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Trump Returns to the Site of Attempted Assassination; Harris Surveying Disaster Zone in North Carolina; Trump Pushes Misinformation About Hurricane Relief; IDF Releases Footage Showing Underground Tunnels in Lebanon; Leader of Hamas Military Wing Killed in Israeli Airstrike in Lebanon. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired October 05, 2024 - 16:00   ET

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

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ADAMOLEKUN: -- for 30,000 people that work for us. That's the most important thing to me.

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ACOSTA: All right. It's official. I am hungry now.

Thanks very much for joining me today. I'm Jim Acosta. A new hour of CNN NEWSROOM with Jessica Dean starts right now. Have a great day.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean in New York. And we are now just one month away from election day.

And today, former president Donald Trump is back on the campaign trail, returning to the site of the first assassination attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Let's go straight to CNN's Alayna Treene.

And Alayna, I know you were also there during that initial assassination attempt. We know security has been increased for tonight. What else do we know about this event?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, Jessica, it is a little weird. I remember speaking with you when all of that went down, but despite being at the exact same venue today here in Butler, Pennsylvania, a lot is actually very different and security is one of the main things I've noticed. One is that there are far more Secret Service agents and local law enforcement here on the ground in Butler.

They're also working together now, under one command center. That is different from what was going on back in July, on July 13th. Another thing we've noticed, they have drone circulating, a much stronger drone control system here right now in Butler, again, increased from July. And then the other thing I've noticed is just the amount of guardrails and barriers they have. And then also, if you will remember, Jessica, when those shots were

fired back in July, they came in this direction over Donald Trump's right shoulder from a group of buildings known as the AGR Building off to my right over this shoulder here. They have set up trailers. I can't show you because we're a bit -- we're stationary right now, but there are a ton of trailers that they have put up, blocking that line of sight. So those are just some of the things that they are doing on the ground.

Now I can tell you, for the attendees themselves, I've spoken with many people here as some of whom were in the crowd on July 13th. Some of who decided to come because they wanted to honor the victims of that day and they wanted to be a part of this.

I spoke with one woman. Her name is Sherry O'Donnell and she told me that she is from Butler. She actually wasn't at that first rally, but she wanted to come to this one because she feels like the community and the town itself needs to close the page on what had happened and have this kind of push them forward into that next chapter. Take a listen to what she said.

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SHERRY O'DONNELL, ATTENDING TRUMP RALLY IN BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA: I'm happy for today because Butler can now not have the reputation of having a near assassination attempt. It's redeemed I think as of today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, Jessica, just so who we're going to see tonight, whether Donald Trump takes that stage, he is going to be appearing with Elon Musk. He's expected to speak, Elon Musk, tonight on stage with Trump. You're going to see from J.D. Vance, his running mate. You're going to see some of Donald Trump's children in the crowd tonight, Eric Trump and Lara, Trump Junior, his daughter-in-law.

So really high profile Republicans here, a huge crowd, and potentially from what I'm seeing, Jessica, one of the biggest events that Donald Trump has held this campaign cycle thus far.

DEAN: All right, Alayna Treene there in Butler, Pennsylvania. We're going to keep an eye on that and we will come back to you a little bit later. Thank you so much for that.

Also, this hour Vice President Kamala Harris is in North Carolina getting in on the ground briefing on federal recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene. We know at least 227 people died in the storm, 113 of those in North Carolina alone.

Let's listen to what she's saying.

KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I wanted to make an announcement that yesterday we added Mecklenburg County to the major disaster declaration. So that means that we're going to be getting substantial resources in to help folks. And in particular to help them now be able to apply for federal assistance for a range of things that will be, including home repair, what folks need in terms of generators or even just compensation for the generators that they've had to buy. The kind of shelter that they've had to seek, including hotels.

And federal assistance for these issues is I know extremely important because a lot of folks don't save for these kinds of emergencies and when they hit, it takes a real drain on their resources and ability to take care of themselves and their family. But again, I thank everybody here. I'm looking forward to our briefing and I will say that also we are looking forward to working with our congressional partners.

And Congresswoman, you've been a great leader to work with your colleagues as you always do so that we can get Congress to also issue the resources that FEMA will need to be an active and resourced federal partner with all of you on the ground at the state and local level.

