Return to Transcripts main page
Connect the World
French Train System Attacked Ahead of Olympics Opening Ceremony; Barack and Michelle Obama Endorse Kamala Harris for President; Coco Gauff to be U.S. Flag Bearer in Paris Olympics Alongside LeBron James; Netanyahu to Meet with Trump in Florida; Opening Ceremony to Begin in Paris in Coming Hours; El Chapo's Son and Alleged Sinaloa Cartel Co-Founder in Custody; Harris' Campaign Reenergizes Democrats. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired July 26, 2024 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:29]
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to the second hour of CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Erica Hill in today for Becky Anderson.
Just ahead this hour, an attack on French railway lines causing major disruptions and overshadowing the Olympic Opening Ceremony.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Michelle and Barack, this means so much to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: A major endorsement for Vice President Kamala Harris rounding out her first week as a presumptive Democratic nominee. And the Israeli prime
minister on his way to meet with Donald Trump this morning in Florida after Kamala Harris told him it was time for a ceasefire now.
We continue to follow developments out of Paris at this hour where French officials say the Olympic Opening Ceremony will go on as planned in just a
couple of hours from now. This despite several coordinated attacks targeting the country's high-speed rail network. Officials say France's
train lines were directly targeted. That happened in the early hours today. Targeted by multiple malicious attacks as they're being described.
Among them arson. That of course is disrupting travel ahead of the opening ceremony. Two trains, in fact, carrying Olympic athletes were impacted. As
many as 800,000 other travelers are expected to feel the effects of these delays and cancellations throughout the weekend. At this hour, authorities
say they're still working to determine who is responsible for the attacks.
As government authorities investigate, Olympic officials are telling CNN the show must go on. Competitions still moving forward today as that
Olympic torch is inching closer to its finish line.
That of course is rapper, producer, multi-hyphenated, Snoop Dogg, carrying the Olympic torch to the streets of Saint-Denis just a short time ago.
Later today, we will learn who will light the cauldron which of course will officially mark the start of the games.
But let's keep a closer watch now on those coordinated attacks, which again targeted France's high-speed rail network. CNN's Melissa Bell is in Paris
with more on those developments.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The organizers of Paris 2024 believed they were ready for anything but it was
at 4:00 a.m. hours from the opening ceremony that coordinated sabotage and arson caused chaos.
PATRICE VERGRIETE, FRENCH MINISTER DELEGATE FOR TRANSPORT (through translator): Today, all the information we have clearly shows that it was
deliberate, the simultaneous nature. Everything happened at the same time. Everything now points to the fact that these were arson attacks
particularly the timing, which is more than suspicious.
BELL: Security in Paris is tight with authorities keeping to make sure that things go smoothly. But this was one attack carried out simultaneously
across the country that was impossible to imagine. No particular group has yet claimed responsibility.
These are exactly the kinds of images that the organizers of Paris 2024 had hoped to avoid with French authorities warning that it is 250,000 travelers
likely to be impacted this Friday. 800,000 over the course of the weekend.
(Voice-over): The latest drama likely to dampen the spirits of the French, many of them heading off from family holidays, even as Paris Mayor Anne
Hidalgo believed that enthusiasm for the games had finally gripped the country.
ANNE HIDALGO, PARIS MAYOR (through translator): I felt that the enthusiasm arrived a little before during the passage of the flame in Paris on July
14th and 15th. The Olympic flames was paraded in Paris and there were people everywhere. Children, elderly people, all social classes. Everyone
was really happy. And I said to myself that it's the magic of the games working.
BELL: The opening ceremony will still go ahead as planned tonight, along the River Seine despite the train attack and the threat of rain. Whether it
will further dampen spirits could depend more on the weather than the turnout.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: And some live looks for you at this hour. You see President Emmanuel Macron, of course, the First Lady Brigitte Macron there, greeting guests
ahead of the opening ceremony set to take place just a couple of hours from now. And then of course, on the other side of your screen, those are the
workers doing their best to repair these rail lines, which again were attacked.
We are told these were coordinated sabotage attacks. Important to note, while it was apparently designed to bring the system down, it was not,
according to our security experts, designed to inflict mass casualties, which is also something that of course officials will be looking into.
[10:05:03]
So quite the split screen for you there at the moment, again, just a couple well of hours before the start of the opening ceremony there in Paris.
That is also where we find CNN senior international correspondent Melissa Bell and CNN senior national security analyst Juliette Kayyem, both in
Paris at this hour.
Melissa, in terms of where we stand right now as you just laid out, officials saying for some time they believe they're ready for anything and
everything that could come their way across the span of the weeks of these games. This, though, was likely not what folks were expecting on the
morning of the opening ceremony, Melissa.
BELL: Not quite, but I think your point a moment ago, Erica, was a good one. When you look at the way this railway network was targeted, the way it
was sabotaged, it was particular points away from anyone that was -- it wouldn't have caused any harm to anyone. It was done in the very early
hours of the morning. It was done in a very coordinated and systematic way essentially to grind to a halt the rail network.
They were not after, whoever carried out these coordinated attacks, hurting people. They were about stopping them from getting around the country.
