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Harris Quadruples Trump's Fundraising Amount; More Fallout from KFile Report on Mark Robinson; IDF Kills Top Hezbollah Commander in Beirut; U.S. House Passes Bill Increasing Secret Service Protection; Harris Gains Traction among Young Voters; Lebanon and Israel Clash at UNSC Meeting; Sisters of Murdered Hamas Hostage Speak; Chechen Leader Claims Musk Remotely Disabled His Truck; California Firefighter Suspected of Starting Fires; Minnesota Power Plant Trading Coal for Renewable Energy. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired September 21, 2024 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ISABEL ROSALES, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. Good to be with you. I'm Isabel Rosales live in Atlanta.
Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, Vice President Kamala Harris hits the battleground states, slamming Republicans and telling voters it is a tight race. Plus this.
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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I don't know if you've heard but the Georgia state election board is in a very positive way. This is a very positive thing, Marjorie (ph). They're on fire. They're doing a great job.
ROSALES (voice-over): The pro Trump election board in Georgia makes a major decision that could favor the former president.
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ROSALES (voice-over): And a fourth day of surprise attacks keeps Lebanon on edge. Israeli officials now vowing a new phase of (INAUDIBLE).
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ROSALES: We begin with the race for the White House with only 45 days to go until the election. New reports just filed with the Federal Election Commission revealed Kamala Harris' campaign has been bringing in lots of cash; in fact, more than four times as much as Donald Trump.
Harris raised a whopping $190 million in August, while Trump only brought in $44.5 million. Harris has been on the trail in key battleground states all week. And later today, Trump will hold a campaign rally in North Carolina, an important target for both parties.
However, sources say the state's embattled Republican candidate for governor, Mark Robinson, has not been invited to attend. So far Republicans are standing by Robinson after CNN's KFile investigation into his online activity was released.
Hours later, inflammatory posts on a porn website message board were removed. It's unclear who removed the comments. But Democrats are using the offensive posts as political ammo against both Robinson and Trump. CNN's Dianne Gallagher has more.
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DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The fallout from CNN's bombshell report about Mark Robinson spilling over into a second day.
LT. GOV. MARK ROBINSON (R), NORTH CAROLINA GOV. CANDIDATE: I'm running for governor.
GALLAGHER: The GOP nominee for North Carolina's governor moving forward with his campaign after the deadline passed for him to withdraw as absentee ballots are sent out to voters Friday.
The fresh swirl of controversy follows a KFILE investigation that found Robinson made a series of inflammatory comments on a pornographic websites message board, more than a decade ago, referring to himself as a Black Nazi and expressing support for reinstating slavery, among other salacious, lewd and gratuitous statements.
ROBINSON: Thank you so much.
GALLAGHER: Robinson categorically denying the allegations.
ROBINSON: This is not us. These are not our words and this is not anything that is characteristic of me.
GALLAGHER: The controversy extending beyond the Tar Heel State's race for governor, with Robinson having received the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly praised the conservative firebrand.
TRUMP: This is Martin Luther King on steroids, OK?
GALLAGHER: The campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris highlighting the ties between Trump and Robinson in a new ad Friday.
ROBINSON: We can pass bills saying, you can't have an abortion in North Carolina for any reason. Abortion in this country is about killing a child because you weren't responsible enough to keep your skirt down.
TRUMP: I've been with him a lot. I've gotten to know him and he's outstanding.
GALLAGHER: The former president is set to hold a rally in the state on Saturday. Sources tell CNN that Robinson has not been invited to the event, despite being a regular presence at Trump's events in the state, including two last month. Some Trump allies are dismissing the potential impact on the former president's campaign.
REP. BYRON DONALDS (R-FL): We're going to be fine in North Carolina. This issue is going to come and go.
GALLAGHER: But the reality of what's happened in our country remains and that's why Donald Trump's going to win the state of North Carolina. As Democrats in North Carolina seek to turn Robinson's controversy into a challenge for other Republicans.
GOV. ROY COOPER (D-NC): I think that when people go to the polls, they need to think about these candidates who had supported and encouraged somebody like Mark Robinson and continue to do so.
GALLAGHER: Now Democrats across the state of North Carolina taking advantage of this. Nearly every statewide candidate down through the ballot has posted a photograph the Republican opponent has taken with Robinson or touted an endorsement, even just kind comments about the lieutenant governor.
There was a fundraiser that was scheduled for Mark Robinson, featuring the chair of the Republican Governors Association, Tennessee governor Bill Lee.
