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Funerals Held in Lebanon Following Twin Device Attacks; Harris and Oprah Unite for Livestream Campaign Event; Trump Equates U.S. Jewish Voters with Israel; Trump Silent after Ally's Inflammatory Remarks; Tensions Heat Up After Killing of Japanese Boy in China; Courtroom Tensions Rise, As Well as Support for Victim; U.S. Urges Diplomacy, Restraint as Fears of Wider War in Middle East Grow; Chinese Company Destroys Wedding Photos. Aired 12-12:45a ET
Aired September 20, 2024 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUSANNE CRAIG, CO-AUTHOR, "LUCKY LOSER": Ad it's one of the greatest political ads ever, and it rehabilitated his image. And I think, you know, really convinced so many Americans that he was, you know, the real deal and helped lead them to the White House. There's no question about that.
[00:00:14]
LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, this book is so interesting, and that it's kind of a which came first, the chicken or the egg. His true success, or the perception of it.
Susanne, Russ, thank you both so much.
CRAIG: Thank you.
COATES: Their book, again, is called "Lucky Loser."
Well, thank you all for watching. "ANDERSON COOPER 360" is next.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes, coming to you live from Atlanta. Appreciate your company.
Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM --
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HOLMES: Warnings that fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is entering a new phase after deadly beeper and walkie-talkie explosion shake Lebanon.
The fatal stabbing of a ten-year-old Japanese boy outside his school in China threatens to rattle ties between the two countries.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OPRAH WINFREY, MEDIA MOGUL: Please welcome Kamala Harris!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And Oprah Winfrey headlines a star-studded event for Kamala Harris, but do high-profile celebrity endorsements make a difference? I'll speak with an expert.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Michael Holmes.
HOLMES: Israel and Hezbollah are ramping up their fighting in the wake of the twin device attacks in Lebanon earlier this week.
Israel's military carrying out dozens of fresh strikes on Thursday, hitting what it says were about 100 Hezbollah rocket launchers, a weapons depot, and other sites in Southern Lebanon.
Iran backed Hezbollah, said that it launched at least 17 attacks on Israeli military sites in Northern Israel using drones and rockets. Israeli authorities say at least eight people were taken to hospitals and urged residents to stay indoors and avoid gatherings.
Meanwhile, more funerals were held in Beirut following consecutive days of booby-trapped pagers and walkie-talkies exploding throughout the country.
The explosions killed at least 37 people and wounded nearly 3,000, many of them civilians.
CNN has learned that Israel was behind Tuesday's attacks, though Israeli officials have not publicly commented on either day's explosions.
Israel's defense minister says Hezbollah will pay a, quote, "increasing price."
The leader of Hezbollah vowing retaliation in his first public comments since the attacks, saying Israel had crossed all red lines.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GHASSAN NASRALLAH, HEZBOLLAH LEADER (through translator): The reckoning will come. Its nature scope, when and where, that's something we will definitely keep to ourselves within the tightest circle, even within ourselves, because we are in the most precise, sensitive, and deeply significant part of the battle.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: CNN's Ben Wedeman with more now from Beirut.
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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Final prayers for Hezbollah militant, one of many killed in the spate of pager and walkie-talkie blasts across Lebanon linked to Israel.
Outside, others pay respects to the family. The blasts killed dozens, including children, and wounded thousands.
WEDEMAN: This is a memorial and graveyard for Hezbollah fighters killed in action. And what the group has seen since the beginning now of this week is its highest death toll since the start of hostilities with Israel last October.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): The group's supporters, however, are putting on a brave face.
"The enemy is terrified of us," Beirut resident Mariam (ph) tells me. "They're afraid. They attack us with planes. We fire back with rockets and bullets."
But there's no denying the attacks have taken a serious toll.
Surgeon Ghassan Abu Sitta has treated the war-injured across the Middle East, most recently in Gaza.
GHASSAN ABU SITTA, SURGEON: So, the problem is we don't enough equipment because of the sheer number. And more importantly, these are surgery -- these are injuries that will need between five and 12 surgeries in the next few years.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): In a televised speech, Hezbollah leader Ghassan Nasrallah conceded the group had suffered a major unprecedented blow and called it a mass terrorist event.
