with scene in a short time ago about that. I just want to play some of that sound.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AGNIFILO: This video that we've all seen, and it's a bad video for Mr. Combs, and he said so himself, when he gave his apology. This is eight years ago, and the prosecutors are talking about him bribing a hotel security worker. There was no criminal investigation.
This was just a matter of personal embarrassment because he and the person in the video were in the midst of a 10-year relationship that was difficult at times, that was toxic at times, but it was mutually so. And this whole notion that Mr. Combs is forcing drugs on someone is just nonsensical, and it's going to prove to not be true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: I mean, what do you make of that argument? He described this as toxic but mutual. Is that going to be part of his defense?
VILLALONA: Well, it seems like preliminarily, that's what he's going to argue. That's what he put before the magistrate judge today to try to get Puff Daddy released, but that didn't work. And in fact, it backfired on him, because the one the judge took into consideration that the defense tried to say that he was going through some things, that this was a private situation, not a public one, and the judge said that is the same private dealings that he has huge concern with, especially when he has to consider Puff's danger to the community, whether he's a threat to the community. So he did use that against him. I will say in the end, he's arguing that, yes, this is between two
private parties, but it sounds more of an issue of fact, and when it comes to issue of facts, that's what's supposed to go in front of the jury, for a jury to determine what really happened and what's the true truth in any trial.
KINKADE: Bernarda Villalona from Columbia Law School, appreciate your time. Thanks so much.
VILLALONA: Thank you.
KINKADE: Well, on the campaign trail, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris attend key events in battleground states.
[01:20:02]
What both presidential nominees are saying about Sunday's incident at Trump's Golf Club in Florida. And later, countries across Europe battling floods and flames. We'll have the latest on severe weather affecting the region.
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KINKADE: U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is back on the campaign trail just days after an apparent assassination attempt at his Florida Golf Club. In Michigan on Tuesday, the former President walked through the crowd of supporters, shaking hands, usually at his rallies, Trump walks onto the stage and waves at the crowd without getting close to them. Trump's former White House press secretary and current Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders had this to say she introduced him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, ARKANSAS GOVERNOR: You know, the left has tried everything they can think of. They have tried to impeach this president. They've tried to throw him in jail, and not once, but twice, two would be assassins, have tried to take this president down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Trump spoke about the incident in Florida, and even commented on the calls he received from the U.S. Vice President after the apparent assassination attempt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: President Biden, I want to be nice. He was so nice to me yesterday. But, you know, in one way, I sort of wish I -- the call wasn't made, because I do feel he's so, so nice. I'm so sorry about what happened at all that, but I have to lay it out. We have very important and the same with Kamala today. She could not have been nicer. But the fact is -- the fact is, we have to have people that are respected by the opponent, by the other side, by other countries.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Trump's Democratic rival vice president Kamala Harris, attended an event hosted by the National Association of Black Journalists in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania. She answered questions on a wide range of issues during the unscripted discussion on Tuesday. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRSEPONDENT: Vice president Kamala Harris on Tuesday, participating in an interview with the National Association of Black Journalists and giving one of her most extensive responses to date on the situation unfolding in Springfield, Ohio, where there is a Haitian community, and that is a community that has been receiving threats ever since baseless claims have been spewed by former President Donald Trump and his vice presidential nominee, J, D Vance.
The Vice President, calling it, quote, harmful and hateful, also calling the rhetoric, quote, a crying shame. And the Vice President was asked about multiple other issues including the economy, where she touted what the administration has done so far, but then more work needs to be done on affordability of things like groceries and housing.
[01:25:09]
And also asked about the Israel-Hamas war, where she wouldn't answer if there would be any policy change if she were to win in November, instead keeping the focus on trying to secure a ceasefire deal. Now, the Vice President was also asked about the second assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump that occurred on Sunday. She said that she had checked in with the former president on Tuesday afternoon, a White House official telling CNN that it was a both brief and cordial conversation, one of the few that the two have had together.
But Tuesday again marked yet another moment for the Vice President to have an unscripted interview, to answer questions from journalists on a variety of issues, and in a state that is going to be critical to her come November. Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, Pennsylvania.
