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Israel Launches Intense Airstrikes On Hezbollah, Killing Hundreds in Lebanon; Russian Soyuz Brings 3 Space Station Fliers Home After Record-Setting Mission; Hurricane Forecasters Eye Developing Storm In Western Caribbean; Harris campaign weighs trip to the US southern border amid polling concerns. Aired 1-1:30a ET

Aired September 24, 2024 - 01:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Lynda Kinkade, live in Atlanta. Ahead on CNN Newsroom. Hezbollah hits back firing rockets into northern Israel in response to strikes which killed nearly 500 people inside Lebanon, plus more than 1,000 days in space, the Russian cosmonaut is finally back on planet Earth after breaking an all-time record in orbit and coming to a smartphone near you, a closer look at a round of just approved emojis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with Lynda Kinkade.

KINKADE: We begin with an escalation of attacks across the Israeli- Lebanese border. The top Israeli military chief says forces are preparing for the next phase after Israel launched the most intense wave of strikes against Hezbollah in nearly 20 years.

The Lebanese health ministry says nearly 500 people, including dozens of women and children were killed in those attacks on Monday, marking the deadliest day of Israeli strikes in Lebanon since the 2006 war. The Israel Defense Forces say it hit 1,600 Hezbollah targets and what the defense minister calls an impressive operation, but for those displaced civilians, there is nothing but fear and despair as they flee their homes in southern Lebanon and seek safety, some finding at schools that have been turned into shelters. Israel's Prime Minister says the Lebanese people are not their target.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I have a message for the people of Lebanon. Israel's war is not with you. It's with Hezbollah. For too long, Hezbollah has been using you as human shields. Don't let Hezbollah endanger your lives and the lives of your loved ones. Don't let Hezbollah endangered Lebanon. Please get out of harm's way now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: The Iranian-backed militant group says it's fired multiple rockets into northern Israel overnight following Israel's air strikes on Monday. A member of the Lebanese Parliament addressed world leaders in New York ahead of the U.N. General Assembly and described the turmoil caused by those strikes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BAHAI EL HARIRI, LEBANESE PARLIAMENT MEMBER (through translator): We are seeing a wave of Exodus and the targeting of residential areas. The people of Lebanon are in serious danger after the destruction of large areas of agricultural land and the targeting of residential buildings. This has damaged the economy of our country and threatened our social order.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: CNN's Jeremy Diamond has more now from Northern Israel.

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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Israeli air strikes battering southern and eastern Lebanon. It is the most intense Israeli bombardment of Lebanon since the 2006 war and the deadliest, hundreds were killed and many more injured, as the Israeli military said it targeted Hezbollah weapons depots and rocket launchers.

Meanwhile, Israeli air defenses springing into action as Hezbollah fired more than 200 rockets and drones at Israel, targeting the city of Haifa and aiming further south than usual, at least two rockets hitting the West Bank, more than 60 miles south of the Lebanese border and just east of Tel Aviv, as Israeli fighter jets carried out air strikes, the country's leaders say they are deliberately escalating, hoping to change the equation.

NETANYAHU (through translator): Promised to change the security balance, the balance of power in them. This is exactly what we're doing. We're dismantling thousands of rockets and missiles aimed at Israeli cities and citizens.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Lebanese officials say this is simply Israeli aggression.

ZIAD MAKARY, LEBANESE INFORMATION MINISTER (through translator): The continuing Israeli aggression on Lebanon is a war of extermination in every sense of the word, and a destructive plan aimed at destroying Lebanese villages and towns and eliminating green areas.

DIAMOND (voice-over): In Lebanon, Israel's new escalatory strategy is pushing thousands to flee their homes as the Israeli military sent mass text messages, including to some residents of the Lebanese capital, and interrupted radio broadcasts urging residents in southern and eastern Lebanon to evacuate in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley.