While the speech was broadcast, Israeli warplanes roared over Beirut. Adding, perhaps, insult to injury.
[00:05:02]
Yet, Nasrallah insists Hezbollah is unshaken.
"I say to Netanyahu, Gallant, the enemy army, and the enemy entity," he declared, "you will not be able to bring the residents back to the North. He vowed Hezbollah will stop firing on Israel when Israel stops its war in Gaza."
And then Israeli war planes returned, breaking the sound barrier twice over the Lebanese capital.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Beirut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Live now to Israel and Steven Cook, senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonpartisan U.S. think tank.
Always good to see you, sir. The U.N. secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, said the logic of making all these devices explode was that of a, quote, "pre-emptive strike" before a major military operation. Do you think that's it? That it's the first act of a bigger play,
especially given what we saw on Thursday?
STEVEN COOK, SENIOR FELLOW FOR MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Well, it's clear that the Israeli defense minister has made the case that this is a new chapter in Israel's ongoing fighting with Hamas and now turning its attention to Hezbollah. So certainly.
The Israeli press, of course, is filled with stories, but the fact that Hezbollah actually discovered these booby trap devices, and that's why the Israelis moved on Tuesday when they did.
But clearly, the Israelis are focusing their attention now on the North. There's a sense here that the war in Gaza is wrapping up, that Hamas has been damaged to the extent that it cannot threaten Israeli security like it did a year ago, and that it is now time to turn attention to returning Israeli residents to their Northern communities.
HOLMES: And what damage do you think is done to Hezbollah operationally? I mean, if they can't use cell phones or pagers or two- way radios, if hundreds of members are taken out of action, effectively, what damage is done to Hezbollah as an effective fighting force?
COOK: Well, I think it was interesting that Hassan Nasrallah made the case that this was a very significant blow to the organization.
And although he vowed retaliation, he used the time-honored "at our time and choosing."
I think this is a very significant blow. It's hard to imagine, after all of these Hezbollah operatives and commanders have been injured in these unprecedented James Bond-like attacks, that Hezbollah can really muster the type of massive response that some suggests this calls for.
Of course, they have a huge arsenal of rockets, missiles, and drones, some of which they used last night. But the barrage on Israel last night was relatively modest in comparison to what we've seen in recent months.
Seventeen attacks is -- is not a lot in terms of recent months where you've seen 40, 50, or more overnight clashes.
HOLMES: Yes, indeed. Hassan Nasrallah, again, he called it a massacre. A number of groups have said it could violate the rules of war and, certainly, ethics. What was done with these pages and two ways.
And some have pointed out that, if Hezbollah somehow put explosives into the cell phones of Israeli reservists and detonated them simultaneously around Israel in public, it would undoubtedly be seen as an act of terrorism.
Given -- given the large numbers of civilian, not military casualties in Lebanon, I mean, is there a risk that Israel could be seen as carrying out a terrorist attack, as some have suggested?
COOK: Israelis are absolutely unapologetic about what they had done. Hezbollah has been firing -- from their perspective, firing on civilians for a year now, forcing them to evacuate from their homes.
Hezbollah has a tremendous amount of both Israeli and American blood on their hands. And the Israelis sees this as, rather than an act of terrorism, a precise operation against their enemies.
They see the outrage and calls about international humanitarian law just the same that they've been hearing over the last year as they, from their perspective, have been defending themselves against Hamas and Hezbollah.
And at this point, as I said, are unapologetic and ignoring these criticisms.
HOLMES: I'm curious for your thoughts on whether this opens a Pandora's box in terms of the technology and the implementation of it, more broadly.
I mean, if Israel can do this, others can or will, eventually, surely be able to. Can we expect this sort of tactics to be used in other conflicts by terror organizations and so on?
COOK: It is something to be concerned about, although I don't carry a beeper. I carry a phone. I will be getting on a plane later today.
The thought has crossed my mind. What happens when nefarious actors can get into people's electronics? And what kind of damage that may cause.
