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U.S. and Allies Call for 21-Day Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire; Southeastern U.S. Bracing for Historic Storm's Arrival; Trump Blames Zelenskyy, Not Russia, for Ongoing Conflict; Israel and Hezbollah Trade More Cross-Border Fire; Cat 1 Storm Churning Through Gulf Towards Florida; Two Giant Pandas Gifted from Beijing Arrive in Hong Kong. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired September 26, 2024 - 00:00   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 INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Lynda Kinkade live in Atlanta. Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.

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ANTONIO GUTERRES, UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL: Hell is breaking moves in Lebanon.

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KINKADE: A desperate push for ceasefire in Lebanon, as Israel and Hezbollah trade more rocket fire, and there are fears of a possible ground offensive.

Plus fast and powerful. Hurricane Helene to grow even stronger as it barrels towards the southeast of the U.S. And Vladimir Putin's new warning to the West, threatening to use nuclear weapons if Russia is struck by conventional missiles.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Lynda Kinkade.

KINKADE: Well, Israel's warning of a possible ground incursion into Lebanon as France and the U.S. call for a ceasefire. Another 81 people were killed by Israeli strikes Wednesday, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. That puts the death toll since Monday at well over 600, including women and children.

Israel claims it's hit more than 2,000 targets in the past three days and that includes 70 Hezbollah intelligence facilities. At the Israeli-Lebanese border, Israel's military chief met with troops telling them to prepare for a possible invasion into Lebanon.

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LT. GEN. HERZI HALEVI, CHIEF OF THE GENERAL STAFF, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES (through translator): Today we will continue. We are not stopping. We keep striking and hitting them everywhere. The goal is very clear, to safely return the residents of the north. To achieve that, we are preparing the process of a maneuver, which means your military boots, your maneuvering boots will enter enemy territory.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Pressure is mounting to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. At the United Nations, the U.S., France and other allies called for a 21-day ceasefire. The French foreign minister plans to travel to Beirut this week to meet with key stakeholders.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned world leaders that hell is breaking out in Lebanon. He said military escalation is in no one's interest and called on both sides to avoid an all-out war.

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GUTERRES: To all sides, let us say in one clear voice, stop the killing and destruction. Tone down the rhetoric and threats. Step back from the brink. An all-out war must be avoided at all costs. It would surely be an all-out catastrophe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, let's bring in CNN's senior international correspondent Ivan Watson with the latest.

Ivan, good to have you with us. So no one wants to see an escalation here. The U.S. and allies have proposed a ceasefire. Just take us through the details. And is there any chance both Israel and Hezbollah will go for it?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That is the big question here, and I think that many analysts will argue that the all- out war is already underway. And yet we do have this proposal which there's a joint statement from the U.S. and French presidents. They're calling for an immediate 21-day ceasefire. They have been scrambling in New York to have it endorsed by allies such as the European Union and Germany, Japan, Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, among others, basically calling on both sides to stop fighting for 21 days to create a space for some kind of negotiation to get as they put it the civilian populations back to these border areas.

The diplomacy, the U.S. officials are saying that both parties are broadly familiar with this proposal. The question will be how will Hezbollah and the Israeli government respond? Let's give you a sense of some of the rhetoric that we were hearing from an Israeli diplomat as well as the interim Lebanese prime minister in New York. Take a listen.

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NAJIB MIKATI, LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I am here today hoping to come out of this session with a serious solution based on the joint efforts of all the members of the Security Council to put pressure on Israel to achieve an immediate ceasefire on all fronts.

DANNY DANON, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: We are grateful for those who are making a sincere effort with diplomacy to avoid escalation, to avoid a full war, we are open to ideas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Now, here's the problem. Israel says it wants its civilian population more than 50,000 people, back living peacefully in northern Israel. Hezbollah says, it will stop firing rockets across the border if there is peace and a ceasefire in Gaza.

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The U.S. has been leading efforts to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza now, but we are approaching the one-year anniversary of that conflict, a conflict that has killed more than 40,000 people. And that is why there are -- there's some real skepticism about whether or not this could actually work -- Lynda.

KINKADE: I mean, that's the key, right? I mean, these talks to have a ceasefire in Gaza have been going on for such a long time. But in terms of the fighting that we're seeing between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, is there any sign of a letup in that fighting?

