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Israel Prepares For Possible Ground Assault In Lebanon; Category 1 Storm Intensifies As It Takes Aim At Florida; Zelenskyy To Discuss Plan For Winning War In White House Talks; Trump Accuses Zelenskyy Of Refusing To Strike A Deal On War; Japanese Court Acquits Longest Serving Death Row Inmate; Intercepted Missile First Ever to Reach Tel Aviv from Lebanon; Kids Talk Politics; Hong Kong Gives Special Welcome to Giant Panda Pair. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired September 26, 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 and welcome. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Ahead on CNN Newsroom, fears of an expanding war in the Middle East grows. Israel's top general says a ground incursion against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon is possible.
Plus, hurricane Helene barreling towards the Gulf Coast and much of the southeast, with forecasters predicting it could become one of the largest storms to hit the country in a century.
And we'll hear from a group of fourth graders as part of a study on just how polarized U.S. politics has become.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with Lynda Kinkade.
KINKADE: Israel is 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 around 600 including women and children.
Israel claims it's hit more than 2,000 targets in the past three days. That includes 70 Hezbollah intelligence facilities. At the Israeli- Lebanese border, Israel's military chief met with the troops, telling them there to prepare for a possible invasion into Lebanon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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: The U.S., France and other allies, are calling for a 21 day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. I want to bring in CNN senior international correspondent Ivan Watson for more on that. Ivan, good to have you with us.
So, talk to us about this ceasefire proposal. What are the details, and is there any chance both Israel and Hezbollah will go for it?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's the million dollar question. The U.S. and France kind of spearheaded this effort, they're calling for an immediate ceasefire for 21 days to kind of avert an all out war that I think some critics argue, has already basically begun, and this has gotten the endorsement of a number of U.S. allies ranging from The European Union and Japan and Germany to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates and the U.S. official says that both parties, Israel and presumably, Hezbollah, are aware of the basic contours of this plan.
The challenges are this. Israel says it wants to return more than 60,000 of its civilian residents to Northern Israel. They have been forced to flee for nearly a year by this border conflict that has been underway between Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia, and Israel.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah's point of contention has been that it will stop firing rockets across the border, if Israel stops killing people in Gaza. That has been, of course, a conflict that has claimed more than 40,000 Palestinian lives and is approaching the one year mark.
And why? A reason why there is some skepticism about this is because the U.S. has purportedly been involved in negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza for nearly a year, and has come away from that process virtually empty handed. So we have to watch closely to see if there is any room for both of these warring parties to step away from the brink. Lynda.
KINKADE: Ivan Watson, we will check in with you again soon. Good to have you with us. Thank you.
Well, for more on this, I want to welcome Nabih Bulos, who is in Beirut. He's the Middle East Bureau Chief for the Los Angeles Times. Thanks for joining us.
NABIH BULOS, MIDDLE EAST BUREAU CHIEF, LOS ANGELES TIMES: Thank you for having me
KINKADE: So hell is breaking loose in Lebanon. That's how the U.N. chief describes it. How would you describe it? And how does this crisis compared to what Lebanon has dealt with in recent decades?
BULOS: Also, obviously, this is one of the largest attacks we've seen on Lebanon in decades, since 2006 when Hezbollah and Israel last face off in a in a major war. Now it should be said that the situation at least in Beirut and parts of Lebanon and the north where Hezbollah does not dominate.
[01:05:05]
I mean, remains fairly stable. Yes, there are, of course, people streaming from all over the country, and they're trying to find apartments and shelter. And you can actually go and see displaced people now in various parts of the capital. But life in Beirut and the north of Iran now continues fairly in a routine fashion, which, I mean, which I know sounds surprising, of course, given all that we've heard about and all that we sort of seized destruction, but that's because the destruction is mainly focused in the south of the country and the east.
So in that sense, that's how the feeling is. But of course, people are terrified and very worried. I mean, there are cancelations of flights. It's very, very hard now to find a flight out of the country, in fact, unless you go with the national carrier. And I mean, people are even streaming into Syria, which, as you know, is also, you know, in war.