[00:10:09]
Once again, I don't think the Israelis are thinking about that. They are thinking about defending their state and returning their people to -- to their homes.
They've also hinted that they had many other tricks up their sleeve to throw Hezbollah off-balance in order to achieve their war aims.
HOLMES: Yes, yes. As always, tough days ahead.
Steven Cook, thanks for getting up early. Appreciate it. Safe travels.
COOK: Thanks. Take care.
HOLMES: Kamala Harris bringing star power to the campaign trail in Michigan. Oprah Winfrey hosting the Unite for America virtual rally on Thursday for the U.S. vice president.
It was an event the Harris campaign saw as a big moment to reach a broad range of voters.
During the discussion, Winfrey said it felt as if a veil, as she put it, had dropped after President Joe Biden suspended his presidential bid. Winfrey then told Harris that she appeared to have stepped into her power as Democratic nominee.
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WINFREY: Literally, looking at you at a speech, like, the week before, which was a great speech, very nice. And then the next week, I saw you walking in the thing. And I said, what happened to you?
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: You know, we each have those moments in our lives where it's time to step up.
WINFREY: Time to step up?
HARRIS: Time to step up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Ron Brownstein is a CNN senior political analyst and senior editor for "The Atlantic." He joins me now from Washington.
Good to see you, Ron. So, Kamala Harris gratefully accepting the endorsement of people like Taylor Swift, other celebrities, too, and now Oprah onboard.
How much do these associations help with actually getting votes, changing voter minds, impacting turnout, that kind of thing.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: And that was a lot of star power at that event tonight. I mean, Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, Chris Rock, Ben Stiller.
Look, celebrities don't change people's votes. There's really no history of them doing that.
What they can do, though, is help you in a variety of tangible ways. They can help you raise money. They can help them draw attention. And maybe the most important thing they do, Michael, is they widen the bandwidth of your communication.
You know, part of the problem candidates run into in the presidential year is that you get up to a big enough turnout in the presidential race that it includes a lot of people who can't really be reached through the normal political channels, who are not watching cable news or not reading the newspaper, and who are not really even watching some of the shows that they advertise on.
A celebrity appears in different ways in people's lives. Different ways in their social media streams. Different kinds of information sources. And they might help you reach voters who are very hard to reach otherwise.
HOLMES: I know that you were saying to me earlier that there's something about where this was held, as well --
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
HOLMES: -- in the context of polling. Tell me about that.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. If Kamala Harris wins the presidency, it will because -- it will be because exactly of the kind of place where this was held tonight.
This was held in Oakland County, which is a white suburb outside of Detroit. From 1968 to 1988, it voted Republican six straight times. It's voted Democratic in every election since then by widening margins.
And particularly what we saw in 2022, in places like Oakland County, Michigan, the four suburban counties outside of Philadelphia, the WOW counties outside of Milwaukee, and Dane County in Madison. What we saw in 2022 after the Supreme Court rescinded the nationwide right to abortion, is that Democrats expanded their margin in these places, even wider than they were under Joe Biden in 2020.
And, given Donald Trump's strength of turning out blue-collar white voters, particularly in small, midsize communities, Harris is going to need huge margins in places like Oakland County, and particularly from women, the kind of women who are in that event tonight.
And this, I think is -- you know, it was perfectly placed in that way, because it was in the epicenter of where she needs to perform the best.
HOLMES: Right, right. I wanted to ask you about Donald Trump, too. He was speaking at an event on antisemitism. I just want to play some of what he said.
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DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Any Jewish person that votes for her, especially now -- her, the Democrat [SIC] Party -- should have their head examined.
In my opinion, the Jewish people would have a lot to do with a loss, if I'm at 40 percent. If I'm at four -- think of it. That means 60 percent of voting for Kamala.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[00:15:03]
HOLMES: See, again, you've got -- you've got him equating, you know, American Jews with Israeli. He said things like he -- given the Golan Heights and so on.
