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CNN International: Turkish Officials: Deadly "Terror Attack" Hits Aerospace Company; Harris Prepares For CNN Town Hall In Critical Pennsylvania; Trump Campaigning In Battleground Georgia With 13 Days To Go. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired October 23, 2024 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RAHEL SOLOMON, "CNN NEWSROOM": Good morning or good evening, depending on where you're watching. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York.

Ahead on CNN Newsroom, an explosion and gun shots in a deadly attack at a Turkish aerospace company. The government says that terrorists are to blame. We're live with the latest. Plus, dozens of projectiles fired from Lebanon into Israeli territory. This as the U.S. Secretary of State leaves Israel with little to show for his efforts to bring about peace. We have live reports from Tel Aviv and the U.S. State Department. And the final stretch, with 13 days to go, Donald Trump bashing Kamala Harris on the trail, as the Vice President gears up for a CNN town hall later today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

SOLOMON: We want to begin with what Turkish officials are calling a deadly terrorist attack, an explosion in the capital city of Ankara, and what appears to be a targeted attack on an aerospace company.

Let's get right to CNN's Salma Abdelaziz, who joins us now with more details from London. Salma, what's the very latest?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. A shocking attack on this aerospace company in the capital in Ankara. It's still very much an active and ongoing situation.

I want to just go straight to this social media video that CNN has verified and geo located to this aerospace company, because it shows the moment of that attack in that video, if we could pull up that social media video, you can see what is a huge explosion. You can hear the sound of it, a plume of smoke going up, and then you see an individual who is moving through that location, appears to be carrying a weapon. You can also hear gunfire as well in that video. It gives you a sense of just how terrifying this attack was right in the middle of the day, as you can see there in the capital, in the heart of Turkey.

Again, this is going to terrify many families across Turkey. It has been relatively safe, relatively peaceful in recent years in terms of these types of attacks. But, Turks have seen many of these in the past, particularly in 2016. There was a spat of terror attacks across the country. So, many are going to be wondering, what is behind this attack? What is the motivation behind this attack? Who is behind this attack? We're awaiting a press conference from the country's Interior Minister very shortly. He may provide some clarity there.

We do have a death toll so far, which is 13, or rather, three people, I apologize, three people killed and 14 people wounded in the attack. Turkish officials also saying that two individuals were killed in this attack here. Again, looking at those live images, you can see just the number of sirens that are going off. There are medical workers there, rescue workers there, police, security officers, all trying to secure that scene and help those dead and wounded in this attack.

SOLOMON: Yeah. And that death toll just being updated literally within the last few minutes, and just to sort of add some more context to what you said, two attackers were neutralized, according to this statement from the Interior Minister.

Salma, what can you tell us about this aerospace company? What do we know?

ABDELAZIZ: Yes. And it is significant to know what this aerospace company is, because it is emblematic of the Turkish state, because it is a state-owned aerospace company that does provide contracts, does provide to the Turkish military, including drones, according to some experts that were speaking to us just a short time ago, that this company provides expert drones to Turkey's military that are used by its army. So, it's very much symbolic, if you will, of Turkey's military.

So, that begins to give you an indication of why it was a target. But also important to note that there is hundreds of people who work within that complex who all, of course, now are caught up in the aftermath of this terror attack. Of course, at this time, you're going to hear again, potentially, from the interior ministry, but you can expect that Turkish officials are going to be concerned, of course, when they say terror attack, is this ISIS? Is this groups like ISIS, or is this coming from Kurdish separatists?

So, a lot of concern right now for the motivation. What is behind this attack? Who is behind the attack? But, the primary concern, of course, is going to be those who need help on the ground. The country's officials say an investigation has already been launched.

SOLOMON: Yeah. And as you say, we are expecting a press conference shortly. So, Salma, we will let you get back to work in your reporting. Thank you.

I want to continue this conversation now, though, and bring in my guest, Asli Aydintasbas.

[11:05:00]

She is a Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and she joins me from Washington. Asli, great to have your perspective today as someone who really understands Turkey well and understands the politics of the region. Let me just first get your reaction to this news. The most recent update, as Salma said, is that three have been killed, 14 injured, and that's just what we know now. Your reaction.

ASLI AYDINTASBAS, VISITING FELLOW, THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Hi, Rahel. This is a real tragedy and a trauma for the Turkish public. There had not been terrorist attacks in Turkey for a number of years now. And in fact, recently, the government started exploring the idea of a peace process with PKK, the Kurdish separatist group. And so, an attack on a major Turkish defense contractor, a public company, but also the crown jewel of Turkey's defense industry, is going to be a huge trauma. It's also going to raise a lot of questions and suspicions in Turkey about what the motivations are, what could be behind -- who could be behind it, but who could be behind the actual perpetrators?

