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Hostages Families Forum: Netanyahu should Open his Speech to Congress by Saying "There's a Deal"; Some Democrats to Skip Netanyahu Speech over Handling of War; Israeli PM Netanyahu Addresses U.S. Congress Later; Games Kick Off with Football and Rugby Sevens; Greening the Fashion Industry. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired July 24, 2024 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to an incredibly busy Wednesday. We're going to start in Washington D.C. where protesters right now are

gathering ahead of a controversial speech to Congress by the Israeli Prime Minister scheduled just hours from now. And next hour the FBI Director will

face questions on Capitol Hill about the investigation into the assassination attempt on Former President and Candidate Donald Trump.

And tonight, the sitting U.S. President will address the nation for the first time since bowing out of the race for the White House. It's 09:00

a.m. in the U.S. capital and here in New York. I'm Omar Jimenez. This is "Connect the World". We're going to bring you all that and more over the

next two hours.

All right, first, a quick check of the futures markets as the DOW, S&P and NASDAQ will open in about 30 minutes from now. Not so great stuff, but

quick check there. As I mentioned, we're following a lot of stories here. In particular, Israel's Prime Minister is poised to address the U.S.

Congress in the coming hours amid a high stakes and controversial visit to Washington.

Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to face protesters when he arrives ahead of his speech, which dozens of Democrats are expected to skip as the party

remains divided over his handling of the war in Gaza. Now, Vice President Kamala Harris won't attend but is set to meet him Thursday.

Mr. Netanyahu is also scheduled to meet President Biden on Thursday and Former President Trump on Friday. All of this as Israel says negotiators

are heading back to Cairo for hostage ceasefire talks. Let's bring in CNN's Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv, and CNN is Lauren Fox on Capitol Hill.

Lauren, I want to start with you. So instead of attending Netanyahu's addressed to Congress, a number of Democratic lawmakers are attending

counter programming events Wednesday today. How divided are the Democrats over the war in Gaza here?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, just to give you a little bit of a sense of how the division is playing out. There are now

more than 80 House Democrats who have publicly said that they will not attend Netanyahu addressed to Congress later. Today, you also have six

senators who have said that they will not be in attendance.

This also comes as many of them have other engagements where they hope to distract and to focus on the issues that they say actually need to be dealt

with Pramila Jayapal, the leader of the progressive movement up here on Capitol Hill. She is going to be in a panel at the Center for American

Progress where she says they're going to be talking about a peace plan.

And the plan ahead between Israel and Gaza as this war continues to rage on. Meanwhile, you have Speaker Mike Johnson, who initially invited

Netanyahu to address Congress who will be meeting one on one with him just before the Joint Congressional meeting. Another interesting split screen

that you're going to be seeing today is a photo opportunity with Democratic and Republican leadership.

And Chuck Schumer, the majority leader and someone who has called on Benjamin Netanyahu to step aside or for Israel to hold new elections to

push him aside. He will also be in that photo op. So, a really interesting moment politically here on Capitol Hill. And last night, several Democrats

and others went to the Senate floor to talk about their own concerns with this speech. Here's independent Senator Bernie Sanders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): Frankly, this invitation to Netanyahu is a disgrace and something that we will look back on with regret. I hope that

for one second, the members who attend will focus just for a second on the starving children in Gaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: And just to give a finer point on this whole division within the Democratic Party, Patty Murray, who would typically be able to preside over

this joint session today, she is deciding that she will not attend this speech. That means Senator Ben Cardin, who's the Chairman of the Senate

Foreign Relations Committee will be presiding instead, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Lauren Fox, thank you for laying that out for us. Jeremy, I want to bring you in here because look, I mean, over the handling of the war in

Gaza, it's not like folks in Israel have exactly been 100 percent supportive of Netanyahu throughout all of this. What is the atmosphere in

Israel over this trip?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's certainly a sense in Israel that this trip by the Israeli Prime Minister comes at a

very critical time in these ongoing ceasefire and hostage negotiations. And there have been efforts to try and pressure the Israeli Prime Minister from

both sides of the political spectrum, you know, the families of the hostages.