They've done that remarkably effectively. We've just been hearing from a regional director of the SNCF, which is the main railway operator here in
France, saying that in terms of those opening games in the ceremony four trains that were carrying Olympic athletes towards Paris were affected by
this outage.
Two of them were able to make it. Two of them weren't. One of them has been canceled entirely. The others being prepared. So there has been an impact
also on the ability of athletes to make their way to the opening ceremony - - Erica.
HILL: And when we look at this, Juliette, when you look at that moment, right? Or I should say, this classification of how we're hearing officials
are labeling this attack. The fact that, and as Melissa noted, these were further away, that there were not mass casualties. The message that that
sends, does this also qualify in your view as a terror attack or more an attempt at getting some attention and just disrupting the overall flow?
JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: It's hard to know to what to call it now because we simply don't know the motive, no one has claimed
motive. There certainly were suspicions going around France right now about what group might have done it. But that investigation will be ongoing. But
what's clear is some entity in a semi-sophisticated manner, I mean, they were able to get to several lines to bring down essentially a lot of the
transportation system that was relevant to the Olympics and therefore impact the Olympics.
What we know is that it has everything to do with the Olympics. It's not some random event that this was meant as a, I don't want this to be here.
We don't like Olympics. There's a big anti-Olympic sentiment. A lot of these host countries about what it does to the poor or to people without
homes, or some of the displacements that are ongoing.
Also what you have here is, I'm standing a couple of blocks from the Seine is, you have such a security focus here. We're already starting to see the
lines of people getting their identifications checked. It has to match a QR code that the tens of thousands of police, international police, coming
here, military, were really focused on what you would call, what we call a minefield. The high consequence event.
That's what you're worried about. That you just don't want a mass casualty event and that's where the focus is and you can hear it. I mean, there's
just police everywhere.
HILL: Yes. You heard those sound, very distinct French sirens, too. And there they go as if on cue. We can hear them in the background.
Melissa, we've also been watching of course what is happening, what its continuing to happen ahead of the opening ceremony. We just saw President
Macron and his wife greeting dignitaries as they're arriving. Just remind us, this is obviously what France would like to be focusing on in this
moment because we are just, I believe it's two and a half hours, not quite, away from the opening ceremony. What are we expecting in those moments?
BELL: That's right. It does promise at this stage to be a spectacular opening ceremony, Erica, something the world has never seen. 320,000 people
expected to watch that six-kilometer ceremony down the River Seine, and for French authorities, of course, this has taken so much preparation, not
least the security, ensuring the security of Paris.
Bear in mind also to what we were just saying a moment ago about the political context here in France right now, there has been a lot of
political chaos. There are a lot of groups specifically on the far-left that are extremely unhappy about the fact that whilst the alliance on the
left managed to win the second round of parliamentary elections, they haven't had the opportunity to name their prime minister.
There are a lot of disgruntled people out there with a lot of that anger focused very much on the person of the president. So yes, you have the
pageantry. You're going to have an extraordinary opening ceremony tonight no doubt, notwithstanding the bits of rain that we've had.
[10:10:07]
But this is a country that's gone through a lot. We spoke to the mayor of Paris only yesterday who said that when Paris town hall found out that the
French president was dissolving parliament, they were furious. It's taken them years to organize this ceremony, adding to the mix and the difficulty
of organizing the infrastructure, everything that goes in to getting Olympics right.
A political situation such as the one the French president has inflicted on the country just a few weeks ago was absolutely not in what they've been
planning for. Whether or not that has played into these series of attacks we simply don't know yet. The investigation continues. But there is
certainly speculation and information that we're getting from security sources that these are the sorts of tactics that we've seen from the far-
left in the past.
Nothing linking them to this attack now. But this is a country that is very much in a great state of political turmoil. And it may be that we find at
some point that that may have had something to do with what we saw today -- Erica.
HILL: And we'll be watching for all of that. I know you'll keep us posted and updated on those developments.
Melissa Bell, Juliette Kayyem, in Paris at this hour. Thank you both.
Back here in the U.S., Kamala Harris scoring her biggest endorsement since President Biden told the country he is stepping down from his reelection
bid and wants the vice president, of course, to succeed him. The former president Barack Obama and the former first lady Michelle Obama, calling
Kamala Harris to tell her personally of their endorsement, a highly anticipated endorsement near the end of a remarkable week for Harris. So
many Democrats of course offering their full-throated support.
Kayla Tausche is back with us at this hour.
And Kayla, as you rightly pointed out in our last hour, a busy week, a number of endorsements, but also a very highly choreographed rollout for
the vice president as she moves into this role as the presumptive Democratic nominee.
KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Erica, we have seen these Democratic leaders rolling out their endorsements in careful
succession, each on a standalone basis to make sure that the public and the voters see that they are coming out to throw their political weight behind
Vice President Kamala Harris now less than one week into her candidacy.
Of course the Obamas just the latest and highest profile endorsement for Vice President Harris saying not only do they support her running for
president but they'll be campaigning themselves for that cause, saying that they look forward to seeing her in the Oval Office and doing what they can
to get her there. But this as the Harris campaign, the nascent Harris campaign, that less than a week ago was the Biden-Harris campaign, planning
what they're calling a weekend of action with more than 2,000 events around the country, grassroots events.
