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U.S. Urges Americans to Leave Lebanon; Hezbollah and Israel Trade Attacks Across the Lebanese Border; Israeli Attack on School in Gaza Kills at Least 22; Protesters Call for Netanyahu to Step down; Deadly Mass Shooting in Alabama; Harris Says Yes to Another Debate with Trump; Trump Declines to CNN Debate; Georgia Election Board's New Controversial Rule; Biden Has "Hot Mic Moment" at Quad Summit; Ukrainian Pres. Zelenskyy to visit the U.S.; Trump's Lies Fuel Safety Concerns in Springfield; South America surpasses record of fires; NASA Sets Sights on "World That Might be Habitable Today". Aired 4-5a ET
Aired September 22, 2024 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00]
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN Newsroom.
United States issues a warning as Hezbollah and Israel trade attacks across the Lebanese border. A mass shooting in a U.S. city leaves at least four dead and dozens wounded. We'll have the latest. And Kamala Harris says yes to another debate with Donald Trump, while her opponent is saying no thanks.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: The U.S. is urging its citizens to leave Lebanon as soon as they can as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah only seems to go from bad to worse.
Israel said it's been conducting new strikes against the Iran-backed group in Lebanon today. That's after Hezbollah launched more than 100 projectiles into Israel overnight. That's according to the IDF. The statement says some of them were shot down but there was at least one direct hit and falling debris caused fires and injured at least four people.
The IDF has announced new restrictions on public activities in Northern Israel and parts of the occupied Golan Heights. And an Israeli official says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is delaying his trip to the U.N. General Assembly until Friday for now. Now, it all happened after this.
On Saturday, Israel conducted some of its most intense strikes in Lebanon since the war in Gaza broke out. The IDF says it hit about 180 targets, including Hezbollah rocket launchers, ready to fire on Israel. U.S. officials are warning that the possibility of even more escalation is real. All right. for more, Elliott Gotkine joins us from London. So, Elliott, take us through the latest.
ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Kim, it does seem that the all-out war that no one, not Israel, not Hezbollah, not the United States or the International Community wanted, may be about to break out. As you say, tensions higher than they have been at any point in the past 11 months. Israel saying that it targeted almost 400.
Rocket launchers belonging to Hezbollah that were primed to fire towards Israel in perhaps the largest barrage that we've seen since tensions began since Hezbollah started firing on Israel in support of the Hamas-led terrorist attacks of October the 7th. Hezbollah, for its part, has penetrated deeper into Israel than at any point in the last 11 months, firing, as you say, more than 100 projectiles towards Israel.
Some of them were intercepted, some of them fell harmlessly to the ground, but there were a couple of direct hits, including in Nazareth and also Kiryat Bialik, which is close to Haifa in the North of Israel. And we've seen images and videos of buildings and cars being set on fire.
On top of that, the home front command has now issued new guidelines, meaning that people in Haifa and communities north of there will find their schools and beaches closed, and that there are restrictions on gatherings. You've also got the Rambam Hospital in Haifa, which is now evacuating patients to its underground wards.
So, big concerns that things are about to not just get back to what happened in 2006, the last time there was an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah, but perhaps potentially, Indeed, one resident in Kiryat Bialik telling CNN that it does now feel like it was back in 2006. Kim.
BRUNHUBER: All right. And then, Elliott, Israel raided and closed Al Jazeera's West Bank office. What more can you tell us about that?
GOTKINE: Look, the relationship between Israel and Aljazeera has always been a little bit tense. Things obviously got worse in May 2022 when it killed one of its correspondents, Shireen Abu Akhlar, during tensions or conflict between fighting between Israel and militants in Jenin.
It raided and closed down the Jerusalem office in May, stopped Al Jazeera broadcasting in Israel. Now, it has raided the offices in the occupied West Bank in Ramallah. From the video that Al Jazeera itself broadcast, I counted around about 25 troops going into the actual bureau, though there could well have been more. They handed a letter to the bureau chief there saying that the -- that Al Jazeera's office there was being closed down for 45 days.