WATSON: Not at all. In fact, the Israeli military says that it's carried out strikes against more than 2,000 locations in Lebanon in just a three-day period. The Lebanese Health Ministry says that on Wednesday alone at least 81 people were killed by the Israeli bombing and more than 400 people wounded. The United Nations says more than 90,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon in just the last couple of days.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah has continued to fire rockets and missiles across the border. And in what is clearly a warning or a threat, it fired for what we believe was the very first time what it described as a ballistic Qadr 1 missile at what it says is the Mossad Israeli intelligence headquarters in Tel Aviv on Wednesday. That was shot down successfully by Israeli Air Defenses. No reports of any casualties on the Israeli side of the border.

The fact that Hezbollah fired only one projectile in this case, didn't try to swarm and overwhelm Israeli air defenses, suggests that this was more symbolic than a real effort to try to cause any real lasting damage.

Meanwhile, the Israeli prime minister is planning to travel to New York to address the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday, and in a sign of what could happen, the pro-Iranian militia in Iraq has claimed responsibility for what it says was a drone attack in southern Israel in a port there. That is a hint of the conflagration that could potentially come if Hezbollah and all its Iran-backed allies do truly engage in an all-out war with Israel. That is what everybody is afraid of right now.

KINKADE: Yes, a huge risk right now.

Ivan Watson for us in Hong Kong, good to have you with us. Thank you.

Well, joining me now from Washington is retired U.S. Air Force colonel and CNN military analyst, Cedric Leighton.

Good to have you with us.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good to be with you, Lynda.

KINKADE: So this is what we heard from the Israeli military chief talking to forces on the Israeli-Lebanese border a short time ago. He said, your military boots will enter enemy territory. What are the expectations for this potential next stage of this battle?

LEIGHTON: Yes, as far as the Israeli military is concerned, Lynda, the main effort is going to probably be in the southern part of Lebanon. That's of course the most logical thing for them to do from a land incursion perspective. And I suspect that they're going to move forward to the boundary, the natural boundary of the Litani River. So that's about 18 or so miles into Lebanese territory.

With that, what they're going to able to do is basically take out a large area that is controlled, de facto controlled by Hezbollah forces. That means a lot of the launch sites, a lot of the other capabilities that the Hezbollah forces have would then fall into Israeli hands, assuming that the IDF is successful in this kind of an incursion.

What has also happened of course is the air campaign. That air campaign conducted by the Israeli air force has basically pummeled that area of Lebanon. They've also hit targets in other areas like the Beqaa Valley and of course in Beirut, but the key thing here is to really lay the groundwork for a possible invasion or incursion into southern Lebanon. And that is what the IDF is clearly preparing for at this point.

KINKADE: So given the escalation we've already seen, this aerial bombardment, and now the potential of this ground invasion, what is the risks that this could expand to become an all-out war like the one in 2006?

LEIGHTON: Yes, that's a very considerable risk. The one in 2006, of course, had a major impact on Lebanon and it created situations that we're dealing with to this day. And I think what would happen in this particular case is that Hezbollah would of course (INAUDIBLE) as much as they could against any Israeli incursion.

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There would be a much more accelerated deployment of rockets and possibly missiles as well into Israeli territory. And instead of this symbolic attacks as Ivan was mentioning in his report, we might see actual attacks against Israeli targets, assuming they could get through the Israeli missile defense system.

Then the other part of this, of course, is the regional actors in addition to Hezbollah, you would have malicious that are also proxies of Iran from Iraq, from Yemen, that could potentially also launch attacks against Israel in sympathy and in conjunction with what Hezbollah is doing. So this could very easily spread beyond Lebanon and Israel, and could potentially involve other actors and even Iran itself. And that of course would be something that the U.S. and the Western powers, other Western powers is trying to avoid.

KINKADE: And I'm wondering how Hezbollah's military wing compares in strength to the Lebanese army, and whether or not Lebanon would deploy its own force here to push Israel out should there be a ground incursion?

LEIGHTON: I don't think the Lebanese forces would engage the Israelis, at least not in the way that Hezbollah would. The Lebanese forces are frankly not as powerful as Hezbollah. They do have some modern equipment. They have supplies in part from the U.S. and from other Western nations. But really the key armed force in London right now is Hezbollah. Hezbollah financed and supplied by Iran and other countries are allied with Iran, such as Russia.

