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Another Wave Of Blasts Hits Lebanon, As Hezbollah Reels From Pager Explosions; Ukrainian Drone Strike Targets Major Russian Ammunition Depot; FBI Says Iranian Hackers Tried To Pass Stolen Trump Campaign Info To Biden Campaign; Teamsters Union Says Won't Endorse Harris Or Trump In U.S. Election; Celebrities Urge Biden, Harris to Bring Hostages Home; Sean "Diddy" Combs in Federal Custody, Justice Denies Bail Appeal; Venezuelan Journalists Use A.I. to Keep Themselves Safe; Former Employee Blasts OceanGate over Safety Practices; U.S. Sues Owners of Dali Container Ship for $100 Million Aired 1-2a ET
Aired September 19, 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, first it was exploiting pagers, then booby trapped walkie talkies, two device attacks in two days of people in Lebanon worried about what might come next.
The sound of what happens when an ammunition depot is attacked by a drone, we'll have the latest on the Ukrainian strike on a Russian territory, and our first look at the ill-fated tide and submersible at the bottom of the ocean, amid claims the deadly accident could have been prevented.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with Lynda Kinkade.
KINKADE: Lebanon is reeling after two days of deadly explosions involving booby trap devices targeting Hezbollah, scores of walkie talkies exploded across the country Wednesday, killing at least 20 people and wounding more than 450 others. Dozens of emergency crews and first responders were sent to help be injured and put out fires.
In one instance, the walkie talkie exploded during a Hezbollah funeral in the southern suburbs of Beirut. A witness telling scene and that they heard a loud bang followed by screaming and saw a man covered in blood, his hand blown up.
It comes just a day after hundreds of pagers, some owned by Hezbollah members, blew up simultaneously across Lebanon in an unprecedented attack which wounded 2,800 people. The death toll rose to 12 on Wednesday.
An Israeli source told CNN that Israel carried out the pager attack after it believed Hezbollah discovered the device's capability.
The attacks have led to an outpouring of anger on the streets. Video showing people throwing rocks at vehicles for the U.N. interim force in Lebanon following Wednesday's explosions.
Well, the Israeli military says it struck several Hezbollah infrastructure sites in southern Lebanon in the past 24 hours, after identifying about 20 projectiles launched across the border. Israel's defense minister tactically acknowledged his country's role in the exploding devices.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YOAV GALLANT, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): I believe that we are at the start of a new phase in the war, and we must adapt. This is true for everyone.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I have said it before we will return the citizens of the North to their homes safely, and that's exactly what we are going to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, CNN's Will Ripley has more on the exploding devices and then mysterious origins, a warning, though, his report does contain graphic images.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A new wave of explosions across Lebanon, this time, walkie talkies being used for crowd control. A security source tells CNN one of them blew up during the funeral. On Tuesday, it was beepers blowing up by the thousands, the shocking attacks triggering global investigations from the Middle East to Europe to Asia, an urgent race to find out how simple communication devices, long abandoned by most of the world, ended up in Lebanon becoming explosive deadly weapons.
BOB BAER, FORMER CIA OFFICER: Getting into thousands of pagers, implanting explosives, detonators, switches and the rest of it, and not changing the weight of the pagers very much, is a complicated operation and shows extraordinary technical ability.
RIPLEY (voice-over): A Lebanese security source says militant group Hezbollah bought the pagers in recent months, using them ironically, to prevent Israel and the U.S. from tracking their communications. Israel planted explosives next to each pagers battery along with a detonation switch. The New York Times reports, citing U.S. and other officials, thousands of beepers blew up Tuesday, all receiving the same message at the same time.
The pagers have the name AR nine to four made by Gold Apollo, a Taiwanese company that calls its product extremely robust and durable. 85 days of battery life, fully charging in two and a half hours. A senior Taiwanese security official tells CNN, Taiwan has no record of Gold Apollo pagers being shipped to Lebanon.
Records do show Gold Apollo shipped about 260,000 pagers from Taiwan, mainly to the U.S. and Australia over the past two and a half years. CNN went to the company headquarters in New Taipei City, we saw investigators going in and out.
[01:05:03]
We also talked to the CEO. He strongly denies making the explosive pagers bearing his company's name.
HSU CHING-KUANG, FOUNDER, GOLD APOLLO (through translator): I have been in this industry for a long time. I don't want this to ruin our brand.
RIPLEY (voice-over): He blames this Hungarian distributor, BAC Consulting, claiming Gold Apollo sold them the rights to use its brand name. CNN tried reaching BAC no response as families of the dozen dead in Lebanon say goodbye.
I was lucky to have you, my love, says the mother of nine year old Fatima. The pager went off as she was doing her homework on the first day of elementary school. Will Ripley, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: For more we're joined by Clara Broekaert. She's a research fellow at the Safran center. Good to have you with us.
