Return to Transcripts main page
Connect the World
Taylor Swift Fans Despondent Over Canceled Concerts; Jordanian FM: Need to Focus on Ceasefire, not Militant Leaders; Fighting Underway after Kyiv's Incursion into Russia; Starliner Safety Issues Leave Astronauts Stuck on ISS; Quincy Hall Stages Epic Comeback to Win Men's 400M. Aired 9- 10a ET
Aired August 08, 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)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, happening now, this is the scene in Kenya's capital where anti-government protesters are back on
the streets. It is 04:00 p.m. in Nairobi. It is 02:00 p.m. here in London. I'm Becky Anderson, you're watching "Connect the World".
Also, this hour, more details on the suspected terror plot that forced the cancelation of three Taylor Swift shows in Austria. Plus, Russia is
claiming to have halted a Ukrainian incursion in the Kursk region.
Well, the stock market in New York will open about 30 minutes from now, the futures are looking mixed frankly, as anxious investors mull another U.S.
Jobs Report looking for further clues about the state of the world's biggest economy and what the U.S. Fed will do next on interest rates and
when we'll get you back to New York for the opening of Thursday's session, say, a little bit less than 30 minutes from now.
We start this hour with the details of the thwarting of an alleged terror plot that forced the cancelation of Taylor Swift's concerts in Vienna.
Austria's Interior Minister says international intelligence agencies helped foil the plot. A source telling CNN that the warning came from U.S.
intelligence.
Police detained three teenagers for questioning, at least two of them, they say, were radicalized online, with the main suspect pledging allegiance to
the leader of ISIS. Police also found chemicals and suspected explosives at his house.
Now the cancelation of these concerts say heartbreak for the tens of thousands of Swifties already in Vienna or set to travel there to see the
super star perform what were three sold out shows, starting tonight. They are safe, at least in principle. Salma Abdelaziz, connecting us from
Vienna. Salma, what more are we learning about the suspects and their alleged plot?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so chilling new details, Becky, on this terror plot that authorities are describing as wide ranging and
serious. We were just at the interior ministry where the country was giving a press conference providing additional details.
Afterwards, I was able to speak to the director of security services here. And one of the new details that has emerged, Becky, is that one of these
suspects had access to the stadium right behind me here, the stadium where Taylor Swift, of course, was set to hold these three concerts. In fact,
that 17-year-old was arrested just outside yesterday. Take a listen to what the head of the security services told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OMAR HAIJAWI-PIRCHNER, DIRECTOR OF AUSTRIAN STATE SECURITY & INTELLIGENCE: One of the suspects got an application a few days ago for a facility
enterprise that is at the moment working for preparing the concert in the stadium.
ABDELAZIZ: So, he had applied for a job, but he did not have a job in the stadium.
HAIJAWI-PIRCHNER: He had it. He was yesterday in the stadium. So, when we arrested him, he was already in the stadium.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABDELAZIZ: And he held that job, Becky, only for a matter of a few days, and that's, of course, when the arrest took place. But it shows you just
how elaborate this plot was. That official also went on to explain to me that they're working on the assumption that this was a multi-pronged
attack, essentially that the plot involved using a vehicle to run over Swifties who would be waiting outside the concert hall.
Thousands of fans were expected outside this stadium, and then, after using a vehicle that they would potentially detonate an explosive device. You can
imagine that this is still very much an ongoing investigation. They say they do not believe that there are any suspects still out there at this
time, but they continue to look into that.
Meanwhile, of course, yes, the concerts are cancelled, but the Swifties have taken over Vienna. It's hard to walk through a street corner in the
center of the city without seeing one of them. Many of them trying to organize events now, saying they need safe spaces to get together.
