Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Lebanon: One Killed in Israeli Strikes on Beirut Suburb; Harris Took Questions on Immigration, The Economy, Mideast; Trump Attacks Former Chief of Staff for Fascist Comment; U.N. Secretary-General to Meet with Putin Today; At Least 3,000 North Korean Troops Inside Russia. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired October 24, 2024 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Israel says 47 humanitarian aid trucks entered northern Gaza within a 24-hour period this week. Gaza's health ministry says no medical supplies or food have entered the area for 18 days, claiming aid is being diverted to central Gaza.

U.N. aid workers cannot find food, water or medical care, according to the head of the U.N. Agency for Palestinian Refugees. Adding: The smell of death is everywhere, as bodies are left lying on the roads or under the rubble.

Gazan health officials say more than 770 have been killed in the more than two-week Israeli campaign, no breakdown of militants versus civilians. But the innocent are among the hardest hit in this never- ending war.

This young boy, Adam, was pulled alive but injured from the rubble last week. The man who saved him says his greatest pain was when he heard his parents did not survive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HANCOCKS (on camera): And we've also heard from one of the deputy directors of UNRWA who have said that this is beyond anything we have seen since the start of the war, which is really staggering when you consider what we have seen in Gaza over the past 12 months.

We also heard from that U.N. agency that two of their aid workers have been killed. They say it was two brothers who were driving an aid truck that was clearly marked in central Gaza. We have asked the IDF for comment -- Max, Christina.

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: Paula, we just saw ahead of that devastating report you brought us some images of the ongoing attacks in this southern Beirut suburb late on Wednesday. We understand from an IDF spokesperson that civilians were only given a warning minutes before the strikes happened. What more are we learning about those attacks overnight and the state of civilians? HANCOCKS; Well, that's right. It doesn't seem a very long warning, does it? But the IDF says it does give warnings before it does carry out these airstrikes.

So this particular one, according to state media, NNA, they say that it was the most violent airstrikes to hit the Beirut suburbs since the air campaign began. The IDF says that they struck more than 160 Hezbollah targets. They say whether it were rocket launches or infrastructure, not just in southern Beirut, but also in southern Lebanon.

But we are still seeing the rockets come the other way as well, saying that on Wednesday, there were more than 130 projectiles. In fact, Hezbollah claims that it did hit a military manufacturing firm in Tel Aviv. We did see sirens in Tel Aviv, shrapnel falling in that city as well, which actually delayed the departure somewhat of the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken.

MACFARLANE: All right, Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi. Thanks, Paula.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: More now on one of our other top stories. U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris was in the battleground state of Pennsylvania on Wednesday night for CNN's town hall meeting. Harris focused on her opponent, Donald Trump, repeatedly saying he's unstable and unfit to serve.

MACFARLANE: The vice president was asked about immigration and border security, the economy and the war in Gaza. And she answered the question about how her presidency would differ from Joe Biden's.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: My administration will not be a continuation of the Biden administration. I bring to this role my own ideas and my own experience. I represent a new generation of leadership on a number of issues and believe that we have to actually take new approaches.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Some voters, though, might ask you've been in the White House for four years. You were vice president, not the president. But why wasn't any of that done for the last four years?

HARRIS: Well, there was a lot that was done, but there's more to do, Anderson. And I'm pointing out things that need to be done that haven't been done but need to be done. And I'm not going to shy away from saying, hey, these are still problems that we need to fix.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Harris also admitted that she considers Donald Trump a fascist who adores dictators and strongmen. Just this week, Trump was praising autocrats like China's Xi Jinping.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He runs 1.4 billion people with an iron fist. He's a fierce man. I get along with him very well.

Putin, these are people that are tough people. Kim Jong-un, North Korea, nuclear weapons all over the place. I said, do you ever do anything else? Go to a game, do something. He loves producing nuclear weapons.

[04:35:00]

That's what he likes producing. And he's got a lot of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: And on Wednesday, Trump attacked his former chief of staff, John Kelly, on social media, calling him, quote, a total degenerate. This after Kelly said that Trump fits the general definition of fascist and wanted the kind of generals that Adolf Hitler had during World War II.

More on that from CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New accounts raising concerns about Donald Trump's history of admiration for strongmen from his former chief of staff, John Kelly.

GEN. JOHN KELLY (RET.), FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: He's certainly an authoritarian. So he certainly falls into the general definition of a fascist.

