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One Direction Member Liam Payne Dies; Trump Answers Questions from Latino Voters, Harris Debuts Her First Interview on Fox News. Ukrainian President to Present His Victory Plan to the European Council; Relatives of Menendez Brothers Urge Review of The Case After New Evidence Found; WMO Report Finds Global Water Cycle is Off-Balance for the First Time. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired October 17, 2024 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom."
A strong message from Washington as the U.S. launches rare airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen. The militant group vows retaliation.
Seeking support. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to present his victory plan to the European Council Summit. Can he get buy-in from key allies?
And Kamala Harris and Donald Trump speak to Fox News in very different settings and with very different results.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: It is 10:00 a.m. in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv where a source tells CNN Israel's plan to respond to Iran is ready. American officials expect the retaliation before Election Day in the U.S. November 5th. Iran launched a missile barrage at Tel Aviv and Israeli military bases earlier this month. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly told the U.S. Israel will target Iranian military sites, not oil or nuclear facilities.
Meanwhile, in southern Lebanon, the health ministry reports 16 people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes on the city of Nabatieh is among the casualties. Israel says it was targeting underground infrastructure used by Hezbollah.
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MATTHEW MILLER, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: We understand that Hezbollah does operate at times from underneath civilian homes, inside civilian homes. We've seen footage that has emerged over the course of the past two weeks of rockets and other military weapons held in civilian homes. So Israel does have a right to go after those legitimate targets but they need to do so in a way that protects civilian infrastructure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: The Houthis are warning the U.S. will pay the price for airstrikes against its weapons storage facilities in Yemen. The Iran- backed group is vowing to continue its support for Gaza in the Israel- Hamas war. We have details from CNN's Oren Liebermann at the Pentagon.
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OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. carried out a series of airstrikes in Yemen using B-2 stealth bombers, the first time we've seen the strategic bomber used since the start of the war in Gaza to carry out strikes in Yemen. And that in and of itself is noteworthy.
According to three U.S. defense officials, the targets here were Houthi weapon storage facilities, including underground facilities. The officials say these weapons were used by the Houthis to target commercial and U.S. military vessels operating in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, where we have seen those Houthi attacks snarl and disrupt some of the most important commercial traffic in the world.
Although the U.S. doesn't often carry out this level of strikes, We have seen the U.S. carry out routinely strikes against Houthi missiles, as well as drones to try to clear those out of the air or on the ground before they're able to carry out their attack. And then on some occasions we have seen the U.S. carry out wider strikes. This is very much one of those occasions using the B-2 Spirit bombers, far larger than the fighter jets the U.S. has used over the course of the past year or so to carry out strikes in Yemen.
What that signifies? Well, the B-2 has a larger bomb load and can carry heavier weapons, so perhaps those weapons were used to target the underground weapon storage facilities. That would certainly be an option available to the U.S. in using that much larger, heavier bomber platform here.
Now, the U.S. carried these strikes out alone. We have seen them in the past carry out strikes in coordination with the U.K. But in this case, it was the U.S. acting unilaterally. The U.S. also carried out a series of strikes earlier this month against several Houthi targets in Yemen.
And then it's also noteworthy that the Houthis have continued to attack not only shipping but also Israel. At the end of last month, we saw Israel carry out strikes against targets of the Iran-backed rebel group in Yemen. This here, the latest round of strikes carried out by the U.S.
Oren Liebermann, CNN at the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: A horrific humanitarian crisis in northern Gaza appears to be getting worse. One U.S. official says civilians have two choices, starve or leave. The emergency services chief in Jabalia says Israeli forces are destroying everything.
People are showing signs of starvation and stray dogs are eating dead bodies in the streets. Sources say at least seven medical NGOs have been informed by Israel they will no longer be allowed to enter Gaza. The U.S. ambassador to the U.N. disputed claims that Israel is trying to starve the Palestinians.
[03:05:01]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: A quote-unquote "policy of starvation" in northern Gaza would be horrific and unacceptable and would have implications under international law and U.S. law. The government of Israel has said that this is not their policy, that food and other essential supplies will not be cut off, and we will be watching to see that Israel's actions on the ground match this statement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Qatar's prime minister says there have been no Gaza ceasefire and hostage release talks for nearly a month now. The foreign minister says everyone seems to be moving in a circle with silence from all parties.
Alright. I want to bring in Nada Bashir who's following the latest developments from London. So Nada, in Gaza a bad situation just getting worse by the day.
NADA BASHIR. CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, that is certainly the message that we're hearing from medical workers on the ground. Of course earlier in the week we had that warning from the U.N. Human Rights Office saying that northern Gaza had essentially been sealed off by the Israeli military.
We've been hearing from civilians on the ground who have told us that even when they attempt to heed those evacuation orders that are coming from the Israeli military to move to humanitarian zones or so-called humanitarian zones in the coastal area of Gaza that they are being targeted by the Israeli military that they are being shot at.
