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CNN This Morning

Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Official Says, We Carries Out the Drone Attacks on Moscow; Thousands Protest as Voting for Judicial Overhaul Begins in Israel; DOJ to Texas, Responds Today About Floating Barrier or Face Suit. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired July 24, 2023 - 07:00   ET

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

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Is because the U.S. Women has set the bar.

[07:00:01]

So, it will be really fun from here.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Sorry, say that again, the U.S. Women have set the bar.

MANNO: Over and over and over and over and over and over again.

HARLOW: Love it. Carolyn, thank you very, very much.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: CNN This Morning continues right now.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was asleep and was woken up by an explosion. Everything started to shake. It felt like the whole building had come down, but it sounded worse than it looked. As it seemed like the whole mall had exploded.

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HARLOW: Good morning, everyone. We are so glad you're with us on this very busy Monday. Erica Hill with us, good morning.

HILL: Nice to be with you. Welcome back.

HARLOW: Thank you. We have a lot to get to.

Here are the five things to know for this Monday, July 24th. Russia claims drone strikes hit two non-residential buildings in Moscow. No one was hurt. Ukraine's intelligence agency says that it carried out the drone attack.

HILL: A critical day in Israel. The country's parliament is set to vote on the first part of a historical judicial overhaul that would severely limit the Supreme Court's power to put a check on the government's actions. HARLOW: The historic heat wave in the U.S. will not quit. More than 35 million Americans this morning waking up to heat advisories and nearly every corner of the country will face above normal temps.

HILL: Today is the deadline for Texas to respond to the Justice Department and agree to meet its demands at the border. If it does not, the DOJ is vowing to take legal action.

HARLOW: Bye-bye birdie, Twitter's official log now an X. The bird has officially disappeared from the tech social platform. We'll get into it.

CNN This Morning starts right now.

HILL: This just into CNN, a Ukrainian defense intelligence official is now claiming responsibility for the drone attack on Moscow overnight. An official with the agency who was not authorized to speak publicly is confirming that news to CNN.

The Russian military says two drones crashed into buildings in the Russian capital after being disabled with electronic warfare. Now, one of them hit a Russian Defense Ministry building. No injuries have been reported.

HARLOW: There are videos, though, on social media. They show one of the drones buzzing around the Russian capital. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had vowed to retaliate after relentless and deadly Russian strikes on the city of Odessa. That is where we find our colleague, Alex Marquardt. He is live inside in Odessa, inside a historic cathedral that was very badly damaged. Alex, good morning to you.

Walk us through what you are see seeing.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Poppy and Erica. Well, we did hear President Zelenskyy say that the Russians would feel the retaliation for all these strikes in Odessa. Now, it appears that this response is at least these two drones that are hitting Moscow a very brazen attack, the kind of attack that Ukraine rarely claims responsibility.

But they are very clearly today, after almost a week of these very intense strikes on Odessa, particularly here in the historic city center. This is a UNESCO heritage site. We are inside the Transfiguration Cathedral. Church officials have asked us to put these helmets on because they are doing a lot of work around here. There is a lot of debris.

But I do9 want to show you around. This is the corner that was most damaged of the church. You can see that the ceiling has been completely opened up. This is where we believe the missile or the rocket came in, completely destroying this corner. It is amazing to see this much daylight in here just speaks to the fact that this part of the church no longer has any roofing.

As we come around here, my cameraman, Scott Mcwhinnie, is showing you the dome up there, the gorgeous dome of this cathedral, all of those windows have been blown out. The frescos have come down just moment ago. A huge section of this ceiling came crashing down. This altar here to the right is only standing upright because it's leaning against that wall. All of those pillars are now -- have now been knocked over.

This is a cathedral has -- that was destroyed back in 1936, and then rebuilt during Ukrainian independence. And it is this kind of strike on civilian infrastructure, on buildings that have nothing to do with the war, that has President Zelenskyy saying that what Ukraine needs now is more air defenses, what he calls a full-fledged sky shield. Poppy, Erica?

HILL: Wow. Well, as you look at this, I know you sat down with Ukraine's defense minister. You talked about this onslaught of strikes on Odessa. What more did you learn from him?

MARQUARDT: We had an interesting conversation with the defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, wide-ranging. We talked about Ukraine becoming a member of NATO, we talked about the ongoing counteroffensive. But I started off by asking him about what's going on here in Odessa, and whether he has been surprised at the ferocity of these Russian strikes. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OLEKSII REZNIKOV, UKRAINIAN MINISTER OF DEFENSE: Honestly, not. Because after February of last year, it's very difficult to surprise me.