And with that, let's start our briefing.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. Thank you, Madam Vice President. At this time, I dismiss the press. Thank you for joining us today.

DEAN: And we're listening there to Vice President Kamala Harris, who's in Charlotte, North Carolina, getting a briefing there on the federal response.

Let's go to CNN correspondent Sunlen Serfaty, who is at the White House now.

And Sunlen, obviously Vice President Harris there trying to track and working to track the federal response. What more are you learning about this?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: That's absolutely right, Jessica. This was a notable visit today that Vice President Harris is making and certainly sitting at that table surrounded there with the governor of North Carolina and surrounded by the FEMA administrator. She's certainly trying to project a presidential level of authority here in the aftermath of those devastating storms that took over North Carolina and other states across the southeast.

Notable that this is her second trip this week to a state that has been damaged by this storm. She went to Georgia earlier in the week and now to North Carolina today. And we heard from the North Carolina governor there before she spoke, really banking the administration, saying that significant progress has been made thanks to their efforts, but acknowledging of course there has been a level of devastation and certainly many deaths from that hurricane.

So that comes as Harris and the White House are really beating back some accusations from Trump, former president Donald Trump, and her opponent, saying that they have not been getting aid fast enough to that area, so certainly today pushing back on those assertations from the Trump campaign and trying to clearly look presidential, look competent, and it shows some leadership in the aftermath of the storm damage -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Sunlen Serfaty, there at the White House, thank you so much.

And she mentioned what President Trump and some Republicans have been saying. As he goes back to Pennsylvania, we do have this political storm that is forming after the comments he made in North Carolina. He was there last night to assess the damage and meet with first responders. But he also took that opportunity to spread absolute misinformation about the disaster response. False claims that have now become a frequent line after Hurricane Helene. Listen.

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DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're missing a billion dollars. They gave them to the migrants that came in. And now we don't have the money. We'll do it. But they don't have the money to take care of this. They've given you lousy treatment, North Carolina.

Kamala spent all her FEMA money, billions of dollars, on housing for illegal migrants. They stole the FEMA money just like they stole it from a bank. They've given over a billion dollars to illegal migrants that came in and now they have no money.

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DEAN: It's just not true. FEMA has now taken the rare step of creating a whole Web site to debunk lies, first that rumor that he was talking about, that disaster relief is being diverted to immigrants. Not true. FEMA says no money is being diverted from disaster response needs to support international efforts or border-related issues. FEMA has also said it has enough money right now for immediate response and recovery needs.

Republican governors across multiple affected states have commended the disaster response. And here's North Carolina senator, Republican Thom Tillis.

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SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): I am actually impressed with how much attention was paid to a region that wasn't likely to have experienced the impact that they did. For anybody who thinks that any level of government, anybody here, could have been prepared precisely for what we're dealing with here clearly are clueless. They're doing a great job. They can always work harder. There's always kings on the slinky, we're working them out behind the scenes, but I think we're all here to send a message that we're working together. And I'm pretty proud of the effort that's been done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Joining us now CNN political analyst and political reporter for Axios, Alex Thompson, and senior political correspondent for Puck News, Tara Palmeri.

Let's start there, guys. It's great to have you here with us.

Alex, he is just not telling the truth. They are spreading lies when a lot of people, a lot of Americans in Helene's path are really hurting and desperate for help and need the truth and need resources. What's the political implication here?

ALEX THOMPSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, FEMA has spent a significant amount of money in housing undocumented immigrants. But what you're saying is completely right that this has not come from the same funds. Now what the Trump campaign is really doing is honing in on some of the comments from DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas just a few months ago when he said they were confident they were going to have funds throughout the hurricane season.

Now they do have enough money to deal with the immediate effects of this hurricane, but it's the most significant hurricane since Hurricane Katrina, the most deadly one. You have over 200 deaths. And now the federal government is saying, the executive branch is saying, we may need more money to get through Hurricane Katrina, but the larger point that Trump is doing is this has been a huge message from the very beginning that undocumented immigrants, his theme is undocumented migrants are taking away resources from you, from voters.

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And that is really what he's trying to do here by basically playing in half-truths and mistruths and complete untruths.

DEAN: And Tara, the former president, is headed back to Butler, Pennsylvania, today. Of course, that's the first assassination attempt on his life. What kind of moment are you expecting? Are you expecting more on this disaster relief? What do you think we're going to hear from him?