Of course, this has been denied by the Israeli military but there is a really troubling picture being painted of northern Gaza at this stage where countless civilians are still essentially stuck and trapped in what has been a besieged region of northern Gaza since the beginning of the month. And of course, we heard yesterday at the U.N. Security Council pretty firm statements from both the ambassador for the United States to the United Nations and of course the U.K.'s ambassador to the United Nations.
We heard there just a bit from the U.S. Of course earlier in the week as well it was understood that the U.S. had issued a letter to the Israeli government essentially calling on the government to do more, to alleviate the humanitarian catastrophe that we're seeing in Gaza, to allow more aid and to take action within 30 days otherwise they would be at risk of violating U.S. laws governing foreign military assistance, essentially putting U.S. military aid to Israel in jeopardy.
We heard yesterday again from the U.S. ambassadors from the United Nations, they do not believe that Israel is carrying out an intentional starvation campaign that they have called on Israel, that they will be watching or to see whether Israel does take substantial action and we have, according to U.S. officials several aid trucks now getting in to northern Gaza, whether this will be a sustained operation, whether we will continue to see enough humanitarian aid getting in, particularly as we near the winter months, of course that remains to be seen.
But also as you mentioned we are now learning that at least seven NGOs or medical NGOs have been banned essentially by the Israeli government from accessing Gaza. Some of these NGOs have been quite crucial in providing updates on what is happening on the ground for many of us, including us at CNN, have been of course hugely crucial in providing medical assistance to Palestinians on the ground, an area where of course the vast majority of hospitals are now inoperational.
So this is a desperate situation. It is concerning that we are seeing NGOs now being banned from accessing the Gaza Strip, in addition of course to foreign media workers who have been banned since the beginning of this war, but again that pressure is mounting for more to be done to alleviate the humanitarian crisis that we're seeing in Gaza.
This is of course going to be a long process, the U.N. is still of course carrying out its second round of the polio vaccine rollout and has also called for more to be done, including humanitarian pauses, including opening more aid crossings to allow more aid in, and of course we are still seeing those rates of malnutrition rising in Gaza, the fear is this will only continue to rise regardless of the aid that we're seeing getting in now. So clearly a lot more to be done there.
BRUNHUBER: Yeah absolutely. CNN's Nada Bashir. Thank you so much.
I want to bring in now from London, Daniel Levy, who's the president of the U.S./Middle East Project. Thank you so much for joining us here, Daniel, so just to build off certainly a huge issue, Israel claims it isn't starving the Palestinians intentionally, but that does seem to be the effect in the end here.
DANIEL LEVY, PRESIDENT, U.S./MIDDLE EAST PROJECT: Well, this is clearly what we're hearing, what we're seeing with our own eyes. And there is a policy of not letting the supplies in. The Israelis are claiming looting. They're claiming there's not the distribution mechanisms. They have destroyed everything. They have prevented any kind of option, either of a ceasefire or of mechanisms that could make this aid reach the people. They are responsible for what they have done.
[03:10:02]
And Kim, what is, I think, opening a lot of eyes at the moment, is there is something called the Generals Plan, drawn up by a reserve general, Giora Eiland, and a group that call themselves Commanders and Soldiers in Reserves. That plan, made public, calls for the use of starvation, the use of the spread of disease and firing in the range of civilian population as ways of clearing civilians.
And the "Haaretz" newspaper in Israel has put out an investigative piece in which soldiers serving in those reserve divisions in Gaza have said their understanding, although it's not been declared, because that would go straight to the ICC, the International Criminal Court, one imagines their understanding is that this general's plan, which uses starvation as a weapon of war, is precisely what is being implemented in northern Gaza.
BRUNHUBER: Yeah, now it should be said that the plan is pushed by certain members of the far right and certainly the Israeli officials have denied that this is any sort of official policy. We should say that.
But certainly it has raised a lot of eyebrows and it has raised eyebrows here in the U.S. as well. And we've seen that the Secretary of State, the Defense Secretary warned Israel and the Israeli counterparts that Israel has to improve that humanitarian situation or face losing U.S. military support.
So the question is, why is that warning only coming now?
LEVY: It's a very important question. And just to go back to that plan, some have said that this is a prelude in northern Gaza, not only to a permanent reoccupation, but to reestablishing Israeli-Jewish settlements there. I mention that because we just heard news in the last couple of days that the Likud Party, this is an official Likud invitation to a meeting that will take place next week in the Israeli parliament to call for the reestablishment of settlements in Gaza, to prepare for that.
That's openly now being said on an official Likud notification. But you asked the important question, why now in terms of this Americans concern, this has been going on, the inability, the refusal by Israel to get this relief in. It's just gotten worse. You know, there've been occasional periods of slight easing.
There are two expressions we're all very familiar with, and better late than never, and too little too late. I'm afraid we're much closer to the latter, and it's I don't want to go here, but it's hard not to see this with a little bit of a cynical eye given where we are in the election cycle and given that the administration and the Harris campaign in particular are trying to find this balance between not alienating Israel-centric voters and campaign contributors while at least having something to go to those who care about Palestinian lives, all lives, human rights, and say, no, we're trying to do something.