There will be a tendency to blame foreign powers or build conspiracy theories around this attack that has to do with the rise of Turkey's defense industry and perhaps the peace process that it is entertaining with the Kurds.

SOLOMON: Yeah. And talk to me a little bit more about that, because as you described to our producers, this was as recently as yesterday, this sort of Olive Branch being extended, and so, to have this event, obviously we have no sense right now who is behind this attack, but just help us understand sort of the context in which this is happening.

AYDINTASBAS: Yeah. This has been almost out of the blue. Turkey's leading coalition member, ultranationalist Devlet Bahceli, has started talking about a peace process with the PKK, the major separatist groups that has been waging a war on Turkey and -- for the past 40 years, and in fact, he started talking about having Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of PKK, reach out to the organization for disarmament. This is something that the government and government media has supported. It's clearly something that didn't just appear in his head. It's something that the government has been working on, trying to resuscitate the peace process that it had with the Kurds, and which ended in 2015. It is a major, major story that impacts Turkey's relations with its NATO partners, Turkey's positioning in Syria and Iraq.

So, just as the Turkish public is discussing the idea of a major new peace deal with the Kurds, this attack comes, and I think it's hard for people to make sense of why and whether this is a response from the PKK as effectively a no to an Olive Branch, or if there is someone else behind. Don't forget that Turkish public is being very suspicious of Western intentions as Turkey's relations with its NATO partners is up and down. Turkey's relations with Israel is obviously at an all- time low because of Gaza.

And of course, when you look at polling data inside Turkey, the Turkish public pretty much feels that everyone is a -- potentially a threat to Turkey, whether it's Russia or United States, NATO allies, partners, regional power. So, there will be a lot of theories and a lot of confusion until we know who has actually planned this and carried it on.

SOLOMON: Yeah. And I'm curious, as you mentioned, sort of the internal sentiment of how Turkish folks feel about the sort of global world order, today, Erdogan, the President of Turkey, was expected to meet with Putin on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Russia. And I'm just curious, with this context now of this terrorist attack, what you think that conversation may look like in the event of these recent events?

AYDINTASBAS: So, as you know, President Erdogan has been following more of a multilateral diplomacy, wanting to have a foot in each camp, improved relations with Russia and improved trade with Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine, but also turning around and selling weapons to Ukraine.

He wants to have Turkey be a part of every bloc, and no bloc, essentially following an independent foreign policy that has at times brought good deal of tension with Turkey's Western allies, including United States, Erdogan's decision to purchase a major weapons system from Russia, 400 missiles, has triggered Turkey -- U.S. sanctions, Western sanctions, and Turkey's Defense Industry, and TUSAS (ph), the company that was attacked today, comes in this interesting juncture, because it started producing more and more, essentially the crown jewel of Turkey's defense industry, including drones, including armed drones, including the production of Turkey's own fifth generation fighter aircraft, which is not in circulation now, but the project is advancing.

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So, President Erdogan is being talking about an independent foreign policy where Turkey has relations with all camps, and isn't solely a transatlantic partner, and in parallel to that, has been the rise of Turkey's home-grown defense capabilities, very much example by this own company. So, him being at the BRICS meeting today, and this attack taking place, the Kurdish issue, tensions with Israel, all of these things will be seen as part and parcel of the same international conspiracy by Turkish -- by the Turkish public. Don't forget that the government has been essentially telling two things to its own public for the past few years, that Turkey is rising and that nobody wants Turkey's rise.

And so, I think this attack almost fits nicely with that narrative that has been out there, that no one wants us to succeed. Everybody is out to get us. And in this particular case, the terrorist attack is real and has really targeted sort of a company with major symbolism for Turkey.

SOLOMON: Yeah. It sort of gets to the heart of the question right now, which is, who was behind the attack and what their motivations were? Still to be determined, obviously, or at least publicly disclosed.

Asli Aydintasbas, thank you so much for the time today.

