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Western Nations Condemn Israeli "Drip Feeding Of Aid"; German And Norway Pledge To Help Ukraine With Patriot Systems; Passenger Jet Swerves To Avoid Mid-Air Collision; China Places Exit Ban On U.S.- Based Wells Fargo Executive; Study Links Smartphones and Children's Mental Health. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired July 22, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:36]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world, and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, more than two dozen Western nations condemn Israel for what they call drip feeding aid into Gaza.

Plus, a pilot apologizes to passengers after being forced to make a hard turn to avoid colliding with a B-52 bomber.

And we dive into the data on how smartphones are impacting the mental health of children across the globe.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Thanks for joining us, and we begin this hour in Gaza with another urgent call to get more basic humanitarian supplies into the enclave and to protect the people seeking aid. A warning though, some of the images you are about to see are disturbing. The Palestinian health ministry reports more than a thousand people have been killed seeking humanitarian relief since May. A statement from the foreign ministers of 25 western countries says the suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths.

Israel says the claim is disconnected from reality and sends the wrong message to Hamas. The foreign minister say we condemn the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food.

Meanwhile, Israeli tanks have rolled into parts of Deir al Balah in central Gaza for the first time in the 21 month war. That is, according to witnesses, aid agencies and the Israeli media.

Israel issued evacuation orders for the area on Sunday, hostage families are condemning the move, which they say puts their loved ones at risk. More now on the aid crisis in Gaza from CNN's Jeremy Diamond reporting from Tel Aviv.

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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It marks the latest instance of Israel's growing isolation on the world stage. I mean, these are not frequent critics of Israel. The countries that have come out here, more than two dozen Western countries led by France, the United Kingdom, Canada and the language that they are using is quite stark.

And it speaks to the undeniable nature of what we are seeing on the ground right now. As these countries say, the suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached, quote, new depths. They call this Gaza humanitarian foundation a delivery model spearheaded by Israel itself. A, quote, dangerous. And they say that it fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity.

They are squarely placing the blame of the humanitarian crisis that is now unfolding inside the Gaza Strip. At Israel's feet. And indeed, it is Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid. Israel's mode of delivery through this IHF foundation, the restrictions on the amount of aid that the United Nations and the traditional humanitarian aid groups can bring in. It is all of that that is fueling what we are seeing inside of Gaza right now. Not only the fact that just this week we saw the 76th child in Gaza since the beginning of the war, died due to malnutrition.

But in addition to that, the, you know, more than a thousand people now, as you just noted, who have been killed by violence near these aid sites, largely by Israeli military fire directed at crowds of hungry Palestinians trying to make it to these aid sites. And at this point, the Israeli military isn't even denying that it's opening fire on these groups altogether. They call them, quote, unquote, warning shots, but they acknowledge that people have been killed as a result of these warning shots.

They do dispute the total death toll numbers. They say that it's not as high as what's being claimed on the ground. But the bottom line is that, you know, whereas eight weeks ago, when this violence first began near these Gaza humanitarian foundation aid sites, the Israeli government, the Israeli military were all denying that it had happened. Now it's become an almost daily occurrence, one that the Israeli military isn't fully denying altogether. And it simply doesn't seem like there is anything that is going to get it to stop, other than perhaps a ceasefire agreement, which would not only stop the shooting, stop the bombardment of Gaza, bring out dozens of hostages, but in addition to that would also allow for an enormous surge of humanitarian aid, which, as we can see right now, is desperately, desperately needed.

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[02:05:20]

CHURCH: Ukraine's president says the next round of direct talks with Russia will take place Wednesday in Turkey.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been pushing for Russian negotiators to return to the table. The Kremlin says it's in favor of a new round of peace talks, but the two sides are very far apart on their demands.

Meantime, Moscow continues to bombard Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv, where a subway station being used as a shelter was damaged in a strike early Monday.

Ukraine's European allies are discussing what more they can do to help. On Monday, the Ukraine defense contact group held a virtual meeting where they discussed providing more defense systems for Kyiv, something President Zelenskyy knows is sorely needed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Every such wave of Russian strikes reminds us of two things, air defense, we need more systems, more coverage across our country and also, our long range strikes on Russia.

If Putin is off the deep end with this Shahed obsession and terror, they must be left without logistics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: For more on this, let's bring in CNN Military Analyst and retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton, good to have you with us.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Great to be with you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, Colonel, what is your assessment of what came out of Monday's 29th meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group with Germany's defense minister announcing a major aid package for Ukraine, and how will it help the war torn nation do you think?

LEIGHTON: Yes, I think the German package is actually really significant, Rosemary. And when you add that to packages like the Norwegian package, which is also over a billion dollars, that really shows that the Europeans are stepping up to aid Ukraine.