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KINKADE: We're now to new details on the investigation into the apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump. On Tuesday, the FBI searched the home of the suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh in Hawaii. Documents show that Routh has had a lengthy criminal record and in 2002 pleaded guilty to possessing an explosive device following an arrest in North Carolina.
Florida's governor is questioning how the suspect ended up in West Palm Beach with so many quote, red flags as he announced that a state investigation would be launched into Sunday's incident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RON DESANTIS, FLORIDA GOVERNOR: So I think it's really important for the people of Florida, but also for our country, that we pursue the most serious charges that are on the books to hold this guy accountable, and to say you're going to do a couple gun charges, that is not going to be sufficient. The state of Florida has jurisdiction over the most serious, straightforward offense, which is attempted murder.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: The Trump campaign says the former president met with the sheriff's deputies from Martin County, Florida, who took the suspect into custody and thanked them for their actions.
An unfounded conspiracy theory about Haitian immigrants eating family pets has led to a flurry of threats in Springfield, Ohio. CNN visited the city to meet with members of the Haitian community and learn more about what brought them to Ohio. That story next.
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KINKADE: Welcome back. You're watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Schools have reopened in Springfield, Ohio with added security provided by the state following the repeated false claims by the Trump campaign about Haitian immigrants in a city eating family pets.
[01:30:02]
Ohio's Republican governor says schools have received dozens of bomb threats since last week's presidential debate when Donald Trump pushed the unfounded conspiracy theory.
Governor Mike DeWine visited some of the schools Tuesday, meeting with students and teachers and state troopers now tasked with protecting the classrooms.
The head of the school system is encouraging parents to send their children back to class.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT HILL, SUPERINTENDENT, SPRINGFIELD CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT: Our attendance was down today. There is still a high level of fear due to these unfounded threats and hoaxes that have marred our existence really for going on a week now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Officials estimate that there are 12,000 to 15,000 immigrants in Clark County where Springfield is located. And they say Haitian immigrants are there legally under protected status after fleeing danger in their home country.
CNN's Omar Jimenez visited Springfield to find out what's at stake for those immigrants and the community as a whole. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The sun hasn't even come up yet. It's about 4:30 in the morning. And we're about to jump in this van here that essentially goes around and picks up Haitian immigrants who don't have transportation for themselves, and it gets them to job opportunities throughout the wider Springfield area.
One after another, Haitian workers piled in on their way to their factory job in a nearby town.
JIMENEZ: This will be our seventh pick-up. We pull up. They're sitting on the porch ready to go.
The company that organizes these vans says the demand for workers is high. Many just don't have a way to get to work. The president estimates most of their business comes from Haitian immigrants.
COREY WORDEN, PRESIDENT, JOB TALENT CONNECTING STAFFING: At this point, we are probably a 60-40 split. They add a great benefit to our workforce.
JIMENEZ: These hopeful workers showed up just as the doors opened Tuesday.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When would he like to start to work?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He says, today.
WORDEN: We're averaging 18 to 25 people a day.
JIMENEZ: And that's people looking for new jobs?
WORDEN: Yes, people that are actively looking for employment.
VILBRUN DORSAINVIL, HAITIAN IMMIGRANT AND SPRINGFIELD RESIDENT: We left Haiti because of the chaos.
JIMENEZ: Vilbrun Dorsainvil was a doctor in Haiti. He says he fled because he was going to be kidnapped. He's been in Springfield now a little over three years, but he had to leave his fiance and young daughter back home.
DORSAINVIL: I'm trying to deal with it but, you know, it's still very hard.
JIMENEZ: How old is she?
DORSAINVIL: She's three and a half right now.
JIMENEZ: Yes. So she would have been just born right as you were leaving?
DORSAINVIL: Not even yet born. Not even yet.
JIMENEZ: So you haven't met your daughter yet? DORSAINVIL: Oh, I haven't. We just talk through video call. I didn't want to leave, to tell you the truth, so I had no choice.
JIMENEZ: It was either -- it was either your life or getting to see the birth of your daughter.