AYDINTASBAS: Thank you, Rahel, SOLOMON: And right now, President Kamala Harris is in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania. It's a must-win state for the Democrat. And later this evening, she will be participating in a CNN town hall in Delaware County in the suburbs of Philadelphia. On Tuesday, her typical campaign travel schedule was replaced by a series of interviews and a sit-down with Spanish language network Telemundo. Harris laid out her latest economic proposals tailored toward Latino men. In a separate interview with NBC News, she was asked whether she is concerned about the possibility of post-election violence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S., (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Of course. This is a person, Donald Trump, who tried to undo the -- a free and fair election, who still denies the will of the people who incited a violent mob to attack the United States Capitol, and 140 law enforcement officers were attacked, some who were killed. This is a serious matter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: And the Harris campaign turning to former President Barack Obama and special guest in rapper Eminem to try to close the gender gap with male voters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, 44th U.S. PRESIDENT: I said, look, especially some men seem to think Donald Trump's behavior is somehow a sign of strength. When I hear folks saying, yeah, I'm thinking about voting for him just because -- and I say, what? And they say, well, I know he seems strong. He seems tough. I saw him at the UFC fight. I am here to tell you that is not what real strength is. It never has been.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Donald Trump, meantime, is campaigning in the swing state of Georgia today. On Tuesday, he joined a round table with Latinos in the Miami area and held a rally in North Carolina where he baselessly suggested that Harris has a drinking or a drug problem, while ripping her for not being on the campaign trail on Tuesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She is sleeping right now. She couldn't go on the trail. You think when you have 14 days left, you wouldn't be sleeping. She is not doing anything today. She is lazy as hell, and she has got that reputation. She is a radical left lunatic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: A stark warning, meantime, from Donald Trump's former Chief of Staff, the retired Marine Corps General John Kelly, about what a second term, Trump term would mean. Here is what he told The New York Times. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOICE OF JOHN KELLY, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP: Certainly the former President is in the far-right area. He is certainly an authoritarian, admires people who are dictators. He has said that. So he certainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: This as The Atlantic reports that while he was President, Trump said, quote, "I need the kind of generals that Hitler had", people who were totally loyal to him that follow orders.

[11:15:00]

The Trump campaign denies that he ever said that.

We are following both campaigns for you. We have CNN's Eva McKend and Alayna Treene.

Eva, you are in Pennsylvania where the Vice President will be appearing at that CNN town hall. What can we expect from Harris' town hall tonight?

EVA MCKEND, CNN U.S. NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rahel, Vice President Harris' closing argument coming into focus here. We expect her to lean into her personal biography in order to reach these undecided voters, these persuadable voters on a human level, these voters that are going to be questioning her tonight. She is also talking about her policy vision for this country, which she characterizes as an opportunity economy. And then she is making a forceful case against former President Donald Trump, arguing that over the last several weeks in particular, he has been exhibiting alarming behavior that must be called out. She was asked about Trump in an NBC interview whether her campaign is preparing for the former President to perhaps declare victory prematurely, and here is how she responded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HALLIE JACKSON, NBC NEWS HOST: Last election, the former President came out on election night and declared victory before all the votes were counted. What is your plan if he does that again in two weeks?

HARRIS: Well, let me say this, we've got two weeks to go, and I'm very much grounded in the present in terms of the task at hand, and we will deal with election night and the days after as they come, and we have the resources and the expertise and the focus on that as well.

JACKSON: So, you have teams ready to go. Is that what you saying? Are you thinking about that as a possibility?

HARRIS: Of course.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MCKEND: And Rahel, the campaign knows that it is not enough for her to

only talk about Trump. It's a both/and (ph) strategy. So, she is warning, in her view, about the threat a second Trump presidency would pose. But, she is also making an affirmative case for herself and arguing why she is the leader for this moment, Rahel.

SOLOMON: And also leaning on perhaps some really well-known surrogates. You got that boost from former President Barack Obama overnight. Now, they're preparing to campaign together tomorrow in Georgia. What do we know?

MCKEND: So, it's quite remarkable to see him back in action on the campaign trail. He is so comfortable in his element, and historically, this is why Democrats have leaned on Obama in the critical closing weeks of campaigns, because he has a way, in a very plain spoken fashion, of meeting Democrats where they are and pulling them off of the sidelines. So, that's what we heard from the former President last night, as he spoke about Donald Trump. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: If your grandpa was acting like this, you'd be worried. You'd call up your sister, your brother, your cousin, you be all like, let me holla at you. Have you noticed grandpa? He acted a little funny, but this is somebody who wants unchecked power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: And Obama continuing to campaign for Harris in battleground Georgia, where Democrats are leveraging their celebrity connections. He'll be joined by Bruce Springsteen as well as the director Tyler Perry. Rahel.

SOLOMON: All right. Eva McKend live for us in Aston, Pennsylvania. Eva, thank you.

Let's turn now to CNN's Alayna Treene, who is in the Atlanta suburb of Duluth. So, Alayna, on the other side, what's on the agenda for Trump today in Georgia?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, Rahel, Donald Trump has a pair of events in Georgia today. He'll first be meeting with faith leaders in Zebulon, and then coming here for a rally hosted by Turning Point Action here in Duluth.