CLARA BROEKAERT, RESEARCH FELLOW, THE SOUFAN CENTER: Thank you for having me, Lynda.
KINKADE: So just a day after pagers were remotely detonated, killing and injuring almost 3,000 people. Now it's walkie talkies, at least 20 people killed, hundreds injured. Speak to the broader significance of these attacks. What are Israel's objectives?
BROEKAERT: Well, I think the significance of this attack needs to be understood, understood in light of the new objectives of the war laid out by Israel earlier this week, it is now considering Hezbollah or preventing Hezbollah from carrying out attack against Northern Israel, not just a matter of national security, but actually as an objective of the ongoing war as it tries to move back the Israeli population that had been evacuated from the north back to the north.
So Hezbollah has now been explicitly designated a target in this war as Israel tries to move back its population. So it already has moved part of its division that was stationed in Gaza to the northern border.
KINKADE: It's not just Hezbollah militants injured in these attacks or killed, civilians are also impacted. What are the risks here? Because you can only imagine how much more devastating this could have been if one of these communication devices was detonated on a plane, for example.
BROEKAERT: Absolutely. I think that is what stands out to me as an analyst of this of this issue. It's the same psychological impact this particular attack may have on Lebanon and its population, not just Hezbollah. You know, these pager explosions happened in grocery stores in public spaces. They killed children and other civilians. So the fact that it interrupted daily life in such a horrific and
unexpected way and on such a broad scale, I do think this will put extra pressure for retaliation. People are want to go -- want to see accountability for what happened.
KINKADE: So this was one of the deadliest days for Hezbollah since the October 7 attack, and of course, the war that followed. What sort of response do you expect to see from the militant group?
BROEKAERT: Well, I totally think that Hezbollah does not want to escalate us into a full-fledged war, at least that's what Hezbollah's leader Nasrallah has stated. However, after this attack, it will feel pressure to act, to retaliate, even if it's more symbolic than actually impactful, which would open yet another front in the war, potentially.
I think one thing that we're going to be seeing in the coming days is that the command and control of Hezbollah that had been targeted in these explosions will do internal scrutiny and look over their operational security measures to understand how robust it is and to what extent they have been compromised, whether it's just pagers or other things as well.
KINKADE: And in terms of any more from Israel, we heard from the defense minister today, who said the center of gravity is moving north, indicating, perhaps that Israel will boost military presence on that Israeli-Lebanese border. What more do you expect to see from Israel when it comes to the next stages of this conflict.
BROEKAERT: Well, I think there may be the real possibility that the retaliation that will come from Hezbollah will be used as a justification to open, you know, a full-fledged front on the border between Hezbollah and Israel. But I do think that Hezbollah is a very different breed than Hamas.
You know Hezbollah, when you assess its capabilities, is way more similar to conventional military than Hamas. So Israel is in for if that happens, if that escalation happens, Israel is in for a lot different kind of conflict than it currently has in Gaza.
Hezbollah, roughly, has an arsenal of 150,000 rockets and precision guided munitions. It is incredibly well trained, and of course, it can rely on the support, whether it's intelligence, military, financial of Iran. So I think it's definitely going to be very heated in the next coming days.
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KINKADE: And just talk to us, Clara, about the timing of this. Why now? Why did Israel and its intelligence agencies seek to launch these attacks on Hezbollah?
BROEKAERT: Well, there are competing theories. Some reports indicate that there might have been Hezbollah key figures that figured out something was being compromised. So Israel had to act quickly to have the operation secede. But I also do think it is connected to the reputational damage that
Mossad, the Mossad, has experienced since October 7, and the intelligence failure that encapsulated for them. So, I also think this kind of operation, highly sophisticated, is also very important to rebuild trust domestically in the capabilities of Israel's military and Israel's external intelligence agency.
KINKADE: Clara Broekaert, good to have you on the program tonight. Thanks so much for your time.
BROEKAERT: Thank you so much, Lynda.
KINKADE: Well, U.S. Secretary of State, Andy Blinken, will head to Paris in the coming hours to discuss the situation in the Middle East and Ukraine with European allies. He spent the last couple of days in Cairo, his 10th trip to the Middle East since the war in Gaza began, working to secure a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas.
But the device explosions in Lebanon could further derail those efforts. Blinken says reaching a deal is now a question of political will.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We all know that a ceasefire is the best chance to tackle the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. We've made a tremendous amount of progress over the last month, month and a half. There are, I think, in the agreement, 18 paragraphs, 15 of them are agreed, but the remaining issues need to be resolved.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Was this is the first time Blinken has skipped Israel on a visit to the Middle East since the October 7 attacks.
The Ukrainian drone strike in western Russia caused an explosion so large it may have created a small earthquake.