The majority of people in Israel who want to see ceasefire and hostage deals have been protesting have been raising their voices.

[09:05:00]

They believe that the Israeli Prime Minister needs to commit to a deal and should do so during this trip. On the other side, we've been hearing a lot

from the Israeli Prime Minister's right-wing allies, who have been reiterating many of their far-right positions, whether it is settling,

establishing Israeli settlements in Gaza or not ending the war.

And they are also raising their voices at this moment hoping to influence the Israeli Prime Minister ahead of his highly anticipated in what will be

a highly watched speech that the Israeli Prime Minister is delivering to Congress. But ultimately, a lot of this may come down to, where is the

Israeli Prime Minister's head at?

What is Netanyahu thinking as he is meeting with U.S. officials as he prepares to address Congress? How committed is he actually to the ceasefire

negotiations, and that may ultimately determine the course of this war and the rest of his visit to Washington this week.

You know, he will also be looking to score political points at home with the speech tonight by showing, you know, the kind of rounds of applause,

the standing ovations that he will likely get from a significant number of American lawmakers, he will also be looking to try and increase bipartisan

support for Israel, according to his advisors during this speech.

But again, you know, the main questions are going to be resolved after he meets with President Biden tomorrow. And I'm told that the Israeli

delegation that was supposed to leave to meet with the mediators to deliver the official latest Israeli response to those ongoing negotiations, it was

scheduled to leave tomorrow.

That trip I'm told by a source familiar with the matter will be delayed until after Netanyahu meets with President Biden. Clearly the Israeli Prime

Minister wants to convey to President Biden directly what the formal position from Israel will be in this latest round of negotiations.

And then of course, once it is transmitted to the mediators it will be transmitted to Hamas. A source familiar with the matter telling me that if

Hamas accepts these terms, then there will be a deal but that is a big if because the Israeli Prime Minister has been injecting some last-minute

demands over the course of the last couple of weeks. That may be unpalatable, maybe impossible for Hamas to swallow. But we'll see, Omar.

JIMENEZ: We will see. Jeremy Diamond and Lauren Fox, really appreciate it. Thank you. Former Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Barak has been very vocal

in his opposition to Mr. Netanyahu's invitation to address the U.S. Congress saying, quote, the man does not represent Israel.

And it sends kind of a wrong signal to Israelis, probably a wrong signal to Netanyahu himself, when the American Congress invites him to appear as if

he is saving us. Ehud Barak joins me now. You've said President Biden's decision to drop out of the race may actually have strengthened his hand.

What do you mean by that?

EHUD BARAK, FORMER ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: He is very grateful many other considerations beyond what really genuinely helps -- what should be done.

And I don't think of other consideration, which has to do with their actions. And that leads to move with end.

JIMENEZ: And do you think you say it allows for more freedom from potentially the pressures of voters? But how exactly do you think that

changes the administration's relationship with Netanyahu?

BARAK: I think that -- administrators is not the problem. The president right then stood by Israel in unprecedented way from day one of this

crisis. And they in fact, he recommended almost nine months ago, what's now after hundreds of people thousands in fact, killed and huge sacrifices were

being made in Israel isolated in the world with their major crisis.

Nine months after President Biden proposed how to deal with them morning after I've heard in "The Washington Post" today. Netanyahu now goes -- on

the same way. The problem is that with Biden, Biden did a perfect job from point of view of Israel. The problem is with Netanyahu, you probably do not

know and your public should know that fall out of five events Israeli think that Netanyahu is the man responsible for this wealth blunder in our

history.

And October 7, the three out of four Israelis expect Netanyahu to resign to do it immediately or immediately at the end of the war, but he's really

never thought of both. It's something that might take a year that a strong majority, including among his voters, believed it is acting out of

political, personal motivation not because of what's good for Israel.