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Well, a source familiar tells CNN that that is no longer taking place. And governor Bill Lee is not coming to North Carolina -- Dianne Gallagher, CNN -- back to you.
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ROSALES: And meantime, Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned in Wisconsin Friday, a battleground state, where polling finds no clear leader. She warned that another Trump presidency could have serious consequences.
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KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And let us be very clear, someone who suggests we should terminate the Constitution of the United States should never again stand behind the Seal of the President of the United States. Never again.
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ROSALES: And earlier Friday, Harris railed against Trump's position on reproductive rights while campaigning in Georgia. The last-minute stop in Atlanta was added after media reports emerged, linking the deaths of two Georgia women to Republican abortion restrictions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: Think about that. These hypocrites want to start talking about, this is in the best interest of women and children, who, where you been?
Where you been when it comes to taking care of the women and children of America?
Where you been?
How dare they?
How dare they? (END VIDEO CLIP)
ROSALES: Harris' appearance in Georgia came as the state's election board, which is controlled by Trump allies, approved a controversial new rule, despite bipartisan objections from election officials and poll workers.
The new rule requires counties to hand-count ballots cast on Election Day to ensure the number matches the tally from voting machines. More now from CNN's Sara Murray.
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TRUMP: Three people are all pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency and victory. They're fighting.
SARA MURRAY, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Those three Republicans on the Georgia state election board who Donald Trump praised at a campaign rally last month charging ahead with a controversial new rule about hand counting ballots.
JANELLE KING (R), GEORGIA STATE ELECTION BOARD MEMBER: So this leaves us in a very difficult position. Do we maintain the status quo because it's easier or do we make a few adjustments so that we can be better?
MURRAY: But it's not better for many bipartisan election officials across the state who begged the board to pause on new rules ahead of November.
MILTON KIDD, ELECTIONS DIRECTOR FOR DOUGLAS COUNTY, GEORGIA: The idea that you're not going to listen to the individuals that are charged with conducting elections is absurd to me.
MURRAY: State officials from Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to Attorney General Chris Carr issued sharp warnings, saying several of the dozen rules the board is considering may run afoul of the law.
BRAD RAFFENSPERGER (R-GA), STATE SECRETARY: We're too close to the election. In fact, we're really just three weeks before we start early voting. And it's just too late in the cycle.
MURRAY: The new rule doesn't help determine a winner. Rather, it requires a hand count of the number of ballots at polling places on Election Day and then comparing the number of ballots cast with the number recorded by voting machines. Critics say it's a recipe for chaos.
KRISTIN NABERS, GEORGIA STATE DIRECTOR, ALL VOTING IS LOCAL: If I were to hand this stack of paper to three random people in this room, especially at the end of a long voting day and ask them to arrive at the same total number, do we think that's feasible?
People doing a hand count are going to make mistakes, which can then be exploited to spread lies.
MURRAY (voice-over): Raffensperger says the change could delay reporting results on Election Day.
RAFFENSPERGER: You start breaking up the ballot boxes after you close the precinct, you won't be getting those Election Day votes until maybe 1:00, 2:00 or 4:00 in the morning. And we just don't believe that's healthy for, you know, the republic and we don't think it's healthy for people of Georgia.
MURRAY: The three Trump-backed Republicans passed the rule anyway.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The motion passes three to two.
MURRAY: Even steamrolling the independent chairman of the five member board.
JOHN FERVIER, CHAIRMAN, GEORGIA STATE ELECTION BOARD: If this board votes to implement this rule, I think that we put ourselves in legal jeopardy.
MURRAY: And this new rule is almost certainly going to face legal challenges.
And to that end, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger put out a statement after the meeting, saying, "Attorney General Chris Carr has stated that these rules would not withstand a legal challenge.
"And I have worked every day to strengthen Georgia's election law to ensure our elections remain safe, secure and free."
So just a question at this point of where these legal challenges are going to come from -- Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.
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ROSALES: And joining us now out of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is Thomas Gift. He is a director for the Centre on U.S. Politics at University College London.
Sir, thank you so much for putting off sleep to talk to our audience. Really, really appreciate that.
THOMAS GIFT, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: It's great to be with you, Isabel, thanks so much.
ROSALES: Thank you.
Well, let's start with that CNN exclusive reporting about Mark Robinson that has drawn so much attention. We saw that the Harris campaign is seizing on the moment by launching a new TV ad in North Carolina, seeking to tie Donald Trump to the Republican gubernatorial nominee.
So, Thomas, is this Robinson scandal opening a path for Democrats in a state that has voted Republicans -- Republican in nine out of the last 10 presidential races?