In many cases helmed by surrogates and at least a handful of those events today, Erica, taking place in key battleground states like Pennsylvania,
where the Harris campaign just moments ago before I joined you on the air sent out to press release touting the events that they are holding there
with Governor Josh Shapiro, who of course is near the top of the list for potential running mates for Vice President Harris.
So certainly the fact that they decided to put out a press release on that appearance is going to raise some eyebrows in and of itself, but it is no
secret that Harris is enjoying a honeymoon period of sorts. New to the trail, new to the candidacy, the tough work of course is going to begin in
the weeks and months. The convention is barreling toward us less than a month away. And of course, as of Sunday, Erica, just 100 days before the
election.
HILL: Just 100 days. But who's counting? Kayla, appreciate it. Thank you.
Still to come here, Donald Trump set to meet Israel's prime minister. This will be their first meeting since Trump left the White House. We've got
those updates for you. Plus CNN, of course, is at the Paris Olympics chatting with tennis star Coco Gauff about her role as flag bearer for Team
USA. That's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:16:04]
HILL: Back to our top story at this hour, not the start to the 2024 Paris Olympics that of course organizers were hoping for. Early Friday morning
Paris and -- well, in the Paris area, parts of France, that got hit by several coordinated attack acts targeting France's high-speed rail network.
Outgoing Prime Minister Gabriel Attal saying the attacks were prepared and organized in a way that shows a knowledge of that train network.
Meantime, those with tickets for the opening ceremony who do manage to make it to Paris for the event have been warned they should brace themselves for
rain.
CNN's Coy Wire is live at this hour in Paris.
Basically bring your rain gear, although I have to say right now, Coy, it looks sunny. It's given me hope.
COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORT: It's not too bad. Nice overcast, perfect for an opening ceremony for the Olympic Games along that Seine River. But yes, we
will hope there is no rain later today as it looks like there may be now.
It feels like we've known about Coco Gauff for years. Having turned pro at 14 years old, it's incredible to think she's still just 20. You know, she
got COVID ahead of last summer Olympics, crushed her heart, had to miss them. But here she is having won her first grand slam title last year, she
was chosen as flag bearer by her peers to walk alongside and represent the U.S. alongside LeBron James, her idol.
I caught up with her yesterday to ask about that moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sure she's very excited to be here at her first Olympics and it's a pretty special moment.
WIRE: I want you to walk me through this moment here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think because you are so special, you have the honor of wearing this jacket during the opening ceremony and maybe flag bearer
with LeBron James.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
WIRE: What's going through your mind at this point?
COCO GAUFF, TENNIS STAR AND USA FLAG BEARER: At this point, I just thought, you know, Chris is like a brother to me and he always, you know, talks
about how proud he is of me. And so I thought he was just doing a little bit too much talking and then, yes, once I got told that I was going to be
flag bearer, obviously you can see by my reaction, I was just shocked and I didn't really know what to say. I think a lot of people were laughing at me
saying, oh, because they really didn't know what to say.
WIRE: Have you started the process yet that you will be repping your country alongside LeBron James?
GAUFF: No. I like, I don't know when I'm going to meet him, but I'm like already like stressed about it really.
WIRE: So you've never met him before?
GAUFF: No, no, I've never met him before. I'm excited to meet him and I'm excited to be flag-bearers alongside him. There's no other athlete I think
I would have chosen to do this with.
WIRE: You've talked about the racquet has the potential to change the world. As a divisive as times are right now with everything going on, what
do you make of it all? And also, what are your hopes for and the games' potential ability to bring people together, that that's what sports can do?
GAUFF: Yes, I just hope that me being a person representing Team USA and I think all of the -- I don't want to speak on behalf of all Olympians on
Team USA but I feel like majority of them would agree that we all just want to promote positivity through our game and through our sport and through
our competing, and I think that we all just wanted to show how passionate we are and share that passion with the supporters that we have. And
hopefully have a lot of success, too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: So humble, so sharp, so incredible to watch out at that tennis court. She says she's going to be fan-girling over being flag bearer alongside
LeBron James. She's going to be nervous to ask him for one of his pins, a big part of the tradition here at the Olympic Games, trading the Olympic
pins.
This is LeBron's fourth Olympic Games. His first was back in 2004, Erica. That's the year Coco Gauff was born. The USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland said
that that exemplifies the diversity. Just on Team USA alone, there'll be some of the 10,000 athletes from all over the world who'd be floating down
that river for the opening ceremony, hopefully staying dry from rain and hopefully you have no one falling in to the river and swimming
unnecessarily here at the opening ceremony.
HILL: You know, Coy, you keep bringing up this possibility of someone falling into the river. Do we really -- that's not happening.
[10:20:07]
WIRE: They are some of the most athletic beings on the planet, but they're going to be so excited, who knows those boats are going to be moving, that
Seine moves pretty fast. We'll see. These were the athletes who brought it up as a potential outcome. So this isn't just me, that was something that
they are concerned about.