And that makes a huge difference when it comes to the battlefield. Hezbollah is far more ready to fight a war with Israel than the Lebanese army is. And so I don't see the Lebanese army playing a great role in this at all.

KINKADE: All right. Colonel Cedric Leighton, great to get your analysis from Washington. Thanks for your time.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Lynda.

KINKADE: A hurricane heading towards Florida is on track to be the strongest to hit the U.S. in over a year. It's expected to make landfall Thursday evening and experts warn Hurricane Helene could become one of the largest storms in the country in over 100 years, impacting not just Florida, but much of the southeast as it moves further north including Georgia, North and South Carolina and Virginia.

Right now, it's a category one hurricane, but it is expected to make landfall in Florida as a category four storm, with catastrophic winds of more than 130 miles per hour. That's more than 200 kilometers an hour. Helene is churning through the Gulf of Mexico, dumping torrential rain in Mexico and Cuba. The

flooding you see here is just a taste of what's in store in the days ahead in the U.S. Evacuations are well underway in the state of Florida ahead of the storm's arrival. Hundreds of flights for Thursday have already been canceled.

CNN meteorologist Chad Myers has the latest on the hurricane and what the southern U.S. can expect.

We're having some issues with that audio. We'll try and fix that and get that to you.

I just want to welcome Vincent S. Long, administrator for Leon County, Florida, in the direct path of the hurricane's projected track.

Good to have you with us. VINCENT S. LONG, LEON COUNTY, FLORIDA ADMINISTRATOR: Thank you for

having me, Lynda.

KINKADE: So if you could just describe what you're seeing right now as this hurricane intensifies and heads towards Florida?

LONG: Well, we're experiencing a little bit of the calm before the storm. We are getting a little bit of rain now, but as you can imagine, this storm has our undivided attention. We've been monitoring the storm since its very early stages last week and actively preparing our community to best protect our citizens from what is now, as you've reported, a major hurricane, a very powerful hurricane, a cat four, which is a historic hurricane to hit our community, which is saying something.

We have an awful lot of experience with hurricanes in this region but we expect this one certainly to have a tremendous impact on the community. But we're also hopeful that our citizens have heeded our guidance and have taken that to heart and have effectuated their plans and we are as prepared as you can be for a storm of this magnitude. We've done all of our early coordination and communications and within a matter of hours, we will brace for the impact of the storm.

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Soon thereafter we will respond with conducting damage assessments and that will be followed with rolling up our sleeves and doing the work of restoring our community.

KINKADE: So at this point in time, it is expected to be a category four hurricane when it makes landfall Thursday evening. What concerns you most, the ferocious winds or the potential of a huge storm surge?

LONG: Well, we are not as vulnerable in our community to storm surge as our neighbors on the coast. Our coastline is about 25 miles away, which is not very far, but our community here is renowned for our tree canopy and we expect, and we've been informing our community very actively to expect thousands of trees down, which could block hundreds of roads which could lead to prolonged power outages again.

So that is really what we are expecting to see here in our community, which could take a very long time for us to recover. So at this point in time again with really only hours and not much planning time left we are informing our community especially those who live in mobile homes that if they have not evacuated, and we have a mandatory evacuation of mobile homes, but they have not evacuated to do so now and to avail themselves of one of our shelters that we've stood up throughout the community, and if they've decided to stay, then to button up their homes and to be we very aware of trees and downed power lines, and to check on their neighbors and their family members and friends to ensure that they are as safe as they can be.

KINKADE: And how many people can be accommodated in those evacuation shelters? And do you know in terms of the numbers, how many people have evacuated at this point in time? LONG: So far we have a little over 200 in our seven shelters combined,

and we can accommodate thousands of people in our shelters, so there is ample room in our shelters and we will be able to accommodate anyone who's in need of emergency shelter.

KINKADE: Florida, of course, as you mentioned, is used to experiencing hurricanes. How does this one compare to what you've seen in years gone?

LONG: We really don't have a comparable to what we're seeing here. What we're seeing here is, as you've reported, 130-mile-an-hour winds, up to 130-mile-an-hour winds, which again, since 2016, we have experienced the impact of five hurricanes. Helene would be the sixth, but nothing of this magnitude. We really don't have a comparable to this. We know our vulnerabilities. Again this tree canopy, which is what we're known for and it's very beautiful, makes us very vulnerable to downed trees and downed power lines, and again, prolonged power outages and blocked roads.