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GIFT: Well, I think the short answer is yes. Mark Robinson's comments could hurt Trump. They're just so outlandish that, in a general election, my sense is that some percentage of North Carolinians will say to themselves that not only can they not vote for Robinson but they can't vote for the name at the top of the ticket that supports him.
Now Robinson, he's a MAGA Republican. Trump is the head of MAGA and he endorsed Robinson in the primary. So the two are invariably linked.
But it's not just that Trump endorsed Robinson. Trump's praised him effusively. He called him Martin Luther King Jr. on steroids, said that he's like Martin Luther King times two.
And this isn't Robinson's first brush with scandal. He has a history of making inflammatory remarks. Candidate quality matters. Even in a mostly red state, candidate quality matters.
I'm not sure if Robinson is such a drag on Trump that it causes him to lose North Carolina. The state hasn't voted, as you noted, for a Democrat for president since 2008. But the race is so tight there now, maybe one or two percentage points pulldown could make a difference.
ROSALES: Right.
And Trump is slated to hold a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, today, "The New York Times" is reporting that he will address the scandal after we've heard cricket, cricket, radio silence in the state. The election has already begun, as you know, with absentee ballots sent out.
Is the damage already done regardless of what we know he will or will not say?
GIFT: Well, I think the damage is done.
Not only because again, Trump has endorsed Robinson but Trump has his own history of making such inflammatory remarks that I think it's all -- a lot of voters are going to say, you know, even if Trump tries to distance himself a little bit, which a lot of moderate Republicans hope that he will. He has just been so effusive in his praise that I think it's hard for
him to backtrack. And again, simply because this isn't the first time there have been accusations of making lewd and lascivious comments. But he's done this time after time after time.
And despite that, Trump has given him his backing.
ROSALES: Yes, we're going to have to see about North Carolina, which Trump won back in 2020 with the narrowest of margins, just one percentage point there.
But let's talk about the Commonwealth that could decide it all, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, where you are at right now. New polling out this week has been some of the best for the Harris campaign. Let's take a look at that.
Among likely or registered voters in Pennsylvania, Quinnipiac had Harris up 5 percent, "The New York Times" up 4 percent, F&M up 3 percent. "The Washington Post" and Marist essentially having them tied.
Thomas, just how razor thin are the margins there?
GIFT: Well, I can tell you that all I see, whenever I turn on the television, is ad after ad after ad. Every time we get the mail here, I'm at my family's place, there's a huge pack of fliers from both candidates.
So I think that Trump and Harris know that, whoever wins Pennsylvania most likely will win the election. A lot of resources are being poured in here, certainly in the cities.
But one of the reasons why I think Harris is polling better in Pennsylvania than she had been is simply the fact that she's making outreach to some of the rural counties, some less urban areas of the state, like where I am right now, about 45 minutes south of Harrisburg.
So yes, Pennsylvania, it's hard to overstate the extent to which it matters.
ROSALES: Well, let me say the obvious to you. The polls certainly underestimated Donald Trump back in 2020.
How confident do you feel about them this time around?
GIFT: Well, I think that that's a big question. And one of the demographics that these polls have systemically underestimated the last few years is white, blue-collar workers. And I think that this is a demographic that Harris isn't polling particularly well with right now.
And if the polls are actually overestimated even that support then it could be trouble. I mean, one of the best ways to get a sense of who's winning, who is losing in the polls, is just to aggregate all of these polls. I mean, certainly doesn't make sense to simply single out one and say,
oh, this means that Trump is winning or this means that Harris is winning. But if we aggregate the polls, look the averages, it tends to be the case that we get a little bit more accuracy.
But again, it's hard to know which polls to include, which polls to exclude, based on their methodologies. And even with that, we've seen in previous years that those can be wrong. So I think both sides are taking the polls with a grain of salt.
ROSALES: Thomas Gift. I appreciate you. Thank you for your time.
GIFT: Thanks, Isabel.
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ROSALES: It is about a quarter past 10 am in Lebanon right now, where a deadly strike in southern Beirut is fueling fears that Israel is heading toward a wider conflict on its northern border.
On Friday, an Israeli airstrike in a densely populated neighborhood killed at least 14 people and wounded more than 60, including children. Among the dead, a senior Hezbollah commander.
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Israel says he was the target. Search and rescue teams have been working overnight to clear all of this rubble and to find victims. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has more now from Tel Aviv.
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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the third time this week, death and destruction on the streets of Beirut. At least a dozen people killed and many more injured after Israel struck a multi-story residential building in the Lebanese capital.