MARQUARDT: It was night after night of drones and missiles, all kinds of different targets. They say it was in response to the attack on the Kerch Bridge.

[07:05:00]

REZNIKOV: They, every time, are trying to find the reason for their behavior, the reason for how to explain their massive attacks. They try to explain that it's a response for some explosions in their territories, but they're fighting with the civilians. That's why I call them looters, rapists and murderers.

MARQUARDT: You have also issued a threat saying that you will turn other Russian ships into the Moskva, which was the flagship of the Black Sea fleet, which you famously sank last April. Are you planning to escalate attacks against Russian ships in the Black Sea?

REZNIKOV: We have capacity. We have weaponry, as we did it with the Cruiser Moskva. And if they will -- threatening in the Black Sea, we will have to respond.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUARDT: And I also ask Reznikov about recent attacks on the Kerch Bridge, which connects Russia with Russian-occupied Crimea, as well as attacks on the Crimean Peninsula, which, in the past, Ukrainian officials have been rather coy about not claiming responsibility, but we have seen quite a few attacks on both the bridge and on the peninsula lately.

Reznikov indicated those will continue. He's making no excuses for the fact that those are vital supply lines, vital logistical nodes for the Russian occupation and its efforts in Ukraine. He says the attacks on those Russian forces, on the bridge and in Crimea will continue. Poppy, Erica?

HILL: Alex Marquardt live for us in Odessa this morning, thank you.

HARLOW: Happening right now in Jerusalem, we'll take to you Israel where they are bracing for a political earthquake as lawmakers in the Knesset begin voting on a controversial plan that would completely overhaul the Israeli judiciary, their Supreme Court. It is happening amid huge protests. Many opposing the measure, others in support, trying to have their voices heard as well this morning.

HILL: And this uproar has been raging for months mostly over this power that would strip the power from the Supreme Court to block government decisions which it considers to be unreasonable. Hundreds of businesses are closed today, leaders of one of the country's largest labor unions also considering a strike.

CNN's Hadas Gold is live for us this morning in Jerusalem. And you have been covering this for a number of months, protesters already being arrested apparently outside the Knesset today. What more do you know, Hadas?

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We are on the road that leads actually from the Supreme Court down to the Israeli parliament. That's why you see all these protesters flowing back and forth behind us. They are milling about this whole governmental campus. And they say that they will be here for as long as possible.

Now, the protesters down by the Israeli parliament, they are forming human chains. They are being pushed back by Israeli police, using water cannons. They say that they are trying to protect democracy, protect the Israeli parliament from this legislation.

Now, what this legislation will do with one aspect of this massive judicial overhaul package that Benjamin Netanyahu's government has been trying to push through for months, but this specific legislation would strip away the Supreme Court's ability to stop government actions that the Supreme Court deems unreasonable.

Now, proponents of this law say that it's necessary that the Supreme Court overreaches, that there needs to be balance, but opponents of this, these protesters here, that this will give the government unfettered access to essentially do what they want because, guys, the Supreme Court here is essentially the only check on government power because of the parliamentary system and how it's set up.

Adding to all of this drama right now as these votes are expected to take place within the next few hours or so is that the prime minister himself, Benjamin Netanyahu, has had his own major health issues over the weekend. He had essentially an emergency procedure to install a pacemaker after a heart monitor indicated a problem. He literally came straight from the hospital essentially to the Israeli parliament for these votes. That is the situation here right now.

And he is indicating that he and his government will continue forward with these votes despite these protests, despite the thousands of Israeli military reservists who have said they will not heed the call to serve if this legislation passes. That causes major questions about Israel's military preparedness. It's obviously a very tense time in this region.

But they are pushing forward, this even after President Biden once again weighing in, the second time in a week, calling on the Israeli leaders. He's saying it doesn't make sense for Israeli leaders to rush this. He says in a statement, the focus should be on pulling people together and finding a consensus.

But we just heard from the former prime minister, Yair Lapid, who is now opposition leader. He was speaking to the media in the Israeli parliament saying that consensus compromise talks so far have failed. The time is running out. The clock is ticking. These votes will be taking place.

But even if these votes pass, and the government has the votes to do so, they do have the majority. This will likely face an immediate challenge. And where will this be challenged, guys? In the Israeli Supreme Court. So, the Supreme Court could be ruling on its own positions on whether it can declare something unreasonable. And if the government doesn't listen to that, the there could be a huge other political crisis here. Guys?

HARLOW: It is just remarkable.

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Hadas, thank you very much, reporting from the ground in Jerusalem, where this is all happening as we speak.