[09:10:00]

So, a man who totally lost the trust with a public cannot surely represent us in the Congress in a genuine manner, it's to the commodities a

barbarian, a group of murderers. We have compelling imperative to make sure that they will not wane over -- and won't be able to threaten Israel, but

having said that the way that Netanyahu strategically leads the world is the worst performance ever.

You know, it's in democracies, you sometimes listen. And you'll see that a statement baritone in perfect English is a good replacement for college,

for collectors and for integrity. That's not the case in Israel.

JIMENEZ: OK.

BARAK: We expect little tools to project strength, competence, and optimism Netanyahu cannot provide either one.

JIMENEZ: And as you mentioned, I mean, we have been monitoring protests that have been happening across Israel in regards to how Netanyahu is

handling of this. And there are major questions over preparations in the country ahead of October 7. And it's likely why not everyone here in

Congress in the United States wanted to extend this invitation. Take a listen to Senator Elizabeth Warren.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): I'm not going because Benjamin Netanyahu has led that region into a complete humanitarian disaster. He has put his own

personal interests ahead of the interests of the people of his country. And what he has done in Gaza is unspeakable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: This is the fourth time Netanyahu will speak to the United States Congress. That's more than Winston Churchill, I should note. But from your

perspective, what do you see as Netanyahu's influence on Washington and U.S. lawmakers at this moment in time, more or less than what it has been

in the past?

BARAK: Much less, I think it's clear to everyone and Netanyahu in the past, or at least the first and second probably appearance, made the call for by

purpose and support for Israel, sharing the same values and so on. Even his appearance, the recent one was also already under the heavy shadow of

filling in America that is trying to intervene in internal American politics in an improper way.

And in Israel, it was a show of the need to divide people. It's kind of pattern that Netanyahu adapted in the -- view, which is very bad and lead

to nowhere from Israeli point of view.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, before we go, I just want to get this bottom line from you. You say it's a mistake for Netanyahu to speak to Congress to

begin with, why?

BARAK: I think first of all, he has to lead Israel. He has to be accountable to the Israeli public for the major failures. He is much closer

to total kind of loss than the total victory. And he has to be accountable to the Israeli demands to open an inquiry condition to bring back the

hostages to deal with the Israelis rather than to go to the Americans who do not have the tools to understand that he misleads them.

He will tell you a story. That sounds convincing on the Congress podium, but it does not sound convincing to most the majority of Israelis. So, I

think it's a mistake. It's a mistake to go there with the administration is the other for -- should be sent for work every day done.

And Netanyahu will try to convince that he is the kind of hybrid of a Churchill and probably Duke of Wellington recently, which means that -- was

probably a -- But it's all fake, the whole talk of Netanyahu is fake. He's talking about the total victory which is going -- for us.

And -- he provides a model of pride of leadership, which is against everything that we had been in Israel all along since it was established.

Our Founding Father Ben-Gurion had the following lessons.

[09:15:00]

Don't go to a war without the super power on your side. If you have to make a war, do it very short, very aggressive on the other side -- in order to

be able to harvest the political achievement to translate the -- into political achievement, and before, during and after they will always have a

firm grip on the moral high ground.

Israel is not alone at all we need. Netanyahu seems to be ignoring all these major lessons which are still relevant, even now.

JIMENEZ: Yeah, all factors to keep an eye on and it will be interesting to see how this speech unfolds in front of U.S. Congress. I've got to leave

the conversation there, but Former Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Barak thank you for being here.

BARAK: Thank you.

JIMENEZ: Of course, and Benjamin Netanyahu, his visit to Washington is featured in our "Meanwhile in the Middle East" newsletter, a lot of great

insight there. Jeremy Diamond has a story up for example now and how this U.S. trip is critical for a ceasefire deal, but only if the Israeli Prime

Minister really wants one.

You can access the newsletter by scanning the QR code on the bottom of your screen there. Again, as I mentioned, lots of great insight there. We're

also following a lot of stories. We're certainly going to turn now to a big day ahead in the race for U.S. President. The new presumptive Democratic

nominee Kamala Harris will hold a rally in Indiana while the Republican nominee Donald Trump will campaign in North Carolina.