HILL: Fair enough. I love the idea of Coco Gauff fan-girling over LeBron James. And I think, you know, as you pointed out, sport always has the
ability to bring people together. I think that's one of the reasons so many of us love to watch it, love the Olympic Games, to think about all these
athletes meeting one another for the first time. So many who look up to one another.
What else can they expect? What is it going to be like for them not falling into the river on that -- I think it's a four-hour float down the Seine.
They can't duck out early as some athletes have done in the past, if they have an event tomorrow, for example.
WIRE: Yes, they have -- they were asked about this ad nauseum yesterday and the day before about, is there a plan, are you concerned, and they all kind
of said no one's told us about any plan yet. Organizers say there is a default plant if there is rain, if they have to move it somewhere else, but
they have not revealed what that plan would be.
So I think it's all hopes are, by the way, things are looking, I'm no meteorologist, but it looks like it's mostly just cloudy. So we'll just
hope for -- for these opening ceremony tonight.
HILL: All right. When we will be watching, Coy. Appreciate it. Nice to see you, my friend.
And a programming note for all of our viewers here on CNN International and streaming on Max, we have a one-hour special coming your way in just a
couple of hours airing at 7:00 p.m. Paris time, 1:00 p.m. Eastern in New York. You can join CNN's Amanda Davies, Melissa Bell, Coy Wire, as they
share the excitement of the opening ceremony. And our coverage, of course, will continue throughout the hour.
We're also keeping a close watch on what is happening in Florida in the coming hours. Former president Donald Trump and the Israeli prime minister
set to sit down for their first meeting since Trump left the Oval Office. Benjamin Netanyahu, of course, facing growing pressure to agree to a
ceasefire in Gaza and a deal that would bring the Israeli hostages home.
The message from Vice President Kamala Harris following her meeting with the prime minister on Thursday was direct. The presumptive Democratic
nominee saying, Israel continues to have her support but says she will not be silent either about the suffering in Gaza. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: It is time for this war to end and end in a way where Israel is secure, all the hostages are released. The suffering of Palestinians in
Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can exercise their right to freedom, dignity, and self-determination.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CNN's Kylie Atwood is at the State Department for us this morning.
So, we had those comments, of course, from the vice president, her meeting followed Netanyahu's meeting with the president. As for what will happen
today, it's the first meeting between the prime minister and Donald Trump in nearly four years. Has there been any indication that we've heard from
Team Trump about what is expected in terms of this discussion?
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, a senior Trump campaign adviser acknowledged that this is the first meeting, and we should
note, Erica, that, you know, the relationship between Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu was quite strong during Trump's first term in office.
There were many policies that Trump enacted that were advantageous to Israel.
You know, moving the U.S. embassy, that was initially in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, striking the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations between
Israel and some of those Northern African-Middle Eastern countries that it didn't have previous normal relations with before. So there's a number of
things that he did, but after he left office, the relationship between these two leaders soured pretty quickly.
And that's because Netanyahu congratulated Biden on winning the 2020 election quite swiftly after those elections happened. So what a senior
Trump adviser says about the meeting today, speaking with our colleague, Alayna Treene, who covers the Trump campaign, is that the fact that former
president Trump is willing to have this meeting shows his evolution and how he will conduct himself in a second term, that he is willing to put behind
their differences.
You know, be them political, what have you, and work on building a working relationship with the prime minister, with the recognition that if he comes
in, if Trump wins in November for a second term, that that will most likely be as interlocutor on the Israeli side and they'll have to be working
together when it comes to all of these thorny issues in the region, not the least of which, of course is the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
HILL: Kylie Atwood at the State Department. Kylie, thank you.
Vice President Kamala Harris at this point less than two weeks away from picking her running mate and boy, is it a guessing game.
[10:25:05]
One top Democratic contender for the VP slot, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly weighing in on Donald Trump's vice presidential nominee, Senator J.D.
Vance, for the first time. Senator Kelly attacking Vance for his position on abortion. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARK KELLY (D-AZ): What I really worry about is what he would do be in one heartbeat away from the presidency. I mean, here's a guy who when he's
talking about women who have been raped or, you know, pregnant because of incest, the two wrongs don't make it right. What is wrong about a woman who
has been raped to not want to -- you know, to be able to terminate a pregnancy. What's wrong with that?
I have two daughters and a granddaughter. I really worry about their rights if Donald Trump is elected again and J.D. Vance is the vice president. I
mean, that really concerns me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: As you see all this, of course, back and forth in campaigning playing out, you've also heard the response to the vice president's candidacy. One
Republican saying that Joe Biden's withdrawal from the race and looking at Kamala Harris saying that it lacks legitimacy and even that election law
may prevent Democrats from changing candidates.
However important to note CNN's exclusive research finds election authorities and 48 out of the 50 United States say there are no rules that
exist to prevent Harris from becoming the party's nominee next month, from being on the ballot. And those findings, of course, also undercut what
House Speaker Mike Johnson has claimed both before and after President Biden dropped out of the race.