REAR ADM. DANIEL HAGARI, IDF SPOKESPERON: This warning is focused on the villages in the Beqqa Valley.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Residents were given just two hours-notice before Israeli jets began hitting targets, including homes where the Israeli military says Hezbollah is storing rockets and weapons.

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As smoke engulfed swaths of Lebanon, many now fear this is just the beginning as the prospect of all out war now looms larger than ever. Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Northern Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: CNN's Ivan Watson is following developments and joins us now. Ivan, good to have you with us. So for almost a year we've been watching this tip for tat between Israel and Hezbollah, but certainly this past week, we've seen this massive escalation, and now the deadliest day of Israeli strikes in Lebanon in almost two decades. Take us through the latest.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Well, the Israeli government announced last week that it was heading into a new era of this conflict that had been largely localized along the border for the course of the last year. And I think that Monday was definitely, I don't know what else to describe it as, an aerial bombardment, an aerial assault. If you want to get a sense of the scale of it, as Israel has said itself that it targeted some 1,600 plus locations. Take a look at this heat map, a 24-hour heat map created by NASA, which shows you areas of heat and fire across southern Lebanon.

Now, not every one of these would particularly be an air strike, but it gives you a sense of the ferocity of this Israeli aerial assault on Monday. And the death toll is pretty staggering, where the Lebanese Ministry of Health says nearly 500 people, 492 people were killed in a single day. Among them, 35 children and 58 women, with more than 1,600 people injured.

And to give you some context, Lynda, Lebanon has had generations of war, Civil War, incursions, invasions, occupations, the 2006 for war. The last time that for a month, Hezbollah militants and Israel fought head to head for an entire month, resulted in 1,100 people being killed on the Lebanese side of the border in a single day. Now you've had nearly half the casualties incurred by Israel's bombardment that were incurred in a month of fighting 18 years ago.

KINKADE: The number of casualties is horrific. We have heard criticism, of course, from Egypt, from Qatar, warning about the risk of a regional war. We've also heard from a U.S. State Department official questioning Israel's strategy of it, saying that it wants to escalate things in order to deescalate the situation. And you, of course, I understand our family in Lebanon. What are they saying to you?

WATSON: Right. Well, what the bombardment did on Monday was to trigger a mass exodus from areas in the south and the east of the country, people fleeing. Yes, Israel did issue some warnings, but in many cases, as the death toll reveals and nearly 100 women and children killed, it wasn't enough time for people to get out under this punishing bombardment. Here's what one woman had to say after her family fled from the east of the country. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): They struck right next to our house, and our building was shaking. We got very stressed. This is why we had to leave. When we came here, we were told it's safe here. This situation is very tragic. The strikes were right next to us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: The Israeli government says it is targeting Hezbollah targets, but that can be pretty misleading, as I described last hour to you, Lynda. My family in Lebanon, my in laws are among those who have been displaced by the repeated Israeli bombardments of the southern suburb of Beirut. My mother-in-law was a block and away from an Israeli air strike on Friday that terrified her and my wife's grandmother, who is paralyzed and cannot walk. They had to be evacuated and are now sheltering in another neighborhood. That airstrike killed 41 people. It dropped a nine story building in a densely populated neighborhood. That neighborhood has been bombed again in Monday's bombardment.

So ordinary people who have no affiliation whatsoever with Lebanon's most powerful political and military movement, Hezbollah, a guerilla militia, force of fighters, people who have no links to it whatsoever, are now terrified and taking shelter wherever they can find it. So that is the reality of what this means for ordinary civilians.

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Again, we've already seen nearly 100 women and children killed in a single day on Monday, and the way, the rhetoric is heating up, with both Hezbollah declaring a battle without limits, with the Israeli prime minister saying that Israel will change the balance of power in the north of Israel. This indicates that there will be many more innocent civilians killed and maimed, likely in the days ahead.

KINKADE: Our thoughts are with your family and all those innocent civilians who are dealing with this trauma right now. Ivan Watson in Hong Kong, thank you.