Now, I do want to talk about Turning Point Action because they have been one of the biggest and most crucial outside groups helping Donald Trump with his on the ground type of strategy here in Georgia. And of course, Georgia is so crucial to Donald Trump. He, of course, won it in 2016 but lost it to Joe Biden in 2020, and he is really hoping, his campaign is really aggressively running after votes here in the state, to hope that they can win it back once again and secure those 16 electoral votes.

Now, at this rally this evening, there are going to be some big names here. We know Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, is going to be here, but also former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, of course, a top surrogate now for Donald Trump, as well as Tulsi Gabbard, who just recently switched from being an independent to joining the Republican Party. Other people include the country music star Jason Aldean and Dr. Ben Carson. So, it's going to be a big event here.

One thing I think you'll hear though Donald Trump talk about, which we've heard him do recently, is really encourage Republicans to get out and vote early and by mail. Of course, these are things that he had previously been very skeptical of, that he has criticized in the past, but now his campaign recognizes that they need all of the tools that they can use in order to secure and win this election.

[11:20:00]

As of yesterday, at 03:00 p.m., the Georgia Secretary of State's office said that more than 1.7 million people in Georgia have already voted early.

SOLOMON: Yeah. Georgia is especially interesting because it seems like day after day they keep setting these new records, these early voting records.

TREENE: Yeah.

SOLOMON: Alayna, let me ask, how is Trump responding to this interview from The New York Times, from John Kelly, his longest serving Chief of Staff? We played a small snippet there, but it was obviously very critical. What is Trump saying in response?

TREENE: Yeah. Well, it's really interesting, Rahel, because we know that John Kelly as well, several other members of Donald Trump's administration who have worked with him in the White House, including Mark Esper, John Bolton, his former Attorney General Bill Barr, a lot of them have been speaking up over the course of this election, but really in this final stretch, kind of sounding the alarm on what having Trump be back in the White House would mean.

Now, Kelly, I think his remarks, specifically coming just two weeks before the election, is a pretty stunning development. He not only talked to The New York Times, where he described that Donald Trump was a fascist, but he also talked to The Atlantic where he argued and kind of recounted a conversation about where Donald Trump had argued he wishes he had generals like Hitler did back in World War II.

Here is what Trump campaign Steven Cheung told me when I asked him to respond to this. He said quote -- he said "Kelly had totally beclowned himself with these debunked stories he has fabricated because he failed to serve his President well while working as Chief of Staff and currently suffers from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome."

So, clearly, they are pushing back very heavily on these comments. But, again, it's not just Democrats and the Harris campaign that are really trying to warn about what Donald Trump would be like as a leader. I think you're hearing a lot of his former advisors and aides and administration officials weigh in in this final 11th hour stretch to kind of argue that Trump does not, is not, and should not be back in the White House come November 5th. Rahel.

SOLOMON: CNN's Alayna Treene in Duluth, Georgia. Alayna, thank you.

Let's bring in our panel now to discuss this further. We have Meghan Hays. She is a former Special Assistant to President Biden. She was also the Director of Message Planning at the White House, and Marc Lotter, a former Trump 2020 Director of Strategic Communications and a Special Assistant to the former President. Welcome to you all.

Marc, let me actually pick up where Alayna left off there, this New York Times reporting from John Kelly. We paid a small clip here, but let me play another one for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOICE OF KELLY: I think this issue of using the military to go after American citizens is one of those things I think is a very, very bad thing, even to say it for political purposes to get elected. I think it's a very, very bad thing, let alone actually doing it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Marc, your response. And I'm not sure if you could hear Alayna there, but it's not just John Kelly. It's been Mark Esper. It's been Bill Barr. But, your response.

MARC LOTTER, FMR. TRUMP 2020 DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, & FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: Yeah. It's just a bunch of D.C. swamp creatures who are spouting their opinion there. It's their right to have that. But, at the same time, you have General Kelly saying one thing. There are more than 200 retired generals and admirals who support Donald Trump because they know the world was safer, our military was respected, when Donald Trump was in the White House. And I think when you look at the world right now and it's spinning out of control under Kamala Harris and Joe Biden, people want a safe, strong leader again, who can actually say something other than don't on the world stage and have people listen to them rather than go ahead and do it.

SOLOMON: Yeah. But, do you wonder -- I mean, as a Trump supporter, I mean, obviously you want him to win in two weeks. Do you wish that maybe he would stop saying things like the enemy from within? Or do you think that the opinion of John Kelly, the opinion of these others, really doesn't matter?