What do you make of that kind of messaging strategy?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, first of all, there's a big portion of the American Jewish community that is deeply alienated from Netanyahu and the way he has approached governance in Israel even before the war in Gaza. But certainly, during the war in Gaza.
There is a strain of conservative Jews, as there are in every community, as we are seeing even among black men or Hispanic men who respond to Trump.
But there is something odd about essentially equating support, saying that support in a U.S. presidential election for American citizens should turn entirely on his attitude toward Israel. There's something strangely stereotypical about that.
And, you know, as I say, there's an audience that responds to it. It would be shocking if Donald Trump won most Jewish voters.
HOLMES: In many -- in many ways, it's a trope of sorts. I mean, quoting the -- yes.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes, it is.
HOLMES: You have to support Israel if you're Jewish.
We're -- we're almost literally out of time, but I wanted to quickly get your thoughts on polling that's just come out.
BROWNSTEIN: You know, a ton of polling out in the last couple days. Obviously, the results are often conflicting. Here's the through line in the polling.
Consistently, whether you're talking about national or battleground state polls, Kamala Harris, like Joe Biden, is basically matching Biden's support in 2020 among white voters when he won these states. She might be a couple points down among the blue-collar white voters, but she's usually a couple points up among the white-collar white voters, with the effect that in -- when it's all said and done, she's basically where Biden was in 2020 when he won places like Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Arizona.
She's improved a lot since Biden left the race among black voters and Latino voters. But she's still not back all the way to where Democrats were in 2020.
And you can look at that one of two ways. You can say she's still got work to do. You could also say that Trump's ability to stay in the race is dependent on him reaching a level of support among minority voters that we haven't seen for a Republican, really, since the civil rights era.
And the other thing that's really running through these polls: the gender gap could be unprecedented. As we saw again tonight at this rally, she has the potential to significantly improve, I think, among both non-college and college white women. Probably not much more room to grow among black women.
But if she wins, I think it will be on the strength, in large part, of really dramatic support among women voters.
HOLMES: Ron Brownstein, always a pleasure. Good to see you, my friend.
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.
HOLMES: Trump's campaign is not saying whether his ally, Mark Robinson, should drop out of the race for governor of the battleground state of North Carolina.
That's after a CNN KFILE investigation revealed Robinson's history of disturbing lewd comments on a message board for a porn website.
Robinson denies making the comments and is refusing to leave the race. More now from CNN's Dianne Gallagher.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Mark Robinson, the controversial and socially conservative Republican running for governor here in North Carolina, made a series of inflammatory comments on a pornography website between 2008 and 2012 on a message board, in which he referred to himself as a "black Nazi," expressed support for reinstating slavery, as well as other lewd and degrading comments about women, according to a CNN KFILE investigation.
Now, despite a recent history of very anti-transgender comments, Robinson said on the website, which was called Nude Africa, and included a message board, that he enjoyed watching transgender pornography. He also referred to himself as a "perve."
Now, Robinson denies making these comments, and they do predate his entry into politics, where he is currently serving --
GALLAGHER (voice-over): -- as the lieutenant governor of the state.
They remain under a username that CNN was able to identify as Robinson by matching a litany of biographical details and a shared email address, as well.
Many of those comments were, again, gratuitous and sexual --
GALLAGHER: -- lewd nature. They were made on that website. CNN is reporting only a small portion of Robinson's comments, given the nature of them.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): Now, Robinson did tell CNN on Thursday that, quote, "This is not us. These are not our words, and this is not anything that is characteristic of me. I'm not going to get into the minutiae of how somebody manufactured this, these salacious tabloid lies."
He also put out a video statement, getting ahead of the CNN story before it was published, saying -- comparing himself to Clarence Thomas, calling it a -- himself a victim of a high-tech lynching.
[00:20:13]
Now, Robinson's campaign opponent in the gubernatorial campaign --
GALLAGHER: -- the current attorney general here, Democrat Josh Stein, his campaign released a statement saying, quote, "North Carolinians already know Mark Robinson is completely unfit to be governor. Josh remains focused on winning this campaign so that together we can build a safer, stronger North Carolina for everyone." Now, Robinson has been endorsed by just about every Republican in the
state of North Carolina, as well as former President Donald Trump, who at one point called him "Martin Luther King on steroids" and "better than Martin Luther King."