TODD (voice-over): And from The Atlantic, citing two people who claimed Trump said, quote, I need the kind of generals that Hitler had. Some analysts say it fits a concerning pattern.

MAX BOOT, SENIOR FELLOW, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Trump has seemingly never met a dictator he doesn't like and not just like, but he seeks to emulate, which is the scariest thing of all.

TODD (voice-over): Trump has openly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Chinese President Xi Jinping.

TRUMP: President Xi is a friend of mine.

TODD (voice-over): And North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.

TRUMP: And then we fell in love, OK?

TODD (voice-over): Trump's former defense secretary, Mark Esper, said this to CNN.

MARK ESPER, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY DURING TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: Clearly, he has a predilection for leaders whom he perceives to be strong. And that's just how he breaks the world down and breaks things down between strong and weak.

TODD (voice-over): Some analysts worry about how Trump would behave in the White House if he's elected again.

JACOB HEILBRUNN, EDITOR, THE NATIONAL INTEREST: He fetishizes the strongman. And that's the blueprint. Crush the media, eviscerate the independent judiciary, and establish his own rule over the country.

TODD (voice-over): Trump offering a glimpse of his view on presidential authority this week.

TRUMP: As president, you have tremendous -- it's called extreme power. You have extreme power.

TODD (voice-over): This all comes after Trump drew heated criticism for telling Fox News about his concerns over potential unrest on election day and how he might handle domestic opposition to him.

TRUMP: I think the bigger problem is the enemy from within. We have some very bad people. We have some sick people, radical left lunatics.

And I think they're the, and it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard or, if really necessary, by the military.

TODD (voice-over): Trump's running mate, J.D. Vance, defended the former president's remarks.

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), U.S. REPUBLICAN VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Is it justifiable to use those assets if they're rioting and looting and burning cities down to the ground? Of course it is.

TODD (voice-over): Mark Esper says we should take Trump seriously when he talks about using the U.S. military against American civilians.

ESPER: It concerns me on many levels, not least of which is the impact it could have on American citizens. It's the impact on the institution of the military.

TODD (voice-over): Will any of this hurt Trump politically as we move closer to November 5th?

SUSAN PAGE, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, USA TODAY: Donald Trump's core supporters, they are not going to be put off by almost anything. But we are now two weeks before the election and there may be soft supporters or undecided Republicans who will be repelled by this.

TODD: Donald Trump's campaign has refuted John Kelly's assertion that Trump expressed a desire to have loyalty on the level of Hitler's generals. The Trump campaign's communications director said Kelly had, quote, beclowned himself with debunked stories that he had fabricated and called Kelly a failed chief of staff who suffers from, quote, Trump derangement syndrome.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE) MACFARLANE: Now to the BRICS summit of major emerging economies. Later today, Vladimir Putin will meet with U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who's expected to press the Russian president to end the war in Ukraine.

FOSTER: President Putin, however, says he's working to form a new multipolar world order that's not beholden to the West, a key moment from the summit so far. The meeting between the Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister, who had not held formal talks in five years. The two nations recently reached a deal over disputed Himalayan frontier.

CNN's Marc Stewart is following this live for us. I mean, it is an extraordinary image yet again from the summit.

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the context cannot be ignored. We have this war raging on in Ukraine, yet all of these world leaders are convening in Russia on Vladimir Putin's home territory.

So in a bit, a bit later this morning, we will be hearing from the secretary general and his mere presence in Russia is not sitting well with everyone, including the Ukrainian government.

In fact, we recently saw a post on social media essentially condemning the U.N. Secretary General's presence. Let me read that tweet to you that came out just a few days ago.

It reads: The U.N. Secretary General declined Ukraine's invitation to the first global peace summit in Switzerland. He did, however, accept the invitation to Kazan from war criminal Putin. This is a wrong choice that does not advance the cause of peace. It only damages the U.N.'s reputation.

[04:40:00]

Now, broadly speaking, a U.N. spokesperson did acknowledge the controversy that this appearance is growing, saying that the secretary general has gone to the previous BRICS summit in South Africa and that it's very much standard protocol for the U.N.'s top official to attend gatherings where there are member states, such as the G7 and the G20.

So the speech from the secretary general is obviously going to be under the microscope for many different reasons.