The --- and people should know that again this could take some time. This may not be a sprint, but a marathon. And it's something that we've planned for and we certainly have prepared for. But again we could be responding to emergencies. We could be responding -- we will be responding to critical infrastructure and I thank our citizens just need to know that again responding to individual needs and conveniences that we're used to. Again, this could be something that takes quite a while for our community to fully respond -- fully recover from.

KINKADE: Yes. It could be a few tough days and potentially weeks ahead.

Vincent Long, really appreciate your time. And we wish you all the very best.

LONG: Thank you, Lynda.

KINKADE: New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted in at least one federal criminal charge. That's according to sources familiar with the matter who say Adams will have several days to turn himself in. The charges he's facing are not publicly known at this time. It follows months of federal investigation into campaign fundraising violations. The mayor says he's innocent and he won't step down.

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MAYOR ERIC ADAMS, NEW YORK CITY: These charges will be entirely false based on lies. But they would not be surprised. I always knew that if I stood my ground for all of you, that I would be a target, and a target I became.

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KINKADE: Well, the indictment intensifies the legal troubles gripping city hall where federal probes have been targeting the mayor's inner circle. [00:20:01]

Russia announces changes to its nuclear policy. Vladimir Putin is emphasizing a key distinction linked to the war in Ukraine. The shift comes as the Ukrainian and U.S. presidents are set to meet at the White House. Plus Kamala Harris calls out Donald Trump on his tariff hikes and his claim that he is a protector of women. Stay with us.

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KINKADE: Ukraine's president is set to unveil his victory plan to defeat Russia at a key meeting with U.S. president Joe Biden in the coming hours. Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits Washington Thursday a day after he met with world leaders at the U.N. in New York. The Biden administration is pledging long-term support for Ukraine despite political uncertainty. The U.S. announced a new aid package for Kyiv Wednesday worth $375 million.

Earlier, Mr. Biden and other world leaders signed a joint declaration, promising to support Ukraine's recovery and rebuilding efforts. Mr. Zelenskyy addressed the U.N. General Assembly Wednesday warning that Russian president Putin is looking for ways to, quote, "break the Ukrainian spirit," including increased strikes on Ukraine's energy grid as it heads into winter.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Russia is getting images and detailed information about the infrastructure of our nuclear power plants. But what does this really threaten any missile or drone strike, any critical incident in the energy system could lead to a nuclear disaster. A day like that must never come.

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KINKADE: Russia has announced that it has changed its official nuclear policy because if Ukrainian strikes backed by the West. President Vladimir Putin warned nuclear weapons could be deployed if Russia is struck by conventional weapons. And he underscored one key policy change in particular.

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VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): In the updated version of the document, an aggression against Russia by any non- nuclear state but with the participation or support of a nuclear state is proposed to be considered as their joint attack on the Russian federation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: He also announced that its ally Belarus is now under its nuclear umbrella. The Kremlin says its decision to change Russia's nuclear policy is a response to deliberations in the U.S. and U.K. about whether to give Ukraine permission to fire conventional Western missiles into Russian territory. Donald Trump is lashing out at Mr. Zelenskyy, blaming him and not

Russia for the ongoing war. Trump's wild, false and unsolicited remarks about Ukraine included claims that millions of people have died there since the invasion, and that the country has been obliterated and is beyond hope.

CNN's Alayna Treene reports.

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ALAYNA TREENE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Former president Donald Trump was back in North Carolina on Wednesday for a speech that his campaign billed as being on the economy, but it was very clear during his remarks that he also had an eye on the foreign leaders who are currently in the United States for the U.N. General Assembly.

Now at one point during his remarks, Donald Trump unprompted brought up the war in Ukraine and also began to sharply criticizing the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy's handling of the war. He argued that Zelenskyy should have accepted a deal much earlier on, even if it was a bad deal with Russia to avoid what Trump argued was Ukraine now being gone as a country. Take a listen to what he said.

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DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Those buildings are down, those cities are gone. They're gone. And we continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refuses to make a deal, Zelenskyy. There was no deal that he could have made that wouldn't have been better than the situation you have right now. You have a country that has been obliterated, not possible to be rebuilt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, Donald Trump also sharply criticized both Joe Biden as well as Kamala Harris' handling of this war. He argued that the two of them have been, quote, "feeding Zelenskyy money and munitions like no country has ever seen before."