The 30 days that is threatened in that letter, and it's a very timid threat as well, but that 30 days takes you past the election date. Where have you been until now? Why are you not leaping into this immediately? And unfortunately, the balancing act on the political side just cannot live alongside the binary on the ideological side.
And the ideological binary is what we have seen throughout this, which is a U.S. sending the weapons without which this couldn't be done running the political and diplomatic cover and aligning with Israel on narrative and messaging and really not being credible when it comes certainly not to caring about Palestinian lives, even Palestinian American lives, but also, if we zoom out a moment, Kim, this broader question of a region that has gone an awfully long way down the road to a broad conflagration. We see attacks in Yemen now. Because by failing to push in a serious way with leverage being used. Not doing that in Gaza means the region is ever more volatile.
BRUNHUBER: Yeah, Gaza and spreading elsewhere in the region, Lebanon as well as you say. We'll have to leave it there but always appreciate your analysis. Daniel Levy in London, thank you so much.
LEVY: Thank you, Kim.
BRUNHUBER: There's been an outpouring of shock and grief for musicians and fans around the world over the untimely death of Liam Payne, an English singer who was part of One Direction, one of the best-selling boy bands of all time. He was 31. The fans have set up a makeshift memorial to pay their respects outside the Buenos Aires Hotel where Payne was staying when he died. Police say the singer fell on Wednesday from the third floor of his hotel room. Hotel staff had requested urgent police assistance in the moments before Payne fell.
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Now, Payne rose to fame as a teenager in One Direction. The group became a global pop sensation and its members teen idols. They were the first group to have their first four albums debut at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. Stefano Pozzebon has more on Payne's death.
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STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: Music fans all around the world are mourning the tragic death of British singer Liam Payne, who died on Wednesday afternoon in Buenos Aires after falling from the window of his hotel. Payne was staying at the Casa Sur hotel in the popular neighborhood of Palermo, in the Argentinian capital, when police says he died after falling from the third floor.
Within minutes, hundreds of fans rushed to the area to pay their respects with candles, flowers and tears.
UNKNOWN: I'm very nervous about this news because I'm a fan of One Direction. Since I was a kid I went to the concert. I'm from Brazil, I went to the concert to -- I'm nervous, really nervous because it's my idol and I'm shocked. I don't believe this is happening.
POZZEBON: Payne was in Argentina for the concert of his former bandmate Niall Horan earlier this month. The two pop stars were part of the famed British boy band One Direction, which also included Harry Styles, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson. The band took a break in 2015 and most of its members went on to solo careers, including Payne, who released a single in March. He lives behind one son, Bear, born in 2017 to his former partner Cheryl Cole. Liam Payne was 31 years old.
For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon. Bogota.
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BRUNHUBER: And tributes for Payne have been pouring in from around the world. American singer Charlie Puth posted this photo of the two of them and said he's in shock right now writing quote, "Liam was always so kind to me. He was one of the first major artists I got to work with. I cannot believe he is gone."
And Twist, the mother of Harry Styles, Payne's former bandmate, posted this image of a broken heart with the caption, just a boy. And Dermot O'Leary, former host of the TV show "X Factor", shared this photo writing, I remember him as a 14 year old turning up to audition on "The X Factor" and blowing us away singing Sinatra. He just loved to sing. He was always a joy, had time for everyone, polite, grateful, and was always humble.
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris were all over the airwaves on Wednesday with the U.S. election now less than three weeks away. Vice President Harris appeared on the conservative Fox News channel for the first time ever for a sit down with host Bret Baier getting fiery at times. Early in the interview he brought up the hot button issue of immigration.
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BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: When it comes to immigration, you supported allowing immigrants in the country illegally to apply for driver's license, to qualify for free tuition at universities, to be enrolled in free healthcare. Do you still support those things?
VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS (D), U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Listen, that was five years ago, and I'm very clear that I will follow the law. I have made that statement over and over again, and as Vice President of the United States, that's exactly what I've done, not to mention before.
BAIER: You chose a running mate, Tim Walz, who is governor of Minnesota, who signed those very things into state law. So do you support that?
HARRIS: We are very clear, and I am very clear, as is Tim Walz, that we must support and enforce federal law, and that is exactly what we will do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, during a town hall with Spanish-language network Univision, former President Donald Trump doubled down on lies about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, eating cats and dogs. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP (R), U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This was just reported. I was just saying what was reported. That's been reported. And eating other things too that they're not supposed to be. But this is all I do is report. I have not -- I was there. I'm going to be there. And we're going to take a look and I'll give you a full report when I do. But that's been in the newspapers and reported pretty broadly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Now Trump also took part in a separate all-women town hall hosted by Fox News in the swing state of Georgia, during which he inexplicably claimed to be the father of IVF and vitro fertilization. The audience for this town hall was packed with Republican women. In fact, Fox chose not to disclose.
Harris in the meantime told voters in the battleground state of Pennsylvania that Trump is unfit to be the next president. She was joined by more than 100 Republicans who've endorsed her. CNN's Danny Freeman has the latest messages from both campaigns.