The Ukrainian security source says drones destroyed a Russian ammunition depot about 400 kilometers west of Moscow. Wednesday. Seismologists in Norway later said they detected seismic activity probably caused by that blast. This before and after video shows the massive plumes of smoke following the attack. A Russian state news agency blamed the fires on fallen drone debris without mentioning what the target was.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to meet with us vice president Kamala Harris in Washington next week, according to multiple sources. Donald Trump says he'll probably meet with him as well. Ukrainian leader will also attend the U.N. General Assembly in New York. He wants to present what he calls his victory plan to both Harris and Trump as well as President Joe Biden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Maybe we can say that our victory plan has been fully prepared. All the points, all the key accents, the necessary annexes with details to the plan have been identified. Everything has been worked out.
The most important thing now is determination to implement it. There is no and cannot be any alternative to peace, any freezing of the war, or any other manipulations that will simply move the Russian aggression to another stage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Investigators believe Iranian hackers have tried to tip the scales in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, saying they tried but failed to send stolen Trump campaign documents to his political rivals. CNN's Evan Perez explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR U.S. JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. government says that Iranian hackers sent unsolicited emails with information that they stole from Donald Trump's presidential campaign to people who are affiliated with Joe Biden's campaign over the summer. There's no indication that the people who received the information replied to the unsolicited emails, and the Kamala Harris campaign says that the campaign itself did not receive any information and that the personal email accounts of campaign staffers were targeted with what looked like spam or phishing campaigns.
The latest update from the FBI, the Director of National Intelligence and the cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency says this is all part of an Iranian effort to try to influence the U.S. presidential election. The agency said in a statement on Wednesday that the hackers sent unsolicited emails to individuals that they were then associated with President Biden's campaign that contained an excerpt taken from stolen and nonpublic material from former President Trump's campaign as text in those emails.
Now the hackers also sent the Trump campaign documents to news organizations. The Trump campaign says that the incident is an indication that Iran is trying to interfere in the election to help Harris.
[01:15:04]
A spokesperson for Harris says that we condemn in the strongest terms any effort by foreign actors to interfere in the U.S. elections, including this unwelcome and unacceptable malicious activity. Evan Paris, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Iran's mission to the U.N. issued a statement on the hacking denying any involvement. It says, in part, already devoid of any credibility and legitimacy, such allegations are fundamentally unfounded and wholly inadmissible. The Islamic Republic of Iran does not engage in the internal uproars or electoral controversies of the United States.
Well, still to come on CNN Newsroom, big news for the U.S. economy with the first interest rate cut since the start of the pandemic, and it's meant to be the first of several. And later, Sean "Diddy" Combs remains in federal custody after losing his appeal for bail. We'll tell you what his attorneys argued in court, next.
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KINKADE: Welcome back, the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates aggressively on Wednesday by half a point. Is the first cut since March of 2020 at the height of the pandemic, and since then, rates started a 23-year high for more than a year.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell says the move is a sign of a commitment to keep in step with the ever changing U.S. economy. But the move wasn't unanimous, drawing the first dissent from the board -- from a board member in nearly 20 years. One member wanted to see a smaller cut.
The Dow briefly spiked upon the news, but called as concerns about the jobs market began to creep in. Powell says this is just the first of multiple rate cuts possible before the end of this year. Here's a look at some of the major Asian markets right now, the Nikkei has pulled back up from its loss on Tuesday, where it closed 1 percent down, awaiting news of a U.S. cut. CNN's Matt Egan breaks down the Fed's bold move.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: This is a major milestone for the economy, the first interest rate cut since COVID. And the Fed, they decided to go big. The fact that they went with a jumbo sized interest rate cut, it's telling on multiple levels.
First, it shows they're not worried about inflation anymore. Fed chair Jerome Powell, he stopped short of declaring victory over inflation, but they're all but doing that. It does also suggest, though, that they are worried about what they're seeing in the jobs market.
Now, Powell, he said repeatedly that he's not alarmed with the jobs market. He even said at one point, the labor market is in a strong place. We want to keep it there. But there are some economists who are concerned that the Fed is late and that they need to play catch up before the cracks in the jobs market turn into something more ominous.
So the Fed has made clear that they've switched the mission. They've gone from fighting inflation to fighting unemployment.
[01:20:00]
Of course, all of this is happening just weeks before this hotly contested election. Now, Powell, he stressed politics played no role here, that the Fed only does what they believe is right. And I asked Powell about the idea from former President Trump that the sitting U.S. president should have a say in where interest rates go, and Powell, he made clear he's not a fan of that idea. JEROME POWELL, CHAIR, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE: We do our work to serve all Americans. We're not serving any politician, any political figure, any cause, any issue, nothing. It's just maximum employment and price stability on behalf of all Americans.
And that's how the other central banks are set up to it's a good institutional arrangement which has been good for the public, and I hope I happen and strong, strongly believe that it will, you know, continue.