[04:05:00]
Now, the reason for this is, from Israel's perspective, it accuses Al Jazeera of effectively being a mouthpiece, a propaganda arm for Hamas and other militant groups that Israel is fighting. And that is why there was almost unanimity from Israel's government and parliament there to close the broadcaster down.
So, those scenes that you're seeing were broadcasted live by Al Jazeera when Israeli forces raided their office there in a move that has already been criticized in the past for amounting to a restriction on press freedom in Israel. Kim.
BRUNHUBER: All right. I appreciate that. Elliott Gotkine in London. Thanks so much.
And turning now to Gaza, where the health ministry says an Israeli attack on a school compound Saturday killed at least 22 people, most of them women and children. The school in Central Gaza shelters thousands of displaced Palestinians. The IDF claims Hamas was using it as a command center and that precautions had been taken to avoid civilian casualties, despite evidence that there were many civilians killed and wounded.
Now, CNN isn't able to verify whether Hamas operatives were present at the compound. Some of the people living there told CNN that there was no warning before the attack and suddenly, missiles started raining down on them. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMAL, SHELTERING AT AL-ZAYTOUN SCHOOL (through translator): What have we the children done to wake up and go to sleep in fear? At least stop the bombing of schools We have no schools. No homes. Where should we go? Yes, I was there when the school was hit. I wish people had only been injured but everyone was murdered. All of them were murdered, torn into pieces Those sitting on their thrones afraid for their positions need to rise and find a solution We want to live our lives like we used to or even better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, another wave of demonstrations swept across Israel on Saturday. In Tel Aviv, protesters called for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step down and make way for someone who can secure a hostage release deal. They held up posters of the hostages and chanted, we will not give up.
The Hostages and Families Forum says Israel's government failed miserably on October 7th and continues to fail to free their loved ones.
All right. Developing now, a mass shooting in Birmingham, Alabama. Police say at least four people were killed and dozens more were injured Saturday night in a popular entertainment area. Two men and a woman were pronounced dead at the scene. Another died at the hospital. The University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital says it's treating 11 victims.
Police say multiple shooters fired numerous shots on a group of people who were on the sidewalk or street. Detectives are working to determine whether the shooters walked up to the victims or drove by in a vehicle. Police haven't made any arrests.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMAN FITZGERALD, OFFICE, BIRMINGHAM POLICE: Rest assured, we are going to do everything we possibly can to make sure that we uncover, identify, and hunt down who was ever responsible for preying on our people this morning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been more than 400 mass shootings in the U.S. this year. It defines a mass shooting as an incident with at least four victims shot, excluding the shooter.
Kamala Harris says she's ready for another showdown with Donald Trump. The Democratic presidential nominee has accepted CNN's invitation to debate her Republican opponent again on October 23rd. But Donald Trump says he isn't interested as he continues to complain about the moderators from the ABC News debate nearly two weeks ago. He now says ABC should be investigated.
The former president dismissed his rival's challenge on Saturday while campaigning in North Carolina under a fresh cloud of controversy. CNN's Steve Contorno has more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Donald Trump arrived in North Carolina on Saturday with the state GOP in crisis over their nominee for governor, Mark Robinson, after a CNN KFile report showed that he posted to a pornography website several years ago, claiming that he was, quote, "a black Nazi." Mark Robinson has appeared in the past at Trump events. However, he was not invited, did not show up and was not mentioned at all during Trump's remarks.
However, Trump did mention the debate invitation he received on Saturday from CNN and he said, thanks, but no thanks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Although, good entertainment value, a lot of people say, oh, do it. It's great entertainment. I've already done two. The problem with another debate is that it's just too late. Voting has already started. She's had her chance to do it with Fox. You know, Fox invited us on and I waited and waited and they turned it down. They turned it down, but now she wants to do a debate right before the election with CNN because she's losing badly.