And the reason this is so important is because this is really the first time we have heard Donald Trump publicly be so critical of Zelenskyy and it also is one of the clearest indications yet that if he is elected in November, he would significantly pare back support to Ukraine.

Now, the context of this is also notable. It comes as President Joe Biden is expected to meet with Zelenskyy this week. It also comes as I'm told that Donald Trump has no plans to meet with Zelenskyy, even though the former president is slated to be in New York City on Thursday. And one thing to keep in mind as well is behind the scenes, Donald Trump has been also pretty critical of Zelenskyy this week. It comes after Zelenskyy made -- did an interview over the weekend where he was critical of J.D. Vance and argued that Donald Trump's running mate would want to end the war in Ukraine, even at the expense of Ukraine as a country.

Alayna Treene, CNN, Charlotte, North Carolina.

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KINKADE: Well, Kamala Harris is taking aim at Trump's economic plan, saying it will lead to a recession. During an interview with MSNBC, the Democratic presidential nomination said his threat to impose a broad hike on tariffs shows he's not very serious, adding that, that's not an idea you should just throw around. The vice president said the U.S. will need to raise corporate taxes to pay for her economic initiatives, which included an expanded childcare credit and assistance for first-time homebuyers.

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KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: top economist in our country from Nobel Laureates to people at Moody's and Goldman Sachs have compared my plan with his and said my plan would grow the economy. His would shrink the economy. Some of them have actually assessed that his plan would increase inflation and invite a recession by the middle of next year.

So the facts remain that Donald Trump has a history of taking care of very rich people. My perspective on the economy is when you grow the middle-class, America's economy is stronger. And there's empirical evidence to prove my point correct.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, Harris also responded to Trump's recent claim that he is a, quote, "protector of women." She argued that he actually punished women by appointing three Supreme Court justices who helped overturn federal abortion rights.

The U.S. and its allies are proposing a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. But as they push for a pause in the fighting, Israel is floating the possibility of a ground invasion in Lebanon. That story ahead. Plus Hurricane Helene rocked parts of Cuba with heavy rain and strong winds. We'll get a report from Havana after the break.

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KINKADE: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Let's get you up to speed with the latest on the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

[00:31:36]

The U.S. and its allies are calling for a 21-day ceasefire amid fears the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah can snowball into an all-out war in the region.

A U.S. official says the deal would provide more time to reach a diplomatic settlement and potentially galvanize talks in Gaza. U.S. President Joe Biden had this to say. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We put out a statement for a 21-day ceasefire along the Israeli-Lebanese border. We were able to generate significant support from Europe, as well as the Arab nations. It's important this does not widen.

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KINKADE: So far, strikes in Lebanon have killed more than 600 people this week.

Israel says it would prefer a diplomatic solution, but its army chief says a ground invasion into law Lebanon is on the table. Iran says it will not stay on the sidelines if a wider war breaks out.

Well, both Israel and Hezbollah have traded more fire Wednesday, including a first-of-a-kind strike attended by the militant group.

CNN's Nic Robertson explains.

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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): Close to a million people woken by the sound of Hezbollah's escalation, its first ballistic missile capable of carrying hundreds of pounds of explosives, intercepted just North of Tel Aviv.

Hezbollah said it was targeting Mossad, Israel's intelligence headquarters, its deepest strike into Israel yet.

JOHN KIRBY, SPOKESMAN, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: One of the key areas that we've been trying to prevent escalation is between Israel and Hezbollah up along that border with Lebanon.

So, obviously, we woke up this morning to these reports. Deeply concerning.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): The IDF quickly destroying the Hezbollah launcher. The missile itself, which caused no casualties, taken out by Israel's fast, high-altitude, David's Sling interceptor.

Other shorter-range Hezbollah missiles falling closer to the Lebanese border. Two men injured in this house, one seriously.

Across the border in Lebanon, Israel continuing its pressure on Hezbollah. Overnight airstrikes hitting a suspected Hezbollah ammo dump.

Bombing continuing Wednesday. Dozens of people killed. Among them, civilians. Hundreds dead already this week.

Tens of thousands of Lebanese on the move, trying to get out of harm's way. Israel warning them to stay away from their homes until it gives them the all-clear. This as Israeli commanders consider their coming moves at the Northern

border, the strongest signal, yet, Israel readying to deploy troops into Lebanon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We need to change the security situation, and we must be fully prepared for maneuvers, inaction.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Their ability for action enhance late Wednesday, the IDF calling up to reserve brigades, a few thousand additional troops.