TARA PALMERI, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, PUCK: I think it will be a moment of defiance. He's returning to the scene of a crime. He's coming back, you know, I'm a strong man, unafraid of attacks. They may end up indulging in some of these conspiracy theories about it being an inside job but it will, you know, allow Trump to puff himself up and really step into the martyr persona that he seems to take on, on the campaign trail saying, like, I'm protecting you from them.

That's been his messaging this entire time throughout his entire political career. And that he's, you know, essentially a persecuted person. And so I'm sure it will be almost like a vigil in some ways in which he's lauded by, you know, his vice president who's going to be there, who would offensively be on the campaign or his running mate would be there offensively on the campaign somewhere else like in Michigan or Wisconsin.

Elon Musk, his children, the Senate candidate David McCormick, and to bring all of these top players and surrogates together suggests to me that this is a larger production than what we're used to from a Trump rally and a moment to really idolize him and maybe, you know, elevate him to, you know, martyr level, like you said.

DEAN: Alex, it is incredible sitting here thinking that was just -- that was back in July, just several months ago, we saw it live during this actual show. It was so stunning and so scary in the moment, and yet, we've had another assassination attempt since then. A new Democratic nominee. So much has happened in this race. And now to get us here one month before election day.

THOMPSON: I'm very tired because of all those events that you're saying. But it's completely true and also, you have to remember the days after Donald Trump in this first assassination attempt, there was extraordinary confidence from the Republican Party that he was going to walk away with this thing because Joe Biden was a weakened nominee after the debate. Now he had ascended to what Harris said martyrdom status. He had survived.

I remember at the RNC the attitude was complete just calm, honestly, and confident. And now this is a much closer race than it was at that time. But, you know, if there was any state for this to happen is Pennsylvania because both campaigns are basically on track to spend over $400 million in this state because this state is the most important state at the moment in this presidential race. Whoever wins Pennsylvania is most likely to win this race.

DEAN: Yes, and it doesn't get more pivotal than Pennsylvania I think.

And Tara, just before we go, we got this much better than expected jobs report yesterday, just another data point indicating the strength of the economy. This is -- Vice President Harris is trying very hard to convince voters she can handle the economy better than Trump when polling continues to show he has an edge on that issue.

Do you think this is enough to start pushing people toward her or is this just an issue people are judging with their gut and forget the data points?

PALMERI: Yes, it's very difficult because, like you said, you can't show people data or numbers or people who had jobs, you know, they might think, OK, great. I already have a job. I'm happy there are more jobs, but I'm still not making enough money to counter the inflation, right? You really can't convince people that things are better. And unfortunately, she has had to carry the baggage of the incumbency and the past few years.

So I would say that, you know, she can acknowledge it, tout it, say we've turned it around. We inherited Trump's disastrous economy. We turned it around, but I'm working for you to push this even further forward. And I acknowledge what you're going through. And I think the problem with the Biden administration was they weren't really willing at first to admit the pain that people are going through and Harris clearly has learned that, and always notes on that after she touts good number. She says, but I know it's not good enough.

DEAN: Yes. And she certainly does try to empathize with voters. We see her trying to personalize it a lot, another tactic she's been using.

All right. Alex Thompson, Tara Palmeri, our thanks to both of you.

THOMPSON: Thank you.

DEAN: Up next, as Israel prepares to retaliate against Iran, are nuclear sites are off the table? This as the IDF releases this new footage of what they say is the underground terror infrastructure in southern Lebanon. Our team is live in that region, next.

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Plus former president Trump returning to the site of the first assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, and Secret Service taking much tighter security measures this time. We're joined by a law enforcement expert to talk about the lessons that have been learned.

And there's another storm gaining strength in the Gulf. Parts of Florida still picking up the pieces after Helene could get another hurricane. We're tracking it ahead.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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DEAN: New developments out of the Middle East this hour as Israel's military says it has destroyed more than 2,000 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, including weapons, military buildings, and underground infrastructures.

This is video of some of those underground tunnels. Israeli officials saying these tunnels contained Hezbollah command centers and a large number of weapons.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is in Lebanon. CNN's Nic Robertson is in Tel Aviv.