ANDERSON: Yeah. Salma, good to have you. Salma on the ground there in Vienna, as we mentioned at the start, Taylor Swift fans who were set to see
her perform in Vienna this week are, well, frankly, very despondent over the cancelations. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATIE WOOD, TAYLOR SWIFT FAN: We've been planning this trip, like the women in my family have been planning this trip for over a year, and we've spent
like, thousands of dollars to come here and like, taking time off of work and went to get early but today for a concert I'll probably never see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, these social media posts flowing and so the tears. This fan explaining she spent a year planning for the show, thousands of dollars
just for it all to be, of course, canceled at the last minute. Katie Wood, who joins me now from Vienna.
[09:05:00]
You're clearly extremely disappointed. I know you've invested a lot in this trip with the family. Just how much and how are you feeling at this point?
WOOD: Yeah. So obviously last night the news broke, and it was very hard. But we woke up this morning determined to make the best of it. I'm here
with my mom, my sister and my five-year-old niece. So, we are having a hard time, but it was a lot better today we got out.
We exchange so many bracelets with so many Swifties at coffee shops, at restaurants, just on the street. So, it's we're feeling a lot better now,
obviously safety is the first priority and the most important thing. So, we understand why it had to happen, but it still hurts.
ANDERSON: Yeah, I'm sure it does. I want our viewers to hear from a security expert who spoke to CNN earlier on today about that very point.
Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONELL HARVIN, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY EMERGENCY AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT: These concerts had to be canceled. You cannot run a thorough counter
terrorism investigation over the course of 48 hours. And so, it's clear that authorities in Vienna as well as Taylor Swift and her team, placed
their safety and the safety of her fans over profit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Yeah, and to your point earlier, clearly, your safety and security a number one priority both for Taylor Swift and indeed for
authorities. What's your message to the superstar from Vienna there?
WOOD: I think just seeing all the Swifties in the streets and everywhere today and all over the internet, TikTok, Instagram, I think it really goes
to show that no matter how much hate there is and what was going to happen or plan to happen, it's never going to drive out all of the love and
kindness that we all share with each other. And I think that's just a testament to the environment she's created.
ANDERSON: All right. It's good to have you. I'm sorry you must be along with so many others, so disappointed. But as we say, your safety and
security a number one priority, of course. And you can I hope at least enjoy your time there in Vienna with the family, with your niece, and with
all those other Swifties, who I'm sure will be singing the songs and enjoying the city together. So, thank you.
WOOD: Yeah.
ANDERSON: Well, punishing Israel with all eyes on Iran, there are signs Hezbollah could go first. Well, sources tell us that the Lebanese based
militants are moving faster than Tehran and could strike in the coming days as because they are closer to Israel. One source says Hezbollah can act
with little or no notice.
Plus, we are told it's not clear Iran and Hezbollah are even on the same page on how to respond to the killings of two top militant figures blamed
on Israel. Well, amid the tensions Egypt ordered its airlines to avoid Iranian air space for three hours earlier today, citing military exercises.
Of course, all of this raising fears and continued fears of a new front in the Middle East war. CNN's Ben Wedeman is in Beirut. Ben, I spoke to the
Jordanian Foreign Minister yesterday while he was in Jeddah meeting with representatives from the Islamic world, including, of course, those from
the region and Iran. Have a listen to what he told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AYMAN SAFADI, JORDANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: If we are to force Israel to accept a ceasefire in the aggression in Gaza, ensure that we get that
permanent ceasefire, then we would have created enough reason for everybody to say enough is enough. Now we have an opportunity at real de-escalation,
and we should move towards that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Problem is there is no clear sort of timetable for even ceasefire talks, let alone a permanent ceasefire in place on the table. What are you
hearing on the ground about this idea that Hezbollah may be gearing up for something anytime soon. Iran, and the sort of messaging we're getting from
there.
The messaging we were getting from the Jeddah meeting yesterday, perhaps Tehran taking a slightly different route and looking to the diplomacy at
this point to at least play part in its reasoning.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the Iranians seem to be sitting on the fence, but what we're hearing from Hezbollah is that
they still intend to strike back for last week, Tuesday evening strike, Israeli strike on Southern Beirut that killed Fuad Shukr, the Senior
Military Commander of Hezbollah.