LOTTER: Well, I think what you're seeing is you're seeing a bunch of people who are trying to put their thumb on the scale, and the American people, they've been saying this since 2016. We are done being told who we have to listen to by D.C. or New York elites in the (inaudible) corridor. We want someone who is going to fight for our jobs, fight to secure our border, fight for American energy, and despite what D.C. and New York are saying, the American people right now believe that fighter is Donald Trump. SOLOMON: Meghan, let me ask, Kamala Harris in this town hall tonight, at this point, with less than two weeks left for those who still have not made up their mind, what does she need to say that she hasn't said already? What does she need to do?

MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT BIDEN, & FORMER WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE AND PLANNING: I think she needs to make a closing argument. These last two weeks, people are tuning in more. They are seeing her out more. People already know now more about her biography and who she is, but I think she needs to lean into what she is going to do moving forward, and also what they've done in the economy, what the Biden administration has done in the economy leading up to this point, and then her next steps to take it further.

[11:25:00]

So, I think that she just needs to answer the questions strong and concisely. And I think that that would will -- she will garner a lot of attention in these types of interviews. So, I think that the stronger she comes across, the better will be for her in the last couple of weeks.

SOLOMON: Marc, initially, the invitation was obviously for another debate Trump was offered, but he declined. This will likely be a huge national audience. Why do you think he didn't participate? Was this a missed opportunity for him?

LOTTER: It's not a missed opportunity for him. It's an opportunity for her. He is winning right now. When you look at where he is standing in the polls compared to where he was in 2020 or even in 2016, he is three, four, five points ahead of where that was. And so, why give Kamala Harris 60 million people to watch her when you can make her go out and try to earn it on her own? And what we've seen so far is that she can't answer the question about what she would do differently than Joe Biden. She can't even own up to the fact that she is basically withheld from the American people the amount of decline that we've seen in Joe Biden over the last year, year and a half or so.

So, I'm -- if I'm Trump, I'm winning. I'm not giving her that stage to try to make her case and get a do over. She had her shot. It's not resonating. And so, now she is going to have to take it to the voters one at a time.

SOLOMON: Yeah. But, I think winning is probably unfair to say at this point. If you look at most polls, I mean, most polls say it's a virtual dead heat. So, anyone could win, I'd certainly take your point. I certainly take your point in a good way.

LOTTER: The polls have been off by -- well, the polls have been off by quite a bit in the last two election cycles. And so, any poll right now that's not showing her up five to seven points based on historical averages means Donald Trump is winning, and according to the RealClearPolitics average, he is leading in all seven battleground states.

SOLOMON: Well, we certainly sure will see in two weeks. Meghan, let me ask, the Harris campaign has been clearly trying to

improve her numbers with men, with white men, in particular. Last night, it was Eminem, the Detroit native, who rarely speaks up politically, but he had this to say. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMINEM, RAP ARTIST: I also think that people shouldn't be afraid to express their opinions, and I don't think anyone wants an America where people are worried about retribution of what people will do if you make your opinion known. I think Vice President Harris supports a future for this country where these freedoms and many others will be protected and upheld.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Meghan, there is also some reporting that she may sit down with Joe Rogan, and Trump, apparently, is sitting down with Rogan tomorrow. Is it a different message when she is trying to reach this group that she has already struggled with? Is it a different message, or is this the same message in a different platform that she hopes will somehow reach this voter?

HAYS: So, I think it's the same message on a different platform, but I think that she is struggling resonating with men, and particularly men of color, and I think that that's a problem, and they need to -- they definitely need to improve their numbers there. But, I think that when she does these events, and Eminem is out there and President Obama is out there, that only helps them. That's drawing attention to these events, and people are starting people are starting to tune in.

But, I -- it's -- it is one of those -- a base that the Democratic Party has been struggling with since probably 2016. So, this is not new, and she has expanded her base with women, especially white women. So, I think it's just going to be a matter of who is -- who can shore up their base at a stronger point than the other person.

SOLOMON: OK. We'll leave it here. Meghan Hays, thank you. Marc Lotter, thank you.

LOTTER: Thank you.

SOLOMON: And you can watch the CNN presidential town hall moderated by Anderson Cooper right here on CNN. It airs live tonight at 09:00 p.m. Eastern Time or 02:00 a.m. in London.

And still to come, the U.S. Secretary of State is in Saudi Arabia to try and resolve the Middle East crisis through diplomacy, but he is also redoubling efforts to secure what he calls a strategic prize. Plus, Israel bombs a historic city in Lebanon as its war in Hezbollah intensifies.

We'll be right back.