It's too late to do another. I'd love to in many ways, but it's too late. The voting is cast.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[04:10:00] CONTORNO: Worth noting. Donald Trump did participate in October debates in 2016 and in 2020 as well. Donald Trump, on Saturday, also tried to speak directly to the women in his audience and across the country, telling them they were quote, "poor, less healthy, less safe, less safe, more depressed, and less optimistic than they were four years ago when he was president." And he specifically tried to talk to them about the issue of abortion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: You will no longer be thinking about abortion because it is now where it always had to be with the states and with the vote of the people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CONTORNO: With its fast-growing suburbs around Charlotte, the issue of abortion and the women's vote will be critical come this election. And if you look at the polling, Kamala Harris is doing better than Donald Trump with women, beating him by 60 to 37 percent. That is a larger margin than it was four years ago.
Steve Contorno, CNN, Wilmington, North Carolina.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: And joining me now is Natasha Lindstaedt, Professor of Government at the University of Essex. Good to see you again. So, listen, let's start with Donald Trump turning down a CNN debate. Are you surprised?
NATASHA LINDSTAEDT, PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX: No, I'm not surprised at all because the first debate he had with Kamala Harris was a complete disaster for him. In fact, the major headlines were about how he went off on tangents talking about immigrants eating cats and dogs, and he's seen generally unhinged. And about the fact that she -- it was just so easy for her to stoke him, for her to get him to take the bait. And it was pretty decisive in terms of the way the public felt that the debate went.
So, there's really nothing for him to gain unless he could be somehow much more disciplined in a second debate. And that's why he doesn't want a debate for again. And of course, she says she wants to. But this is him saying, you know, I had a perfect debate and I don't need to do it again. So, he's contradicting himself all over the place.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. So, at the same time, though, if he is down in the polls, isn't it sort of risky that he's leaving his running mate, J. D. Vance, to be sort of the last word on the debate stage? Because a late-stage debate, it couldn't swing the last sort of undecided voters, right?
LINDSTAEDT: Right. So, I'm sure Trump's team would want him to debate again if he could remain disciplined. But because he can't do that, this could make things worse for him. He could say things that sound even crazier. And people who are watching the debate also commented that there were questions about his mental fitness, where he seemed very sharp and on top of things compared to the debate he had with Biden. Once he had to debate Harris, he really seemed out of his depth.
So, it may make things worse for him if he were to debate again. But of course, there's a lot of pressure on Vance. And Vance has -- had a very troubled start to joining Donald Trump's ticket. He's been accused of all different kinds of things. Everything he says seems to really irk people more than draw people in. So, that will really end up being the last debate that people see, and I don't think that's particularly great for Republicans.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. All right. So, Donald Trump was in North Carolina. So, on the Mark Robinson controversy, maybe not surprising that Trump didn't address it or mention him. Do you think he should have with the Harris campaign now airing ads in the state linking the two of them together?
LINDSTAEDT: So, I don't know if there's any way that Trump could address the Mark Robinson scandal and be able to look good doing so. He would just be attracting attention to the fact that in March he had forcibly endorsed Robinson and called him Martin Luther King on steroids. So, he's going to want to distance himself from this because it could affect the outcome.
The way I think it will affect the outcome is it might just depress Republican voter turnout to that state. It won't affect the Senate election because there's no Senate race. It probably won't affect the House races because they're so heavily gerrymandered, but it will affect those state level races. And Trump only won the state by just over a point four years ago. So, it was tight then, it's incredibly tight now, and Harris' team has capitalized on this. You know. putting together ads about how close Trump and Robinson's views really are. And what that's going to do, as I mentioned, is probably going to depress Republican turnout, and that's critical in a state that is -- it's so hotly contested.
BRUNHUBER: All right. Speaking of a hotly contested race, Pennsylvania Harris's running mate, Tim Walz, was in Pennsylvania in a swing county, specifically, Democrats are hoping that his sort of -- that he might have a working-class appeal, that it might help them in these crucial swing states. Are you getting any sense from the numbers that they're breaking through?
[04:15:00]
LINDSTAEDT: So, one of the things that we've noticed about the Democrats campaign in Pennsylvania, is they're not just going to areas where they would normally win, but they've been going deep into areas where Trump had won by a lot in Pennsylvania. So, they're really expanding the map of where they're willing to go, and I think it's a good strategy putting Tim Walz there. He does have a mass appeal. He appeals better to male voters, and that's one of the states where Harris hasn't been doing well compared to Trump.