And the German package, I think, contains many different aspects to it, five Patriot batteries. It also has some other munitions that are destined to go to the front lines. We're talking munitions for artillery, talking munitions for anti-aircraft weapons.

So, this German package is a very significant addition to the Ukrainian arsenal, and that, in and of itself, means that not only has Europe stepping up, but if it can sustain this level of support for Ukraine, it can then keep Ukraine in a position of relative strength compared to where it was just a few months ago.

CHURCH: And Colonel, U.S. President Donald Trump's posture toward President Vladimir Putin has changed significantly in recent days, from previously appearing to take the side of the Russian leader to now feeling frustrated by Putin's reluctance to strike a peace deal.

So, now Trump has approved the sale of U.S. defensive weapons to NATO countries that will then transfer those weapons to Ukraine. What is the status of that arrangement? And when will Ukraine be putting those weapons into use?

LEIGHTON: Well, it could be very soon that the Ukrainians put these weapons into use, Rosemary. And one of the key things about this is that a lot of the weapons already prepositioned in Europe. So, there are already movements of such weapons such as the HIMARS system that have been spotted on roads in Eastern Europe on their way to Ukraine.

So, that means that the status is pretty advanced one. They are actually in the supply chain. And then, of course, the idea would be that those European systems that are being sent to Ukraine would then be backfilled by production from U.S. factories.

So, if that works out the way it's supposed to work out, then there should be a relatively robust exchange of resources between the U.S. and Europe on one hand, and Europe and Ukraine on the other.

So, if that happens as planned, it could be a fairly good system that allows for the transfer of these weapons.

However, there is the possibility that there will be delays in production in the U.S., and those delays in production could then hamper the war effort in Ukraine, let alone the defense of Europe, and allowing the Europeans to maintain their stockpiles. That could be somewhat -- they could fall into, you know, a bit of a disadvantage there if production is slowed, or if there are any perturbations in the supply chain.

CHURCH: And Colonel, how would you assess the latest battleground operations in Ukraine right now?

[02:10:06]

LEIGHTON: Well, the key problem that we see, of course, on our television screens, includes the drone attacks that the Ukrainians are suffering from when it comes to their major cities. The Russians have launched massive drone attacks against Kyiv, against Kharkiv, against the Sumy region and other regions within Ukraine. So, this has put a bit of a strain on the Ukrainians.

However, the other aspect of this is that the Ukrainians have been able to advance in certain areas along the front lines. So, they've been able to move forward in and around the Pokrovsk area in eastern Ukraine. There are Russian advances in other parts of the East, but there also are Ukrainian advances in part of the Sumy region, but in another part of the Sumy region, and the Russians are advancing.

So, in essence, what we see is a war of attrition that is in basically a stalemate at this particular point in time. And that stalemate, of course, means that, well, on the one hand, Ukraine is maintaining its sovereignty, but on the other hand, Ukraine is under a great deal of pressure from a numerically superior Russian force.

CHURCH: And Colonel, what do you expect to happen in the weeks ahead as we wait out the 50 day deadline that President Trump gave Putin to negotiate a peace deal or face 100 percent tariffs and secondary sanctions?

LEIGHTON: Yes, it's going to be interesting to see if President Trump holds to that timeline. So, when you look at some of the things he's done in the past, he may or not hold to that timeline at all, or may try to achieve some kind of agreement before that timeline.

The other thing, though, is that he hinted at the possibility of not waiting 50 days to impose sanctions against the Russians. So, it's a bit of a fluid situation. I think the Russians are not taking him very seriously at this particular juncture.

However, I think it will also be a key element here, when we see the different aspects of this, that it will give the Russians some time to regroup, to mass some of their forces in certain parts of the front, especially on the East and in the Northeast.

But it could also mean that the Ukrainians will find the capability to withstand some of the Russian onslaught. So, it could prove to be a bit of an Achilles heel for the Russians, although they're definitely going to try to take advantage of the situation.

CHURCH: Colonel Cedric Leighton, always a pleasure to talk with you and get your military analysis. Thank you.

LEIGHTON: Thank you so much, Rosemary, great to be with you.

CHURCH: A passenger jet in the US made a sharp turn to avoid a midair collision with a massive bomber.

Still to come, we will look at why there's a growing number of incidents between military jets and passenger planes.

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[02:17:21]

CHURCH: At least 27 people were killed when a Bangladesh Air Force jet crashed into a school on Monday. Students were attending afternoon classes when the jet hit the two story building. Officials say the pilot, a teacher, and 25 children were killed in the crash.

State media reported that the military said the F-7 jet developed a mechanical fault and the pilot tried to divert the aircraft away from densely populated areas. Bangladesh's government has announced a day of mourning and prayers.