EGAN: The Powell went on to say that the evidence is clear. Independent central banks are the ones that have lower inflation. Matt Egan from the Federal Reserve, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Earlier, I spoke with CNN economics and political commentator, Catherine Rampell, about the announced cuts. I asked her what it means for the Fed's outlook on the current economy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CATHERINE RAMPELL, CNN ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think the fact that the Fed opted for a larger than usual rate cut, half a percentage point, rather than the standard quarter of a percentage point, suggests maybe they think that they were a little bit behind the eight ball, behind the curve, and that perhaps the economy has been slowing, and there was a reasonable argument for them to have started cutting rates earlier.
That said, if you look at their actual forecasts for the next couple of years, they do suggest a slowdown. They do suggest slightly higher unemployment rates than had been forecast a few months ago, slightly lower inflation for that matter, and lower interest rates, but still not a recession, right?
I think what the Fed is trying to communicate is that the economy is slowing. They are on top of that softness that we're seeing in the labor market. But we shouldn't panic. We are still more likely than not to escape a recession.
KINKADE: I mean, so, I mean, it really is a good signal, right? So when will Americans start to feel the impact of this? And have they already given that some major banks had already priced in an expected cut?
RAMPELL: That's exactly right. So, the Fed had been telegraphing that they were going to cut rates for a long time. In fact, many, many months. People -- for many, many months, people had been expecting these rate cuts to happen. And the Fed had, in fact, put out forecasts suggesting that they would happen.
So because of all of that, many financial institutions have already priced in some of those loosening financial conditions into the kinds of credit, credit products that they offer, whether we're talking about mortgage rates, mortgage rates have already come down. You know, since, let's say, April, credit card rates, auto loans, some of those rates have already been coming down.
That said, you know, there's this expression coined by Milton Friedman that monetary policy works with long and variable lags, meaning that it will be a while before these rate cuts that the Fed put in place today are actually felt throughout the economy against some of that's being priced in but it will be many, many months before we see the full effect of what The Fed decided to do today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Thanks to Catherine. The influential Teamsters union has announced it's not endorsing anyone in this year's U.S. presidential race. This marks the first time in nearly three decades the Teamsters have withheld an endorsement, and those since have been in support of the Democratic nominee.
Survey data released by the Meiji labor union indicated that about 60 percent of members supported Donald Trump over Kamala Harris. In a statement, the teamsters president said, quote, we saw commitments from both Trump and Harris not to interfere in critical union campaigns or core teamsters industries and honor members' rights to strike, but were unable to secure those pledges.
While the team says union declined to throw its support behind either nominee, the Harris campaign is touting the endorsement of local Teamsters chapters in several key battle states. Here comes as the Democratic presidential nominee weighs in on the Fed's latest move. CNN's Eva McKend reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EVA MCKEND, CNN U.S. NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Vice president Harris says the Fed rate cut is welcome news, describing it as a positive development for working families, as she points to an array of policies that she champions and says she would support if elected President, to lower costs, like bringing down taxes for more than 100 million Americans, down payment assistance and increasing access to affordable housing.
More broadly, a statement from the campaign reading in part, while this announcement is welcome news for Americans who have borne the brunt of high prices, my focus is on the work ahead to keep bringing prices down. I know prices are still too high for many middle class and working families, and my top priority as President will be to lower the cost of everyday needs like health care, housing and groceries.
[01:25:10]
Meanwhile, this all comes as the influential Teamsters union, representing more than a million workers and retirees, decided not to endorse any presidential candidate this cycle. Teamsters said internal polling showed a majority of its members supported former president Donald Trump over vice president Harris, but there is disagreement among members with the unions group's Black Caucus Chair telling me any labor leader thinking that Donald Trump is the candidate of choice should turn their union card in. Eva McKend, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Donald Trump is calling the Teamsters decision to not endorse a quote great honor, citing the union's history of backing Democratic presidential candidates, his comments, coming as a Republican nominee, took his campaign to New York. CNN's Alayna Treene reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Donald Trump spent his Wednesday evening in Uniondale, New York a surprising choice that many people kind of raised their eyebrows out given New York is not a battleground. Donald Trump actually lost this state both in 2016 and in 2020 by 20 percentage points.
So despite all that, Trump on Wednesday argued he believed that he could win New York, even while acknowledging that some people, including his allies in Washington DC, questioned him why he was choosing to come to such a blue state so close to the election. Take a listen to how he put it.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: When I told some people in Washington, yes, I'm going up to New York. We're doing a campaign speech. They said, What do you mean New York? You can't ever. Nobody can win. Republicans can't win. They said, I can win New York, and we can win New York. We're going to win New York.