KINKADE: Yes, exactly. Certainly dangerous to go that route too. You run into L.A. Times about the impact this attack has had on Hezbollah, saying the militant group appears to have hit its lowest point in more than its 40 year history. Explain that assessment for us.
BULOS: Also the fact is, Hezbollah has been building up its capability since (INAUDIBLE) six, right, and you've had a situation now where, I mean, you could argue that actually it's the most organized and best equipped paramilitary group in the world, and a lot of that is a function of its arsenal, but also that its cadres seem to be disciplined and have been able to, I mean, constitute a threat against Israel for quite some time.
And at the same time, the feeling it was growing in Lebanon, that the group has been preparing to fight the last war, and not a war now, which is to say that it just seems technologically outclassed if you consider what's happened in the last few weeks, right? I mean, you had the pager attack, you had the walkie talkie attack, but that was preceded by, actually, a long line of commanders being felled, one after another, and all these things hint at a massive security breach the group has not been able to plug or deal with in an effective fashion.
And what that means is that in many ways, it's facing a level of threat that it hasn't in the past, and it even sort of punctured the halo that the group had as this big threat indeed. I mean, some would argue that actually now it more resembles the feeling is it resembles Russia actually, after the beginning of the Ukraine war, when the image of a powerful Russian army was punctured, at least for a time.
KINKADE: Despite that, though, it was able to fire into or near Tel Aviv, even though it was intercepted some 24 hours ago, what does that tell you about its capability right now and the calculations being made on both sides?
BULOS: Well, so it should be said that Hezbollah does not want a wider war. I think even now that remains to be the case, right, there is no interest in that. And indeed, it makes sense that it would follow the strategy of continuing to bomb or, you know, or lobbing these rockets across the border. And the reason why this is so is because an intention is to merely keep, the North empty right, the left of Israel empty, and to also reduce the pressure on Gaza, right.
And so far, it is managing to do that. Even now it is managing to do that. And so, I mean, I realize that does not sound like a long term goal, and there is also an open account now with Israel, as the Hezbollah leaders have said at the same time, I mean they merely achieve as an insurgency, by I mean, a surviving and not letting Israel actually achieve its goals.
KINKADE: Yes, exactly. And Hezbollah has vowed to continue attacking Israel so long as the war in Gaza continues. There are so many world leaders pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza, and also this between Lebanon or Hezbollah and Israel right now. Is there a window for diplomacy as far as you can tell at this point in time?
BULOS: The south part is we've been hearing about diplomacy for the last year. I mean, if you look at what's been happening with like as a ceasefire, in many ways, it's become the new two-state solution, where we keep on hearing about negotiations, but nothing actually happens on the ground.
And unfortunately, this was very much an avoidable situation. I mean, as a ceasefire is something that you know, as you said, everyone has been pushing for, and at the same time it has not come to fruition. And now we're seeing the expansion of this war to other places. And it should be noted that there's also the Iraqi militias. There's also the immense Houthis, and all have said the same thing, they would stop if there was a ceasefire.
It's obviously the shortest way to get to there is to have a ceasefire. And yet, in cities, we are going the longest way to do so. So I mean, no, I don't really see any kind of space for it at this point. Unfortunately.
KINKADE: Yes, sad state of reality, really. Nabih Bulos, appreciate your time. Thanks so much for joining us from Beirut.
BULOS: Thank you for having me.
KINKADE: We are tracking hurricane Helene as it moves through the Gulf of Mexico right now towards Florida.
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It's on track to be the strongest storm to hit the U.S. in over a year. Helene is currently a category one hurricane, but is expected to make landfall as a category four storm with catastrophic winds of more than 130 miles per hour. That's more than 200 kilometers an hour.
The storm will bring record rainfall to the southeast of the country as it moves further inland. At its peak, Helene could expand to across 450 miles. That's roughly the distance between Washington, DC and Indianapolis.
Well, CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam is in Florida as residents there prepare for the storm's arrival.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: If this storm surge measurement is any indication of what's to come with approaching hurricane, then here in Apalachicola, we need to prepare for the worst. This shading of blue represents the potential storm surge inundation from a category four land flying hurricane, which we are anticipating here.