Trump leads Harris by quite a bit with male voters in Pennsylvania in particular. And as this is a must-win state, the Democrats really have to win Pennsylvania. They're going to need to bring in, draw in some of these people who might not like Trump, maybe won't end up voting, and try to get them to vote for Harris' team because that state is so, so close that even just a few votes here and there could make the difference.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, absolutely. All right. We'll have to leave it there. Always appreciate getting your take on all these issues. Natasha Linstaedt, thank you so much.
LINDSTAEDT: Thanks for having me.
BRUNHUBER: And here in Georgia, another key battleground state is changing the way it handles ballots with just over six weeks to go before Election Day. The state's election board, which is controlled by Donald Trump's allies, approved the new rule Friday. Despite bipartisan objections, it requires that all ballots cast on Election Day be hand counted to ensure the total number of ballots matches the tally from the voting machines. And hand counters won't track how many votes each candidate receives with the board's only Democratic member tells CNN results could be delayed. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARA TINDALL GHAZAL, DEMOCRATIC GEORGIA STATE ELECTION BOARD MEMBER: The counties that have actually tested this already, they have run like a beta test for this, say that it's taking them an hour and a half, two hours, and that's using workers that have not already had a 14-hour day. So, it is going to delay getting those results back to the county headquarters, sometimes by many hours, and that means that the counties that are legally required by statute to have those vote totals uploaded by midnight are really facing an incredibly challenging deadline.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Officials warn that the rule is likely unlawful. State law forbids local election workers from hand counting ballots before votes are officially counted.
And President Joe Biden held a Quad Alliance Summit Saturday and was overheard on a hot mic talking about China. A lot of details after the break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:20:00]
BRUNHUBER: Comments by U.S. President Joe Biden caught on a live microphone could make the next round of talks with China a bit more awkward. Now, it came as he was hosting a summit of the Quad Alliance in his hometown Saturday. Biden invited the leaders of Australia, India, and Japan to Wilmington, Delaware to discuss pressing international security issues for the Indo-Pacific region as he looks to firm up his diplomatic legacy. CNN's Hanako Montgomery joins us live from Tokyo. So, Hanako, before we get to the substance of the summit, the hot mic moment. Take us through what Biden said and if there's been any fallout.
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kim, you can tell with this hot mic moment that even though the White House has said that the Quad Summit is not directed at any one specific country, that China was featured very prominently during these meetings held over the weekend.
Now, you can hear U.S. President Joe Biden saying during this hot mic that he believes Chinese President Xi Jinping is looking to buy himself some diplomatic space. Biden is saying, quote, "We believe Xi Jinping is looking to focus on domestic economic challenges and minimize the turbulence in China diplomatic relationships. And he's also looking to buy himself some diplomatic space, in my view, to aggressively pursue China's interests."
Now, the White House has refused to comment any further about this specific moment. But if you take a look at the joint statement released on Saturday, Kim, you can tell that China's increasing military assertiveness in the South China Sea is a cause for concern for all four countries. In the joint statement, they also condemn North Korea's ballistic missile launches, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. But again, no other country is featured as prominently as China.
Now, Kim, looking back at past Quad Summits, we can tell now that a common and reoccurring theme is how these four countries can improve their maritime security alliance in the face of an increasingly assertive China. But what's interesting and important about this specific summit is how the four countries, for the very first time, announced that they'll be hosting a joint Coast Guard exercise. Here's what Biden had to say about that exercise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: We're announcing a series of initiatives to deliver real positive impact for the Indo-Pacific. That includes providing new maritime technologies to our regional partners so they know what's happening in their waters. Launching cooperation between Coast Guards for the first time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MONTGOMERY: Now, they also made announcements in the health care, climate change, and cyber security technology space. But in addition to these initiatives, Kim, what's important to note about this last summit, the very last summit to be held between these two four specific leaders is how they're looking to establish and really emphasize how the quad should be a cornerstone for a foreign policy in the Indo-Pacific region, even as some of these leaders look to end their terms very soon.
The Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will be leaving office later this week. We'll get a new Prime Minister. And as we know, U.S. President Joe Biden will not be running for re-election. So, again, with this summit, we can see the four leaders and specifically and especially Biden are looking to make one last diplomatic push to counter China, even as he prepares to hand off to a new administration. Kim.
[04:25:00]
BRUNHUBER: All right. Hanako Montgomery in Tokyo, thanks so much.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit the U.S. starting today. In the coming hours, he would tour an ammunition factory in Pennsylvania. The factory in Scranton makes 155-millimeter artillery shells. Those munitions are used by Ukraine in its ongoing battle against Russia's invasion.
Now, while he is here in the U.S., Zelenskyy is hoping to get the help he needs to reverse Russia's advances. Long-range weapons and permission to use them inside Russian territory are at the top of his wish list. On Thursday, he'll meet at the White House with U.S. President Joe Biden. Zelenskyy is expected to make the case that assistance from allies is the key to Ukrainian victory against Russia. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): If we could direct all our precision towards defending our state, if there were enough missiles and permissions that partners could provide for this, the overall situation in the war would be much better for our security, for the security of Ukraine and everyone in the world who does not want to exist under conditions of such aggressions as this Russian one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Zelenskyy will be attending the U.N. General Assembly in New York this week.
More rockets and fighter jets fly across the Israeli-Lebanese border as the IDF and Hezbollah keep trading fire. Still ahead, we'll ask an expert how close the region might be to an all-out war. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:30:00]
BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN Newsroom.
More now on the latest developments in the Middle East. Israel has been conducting hundreds of strikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon this morning. And now, the IDF says it intercepted an aerial target that crossed into Israeli territory from the east early today.
Now, that's after Hezbollah launched more than 100 projectiles into Israel overnight. That's according to the IDF. The statement says some of them were shot down, but there was at least one direct hit. And the falling debris caused fires and Injured at least four people. An Israeli official says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is delaying his trip to the U.N. General Assembly until Friday. For now, Israel is restricting public activities in the north, and the U.S. is urging Americans to leave Lebanon as soon as they can.
For more analysis, we're joined by Fawaz Gerges, a professor of international relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and he's also the author of the book, "What Really Went Wrong?: The West and the Failure of Democracy in the Middle East."
And he is speaking to us from London. Thank you so much for being here with us. So, Israel has now put a dent on Hezbollah's internal infrastructure and now its offensive capability. What's your take on these strikes by Israel and Hezbollah's response?
FAWAZ GERGES, PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, LSE, LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS: Israel has delivered a powerful psychological and tactical blow against Hezbollah. Not only it planted explosive in the pagers and the walkie-talkies, you have thousands of Hezbollah members who have been injured and killed. You have many civilians, scores of civilians, also the killing of top Hezbollah commanders, the raid on of Dahieh (ph), Southern Lebanon. The casualties now, you have 47 people who have been killed, including scores of civilians and 70 people are injured.
So, no doubt that Hezbollah's rank and file are rattled. They're shocked. They're off balance, but I doubt it very much. My take is that I don't think it will really change the strategic calculation, the strategic confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah.
And what's really amazing, what's really surprising is that how much restraint Hezbollah has shown in the past few months. It has avoided targeting Israeli civilians while Israel has really killed scores of Lebanese -- actually more than 100 Lebanese civilians.
Because you might wonder, Kim, why has Hezbollah shown a great deal of restraint? Because Hezbollah does not really want all-out war. It has in fact fettered its own hands by saying, we do not really want an all-out war with Israel, we just want a ceasefire in Gaza. We want the bloodshed to end in Gaza.
So, what Israel has done, basically, it really exploits Hezbollah's decision not to escalate strategically by bleeding Hezbollah and by conducting, as you said, hundreds of air raids against Hezbollah target in Lebanon in the past few days.
BRUNHUBER: So, given that, Hezbollah has tried to avoid all-out war. Israelis, you say, sort of, you know, inching towards this. Are we getting closer, though, to all-out war at some point? Will it have to break?