Well, France's foreign minister is requesting an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to address those strikes in Lebanon. The group already has one meeting on the books for Tuesday with Ukraine's president a featured speaker. CNN. Richard Roth previews what else to expect in the coming days.

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RICHARD ROTH, CNN UNITED NATIONAS CORRESPONDENT: Once again, it's a general assembly, high level meeting overshadowed by wars and crises around the globe. Take Gaza and southern Lebanon Israel involved in both. The Israeli ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon, defended his country's attacks on Hezbollah.

DANNY DANON, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: We don't want to escalate the situation. We don't want a wall today all if we will not have other choice, we will push back Hezbollah. It will be painful for the Lebanese people in southern Lebanon, but we don't see any other choice.

ROTH: Jordan and Egypt have requested a Security Council meeting on the latest fighting. But little is expected. There have already been dozens of meetings since the war began October 7. Prime Minister Netanyahu is scheduled to be giving a speech here at the General Assembly Friday morning, but his appearance keeps getting delayed, and there's still a possibility he may not appear at all due to developments back home.

Iran's new president lashed out at Israel, asking for United Nations help to stop Israel's aggression.

MASOUD PEZESHKIAN, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The end of occupation, the cessation of apartheid in Palestine, and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza are prerequisites for global development and peace. The Islamic Republic of Iran is prepared to work with other countries to achieve common global goals.

ROTH: President Zelenskyy of Ukraine is one of the speakers this week. He will meet with President Biden, Vice President Harris, and former President Trump, though not necessarily here in the building. President Zelenskyy addressed the UN's Summit for the Future, which was agreed upon Sunday. However, it's not enforceable.For Zelenskyy, he has what he's called a victory plan that he's going to show President Biden in Washington.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: I invite all leaders nations to continue supporting our joint efforts for a just and peaceful future.

ROTH: It will be President Biden's final General Assembly appearance. He's likely to stress unity once again. But the way these crises in Sudan, Gaza and Ukraine are going, a lot more will be needed to make any progress. Richard Roth, CNN, United Nations.

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KINKADE: Two storm systems are developing this hour. First hurricane John made landfall last hour off the coast of Southern Mexico as a category three storm. The National Hurricane Center says life threatening storm surge is expected to produce significant coastal flooding.

The storm will also bring heavy rainfall, flash flooding and mudslides to that region. An area of thunderstorms in the Caribbean is expected to develop into hurricane Helen later this week. The National Hurricane Center says it is intensifying over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico to potentially gain hurricane strength by Wednesday, before slamming into the U.S. Gulf Coast later this week. CNN's Chad Myers has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We are watching a storm that will be hurricane Helene by Wednesday, could possibly be a major hurricane by Thursday. Tropical storm watch is already in effect for the Lower Keys warnings for the western part of Cuba and also toward Cancun.

But this is a storm in very warm water. The models are all kind of in agreement on where it should be going doesn't really have a big center yet, but we'll watch that, and the models will do a better job when that happens. What we know is that the water temperatures are in the upper 80s and the middle 80s. That's well warm enough to get rapid intensification.

And in fact, the American model is significantly stronger. Many other models are too than the European model. But we'll have to see where this goes in the days to come. The problem is we don't have that many days to come. This will be onshore on Thursday, whether it will be Tampa or all the way to the left on the west side of that cone. We'll have to see.

What we do know is that there will be significant power outages.

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There will be an awful lot of flooding, all this red here, six inches of rain or more, and the waves in the Gulf of Mexico, not that you're going to be out there, I hope will be 40 feet as they crest there in the middle. So yes, Helene is next, and then it will be Isaac. But this could be a very big, impactful storm for the Gulf Coast, left or right of that middle we'll have to see this is just getting going, but we won't have a lot of time to prepare.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Thanks to Chad Myers there. Well, Florida is already gearing up for the storm. Governor Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency in 41 of the state's 67 counties.