This is for a category three in this shading of red is inundation with a category two hurricane. Now with over 10 feet of storm surge right here where I'm located, that's what's in the forecast, you can see that that is nearly twice as high as how tall I am. This is the storm that people here have feared for their entire lives.
And the reason this area is so susceptible to storm surge and hurricanes is because of the shallow nature of the Gulf of Mexico over my right shoulder. You can go 50 miles out into the Gulf of Mexico and have only 10, 20 feet of water underneath you. Now that shelf actually drops off very quickly.
So an approaching storm pushes up the water from the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and that hits the shelf, and it has nowhere to go but up, of course, inundating this portion, the low lying area of Florida's big bent. Now we're under a mandatory evacuation here.
Now we know that this storm is not only going to bring the catastrophic winds to the coastline of Florida, the gulf coastline of Florida, but the feeling, the expanse of the storm is going to be significant because it's only growing in size, so not only intensifying in strength, but also growing in size. It could be one of the largest storms in terms of its wind field in modern record keeping. That is incredible, even eclipsing Hurricane Katrina. That means the effects of the system will be felt well outside of the center.
Now, once the storm races inland, it's going to bring these hurricane force gusts into central and southern Georgia as well. There's a lot of trees between here and Atlanta metro, for instance, so expect extended duration power outages and then not to mention the potential at least for unprecedented catastrophic flooding as this system dumps over at least 10 inches, maybe upwards of 15 inches, in some locations, across portions of South Carolina, Georgia and into North Carolina. Derek Van Dam, Apalachicola.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Joining me now is Tampa, Florida Mayor Jane Castor. Good to have you with us, Jane.
JANE CASTOR, MAYOR, TAMPA, FLORIDA: Thank you. It's great to be with you.
KINKADE: So this hurricane is rapidly intensifying. Tampa is expecting hurricane force winds. Just explain how your city is preparing for this. CASTOR: Well, you know, I feel that we live in paradise, but we do have hurricane season, so it's something that we begin to prepare for every June, and we have, you know, our city in place. We have our emergency shelters open. We have evacuation of Zone A, everything that is on the waterfront. We have mandatory of action in those locations. Police officers going around advising everyone they need to get out of those areas. We have distributed 50,000 sandbags to our residents.
And for those of us who were born and raised in Florida, we're used to these hurricanes, but we're one of the fastest growing cities in the nation, and so we have a lot of people that aren't used to them. So we're really trying to over communicate and get people to heed the warnings.
KINKADE: Yes, hopefully they are heeding those warnings. Can you explain first mayor, how this hurricane compares to ones that have impacted Florida and specifically Tampa in the past?
CASTOR: Well, these hurricanes are becoming more intense. You know, as the Gulf warms up, we have actually seen some unprecedented rainstorms in the past few months, and so really, our entire region is saturated, as much of Florida is. But these hurricanes, you know, they're growing more intense because of the warm water and the speed and the just the way that they form so quickly and gain strength so quickly.
And so for us, although this it doesn't look like it's going to be a direct hit. It's not the wind that we're worried about. It's storm surges.
[01:15:00]
And we're looking at anywhere from four to eight feet of storm surge sometime Thursday afternoon.
KINKADE: Yes, that storm surge. We're hearing could be particularly high if it coincides with high tide, right. At this point in time it's meant to coincide with low tide. Is that correct?
CASTOR: I know, and we could not be more fortunate of that. We usually have a couple of tides a day. We only have one tide tomorrow, and it will be low tide when the highest storm surge is predicted.
KINKADE: Hopefully it stays on that track. At this point in time here in Atlanta, we know that schools are closed for the next two days. We're expecting a category one winds here. What's the impact there on schools and businesses over the over the coming days?
CASTOR: Well, our schools are closed tomorrow and Friday, and businesses as well, city government, our courts are all shut down, as I stated. We opened up our shelters early this morning, and we have been evacuating individuals, and so we feel that we are prepared. And if hurricane Helene continues on this path and doesn't wobble one way or the other, we should be good as far as the wind is concerned. But it really is that water, the storm surge, that is going to hit us very hard.