Now, Nasrallah gave a speech night before last and what came across quite clearly, is that it was the death, the killing of Fuad Shukr was a severe
blow to the organization.
[09:10:00]
He even went so far as to say the Israelis killing of him and Haniyeh was an achievement, but he stressed that it was an achievement, but it doesn't
mean that Israel has, in his words, won the war.
Now Fuad Shukr and Hassan Nasrallah go back together a long way. They have known one another since the very earliest days of Hezbollah. So, I think
Nasrallah is taking this very personally. Now, where, how, when Hezbollah will strike back? It's anybody's guess.
I mean, we've seen lots of reports of anonymous American officials in Washington saying it's within tonight or tomorrow night 24, 48 hours going
back to last Sunday. I don't put much credence in what they say, but certainly the feeling is it's going to happen sooner or later.
Now today there have only been Hezbollah has only acknowledged two strikes on Israeli targets. This is not unusual. Sometimes they will have a heavy
period of strikes on the Israelis and then lighten up a bit.
But certainly, they have the ability. Hezbollah in fact has Iranian made drones that have a range of 2000 kilometres. So, they can hit to the very
further south to a lot, and they also have some very serious, short-range missiles that can cause serious damage within 10 kilometres of the border.
Now, unlike Iran's April 13th strike on Israel, when the time between, we all heard Israeli sources saying that the missiles had been fired from
Iran. It takes quite a while to a missile, or for a missile or a drone to reach Israel from Iran, from Lebanon, depending on what the target is, it's
just a matter of seconds.
So, the Hezbollah is in a position to inflict serious damage on Israel. And you'll recall, back in June, we were reporting on that nine-minute video
put out by Hezbollah of a drone footage of Haifa, the Port of Haifa, sensitive military positions in Northern Israel.
So certainly, Hezbollah has probably got its list, its target list, out and ready. It's got the weapons we all know. It's really just a question of
deciding when and to what magnitude it's going to strike. And of course, Hezbollah walks a fine line.
On the one hand, many Lebanese support the idea that as the war continues in Gaza and the death toll mounts daily, they do want to see Israel or
rather Hezbollah inflict pain on Israel, not a majority necessarily of Lebanese, but many Lebanese.
On the other hand, majority of Lebanese do not want a full-scale war. So, Hezbollah, even if it decides and it will strike back for the killing of
Fuad Shukr, it clearly does not want to go into a situation where it will ignite a full-scale war between Hezbollah and Israel.
ANDERSON: Yeah. I mean, it's really a dangerous point that we are at this point. Let's just come back to the ceasefire negotiations, or the lack let
thereof at the moment, quite frankly. Because you know at the heart of this tension is the conflict in Gaza.
I asked, what impact the appointment of Yahya Sinwar as political leader of Hamas after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran recently, of
course, might have on the ceasefire talks. This was the Jordanian Foreign Minister's response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAFADI: No, I think it's not question of individuals or who represents Hamas or not. It's about the elements of the ceasefire, and I think that is
where we need to be focused.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: I just wonder and I did put this to him at the time, whether that is realistic. Is it realistic? Do you believe Ben, to suppose that the
Israelis and now Sinwar led Hamas can agree any time soon on a ceasefire?
WEDEMAN: Keep in mind that even during the negotiations, one of the difficulties has been that the negotiators, including the late Ismail
Haniyeh, had to constantly consult with Yahya Sinwar back in Gazan because of the situation there, sometimes communications was difficult.
Israel has essentially eliminated the middle man. And I think they were well aware of that. So symbolically, killing Ismail Haniyeh was quite a
blow for Hamas, symbolically. But in real terms, ultimately, it's Yahya Sinwar who makes the final decision.
[09:15:00]
He is the man who holds the Israeli hostages. He is the man on the ground in direct contact with Hamas' fighters in Gaza. So, in a sense, it doesn't
basically make that much difference, but the optics of it certainly didn't help. And I don't think even the Americans were particularly happy for
Ismail Haniyeh to be assassinated by the Israelis.