Well, still to come. More serious charges are expected against the man accused of plotting to kill Donald Trump on his golf course. We'll have the latest evidence in that case. Plus, sometimes words just aren't enough. Luckily, new emojis will be making their way to your keyboard and smartphone next year. We'll have a preview next.

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KINKADE: Welcome back. A judge has ordered the man suspected of trying to assassinate Donald Trump, just over a week ago to remain behind bars. During a hearing Monday, prosecutors revealed new details against Ryan Routh. They say he will soon be charged with attempting to assassinate the former U.S. president. Here's more now from CNN Randi Kaye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In court, we learned more about a letter that was provided from a witness who said Ryan Routh dropped a box at his home a while ago, and that box was passed on to federal investigators. In it was a handwritten letter, according to investigators that they believe Ryan Routh wrote, and that letter says, in part, this was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, but I failed you. I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster. It is up to you now to finish the job, and then he went on to offer $150,000 to whomever could complete the job.

We also learned from the agents in court that the defendant, Ryan Routh, they believe, was in a position that provided a clear line of fire to the sixth hole putting green. Now, remember, Donald Trump was on the fifth hole putting green at the time this all occurred that would have put him about 12 to 15 minutes away from the sixth hole putting green.

Also, if he had gotten to the six hole putting green, he would have been about 100 feet. Investigators say from who they believe is Ryan Routh in that in that position in the bushes. Also new information regarding the scope that was attached to the weapon that was discovered at the scene that we are told was attached to the weapon by electrical tape. And investigators in court said that they -- there was a fingerprint that they believe belongs to Ryan Routh on that electrical tape. That is a preliminary finding. They are still looking into that.

We also know there was a letter now addressed to the New York Times that was found at the scene. They did test that letter for fingerprints and DNA. They have not found Ryan Routh's fingerprints or DNA on it just yet, but they did find a fingerprint belonging to someone else.

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The FBI agent who was testifying did not say who that person is, who that fingerprint belongs to, or what was in the letter. Also, they did search Routh's car. They found a Hawaii driver's license and a passport in his name, along with 12 pairs of gloves and six cell phones. One of the cell phones, prosecutors say, included a search, a Google search from how to get from Palm Beach County, where this all happened, to Mexico.

Also they found cell phone data that would have placed Ryan Routh in this area for about a month before this incident occurred. They said that he arrived here as of August 14. That's according to cell phone data pinging off the cell phone towers in the area. And finally, there was a handwritten list of dates and venues, prosecutors say, that was found in his car. Those include dates where Donald Trump was expected to appear before election day. They believe that that handwritten list was written by Ryan Routh. Randi Kaye, CNN, Palm Beach County, Florida.

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KINKADE: Well, Donald Trump visited the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania on Monday, where a Quinnipiac University poll shows his Democratic rival Kamala Harris with a modest six point advantage. Republican presidential nominee claimed that he is a protector of women and raised doubts about early voting during a rally in the town of Indiana. CNN's Danny Freeman was there. Former

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DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump spoke for just over an hour and a half at a rally here in Indiana, Pennsylvania, this area of Western Pennsylvania really crucial to the campaign, in case he hopes to carry the great Commonwealth once again in 2024. He won this specific county about an hour east of Pittsburgh, both in 2016 and in 2020 so if he hopes to carry the state, he really needs to boost his numbers in these specific more rural areas of Pennsylvania.

Now the rally was a relatively normal Trump campaign event. The former president stuck to the teleprompter a good amount in the beginning of his remarks, he focused on the economy, on the Biden administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan, and hit on fracking, of course, an important issue here in Pennsylvania, but he did drift off topic as well, at one point, lamenting Johnny Carson no longer being the host of The Tonight Show, complaining about the moderators of the last debate and also criticizing vice president Kamala Harris for her interview with Oprah recently. But the supportive crowd here, they really ate up a lot of what the former president was saying here, including when he spent time talking specifically about immigration. Take a listen.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: She's been in office for three and a half years. She's saying what she's going to do if she becomes president, but she's been there almost four years. She hasn't done anything except destroy our country with millions of people that shouldn't be here. Whether she was the border czar or just the person in charge of the border, it's been the worst thing ever, maybe one of the worst things ever happened to our country. Look at what's happening in Springfield, Ohio.