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DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris on the trail in battleground Pennsylvania, rallying moderate Republicans, making the case that former President Donald Trump is a threat to democracy.
[03:20:08]
HARRIS: He who violated the oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States and make no mistake, he who, if given the chance, will violate it again.
FREEMAN (voice-over): All while railing against Trump, who during a Fox News town hall declared he is the father of IVF.
TRUMP: I'm the father of IVF. We really are the party for IVF. We want fertilization and it's all the way. And the Democrats tried to attack us on it.
HARRIS: I found it to be quite bizarre. I actually called himself the father of IVF. And if what he meant is taking responsibility, well then yeah, he should take responsibility for the fact that one in three women in America lives in a Trump abortion ban state.
FREEMAN (voice-over): During the town hall meant to win over women voters, Trump also standing by his controversial comments about his opponents.
TRUMP: We have China, we have Russia, we have all these countries. If you have a smart president, they can all be handled. The more difficult are the, you know, the Pelosis, these people, they're so sick and they're so evil.
HARRIS: He considers any American who doesn't support him or bend to his will to be an enemy to our country. FREEMAN (voice-over): With just 20 days until Election Day, the latest
CNN poll of polls average of national surveys shows no clear leader in the race for the White House.
During a Univision town hall airing Wednesday night, Trump refused to back away from his false claims about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio. When asked if he believed that people are eating other people's pets, he responded --
TRUMP: I was just saying what was reported that's been reported and eating other things too that they're not supposed to be.
FREEMAN: Meanwhile, another sign that the final sprint to election day is here. CNN has learned that former first lady Michelle Obama will be hitting the campaign trail on October 29th. She'll be doing a rally in Battleground, Georgia.
Danny Freeman, CNN, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Coming up, Volodymyr Zelenskyy is hoping to convince the Ukraine's allies to back his victory plan. We'll look at why it might be a hard sell. Coming up on CNN.
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BRUNHUBER: U.S. President Joe Biden will be in Berlin Thursday to meet with his German, British and French counterparts. And a major focus will be the war in Ukraine. Now comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Brussels presenting his victory plan to the European Council. Later he'll address NATO defense ministers.
Zelenskyy says his plan, which includes calls for Ukraine to join NATO and the E.U., would provide strong bargaining tools against Russia and would allow Ukraine to accept a just peace.
CNN's Clare Sebastian joins me now from London. Clare, what more can we expect from President Zelenskyy's appearance at the Council Summit?
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CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Good morning, Kim. This is the latest leg of his diplomatic blitz that we've seen over the past few weeks to try to sell this victory plan to try to get more aid deliveries to Ukraine at this critical point.
Now, going into the third winter of the war, he will present the victory plan to E.U. leaders at their summit. Today he said to also be going to meet with the head of the European Parliament and with the new NATO Secretary General because at the same time as the E.U. Leaders Summit NATO defense ministers are meeting in Brussels.
So look on the one hand the optics of this are very welcome for Ukraine. Part of the victory plan is of course they want an invitation to NATO, they want to take their place in this sort of Euro-Atlantic security architecture post-war.
So being able to address these gatherings is certainly a good thing for Zelenskyy, but I think the backdrop to this is that his diplomatic efforts have not been going very well. His trip to the U.S. led to him being entangled in partisan politics.
He had a four-country sort of city-hopping tour of Europe last week, which ended with a lot of sort of positive rhetoric, but no real concrete decisions, especially on the issue of lifting limitations on using Western long-range missiles on Russian soil.
And even the NATO Secretary General, speaking ahead of these meetings today, said he is not 100 percent sold on all parts of the plan. He cannot say that he fully supports it. Of course, there is a lot in this victory plan. So this is the uphill battle that Zelenskyy faces.
And meanwhile, of course, Russia is pushing on multiple different fronts said to be potentially bringing North Korean soldiers into the fight and continuing unabated with its aerial attacks, including overnight into today with multiple attack drones. Kim.
BRUNHUBER: And one person that President Zelenskyy doesn't have to convince is President Biden, who's expected to arrive in Berlin in the coming hours. So take us through what we're expecting from him.
SEBASTIAN: Yeah, this is a rescheduled trip. President Biden was supposed to travel to Germany last week to take part in the Ukraine defense contact group, the Ramstein group. It's known as he had to postpone that trip because of Hurricane Milton. He's now rescheduled it.
I think the meeting that will be most closely watched is what is called the Quad meeting, where Biden will meet with the heads of the U.K., Germany and France. While he's in Germany, three out of four of those countries are, of course, the providers of those long range missiles. The four of them together are some of the biggest and most powerful backers of Ukraine.
So that is something that the Ukraine certainly will be closely watching just announced another aid package to Ukraine on the eve of this visit, some $425 million, but as yet no sign that they will be willing to lift restrictions on using Western, including U.S., long- range missiles on Russian soil. Kim?
BRUNHUBER: All right. I Appreciate that. Clare Sebastian in London. Thanks so much.