Nic, let's start first with you and these tunnels, these Hezbollah tunnels the IDF says that it has discovered. What more are you learning?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, the IDF hasn't taken any journalists down there, but they have taken their own cameras and they filmed tunnels that the spokesman said were about 250 meters to about 300 meters long. They showed in a tunnel there stacks of military equipment. They showed sort of soldiers' equipment bags that they said these were to be used for some kind of infiltration or military purpose.

What the IDF has said about the rationale for their operations along the Lebanese border is they said for some time that they believe Hezbollah was preparing to strike across the border into Lebanon. And this seems to be the images that they would use or are using to back that up. And what we've also seen on the IDF video, separate videos, they show big cement trucks coming in and pouring cement into those tunnels. Unlike tunnels in Gaza, these ones are hewn into really tough rocket.

The border, we know that the IDF has discovered Hezbollah tunnels along that northern border in the past. But this is an indication that they're saying that they are finding these sites that they thought were there. They say that they've killed 440 Hezbollah fighters on ground, ground fights along the border or airstrikes along the border there.

And this operation they're indicating or these operations are far from done. The army chief of staff was saying that they will continue to press this offensive right along the border there. And I think it's an indication in these videos that the IDF is showing is discovered what it said it was there. We also understood from Hezbollah that when the troops had been going across, they've set ambushes for them.

They've claimed that they've got into intense firefights with the IDF. The IDF confirming that yesterday one soldier was seriously injured.

DEAN: All right. Nic Robertson there in Tel Aviv. Thank you so much for that update.

Let's go now to Jomana.

What more can you tell us about the top leader of Hamas' military wing we know was killed in an Israeli airstrike in northern Lebanon? Tell us more about that and also how things are in Beirut tonight.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Jessica, that strike happening near the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon. This is a very rare strike. It hasn't really happened since the 2006 Israel- Hezbollah war and what we understand according to a statement from Hamas, is they say that a senior commander of the Qassam Brigades, its military wing, was killed in that strike.

We've not heard from the IDF. They've not commented on that, but a very rare strike. And according to Hamas, that commander and three members of his family were killed in the strike. Of course, it's not unusual to see these sorts of attacks targeting other Palestinian militant groups because within the Palestinian refugee camps, you do have several militant groups operating.

But indeed it really raised fears and concerns among people that we are seeing the Israeli military operations here widening in scope and scale. When it comes to the rest of the country, we have seen over the past few days an intensification in the bombardment, whether it's here in the southern suburbs of Beirut, in the south of the country, and also in the Beqaa region in the east.

Now, here in the last few minutes, Jessica, right before we came on air, we could hear several blasts in the distance. You could hear Israeli drones overhead and we saw in the last 20 to 30 minutes a number of evacuation orders coming from the Israeli military's Arabic language spokesman in posts on X, asking civilians in those areas in number of neighborhoods in the southern suburbs to evacuate their homes. This coming at about 11:00 p.m. local time when you wouldn't really

expect people to be sitting and monitoring their social media. Earlier in the day, we did see several strikes as well on the southern suburbs. Yes, this is an area where they have struck Hezbollah targets, where they have killed -- we could hear some rumbling in the distance, Jessica.

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It's unclear what is going on, but this is something we have heard tonight and we've been on this rooftop for many, many nights now. And this is the first time we're hearing this sort of rumbling in the distance and in the last -- right before we came on air that was followed by what appears to have been a number of blasts in the distance, in the southern suburbs. We'll keep an eye on that.

But as I was saying earlier in the day, we did see these strikes. Can we see smoke? The team behind the camera. You're seeing flashes in the distance. I don't know if you were able to see that over my shoulder.

DEAN: We saw the flashes. Yes.

KARADSHEH: And tonight, this is what's happening, Jessica. We are hearing this constant buzz of the drones overhead, and then this rumbling in the distance, which is unusual. Usually you would see the strike and hear it. And then now, we have seen, our team here, has seen and as you have seen, those flashes in the distance. It's unclear what has been hit here but we have seen the warnings coming in from the IDF in the last half hour or so saying that they will be carrying out strikes on, what they say, are Hezbollah targets in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

This is one of the most densely populated parts of the country. We've seen a mass exit of civilians from this area over the past week or so. But there are civilians who remain there. There are people who go back to their homes or whatever's left of their homes to try and grab their belongs. So, we'll have to wait and see what the target was and if there are any casualties in that.