It's not the only big event of the day, though. We are expecting Vladimir Putin and the secretary general to have a one-on-one meeting. So it will be interesting to see during that conversation how many of these themes about peace in Ukraine come to light.

In addition, there have been a number of invited guests to the BRICS summit. That includes the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. He too is scheduled to meet with Vladimir Putin.

And it's many of these one-on-one meetings, these bilateral meetings, as diplomats have to say, that often draw headlines, as much as these much larger general speeches. Finally, Max and Christina, I should tell you that Chinese state media

is now reporting that Chinese President Xi Jinping just wrapped up an address to members at BRICS, where he talked about, again, themes of an alternative worldview, different from the United States and its allies. He also talked about the need for peace, referring to the situation in Ukraine, as well as the violence in the Middle East.

MACFARLANE: Marc Stewart there, live from Beijing. More than just an exercise in optics, I think, this BRICS summit this year. And Mark, thank you.

Now, the U.S. is publicly confirming a move by North Korea that has Western allies on edge. The White House says it's seen evidence that at least 3,000 North Korean troops are currently training at multiple military sites inside Russia.

FOSTER: Move is fuel concerns that they intend to take part in Russia's war in Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS ADVISER: If North Korean soldiers do enter into combat, this development would demonstrate Russia's growing desperation in its war against Ukraine. Russia is suffering extraordinary casualties on the battlefield every single day, but President Putin appears intent on continuing this war. If Russia is indeed forced to turn to North Korea for manpower, this would be a sign of weakness, not strength, on the part of the Kremlin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: And more now from senior CNN international correspondent, Will Ripley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At this remote Russian military base, a convoy of what appears to be North Korean troops training in a barren, bleak stretch of wilderness deep in Russia's Far East.

CNN geolocated this video. Sergeevka Training Ground near China and North Korea, the front lines of Ukraine more than 4,000 miles away.

Ukraine is where South Korean intelligence says these soldiers are going. 1,500 now, as many as 12,000 could be deployed, South Korean media says. Some seen here, supposedly just days ago, getting their Russian military uniforms.

The audio muffled. The language sounds like Korean. We can't independently verify this video provided to CNN by the Ukrainian government.

They also shared this, a uniform sizing questionnaire dated last week in both Korean and Russian for hats, headgear, uniforms and shoes.

RIPLEY: Why would Kim Jong-un be sending troops to Russia and to Ukraine?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So if Russia is successful, then, you know, the North Koreans could follow suit and it could be a very dangerous situation.

RIPLEY (voice-over): As Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin deepen their anti-U.S., anti-West military partnership, a terrifying scenario, says Ukraine's president.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: We know about 10,000 soldiers of North Korea that they are preparing to send fight against us. And this is the first step to a world war.

RIPLEY (voice-over): At the United Nations, no comment from North Korea.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Such groundless stereotype rumors aimed at smearing the image of the DPRK.

RIPLEY (voice-over): They've been busy lately blowing up border roads with South Korea. Just days after supposed South Korean drones dropped propaganda leaflets on Pyongyang, North Korea's capital, almost at Kim's doorstep.

CAPT. CARL SCHUSTER (RET.): FORMER DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, U.S. PACIFIC COMMAND JOINT INTELLIGENCE CENTER: His regime is very, you know, even beyond normal levels of paranoia right now.

RIPLEY (voice-over): This week, Seoul summoned Russia's ambassador condemning what could be North Korea's largest ever overseas deployment. Bigger than the 1973 Yom Kippur War and Vietnam, says this retired South Korean lieutenant general.

LT. GEN. CHUN IN-BUM (RET.), SOUTH KOREAN ARMY: So this could be a real serious problem for the entire world.

RIPLEY (voice-over): A problem compounded by a massive influx of North Korean weapons into Russia. Reports of 70 shipments of shells, missiles and anti-tank rockets since August 2023. Not to mention North Korean ballistic missiles, which Ukraine says have killed civilians -- including children.

[04:45:04]

Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Now, earlier this month, the CNN crew was held captive in the North Darfur region of war-torn Sudan. They arrived to report on the world's worst humanitarian crisis but wound up becoming part of the story.

MACFARLANE: Chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward's team was supposed to meet a group deemed a neutral party in Sudan's civil war, but instead they wound up being detained by a heavily armed militia for 48 hours. She explains how they got out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think we were fortunate in the sense that our captors were pretty kind to us after a few very panic-inducing moments in the beginning. We sat and told them that we were sorry for any offense that we had committed and that we had children and families and please not to hurt us. And they did seem to soften a bit towards us at that point.