The Israeli military says it killed one of Hezbollah's most senior military commanders in the strike Ibrahim Aqil, the group's operations chief, alongside commanders from Hezbollah's elite Radwan force. Aqil was also wanted by the United States, accused of involvement in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. embassy in Beirut.
DANIEL HAGARI, IDF SPOKESMAN (through translator): There were about 10 commanders who were killed and we're talking about the commanders who planned the shooting every day of missiles, rockets the operation into Israeli territory.
I know that the residents of the north have been going through a very, very difficult reality in the last few months. We've been working since the 8th of October and a very determined way to change this reality.
DIAMOND: The Israeli military says Aqil and the other commanders were meeting beneath this residential complex when Israeli jets struck. One building flattened in the strike, piles of concrete and mangled steel all that remain as residents and first responders rushed to find an evacuate the wounded.
The strike dealing a heavy blow to Hezbollah after four days of Israeli attacks that have shown Hezbollah to be vulnerable and exposed and how quickly Israel is willing to climb up the ladder of escalation.
YOAV GALLANT, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): I believe that we are at the start of a new phase in the war. The center of gravity is moving north.
DIAMOND: On Tuesday, Israel detonated thousands of explosive laced pagers used by Hezbollah, killing dozens and wounding thousands of militants and civilians. The next day, exploding walkie-talkies drove the death toll even higher.
And last night, Israel pummeled Hezbollah rocket positions in southern Lebanon, in one of the heaviest barrages this year, as Hezbollah fired at least 100 rockets into northern in Israel.
It's clear Israel is ramping up the pace and intensity of its attacks in Lebanon as it looks to beat Hezbollah into submission, even if it means risking a devastating all out war -- Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
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ROSALES: And still to come, sisters of an Israeli hostage killed by Hamas speak to CNN and describe the inhuman conditions she faced in captivity.
Plus the fight for young voters in a crucial U.S. battleground state.
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ROSALES: Welcome back.
The U.S. soldier who ran across the border into North Korea last year is free after being sentenced to one year in confinement and a dishonorable discharge.
Private Travis King was given credit for good behavior and time served. King pled guilty in a court martial to charges of desertion, assault and disobeying a superior officer. As part of a plea deal, nine other charges were dismissed.
Army officials say in July of 2023, King willfully crossed into North Korea after being released from a detention facility in South Korea. He was being held there following a bar fight.
For the first time in 13 years, South Carolina put a man to death Friday. Freddie Owens was executed via lethal injection. The 46-year old was convicted of shooting convenience store clerk Irene Graves to death 25 years ago during a robbery.
The execution came despite a last-minute sworn plea from his robbery co-defendant, saying Owens wasn't even there at the scene. South Carolina's supreme court said that claim conflicted with what a witness had repeatedly testified to before.
The court also noted Owens had previously confessed to five people, including two law enforcement officers and his girlfriend.
The U.S. House of Representatives has adopted a bill bolstering Secret Service protection for major presidential and vice presidential candidates. The bill sailed through the chamber without any opposition on Friday following two apparent assassination attempts on Donald Trump.
Major candidates already have Secret Service protection but the legislation says they have to be protected the same way as sitting presidents and vice presidents. That bill now goes to the Senate.
Many young voters who had turned -- tuned out of the presidential race are now paying attention now that Kamala Harris is the Democratic presidential nominee. But as Danny Freeman reports from Pittsburgh, she still has her work cut out for her and Republicans are fighting for those votes.
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DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Twenty-two-year-old Elan Anderson was dreading coming back to campus this fall.
ELAN ANDERSON, PRESIDENT, UPJ DEMOCRATS: I was thinking, how could I convince some 18-year-old freshman at a high school, hey, I spent the whole day talking to people you don't know over the phone for Joe Biden.
Hard sell.
FREEMAN (voice-over): But the head of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown's College Democrats got new life once President Joe Biden dropped out and Vice President Kamala Harris became the nominee.
ANDERSON: There wasn't a lot of passion going around.
FREEMAN: And you feel that's changed?
ANDERSON: It's definitely changed.
FREEMAN: How are you feeling today?
MARIAM BANGURAH, SECRETARY, UPJ DEMOCRATS: I'm feeling a lot more comfortable, definitely. FREEMAN (voice-over): UPJ senior, Marianne Bangura, says Harris'
background in particular has energized younger voters. But she knows the election won't be that simple.
BANGURAH: I'm 22 years old and I've lived my entire life not seeing many people who look like me or have a similar background as me who want to do my -- like have done the job that I want to do. We are like doing well but like we really need to like keep that energy.