Election law experts in fact say Democrats never named Mr. Biden as the official 2024 nominee. Of course, that happens at the convention, which is
set for the week of August 19th. They also didn't name him as the official nominee nor did they submit his name to the states.
We are just about two hours away now from the Olympic Opening Ceremony. A day of excitement, though, being overshadowed by the chaos resulting from
these arson attacks. What's being called a coordinated sabotage on France's high-speed rail network.
You're looking at the scene in Paris just now. Last minute preps underway. We'll have a full update for you on the other side of this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:30:09]
HILL: Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD. Just about half past the hour now, and we are just about two hours away from the conclusion of the 2024
Olympic Games torch relay. American rapper, producer, Snoop Dogg is one of the final torchbearers. You see him there earlier today.
Olympic organizers say the opening ceremony will go ahead as planned along the Seine River, that is despite the travel chaos following what French
authorities have described as a coordinated sabotage attack on the country's high-speed train network. It happened in the early hours of
Friday. French prosecutors are investigating.
Our sports analyst Christine Brennan is in Paris at this hour with the very latest.
Christine, always great to have you with us. So as we look at this, this of course is overshadowing what was to be quite the moment, building up to the
opening ceremony. So let's focus on that for a moment. How is the momentum building in Paris on the streets there among the athletes?
CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: Erica, as I'm talking to you right now, I'm literally can see the Arc de Triomphe and I can look down on the
streets that go between the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower. In other words, streets that tourists, people who've been there know what it's
normally like, it's a ghost town. There are gates and fencing all the way along. It's been put up over the last few hours and overnight and into
today.
And Paris is absolutely on lockdown. I walked out of where we are here at CNN and went down the street and I couldn't go any further. If you go
outside one of the fences you may not be able to get back in, even with my credentials. That is how secure Paris is and we are eight-tenths of a mile
right here from the Seine River. So the perimeter is unlike anything I have ever seen.
I've covered many Super Bowls, obviously a lot of Olympic Games. I've never seen a perimeter go out this far, but it is completely necessary and
totally understandable especially in the wake of the train attacks earlier today.
HILL: And in terms of people who you've been speaking with since those attacks in the early hours today, how much has that dampen the mood? How
much has that concerned people moving into tonight's events?
BRENNAN: Erica, I think there's two ways to look at it. We all know that Paris is a city that has protests and is a vibrant democracy where people
speak their mind. And so I don't know that anyone is truly surprised that there have been some protests, some issues, and obviously of course this,
which is a surprise in the sense that these trains were targeted as they were and with all the security concerns, of course, why didn't they know
more about it? Why wasn't it caught before it happened?
So there is that sense of like the Olympics are a target and that's really sad to say, but we know that going back to Munich in 1972 and the 11
Israeli athletes and coaches who were killed and Atlanta, the bombing in 1996. I heard the bomb go off out my window in my hotel room. Those things
do happen. I think the flipside is that the games are here. And this is the first Olympics since 2018 that has not been marred by COVID in the sense of
Tokyo and Beijing, the Winter Games in 2022.
So while there is understandable concern, I think there's also a sense of the Olympic world and these athletes especially waiting to just bust out
almost like nothing is going to get in their way. No, I'm not minimizing very serious potential threats here, but I do think that the sports world
is coming together to say, OK, now is the time to start celebrating sports and talk about the Olympic Games.
HILL: I mean, look, it's a great point, too, right? Both things can happen at the same time and both things can be true. And that is why the security
officials are focused on what they are doing and rightly so and have been for the months and weeks and frankly even years leading into the games, and
why the athletes and spectators are focused on the beauty of this moment and the beauty of the Olympic Games and what they represent. Not only for
the athletes who have worked so hard to get there, for their countries, for their cheerleaders around the globe.
What are you most excited about? I mean, you have -- I'm always envious of your job, my friend. You cover such incredible moments in history and in
culture. What are you really looking forward to in Paris this year?
BRENNAN: And I am looking forward to many things, Erica. And I think that's a very important point to mention. I have no fear as I stand here, our CNN
colleagues here, we're doing our jobs and we're thrilled to be here. So I know there can be a sense coming back to the States and around the world
that there is real concern. Of course, we're aware.
But I think, you know, there's two huge names, American women, and you know who they are. Katie Ledecky, Simone Biles. Interestingly, they were born
within the same week, within three days of each other in March of 1997. Amazing. Both 27 years old, both at the top of their game to this day.
Katie starts -- Katie Ledecky starts swimming tomorrow morning in the 400 freestyle.
[10:35:04]
She's got an Australian, she's got a Canadian who could beat her. These young women who grew up idolizing Katie Ledecky have now grown into being
her top rivals. But she will I think win at least two gold medals later on in the first week of the games during swimming in 800, the 1500, but the
400 is going to be quite a race. And that's Saturday night here.
And then Sunday morning, Simone Biles coming back after of course the twisties and so many things she was dealing with. As you know, Erica, in
Tokyo three years ago, but coming back so strong and such a role model and a beacon for survivors of sexual abuse and on the issue of mental health.
So those two American icons, they will be on display for all of us to see here for at least a week or week and a half.