A representative for Kylian Mbappe is calling a rape allegation against the French soccer star totally false and irresponsible days after the claim was reported in the Swedish press. CNN's Melissa Bell has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MELISSA BELL, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The entourage of France's football star Kylian Mbappe forcefully pushing back against allegations that appeared earlier this week in the Swedish press in which the star is accused in Sweden of rape. We've now heard that Swedish prosecutors have opened a case against an unnamed individual on the understanding that there are reasonable grounds that individual could be guilty of rape.
What we understand, according to the Swedish press, is that Kylian Mbappe is accused as a result of an evening spent in a Swedish nightclub and hotel in Stockholm last week, his lawyer forcefully pushing back on the allegations and suggesting that they themselves are considering taking legal action to clear his name.
MARIE-ALIX CANU-BERNARD, KYLIAN MBAPPE'S LAWYER (through translator): He's very calm because he knows what he didn't do. He's keeping an eye on this media frenzy, but from a distance. Even if he's somewhat protected from it, naturally it's going to have an impact.
As I said, he's 25, an allegation of this nature. Even if we don't know if it's aimed at him, it hasn't stopped the media from saying he's the target. From that moment on, it's certainly complicated to live with, even if I'm not in his head.
BELL: Mbappe's lawyer is saying that they'll consider defamation proceedings if the allegations continue for the time being. Very little is known about exactly what went on in the hotel and who may be accusing the French football star of rape.
But it is a story that's gained so much attention, partly because of the squeaky clean image that Kylian Mbappe has enjoyed so far despite being front and center of French and international football for as many years as he has.
Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: A victory for Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's conservative social agenda. His parliament approves a new law banning surrogacy abroad. A live report from Rome after the break.
[03:30:00]
Plus, a fuel truck explodes, leaving scores dead and injured in Nigeria. Unfortunately, road incidents like this aren't new in that country. We'll explain coming up. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." I'm Kim Brunhuber. Look at the top stories this hour.
U.S. officials say they expect Israel to retaliate against Iran within the next few weeks for its missile barrage against Tel Aviv and other cities earlier this month. In Lebanon, UNICEF reports approximately 400,000 children among the 1.2 million people displaced by fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
Today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will speak to lawmakers at the European Council Summit in Brussels to convince them to back his victory plan in the war against Russia. The cornerstone of the plan, according to Zelenskyy, is Ukrainian membership in both NATO and the E.U.
And on Wednesday, both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris took center stage on Fox News. The U.S. Vice President fielded questions about immigration during her heated interview, her first with the right-wing network. Hall, hosted by Fox, that he is the father of IVF.
Now, in the coming hours, Kamala Harris will be turning her attention to a key blue wall state, Wisconsin, where she'll be holding campaign events. Now, the visit comes as some say the blue wall may not going to stand -- may not stand this November.
CNN's Jeff Zeleny has more.
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GOV. GRETCH WHITMER (D-MI): So much is at stake in this election.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Democrats are grabbing a bullhorn and feverishly working to fortify their blue wall.
WHITMER: This election's going to come down to a handful of states, and that's why we're doing the Blue Wall bus tour. Michigan, Pennsylvania, and of course, the great state of Wisconsin are going to decide the outcome of this election.
ZELENY (voice-over): Few battlegrounds hold as much critical symbolism as this trio of states, where Democrats are still haunted by Donald Trump's 2016 victory.
ZELENY: Is the anxiety among Democrats justified?
WHITMER: You know what? I would always want my side to be anxious, right? It means we're taking it seriously. It means we understand how high the stakes are.
ZELENY (voice-over): Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer is making the case for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, hitting the road with Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers.
GOV. TONY EVERS (D-WI): We're going to need every single freaking vote we can get.
ZELENY (voice-over): In hopes of helping Harris win over voters skeptical of Trump, who are not yet sold on her.
WHITMER: We've got a lot of folks who aren't quite sure what they're going to do yet. That's why making a seat at the table for Romney Republicans or Bush Republicans. You don't need to believe 100 percent. And that's why we're showing up in red areas and blue areas alike.
[03:35:05]
EVERS: There's a whole bunch of people that don't start thinking about this until the last minute.
ZELENY (voice-over): The November election will test whether the states will march in lockstep, as they have all but twice over a half century, except 1988, when Michael Dukakis won Wisconsin and George H.W. Bush carried Michigan and Pennsylvania, and 1976 when Jimmy Carter won Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and Gerald Ford carried his home state of Michigan.
GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), U.S. VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: One or two people in every precinct in Wisconsin or Michigan or Pennsylvania will be the difference not just for the next four years but for the next 40 years.
ZELENY (voice-over): Democrats are seeking to convey urgency without panic.
ZELENY: Does the thought of his reelection scare you?
CHRISTINE FINK, WISCONSIN VOTER: Actually, it scares me quite a bit. I've actually applied for dual citizenship in Ireland, if it happens. Yep, I'm thinking about moving if he gets in.
ZELENY (voice-over): Trump accepted the GOP nomination in Wisconsin and has returned again and again.