It was still pretty intense because, of course, it was stressful not being able to talk to our families and worrying that our families were worrying about us and worrying that we didn't know when we would be able to get home. As the only woman, I was concerned about limiting my food and water intake because there was no private space to relieve myself.

But after two days, they came back and then suddenly they were all smiles and posing for photographs and telling us we were going to be going home because it had been decided that we weren't spies. And that was a tremendous relief.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Here are some of those smiles. Clarissa described this moment as awkward, posing on a mat that had been their makeshift prison.

MACFARLANE: And you can read her entire report about being held captive in Sudan on CNN.com.

Now, rough weather in the northeastern Philippines has led to deadly and widespread floods and landslides. Tropical storm Trami triggered the damage on Thursday. At least 24 people are dead, mostly southeast of Manila.

FOSTER: A government official said more than two million people have been impacted by the storm. That includes more than 75,000 villagers who had had to evacuate their homes. Forecasters say the storm is now heading towards the South China Sea.

A seven-month mission ends for a NASA and Russian crew at the International Space Station. We'll tell you about their plans to splash down.

[04:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: NASA's SpaceX crew, eight team, is ending their seven-month science mission. The hatch between the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and the International Space Station was closed on Wednesday afternoon, and the capsule moved slowly away.

MACFARLANE: NASA officials say the crew will splash down Friday morning off the coast of Florida. Astronauts Matt Dominick, Mike Barrett, and Jeanette Epps were joined on this jaunt by Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin.

Now, turning to the sports headlines today.

And in it, it's not clear yet if Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will play this Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. The 26-year-old quarterback returned to practice on Wednesday for the first time in a month after suffering another concussion. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel discussed how the team handles concussion protocol in his quarterback's future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE MACDANIEL, MIAMI DOLPHINS HEAD COACH: You control what you can control. And you have the injury. You get an absolute flooding of the best information possible. And you know, Tua is allowed to, you know, have conversations and, you know, decide what he wants to do with his career.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Tua has suffered three concussions during his NFL career. He says he'll not wear a specially designed guarding cap helmet when he returns.

MACFARLANE: Well, hardcore fans might have to forgo the Peanuts and Cracker Jack if they want to afford tickets to Baseball's World Series. It's expected that tickets to see the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers will be more expensive than ever this year. According to ticketing website TickPick, the cheapest seat available for Game 1 in LA tomorrow night is a bit less than -- what? $1,000.

FOSTER: True fans.

MACFARLANE: Wow.

FOSTER: You'll have to pay even more, though, for a Game 3 where a standing room ticket is nearly $1,500 and the luxury of a seat will run nearly $1,800. For context, the average ticket price last year across five games was less than $800. Previously, the most expensive average was in 2016. Something is going on.

MACFARLANE: Yes, what's changed this year? Anyway, depends how big a fan you are.

A famous cracker that's popular with kids is getting a fancier name to reel in adults.

FOSTER: For limited time only, Goldfish Crackers have been named after the Chilean sea bass. It'll look and taste the same, but Pepperidge Farm hopes the grown-up name will help expand its audience as sales of snack foods continue to drop after peaking during the pandemic.

MACFARLANE: That's quite a change, isn't it? The company said the move is a playful reminder that the snack isn't just for kids. If you want to try them, act fast. They're available until next Wednesday, and they're being sold only online. FOSTER: A special migratory path for fish in Sweden is now open for transport. The so-called Fish Tunnel is in the center of Stockholm. It connects freshwater Lake Marleran to the saltwater Baltic Sea and is meant to help increase fish biodiversity.

[04:55:00]

MACFARLANE: I love that. This new tunnel was built specifically for weaker swimmers like perch and pike. Engineers used stones from a 16th-century defensive wall to create the structure. A project officially says the tunnel is illuminated during the day to mimic natural conditions as much as possible.

FOSTER: Lovely.

MACFARLANE: Leave it to the Swedes. Love that.

FOSTER: Absolutely.

MACFARLANE: Thank you so much for joining us here at CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Christina Macfarlane.

FOSTER: I'm Max Foster. CNN "THIS MORNING" is up next.

[05:00:00]