HILL: I am so excited. I love the Olympics. I love all of it, so I am ready to kick things off tonight.
Christine, always great to talk to you. Thank you.
Let's get you up to speed on some of the other stories on our radar at this hour.
Typhoon Gaemi has forced authorities in Eastern China now to evacuate 300,000 people, halting all public transport as well. The storm, which has
killed now at least 35 people in the Philippines and Taiwan, now threatening to set off flash floods in an already waterlogged province.
In California, Governor Gavin Newsom, with the backing of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, issuing an executive order for the state to
dismantle the encampment of homeless people. Advocates for the unhoused say the order will deprive thousands of vulnerable people of their only
shelter.
Also in the state of California, in the northern part of California, firefighters battling the largest wildfire to hit California this year. The
blaze itself has burned about half the size of the city of Los Angeles. It is just 3 percent contained at this hour.
A son of the notorious drug lord El Chapo is in custody after evading U.S. authorities for decades. Joaquin Guzman Lopez was arrested in Texas on
Thursday, along with Ismael Zambada, alleged to be the co-founder of Mexico's powerful Sinaloa cartel. U.S. officials say FBI agents actually
lured them across the border from Mexico.
CNN's Polo Sandoval has been following this story and these developments for us overnight and joins us now.
So, Polo, this is big news.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It absolutely is. And a big hit, especially in the cartel world just south of the border. So the big
question is, what kind of effects will we see? But first, let me get you the latest on exactly what went down here yesterday. In fact, I just
finished listening in on Mexican officials right now who confirmed that it was that small Cessna plane that took off from Hermosillo, Mexico, which is
in the north western part of Mexico yesterday morning at 8:00 a.m. local time, destined for that airstrip to the southside of El Paso.
We now know that it was at that airstrip that plane landed and federal authorities were able to move in and without any further incident, not only
taken El Mayo into custody, but also Joaquin Guzman Lopez.
These images right here newly released by the Mexican government, showing the suspects or at least the defendants in this massive narcotics case.
This is a very significant victory for the U.S. government who had been offering up to $15 million for the arrest of Ismael Zambada, known by his
nickname as El Mayo. Mayo is believed to have actually started the Sinaloa cartel together with Joaquin Guzman, who we all know as El Chapo, that is
currently serving eight life prison sentence.
Here's some of that footage at that airstrip yesterday as federal agents moved in and even attached the chains to one of the propellers of the
aircraft. Very interesting development here recently as well, Erica, coming from our colleague Evan Perez who says that after speaking to a law
enforcement official who has been briefed on the investigation, they believe that this operation likely had inside help from one of Chapo
Guzman's sons.
There's still a question as to exactly who that was being that he's got multiple sons, many of them facing some very serious charges, but in the
grand scheme of it all, one of the main prevailing theory right now is that Mayo was actually essentially tricked onto that airplane, lured onto that
plane under false pretenses that he would likely be on his way to a property to evaluate it, to see it, and then potentially buy it, not
knowing that that plane would be wheels down in Texas or rather in New Mexico just outside of El Paso, Texas, and would eventually lead to his
arrest.
This is an elder cartel leaders, so it's certainly going to leave a massive vacuum south of the border. A power vacuum that is likely to lead more
violence, potentially more bloodshed with a power struggle that remains, Erica.
HILL: Yes. Polo, really appreciate the reporting this morning. Thank you.
SANDOVAL: You bet.
HILL: Just ahead here on CONNECT THE WORLD.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAMELA ALTA, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: Where you're Democrat, Republican, whatever, I just don't think the majority of men are ready for a female
president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Kamala Harris re-energizing the Democratic race for president. But what do older voters think of the decision to replace Joe Biden as the
nominee?
[10:40:04]
How could that play out? You'll hear from them directly coming to you from a key state.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: A historic week for the Democrats' now presumptive nominee for president. Vice President Kamala Harris just beginning her brutal 100 plus-
day sprint to election day. Her campaign, though, giving a number of Democrats new hope that they may be able to stop a second Donald Trump
presidency. Harris raised $126 million between Sunday afternoon and Tuesday evening.
Her campaign chair said more than 100,000 volunteers have signed up to help the campaign and more than 2,000 have now applied for jobs with the
campaign. And while there are a number of Democrats talking about feeling hopeful and energized, not everyone is so sure.
John King spoke with some older Democratic voters in the key swing state of Pennsylvania about their perception of Mr. Biden's replacement.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here we go.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mahjong requires focus, patience, a clear strategy to build matching sets of tiles. Changing
course deep into the game is risky, but sometimes even experienced players see no choice but to try.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can I have your joker, please?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Heads up.
KING: See how easy it is to swap out a candidate in the middle of the game?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
KING (voice-over): This game ends in a draw.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nobody wins.
KING: Nobody wins?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nobody wins.
KING (voice-over): And a visitor brings up another big change.
Show of hands if you think Harris can win Pennsylvania. So you're more optimistic now than you were with President Biden leading the ticket.
There's a head shake.
ALTA: No.
KING: Tell me why.