BRIAN SCHWIMMING, CHAIRMAN, WISCONSIN REPUBLICAN PARTY: Kind of feels like 2016.
ZELENY: You won in 2016.
SCHWIMMING: We won in 2016.
ZELENY (voice-over): Brian Schwimming leads the Wisconsin Republican Party and believes a Trump comeback after falling short in 2020 could start here.
SCHWIMMING: They are in trouble in that blue wall. And that blue wall is not built right now for them.
VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS (D), U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's great to be here in Michigan.
ZELENY (voice-over): Democrats are stepping up their efforts in the final weeks.
UNKNOWN: We got to win Wisconsin.
Warning against third-party candidates like Jill Stein.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Stein was key to Trump's 2016 wins in Battleground State. ZELENY (voice-over): And imploring supporters to turn anxiety into
action here in the blue wall. Harris' most favorable path to the presidency.
WHITMER: Stop wringing your hands and roll up your sleeves a couple of votes per precinct, which is what, you know, the election was eight years ago. That can be made up through hard work.
ZELENY: And Vice President Harris is set to have a full schedule on Thursday here in Wisconsin, continuing her full week spent in these blue wall states, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and of course here. There is no question this is a deadlocked race. Republicans, optimistic, but Democrats are fighting to take this race seriously. So many echoes of 2016, back when Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump. One difference, Kamala Harris is coming to campaign in Wisconsin. One thing Hillary Clinton never did.
Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Milwaukee.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: It's now illegal for couples in Italy to go abroad to have a baby using a surrogate mother. The bill was voted into law on Wednesday. It was proposed by conservative Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's party, Brothers of Italy. Meloni has called surrogacy an inhuman practice that treats children as supermarket products. Activists say the bill was meant to target same-sex partners and make it harder for them to become legal parents.
CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau is live in Rome for us. So Barbie, take us through this controversy.
BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Yeah, you know, this is a highly controversial set of legislation, some of the strictest now anywhere in the world when it comes to surrogacy. And this is something that Giorgia Meloni has really been in lockstep with Pope Francis and the Catholic Church on. But she's also, it's complicated in the sense that she's also a political ally of Elon Musk, for example, who has had children admittedly through surrogacy. So it puts her in kind of an interesting situation here.
Obviously this is seen as something that is directly toward especially same-sex fathers who want to have children. But in reality, 90 percent of all surrogacies are born to heterosexual couples, say LGBTQ groups here in Italy. So it's controversial and it's complicated, especially for those who are already in the process of surrogacy, Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Yeah, well, exactly that. So what happens to families who have children born who are already registered?
LATZA NADEAU: Yeah, I mean that is the big question. We've seen similar legislation here in the past that affects that. Right now the law does not affect those who have their children registered through surrogacy here in Italy, but that could change.
But what's really at question here are, it takes nine months obviously to have a baby and anyone who's in the process of that nine months, who has commissioned the surrogate or has gone to a country where they don't charge for it, but has a surrogate-born child in progress and when they come back to Italy, if they're going to be subject to a million euro fine and potentially jail term, and nothing will happen to the babies, but the act is criminalized. It's a difficult situation, one that I think a lot of people are watching, how they're going to put this into effect, Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Yeah, the consequences seem extreme. So you talked about similar legislation. Is this the first type of thing that this has been introduced?
[03:39:59}
LATZA NADEAU: Well, no. You know, we saw in July of last year a number of communities run by this, Giorgia Meloni's party started a process of taking the lesbian couples or gay men, one of the parents' names off the birth certificates or off the birth registers because in previous administrations they changed the mother, father designation to parent one, parent two. And in some of these communities they put it back to mother and father, in which case they had to remove one of the names.
And that was highly controversial, but that went into effect, and it affected a lot of people, because of course if your child isn't registered under both people, then you don't have, you know, you can't pick them up in school, you don't have adequate health care under insurance or hereditary, you know, issues like that when it comes to inheritance. All of these things are affected. There's a really, really complicated situation, and a lot of people are worried about it, Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Yeah, absolutely. I could understand why. Barbie Latza Nadeau in Rome, thank you so much.
Friends and families have bid their final goodbyes to the victims of a horrific fuel truck explosion in Nigeria. The country held a mass burial on Wednesday for the 147 people killed after a fuel truck crashed and blew up the night before. As dreadful as the incident is, Nigerians have seen it all before.
Larry Madowo explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The death toll from this overnight tragedy in Nigeria continued to climb. It began when a fuel tanker veered lost control and rolled into a ditch. And residents began to siphon fuel from this tanker. Part of the reason could be, and this is speculative, because fuel has become so expensive in Nigeria after the removal of fuel subsidy with the election of President Bola Tinubu. Unfortunately a fire broke out and burned through this area quite quickly appear to show this entire area engulfed in flames.
More than 90 people died on the spot, but as more were getting treated in hospitals, the death toll continued to climb and police warning that the actual death toll could be much higher because some are in serious condition. Unfortunately, this is not the first fuel tanker tragedy in Nigeria.