KINKADE: Yes. And of course, the heat in the Atlantic Ocean, as you were mentioning earlier, is really what fuels these hurricanes. And a recent study by the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and Quebec University found that in the decade from 2010 to 2020, was the hottest decade in 3,000 years in that ocean.
What is Florida doing to cope as these hurricanes become more frequent and more intense?
CASTOR: Well, we're doing all that we can to address the sustainability and resiliency in our community, and every step that we can take to reduce our carbon footprint, we are doing so. But we are also ensuring that we're hardening as far as our construction is concerned, trying to move people off of the waterfronts, and also ensuring that we are fortifying our electric systems, going underground with a lot of the wires. So we're taking a number of steps. But you know, these hurricanes are getting more and more intense year over year.
KINKADE: Tampa, Florida Mayor Jane Castor, we appreciate your time. We wish you all the best to you and everyone in the city there of the coming days.
CASTOR: Thank you. I appreciate that.
KINKADE: Well, still ahead, Ukraine's president is set to present his victory plan against Russia. Volodymyr Zelenskyy heads to Washington and a meeting at the White House as he rallies support from key allies and world leaders.
Plus, Kamala Harris shares plans for expanding the middle class and manufacturing. We'll also explain why she says Donald Trump will only protect the ultra rich. Stay with us.
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KINKADE: Well, Ukraine's president is set to unveil his so called victory plan to defeat Russia at a key meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden. In the coming hours, the U.S. announced a new aid package for Kyiv on Wednesday, worth $375 million that's nearly double the size of recent shipments and more could be on the way.
On Wednesday, Mr. Biden and other world leaders signed a joint declaration promising to support Ukraine's recovery and rebuilding efforts. Mr. Zelenskyy then addressed the U.N. Wednesday, calling on the world to stand against what he called Russia's colonial war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: The world needs a peaceful future and sustainable development, and I say this as a president of Ukraine, a country resisting Russia's brutal colonial aggression. Putin has stolen much already, but he will never steal the world's future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, CNN's Frederik Pleitgen has more now from Kyiv.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Very important speech by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the United Nations General Assembly, and he tried to make several points. One of the key ones was that he said that Russia's full on invasion of Ukraine is a threat not just to the territorial integrity of Ukraine, but indeed to Europe and to the entire world.
One of the things that he headed a speech off with was nuclear safety, accusing the Russians of planning to attack Ukrainian nuclear facilities inside this country. Now, he said that, of course, would be a big threat not just to Ukraine's energy security, but also to the rest of Europe, and indeed, to the entire world if an incident like that got out of control.
The other thing that Ukraine's president was also doing is he was trying to prod something that he talking about for a very long time, which is what he calls his plan for a quote, just peace. Now, all of that revolves around Ukrainian territorial integrity being restored and Russian forces being forced to leave this country. He says that he needs the buy in of several nations, of course, around the world, but first and foremost, he will need the buy in of Ukraine's Western allies, the most important of which, of course, is the United States.
And all of this comes in an important week for Volodymyr Zelenskyy and for Ukraine as this war drags on. He is, of course, set to meet with US President Joe Biden on Thursday to try and sell to President Biden what the Ukrainians call the victory plan, where they essentially want to try and force the Russians into negotiations.
One of the key factors the Ukrainians have already said in that is their incursion into Russian territory. But they will also, most probably ask for substantially more weapons from the United States, more powerful weapons from the United States, but also to be allowed to use some of those longer distance weapons to strike deep into Russian territory. And Ukrainians that we speak to on the ground here tell us, for them, that would be absolutely key if they are to stabilize the situation on the front lines and try and push the Russians back. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Kyiv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, Russia says it's changed its official nuclear policy because of Ukrainian strikes backed by the West. President Vladimir Putin warned it could use nuclear weapons if struck by conventional weapons.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The conditions for Russia's transition to the use of nuclear weapons are clearly established. We will consider this possibility upon receipt of reliable information about a massive launch of air and space attack weapons and their crossing of our state border. I mean strategic or tactical aircraft, cruise missiles, drones, hypersonic and other aircraft.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Putin also said Moscow would consider any assault on its territory by a nonnuclear state that is supported by a nuclear power to be a joint attack. He said, ally, Belarus is now under its nuclear umbrella. The Kremlin also 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 Russia.