HILL: Well, today is the deadline for Texas Governor Greg Abbott to respond to the Justice Department's threat of a lawsuit over Abbott's latest effort to stop illegal immigration into the state of Texas. The DOJ is demanding Texas remove this 1,000-foot barricade of razor wire- wrapped buoys in the Rio Grande. Abbott has responded on Twitter saying he'll see President Biden, quote, in court.

CNN's Rosa Flores is live this morning in Eagle Pass, Texas with more here. So, showdown today. What are we expecting today, Rosa?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let me show you, Erica, because we're on the Rio Grande, and you can see that there are two layers of concertina wire. This is part of the border barriers set out by the state of Texas. And beyond that, you'll see in the middle of the river these buoys.

Now, these are four feet in diameter, excuse me, and according to the U.S. State Department, the state of Texas did not consult with the federal government before deploying these. They didn't even get permits before deploying the buoys. And now a top diplomat in Mexico has complained to Washington, saying that these violate two international treaties. And Mexico is concerned that these buoys could be on Mexican territory.

Now, more than 80 U.S. Democratic lawmakers pressuring President Biden to investigate this and also to file legal action against the state of Texas. Well, late last week, the U.S. DOJ sent a letter to the state of Texas saying that the construction of these buoys is unlawful and that it raises concerns that are humanitarian, public safety and environmental as well. And the U.S. DOJ giving the state of Texas a deadline.

And here's what the letter says in part, quote, if we do not receive a response by 2:00 P.M. Eastern on July 24th, 2023 indicating your commitment to expeditiously, remove the floating barrier and related structures, the United States intends to file legal action.

Now, Governor Greg Abbott fighting back on Twitter in a thread saying in part, quote, Texas has a sovereign authority to defend your border under our border, excuse me, under the U.S. Constitution and the Texas Constitution. Governor Abbott goes on to blame President Biden for the problems on the border and ends the thread with this, Erica, saying, quote, we will see you in court, Mr. President.

So, does this mean that Texas will be defiant on deadline day? We will have to see. Erica?

HILL: We will be watching. It certainly makes it sound that way, doesn't it? Rosa, I appreciate it, as always. Thank you.

HARLOW: All right. It is hot. I don't have to tell you that, but at least 35 million people are under excessive heat warnings this morning as dangerously high temperatures bake areas of the south and the west that have been scalding for weeks. The relentless heat could break even more records in the few days ahead. Little relief is in sight.

Our Stephanie Elam is live in Las Vegas this morning. And it is very early. It is just after 4:00 in the morning. And it is very hot.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is so hot, Poppy. But you know what? It's cooled down one degree since I last talked to you. It's 88 degrees. I mean, we might as well just like hang out here, cool off, everything is better. But it's going to go up to about 106 degrees today.

We've seen a record number of days above 110, may not beat that record today, may just match it, but still, these hot days are making it very dangerous for so many people who are outside with these temperatures 15 degrees above normal.

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ELAM (on camera): A heat wave bearing down across the globe with little relief in sight, millions of Americans are under heat alerts. And now wildfires are ablaze, creating more challenges for some communities in the Pacific Northwest.

Residents in parts of Maricopa County and Arizona were told by local authorities to evacuate as firefighters battled the diamond fire while facing scorching hot temperatures.

MAYOR KATE GALLEGO (D-PHOENIX, AZ): The heat has been unrelenting in our community.

ELAM: In Phoenix, Sunday marked 24 consecutive days of at least 110- degree temperatures. And in Las Vegas, the city has seen ten consecutive days of temperatures at or above 110 degrees, tying the longest streak of days with those high temperatures.

In parts of Arizona, the heat is so brutal, emergency rooms are filling up with people being treated for heat-related illnesses. Dr. Frank LoVecchio shows us the ice bed used to treat some of the worst patients.

DR. FRANK LOVECCHIO, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN, VALLEYWISE, HEALTH MEDICAL CENTER: We try to throw a little bit of ice on here on the bottom, get a little bit on the bottom, and then when they get their body on here, we like to throw it all above them. So, what's going to happen then is the only thing showing is going to be their head, okay, that in an ideal world.

We also like to throw water on there. This has been shown to drop their temperature a degree almost every five minutes, if done properly.

ELAM: It's not just heat stroke. The director of the Arizona Burn Center says people are getting burned on the pavement, accounting for half the patients in the Valleywise ICU.

DR. KEVIN FOSTER, ARIZONA BURN CENTER DIRECTOR, VALLEYWISE HEALTH: The pavement is so hot that it only takes a fraction of a second to get a pretty deep burn.

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And to lay on a hot pavement or a hot surface for 10minutes, 20 minutes, half an hour, an hour, that's full thickness burn, the skin is completely destroyed.