The Trump campaign has said that it is focused on winning North Carolina and the presidential race.
The fallout with Republicans here in the Tarheel State does continue as many Democrats try and link their opponents today to Mark Robinson and those comments that he made.
Diane Gallagher, CNN, back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, it was a crime that shocked France and the world. Now, French judges hear from one of the men behind years of abuse of a woman. An update on the story that's sparked massive protests.
Also still to come on the program, the second deadly stabbing of a Japanese citizen in China is raising tensions between the two countries and exposing anti-Japanese sentiment. We'll have that and more when we come back.
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[00:23:42]
HOLMES: Diplomatic tensions heating up between Tokyo and Beijing following a second knife attack on a Japanese citizen in China in recent months.
A 10-year-old Japanese boy died after being stabbed on his way to school in the city of Shenzhen on Wednesday.
Nationalism and anti-Japanese sentiment are on the rise in China, often fanned by state media. Now, Japan demanding an explanation for Wednesday's attack.
For more on all of this, Hanako Montgomery joins me from Tokyo. Good to see you, Hanako. What -- what more do we know about what happened and why?
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Michael, as you described, this was a very brutal attack that occurred just 200 meters away from this boy's school.
In terms of what else we know, the Chinese government and authorities are currently investigating the motive behind this attack. They still haven't quite determined it yet.
And we also know that, in the aftermath of this brutal murder, locals in the Southern city of Shenzhen have been laying down flowers for the young boy and for his bereaved family members. We also know that a couple of Japanese companies have been allowing
their Japanese employees to return to their home country in case they fear for their lives and for their family's safety.
We also know that there's been an urgent request and demand for the Chinese government to better protect foreign nationals in the country.
[00:25:02]
Even though violent crimes like this are rare in China, there's been a spate of attacks recently specifically stabbings that have caused some concern.
Back in June, we know that four American college instructors were stabbed in China. Just two weeks later, a Japanese mother and her son were also stabbed at a bus stop in China.
A Chinese bus operator who tried to intervene in that attack was later killed due to her fatal injuries.
Now, the Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has echoed some of these concerns at a press conference he held on Thursday after the boy was presumed and announced dead. He said -- and I quote -- "It was a despicable crime and a serious and grave matter the prime minister also said is such an incident must never be repeated. We strongly urge the Chinese side to ensure the safety of Japanese people," end quote.
Now Michael, I also need to note that this attack occurred on a very sensitive day in China, the anniversary the 9-1-3 incident, which is commemorated in China as a day -- as the beginning of the Japanese invasion of the country, back in 1931, on September 18. Now, this is a day fraught with, with tension, with anger and with grief.
And it's also a day that state media and the Chinese government often urge its citizens to never forget.
Now again, we still don't yet know why this attack occurred, but on Chinese social media, there is speculation that there could have been a racial motivation here, given the fact that it occurred on such a sensitive date.
And also, these sentiments are at times, as you described, Michael, fanned by state media. In fact, in the hours after this attack, we saw on Chinese social media platforms, extremist nationalists speculate about whether or not Japan had planned or stage this attack, even questioning why these Japanese schools exist in China.
Now the social media platforms have censored these posts and have taken them down. But again, this is a very fraught moment and a very sad moment for both Japanese people and also Chinese people -- Michael.
HOLMES: All right, appreciate the reporting there. Hanako Montgomery, thanks so much.
Now on Thursday, French judges began questioning the first of 50 men are accused in the mass rape of Gisele Pelicot. Prosecutors say that, for nearly a decade, she was drugged and made unconscious by her then- husband, Dominique Pelicot, who then allowed dozens of men to rape his wife.
Lionel Rodriguez is one of a small number of the accused who admits to the crime. He apologized to the victim, acknowledging he had been wrong and cowardly.