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And that's what I'm worried about.
FREEMAN (voice-over): In 2020, younger voters overwhelmingly supported Biden over former president Donald Trump. But before Biden dropped out, some polls showed Trump making gains with this key demographic. Now with Harris at the top of the Democratic ticket, there are signs younger voters are swinging back in her direction.
ELECTRA JANIS, VICE CHAIR, WASHINGTON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS: I think she is helping young voters get out and, for that, I'm grateful, regardless of who you are voting for.
FREEMAN (voice-over): Electra Janis is the vice chair of the Washington County Board of Commissioners. She's a Republican, voting for Trump. And the 28-year old thinks the former president can keep the gains he made with younger voters if he stays focused on issues like the economy.
JANIS: In this particular case I can -- I will say, when I'm voting for president Trump, I'm not voting for a person. I'm voting for his policies. Their volunteer base has grown in Pennsylvania significantly and I think what they need to do is get the young, passionate, motivated individuals out there, seeking other young individuals to do the same.
FREEMAN (voice-over): For that, the Trump campaign is turning to people like Steven Kail.
FREEMAN: Did you ever expect to be working on a political campaign?
STEVEN KAIL, TRUMP CAMPAIGN: I did not.
FREEMAN (voice-over): The 33-year-old service technician from outside Pittsburgh was motivated to knock doors after he witnessed the former president get shot at his Butler rally in July.
KAIL: Before that, I wasn't doing much volunteer work at all. After what I saw at Butler that like, changed my whole -- I just -- I want to -- what I saw that day, I just wanted to help out.
FREEMAN (voice-over): For Kail, that means outworking Harris volunteers and staying on message with younger voters as much as possible.
KAIL: I start off by talking about the economy, their cost of living, especially if they're in college, paying higher prices for gas, utilities, groceries.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You want a Kamala Harris sticker?
FREEMAN (voice-over): But on the University of Pittsburgh's main campus, young supporters of both candidates are now readying closing arguments to their peers.
JOSH MINSKY, PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH COLLEGE REPUBLICANS: I don't know if that's necessarily doable to get people extremely excited about Trump from afar my age but I do think it's possible to get people to understand that you don't have to like someone to vote for them. And I think a lot of people fall into that category.
SARA PODNAR, CO-PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH COLLEGE DEMOCRATS: So you're out, basically doing things every single day. In about an hour or two, I'm going to (INAUDIBLE) on campus doing voter registration. We have events here on campus, as I mentioned. We knocked 1,000 doors last weekend.
We're just working on building city (ph) power and on transforming a lot of that enthusiasm into actual actionable (INAUDIBLE).
FREEMAN (voice-over): Danny Freeman, CNN, Pittsburgh.
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ROSALES: Still ahead, the unprecedented attacks in Lebanon this week raised many serious questions, such as how did explosives get hidden inside the pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah?
We will go to the demolition range. That's next.
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ROSALES: Hezbollah confirms one of its senior commanders was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Beirut on Friday. The Lebanese health ministry says the strike killed at least 14 people and wounded 66, including children.
It comes just a few days after unprecedented attacks earlier this week, when pagers and walkie-talkies used by the militant group exploded across the country. CNN's Brian Todd went to a demolition range to find out how the small devices can turn into powerful and deadly bombs.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just a tiny amount of plastic explosives packed into a pager can have a detonation this big. If this was a person, what happens to the person? RYAN MORRIS, PRESIDENT, TRIPWIRE SOUTH: It's going to be catastrophic what just took place here to the human body.
TODD: The impact shown on a mannequin it was clipped to.
MORRIS: It can be fatal over time, bleeding out things of that nature.
TODD: And, apparently, there were some people who have serious facial and eye injuries. Could this blind you?
It was forever.
MORRIS: Yes, absolutely.
TODD: Walkie-talkie is a larger device with more room to hold explosives inside and more material to be sent flying. And it's often held close to the face. This one caused even more damage, debris strewn widely, pieces of twisted metal launched as far as 100 yards and severe injury to the mannequin.
MORRIS: It would be devastating if it were in your hand or close to your head.
TODD: These two tests were done at CNN's request in the wake of the explosions this week of pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon, said to target Hezbollah members and causing thousands of injuries and dozens of deaths.
Based on photos of the debris of devices in Lebanon, these tests use PET and explosive on a pager of the same branding and a walkie-talkie similar in size to the ones targeted in Lebanon. CNN is not showing how the explosives might be placed or how they might be detonated.