A pilot in the U.S. apologized to passengers after making a sharp turn to avoid a midair collision. The Delta Air Lines regional jet was descending to land when the pilot spotted a B-52 bomber nearby.

CNN's Brian Todd explains it's part of a growing number of incidents between passenger planes and military jets.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, here she comes. The venerable B-52 Stratofortress.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A B-52 bomber flying over the North Dakota State Fair, but around the same time, a commercial plane full of passengers is trying to land at the nearby civilian airport.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For those of you on the right hand side, you probably saw the airplane kind of sort of coming at us.

TODD (voice over): The civilian pilot is almost chillingly matter of fact as he talks about the harrowing close call that just occurred.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It caught me by surprise, this is not normal at all.

TODD (voice over): The Delta Air Line's regional jet operated by SkyWest Airlines, on Friday, flying from Minneapolis to Minot, North Dakota. The B-52 flyover was advertised for 7:40 p.m. local time, which was roughly the same time the SkyWest plane was landing. The fairgrounds just a half mile from the civilian airport. The civilian pilot said the control tower told him to turn right, but that's when he says he saw the military aircraft on the right hand side.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The airplane that was kind of coming on a converging course with us. So given his speed, it was a military, I don't know how fast they're going, but they were a lot faster than us. I felt that was the safest thing to do to turn behind it, so sorry about the aggressive maneuver.

TODD (voice over): This audio was captured by passenger Monica Green, who said the flight was getting ready to land when she felt the plane jerk.

MONICA GREEN, PASSENGER ON BOARD SKYWEST 3788: But it was such a hard U turn to where we were going kind of straight and then went pretty sideways. I'd be looking out the window and just see straight grass. I wouldn't be seeing the horizon anymore because we were so sideways.

TODD (voice over): The video of the flyover appears to show a plane turning sharply in the distance. However, it's impossible to tell if this is the SkyWest plane. It's the latest of several incidents between military and civilian planes.

In March, a collision alert sounded in a Delta jet flying out of Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington as T-38 military jets flew over nearby Arlington National Cemetery.

[02:20:09]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was there an actual aircraft about 500 feet below us coming off of DCA? TODD (voice over): Those planes came within five seconds of colliding, and in January, a close call turned deadly when a military Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet collided near Reagan National Airport, killing 67 people.

TODD: Why are we still having so many problems de conflicting military and civilian flights?

PETER GOELZ, FORMER NTSB MANAGING DIRECTOR: Well, there's enough blame to go around on both sides. The military could do a better job dealing with the civilian side of the equation, letting them know when they have special occurrences, when they've got missions that conflict into the civilian airspace.

And on the civilian side, there is a shortage of air traffic controllers. The system is overstressed.

TODD: The FAA now says it's investigating this incident. The control tower involved in Minot is not a tower operated by the FAA. It's operated by a contractor, Midwest ATC who declined to comment on this incident to CNN.

Brian Todd, CNN, Reagan National Airport.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Two people are now being prevented from leaving China, despite both of them traveling there from the U.S. More on what officials in Beijing and Washington are saying, that's coming up.

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[02:26:09]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. A U.S. based Wells Fargo banker who recently traveled to China is now being prevented from leaving. Chinese authorities say the exit ban was ordered amid a criminal investigation, but details about the case and how the executive is linked to it remain unclear.

A U.S. Commerce Department employee has also been banned from leaving China. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout has the latest.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: China says the exit ban placed on the Wells Fargo executive is part of a criminal investigation. And separately, the U.S. Embassy in Beijing has confirmed to CNN that employee working for the Commerce Department has also been blocked from leaving the country. And both these incidents are heightening concerns about visiting and doing business in the world's second largest economy.

On Monday, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs addressed the Wells Fargo case in its daily briefing, a spokesperson said this, "Ms. Mao Chenyue is involved in a criminal case being handled by Chinese authorities who have lawfully imposed exit restrictions on her. According to Chinese law, the case is under investigation, and Ms. Mao is temporarily unable to leave the country and is obligated to cooperate with the investigation."

Now the details of the criminal case are not clear. Now this is what we know about Mao Chenyue, she was born in Shanghai and based in Atlanta, and according to her LinkedIn profile, she's been employed by Wells Fargo since 2012 and she leads Wells Fargo's international factoring business, and she was recently elected to be the chairperson of a global network called Factors Chain International.

In a statement, Wells Fargo tells CNN this, we are closely tracking the situation and working through the appropriate channels so our employee can return to the United States as soon as possible.