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[11:30:00]

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. Even as he pushes for a ceasefire in Gaza, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also pursuing what he calls an incredible opportunity for the region to move in a new direction. Today, he met with the Saudi Crown Prince in Riyadh. The U.S. is trying to broker the normalization of ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel, hoping that an accord could offer Israel incentives to end the war in Gaza. Saudi Arabia has previously said that no deal will happen without the creation of a Palestinian state. And sirens briefly delayed Blinken's departure from Israel, amid reported rocket fire from Lebanon. Hezbollah says that it targeted an Israeli military base across the Lebanese border.

Israel is expanding its airstrikes, hitting the center of the historic port city of Tyre. It's a major tourist destination and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Israel warned residents to evacuate hours earlier. It also says that it killed three Hezbollah commanders in southern Lebanon in the last 48 hours.

In Beirut, crews are still searching for bodies two days after an Israeli airstrike near a major public hospital. The man you see in the red jacket lost his wife and his five children in the attack. Only three of their bodies have been found.

All right. Let's get more now from Jeremy Diamond, who is live for us in Tel Aviv. We also have Kylie Atwood, who is at the U.S. State Department.

Jeremy, let me start with you. Clearly, a lot of news coming from the region today, coming out of Lebanon. Bring us up to speed.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. What we've seen over the course of this past week is the Israeli military has been continuously expanding and intensifying its strikes in Lebanon, both in terms of the types of targets that they are hitting and the severity of the strikes. We saw today that the Israeli military issued a pretty sweeping evacuation order for the center of the city of Tyre. They've hit this city before, but this is the first time that they've issued such a sweeping evacuation order and that it has come in the center of what is really a historic city.

This evacuation order came right in between two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and it is, of course, forcing the displacement of more people. The majority of the people in this city had already evacuated, according to local officials, but tens of thousands were still there and were likely impacted by this order. We saw shortly after those evacuation orders were issued, very large plumes of smoke as the Israeli military hit the center of this city.

We are also watching the impact on civilians in Lebanon in other ways, including on hospitals. According to local officials, more than two dozen hospitals have been impacted by Israeli strikes over the course of the last few weeks, and five hospitals are now out of service as a result of Israeli military strikes inside of Lebanon. We've also seen overnight strikes in other parts of Lebanon as well, as the Israeli military tries to not only dismantle Hezbollah's military infrastructure in Lebanon, but also as they are clearly trying to drive a wedge between Hezbollah and the rest of Lebanese society. Rahel.

SOLOMON: OK. Jeremy Diamond live for us here. Jeremy, thank you.

Let's go over to Kylie Atwood at the State Department. Kylie, as we said, Antony Blinken is in Saudi Arabia now. Give us a sense of what you know he might be trying to achieve as he remains in the region, his goals there.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, so far what we have learned from the readouts, particularly of his meeting in Saudi Arabia with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is it there are really broad conversations still to try and focus on what the State Department says was common efforts to end conflicts in the region, specifically to bring about an end to the conflict in Gaza, to drive forth a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Lebanon right now, and also to talk about lasting stability for the region, of course, including that potential of normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

But, what this readout is lacking and these conversations don't appear yet to have are the details of how all of those things would come to fruition at this time.

[11:35:00]

The Biden administration has been saying for days now that after the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, there is an opportunity here for the parties to actually drive forth an end to the conflict in Gaza. But, what we haven't seen is actually any movement that would indicate that that is going to be a reality, that that is going to actually happen. You hear the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu claiming that fighting in Gaza will continue. So, there are questions about how they drive forth all of these diplomatic efforts that the Secretary of State is really focused in on right now.

It's also important to note that there doesn't appear to be conversations about the old framework of a ceasefire and hostage release deal that the U.S. and Israel, along with Qatar and Egypt and Hamas, had been discussing. That old framework doesn't seem to be the front of these conversations anymore. A senior administration official who briefed reporters on the trip last night said that there was an openness on behalf of Israel to explore new ideas that could serve as the premise for hostage release. Of course, those hostages were still held by Hamas despite, of course, Yahya Sinwar's death. But, we don't know what those new ideas look like, and in order to flush them out, it is probably going to take some time.

So, indications right now are that there is still a long road ahead. The Biden administration, though, really focused in on this. The Secretary of State is going to go to Doha. He is also going to go to the UK, where he is going to meet with some other regional leaders from the Middle East and try and continue pushing this ahead, given the backdrop, of course, being that the presidential election here in the U.S. is less than two weeks away, and the Biden administration has really less than three months in office.

SOLOMON: Yeah. OK. Kylie Atwood live for us at the State Department. Kylie, thank you.