DORSAINVIL: Yes.
JIMENEZ: His doctor credentials also didn't carry over. So for now, he's studying to be a registered nurse.
Recently, though his schooling has been virtual because of initially- believed threats of violence.
Also elementary schools and government buildings were evacuated in recent days, along with an annual festival celebrating diversity canceled.
GOV. MIKE DEWINE (R-OH): These threats have all been hoaxes. We have people, unfortunately overseas, who are taking these actions.
JIMENEZ: As a precaution, though, the Governor announced nearly 40 state patrol troopers will be stationed throughout the school district to sweep each building for threats and stay on site for security.
It comes in the middle of what's been a surge in Haitian population to the roughly 59,000 in Springfield, which had been declining in population. The city now estimates 12,000 to 15,000 immigrants, many if not most of them Haitians, call Springfield home.
DORSAINVIL: We are hard worker and we are paying a lot of taxes.
JIMENEZ: Yes, yes. All to try and make Springfield better.
DORSAINVIL: Better.
JIMENEZ: And while the influx has boosted the local economy, city officials say, it's also strained resources.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are getting really fed up.
JIMENEZ: It's been a major topic of conversation.
MIGUELITO JEROME, EXECUTIVE MANAGER, NEW DIASPORA LIVE RADIO: We feel like people are acting based on fear, panicking. In the Haitian community itself, it's confusion.
JIMENEZ: Including around opportunities.
GYASI JONES, SPRINGFIELD RESIDENT: With those jobs being open, you know, whose job this is to take? It's an open job.
JIMENEZ: The added tensions in recent days, though, has taken a toll.
DORSAINVIL: I was feeling a little bit down. I feel better right now. My teachers, co-workers, friends, they reach out to me somehow, asking me, how are you holding up? Ok. We love you. We need you here.
JIMENEZ: You still see Springfield as a beautiful place?
[01:34:51]
DORSAINVIL: It is.
JIMENEZ: He balances his new life with his old one, dreaming of uniting them both.
DORSAINVIL: Sometimes they call me, and there is a lot of shooting in the neighborhood. The best way to get them right here in the United States is through the school process, because after graduation, you can, like apply to get a green card. Through this, I can get them.
JIMENEZ: Now even outside, of recent politics, I mentioned we are seeing strain on resources here and that has been pretty prevalent in various aspects.
For example, the state of Ohio announced new resources for primary healthcare because they say some of those arriving may have not had the best healthcare to that point.
Also, the state announced more state patrol to help support local law enforcement for an increase in dangerous driving commissions which the state attributes to inexperienced Haitian drivers and all others who disregard the law.
So the tensions and pressure points within this community are there and they've been there well before again, the recent spotlight that the city has been put it.
But as the city has made clear, this isn't a situation where Haitians are being forced to come here. Based on even just the ones we've spoken, they say they heard from other previous Haitians that came here that this is a great place to live, so they decide to come here too.
Omar Jimenez, CNN -- Springfield, Ohio.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Egypt to discuss a ceasefire and hostage release talks between Israel and Hamas. Blinken is expected to meet with Egypt's president and foreign minister next hour.
But for the first time since the October 7 attacks, the top U.S. diplomat is visiting the Middle East without a stop in Israel. Blinken's trip comes amid doubts that a deal will be reached before President Joe Biden leaves office.
The E.U.'s foreign minister -- foreign affairs minister is urging all parties in peace talks to put more pressure on Israel and Hamas to reach an agreement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEP BORRELL, EUROPEAN UNION'S FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF: It needs a political solution. If there is not a political project, the war is just a repetition one after another, always the same story.
And this is what I think everybody that could do something has to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, Israel launched airstrikes on a refugee camp in central Gaza Tuesday morning. Residents searched desperately for their loved ones buried under the rubble.
A Gaza civil defense spokesperson said his teams in the area could hear quote "screams of children" coming from the crushed buildings.
One survivor described the horrifying scene.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The house is full of people, more than 20 people. They're all under the rubble.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Gaza's health ministry says at least 26 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza Tuesday. CNN is unable to confirm the numbers independently.