MORRIS: Three, two, one.
TODD: The tests were conducted by Ryan Morris, a former explosive specialist with the Department of Homeland Security, who runs a firm which trains government and military personnel.
MORRIS: Whoever did it, they were pretty skilled.
TODD: Another explosives expert who examined a walkie-talkie similar to the model targeted in Lebanon said making thousands of bombs was a big and risky undertaking.
MAJ. GEN. MANIK SABHARWAL (RET.), EXPLOSIVES ANALYST: It will take a lot of time for the explosive to be put in, for it to be connected to the initiating mechanism, to be connected to the detonator. Chances of it exploding while they are doing all this is also there. TODD: And the devices are so small.
SABHARWAL: I don't find any empty space in this. It's difficult.
TODD: How hard is it to, I guess, pack and explosive into something this small? MORRIS: Someone has any knowledge of this tradecraft can do it very easily. It's -- you can secrete explosives and anything.
TODD: And triggering thousands of them all at once?
MORRIS: If they have all the numbers for the -- for the pagers, they just send a massive texts to all of them, all those numbers and they go off the same time.
TODD: How vulnerable is the traveling public to explosions like that?
Ryan Morris says airport technology right now is really good now at detecting tiny, tiny amounts of explosive material in devices like this. And he says it's stays with you if you handle it.
I got a tiny amount of that material on my hands. And Morris says it will stay with me for a while, no matter how many times I wash my hands -- Brian Todd, CNN, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROSALES: Well, that is good to know.
Brian Todd. Thank you.
The U.N. human rights chief is calling for an investigation into the twin device attacks in Lebanon this week. Lebanese and Israeli officials clashed at a U.N. Security Council meeting over the attacks and escalating hostilities.
The Lebanese foreign minister called on the body to condemn Israel's actions, which he described as a quote, "terrorist attack."
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABDALLAH BOU HABIB, LEBANESE FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): Those were Assad bin (ph) attacks. They have led to the injuring of thousands of innocent civilians, including children, women and elderly.
The responsibility of the Security Council is not only toward the innocent Lebanese who were targeted unjustly but also toward humanity as a whole.
If this terrorist attack is not condemned by your council and if you do not name the perpetrator, if you do not deter the perpetrator, condemn it and compel it to stop such aggressions, the credibility of this council of international law and of human rights law are at stake.
Isn't this terrorism when you target a whole population in their city's streets, markets, shops, homes while they tend to their daily life?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROSALES: Israeli ambassador criticized Lebanon's envoy for not mentioning Hezbollah in his remarks. Israel accused the militant group of, quote, "provocations."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANNY DANON, FORMER ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: Hezbollah have turned southern Lebanon into a war zone, using civilian homes as weapons depots and unifield (ph) bases as launch points, digging tunnels beneath them and using innocent civilians as well as U.N. peacekeepers as human shields.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROSALES: As hostage families push the Israeli government to reach a deal to bring home dozens of October 7 victims being held by Hamas, we are learning more about one of the six hostages who were executed late last month and found in a tunnel.
Eden Yerushalmi was kidnapped from the Nova Music Festival. She tried to run away with two friends in a car but Hamas gunmen shot up the vehicle, killing her friends. Eden survived that attack, which is incredible when you can see right here on this video, all of the bullet holes left behind in that car.
Now she pretended to be dead and was able to call her sisters, staying in touch with them while hiding. That was until Hamas gunmen found her.
"They've caught me," those were the last words she spoke on the phone. Eden turned 24 in captivity. CNN's Anderson Cooper spoke to her sisters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHANI YERUSHALMI, OLDER SISTER OF EDEN YERUSHALMI: We feel like we're in a nightmare. It's -- sometimes it feels like M (ph). It's even thrill, like it's not -- it's not happening to us because we -- the whole time we truly believed that Eden will come back home alive.
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Israelis are on the streets protesting, demanding a ceasefire agreement after defense officials said they recovered the bodies of six Israeli hostages, murdered by Hamas.
MAY YERUSHALMI, YOUNGER SISTER OF EDEN YERUSHALMI: Our sister Eden was a happy person and she lived life to the fullest and she loved life and she was a great sister. She was an amazing sister, an amazing friend. And the most important thing that she was a hero. She survived 11 months in those conditions, in those tunnels.
We know that the tunnel was very narrow and also very low. We know that they couldn't -- they barely could stand fully. We know that they couldn't sleep next to each other but only in a line.