Rodriguez and his lawyer trying to shift the blame to the husband.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOUIS-ALAIN LEMAIRE, LAWYER FOR LIONEL RODRIGUEZ (through translator): The question is not whether Mrs. Pelicot could have consented. She obviously was not consenting. She is obviously the victim in this case.
And the only problem is to know how the men who, in particular Mr. Rodriguez, this morning, initially interpreted the proposals and the request made to him by Mr. Pelicot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: As the case continues, support for the victim and tensions in the courtroom, both on the rise. Saskia Vandoorne with our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SASKIA VANDOORNE, CNN SENIOR FIELD PRODUCER (voice-over): Lashing out at a journalist, he's one of 51 men on trial for allegedly raping Gisels Pelicot, the French women whose ex-husband drugged her and invited strangers online to rape her.
The case has sparked outrage across France --
VANDOORNE: -- and tensions in the courtroom are high, leading to increased security.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): With many rallying behind 72-year-old Gisels Pelicot. Dominique Pelicot, her husband of 50 years, told the court this week, "I am a rapist, like everyone else in this room."
On Thursday, Ms. Pelicot hit out at claims that she was complicit after one defense lawyer reportedly accused her of being an exhibitionist, Ms. Pelicot saying she was comatose at the time, and therefore not able to consent.
By giving up her right to anonymity, Ms. Pelicot has become a symbol against sexual violence with thousands taking to the streets in support of her.
GISELE PELICOT, RAPE SURVIVOR: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: Thanks to all of you, I have the strength to fight this battle to the end.
VANDOORNE: Gisele Pelicot's defiance and resilience and bravery in speaking out has captivated France and the world.
Saskia Vandoorne, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Disturbing allegations from one of London's most fashionable destinations, Harrods.
More than 20 former female employees have accused its former owner, the late billionaire, Mohamed al-Fayed, of sexually assaulting them, according to a BBC investigation.
The alleged assaults took place at various locations over a span of several decades. Former employees told the BBC that al-Fayd's treatment of the women was known throughout the luxury department store, with one former department manager saying it, quote, "wasn't even a secret."
Harrods apologized to the victims in a statement released on Thursday, saying in part, "We are utterly appalled by the allegations of abuse perpetrated by Mohamed al-Fayed."
[00:30:10]
Still to come, we're learning new details about the deadly explosions of those pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon as the investigation unfolds. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM with me, Michael Holmes.
Now returning to our top story, the U.S. urging restraint and diplomacy as Israel and Hezbollah ramp up their fighting with growing fears of a wider regional war.
Israel's military says it struck about 100 Hezbollah launchers and other sites in Southern Lebanon in the past 24 hours, the strikes coming a day after Israel's defense minister said a new era in its war effort was beginning in the North after booby-trapped wireless devices exploded throughout Lebanon.
Israel's military chief on Thursday approved plans for what it called the "Northern arena."
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for launching at least 17 attacks across the border against Israeli military sites on Thursday. The leader of the militant group says the attacks will continue until the war in Gaza ends.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh now has new details on how pagers and walkie- talkies were rigged to explode in Lebanon, and where these devices came from.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A militant group proud of their discipline and secrecy, over 24 hours torn up by two waves of thousands of exploding low-tech devices.
Walkie-talkies causing much bigger blasts than the pagers.
CNN has obtained a copy of the Icom device, bought by us openly in India, 40 of which blew up in Hezbollah areas Wednesday. Discontinued, ancient. There's a big battery at the back, probably where explosives were hidden.
The company who designed them said they are widely counterfeited.
WALSH: Icom even released a guide as to how to discern a counterfeit model, showing where holograms are on genuine articles and also warning that, with counterfeits, there is a risk of leakage, fire, or explosion of the battery.
The director, unable to be clear whether these were genuine, though.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There was a period of time when we didn't add holograms. So, if this device comes from that time, we cannot eliminate the possibility that it may be our product.
WALSH (voice-over): Beirut is awash with counterfeit products, shipped in huge volume, often to ports effectively controlled by Hezbollah. So, there would be opportunity to insert booby-trapped fakes once the model Hezbollah used was clear.