Everyday means new struggles for displaced civilians in Gaza. The threat of airstrikes, hunger and thirst, constant uncertainty. And for some families seeking shelter on Gaza's beaches, the rising tides are now destroying their makeshift homes.
CNN's Shams Elwazer reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The sea water filled our tent while we were asleep at night. We moved further so we don't drown more.
I'm digging a hole to put the wooden piece inside and fix the tent.
SHAMS ELWAZER, CNN REPORTER: Pitching tents on the beach as their last attempt at safety from the war, eight-year-old Razai (ph) and other families like hers are fighting against high tide, wind, and the oncoming cold of winter in their makeshift homes.
These are just some of the families displaced to the shore west of the city of Khan Younis, a target of many Israeli attacks.
Almost the entire population of Gaza has been forced to flee their homes in the war.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wish we could go back home instead of facing this humiliation. When the sea water came towards us, I couldn't do anything.
I hear that winter will bring so much water that it might drown us.
ELWAZER: Some families are digging sand walls to protect themselves from the rising tides.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Winter is approaching. It's not about us. We can endure the cold and even death. We are prepared. But it is too much for these children.
ELWAZER: The approaching winter is just one of the many daily struggles that these families must now go through as 9-year-old Yasmeen says.
[01:39:42]
YASMEEN, GAZA RESIDENT: We are growing up in a very brutal war. We deserve to live our childhood like other children. We have become like skeletons, carrying water bottles, feeling exhausted.
Before the war, we used to play and live happily. But now we can't live like we used to. This war is still going on. It has destroyed us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Our thanks to Shams Elwazer for that report.
An entire village in northern Hungary has been submerged amid flooding caused by torrential rainfall. With no streets or other means of travel available residents have to use boats to get around until the water recedes.
It's the latest example of extreme weather events brought on by climate change across the continent.
CNN's Melissa Bell reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Death tolls are continuing to rise in several parts of Europe as a result of extreme weather conditions.
First of all, as a result of some of the havoc that's been caused by Storm Boris in parts of eastern and central Europe, some of the worst hit areas along Poland's border with the Czech Republic where towns have been evacuated, bridges have collapsed and there are fears that there could be more damage to come.
In some parts of central Europe, it was a month's worth of rain that fell in a matter of just days. With many of those parts of Europe simply unprepared for the amount of water that fell from the sky.
We've seen dams burst, bridges collapse, and tens of thousands have to be evacuated already with much of that chaos now spreading southwards to parts of Europe along the Danube. There are also fears about the wildfires that have gripped parts of Portugal in the center and the north of the country. Portugal and Spain that have been for many years now subject to forest fires over the course of ever heating summers.
This summer, not so bad for those parts of southern Europe but it is the late surge in temperatures over the course of the weekend that appears to have caused several of those wildfires to start.
Many thousands of firefighters involved in several parts of Portugal in trying to put them out but fears still that they could continue to spread.
Melissa Bell, CNN -- Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, Instagram will apply tighter controls on teen accounts. It's the platform's most dramatic effort yet to give young users safe.
We'll break down all the changes when we return.
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KINKADE: Welcome back.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is just hours away from what will likely be its first interest rate cut since the height of the pandemic in 2020. investors are expecting a quarter point or a half-point cut, either of which could send Wall Street to new record highs. But realistically it could be a year or more before most Americans rate the rewards from one cut or even multiple cuts.
A rate cut triggers several changes, commercial banks can charge lower interest rates on mortgages and other loans making it cheaper to borrow money. That gives businesses the freedom to invest in new projects and hire more workers.
[01:45:55]
KINKADE: And very soon sweeping changes are coming to teen accounts on Instagram. The platform's parent company Meta is applying more stringent controls in an effort to address some of the biggest concerns parents have.
CNN's Clare Duffy explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH WRITER: Right. Starting next week, Instagram is going to start automatically applying new teen account settings for all users under the age of 18.
Here's what that's going to look like. All new and existing teen accounts will be automatically set to private. So even if you're a teen influencer, your account will automatically be set to private. There's going to be new restrictions on who can message teens, who can
tag them in photos and comments. Teens will start seeing less sensitive content in their feed. So think for example a post promoting a cosmetic procedure. They'll see less of that.