DEAN: Okay, Jomana, you and your team please stay safe. Our thanks to you. We will continue to check in with you and Nick Robertson there in Tel Aviv. Our thanks to both of you.

And I want to bring in CNN Global Affairs Analyst and Former Defense Secretary under Donald Trump, Mark Esper.

Secretary Esper, thanks so much for being here with us.

MARK ESPER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: (Inaudible).

DEAN: We are just watching as - it's good to see you. As Jomana was just reporting, this is all happening in real-time. We are watching this unfold nearly one year after the October 7th attacks.

I want to start first with Israel's plan to retaliate against Iran. According to a top U.S. State Department official, Israel has not given any assurances to the Biden administration that targeting Iran's nuclear facilities is off the table as an option.

What do you think about that?

ESPER: Well, I do think it will be a significant attack and the nuclear strike should definitely be an option. But at the end of the day, Jessica, it's going to depend on what does Israel want to accomplish.

So, if they want regime change, they're going to after leadership targets in Tehran. So, the Ayatollah, President Pezeshkian, the IRGC and other things. If they want to go after a military capability, then top of that list has to be the nuclear facilities and work that Iran has undergoing. Which I might add that, in the wake of what they've seen with their feckless ballistic missile attacks now twice, my sense would be that the Iranian regime is probably going to conclude that they need to pursue a nuclear weapon at some point here.

But continuing along, other military capabilities that they could attack would be ballistic missile launch sites, production facilities, drone factories, also air defense sites would be part of that.

And then, the third category of items would be economic targets. So, the most obvious are Irania oil processing distribution refining facilities, most of which are on - are in Western Iran and on the Gulf Coast, which are much easier to attack, to strike, with less risk to Israeli pilots than the strategic leadership targets and nuclear targets, which are deeper in Iran, Northern Iran.

DEAN: It has been interesting because President Biden and his administration are coordinating with the Israelis here. They - the - all indications seem to be they want a measured response. It's unclear though if that's Israel is. If they're in the mood for a measured response or if they want something stronger than that.

Do you get any sense one way or the other, just with the various data points we're getting, which way this might go?

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ESPER: Yes, I don't fully understand the administration's approach on this. They're calling for a ceasefire or a measured approach, things like that. Look, I think the strategic situation has changed dramatically. You now have Hamas' largely decimated in Gaza. But for two out of 24 battalions remaining, most of their leadership is gone.

Hezbollah is reeling as well. Most of their leadership is gone. They're on the back foot for sure. And that was the right punch that the counterstrike that Iran always had in its back pocket. And at this point now, also, you have had two series of missile strikes, drone strikes by Iran, which have proof feckless.

I think the strategic environment has changed dramatically. It calls for reassessment. And the question is, can you reorder things in the region? Because for 45 years - for 45 years the Israeli's have been under attack from three angles, the North with Hezbollah, the South from Hamas and then from the East with Iran. And now, you can add into that the Houthis, the Shia Militias in Iraq and Syria, all funded, inspired, equipped, trained by Iran. Maybe it's time to settle this score once and for all and get to the root of the problem, which is Tehran.

DEAN: All right, Secretary Esper, always good to have you on. Thanks so much for that analysis. We appreciate it.

ESPER: Thanks, Jessica.

DEAN: Still ahead, the death toll continues to climb in the wake of Hurricane Helene. This is more than a half a million customers across five states still don't have any power. They haven't had power for a week.

We're going to have more on the relief efforts, as another storm is brewing now in the Gulf. We're tracking where it's headed. That's next.

You're in the CNN Newsroom.

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DEAN: New tonight, the deathtoll from Hurricane Helene rising again at now at least 227 people we know have been killed across six states and the search continues for people who are still missing. That means it's now the deadliest storm to hit the mainland U.S. since Hurricane Katrina.

CNN's Rafael Romo has been following Helene's devastation. Rafael, what more can you tell us?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Last few minutes (ph) (inaudible) Buncombe County officials, one of the most affected areas in North Carolina and the home of the city of Asheville gave us an update about the situation there, more than a week since the devastating storm. Interestingly, Jessica, in addition to talking about food and water distribution sites and the fact that public transportation will be available on a modified schedule starting Monday, Buncombe County manager Avril Pinder wanted to focus on a growing concern for officials there. On the one hand, she said people need to be aware of scams that are spreading through social media.