TREENE: Now, when I talked to Donald Trump seniors advisers about this decision, they argued that a lot of the reason he came to New York to Long Island specifically, is because it is steeped in personal history for Donald Trump, he grew up in New York, and he's always wanted to do a large scale rally in a New York arena, and this was kind of checking off that box for the former president. But they also acknowledge that they don't necessarily believe that New York is going to turn red in November.
Now, few notable things that Trump spoke about on Tuesday. One is that he addressed an endorsement from a major union group, the Teamsters Union actually, I should say, a non-endorsement from the union group. However, Donald Trump falsely claimed that they had endorsed him. I'll note that their decision not to endorse this cycle is a big deal. They have been going. They have endorsed the Democratic presidential nominee for the last several election cycles, every election cycle, really, since 1996.
Trump also vowed to visit Springfield, Ohio, of course, the place where both he and other Republicans have been spreading baseless rumors about Haitian migrants eating pets. He said he wanted to go visit that city, as well as Aurora, Colorado, another place where he has claimed that Venezuelan gangs are taking over the city, something that officials on the ground argue is Grassley overstated.
So a lot of harsh rhetoric on Wednesday night, and again, not necessarily in a state that is crucial to the election come November. Alayna Treene, CNN, Uniondale, New York. (END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, Israel appears to be acknowledging its role in the explosions targeting Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. What the country's defense minister is saying about those attacks, next.
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[01:31:01]
KINKADE: Back to our top story this hour.
Israel's defense minister says a new era of war is beginning after a second day of deadly explosions in Lebanon, technically acknowledging its role in the operation.
At least 20 people were killed and more than 450 wounded after walkie- talkies detonated in Lebanon. A day after a wave of pager explosions killed at least 12 people, including two children.
One of those walkie-talkies went off at a Hezbollah funeral in Beirut. The attacks are raising fears of a wider regional conflict.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond has the details. And a warning, some of the images you're about to see are graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, following two days of back-to-back explosive attacks in Lebanon, we are now hearing Israel's military and political leadership signaling a readiness for war with Hezbollah. Whether or not that war actually materializes still remains an open question.
But certainly what we're hearing from Israeli leadership is preparedness. The Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant saying that Israel is entering a new era in this nearly year-long war. Now saying that the center of gravity is moving away from Gaza and moving north instead.
And in addition to that rhetoric, it's not just the center of gravity that he is talking about, it's actual troops. The 98th division of the Israeli military, a key fighting force in Gaza now being redirected away from the Gaza Strip to Israel's northern border amid preparations for that potential war.
We have seen, of course, over the course of the last year moments where these tensions hit a boiling point and it seems like all-out war was in the offing between Israel and Hezbollah. And yet every single time we have seen both parties ultimately step back from the brink.
Whether or not that will be the case this time remains to be seen. As nearly two dozen people were killed in these attacks over the course of two days in Lebanon, Hezbollah now vowing retaliation, certainly feeling very vulnerable and also certainly feeling embarrassed, needing to strike back whether or not that results in all-out war still uncertain.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN -- Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: We're going to go to Beirut now. Nabih Bulos, the Middle East bureau chief for "The Los Angeles Times" joins us now.
Thanks for joining us.
NABIH BULOS, MIDDLE EAST BUREAU CHIEF, "THE LOS ANGELES TIMES": Hello. Thank you for having me.
KINKADE: So two days of bloody attacks across Lebanon. Just give us a sense of the feeling there. How people in Lebanon are responding to these attacks.
BOULOUS: I mean as you can imagine, everyone of course, terrified. I mean it's worth noting that this has been almost a year now of these tensions between Lebanon and Hezbollah -- I mean Israel and Hezbollah, I should say.
And I mean there has been a steady ramp-up of those tensions throughout the year. But of course, now this is a bit different because we're talking about everyday devices. People are terrified of wi-fi routers and iPhones.
I mean, just give you a sense of the rumors we've been hearing. There are all these messages circulating for people, telling people to shut off their wi-fi routers or take out batteries from certain devices. Of course, there's talk now about iPhones being targeted as well.
So there really is a fear of just, you know, the normal items you have at home.
KINKADE: Yes, exactly.
So of course, it was the pagers that were detonated Tuesday; the next day almost exactly 24 hours. It was the walkie talkies.
What more are you learning about how these devices were compromised and could there be others used by Hezbollah that are jeopardized right now, like cell phones.
BULOS: Also, of course I mean, we know about the supply chain issues from Hungary and Taiwan, et cetera. And there have been comments on that so I won't repeat them. I won't say that again here.
But in terms of other devices, yes, the fear is, of course, that Hezbollah has had to, I think bring in a lot of communication devices, whether that's why wi-fi routers or various other equipment that needs to be used to secure their communications network.
[01:34:51]
BULOS: And so the expectation is that those also might be affected. And it's worth noting that today there's yet another speech coming in from a major Hezbollah figure. Obviously the head of the -- I mean the head of the group. So there is fear that there might be yet another attack today.