Coming up, the Russian President has the message for the U.S.-led West, as he hosts a gathering of world leaders. Plus, he turned Abercrombie and Fitch into a global teen fashion brand. Now, the 80- year-old former CEO facing explosive allegations involving sex trafficking. We're going to have the details straight ahead.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. You're watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. Let's get to some of the headlines we are following for you this hour.

Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla have left Australia after their week-long tour. Today, they start their visit to Samoa, where King Charles will attend a summit with the leaders of Commonwealth nations. Many of those countries are dealing with the threat of rising sea levels caused by climate change.

[11:40:00]

Charles and the leaders are expected to make a declaration on protecting the ocean.

American Airlines has been slapped with a $50 million fine. A federal investigation found multiple and serious violations of the rules protecting disabled passengers using wheelchairs. U.S. Transportation Secretary says that the airline mishandled and damaged thousands of wheelchairs. In a statement, American says that it has already spent $175 million this year to improve services, infrastructure and training.

In New Zealand, a massive fire is tearing through a protected wetland, threatening the delicate ecosystem and rare species who live there. It's happening in Waikato, south of Auckland. Around 50 firefighters plus helicopters and airplanes are battling the fire. Authorities warn that it could take days to get it under control.

And Russian President Vladimir Putin has a declaration for the West. A new multipolar world order is being formed. The three-day BRICS summit is taking place in southwestern Russia. World leaders who have gathered to attend include Xi Jinping, the President of China, and the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Kremlin watchers say that Mr. Putin is using the gathering to show that he is far from isolated despite Western sanctions over his invasion of Ukraine.

Let's bring in CNN's Clare Sebastian, who is following all of the news with us from London. Clare, give us a sense of what we've seen so far and Putin wasting no time to comment on the terrorist attack that we're watching in Turkey. What have we heard so far? CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. We've seen some more bilateral meetings this afternoon, Rahel, including one with Turkish President Erdogan. Interesting that a NATO member in the first place would be at the BRICS summit, and I think speaks to the growing clout of this grouping now that it's expanded in size. But, Putin, of course, expressing his condolences, as you say, about the terror attack in Ankara.

And I think, overall, what we got today, we got more optics. We had a family photo of this now expanded BRICS group. It added four members, almost doubling in size earlier this year. That will be used by Russia as powerful proof, as you say, that the West has failed in its efforts to isolate it.

I think we got some signals as well of what practically the BRICS is now trying to do. Russia, of course, in its position as chairman, the rotating chairmanship of the group, it's the most sanctioned country on Earth. So, I think we see a level of urgency arising from that in terms of what Putin wants to do with setting up new payment systems, eroding the dominance of the U.S. dollar, and giving Russia more access to global finances. Take a listen to how he presented that.

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VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (Interpreted): We do not refuse. We do not fight the dollar. But, if we are not allowed to work with it, what should we do? Then we are forced to look for other alternatives, which is what is happening. We, while striving for cooperation, must still understand that the longer we live and work by someone else's rules and on someone else's platforms, the longer this transition to a new and more just economic and financial system will last.

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SEBASTIAN: It's just a little anecdote from the summit itself, and it just shows the sort of level of disruption that Russia still faces from sanctions, is that organizers had to tell delegates to come with plenty of cash that they could exchange into rubles when they arrive because, of course, MasterCard and Visa no longer work in Russia because of sanctions. Now, this afternoon, President Putin has also met with the Iranian President, the new Iranian President, and we saw a lot of sort of politics coming through, Pezeshkian talking explicitly, saying that they need to disrupt the West global domination.

So, I think you can see overall that this grouping that started some 15 years ago as sort of a Goldman Sachs founded idea of fast growing economies that were eventually going to dominate is now increasingly political.

SOLOMON: Yeah. It's interesting. I remember that Goldman Sachs report. I won't say how old I am, Clare, but good to remember you do too. But, interesting anecdote, you're welcome. You come, but make sure you bring cash.

Clare Sebastian, thank you. All right. Still to come, a deadly E. coli outbreak in the U.S. has

been linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounders. We will tell you what you need to know.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. The former CEO of Abercrombie and Fitch is set to be arraigned in New York on Friday. Mike Jeffries has been released on a $10 million bond after being charged with 16 federal counts of sex trafficking and international prostitution. Prosecutors say that Mike Jeffries and two others exploited young men to perform sex acts with promises of modeling and career opportunities. The alleged offenses took place between 2008 and 2015 while Jeffries was head of one of the world's top fashion brands.

Let's bring in CNN Law Enforcement Reporter Mark Morales, who has the latest from New York. Bring us up to speed here, Mark.

MARK MORALES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTER: Well, Rahel, it's just like you said, the CEO will be in a New York courtroom on Friday, and that's where he is going to be expected to enter a plea. Now, we've been in touch with his attorney, who said that they'll save their defense for the courtroom and they won't be saying anything in the media.