On the other hand, she said that people are spreading false and misleading information and that those lies are hurting the recovery process. She urged people to only share official information from trusted sources.

Earlier, county officials had said that as of Saturday morning, more than 71,000 customers remain without power. That's in Buncombe County alone. As many people are without running water. They're also urging the population to reuse water as much as they can, even when there are several food and water distribution centers. Earlier today, the North Carolina Department of Transportation publish a video to give people an idea of what crews are facing as they try to repair or rebuild roads and bridges that were destroyed by the storm.

Let's take a look.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And as you'll see further out, the road is completely destroyed. And we're going to have to advance using ATVs. So kind of just kind of good shrunk down to a very, very small footprint where we've be able to get in even trucks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're out doing sight assessments. We understand people are still trapped in their communities and we are making a big push to get everyone out.

We are aware of the situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: As you can imagine, Jessica, at a time like this, there's also a great need for healthcare professionals. We have also heard from HCA Healthcare's Mission Health that they will be deploying 400 nurses from Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Virginia, Texas, Kansas, Utah and California.

They are expected to arrive to provide support and relief for caregivers at Admission Hospital in Asheville. There will also be 40 doctors from HCA joining in the effort.

Then finally, Jessica, in a new development, officials also said they had begun the process of approval for restaurants that are ready for reopening.

Now back to you.

DEAN: All right, Rafael Romo, with the latest, thank you very much.

And people who live across Helene's 500-mile path of destruction still need basic necessities. And for ways you can help, you can go to CNN.com CNN.com/impact.

And the cleanup continues as we're watching another potentially devastating storm forming in the gulf.

CNN Meteorologist Elisa Raffa is tracking that for us.

And, Elisa, what are you seeing?

ELISA RAFFA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We have Milton right now, Tropical Storm Milton. It formed pretty quickly this morning. It's got winds of 40 miles per hour.

This "M" storm is about two to three weeks ahead of schedule. We typically don't get this "M" named storm until the end of October. We have flood watches already in effect for the Florida peninsula, from Orlando down to Miami, because we have a front that stalled that's going to bring rain before Milton even gets here.

So that's what's steering Milton into Florida, because we have this front that's already going to bring rain and then turn it into Florida.

I also want to point out, for those areas in North Carolina that are devastated in the mountain communities, this front will kind of safeguard the mountain communities from Milton making any type of turn to the north.

We are also dealing with incredibly warm sea surface temperatures in the middle and upper 80s. So we're looking at another rapidly intensifying hurricane. It could be up to category two, maybe even category three storm at landfall.

Landfall will be sometime late Tuesday into Wednesday. Something to watch closely -- Jessica?

DEAN: All right, Elisa Raffa, with the latest, thank you very much.

And still ahead, the Secret Service cracking down on security today at former President Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, of course, the site of his first assassination attempt. What the Secret Service has learned since that day. We'll talk more about it.

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You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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DEAN: Former President Donald Trump is set to take the stage this afternoon as he returns to the site where a would-be assassin tried to kill him in Butler, Pennsylvania, back in July.

And joining us now, CNN law enforcement analyst and former Secret Service agent, Jonathan Wackrow.

Jonathan, thanks so much for being here with us.

Based on what we know about today's events and what you have seen unfold since that assassination attempt, do you believe that the Secret Service has learned some lessons here?

JONATHAN WACKROW, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Absolutely. I mean, I think when you look back, you know, July 13th was a seminal moment for the Secret Service. It was a wakeup call. And it highlighted things that the Secret Service was lacking in their protective model.

[16:45:03] They had to go through the rigor of a full diagnostic of, how are they applying the protective model not only to the president and vice president, but also to former presidents and political candidates?

And out of that review, you will now see an extraordinary amplification of protective measures for all of our political leaders, to include former President Trump helping others that are engaged in the political process.

So the Secret Service definitely has learned their lesson. What you're seeing today is the mobilization of, you know, significant resources that are necessary to address the threat environment that former President Trump now faces as the run-up to the election continues.

DEAN: And one big thing in July was that there was no effective chain of command. That supposedly has been fixed. But how -- how crucial is that? And do you think that the correct steps have been made in fixing that?

WACKROW: Communication is critical when you talk about protective operations. The working shift, the women and men that you see around former President Trump or the president United States, they need to be able to communicate with each other.