GERGES: I think if you ask me, as you know, we have been barking and warning about all-out regional conflict in the past 12 months. But I think this is the most dangerous moment in the 12 months confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah. I think, I hope I am wrong, we might have reached a tipping point of no return. Because the simple reason is that the Netanyahu-led government has decided to basically turn and make Lebanon a new front. Risk turning Lebanon into the new Gaza.
And also, because where is the Biden administration? Where is the American diplomacy? I mean, I think the big question for you and I and your audience is that the Biden strategy of containment has failed. It has failed to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza. It has failed to bring about to prevent a wider escalation.
In fact, American strategy is fueling a wide -- a wider conflict because the United States now is really a passive bystander. It has not really used leverage against the Netanyahu-led government to accept a hostage deal ceasefire in Gaza because the key to everything -- you and I, we talk about, the key is ending he bloodshed in Gaza, which will bring about de-escalation and prevent a wider regional conflict there.
[04:35:00]
BRUNHUBER: Yes, I'm curious about that. The Biden administration says it didn't know what Israel was going to do ahead of time. So, what does all of this and everything that you've said say about the lack of U.S. influence on Netanyahu that we've seen so far?
GERGES: Humility. And I have written quite a few books on American foreign policy. I don't believe U.S. officials when they say they do not really know that Israel planted thousands of explosive in the pagers in -- and the walkie-talkies, I mean, there is strategic coordination between American intelligence communities and the Israeli intelligence communities.
At the end of the day, the Biden administration wants a ceasefire in Gaza. The Biden administration is genuine about really not wanting a wider regional conflict, but it does not really want to use its leverage and influence to basically convince, to nudge, to force Prime Minister Netanyahu to basically accept a hostage deal.
In fact, the Americans say that basically Benjamin Netanyahu has changed the rules of the game on the hostage deal in Gaza. So, it's not that the Biden administration does not really want to end the bloodshed in Gaza, but it has failed to use its leverage.
Remember, we, I mean, the United States basically feeds this particular war. Provides arms, ammunition, political support, intelligence for Israel. Yet, President Biden basically has decided not to exert considerable pressure on Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza and prevent further escalation in neighboring countries.
BRUNHUBER: We'll have to leave it there, but really appreciate getting your analysis on this. Fawaz Gerges, thank you so much.
Kamala Harris is looking for a debate rematch with Donald Trump, but the GOP nominee says it's too late because people have already begun voting in some states. He's still criticizing moderators from the last showdown over perceived unfairness from ABC News, and he's now calling for an investigation.
On Saturday, Trump held a rally in North Carolina, while the candidate he endorsed to be the state's governor battles scandal. Trump didn't mention Mark Robinson's name at the event and the lieutenant governor was notably absent. Robinson was seen making a public appearance elsewhere in the Tar Heel State. He has refused to exit the Governor's race after CNN reported he'd expressed support for the return of slavery on a pornographic website.
And Ohio City is still on edge after Donald Trump's false claims during the first presidential debate that Haitians were eating pets in Springfield. Now, the unwelcome spotlight has stoked threats and violence against the city's residents. CNN's Rafael Romo has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As of Friday, the city of Springfield had received more than 35 threats of violence, including bomb threats stemming from false statements made by Former President Donald Trump during the September 10 debate. This is according to Springfield Mayor Rob Rue. Those threats have prompted evacuations of elementary school and supermarkets, lockdowns of hospitals and transition to remote learning at several local colleges.
Now, two of those colleges have announced they plan to resume in person learning this coming Monday after classes were held remotely as law enforcement investigated threats to their campuses.