Of course, they continue to neither confirm nor deny that they were behind it. But ultimately, the decision lies with Yahya Sinwar. He's a man 22
years in Israeli prisons. He's fluent in Hebrew. He's widely read in Israeli history, culture and whatnot. So there, he knows who he's dealing
with in the Israelis, having held him for 20 years also know him very well, also, Becky.
ANDERSON: Good to have you, Ben. Ben is in Beirut for you folks. We'll connect you now to the latest developments in Kenya, where police have
fired tear gas at protesters. Crowds turned out as the president swore in a new cabinet with demonstrators in Nairobi saying more must be done to
address hunger and the high cost of living. Larry Madowo is in Nairobi. Just describe what is going on around you.
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Becky, we had a chaotic day with police violently breaking up any protesters who have come to the city, they have
essentially made sure that most of the city is clear for most of the day. Businesses have remained closed, and you still see some of them here.
Every time two or three protesters come together the police throw flash bangs. They throw tear gas to shoot in the air, just to make sure that they
don't gather. Even though police had said that they were going to allow peaceful protesters to gather and only break up the criminals that claim
plans to infiltrate the protest.
We have not seen that happen. I want to speak to Jibran (ph), who's one of the protesters who's been out here today. Jibran have you been able to
protest at all today?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I have to. I was here in at 10 o'clock in the morning. Yes, I'm still here.
MADOWO: Why are you back on the streets? It almost two months since the protests began in Kenya.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I'm back, because this whole thing started because we are demonstrating because of bad governance, corruption, the opulence
displayed by the various ministers, and we wanted the bill to be rejected.
First of all, the taxes were so high, so he rejects the finance bill, and then you see promise to dissolve the cabinet, which he did. Then shortly
after, all the cabinet secretaries that were sent home, what he called --
MADOWO: So today, President William Ruto has sworn in a new cabinet after he dismissed his cabinet, half of the cabinet secretaries have come back.
How do you feel about that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm so disappointed. I'm gutted. It's so disheartening, especially since we've lost so many lives, a lot of youths have been
abducted. Some are yet to be found, some are dead, and it's all for nothing. So, it's really disheartening to be honest.
MADOWO: Jibran, thank you so much. So that's one of the issues, Becky, people are upset about here. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights
says at least 61 people have died in these protests nationwide, a lot of them accuse police of using excessive force, of shooting at largely
peaceful protesters.
And the reason we keep looking back all the time is because the police have been a lot more aggressive today, even targeting the media and several
journalists complaining about having been shot directly with tear gas canisters.
Most of the street is empty, but every time they see two or three people, you hear a lot of explosions in the air, turning Nairobi almost into a war
zone with the number of explosions we hear around all to make sure that people don't gather, even though, like I mentioned, the Kenyan Constitution
allows people to peacefully protest, present petition to public authorities and to pickets, Becky.
ANDERSON: Well, stay safe and reporting from the ground for you in Nairobi is Larry Madowo. Well, still to come, Donald Trump appears to be sticking
close to home while Kamala Harris and Tim Walz roll out their newly minted ticket this week across critical battle ground states in the U.S.
We look at both campaign strategies later this hour. And then the final frontier becomes, well, a little more than your bargain for two NASA
astronauts seen here are facing a long and uncertain future in space.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:20:00]
ANDERSON: Moscow is fighting Ukraine's forces on Russian soil for a third straight day after Kyiv launched an incursion into Russia's Kursk region.
Now on Thursday, Moscow claimed it had, quote, halted attempts by Ukraine's troops to break deep into Russian territory.