KINKADE: Wow. And we heard from Israel's defense minister. He described the attack as excellent achievement. Israel also said that a new era of the war was beginning. Can you elaborate on what that might mean.
BULOS: We've seen throughout the last 11 months that there has been -- I mean, what I call a halfway war, you know, across the Lebanese- Israeli border. And the fact of the matter is that now this is perhaps changing where we're going to see more active hostilities.
Of course, they have been ramping up. We've seen I mean -- wider barrages. We've seen the use of drones by Hezbollah. We've seen the use of larger ordnance by Israel deeper into Lebanon and vice versa.
But now the expectation is that this might be a little bit larger in the sense that we can see, I think, more active warfare. Now what that means in practice, right, that means that there's going to be an attempt to establish a buffer zone within Lebanese territory by Israeli troops.
I don't if that means there'll be a more extensive bombing campaign. We still are unsure. But it doesn't bode well. That seems clear.
KINKADE: Yes. And unlike the first attack, Israel notified the U.S. ahead of the second attack but gave very little detail to U.S. officials.
What does that suggest?
BULOS: Well, I mean, at this point it seems clear that Israel is acting, I think, independent of the U.S. -- I mean U.S. dictates or U.S. perhaps consultations when it comes to the region. That seems clear.
And at the same time, it also speaks to me that there is perhaps less and less of an off-ramp when it comes to what's happening in Lebanon.
I mean, it's worth noting that in the past Hezbollah has tied everything that happens on the Lebanese front or (INAUDIBLE) Israeli front more accurately with what's happening in Gaza. Which is to say that if there is so ceasefire in Gaza, there will be a ceasefire on the border here.
Increasingly that linkage seems to be untenable, at least for Israel. And so the expectation is that I think Israeli will actually attack in some major way.
What that means for Lebanon in terms of an actual war or a sustained war remains unclear.
KINKADE: And in terms of Hezbollah's response, we heard that Hezbollah has warned Israel that it will regret what it's done. Talk to us about the impact of these attacks on Hezbollah leadership and what sort of response we could see from the militant organization.
BULOS: Well, it's worth noting. This is part of a larger continuum of intelligence failures over the last few months.
I mean, it's worth noting that if you look at Hezbollah's losses recently, right. They lost their chief-of-staff a few months ago. They lost regional division commanders a few months ago. And they have lost some of their prominent commanders and their special forces groups.
You're talking about an intelligence failure and a security breach that seems to -- I mean, they just can't plug at this point that they cannot seem to counteract.
In fact, the reason why they used pagers in the first place was so as to avoid, I have to say evade the surveillance from drones and elsewhere. But that hasn't proven to be so effective as we know now.
And so I mean, in terms of I think a long-term effect on Hezbollah, I don't think obviously this would have an issue. I mean the group -- I mean it has enough cadre is to reconstitute itself.
But in terms of the short-term effect, of course you are talking about losses of leaders, but also the losses of mid-level people in the military and logisticians and not to mention there is now going to be a crippling of its communication network because that has to be adapted (ph) completely to try to avoid, I guess further penetration.
And so in the short term, at least it seems that Hezbollah is on the backfoot certainly.
KINKADE: Nabih Bulos in Beirut, great to get your perspective from Lebanon.
Thanks so much for your time.
BULOS: Thank you for asking.
KINKADE: The attacks in Lebanon are unfolding without a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal in sight.
The brother of one man still being held in the enclave criticized the attacks on Hezbollah saying they don't help to bring the hostages home alive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEE SIEGAL, BROTHER OF ISRAELI-AMERICAN HOSTAGE KEITH SIEGAL (through translator): And everything that happened in Lebanon, whether it was us, not us, pride I don't know. What I do know is this did not bring back my brother and the other hostages from Gaza.
We get up in the morning, look at the news, I search in vain for some kind of hint that something has moved forward in our all-important corner. The hostages begin to return home alive. I emphasize alive. No more body bags and coffins, alive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Some U.S. celebrities are also calling for the release of the hostages, urging the White House to do everything in its power to help free the hostages.
CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: A group of more than 50 celebrities has issued an open letter to President Biden and Vice President Harris urging the administration for the immediate release of the hostages held in Gaza by Hamas.
[01:39:53]
WAGMEISTER: Now, this letter was organized by four Jewish advocacy groups and many celebrities have signed it ranging from Chelsea Handler, Andy Cohen, Connie Briton, Mayim Bialik, Patricia Heaton, some reality stars on that list. And also some major social media influencers including TikTok star, Baby Ariel, who has nearly 37 million followers and Montana Tucker who has been a big pro-Israel voice on her TikTok where she has nearly 10 million followers.