This will be his first rally since President Joe Biden announced that he's leaving the race. Mr. Biden will address the nation tonight from the Oval

Office. They will be his first former remarks since ending his re-election bid and endorsing his vice president. Let's bring in CNN's Arlette Saenz

and Alayna Treene who are both covering the story from Washington.

Arlette, I want to start with you out of the White House. The president's speech tonight will be one for the history books, but what do we expect

them to say?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Omar, certainly this speech President Biden is preparing to deliver will be one of the most

important and historic speeches in his more than 50 years in political life. The President started drafting this speech shortly after he went

public with his decision to bail out of the 2024 race.

He's been working with one of his longtime advisors, Mike Donilon to craft the message. And aids really say that this will give President Biden an

opportunity to fully explain his decision to not seek re-election. This will be the first time Americans are hearing from him in a more fulsome

setting to hear the president explain his decision.

But also, the president will use this speech to talk about the path forward and how he views his coming months in office. Of course, Biden right now is

heading into a period called to the lame duck in a presidency. It's something that has frustrated many presidents before he has pledged though,

that he does want to still continue to get work done on both domestic and foreign policy.

The conflict in Gaza is one area that he said that he believes that he can make some progress on, but then there are also domestic issues like

lowering the cost of prescription drugs, lowering the cost of child care and elder care and also addressing issues like guns and climate. Those are

all things President Biden has indicated he does want to focus on in these closing months.

But surely this will also be an opportunity for him to be reflective about what has happened and accomplished in this administration, while also

explaining why he decided to drop out of this race. In that letter he wrote on Sunday, he said that he was doing it in the best interest of this

country.

And of course, one thing that President Biden will be working towards in the coming weeks and months is trying to ensure that Vice President Kamala

Harris is elected as the Democratic or in the race against Donald Trump in November, he will be hitting the campaign trail at some point. But many

will be closely watching this as the president is now heading into those final months that will cap off a very lengthy career here in Washington

D.C.

JIMENEZ: And -- set the stage for what the dynamics will be sort of in this new campaign administration environment. Alayna, I want to go to you

because how is Donald Trump adjusting his message now that he has a new opponent?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: He does. I mean, just four days ago -- Donald Trump held a different rally over the weekend. He was still facing a

rematch with Joe Biden. Of course, now, the political landscape has completely shifted and his campaign is really trying to rework its

playbook.

Because for the last year or so they have really been focusing all of their data, they're modeling, spending millions of dollars on ads, focused on

going after an unpopular 81-year-old incumbent so clearly, a lot of different things that they're working on behind the scenes. Now I'm told in

North Carolina tonight, we really are going to see the first glimpse of Donald Trump's public remarks trying to define Kamala Harris.

Now even though Harris is the Vice President, Trump's campaign genuinely believes that she isn't as well known and that this next stretch of the

next few weeks leading up to the Democratic National Convention.

[09:20:00]

They really do think that this is go time to try and brand her in their own terms. So, you'll see some of that tonight. Now, Donald Trump himself

personally spoke with reporters on a phone call yesterday. I will note this is the first call of its type this election cycle. I want you to take a

listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I haven't agreed to anything. I agreed to debate with Joe Biden. But I want

to debate her, and she'll be no different, because they have the same policies. I think debating's important for a presidential race. I really

do. I think that you have to get -- you sort of have an obligation to debate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, I actually think that's very significant those lines from him. This is Donald Trump putting down a marker and committing to holding and

participating in a debate with Harris. We know that ABC has a presidential debate scheduled for September 10. But there were questions behind the

scenes of whether or not Donald Trump and his team would actually want to move forward with that.

Now, that the race of course, has changed entirely with Biden stepping aside over the weekend. And I also just want to point out, Omar, that when

I talked to the campaign, they argue that the issues they're going to go after Harris on are the same issues they were attacking Joe Biden on, which

includes crime, the border, immigration, economy.