Donald Trump is lashing out at Mr. Zelenskyy blaming him and not Russia for the ongoing war. Trump's wild and unsolicited remarks about Ukraine included claims that millions of people have died since the invasion, and that the country has been obliterated and is beyond. And hope. CNN. Alayna Treene reports.
[01:25:03]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Former President Donald Trump was back in North Carolina on Wednesday for a speech that his campaign to build 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 sharply criticizing 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.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: 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.
TREENE: Now, Donald Trump also sharply criticized both Joe Biden as well as Kamala Harris's 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 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 were 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.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, Meanwhile, Kamala Harris is slamming Trump's economic plan, saying his tariff acts would lead to a recession and that he has a history of taking care of very rich people. The Democratic presidential nominee also explained how she intends to drum up funds for her signature programs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We're going to have to raise corporate taxes, and we're going to have to raise we're going to have to make sure that the biggest corporations and billionaires pay their fair share. That's just it. It's about paying their fair share. I am not mad at anyone for achieving success, but everyone should pay their fair share, and it is not right that the teachers and the firefighters that I meet every day across our country are paying a higher tax than the richest people in our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, a close look now at Harris's vision for the U.S. economy. CNN's Eva McKend reports from the battleground state of Pennsylvania.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EVA MCKEND, CNN U.S. NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: The vice president called for greater investments in manufacturing for new technologies that would impact communities like the ones right here in Pittsburgh.
She also called for increased investment in aerospace and artificial intelligence in a nod to how that would impact factory towns across the state of Pennsylvania. But ultimately, she seemed to want to make a cultural argument here, that when it comes to the challenges that everyday Americans have to confront, that former president, Donald Trump simply doesn't get it.
HARRIS: Donald Trump intends to take America backward to the failed policies of the past. He has no intention to grow our middle class. He's only interested in making life better for himself and people like himself, the wealthiest of Americans. MCKEND: And the criticism didn't end there. The Vice President accused the former president of being one of the biggest losers when it comes to manufacturing. She accused him of selling out America, saying that that is something that she would never do. Sell out the nation to America's adversaries or competitors.
Mark Cuban, the billionaire businessman, was in the crowd speaking to reporters after the event, and he was asked why the vice president continues to trail the former president in polling on the economy, and he simply said that she needs more time that, all in all, she is a relatively new candidate, and she's still out here making her case, but that most Americans will be able to connect with her argument when they get a better understanding of her economic vision for the country. Story. Eva McKend, CNN, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:29:44]
KINKADE: We're following breaking news out of Japan and the world's longest serving death row inmate has just had his name cleared.
A Japanese court acquitted the 88-year-old just moments ago, according to national broadcaster NHK. He had been sentenced to death in 1968 for murdering a family.
A retrial was ordered after new evidence appear to show he was innocent. The legal saga has fueled calls to abolish the death penalty in Japan.
CNN's Hanako Montgomery joins us now live from Tokyo. Good to have you with us. So this is extraordinary. He'd been on death row for 46 years, all along professing his innocence.
Now finally, he's free.
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Lynda like you said, Iwao Hakamata all have a mother has always maintained that he's been innocent. In fact, in a letter, the hundreds of letters that he sent to his family over the years from prison he discusses how he hopes that one day the court will see the truth and that he is in fact innocent. That he is not involved in the quadruple murder that happened in the 60s.
Now today finally, in a sense, justice has been served. He's been acquitted of these crimes. Of course, his family members, supporters for Hakamata are very pleased with the outcome of the verdict.
But some in Japan are also questioning whether really in the true sense, justice has really been served for this man. He spent 46 years behind bars, a majority of his life for the court to only now find that he never even committed those crimes in the first place. And he can't get those 46 years of his life back.
Now, human rights lawyers and supporters for Hakamata have said this case is very important to Japan because its emblematic of all that is wrong with the country's criminal justice system.
Hakamata, for every single day that he was in prison feared that he could be executed that very same day, because in Japan, they practice same-day execution, unlike in the United States.
So for death row inmates like himself, they could wake up every single day in fear that that day could be their last.