Teen accounts will also be automatically set to sleep mode by default which means they won't be receiving notifications overnight, messages won't receive an auto-response and soon they're going to start getting a warning when they spend an hour on the platform each day.
But here's what I think is the biggest thing here. Teens who are 16 and 17 years old once this change happens, they can automatically by themselves go back in and change these settings back if they want.
But teens who are 13 to 15 will have to receive parental approval through the app if they want to change any of these settings. That means that teens from 13 to 15 haven't set up parental supervision, linked their parents account to their account. They're going to have to do that if they want less of these restrictions.
So potentially more control for parents here of young teens, in terms of their kids' experience on Instagram.
Now Instagram has over the past few years in the face of a lot of pressure rolled out from one-off changes, new policy updates to try to keep teens safe. But this is a much more comprehensive approach than what we've seen previously.
Now there may still be ways for teens to get around this. They could pretty easily lie about their age when they're signing up for accounts on the platform, for example.
But I think certainly some reassurance for parents here that the company is making some effort to keep kids safe.
Clare Duffy, CNN -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: To New York now and Shelly Palmer is a professor at the Newhouse School of Public Communications. Great to have you with us.
SHELLY PALMER, NEWHSOUSE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS: great to be here. Thanks for having me.
KINKADE: So Instagram like so many other social media platforms is being criticized for not doing more to protect teenagers using their platform. What's your assessment of these new changes?
PALMER: I think they're way overdue and they're welcome in every way. Now the big question is, when will they really be enacted? They've got a one-year timeline on some of these, while some of these changes will go in to effect relatively quickly, others will roll out across the globe over time.
So we'll see if they get it all done and we'll see how effective it is.
KINKADE: You're an expert on this issue, but you're also a father and a grandfather. What have you seen in your own personal life when it comes to the influence of social media on young people.
PALMER: There are some people who would tell you that social media is the greatest thing ever. And there were some people will tell you that it's the worst thing ever. And I think it's some combination of both. Young people are addicted in every way, as, by the way, so are every age people there.
It doesn't matter who you are. If you do scroll, if you get into this, if you are, you know, on Instagram, you were going to be hit with the best picture of the day from all of your friends and people, people you don't know.
These pictures are going to be extraordinary. They're going to feel either great about them or terrible and probably nowhere in the middle they're hard to ignore.
And my own experience these are very addictive tools and they require a lot of adult supervision.
And unfortunately I'm not sure that a lot of parents and grandparents understand how dangerous these tools are and have been and literally what to do when a child has so much peer pressure to be on all of the social platforms. And you know, it's just more than most parents can bear.
And so the easiest thing to do is let the kids do what they want to do and hope for the best.
KINKADE: As for parents who are aware of some of the dangers -- bullying and teen suicide is a major concern because teenagers used to be able to escape bullies when they got home from school. But now they can continue to face harassment through social media platforms.
What element of this new plan from Instagram tackles bullying and is it enough.
PALMER: What they're going to do is they're going to try and age-gate Instagram. They're going to put a very strict set of protocols in place to try and gauge your age.
I'm questioning how that's really going to work. You're not allowed to give consent until you're 18-years-old. You'll need a parent involved.
[01:49:50]
PALMER: What impact is this going to have on bullying? I'm not sure what impact it could have.
If it's only your friends that you're able to see in your feed. Well, these are the exact "friends" in quotes that are most likely to be bullying you so it's your community, it's still your community. And parents are not going to be able to see what the kids are
communicating to one another. They're only going to know who's in the group.
So is that helpful. You know, Johnny is bullying the or Sally as bullying me. They would tell them that anyway, if they were going to tell them that so how astute will a parent be. I don't know.
KINKADE: There were certainly some groups encouraging parents to delay giving access to a smartphone or social media platform for kids under the age of 16.
We know certain countries like Australia are looking at a ban to young teenagers and school certainly, there are school districts banning phone use.
How effective are those types of bans when it comes to protecting young, vulnerable teenagers?