There will no windows, no air, no light, barely food. And if they needed to go to the bathroom, they were forced to do it --
M. YERUSHALMI: In a bucket.
S. YERUSHALMI: -- in an empty bucket of water. It's inhuman.
M. YERUSHALMI: We had so much faith that she will come back home alive that, in the same day of the rumors, we didn't believe it.
We did have proof of life from Eden, actually three times. And the last time, the last proof of life that we got from Eden was exactly 20 days before that she got murdered.
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EDEN YERUSHALMI, HAMAS HOSTAGE: (Speaking foreign language).
S. YERUSHALMI: You can see in that video the bags under her eyes, how tired she is. You can see that she's very thin --
M. YERUSHALMI: Very weak.
S. YERUSHALMI: -- very weak.
M. YERUSHALMI: A few hours after they told us what's happening, they asked us if we wanted to see her body.
Of course we said yes. We wanted to see her because we haven't seen her for 11 months, since October 7th.
[03:40:03]
And we wanted to say to her goodbye --
S. YERUSHALMI: And sorry.
M. YERUSHALMI: -- and to say sorry that we couldn't find her sooner and alive. We gave her a hug, a last hug to say goodbye to her. And she was so, so thin. We could feel her bones sticking out. And after that we -- they found out that she -- that her body weight only 79 pounds.
S. YERUSHALMI: They starved her before they murdered her.
I want the whole world to know that what we are dealing with -- and this is a terror organization and it's very dangerous. And we still have more 101 hostages in Gaza. We have to -- we have to save them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROSALES: Absolutely horrific details there.
But Eden's family wants people to remember her as this person, a happy person, who lived life to the fullest.
We'll be right back.
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ROSALES: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is threatening sanctions against Elon Musk for failing to testify about his $44 billion takeover of Twitter, now called X.
Musk was scheduled to talk to investigators on September 10th but, just three hours before he was supposed to start speaking, Musk's lawyer said the SpaceX owner had to travel for the launch of the Polaris Dawn mission.
At issue here is whether Musk followed the law when disclosing his purchase of Twitter stock and whether his statements about the deal were misleading.
Musk is also taking flak from the top Chechen warlord. Ramzan Kadyrov claims the Tesla CEO sent him one of the company's Cybertrucks, which he then deployed to Ukraine. Now Musk denies that but, as Anna Stewart reports, the truck is now out of commission and the Chechen leader is pointing a finger at Musk.
[03:45:00]
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ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Elon Musk, a Chechen warlord and a Tesla Cybertruck. It is a strange story. It started around a month ago, when
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, known for his loyalty to Russian President Vladimir Putin, posted this video.
Here he is, showing off his new Tesla Cybertruck, mounted with a machine gun. Even stranger than that was the message that came with it, which said,
we received a Tesla Cybertruck from the respected Elon Musk. Kadyrov also said he was sending the Cybertruck to the front line of Russia's war in
Ukraine.
Musk then responded in very Musk language to deny the gift, saying it was ridiculous to think he would donate a Cybertruck to a Russian general.
That, you might think, would be the end of it. But it's not. Kadyrov has now posted to Telegram accusing Elon Musk of remotely deactivating his
truck in a long post, which ends, it's not manly. The iron horse had to be towed. How come, Elon?
Is this how it is done?
No response yet from Tesla
or Musk.
In the meantime, Kadyrov doesn't appear to be put off. In a new video that looks and sounds like a B movie blockbuster trailer, Kadyrov says he is
sending two new Cybertrucks to the war in Ukraine. Now it is unclear whether that's actually true and where he obtained them. And while they
look like they are moving OK now, we'll see what happens when Elon finds out -- Anna Stewart, CNN, London.
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ROSALES: With flu season comes the annual danger. But the FDA is making the flu vaccine much more accessible. We'll tell you how coming up. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
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ROSALES: A California firefighter was arrested Friday for allegedly starting five wildfires in Sonoma County; 38-year-old Robert Hernandez was arrested by CAL FIRE law enforcement at a fire station in Mendocino County.
Hernandez is suspected of starting the fires while off duty over the past month. CAL FIRE says that fast action by residents and fire suppression teams kept damage from those fires to a minimum. That burning was limited to just one acre. That's less than half a hectare.
People in the Sonoma area were shocked to learn of that arrest.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think anyone will have any idea that this had been happening.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You sound like you're in shock about this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm 100 percent in shock.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a tough pill to swallow for all of us. When you read that press release and understand that that's someone that's supposed to be out in the community, protecting us, and they're actually putting us all on harm's way, it's hard to read.
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ROSALES: Italy looks to recover and rebuild after storm Boris brought torrential rains and devastating floods across much of the country's northern region.