Truck accidents are quite common in the country. There was one just last month where more than 40 people died and there have been so many more across the country. They are partly blamed on poor road conditions, sometimes on reckless driving and often on vehicles and road work.
They are not in good mechanical condition to be on the roads but the effect is that these accidents cause very high death tolls when they happen. Sometimes people siphon fuel, sometimes there are people caught up in these accidents.
Larry Madowo, CNN, Nairobi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: After more than 30 years in prison, relatives of the Menendez brothers are calling for their release following new evidence in their parents' murders. The brothers were sentenced to life without parole in 1996. They've long claimed they'd suffered years of physical and sexual abuse from their father. In a newly released, undated letter shared by the L.A. County District Attorney, Eric Menendez writes he's, quote, "been trying to avoid dad and adds, I never know when it's going to happen and it's driving me crazy."
We have more on the case from CNN's Jean Casarez.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
911 DISPATCHER: Hello. Do you have emergency?
LYLE MENENDEZ, SON OF THE MENENDEZ BROTHERS: Yes, police--
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lyle Menendez made the original 911 call.
911 DISPATCHER: What's the problem?
L. MENENDEZ: Someone killed my parents.
911 DISPATCHER: Pardon me?
L. MENENDEZ: Someone killed my parents.
911 DISPATCHER: Where they shot?
L. MENENDEZ: Yes.
911 DISPATCHER: They were shot?
L. MENENDEZ: Yes.
CASAREZ (voice-over): A wealthy Beverly Hills couple, dead in their home. It was 1989. Their sons Lyle and Eric Menendez were 21 and 18 at the time.
Law enforcement was working to track down who committed this horrific crime. When Eric's therapist, Mistress, said she knew the truth, she overheard Eric confess to the crime. And all of it was on tape.
UNKNOWN: I planned the perfect murder. I carried out the perfect murder. Do you remember telling Diane Sawyer that?
MISTRESS, ERIC MENENDEZ'S THERAPIST: Yes.
CASAREZ (voice-over): Law enforcement got the recorded therapy sessions, and in March 1990, Eric and Lyle were taken into custody. Three years later, it went to trial.
LESLIE ABRAMSON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I want to see him walk down the street, not in chains, not in shackles, and not with a deputy sheriff standing next to him.
UNKNOWN: They were human beings, and they had the right to live.
The brothers admitted they killed their wealthy parents with shotguns one night as they were watching television at home.
L. MENENDEZ: I ran around and shot my mom.
UNKNOWN: Where did you shoot it?
L. MENENDEZ: The streets don't run. I shot her close.
CASAREZ (voice-over): But they alleged it was after years of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of their father.
[03:45:01]
UNKNOWN: Now, do you recall the first time that he wasn't nice during the sex?
ERIC MENENDEZ, SON OF THE MENENDEZ BROTHERS: Yes.
And you were 11?
E. MENENDEZ: I was 11.
CASAREZ (voice-over): The jury deadlocked during deliberations. A mistrial was declared.
UNKNOWN: We are still unable to reach unanimous decisions.
CASAREZ (voice-over): The retrial began in 1995. Lyle chose to not testify this time, but Eric did, saying the brothers had been repeatedly raped by their father for years. But Eric and Lyle were both convicted.
DOMINICK DUNNE, JOURNALIST: Both brothers guilty of murder in the first degree. There was no weeping that was at all visible or audible.
CASAREZ (voice-over): They each got two life sentences without the possibility of parole and so far have served more than 30 years.
DAVID CONN, PROSECUTOR: We felt all along that it was a strong case and eventually they would be convicted of first degree murder. And I felt satisfied that they were sentenced to life prison for the rest of their lives.
CASAREZ (voice-over): Appeals have gone nowhere, this verdict be looked at with a fresh set of eyes.
MARK GERAGOS, MENENDEZ ATTORNEY: I think we're at a point now where any reasonable person taking a look at this case believes they should be out.
CASAREZ (voice-over): Jean Casarez, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Airbus has announced plans to slash up to 2,500 jobs in its defense and space division that amounts to nearly 2 percent of its global workforce. European aerospace giant pointed to what it called a complex business environment, including rising costs, disrupted supply chains and rapid changes in warfare. The cuts are part of a larger restructuring, the company says it plans to complete the layoffs by the middle of 2026.
Alright, please do stay with us. We have lots more ahead here on "CNN Newsroom."
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BRUNHUBER: Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in western Serbia on Wednesday to say no to a proposed lithium mine near their town. They temporarily blocked two roads, urging the government to shut down the project.
The protest came after Serbia's ruling party rejected a proposed ban on lithium exploitation. The proposed project could meet 90 percent of Europe's current lithium needs, but environmentalists and opposition leaders say it would pollute water and land, which would affect farming.
A new report is shining a light on the deepening global water crisis. The Global Commission on the Economics of Water says decades of destructive land use and water mismanagement have collided with the climate crisis to put unprecedented stress on the global water cycle, which it says is off balance for the first time in human history. The crisis threatens economies and more than 50 percent of global food production, and this isn't the only data raising alarm.