PALMER: I'm not sure that a ban really does anything but force this underground, forces the kids to find workarounds.
And if I was going to be cynical now, I would tell you that a lot of what we're seeing from Meta and from other platforms is in direct response to Australia and other governing zones inside, around their world saying, hey, if you don't regulate yourself, were going to do it for you.
At the end of the day, the longer you can delay really isn't, I don't think that's a catch-all. Every child is an individual. They all have different levels of maturity. This is a parenting job that a lot of parents aren't aware they have to be taking on.
And I think one of the best things that we can do here right now is tell every parent Meta is doing this. Instagram is doing this because it needs to be done, but they can't do it alone. And the rules and the regulations won't help by themselves.
You can't abdicate your parenthood to a set of rules and regulations on a tech platform. What you need to do is be a super active parent.
KINKADE: All right. Shelly Palmer, some great advice there, professor in Newhouse School of Public Communications. Appreciate your time. Thanks so much.
PALMER: My pleasure.
Well still to calm the astronauts are getting a fashion make-over, a French fashion house is designed new spacesuit. Now, European crew members can step into outer space looking fly.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: (INAUDIBLE) full harvest supermoon shone brightly Tuesday night. It reached its fullest about 10:30 p.m. Eastern, but will appear full through Thursday morning. Sky-gazers around the world might have noticed an apparent bite taken out of the moon Tuesday evening. That was due to a partial lunar eclipse.
Still in space and astronaut fashion is getting a serious facelift. Earlier this month, SpaceX debuted new suits during the first commercial spacewalk. The EVA suits are designed for spacewalks.
Not to be outdone, a French designer is unveiling a new look for European astronauts to use during training.
CNN Saskya Vandoorne shows us the new look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A French fashion house is getting involved in spacesuits of the future.
Designer label Pierre Cardin has designed a training suit for European astronauts.
[01:54:50]
MATTHIAS MAURER, EUROPEAN ASTRONAUT: So my name is Matthias Maurer. I'm a European astronaut working at the European Astronaut Center in cologne. The only place where European astronauts train for space missions.
VANDOORNE: The spacesuit prototype has been unveiled in Paris at the Pierre Cardin workshop. The goal was to create a suit for the European Space Agency's new training ground for lunar missions, minus all the high-tech engineering needed in space.
MAURER: A spacesuit is like a small spaceship. It has air system, it has cooling systems, it has radio system, it has navigation system. It has a lot of different equipment.
This is just for training. This is only to be used in Cologne on the ground but we can learn a lot just training with this suit.
VANDOORNE: Pierre Cardin's grandnephew, Rodrigo, who took over the company after the founder's death in 2020, developed comfortable, movable fabrics that could withstand the extreme temperatures on the lunar surface.
RODRIGO BASILICATI-CARDIN, CEO, PIERRE CARDIN: I've been so happy finally because you know, after one year or two, of this work to arrive here, and it's not finished -- we're about to (INAUDIBLE) a big step.
VANDOORNE: After additional tweaks the suits will be used in Luna, which is the moon surface simulation building at the European Space Agency base in Cologne, Germany. The simulations will continue ahead of their planned mission to the moon in 2028.
Saskya Vandoorne, CNN -- Paris. (END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, former President Jimmy Carter is getting close to a major milestone. Carter will turn 100 years old on October 1, and it will mark his first birthday without his wife, Rosalynn, who passed away last November.
President Joe Biden and three former president gave tributes to Carter during a celebration in Atlanta on Tuesday.
Jason Carter led the event, honoring his grandfather.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JASON CARTER, GRANDSON OF JIMMY CARTER: He's doing well. I mean, he's been in hospice for 19 months which we're all think is just an incredible, incredible thing to have happened, right?
I mean, he's been given the gift of a lot of time and its given us a lot of time to be with him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well family members say Carter is still interested in the news of the day. He is being cared for at his home in the Southeast Georgia town of Plains.
Well, thanks so much for watching.
I'm Lynda Kinkade.
CNN NEWSROOM continues in just a moment with Anna Coren in Hong Kong.
Stay with us
[01:57:08]
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