All issues that Republicans think they do better on in the polls. However, of course, when I also talked to people close to the former president, they

will privately acknowledge that there's so much uncertainty right now about what this looks like that. Even though the Democratic Party is of course,

you know, grappling with this massive change. So, to -- is the Trump campaign and we're going to see some of that unfold tonight in North

Carolina, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Alayna Treene, Arlette Saenz, thank you both, really appreciate it. Also happening later today in Washington, the FBI Director is set to

face questions from lawmakers on the latest in his agency's investigation into the attempt on Donald Trump's life. That comes just a day after the

head of the Secret Service resigned, that moving story is still ahead.

Plus, ahead of Friday's opening ceremony, the first competition of 2024 Paris Olympic Games is now underway. We're going to have a live report

ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIMENEZ: The 2024 Olympic Games are now underway in Paris ahead of Friday's opening ceremony. Men's football and rugby sevens competitions kicked off

this hour. A labor dispute meanwhile, though, could disrupt the opening ceremony if more than 200 dancers failed to reach an agreement with their

union.

They're angry over what they call inequalities in pay and housing conditions among performers. CNN's Saskya Vandoorne is following the

stories for us and more from Paris. We're practically down to the opening ceremony here -- counting down I should say, what is the atmosphere like

there?

SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Well, Omar I have to say that several months ago, the French weren't that enthusiastic particularly for

regions.

[09:25:00]

But I'm happy to report that this morning we've been speaking to them. And they are now very excited, especially about the opening ceremony, but also

that Olympic torch. Now the Olympic torch is slowly making its way to Paris. And it is set to be held by Snoop Dogg, that U.S. rapper on Friday

through Saint-Denis a suburb of Paris.

Now, that suburb is also housing the Olympic village. And let me tell you, Omar, I was lucky enough to go and visit the village recently, and it is

impressive. They've really made a big deal about making it sustainable. So, you have all these solar rooftop panels, you've got these rooftop gardens.

You've got the cobble beds and stools very similar to what was in Tokyo. Some of the athletes already had been complaining that they're not that

comfortable. But meanwhile, the other thing that everybody's talking about is of course, the opening ceremony that is set to take place on Friday

night.

It's the first time that an opening ceremony for the summer games is taking place outside of a stadium. So, it's very ambitious. It's very bold, but it

should be spectacular. It's taking place here on the Seine River. So, it'll be a six-kilometer stretch. You're going to have up to 7000 athletes on

those boats making their way down and over 300,000 spectators should be cheering them on.

Now we don't know who is going to be singing. It could be Celine Dion, it could be Daft Punk, it could be Dua Lipa, we just don't know but we expect

to know more of course on Friday the day of the opening ceremony, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Can't wait. We are close now. Saskya Vandoorne, really appreciate it. Let's get you up to speed on some other stories that are on our radar

right now. At least 18 people are dead after a small plane crash while taking off from Nepal's capital earlier. Now at least one other person was

injured in the crash.

All 19 people on board were employees of Surya airlines that are according to Nepal police. Now the pilot survived the crash and can be seen here

taken out of the wreckage. Obviously, some disturbing content there, now the outer bands of the typhoon Gaemi are now hitting Taiwan.

The powerful typhoon is currently the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane. You can see how powerful the winds are their businesses and schools are

closed across Taiwan as well as in the Philippines, which has also recorded heavy rain and winds. Government offices are shut down in Manila.

Trash laden balloons from North Korea had been found on the grounds of South Korea's presidential office compound according to officials in Seoul.

Now this video shows the balloons before they landed. It's the latest in a series of incidents on both sides of the border that have raised tensions

and rhetoric on the Korean peninsula.