ELAM: Phoenix's mayor explains how they are battling the heat.

GALLEGO: We have mobile cooling units that can go to an emergency site like a fire. We even have tactics where we can go out with I.V.s that have been cooled and that can cool people from the inside, which can save lives.

Another program we have that's very popular is our cool pavement program. So, we are really just looking at how we design the city.

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ELAM (on camera): And keep in mind, that pavement, that asphalt, according to one of the doctors we interviewed there in Phoenix, said it could be up to 180 degrees, so just below boiling. Just think about how hot that is and how dangerous that is on top of it. NOAA saying that we have seen 5,000 records, heat records, either broken or tied during the last 30 days.

So, obviously, Poppy and Erica, that this is something, that this human-induced climate change is something we're going to have to deal with moving forward because a lot of these desert communities, these places dealing with this extreme heat are going to have to adapt as we move further. And this doesn't seem to be going away.

HARLOW: It does not. Stephanie Elam, I appreciate you being out there in the heat. Thanks.

HILL: Well, it appears Donald Trump will face trial in the classified documents case before the 2024 general election, but also after having had a chance to lock in his party's nomination.

Judge Aileen Cannon scheduled the trial for May of 2024 with a start date as early as May 20th. By then, all but six states will have held their primaries or caucuses. So, keep in mind here, in 2016, Trump had the GOP nomination locked in by May. So, if history is any indication, we should know who the presumptive nominee is by the time this trial gets underway.

CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig is here. He's a former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, also one of the smartest people I know.

Okay. So, walk me through what we're looking at in terms of, first, the Mar-a-Lago documents case, this May 2024 trial date. How likely is it that that holds?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: So, Erica, I would write that date in pencil in the old calendar book, and here's why. So, going into this decision, DOJ had asked to try this case in December of this year, five months from now. Donald Trump had asked the judge to schedule the case for, well, never. Yes, exactly, he said just sometime after the election.

Now, the judge has set this late May trial date. But here's the thing you have to understand. The judge, in her order, set 33 intermediate dates. You don't have to read all these. Just know there're 33 deadlines before May. If one of these falls back, it pushes back all the others. It's a domino cascade-type effect.

Now, one example, the judge has given the parties five weeks here to brief and argue their motions. There are some very complicated motions that Donald Trump is surely going to bring if there's an indictment. He's going to challenge the search warrant of Mar-a-Lago. He's going to challenge prosecution's use of his communications with his attorneys. We know from Donald Trump's lawyers they're going to argue prosecutorial misconduct. Let me tell you, five weeks is very optimistic to get all of those issues brief.

Now let's look at the bigger picture. Okay, let's remember, key here, November 5th is the election date. Realistically, we are not going to have a trial October, September, it's just too close to the election. The judge is not going to countenance that.

Now, this judge has set the trial date for the end of May. This is, realistically, a six or so week trial. It's complicated. That's going to carry us through into July. And so if you see here if Donald Trump is successful in pushing this back, just a couple of months --

HILL: It doesn't take much.

HONIG: -- we're in the red zone, and it's not realistically going to happen before the election.

HILL: So, there's also -- this is one case, again, and as we've been saying for a long time now, but we'll continue saying, there has not been an indictment for January 6th. If, however, there is one, what are the chances that that trial could happen before the election?

HONIG: So, things are getting really crowded on the calendar here. Let's remember, there are two indicted cases, as you say. There's the one we just talked about, Mar-a-Lago, and also the hush money case. So, let's look at the calendar again, our key date here, November, and, again, I think we need to block off October and September. We're not going to have a trial that close to the election.

Now, the Manhattan hush money case is already scheduled for trial in late March. That's going to carry us through to April. We have Mar-a- Lago now scheduled for late May. That's going to carry through June and July. So, where could a potential January 6th indictment fit? This is too early. We're not going to get a trial that's going to start five months from now on January 6. And this, to me, looks like it's too late.

So, I don't see a readily available calendar spot for a potential January 6 location unless one of these moves, unless the Manhattan case moves, or unless the Mar-a-Lago case moves.

HILL: And could it move at the request of the special counsel or the attorney general, or how would that work?

[07:20:00]

HONIG: Either one of them. So, the prosecutor would have to agree to move it, to seek a continuance, would have to then go to a judge. The defense would have to agree, too, by the way. Donald Trump may have some say here as well.

So, things are getting really crowded on the old trial calendar, and there's going to be a really important jockeying for position here, or maybe some willingness to move out beyond the November election in order to allow other cases to go first. We'll see.

HILL: Wow. It's going to keep your calendar busy, too. Just so you know, you should black up all these dates. You'll be needed.