Clark State College closed its campuses and moved to virtual learning last week. Wittenberg University canceled in-person classes since Monday after receiving two e-mails last weekend, including one containing a bomb threat. As you can imagine, the levels of fear and anxiety are very high, especially in the Haitian immigrant community, as one of its leaders told us on Saturday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VILES DORSAINVIL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HATIAN COMMUNITY HELP AND SUPPORT CENTER: People are still concerned for their life and try to make sure that they control where they are going and still trying to know what will be for the next days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: Meanwhile, Springfield Mayor Rob Rue is trying everything he can to keep his city moving forward. On Friday, he visited Springfield High School to offer support and encouragement to students, teachers and staff as he prepares for what could be a visit from Former President Donald Trump in the near future.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROB RUE, MAYOR OF SPRINGFIELD, OHIO: If a presidential candidate was going to come and bring a message of coming together, trying to work through problems, talk about the real concerns that why we're in the middle of this debate, immigration concerns and immigration reform, that would be great. We would just like to see those words from any presidential candidate that came to our town.
[04:40:00]
And so, my concern is what we've seen on the national stage. I really wouldn't want that repeated from our community, from -- in our community.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMO: Meanwhile, the cat at the center of this crisis is alive and well. As CNN producer took these pictures of Miss Sassy Friday in Springfield. The cat's owner, Anna Kilgore, gained national attention earlier this week following a Wall Street Journal story saying Kilgore had filed a police report in August stating that her pet might have been taken by her Haitian neighbors. The cat was discovered safe and sound a few days later.
Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Demonstrators took to the streets of Paris on Saturday afternoon to protest against the appointment of Michel Barnier as prime minister. He was selected by President Emmanuel Macron earlier this month and is disliked by both ends of the political spectrum in France.
Barnier is a member of the country's traditional right. His party, the Republicans, trail the far-right and the left-wing coalition in recent parliamentary elections.
Vast stretches of South America's landscape are burning. When we come back, the latest on the continent wide fight to battle the record breaking number of fires. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRUNHUBER: Parts of Europe are still dealing with the fallout of deadly Storm Boris. In Hungary, the swollen Danube River peaked at decade high levels on Saturday, with the water reaching the steps of Parliament in the capital, Budapest.
And in Poland, the flooding is estimated to have damaged or destroyed more than 18,000 buildings and facilities. Poland the Czech Republic have borne the brunt of the flooding. The damage in those two countries alone could reach a combined $10 billion.
[04:45:00]
South America is in a fight for its survival. The continent surpassed its record for fires with more than 346,000 hotspots recorded so far this year. Scientists say most of the fires have been manmade. Our Gustavo Valdes reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Amazon region is on fire. Flames engulfed large swaths of land, mainly in Brazil and Peru. Overwhelming responders and polluting the air in many countries struggling to contain the blaze.
This week, the Peruvian president declared three regions under state of emergency. As firefighters do their best to contain the fires,
I beg you to stop burning grassland, says Gustavo Adrianzen, president of the Council of Ministers who said every single one of the more than 200 fires reported in all but two of the country's 26 regions were allegedly started by humans, trying to clear land for agricultural purposes. He says Peru has limited resources and has not ruled out requesting help from the International Community. So, far, at least 16 people have died because of the fires, according to the government.
And the fauna is also in danger. Volunteers are doing their best to rescue and assist animals fearing damage to some species like the Andean bear and other that are unique to the area. They are requesting donations to feed and shelter them and people who can handle the animals.
A severe drought in the Amazon is making things worse. This is a regional crisis, says Adrianzen, explaining that the drought extends throughout the whole Amazon region. Also affecting Ecuador, Brazil, and Paraguay. Brazil, South America's largest country, is struggling to contain the fires. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva says they will spend some $90 million dollars in their efforts to control the flames.
The drought in Amazonia is so severe that sections of the mighty Amazon River are so shallow that ships can't navigate it. Even those not in the path of the fires are at risk.
Dr. Aldo Villavicencio (ph) says the air quality over much of Bolivia is too dangerous. The government there has encouraged schools to go back to virtual learning to avoid exposure to toxic air.
Almost 60 active fires were reported in Bolivia in one week. More than 3,000 firefighters are deployed on the ground, while planes dump water from the air to assist in their efforts.
The faithful prayed to the Virgin Mary for help to end these infernos because ranchers say they got no help trying to keep their land animals safe.
Juan Pablo Lapiz Grillo (ph) says their land is so remote and there are no roads. Getting help is very difficult.