Now, since the exit ban, Wells Fargo has suspended all travel to China, we are also following the case of a U.S. Commerce Department employee blocked from leaving China. And according to The Washington Post, this Chinese American man works in the department's Patent and Trademark Office. He was visiting family in China several months ago when he failed to disclose on his visa application that he worked for the U.S. government.

Now, in a statement to CNN, the U.S. Embassy in China says this that, "We can confirm that a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office employee while traveling to China in a personal capacity was made subject to an exit ban in China. We are tracking this case very closely and are engaged with Chinese officials to resolve the situation as quickly as possible."

Now, these incidents are amplifying concerns about the risks of visiting China, and international security experts are urging American companies to closely vet all employees before they travel.

Dale Bucha is the CEO of Global Guardian. He tells CNN this, "Those with government ties, dual nationality or involvement in sensitive industries like defense or advanced technology should not travel to China, including Hong Kong and Macau."

Now, the State Department has a level two travel advisory for China, saying that Americans should "Exercise increased caution when traveling to China due to arbitrary enforcement of local laws, including in relation to exit plans."

Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: A new study is making the case for kids to unplug. When we come back, I'll speak to an expert on the impact smartphones can have on the mental health of young children, do stay with us.

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[02:34:11]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. A new study will have parents thinking twice before giving their child a smartphone. The research found that using smartphones before the age of 13 could damage the mental health of children and possibly lead to suicidal thoughts, lower self-worth, and detachment from reality, especially among girls.

The data is based on surveys of nearly 2 million people in 163 countries. The results were so alarming that the researchers are calling for global restrictions to prevent children younger than 13 from using smartphones and social media. Let's dive deeper into this with Clinical Psychologist and Director of the Princeton Psychotherapy Center, Dr. Melissa Greenberg. Appreciate you joining us.

[02:35:00]

MELISSA GREENBERG, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: So, this latest study finds that parents of pre-teens need to ensure their kids avoid using smartphones and social media because using these phones before the age of 13 could damage their mental health. What's your view of these findings? And what do you see as the main risks involved for pre-teens?

GREENBERG: Well, I think any one study has its limitations. So, this study is a correlational study and we can't say whether cell phone or smartphone use causes the mental health effects that are noted in the study. But, we have a number of data points now that many researchers have found that do say that cell phone or smartphone use before the age of 13 is detrimental for the mental health of pre-teens.

I've seen this in the research that has come out in recent years. I've also seen this in my clinical practice. And so, I think that it's really valuable that we have another data point to show us that it is a real possibility that smartphone use and particularly social media use can impact -- negatively impact the mental health of pre-teens and teens.

CHURCH: And of course, the problem with trying to prevent this is that we need to overcome the intense peer pressure currently on pre- teens to own a smartphone and to have a presence on social media. How do parents of pre-teens overcome those challenges to protect their kids? And what's your best advice to parents?

GREENBERG: My best advice is to reach out to your community, to other parents, especially parents of your child's friends, and try to come together as a community to make some decisions together about when you will be giving your pre-teens and teens smartphones and allowing them to use social media. Of course, you can't -- you can't prevent all exposure to social media or what kids might see on the internet.

But, in coming together as a community and making decisions together, then you have a situation where you're doing the best that you can to limit your pre-teens' exposure to what they might experience with using a smartphone or with social media. And you're also creating a community for them and a peer group for them where there will be other kids and pre-teens who also don't have access to their own devices where -- or their own social media accounts.

So, that can help both limit the exposure that your pre-teen has and also prevent that feeling of being completely left out. Of course, there will always be some people who still do have these devices, but it only takes a few to help someone feel not completely left out.

CHURCH: And clearly, the biggest risk posed by smartphones and social media use for kids under 13 is suicidal thoughts, caused by a lowering of a sense of self-worth and by cyber bullying. So, why isn't more being done to fight this and ban the use of smartphones and social media for kids under 13, which would certainly help the parents too?

GREENBERG: I think that's a really tough question. I think that we are in many ways just learning about all of these effects. I know that I wasn't, even as an informed person, I wasn't so aware of all of these data points as of a few years ago. I think a lot of parents at that point had already given teens and pre-teens smartphones and access to social media accounts. And I think it's very hard to turn back once you've already given your child access to those things.

I do think though that it's possible and I think parents should consider it. I also think it's really important for parents to know their own child and know how these devices and the social media platforms are impacting their children. Not every child is going to have the same reaction. And so, knowing your child, tracking the kind of impact it's having on them is really important. I also think that adults themselves are really attached to their technology and it's very hard to figure out ways to pull back on technology.

CHURCH: Dr. Melissa Greenberg, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.

[02:40:00]

GREENBERG: Thank you.

CHURCH: And thank you for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. "World Sport" is coming up next. Then, I'll be back at the top of the hour with more "CNN Newsroom." Do stay with us.

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