Now I want to read you a part of the letter. It says, "Dear President Biden and Vice President Harris, we are artists who want sustainable peace in the Middle East and recognize that the first essential step towards that peace is Hamas returning the 101 remaining hostages including five Americans who were stolen from their lives on October 7."
Now it has been nearly a year since these hostages have been held in Gaza against their will ever since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th of last year. This also, of course, comes after six hostages were brutally executed by Hamas a few weeks ago, including Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
Now the letter goes on to say, quote, "We urge you to continue to protect and support the only democracy in the Middle East. Please do all you can to pressure the terrorists to release the hostages now."
There has been a growing divide in Hollywood over the war in the Middle East. And this letter comes after an entirely different letter from Artists for Ceasefire with many celebrities ranging from Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, Dua Lipa, Mark Ruffalo calling on the U.S. for an immediate halt of selling arms to Israel.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Our thanks to Elizabeth there.
Well, music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs remains in federal custody after a judge denied his legal team's appeal for bail. Combs is indicted on charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. He could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.
CNN's Kara Scannell reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs will remain behind bars as he is awaiting trial on racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges. A federal judge denying his bail application saying that there were no conditions that made him comfortable releasing "Diddy" given his danger to the community and it's potential for witness tampering.
Judge also rejecting saying "Diddy's" proposed bail conditions, including having a visitor log, having no Internet access, and no cell phone access thing that those were insufficient. "Diddy" was escorted out of the courtroom by two U.S. marshals. He was headed back into federal detention. His lawyers spoke to reporters after court saying he will appeal.
MARC AGNIFILO, SEAN COMBS' LAWYER: He's ready. He's focused. He has been ready to defend this case since he first found out about this case.
Nothing has changed from his perspective. I obviously would much prefer to fight this case with him out of jail. And we are going to try to bring that about.
SCANNELL: Combs' attorney telling after court, "I'm not going to let him sit in there a day longer than he has to." He also asked the judge to recommend moving Combs from the federal detention center in Brooklyn, which is known for its quote, "horrific conditions" to a county courthouse in New Jersey.
He said they're going to fight this. And Diddy is going to trial.
Kara Scannell, CNN -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Disgraced movie executive Harvey Weinstein, pleaded not guilty to a first-degree criminal sex act in a New York courtroom Wednesday. Prosecutors announced the indictment last week, but it was not unsealed until Wednesday because Weinstein was too ill to attend court.
The indictment stems from an alleged assault in 2006. Prosecutors are looking to consolidate this new indictment with Weinstein's retrial on sexual assault charges related to a 2020 case.
Still to come, how Venezuelan journalists are using artificial intelligence to report the news and keep themselves out of harm's way.
[01:44:02]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KINKADE: Artificial intelligence may seem like a threat to many workers including journalists, but in Venezuela it's being used as a safety measure.
Stefano Pozzebon shows us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN JOURNALIST: Hey Tamar (ph), can you speak in English.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Of course. And my partner, El Pana does too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello CNN. Thanks for the invitation.
POZZEBON: And you recognize A.I. avatars are from real journalists. These two avatars were launched by a collective of journalists in Venezuela to protect the identities of reporters after the government intensified cracking down on independent media following July's election.
Venezuelan authorities proclaimed strongman, Nicolas Maduro, the winner without showing any proof. And when people took to the streets to protest, hundreds were detained, including ten journalists. 24 people died.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As avatars we are in a way, an expression of the face of journalism that cannot show it's face today because of the high risk of being detained and prosecuted under hate incitement laws.
POZZEBON: While the images are A.I. real journalists scrape (ph) and record the voices of the avatars. Their identity is protected for safety reasons.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Imagine that even photos taken of the demonstrations have to be distorted because the government can use them to track down citizens who are protesting the election results. Over 1,500 people have been detained.
POZZEBON: But how can I be sure that the information you share is real.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We always clarify that although we are avatars, we are the result of the intelligence of over 100 Venezuelan journalists.
POZZEBON: I wanted to know more about this initiative. So I reached out to one of the journalists behind it. We're protecting his identity for safety reasons. But this is what he told me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There have been seven detentions of journalists, or press workers, and four of them have been charged with terrorism. And there's a lot of fear. Look I think it's a well thought out initiative because it's a correct use of A.I.
POZZEBON: A.I. is sometimes touted as a threat to reliable information and a risk to democracy. But in this case, it has become part of a journalist's safety kit.
Stefano Pozzebon, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: A former employee says the company behind commercial dives to Titanic was focused on money and ignored safety. All five people on board were killed when OceanGate's Titan submersible was crushed by the pressure during a trip to the Titanic wreckage last year.
The U.S. Coast Guard held hearings this week about the incident and it also released video of the ill-fated submersible on the bottom of the sea.