ALTA: No. I don't think a lot of men will vote for Harris. I just don't. Whether you're Democrat, Republican, whatever, I just don't think the
majority of men are ready for a female president.
KING: These three hands went up pretty quickly. So do you have more energy and enthusiasm about the campaign now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God, yes.
KING: One more time, show of hands. Who wants to see them debate?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes.
KING (voice-over): Suddenly, Democrats like retiree and mahjong instructor Darrell Ann Murphy are bursting with energy. Suddenly they see at least a
chance to win battleground Pennsylvania and keep Donald Trump out of the White House.
DARRELL ANN MURPHY, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: I don't even like to hear the word Trump.
KING: What do you call him?
MURPHY: The monster.
KING (voice-over): At this same table five months ago, three of the four thought President Biden was up to the job, and they called criticism of his
age unfair. But they began to see things that worried them. Biden's debate debacle left no doubt.
MURPHY: From experience, I know how quickly things can go downhill when you are an older person.
KING: Now a new challenge.
MURPHY: You know, she's at the perfect age. She's committed. She's vigorous. And I overwhelmingly the women I talk to are, let's go, let's go.
[10:45:03]
KING: Civil rights activist Marvin Boyer organized the black history display at this museum in downtown Easton. The debate changed his mind,
too. And in Harris, Boyer sees what was missing in Biden.
MARVIN BOYER, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: You have to be aggressive because he's coming after you. And I think she's up to the challenge in that regard.
KING: The winner here in Northampton County tends to be the winner statewide. Every vote matters.
BOYER: It also reenergizes a strong constituency of the Democratic Party, meaning black females. So I think it's a good thing in that regard.
KING: Do you think America is ready to elect a woman of color as president?
BOYER: There's still racism, misogyny in this country in 2024. No question. Well, can we overcome it with this election enough that she can be elected?
I hope so.
KING (voice-over): Geology professor Lawrence Malinconico changed his mind after the debate, too. His wife donated to Harris as soon as the news
broke. And Malinconico believes students will be much more energized now.
LARRY MALINCONICO, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: There is an acceptable choice now when -- before I think there was real skepticism about the viability of
President Biden for another four years.
KING: Do you think she could win Pennsylvania?
MALINCONICO: I hope so. I think part of it will depend on her choice of vice president.
KING: Do you think the country's ready for that, a woman of color as president?
MALINCONICO: I hope so. I'm a little nervous about that.
KING: Are you looking forward to Harris debating Trump?
MALINCONICO: Absolutely.
KING: Why?
MALINCONICO: I'm hoping she'll just eat him alive.
KING (voice-over): Pat Levin became politically active in the 1940s during FDR's third term.
PAT LEVIN, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: So, you know, I've never seen anything like this.
KING: She's just a few weeks from 95. Performance, not age, is Levin's test. And she sadly came to see President Biden couldn't pass it anymore.
LEVIN: I love him. I think he has been just wonderful. But he is definitely impaired in terms of his thinking, in terms of his presentation, in terms
of his energy.
KING: Simple advice for Harris.
LEVIN: Get into those swing states and show her enthusiasm and her stamina and her strength and be able to communicate strongly.
KING: And one defining issue, if anyone, seeks her wisdom.
LEVIN: It's democracy. It's -- actually this might be our last free and fair election if we don't win it. We cannot afford to lose this election
for the American people.
KING: A big twist at crunch time in what for Pat Levin will be presidential vote number 19.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: And we just want to show you some pictures here. First Lady Jill Biden, Dr. Jill Biden arriving there being greeted by President macron, and
of course Brigitte Macron, as she arrives -- she is there in Paris, of course, having arrived on Thursday representing Team USA, representing the
country there, ready for the opening ceremony tonight.
John King is also with me, our chief U.S. national correspondent who's responsible for all this great work in talking to the voters. I noticed she
got you on the Pilates reform as well there. Pat Levin is a woman to be reckoned with. I like her already.
KING: She sure is.
HILL: As we look at the first lady here in Paris, it was interesting to me as we heard from Pat Levin, she, she looked at him and she said, you know,
she's almost 95, she said I can tell. And another woman in your piece I can tell. This is not where we're at.
I'm curious. What is the role? Is there a sense that they say -- that they see a role for President Biden, for the first lady moving into what is now
the Harris campaign?
KING: I think that's a great question, Erica. One of the things they were worried about is essentially holding your breath every time you saw Biden
in public, right? They have lived aging, they're aging themselves. They've seen their partners, their friends, and their family. So they were seeing
things in the president that finally convinced them he's not up to this for four more years.
But they are incredibly loyal to him and he could be critical to the vice president because one of the big questions now is especially in a state
like Pennsylvania, and then move it over to Michigan and Wisconsin, those blue wall states in the Midwest, right, across the industrial belt of the
United States. What are they? They're a little older and they're a little wider than most of the other states in America.
Joe Biden did well with older voters, and he did better than Hillary Clinton did in 2016 with white voters, especially white working class men.
That is perceived to be, we'll see how the pole shakeout in a few weeks, but that's perceived to be a Harris weakness. And so can Joe Biden help and
say, hey, you know, she's with me, she's my candidate now, with voters like you see in the piece there.