The storm triggered the highest level warnings and widespread evacuations. Residents of one town could be seen returning to their homes and cleaning up just a day after a nearby river overflowed its banks and left the area covered in mud.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announced $11 billion will be given to member nations hit by the, quote, "heartbreaking" floods caused by storm Boris.
Scientists using ice-breaking ships and underwater robots have found that the Thwaites Glacier, aka the Doomsday Glacier, is melting much faster than previously thought and its collapse may be inevitable.
Its ice loss is set to speed up the century and melting of the glacier in Antarctica which is the size of Florida, would lead to about 10 feet or three meters of sea level rise with devastating effects for humanity.
They say the outlook is grim and the whole of Thwaites and the Antarctic ice sheet could be gone by the 23rd century.
Well, it's a move that could change how the U.S. approaches clean energy projects. A coal-fired power plant in Minnesota will soon shut down but then reopen using solar and wind energy.
Experts say the plan to repurpose the plant's existing infrastructure could supercharge the push for renewable energy. CNN chief climate correspondent Bill Weir has that story.
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BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Behold a fire breathing dinosaur named Sherco.
For decades, it has been devouring mountains of coal in Minnesota and belching out gigatons of planet cooking gases, making this power plant the state's biggest climate polluter. But in a vivid example of energy transition, Sherco's owners are changing its diet, swapping out coal for renewables, until the last fire goes out in 2030.
And after that, 125,000 homes will be powered by sun, wind and iron batteries with four days backup.
WEIR: Is Xcel decarbonizing as a strategy?
RYAN LONG, PRESIDENT, XCEL ENERGY MINNESOTA: Yes, so we are decarbonizing as a strategy. We have had a goal to get to 100 percent carbon free energy by 2050 for a number of years now.
Two years ago, the Minnesota legislature passed a law that said they want to get to 100 percent carbon free energy by 2040. So that's now our target and we're on track to meet that.
WEIR: That pile of coal weighs around 1.7 million tons and in about six years, it'll be all gone. The smokestacks will be obsolete. But this fossil of a different age will remain a valuable part of the community, pushing out clean energy from wind farms and solar fields all around the state.
But this is also a model for the rest of the country. A study out of Cal Berkeley found that the U.S. could double its power capacity by building new energy next to old infrastructure.
PETE WYCKOFF, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF ENERGY RESOURCES, MINNESOTA COMMERCE DEPT.: Minnesota, for economic reasons, was already moving to phase out coal.
But what the Inflation Reduction Act did, through its tax credits, is give extra incentives for when you phase out a plant, a fossil fuel plant, to build something new right there.
[03:55:05]
WEIR: And use the bones in the connection.
WYCKOFF: Use -- you use the -- the site is actually being used. WEIR: Yes. WYCKOFF: But the more important thing is you're using an existing way to connect to the electric grid.
WEIR (voice-over): Minnesota recently completed a transmission upgrade but the lines are already strained by all the new supply and demand. So like a fast pass at Disneyland, this method allows clean energy projects to skip the years long wait for grid connection while making the shift a lot less jarring for local communities.
WEIR: What does that mean for workers?
Can the same people who are now working in coal come over and work in sunlight?
LONG: Well, some of them can. So we've got about 240 workers at the plant. And what we have told them is, if you want a job with Xcel Energy after that plant retires, you'll have a job with Xcel Energy.
WEIR: Would this have happened without the Tim Walz administration and their targets?
Would it have happened without the Inflation Reduction Act that Joe Biden --
LONG: Yes. So the Walz administration has been really great to work with and the IRA benefits have been really significant for our customers. That helps us move through this transition while bringing customer bills down compared to what they otherwise would be.
We're extracting about $300 million of IRA benefits for our customers with this project alone. WEIR (voice-over): He says their customers will eventually reap
billions in tax incentives as Xcel winds down dozens of fossil fuel plants, all part of a quiet industrial revolution, steadily spreading nationwide -- Bill Weir, CNN, Becker, Minnesota.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROSALES: From coal to solar. Interesting, there.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a flu vaccine that can be self-administered at home. Here it is. It's called FluMist. It is a nasal spray available since 2003 and the only needle free flu vaccine. The FDA has now lifted the requirement for it to be given by a healthcare provider.
And maker AstraZeneca also plans to provide it through an online pharmacy. But here's the bad news though. It will not be available in time for this flu season.
Well, I'm Isabel Rosales live in Atlanta. Kim Brunhuber will be here with more CNN NEWSROOM after a quick break.