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KIRBY: If you start to see ground forces moving, you know, then it definitely takes -- takes the fighting up a notch and we're trying to prevent exactly that outcome.

ROBERTSON: No decision yet, if or when troops will cross to Lebanon. If it happens, that, too, another escalation.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: We're tracking Hurricane Helene right now as it heads towards the U.S. More than 70 million people are under hard hurricane warnings.

This hour, at least across five states in the Southeast. Helene is a massive store, with tropical-storm-force winds extending up to 345 miles from the center. That's over 550 kilometers wide.

It's currently located in the Gulf of Mexico, heading towards Florida.

The storm is expected to make landfall Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane, with catastrophic winds and a storm surge.

Thousands of people have been evacuated. Others are boarding up homes and businesses.

Well, Hurricane Helene lashed parts of Cuba and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula earlier Wednesday. Heavy rainfall flooded parts of canned and surrounding areas, plunging vehicles underwater.

Powerful ocean waves also pounded the coastline.

Strong winds knocked out power to thousands of people in Cuba's Western province. CNN's Patrick Oppmann reports from Havana.

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PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The worst of Hurricane Helene appears to have passed through Cuba.

But for much of the day, on Wednesday a part of the island, the Western and even central parts of Cuba were rocked by -- OPPMANN (voice-over): -- heavy winds and rain. Flooding in Western Cuba still has some homes cut off, according to officials there. But 50,000 people in the Western-most Cuban province of Pinar del Rio are still without power, and it could be days for electricity to be restored there.

All those same though, many Cubans felt they missed the worst of this powerful hurricane. It did not make a direct hit on Cuba as it traveled between the Yucatan Peninsula and Mexico, and Western-most Cuba.

OPPMANN: It does not appear, though, that Florida is going to be as lucky. The Panhandle or Western part of Florida are looking to be hit by a powerful Category 4 hurricane. That is what forecasters are saying that Helene could strike.

And that is the kind of hurricane can bring absolutely devastating storm surge to coastal areas. I can knock out power for weeks take down a heavy trees and power lines.

So, residents are being urged to take final preparations as a storm much more powerful than the one that hit Cuba takes aim at Florida.

Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, still ahead, Hong Kong rolls out the red carpet to receive two giant pandas gifted from Beijing. We'll have the details next.

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KINKADE: Don't put all your eggs in one basket. It might end up costing you more than you'd expect.

And that's because the price of eggs is spiking yet again. In the U.S., it jumped to 28 percent last year. And the main culprit: bird flu.

The disease has impacted more than 100 million birds in the U.S. since January 2022, according to the CDC. That means fewer eggs. And of course, higher prices at the checkout.

Well, two five-year-old giant pandas gifted from Beijing to Hong Kong have just landed at Hong Kong International Airport. They join four other banners at the island's ocean park animal theme park.

But first, they will be transported in royal fashion to the facility, where they will quarantine for 30 days.

Our Kristie Lu Stout has the details from Hong Kong.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR/CORRESPONDENT: Hong Kong is rolling out the red carpet for two very important pandas.

They are national treasures gifted by the Chinese central government to Hong Kong ahead of the National Day holiday next week.

The pandas arrived here in Hong Kong before midday on Thursday. They had a welcoming ceremony at the airport before coming to their new home here at Ocean Park.

The two pandas, their names are An An and Ke Ke. They're five-years- old. They're from a panda conservation and research center in Sichuan province.

An An is male. Ke Ke is female. They're both born in June of 2019, but they are not genetically related, and their personalities are said to be very complimentary.

Now they're said to be in good health.

STOUT (voice-over): But they will undergo 30 days' quarantine here in Ocean Park before going through another month of acclimation, adjusting to their new environment.

There will also be a dietary transition. They will start to eat new bamboo from neighboring Guangdong province in addition to the bamboo from their home province of Sichuan.

and the public won't get a chance to see the dynamic duo until mid- December.

STOUT: Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: Our thanks to Kristie. I'm Lynda Kinkade. We're back at the top of the hour with much more CNN NEWSROOM. But first WORLD SPA -- WORLD SPORT, rather, starts in just a moment.

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