As far as the indictment goes, a lot of disturbing details were unsealed yesterday. As we've said, it's a 16 count indictment with charges stemming from sex trafficking and interstate prostitution. And this was a very sophisticated scheme. And what they did was they went out to search for vulnerable men who wanted to actually be in the fashion industry, an industry that's notorious for being very tough to break into, and they dangled in front of them the possibility of various opportunities to get into that industry, and in return, they expected sexual favors.

But, it went way worse than that. Those vulnerable men ended up becoming the center piece of a lot of these sex events that would happen in various major cities across the world. And at those sex events, they were required to either wear costumes or perform sexual acts, and in some cases, even take drugs where it would range anywhere from muscle relaxers all the way to drugs that were supposed to help them perform sexually.

Now, prosecutors in New York outlined just exactly how much evidence they had. They detailed some of the mountain of evidence that they had. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BREON PEACE, U.S. ATTORNEY FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: We have substantial evidence. We have travel records. We have financial records. We have testimony of victims and other witnesses. So, we think we have a lot of evidence that corroborates the charges in this case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORALES: Now, prosecutors said that they spoke with dozens of victims in this case, and they're asking for anyone else who they haven't spoken to, to come forward. Rahel.

SOLOMON: OK. Mark Morales live for us there in New York. Mark, thank you.

And still ahead, pizza fans who wanted a side of drugs with their order will have to look elsewhere. Coming up, how the pizzeria and the employees got busted?

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. Would you feel safe eating at a Mc Donald's right now? The company says there is nothing to worry about. That's despite the fact that 10 people have been hospitalized with E. coli infection, and tragically, one even died. Health officials are blaming Mc Donald's burgers. The Food and Drug Administration says that it could have come from the onions that McDonald's used. The fast food chain says that Quarter Pounders, which are suspected of spreading the infection, have been pulled from the menu. 49 cases have been reported across the western U.S., most of them in the states of Colorado and Nebraska, but health officials say that they do expect that number to grow.

Let's bring in CNN Medical Correspondent Meg Tirrell, who joins us now with more. So, Meg, just share with us sort of the latest on this and what more you can -- what more you've learned here.

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Rahel, I mean, the CDC is calling this a fast-moving investigation, severe cases of E. coli here, as you said, 49 cases so far. We do expect, potentially, there are more, and we may learn about more in the coming days. That's across 10 states, including 10 hospitalizations. One child was among those who were hospitalized. One person died, an elderly person in Colorado.

Now, as you said, most of the cases were in Colorado and in Nebraska, but across all of those states, the investigators are trying to home in on what the culprit ingredient is. They say these fresh slivered onions are a likely culprit, but they haven't ruled out the beef patties. Those investigations are continuing. McDonald's says it has pulled those out of the stores in affected states. Here is what they told the Today show this morning about whether it's safe to eat in their stores.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE ERLINGER, PRESIDENT, MCDONALD'S USA: It is important to note that the onset dates for this disease are between, at this point, September 27th and October 11th. If there has been contaminated product within our supply chain, it's very likely worked itself through that supply chain already, but certainly, we will be working with the CDC and cooperating with them on the investigation, and will --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TIRRELL: And as investigators work to really pin down the source of the contamination, they are not ruling out the idea that this could have affected more companies than just Mc Donald. So, we are going to stay on this as we wait to hear more from this investigation, Rahel.

SOLOMON: And Meg, what are the symptoms of an E. coli infection? It's not necessarily the most common type of illness that people encounter.

TIRRELL: No. And most people who get infected with E. coli will get better on their own within five to seven days. Typically, if they get sick, it takes about three to four days to find symptoms after consuming the bacteria, although that can go out to nine days. The symptoms include really severe stomach pains, diarrhea, which can be bloody, vomiting. This can also come with fever. And health authorities are saying, if people experience these symptoms, particularly over a few days, they should seek healthcare and report what they ate, as this investigation goes on.

SOLOMON: OK. Meg Tirrell, great to see you. Thank you, Meg.

And before we go, one more thing. Anyone in Dusseldorf, Germany ordering pizza from a specific pizzeria could apparently get more than just a pizza pie. German police say that item number 40 on the menu also came with the side of cocaine. Officers busted the pizzeria's manager at his apartment, and that's when they say that he threw a bag of drugs out of his window, but unfortunately for him, they actually landed right in the hands of officers. He was later arrested, and police say that they actually busted an entire drug ring in the area.

Well, we know your time is money. So, thank you for spending some time with me today. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. Stick with CNN. One World is coming up next.

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