And still to come, the search for answers. The FBI Chief soon will be the latest official grilled by lawmakers over the attempt on Donald Trump's

life. We're going to have a preview of the third hearing on the assassination attempt in his many days. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:30:00]

JIMENEZ: Now, as I've talked about, we're following a lot of stories today. But next hour on Capitol Hill, one of America's top law enforcement

officials is in the hot seat over the assassination attempt on Donald Trump. Now FBI Director Christopher Wray is set to testify about the FBI's

investigation into the shooting at a Pennsylvania rally.

Now, lawmakers are expected to press him for new details on a potential motive. It's the third straight day of hearings demanding answers on how is

sniper was able to get on a rooftop, wound the former president and kill a bystander. CNN's U.S. National Security Reporter Zachary Cohen has the

latest from Washington.

All right, the third hearing on the Trump assassination attempt and as many days today, the focus is on the oversight of the FBI. What are we watching

for?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Omar, we've gradually gotten more information from these various witnesses. And we expect that

Christopher Wray, the FBI Director today will be pressed for even more details about what happened in the security failures that led up to the

assassination attempt and allow the assassination attempt on Donald Trump's live to take place.

And look, yesterday we had the Pennsylvania Police Commissioner, the State Police Commissioner testify providing some details about what local

officers were grappling with in the immediate lead up and then aftermath of the shooting and corroborating some key timeline details that we've

reported since July 13 when the assassination attempt took place.

And obviously, the first hearing to happen on the assassination attempt featured then Director of the U.S. Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle.

Cheatle has since resigned from her job after bipartisan call for her to step down. So, we'll see how it goes with Christopher Wray today.

Obviously, anytime the FBI Director goes on to Capitol Hill, especially to the House side of the capital, there are it does invite some political and

opportunity for political attacks or political grandstanding at the end of the day. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle do want details about this

assassination attempt in the security failures around it.

They also want Christopher Wray to elaborate and talk about the FBI's assessment of political violence in the state and the threat posed by

political violence writ large. That's something we've heard from lawmakers and other committees during these hearings as well. They really want

Christopher Wray to establish where the threat -- what the threat environment is at this moment.

And what that assassination attempt on Donald Trump tells you about those the heightened threat level there. Look, I'm also told that there will be

some questions about maybe semi adjacent issues. I know Democrats may press Christopher Wray to address some claims from Republicans that the FBI

should be defunded.

They want Christopher Wray to explain what the impact of something like that would be. Also, the question of DEI Chairman of House Judiciary, Jim

Jordan has raised questions about the FBI's hiring practices. You can expect Democrats to give Wray an opportunity to address that as well.

And then like you said, the main focus today to the FBI is kind of core challenge has been to -- trying to establish a motive building a profile of

the shooter himself. That's something that Wray told lawmakers during a briefing last week on the assassination attempt. And that's something we

know lawmakers will be asking for an update on today.

JIMENEZ: Lots of answers that hopefully, the director will be able to provide, but we will see. Zachary Cohen, thank you so much. Still to come,

encouraging sustainability without sacrificing style, we're going green with one group of entrepreneurs. We're helping the fashion industry, reduce

waste and make conscious choices.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:35:00]

JIMENEZ: Fashion is a major contributor to greenhouse gases, water pollution and textile waste. Now to hold the industry accountable, a group

of IT friend from India is tapping into their software skills. Linda Kincaid reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHAMEEK GHOSH, CEO OF TRUSTRACE: When I was growing up, I had a personal relationship with a local tailor and I knew where my garment was being

stitched. Nowadays, the supply chains are distant and opaque. We do not know where our garments are being made and under what conditions.

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eight years ago, in India Shameek Ghosh and three IT friends came together with a mission of making

supply chains more transparent after seeing the effects of the fashion industry firsthand.

GHOSH: We come from a part of India where the water has got really polluted because of the nearby textile hubs. And we felt that we could solve this

problem by bringing data and transparency so that companies could improve their supply chain.

KINKADE (voice-over): Today, their company TrusTrace has developed software tools that allow brands to track their garments production in real time,

offering visibility into material sourcing and labor practices and identifying areas of risk.