But those claims do seem to be at odds with reports on the ground of heavy shelling. It's still an open question, what Ukraine is trying to
accomplish. Here's what the White House Press Secretary said on Wednesday,
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PERSS SECRETARY: We're going to reach out to Ukrainian military to learn more about their objectives. We as far as
the specifics on that, I would refer you to the Ukrainians to speak about their own military operations. That's where I would refer you to. But we
are, generally speaking, as you know, we have been supported of Ukraine, as they are defending themselves against Russia's aggression.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: But a word salad there, really, to be honest. I'm joined by Clare Sebastian. The White House Press Secretary, referring the gathered press
there to Ukraine and its statement. What has Ukraine actually said about what's going on in Russian territory?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Officially, nothing. And that is extremely telling, because that used to be the policy, right? They would
never talk about any kind of cross border activity, but recently, they've been a bit more forthcoming. There's been a lot of admissions around sort
of drone attacks, and they've been talking relatively openly about this strategy.
Plus, of course, Zelenskyy has made it very clear to his allies that he wants restrictions lifted on using Western weaponry across the border in
Russia, that attack, in many ways, is their best form of defense. So, it is very telling that they're saying nothing about this. It is also very
telling that the U.S. clearly was not given any prior warning, which they often are for big operations.
So that is, you know, on the one hand, I think we still have this very open question as to what Ukraine is trying to achieve here. Is it to distract
Russian forces away from the Eastern Front, where they have been inching forward? Is this some way of preventing a similar scenario to what we saw
in Kharkiv in the spring, where Russia opened a new front?
Are they actually playing for territory here? Are they trying to gain Russian territory to give them leverage in future negotiations? And on the
flip side, Russia's approach here is also very telling, in the sense that they're not trying to hide it.
What they're doing is using this well-worn strategy of taking accusations that are often levelled against Russia, for example, indiscriminate
targeting civilians and levelling them against Ukraine, trying to present themselves as the victims.
ANDERSON: You mentioned, whether part of this is Ukraine sort of position itself ahead of any negotiations. Where are we at with any brokered peace,
any deal in this conflict?
SEBASTIAN: Well, we're not close to one. I mean, there's still no real sort of rapprochement between the two sides. Ukraine is still maintaining that
it wants to take back all the territory, possibly even also Crimea, but we have heard from President Zelenskyy that when he holds his next peace
summit, you remember, there was one in June in Switzerland that didn't involve Russia.
He wants to hold another one in November that will involve Russia. Now, Russia has maintained all along that, you know, it is very open to peace
talks under its own terms. And it is, in fact, Ukraine, it claims, that has been getting in the way of peace all along.
[09:25:00]
Of course, we all know Russia is the aggressor in this war, but it does seem like there's some movement from the Ukrainian side now 2.5 years in.
It is hard to characterize exactly what that is, but I think what's happening now, potentially, you could view in that context.
ANDERSON: It's good to have you. Clare Sebastian in the House for you folks. Well, in the coming hour, Bangladesh should have its new interim
head of government. Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus has arrived in the country and will be sworn into office shortly, marking the end of
weeks of protests and deadly government crackdowns.
Yunus is an 84-year-old banker who was awarded the Peace Prize for his pioneering work in micro finance, developing small micro loans designed to
lift people in Bangladesh out of poverty. Student protesters have called for him to temporarily lead the nation. Here's what he said a short time
ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MUHAMMAD YUNUS, BANGLADESHI NOBEL LAUREATE: Our first order of business should be to restore law and order. Until that is taken care of, we will
not be able to proceed further to improve the situation. You have shown faith in me, and students have reassured me to carry out that duty. I
request that residents of Bangladesh believe in me. If you do that, there will be no attacks at any locations in the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Yunus Muhammad Yunus to lead an interim government in Bangladesh. Still ahead on "Connect the World" with me Becky Anderson, not so much,
lost in spaces, stranded in space. Why two NASA astronauts could be stuck for several more months at the International Space Station? More on that is
after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Right. Well, we are awaiting the bell on the New York Stock Exchange. We are live for you on Wall Street for another trading day. It's
Thursday, and of course, it has been quite some week for investors, at least of equities and to an extent bonds as well, but a route Monday,
followed by a significant bounce back on Tuesday.
[09:30:00]
And then a very mixed picture as traders and investors today awaited more information on the U.S. jobs market. Well, it's been a pretty robust story.