[00:35:07]
Another complex infiltration required for the thousands of pagers, seen here in a promotional video, that detonated Tuesday when they received a message.
A global affair. Taiwan's Gold Apollo said the AR-924 design was licensed to BAC Consulting in Hungary. Their offices closed, and Hungary's government said the referenced devices have never been in Hungary.
Instead, a Bulgarian company the possible recipient. Yet, Bulgaria's state agency for national security said the devices never came through Bulgarian customs either.
Shell after shell making their source so tough to divine, someone clearly wanted to hide it.
Israel struck with sophistication before killing an Iranian nuclear scientist here, apparently with a facial-recognition-activated machine gun, and killing Hamas's lead negotiator in this Tehran guesthouse, apparently planting a bomb.
But the Lebanon blasts on another scale in terms of the innocents hit and the months of meticulous preparation involved.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Photographic proof of wedded bliss is a big deal in China, as it is around the world, but the divorce rate there is up.
Coming up, how one Chinese factory is helping divorced couples destroy all those marriage memories.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: A huge day for Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani. He's become the first Major League Baseball player to reach 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the same season.
The Japanese phenom became the inaugural member of the 50-50 Club with a homerun and two stolen bases on Thursday against the Miami Marlins.
Ohtani, who also pitches, but hasn't this season because of injury, has an historic ten-year $700 million contract with the Dodgers. So, he'd better perform.
They're in first place in the National League West Division. Ohtani, the odds-on favorite to win the league's most valuable player award.
Now, in Chinese culture, newly married couples go all out with photographs reflecting their love and the big day.
However, as China's divorce rate skyrockets, all those photographic memories can become a bit of a bother. As Marc Stewart now explains, one Chinese company is helping divorced couples shred, literally, all of those memories.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARC STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is a factory complex about 60 miles outside of Beijing. It's fueled, in part, by the business of breakups.
STEWART (voice-over): Divorced couples send their mementos to Liu Wei and his team, paying to destroy the evidence of their marriage.
[00:40:08]
STEWART: For Chinese families, photos like these are a big part of their home, on full display for friends and family to see.
STEWART (voice-over): But these photos our pretty much indestructible, made out of hard acrylic boards. The team spray paints faces to ensure privacy before being placed inside the crusher. It's a better solution, compared to just throwing things in the trash.
Divorce is still seen as shameful in China.
STEWART: This entire process is recorded on video. Customers want proof the deed has been done. STEWART (voice-over): It's happening as China's divorce rate is skyrocketing, and as authorities try to avert a demographic crisis by promoting marriage and parenthood.
But the slumping economy leaves many young couples feeling stressed out about work, life, and relationships.
STEWART: Where did you even get the idea to have a business like this?
LIU WEI, CO-FOUNDER, BEIJING ZHONGTIANJIE COMPANY (through translator): This was actually an accidental idea, but it quickly became an obvious business. During my daily contact with some customers, they all had the same thought, because they were troubled by the issue, but there was no way they destroy them.
I had the same thought. I saw that dilemma.
STEWART: A lot of these photos have captions talking about happiness and dreams. These were couples that were once in love.
Does this ever make you sad, watching this process happen, knowing once happy couples are no longer together?
LIU (through translator): I think of myself as a doctor. I see my job as being a witness to the disappearances of all kinds of relationships. Love or not, marriage or not, it's all normal. And a divorce might not necessarily be a bad thing. It could be a good thing.
STEWART (voice-over): The cost of this varies, up to around $30 depending on what needs to be destroyed. Yet for some people in China, it's a small price to pay for a fresh start.
Marc Stewart, CNN, Langfang, China.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Zero comment.
A zoo in China causing quite a panda-monium. See what I did there?
The Strange Animals and Cute Pets Paradise Zoo has gone viral after painting two chao-chaos, the Chinese dog breed, to resemble the country's beloved national animal.
The video was first posted on a Chinese social media platform on Monday and has since been shared more than 1.4 million times.
It fooled me.
I'm Michael Holmes. I'll be back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. But first, WORLD SPORT after the break.
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[00:45:34] (WORLD SPORT)