Now, those conditions that Hakamata had lived under and also the years that he spent behind bars for, again a crime that the court now says he never committed, led him to develop mental illness.
In fact, right now, he has a very hard time understanding what's going on. We spoke to his older sister who has been advocating for his innocence for years, for decades now. And she told us that she's not even sure when she's going to tell him that he's been acquitted because he just has a hard time understanding what is going on that he is going through a retrial.
So again, the conditions under which he's been kept, the evidence again in this case that according to the court has in part been fabricated by the police -- these are all conditions that have led to Hakamata suffering really in prison.
And again, has been a really a point of contention for his supporters and for human rights lawyers, Lynda.
KINKADE: Yes, it's really, really tough to finally be free, but at 88 years of age.
Hanako Montgomery, thanks so much.
Well, the U.S. and its allies are proposing a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. As they push for a pause in fighting, Israel is floating the possibility of a ground invasion of Lebanon. Details next.
[01:33:26]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade.
I want to get you up to speed on the latest on the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. The U.S. and its allies are calling for a 21-day ceasefire proposal amid fears the conflict can snowball into an all- out war.
A U.S. official says the deal would provide more time to reach a diplomatic settlement and potentially galvanize talks in Gaza.
So far strikes in Lebanon have killed more than 600 people. Israel says it would prefer a diplomatic solution, but its army chief still says a ground invasion into Lebanon is on the table.
Iran says it won't stay on the sidelines if a wider war breaks out. Well, both sides traded fire Wednesday, including a first-of-a-kind strike, attempted by the militant group.
CNN's Nic Robertson reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: 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, W.H. NATIONAL SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS ADVISER: 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: 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 home 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.
MAJ. GEN. ORI GORDIN, IDF COMMANDING OFFICER OF THE NORTHERN COMMAND (through translator): We need to change the security situation and we must be fully prepared for maneuvers and action.
ROBERTSON: Their ability for action enhanced late Wednesday. The IDF calling up two reserve brigades, a few thousand additional troops.
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 the Lebanon.
If it happens that too, another escalation. Nic Robertson, CNN -- Tel Aviv.
Families of Israeli hostages in Gaza say they're afraid the fighting with Hezbollah could overshadow the plight of their loved ones.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Hamas has not engaged in ceasefire and hostage release negotiations in the past few weeks.
Sources telling CNN senior U.S. officials have largely stopped their vigorous push for an agreement with Israel and Hamas showing no political will for a deal.
Other sources say a proposed 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah could help galvanize a deal between Israel and Hamas.
[01:39:51]
KINKADE: Well, to borrow a phrase from the popular 1990s TV show, "Sometimes Kids Say the Darnedest Things".
Coming up, what younger Americans have to say when we asked them about politics.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade.
We indeed live in a very politically-polarized time. And CNN wondered if that division is affecting future generations of voters.
So we decided to find out from them directly. We teamed up with a renowned political scientist from Stanford and a psychologist at the Arizona state University to design and conduct a study looking at polarization amongst fourth-graders.
Our experts asked us to find three schools, one from a town that went heavily for President Biden last election, one that went big for former President Trump in 2020, and one in an area evenly split.
We ended up in Democratic-leaning New Jersey, Republican-leaning Texas and Arizona, of course, the battleground state.
CNN got permission from all of the students' parents and guardians before talking with them. The experts first spoke to the students in spring before Biden dropped out of the race. And then returned in the last two weeks to see how things have changed.
As CNN's Anderson Cooper reports, they found that some children as young as ten are already extremely polarized.
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ASHELEY LANDRUM, PSYCHOLOGIST: What's the first word that pops into your head when you hear the name Kamala Harris?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Liar. LANDRUM: What's the first word that pops into your head when you hear Donald Trump?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pure evil.
LANDRUM: Which one do you think is more selfish?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Probably her.
LANDRUM: Kamala Harris?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, because girls are a little bit dramatic sometimes.