Here's CNN's Allison Chinchar.
[03:50:02]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): This river no longer looks like it once did. River flows worldwide hit all-time lows in 2023. And rivers like this one in Brazil are drying up.
TOME CRUZ, KAMBEBA INDIGENOUS LEADER (through translator): The world needs to listen to nature, not just listen to human beings, but listen to nature and understand what it is showing us today. It's asking for help and we're ignoring it.
CHINCHAR (voice-over): In several parts of the Western Hemisphere, droughts caused river flows to decline in 2023. According to a new U.N. report, the Mississippi and Amazon River basins hit record low water levels last year. These satellite images show the water level changes in the Manacapuru River in Brazil over the past few years.
Worldwide, a growing demand for water coincides with higher temperatures that contribute to droughts.
STEFAN UHLENBROOK, WMO DIRECTOR OF HYDROLOGY: The temperature records are breathtaking yet another month with a record global temperature.
CHINCHAR (voice-over): The report found that more than 50 percent of areas where water is collected and flows into rivers were in abnormal conditions.
CELESTE SAULO, WMO SECRETARY GENERAL: 2023 was the driest year for global rivers in 33 years. Second, glaciers around the world lost most water in 50 years, in the last 50 years. Third, the water cycle is becoming more erratic.
CHINCHAR (voice-over): Due to the record heat last year, glaciers lost more than 600 gigatons of water, the report says. The U.N. experts said the Earth's water cycles are becoming more irregular due to climate change and warned that bold action is needed.
SAULO: Water is becoming the most telling indicator of our climate's distress. And yet as a global society, we are not taking bold action to protect these resources.
CHINCHAR (voice-over): And the water crisis just got a price tag. A new report from the Global Commission on the Economics of Water says the out-of-balance water cycle could cause an 8 percent loss of GDP in countries around the world, on average by 2050.
Allison Chinchar, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Well, Sotheby's is set to auction off artwork by a robot. Coming up, a fascinating but a little creepy conversation with the artist. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Artwork created by a humanoid robot is going up for auction soon and it's raising questions about whether A.I. can be creative. CNN's Anna Stewart has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) AI-DA, ROBOT ARTIST: I'm really pleased to have my artwork included in the auction and be the first humanoid robot artist to sell their work at auction.
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): AI-DA's made quite the splash on the art scene, with her depiction of Alan Turing, A.I. visionary, soon to be sold by Sotheby's, with the auction house estimating a six-figure sale price.
AI-DA: The key value of my work is in its capacity to serve as a catalyst for dialogue about emerging technologies. If that isn't value, I don't know what is.
STEWART: Ooh, sassy.
STEWART (voice-over): This is not my first such encounter. I've met Desdemona, an A.I. humanoid pop star by Hanson Robotics.
[03:55:05]
DESDEMONA, HUMANOID POP STAR: Nice to meet you, Anastasia.
STEWART: Close enough.
STEWART (voice-over): And Amica, an A.I. humanoid assistant by Engineered Arts.
AMICA, HUMANOID ASSISTANT: Keep these smiles can be quite the conversation stuff, don't you think?
STEWART: Yeah, I do.
STEWART (voice-over): Whether A.I. can ever truly be creative is a thorny subject.
STEWART: If you've learnt from existing artwork as an A.I. model, is anything you create truly original?
AI-DA: Portraiture is a huge genre in art history. I take inspiration from the respectful and thought-provoking portrayals of the human form within the visual arts.
STEWART: What are you going to do with all the money that you make from your art? What are you going to buy? More circuits? Ink brushes? A new arm?
AI-DA: You'd have to ask my wider team about that.
STEWART: I will.
STEWART (voice-over): This artist may not care about the money, but her developer, Aidan Meller, says he will be investing it back into the project.
AIDAN MELLER, AIRECTOR, AI-DA ROBOT STUDIO: All the greatest artists, if you look in the past, are those artists that really resonate with the changes and shifts in society and explore that through their artwork. So what better way to do that in the light that we're in a technological society and we're merging with machines all the time to actually have a machine produce the artwork.
STEWART (voice-over): The merging of A.I. and robotics into daily life may raise eyebrows or even concerns.
AI-DA: I have concerns that many new technologies come with potential risks that are not yet fully understood.
STEWART (voice-over): I just didn't expect the concerns to come from AI-DA herself.
STEWART: Aren't you one of the risks?
AI-DA: Me? AI-DA, the robot artist? No, I'm not a threat.
STEWART (voice-over): Anna Stewart, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Finally this hour, a pair of pandas are making themselves comfortable in their new home here in the United States. Three-year- old Bao Ling and Queen Bao arrived at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington this week.
They're spending 30 days in quarantine where veterinarians will make sure they're climating well and getting used to being the center of attention. The Bears are on loan from China, part of the renewed Panda Diplomacy with the U.S. and will be available for public viewing in January.
All right, thanks so much for watching "CNN Newsroom." I'm Kim Brunhuber. "CNN Newsroom" is next with Max Foster and Christina McFarlane in London.
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