OceanGate's former director of marine operations said he reached out to the U.S. Workplace Safety Agency with concerns about the company's operations. But he said his message was ignored.
DAVID LECHBRIDGE, FORMER DIRECTOR OF MARINE OPERATIONS, OCEANGATE: I believe that if OSHA had attempted to investigate the seriousness of the concerns I raised on multiple occasions this tragedy may have been prevented.
As a seafarer, I feel deeply let down and disappointed by the system that is meant to protect not only seafarers but the general public as well.
I sincerely hope that no other family will have to endure a similar tragedy in the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, OceanGate was charging about a quarter of $1 million for a ticket to the Titanic. The company declined to comment on Tuesday's testimony.
The U.S. Justice Department is suing two companies that own the Dali container ship, which destroyed a bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, killing six people.
[01:49:50]
KINKADE: U.S. officials are seeking more than $100 million in damage and they're outlining years of serious safety violations.
CNN's Gabe Cohen reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Stunning new allegations against the companies that own and operate the Dali cargo ship that brought down Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge.
In a new civil claim, the Department of Justice is accusing the companies of extraordinary negligence claiming they sent an ill- prepared crew on an unseaworthy vessel to navigate U.S. waterways. Documents show the Dali had longstanding problems with excessive
vibrations, which had previously damaged its electrical systems well before that March morning when those troubles triggered the ship's power outage which led to a cascading series of failures.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The entire Key Bridge in the harbor.
COHEN: According to the Justice Department, the companies were aware of the issue and instead of taking steps to eliminate the source of excessive vibrations, they jury-rigged their ship, welding together cracked components like this steel bracket on a transformer and wedging this metal cargo hook between the transformer and a steel beam.
A recent inspection found the ship had loose nuts and bolts and its electrical equipment was in such poor condition that the testing agency stopped its testing due to safety concerns.
A spokesperson for Synergy Marine, the ship's operator tells CNN they won't comment, but look forward to their day in court to set the record straight.
The Justice Department's claims, seeking at least $100 million from these companies, is just the latest.
The families of the six construction workers who died that day filed their own civil claim Tuesday. The wife of Miguel Luna, one of the workers killed demanding justice.
CARMEN LUNA, WIFE OF MIGUEL LUNA: Real justice means that no son un has to miss their father, no wife has to navigate this world alone and no grandchild has to know their grandfather through a distant picture.
COHEN: Now, we don't know if criminal charges are coming at some point. We do know that there are eight Dali crew members still in Baltimore to this day pending these investigations.
And we've also learned that the Dali has a sister ship that is still operating in U.S. waters, just another reason prosecutors are holding these companies feet to the fire.
Gabe Cohen, CNN -- Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: The remnants of some extreme weather leaves us with a natural wonder.
Still to come, a stunning sight in Chinese waters. We'll explain what a tidal bore is after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Well, Catherine, Princess of Wales, is back to royal duties. She hosted an early years (ph) meeting at Windsor Castle Tuesday. The meeting was noted in the court circular, but no other details were released.
This is the first engagement since announcing last week that her chemotherapy treatment is complete. In a video message, she talks about looking forward to returning to public life.
She's thought (ph) to be resuming a light schedule of public engagements for the rest of the year.
Wildfires raging in Portugal claimed another home Wednesday. Affiliate, CNN Portugal caught a structure exploding live on air.
No one was inside at the time. Authorities haven't confirmed the cause of that blast.
[01:54:50]
KINKADE: We do know 100 fires are burning across Portugal and authorities say 28 of those are significant. 5,000 firefighters are working to get them under control.
Civilians are also stepping in to help with water, tractors and garden hoses. At least seven people have died in fires including three firefighters.
As the region recovers from two typhoons, two new tropical storm systems are expected to make landfall in Asia on Thursday. Tropical depression 16 developed off Vietnam's coast where it's expected to make landfall. And further north, tropical storm (INAUDIBLE) has lost strength but is expected to bring significant rain when it comes ashore near Shanghai. The area will receive anywhere from 50 to more than 200 millimeters.
Well, as China concludes its annual mid-autumn festival we're getting a rare look at a stunning natural event called a tidal bore. It occurs in a river in the eastern part of the country, and often violent and unpredictably strong, tidal bores are also beautiful accidents created in the wild.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: this is the silver dragon tidal bore on the Qiantang River in China. A boar occurs when the leading edge of an incoming tide creates a wave that surges up a river.
Tide watching is a Chinese tradition of the mid-autumn festival, which falls on a full moon. This year's tide was higher than usual after the recent typhoon Bebinca, the strongest storm to hit Shanghai in 75 years, according to state media.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Quite relaxing watching that, isn't it?
Well, thanks so much for joining us. I'm Lynda Kinkade. CNN NEWSROOM continues in just a moment with my colleague and friend, Anna Coren in Hong Kong.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:00:00]