But just as important, Secret Service agents need to be able to communicate with their local law enforcement partners, anywhere they go.

And if you think about the thousands of protective events that the Secret Service engages with every year, domestically, that communication is critical. It's a critical component and key to the success of the protective models.

So that was one of the key breakdowns on January 13th that has now been addressed. And what you're seeing today is this extraordinary structure that has been set up around communication, command and control, accountability, responsibility among all stakeholders, federal, state, and local law enforcement combined.

DEAN: And also just the Secret Service itself, the morale, the men and women who serve in the Secret Service, how would you categorize that right now?

WACKROW: Well, listen, the Secret Service is strained. Their strained because of manpower but also their protective mission.

Listen, the reality is the women and men, the agents and officers of the United States Secret Service are going through a year like no other.

They, just last week, came off the U.N. General Assembly, which was the largest protective assignment around the globe, bringing, you know, over 134 heads of state, plus the president, vice president, and political leaders all to New York.

They executed that national special security event near flawlessly. But there's no rest for the weary here. They have to move on. They're in the middle of this campaign.

And what you're seeing is agents going from site to site. Burnout is a consideration right now. And that is why, you know, with new funding, they need personnel to be applied the right way to be able to get over the final mile of this election.

And then recalibrate their protective model, the staffing models and the retention of special agents moving forward so they can meet the demands of this new dynamic threat environment that they are charged with protecting against.

DEAN: Yes, it is -- it is a time where there unfortunately are so many threats against our elected officials.

Jonathan Wackrow, thank you so much. We really appreciate it.

And we'll be right back.

[16:48:32]

WACKROW: Thank you.

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[16:53:14]

DEAN: Breaking news. You are looking at large blasts being seen in Beirut, Lebanon.

Let's go back to CNN's Jomana Karadsheh. She is there.

And, Jomana, I know you've been monitoring this. Tell us what you're seeing, what you're hearing.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, I think you might still be able to see that thick plume of smoke, a fire burning. That is coming from the southern suburbs of Beirut. This is coming after a strike we heard a short time ago.

It appears we are seeing potentially secondary explosions going on there right now. It is unclear what was targeted, but this is one of several strikes we have seen in the last half hour or so. And it is continuing.

We've heard this rumbling in the distance. And then you would hear the blast and see the -- you would see the -- the red flashes, this ball of fire. And that is coming from one of those locations. As you can see, it appears to be still burning.

And you can still hear some blasts every now and then. And as I mentioned, it's unclear right now what it was that struck, but we do know that this is in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

We know that the Israeli military in the last hour or so put out warnings saying that it was going to carry out strikes in different neighborhoods in the southern suburbs. In those posts on X, by the Arabic spokesperson for the IDF, he said that this is a warning to specific buildings and to those adjacent to them.

[16:54:59]

Saying, "You're located near Hezbollah facilities and interests and the IDF will act against them in the near future. For your safety and the safety of your family members, you must evacuate this building and buildings adjacent to it immediately and stay away for a distance of no less than 500 hundred meters."

But it was a short time after those posts, Jessica, that we started hearing and seeing those strikes on the southern suburbs. It is unclear what was struck. It is unclear if there we're civilians in the area. It's unclear if people managed to get out.

But this is one of the most intense nights that we've seen in the past 10 days or so, where the Israeli military is focused in Beirut has been, of course, on the southern suburbs of Beirut where it is known to have a heavy presence of Hezbollah.

But it is also one of the most densely populated parts of this city. We've seen hundreds of thousands of people evacuate, this mass exodus that we have seen over the past week. But we do know that there are civilians who remain in this area.

I was actually speaking a short time ago with a resident of the southern suburbs and she was looking at those evacuation orders saying that she's not there right now, but her home is within that evacuation zone. And she was really worried, not knowing if she's going to have a home to return to after this.

But as we're speaking, Jessica, we're still hearing the drones buzzing overhead, which is usually an indication that we could potentially be seeing more strikes in the coming moments and hours.

DEAN: Yes. I know we can hear them behind you, Jomana. I hope you and your team can say very safe.

But again, the breaking news that Jomana bringing us these fresh missile strikes there in southern Beirut in those suburbs.

Jomana, we will well check back in with you. Stay safe and we will -- we will see you all very soon.

We're going to be right back in a moment.

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