HONIG: That's a good visual representation of what we've all got coming.

HILL: Elie, thank you.

HARLOW: Elie doesn't get to take vacation any of those days.

HONIG: Yes, right here, this day, February 29th. I'm off.

HARLOW: That was really interesting, Elie. I appreciate it.

All right, this story we've been following closely, newly released body camera video shows a police canine dog, look at this, comes, turns around, attacks an unarmed black man who was surrendering with his arms in the air. We're tracking the latest developments in this investigation.

HILL: and it appears to be official this morning, Elon Musk getting rid of Twitter's iconic bird logo.

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HARLOW: Well, this morning, the NAACP is slamming an Ohio Police Department after an officer unleashed a canine attack dog on an unarmed black man who had his hands in the air.

We're going to show you some of the video. A warning, first, though it's difficult to watch.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do not release the dog with his hands up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: The Columbus chapter of the NAACP is calling what happened barbaric?

This happened on July 4th in Circleville. That's just south of Columbus. But law enforcement officials just released the body camera video.

Our Polo Sandoval has been reporting it out and joins us now. I understand there's an investigation going on, right?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's underway, guys. And just to make sure that we can draw that distinction between the agencies that were out there, it was the Ohio State Highway Patrol that initiated the traffic stop, but it's the actions of the Circleville Ohio Police Department that are being called into question.

[07:25:01]

The video, disturbing video that you're about to see shows one of their canine units appears to release their canine officer as the suspect has its hands up.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SANDOVAL (voice over): The footage provided by Ohio State Highway Patrol is disturbing, but now under scrutiny after a man was mauled by a police officer's canine.

July 4th, Jackson County, Ohio, a case report shows a highway patrol officer in a marked vehicle tried stopping the driver of this big rig for a missing mud flap. The man behind the wheel later identified by authorities as 23 -year -old Jadarrius Rose drives on and a chase begins. About 20 minutes into the pursuit, the big rig is seen rolling to a stop.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of the truck.

SANDOVAL: But that lasts only a few seconds. The driver continues to flee and officers stay on him for another eight minutes. It wasn't until police used tire deflation devices that the chase came to a slow but dramatic and disturbing stop.

That's a Circleville, Ohio Police Department canine unit rolling up to the scene after repeated orders from state troopers, the driver eventually steps out of the rig, his hands in the air, as requested. A patrolman is heard asking the canine to not be released. Though it's unclear if you could be heard by all officers on scene, that's when the canine is deployed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do not release the dog with his hands up. Do not release the dog with his hands up. Do not release the dog with his hands up. Don't.

Get the dog off of him.

SANDOVAL: After the canine take down, an officer approaches then quickly walks away, her hands covering her face as Rose screams in pain. The frustration audible in the voice of another state officer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was that not loud enough?

SANDOVAL: After the dog is removed, officers move in to arrest Rose and administer first aid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You just let a dog bite me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All you had to do was come to me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was coming. All the guns pointed at me, how you do this thing, to respect you? You got a gun pointed at me. It's like 20 of you all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All you had to do was stop, brother.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I did stop.

SANDOVAL: A spokesperson for the Ohio State Highway Patrol tells CNN, as troopers were attempting to gain compliance by providing verbal commands to the suspect, the Circleville Police Department deployed their canine, which resulted in the suspect being bitten. CNN has reached out to the Circleville Police Department for comment. Police say Rose was taken to a local hospital where he was treated and released before being taken to jail. His attorney declined to comment.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL (on camera): So, as I mentioned, I did read over that case report. And in it, the troopers actually write that they were able to have a conversation with Rose while he was being treated at the hospital. He said that he did not, according to the report, did not understand why he was being stopped. He was simply trying to haul a load over to Garden City, Ohio, before making his way home. So, he certainly wasn't aware, or at least said he wasn't aware as to why he was being pulled over.

As for the NAACP, you guys mentioned them at the top, they are not just appalled by what we just saw but also calling for a thorough investigation.

HILL: Yes.

SANDOVAL: Thank you for the reporting. Just keep us posted.

HILL: Turning out to Central Missouri, where a boat smashed into the home on the edge of a lake, injuring eight people. Troopers say the boat ran aground, struck the home, then overturned. Look at -- you can see what happened there, threw everyone off that boat.

This happened on Saturday on the Lake of the Ozarks. Police say the driver was arrested for boating while intoxicated.

SANDOVAL: Donald Trump remains a GOP frontrunner by a mile in the race for the White House, but a new poll in South Carolina shows Florida Governor Ron DeSantis slipping into third behind Nikki Haley. How concerned should the DeSantis can't be?

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