MADHAVA VENKATESH, CTO OF TRUSTRACE: A brand can typically have tens of thousands of suppliers. And they might be producing billions of garments

every year.

KINKADE (voice-over): TrusTrace helps simplify all this data through digitization technology and AI, which aggregates information from

suppliers, and then validates it through third party certifying agencies.

VENKATESH: As soon as a brand gets on boarded into the platform, the first thing that they do is invite the direct suppliers into the system. Then the

system can build what we call as a supply chain graph, which shows all the interconnections of this brand, which is also plotted in what we call as a

map view where the entire distribution of the supply chain is shown.

KINKADE (voice-over): From their brands, can run risk analysis to flag any compliance or labor issues and also see areas where they could reduce waste

and enhance production.

VENKATESH: Most of our customers have net zero target by around 2030. And we already have helped our customers to at least achieve 30 percent of

their emission targets by 2025.

KINKADE (voice-over): On the consumer side TrusTrace has developed a QR code technology so that they too can gain insight into a product's journey

to the shelf.

VENKATESH: If you scan the QR code, you get information about what is the material composition. So, this garment is made from organic cotton. Then it

also talks about what are the different certifications that this product has. It has the entire supply chain information and also it has information

about the circularity and sustainability.

Every customer will be empowered with the information about the product. Now it is all up to us to make conscious choices.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: There's new hope for people who have lost mobility. A computer chip in the brain that connects mind and machine sounds like science

fiction, but CNN's Anna Stewart speaks to one paralyzed man who used brain computer interface technology to drive a car.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): What if I could control a computer with just my thoughts? What if a computer chip in the brain could help

someone, we gain the ability to walk or move again? That's what brain computer interface technology is all about. Picture your brain as a giant

thunderstorm of activity. Millions of brain cells talk to each other with electrical signals, each carrying messages.

[09:40:00]

A BCI has sensors which are worn in a headset or in wires implanted in the brain that can interpret these messages. The BCI picks up those electrical

signals. When you think about something specific like moving your arm or controlling a cursor on your computer, then the BCI translates those

thoughts into instructions a computer can understand.

Then you can control things on a screen, move a robotic limb, or even drive a car with just your thoughts. That's exactly what James Johnson did with

the help of a team at the California Institute of Technology as you can see here in this video shown at the future investment initiative in Riyadh,

Saudi Arabia.

In 2017, James broke his neck in a horrific accident, leaving him almost completely paralyzed below the shoulders. A year later, a small BCI was

implanted in his brain. The device allows him to make art, play video games and dream of walking again.

STEWART: What stage do you find out about the technology? And did you need much convincing?

JAMES JOHNSON, BCI PATIENT: My physical therapists over at Casa Colina hospital. She told me about Caltex study.

STEWART: How quickly were you able to see some progress?

JOHNSON: Immediately, from the very first time that they plugged me into the computer? I was controlling the cursor.

STEWART (voice-over): James's implant was made by Blackrock Neurotech based in Salt Lake City. It's been implanting BCIs and humans since 2004, and was

co-founded by Florian Solzbacher.

FLORIAN SOLZBACHER, FOUNDER & CSO OF BLACKROCK NEUROTECH: This device still is completely unbeaten in terms of actually proven safety, reliability and

longevity profile.

STEWART (voice-over): BlackRock Neurotech was one of the first companies to enter the BCI market.

SOLZBACHER: At that time, there was no market for brain computer interface companies, there was something that the academic community had been looking

at for probably two or three decades and dreaming about what if you could build devices that could tap into the brain understand it better.

STEWART (voice-over): His motivation was working with disabled people as a teenager and wanting to help improve their lives.

SOLZBACHER: These moments where you see, you now have some ability to be independent again, to have control over your own life and to contribute

again to society in a far more meaningful way. It goes to the fundamental question of the meaning of life really.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: So interesting. That's it for "Connect the World" for now. "World Sport" is up next and more news at the top of the hour with Zain Asher. See

you.

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[10:00:00]

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