It has to be said, beating expectations, as far as jobless claims are concerned, and that's been relatively good news as far as investors are
concerned, and certainly futures indicating ahead of this open a higher stock.
But look, I mean, there is some clear volatility in this market. There is really a sense at this point those traders, investors want to know what is
going on as far as U.S. interest rates are concerned, and when do investors need to wait until September for the next FOMC meeting, or do they get an
emergency rate cut?
Well, the numbers today perhaps suggesting that the Fed will wait until its scheduled meeting. These numbers again, once again, not suggesting that the
U.S. economy in its entirety, is in trouble. Although individual stocks, certain industries, of course are. And linear television is one of those
that is in trouble.
That's the message at least from the Chief Executive of Warner Brothers Discovery, David Zaslav, the media conglomerate has written down its
television channels by $9 billion. Zaslav blamed, quote, tough market conditions on an earnings call with investors yesterday. Warner Brothers,
of course, Warner Brothers Discovery is the parent company of this network.
That stock is down significantly. Today, let's take a look at the wider U.S. market now. But the story is settling somewhat a minute into the
trading day, and shares, as I say, reacting to those new jobs report, first time claims for unemployment benefits fell, last week to 233,000 that is
lower than expected, or more robust, as it were then economist had expected, and that has somewhat tempered the panic that we saw earlier this
week.
Well, if you've ever missed a flight or found yourself stranded abroad, you'll know how frustrating that can be. So, imagine the predicament of
these two NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who piloted the first crewed test flight of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, and we reported
on that when it went up in June, they arrived at the International Space Station thinking their mission would last just a few days.
Well, they are still there, and now we know they might not be able to return home until 2025 The reason or concerns about Starliner's safety
after various technical issues. Officials are looking at the options now. One of those is to bring in Boeing's rival, Space X.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE STICH, PROGRAM MANAGER OF NASA'S COMMERCIAL CREW PROGRAM: We have been working with Space X to ensure that they're ready to respond on Crew-9
for a contingency of returning Butch and Suni on Crew-9 if we need that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, let's get some insight into all of this. And bring in Former Astronaut Leroy Chiao. It's good to have you. It's always good to
have you. So, let's start at the beginning of this. How did this go so wrong?
LEROY CHIAO, RETIRED NASA ASTRONAUT: Right. So, Starliner Boeing has had a lot of troubles in the past years, not only with their space program, but
also with their commercial airplane company. So, a lot of change is obviously happening at that company. Starliner finally made it into orbits
just a couple of months ago, and it was a pretty much a picture-perfect launch.
It did have a few small helium -- patience five of the thrusters failed, and so for we're re enabled. But since that time, NASA and Boeing have been
doing tests and experiments, both in space and on the ground, to try to understand what caused those failures and what the implications would be
for the return trip?
And so, while they sort that out, Butch and Suni have been on the space station now. They've been busy. They've been throwing in their experience.
They both flown long duration missions before, so they're definitely contributing and staying busy. And astronauts do like to be in space.
But nobody likes to suddenly have your life kind of upended, right? They expected to stay for 10 days, as you said, and now it's looking like they
may have to stay until next year. So, you know the bottom line is that NASA and Boeing thought they had a handle on this about a week and a half ago.
ANDERSON: Right.
CHIAO: But then earlier in the week, they basically announced that they do not agree on a root cause, and without understanding a root cause, they
can't bring those people home on that vehicle.
[09:35:00]
ANDERSON: I'm one assumes that the ISS is sufficiently equipped for two overstays, as it were. Could SpaceX, Elon Musk's organization, help save
the day here?
CHIAO: Absolutely. SpaceX has been flying the dragon with astronauts to and from ISS for around three years now. So, they've been operating, you know,
they were originally the ones that were kind of seen as the risk many years ago when all this commercial crew happened or started, but they've been
operating for nearly three years pretty much flawlessly.