Those are loyal Democrats in that piece, but we find a lot of voters who say, I don't really know the vice president and that's just typical of any
administration. People don't pay as much attention, but watch with older voters and white working class voters across those rust belt states, it's a
big test.
HILL: The point that some people say they don't really know the vice president, is that more of an advantage for her heading into this moment?
KING: It can be. It also can be a liability. This is a race right now between the Trump campaign and the Harris campaign to fill in that canvas,
right? She ran for president in 2020 when the entire field was trying to get to the left, right. She said some things in that race about, say,
health care for all or about defunding the police or whether, you know, whether there was some legitimacy to the defund police movement.
[10:50:07]
The Trump campaign is going to try to make advantage of that. They're going to try to say she's a San Francisco liberal out of step with the country.
Harris has time, though, sort of a second chance to make a first impression, if you will, because, you know, whether it's a Democrat or a
Republican administration, I've been doing this a long time, vice presidents operate largely outside of the spotlight.
So this is a huge race and that's why I say, don't look at the polls today, look at the polls a month, even six weeks from now to see who wins that
race to define her.
HILL: It's also as we talk about it, you know, we look so much at national polls, but we know it really comes down to the individual states, which is
one of the reasons you've been focusing on some of these states, including Pennsylvania.
I know you stayed in touch with so many of these voters that you've met over the last several months in your reporting. Have any of them reached
out to you beyond the folks you spoke to in that piece, in the wake of this change?
KING: Yes. So we now have, Erica, approaching 70 voters in 10 battleground states. And among the Democrats and Democratic leaning independents, there
was this giant sigh of relief that the president stepped aside. Democrats understand it will be an uphill battle. Can Kamala Harris, when those blue
wall states, can she bring back the sunbelt where Trump is now leading. They understand the challenge, but they thought they were certain to lose
with Biden across the top of the ticket.
Now they think they have a chance, and you see it, you see the energy and the enthusiasm, they're willing to get more involved among the Democrats.
The question is, is it enough? But there is no doubt, no doubt a giant mood shift and you see it one evidence, I say wait for a few weeks to look at
the polling, to trust the polling, but look at the small donor contributions to Harris campaign. You mentioned earlier the lead, people
volunteered, people signing up for work, that state or two. That shows you enthusiasm and in close elections enthusiasm matters. The Democrats now
have it. They didn't a few days ago.
HILL: We'll see if they can hold onto it. It is going to be a long 100 plus days moving forward.
John King, always great to see you. Thank you.
KING: Thank you.
HILL: Still to come here, Donald Trump and the prime minister of Israel set to meet for the first time face to face in years. What could it mean for
this relationship that had soured in the wake of the 2020 election? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: In the coming hour, former president Donald Trump set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This is the first time the men
will meet since Donald Trump left the White House. A former Trump administration official has described their dynamic as a love-hate
relationship.
CNN's Alayna Treene joining us now from Washington, D.C. She of course also covers the Trump campaign.
There are a lot of questions about how this moment, this meeting will go, and just how candid the former president, who is known for being candid
will be with the prime minister.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right. And it really is a crucial meeting. It comes at very critical moments, both in the war with
Israel and Hamas, but also in the 2024 election cycle.
Now, as you said, the two men have not spoken or really met since Donald Trump had left the White House. So it's going to be interesting to see how
this goes. When I talked to Donald Trump's advisers, they told me that there is no clear agenda and that the former president has no overarching
goal that he wants to address in the meeting, that it's going to be pretty open-ended. But we also know that Trump himself has said that he wants to
see an end to this war quickly, and he also has been very critical of Netanyahu and his handling of the war overall.
He's claimed that Israel has a PR problem and has also said that they could be doing more to speed up that this entire conflict in the Middle East.
[10:55:09]
Now, I do think it's worth noting just how when Donald Trump was in the White House, both him and Netanyahu had a very close personal relationship.
Netanyahu once described Donald Trump as being the best friend Israel ever had and heralded him for all of the things that he did to help Israel,
including moving the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, recognizing the Golan Heights, the Abraham Accords, et cetera.
However, when Donald Trump left the White House, their relationship began to be more rocky. Donald Trump found him to be disloyal when he said and
congratulated Joe Biden on winning the 2020 election. Donald Trump actually told Axios after that, he said F Netanyahu, obviously I'm not saying the
full word there. But then also, he also believes that he betrayed the U.S. when Israel declined at what Trump argues the 11th hour to participate in a
strike against Qasem Soleimani.
Now, I will -- I do want to share with you what a senior Trump adviser told me about this meeting despite their fraught relationship, they said, quote,
Trump is willing to put any personal or political differences to the side and develop or reconnect with him, to develop a working relationship with
him. It shows the evolution of how Trump will conduct himself in a second term."
And so that is how kind of they are viewing this. So a very critical meeting and we'll see what happens. We're expected to get a readout at the
end of this -- Erica.
HILL: Absolutely. Alayna, appreciate it. Thank you.
Thanks to all of you for joining me on CONNECT THE WORLD today. I'm Erica Hill. NEWSROOM with Zain Asher is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