LANDRUM: And do you think that people in the United States are ready to have another four years of Donald Trump if he's reelected?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
LANDRUM: Why not?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because like I think all he does is like complain and like yell.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: The researchers found that opinions of the candidates from these 10 and 11-year-olds span a spectrum as wide as America.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Donald Trump he's given his life and his heart.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She even shook hands with Mr. Trump. She greeted him before the debate, they started the debate, which is pretty kind of when you're going against your opponent.
COOPER: The study is designed by psychologist Asheley Landrum and political scientist Shanto Iyengar. Landrum conducted all the interviews, and showed the students pictures of the candidates, and asked them questions like --
LANDRUM: Which one of these two do you think is more honest?
Which one of these two do you think would keep us safer if they were elected?
COOPER: Landrum also showed them an emoji chart and a feelings chart and asked them questions like this.
LANDRUM: I'm going to ask you how much you like each of these two candidates.
COOPER: The questions were phrased to promote more open-ended conversations.
[01:44:50]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I live in an apartment. I want to get a house, but it's hard.
COOPER: One thing that the kids talked a lot about -- former President Trump's legal issues.
LANDRUM: How much do you like Donald Trump, using that scale?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, probably -- Donald Trump probably hates me for doing this. So --
LANDRUM: You really don't like Donald Trump?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean come on. He went to like jail --
COOPER: To be clear, while Trump was booked and released from jail, he didn't spend time behind bars.
(AUDIO GAP)
COOPER: 32 percent of all students brought up the former president's legal issues. In general kids who said they'd support Donald Trump did not see his legal problems as a disqualifier.
LANDRUM: Hi, how are you doing today?
COOPER: This was in May before Trump's convictions.
LANDRUM: Should he be president again still?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Like we can say for example, JFK he cheated on his wife, but like people still loved him.
George was Washington, Thomas Jefferson -- both slaveowners. Being a slave owner is really bad. It's a really bad thing. But they still had two terms.
So I think even though Trump has done bad stuff, he still deserves to run for president.
COOPER: And now --
LANDRUM: Which one of these two candidates do you think is more likely to do bad things?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Convicted felon against a liar. I'm going to say Trump because he's a convicted felon.
LANDRUM: Do you think it's ok for somebody who is a convicted felon to become president of the United States?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
COOPER: Many children were also very aware of the first assassination attempt on former President Trump.
LANDRUM: And which one do you think is tougher?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump, because he did survive gunshot.
LANDRUM: And does anything else make him tougher, do you think or was it mostly his reaction to that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's also pretty brave. I mean, if I was president and I was talking in front of a lot of people, I would be really scared.
LANDRUM: I mean why would something like that happen?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's like a lot of cruel people nowhere (ph) else and stuff. And like whenever something like that happens to them, they want to take you out, somebody else that they don't like.
LANDRUM: Yes. And how does that make you feel?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kind of like (INAUDIBLE) because like you never know one day it could be you.
COOPER: For Vice President Harris students from both schools had a lot to say about her race and gender.
LANDRUM: So do you think it matters more to voters that she's a woman or that she's a person of color.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't really like care about like what color she is. I just care about the personality and like what she wants -- what she wants like to do.
LANDRUM: Do think people would be bothered at all by the fact that Kamala Harris is you know, half-black and half --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
LANDRUM: -- Indian American.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, because Barack Obama was elected twice. Two terms and served all eight years.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It would be good for us to have a black woman as president for the first time in history.
LANDRUM: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But my vote's kind of still on Trump.
COOPER: 86 percent of all students our researcher talked to thought America was ready for a woman president of color.
LANDRUM: And do you think people in the U.S. are ready for a woman president?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Because there hasn't been a woman president.
LANDRUM: There hasn't been one yet. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The fact that she's a woman and she's black, that
could help kids who are like her or are different feel a lot more accepted.
COOPER: Still, some students had different views about gender.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just feel like a boys would probably be better as president.
But she's pretty and stuff, but I just don't think a woman would be right for a president.
LANDRUM: Yes. So why do you think a woman wouldn't be right for a president, in your view?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think because only boys have been president before, that they would be more stronger.
COOPER: Overall, the biggest finding -- the children in the study were polarized with what researchers called more extreme responses from the blue state kids than the red state kids.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump. He did bad things. He's like Hitler. He only wanted to be president so that he can just control everybody.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trump is supporting January 6 now. I remember that January 6 was a bunch of Republicans believing Trump. I feel like they thought Trump was a God.