And so, the idea is, OK. Well, the four astronauts that were getting set to launch pretty soon here, their mission has been delayed while NASA figures
out their options. And there is a possibility that instead of flying four new crew members up, they'll only fly two, and Butch and Suni will stay for
a shortened, long duration flight and come back in February so that --
ANDERSON: Oh, we have lost --
CHIAO: -- understand what's going on and bring them home on Starliner. But they're keeping that option open until they figure that out.
ANDERSON: Yeah, good stuff. We lost you momentarily there, but we've got your back, and it's always a pleasure to have you. Thank you. Well, let's
turn to the U.S. presidential race now, where Democrats Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are campaigning in five key battleground states with less than
three months until Election Day.
J.D. Vance has spent the last few days challenging the newly minted Democratic ticket on the campaign trail himself this week, Trump is jumping
into the fray today, saying he will hold a news conference about four hours from now.
So, CNN's Political Analyst Julian Zelizer is joining me now with his insight, and I just wonder, ahead of this Donald Trump news conference,
just how much insight we have into Donald Trump's political thinking right now?
JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, what we've heard is he's struggling. He's upset with his campaign team. He is watching the polls as
Vice President Harris surges ahead of him now. She caught up, and now in some new poll, she's ahead. And I don't think he's exactly figured out a
line of attack thus far.
He seems to be focused, or the campaign seems to be focused on the vice president rather than her. So, I think he wants a reset for himself in
terms of how he's going to do this with the new opponent.
ANDERSON: Yeah, it does depend on which poll you look at as to whether you see a kind of surging ahead or just at least a sort of catching up on the
part of Kamala Harris and the Harris walls ticket as we should now call it, she has been out on the trail this week. And while it absolutely has felt
like her moment in the spotlight these last few weeks, says a long way to go at this point.
And she did have this pretty remarkable reaction to a heckler at her rally in Detroit yesterday. Julian, have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S., (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: U.S. He intends to surrender our fight against the climate crisis, and he
intends to end the Affordable Care Act. You know what? If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that otherwise, I'm speaking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, you can -- you could describe that as no nonsense. Some might describe it as slightly irritable, or irritated. And what did you
make of that reaction?
ZELIZER: Well, I assume she's anticipated this protests about the war between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza will continue to be part of the
political landscape. And I think she both is open to talking about the issue and expressing sympathy about what is happening, but she also wants
to kind of keep control over the campaign and move this forward.
So, this is her initial effort to deal with this kind of heckling, which is as inevitable as the kinds of attacks that will be coming in the next few
months from the Republican Party. And so yeah, she's quickly navigating and figuring out what will her strategy be.
ANDERSON: And we will hear more from the Trump campaign. We assume, if indeed, Donald Trump does hold this suggested news conference about four
hours from now. Thank you, Julian, it's always a pleasure. Well, next on "Connect the World" a come from behind win on the Olympic track that came
from well, sheer determination.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:40:00]
ANDERSON: Well, it's been games to remember for so many athletes and so many countries, not least the United States, on the track. On Wednesday,
they added another gold medal, Quincy Hall senior came out of what seemingly nowhere on the final straight to claim gold in the 400 meters.
Amanda Davies joining me now, and that was one of those races that you will remember where you were when you watched it, right?
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah, and it's a life lesson to all of us. Becky, there is somebody coming up behind. We've seen it a couple of times.
So much of the focus on the big favorites heading into these races, but couple of Team USA athletes, Cole Hocker, we had in the 1500 meters.
And last night, Quincy Hall, you could see every ounce of that effort. He was not giving up, he said. Afterwards, he said, no distance is too great,
really upsetting the odds to take that victory in the men's 400 meters. There is perhaps more of a heavy favorite back on track tonight, Noah
Lyles, in the 200 looking to do the double. We've got plenty more looking ahead. Still that's coming up in just a couple of minutes in "World Sport".
ANDERSON: Fantastic. It's the Olympics, up next with Amanda. We'll be back top of the hour for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:45:00]
(WORLD SPORT)
[10:00:00]
END