September is typically the rainy season in the region. But this year, experts doubt it will be enough to stop the fires.
Gustavo Valdes, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE) BRUNHUBER: NASA is setting its sights on another world that might be habitable today. When we come back, the details of the mission to explore and seek signs of life hundreds of millions of miles away. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: The two members of NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday. NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov have set to launch on a SpaceX mission Falcon 9 Rocket and Dragon Capsule. Will head to the International Space Station on Thursday.
Let's hope their Dragon Capsule will bring home the two astronauts from the Boeing Starliner in early 2025. They've been stuck on the ISS since their capsule suffered failures in flight in June.
Now, NASA says it's aiming to launch its Europa Clipper spacecraft to Jupiter's fourth largest moon as early as October 10th. Europa has tantalized scientists and science fiction buffs for decades as it offers clues that it may harbor the ingredients for life as we know it. Our Michael Holmes has the details.
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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): A vast ocean in a moon hundreds of millions of miles away. That's what NASA's new and largest planetary spacecraft is set to explore next month.
Scientists believe that Europa, one of Jupiter's many moons, is one of the most promising places to look for life beyond Earth. The moon, about the same size as our own, is thought to have beneath its icy surface an ocean of water, perhaps encompassing the entire moon.
LAURIE LESHIN, NASA DIRECTOR OF THE JET PROPULSION LABORATORY: We scientists have been dreaming about a mission like Europa Clipper for more than 20 years. We've been working to build it for 10 years. It's going to be another 10 years because Jupiter is so far away until we have all the science in the bag.
HOLMES (voice-over): The mission is not looking for life on the moon, but rather an environment in which life could survive. The Europa Clipper will gather information on the thickness of that icy shell, investigate the possible ocean beneath it, and study the geology of the surface.
So, how does an icy moon far away from the sun have the energy to sustain life? Well, Jupiter's strong gravity creates tides that stretch and tug the moon, producing heat.
GINA DIBRACCIO, NASA ACTING DIRECTOR OF PLANETARY SCIENCE DIVISION: Clipper is going to tell us if Europa has all of these ingredients for life. So, what we learn with Clipper and the habitability of Europa, this is going to pave the way for the future, for future missions to Europa and elsewhere in our solar system, where we can search more directly for life.
HOLMES (voice-over): This big venture from NASA requires very big equipment. The Europa Clipper is about 16 feet or nearly five meters tall and more than a hundred feet or about 30 meters wide. That's about the length of a basketball court. The scale of the Clipper is primarily due to its massive solar arrays. Another big feat for this spacecraft is a poem.
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ADA LIMON, U.S. POET LAUREATE: Still, there are mysteries below our sky.
HOLMES (voice-over): U.S. poet laureate Ada Limon wrote an original poem dedicated to NASA's Europa Clipper mission. The poem will be engraved on the spacecraft as a way to connect the two worlds, Earth and Europa.
LIMON: We point to the planets we know. We pin quick wishes on stars. From Earth, we read the sky as if it is an unerring book of the universe, expert and evident.
HOLMES (voice-over): Michael Holmes, CNN.
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BRUNHUBER: Oktoberfest, the world's largest and rowdiest beer festival, is back for its 189th year.
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BRUNHUBER: Millions of people from across the world are expected to attend the two-week party in Munich. There they'll swig beer and feast on German sausages and pretzels and toast post to each other's health. Munich's mayor shouted the traditional announcement, it's tapped in German, as he opened the first keg on Saturday. The festival sprung up from a horse race in 1810 to celebrate a Bavarian royal wedding.
All right. Before we go, a man from Iowa has apparently broken a rather peculiar Guinness world record. Oh, look. John Loghry took the crown Saturday for having the fastest motorized wheelbarrow. That's right. His unique machine, which is powered by a seven-horsepower lawnmower engine reached a speed of 57 miles per hour.
According to CNN affiliate KCCI, Loghry said it took a year to make, and he thinks this is his midlife crisis. During his record attempt, the veteran collected donations for the Wounded Warriors Project. At least it's all for a good cause.
I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back with more CNN Newsroom in just a moment. Please do stay with us
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