FREEMAN: Now earlier in the day, former President Trump participated in a roundtable with Pennsylvania farmers where he discussed the economy. He also made a rare off the record stop at a local grocery store to meet and greet with some voters. And also note that on Monday evening, we learned from CNN Alayna Treene that former President Trump intends to return to Butler in early October. Butler, Pennsylvania, of course, the place where former President Trump was shot at a campaign rally back in July. Danny Freeman, CNN, Indiana, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Meanwhile, we're hearing Kamala Harris and her campaign are considering a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border later this week, while the Vice President is in Arizona, polls show Trump with the lead in that key swing state. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Harris campaign officials are weighing a potential visit by the Vice President to the U.S.-Mexico border on Friday, when she is set to visit the battleground state of Arizona, the reason sources tell me is that they are trying to narrow the gap in polling. Of course, former President Donald Trump has held a lead in polls when it comes to the issue of immigration, but while some campaign officials remain concerned about that lead, they also see an opportunity to close the gap.

Now, one source telling me that no final decision has been made, and of course, the Vice President has visited the U.S.-Mexico border as Vice President, as well as California senator and as Attorney General in that state. But a visit to Arizona would also come at a time where former President Donald Trump is leading in the polls, and as border crossings remain low, the lowest they've been since 2020, but Republicans have tried to cast the vice president falsely so as the borders czar so only putting her responsible for border security.

Well, that hasn't been the case. Instead, she has been focused on the root causes of migration in Central America. Border. visit would offer the opportunity campaign officials say, for her to deliver her message on this issue.

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One, where she has been talking about her work as Attorney General, tackling transnational gangs, but also saying that the former president is unserious about the border for tanking that bipartisan border bill. All the same, the Vice President is slated to visit Arizona later this week, that will later be followed by Nevada, two important states that she is trying to gain a lead on former President Donald Trump, ahead of November. Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, Washington.

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KINKADE: And NASA astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts safely back on Earth. They touched down in Kazakhstan in a Soyuz capsule Monday after a parachute assisted landing. Oleg Kononenko holds the record spending 1,111 days in space over five missions.

NASA astronaut Suni Williams is now in command in the International Space Station. She's due to return to Earth, along with Butch Wilmore next year.

Well, if you rely on emojis to get a message across, it's a big day. A new ones are coming to your smartphone next year. The most anticipated is an exhausted face with bags under its eyes. Others include a fingerprint, a splat, a root vegetable, a harp and a shovel. The leafless tree is meant to raise awareness about climate change. New emojis don't just happen every day. It's a formal process led by the Unicorn Consortium, a nonprofit which oversees global emoji standards.

Well, CNN spoke with the chair of the Emoji Standard and Research Working Group, we asked her what makes for a good emoji and how the approval process works.

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JENNIFER DANIEL, UTC EMOJI STANDARD AND RESEARCH WORKING GROUP: Well, there's obviously those criteria that we were looking for. So anyone could submit an emoji proposal, all it has to do is include a number of factors. So these are things like, can someone tell what it is? Right? The image distinctiveness. How many times have you squinted at your keyboard and you're like, I can't even tell what this is. So it's really important that you can actually tell what it is.

Another is that it has multiple uses, meaning can it be used symbolically? Can it be used metaphorically? Can it be used outside of just literally representing itself?

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KINKADE: Well, different smartphone operating systems like Apple's iOS and Alphabets' Android are free to put their own spin on the emoji designs. Well, thanks so much for watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Coming up next on CNN, Christiane Amanpour's exclusive interview with Siamak Namazi, the American recently freed after spending eight years wrongfully detained in Iran.

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