People got arrested. I think one officer died after -- afterwards. That was a big day.
COOPER: The study found that these Democrat-leaning kids were about 9 times more likely to express negative emotions about Donald Trump then Republican leaning kids were about Kamala Harris.
Why might that be?
Psychologist Asheley Landrum has some ideas.
[01:49:49]
LANDRUM: So Donald Trump is a very polarizing figure and it's very possible that the kids are reacting to their parents reacting to Donald Trump being a very different kind of political figure than what we've seen before.
So, do the red state kids hold as strong of attitudes? Well, not when we're talking about Kamala Harris. In part that could be because they don't know that much about her.
COOPER: Landrum was also curious about how kids saw their peers and the political divide.
LANDRUM: So do you think that the kids that live in those two houses would be friends with each other? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They can?
LANDRUM: They can.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no law breaking that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It doesn't matter if you are different by skin color or it doesn't matter if you're different by people. You can still be friends.
COOPER: The study found that Republican-leaning kids were more open to visiting a Democrat-supporting household. But Democrat-leaning kids were about five times more likely to say they would not want to go to a pro-Trump house.
LANDRUM: Would they be OK with you going over to somebody's house who was really supportive of President Trump?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
LANDRUM: No? Why not?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because they know that he is not -- he's not, he's not like bad people. So you will not -- (INAUDIBLE) be happy to see me.
LANDRUM: Would your family let you go over to somebody's house who is really supportive of Donald Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
LANDRUM: No, they wouldn't?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
LANDRUM: And why not?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because like my mom and dad don't like Donald Trump at all. Not a single bit.
LANDRUM: Would you be OK going over to somebody's house whose family really likes Kamala Harris?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it would be funny. It's just about the personality of the people.
LANDRUM: Would your family be OK if you went over to somebody's house who really liked Donald Trump?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I want to be real over here, if I just went over there, sure. I imagine be a good argument or a fight may really (INAUDIBLE).
COOPER: Let's not forget, this is a study about 10 and 11-year-olds.
And one issue they all I have strong feelings on was Taylor Swift's endorsement of Kamala Harris.
LANDRUM: Are you a fan of Taylor Swift?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
LANDRUM: No? So Taylor Swift said who she wanted to vote for. Do you think that her vote is going to influence the election?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
LANDRUM: Yes. Why do you think that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Swifties will follow her lead.
LANDRUM: Do you think that her endorsement would impact the election?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
LANDRUM: Yes. Why do you think that she would have such a big impact on the election?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because she's like very, very popular.
LANDRUM: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ask half of the school.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Interesting insight there. Thanks so much to Anderson Cooper for that report.
Still ahead. It's a special welcome for two giant pandas who just arrived in Hong Kong as gifts from Beijing. We'll have the details, next.
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KINKADE: Welcome back.
In the coming hours two impressionist masterpieces in the late 19th century will lead Christie's first auction at its new headquarters in Hong Kong.
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KINKADE: Vincent Van Gogh's painting which depicts an expansive view of boats moored along the banks of the River Seine is expected to sell between $30 million and $50 million.
He painted it back in the summer of 1887 during his transformational two-year stay in Paris.
Another highlight of the sale is (INAUDIBLE) Hamilton in Hong Kong is Nympheas, one of Claude Monet's rare series of eight water lily paintings That one is expected to sell for about $25 million to $35 million.
Well, two five-year-old pandas gifted from Beijing to Hong Kong have landed at the Hong Kong International Airport. They'll join four other pandas at the island's Ocean Park. But first they will be transported to the facility where they will be quarantined for 30 days.
Our Kristie Lu stout has the details from Hong Kong.
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KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN 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 the next week.
As the pandas arrive 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, but they will undergo 30 days quarantine here in Ocean Park before going through another month of acclimation, of 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.
Kristie Lu Stout, CNN -- Hong Kong.
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KINKADE: Our thanks to Kristie.
Well, that does it for this edition of CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Lynda Kinkade. Thanks for joining us.
Rosemary Church continues in just a moment.
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