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CNN International: Israeli Military: Carrying Out "Precise Strikes" in Beirut; Florida Officials Hold Briefing as Hurricane Helene Closes in; Biden Pledges New Round of Aid, Weapons to Ukraine; Harris: Trump's Economic Plan Would "Invite a Recession"; Caitlin Clark's Rookie Season Ends. Aired 9-9:45a ET

Aired September 26, 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: Smoke, rising over Beirut. Israel says it is carrying out targeted strikes on Hezbollah. This after

the U.S. puts forward a Lebanon ceasefire proposal. It's 04:00 p.m. in Beirut, 05:00 p.m. and here in Abu Dhabi and Becky Anderson, you're

watching "Connect the World".

Also coming up hurricane Helene barreling towards the Southeastern United States. It's now a powerful category two storm, and is expected to get

stronger. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is on Capitol Hill trying to shore up support as Republicans give him the cold shoulder.

And New York Mayor Eric Adams is facing criminal charges in a federal corruption investigation. Well, Israel says it is carrying out strikes on

the Lebanese capital as we are waiting for the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to arrive in New York as Israel readies for a possible

ground invasion into Lebanon.

Sources tell CNN, the U.S. and France are working feverishly on a ceasefire plan between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah. Mr. Netanyahu

dismissing suggestions a ceasefire could be imminent, his message for the IDF, keep fighting. Both sides are doing just that, launching dozens more

attacks across the border overnight.

Now those precise strikes as Israel describes them in Beirut. Take a listen to the spokesperson for the Israeli government.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID MENCER, ISRAELI GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON: Hezbollah simply won't pull out of Southern Lebanon because we've asked them to by email or by any sort

of document that could be signed right now, because they've spent the last year firing at us, even though the U.S. and France and others have asked

them actually to stop.

So, our requirements are very, very clear. They are -- and they're reasonable as well. We want to create a situation where our citizens in the

north. Tens of thousands of our people who've been dislocated and left their homes for a year now that they're able to return to their homes in

safely, in safety, and we also say in a loud and clear voice that this will be achieved when Hezbollah understands that it cannot attack Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, from the U.S. to the Middle East, we are covering all the angles of this story, as you would expect us to. Alex Marquardt is in New

York with more on what is this ceasefire proposal. Jomana Karadsheh in Beirut for you and Nic Robertson joining us today from Tel Aviv.

I want to start in New York, Alex, away from the action as it was -- as it were, because overnight, certainly Middle Eastern time, this ceasefire

proposal has been announced by the U.S., a U.S. led, it seems U.S. and French led proposal. Just walk us through what we know about this and how

it came together.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, this is away from the action, but in the middle of the diplomatic action, and that

action is sure to continue today, because for now, it does not appear that Hezbollah and Israel are signing on to any kind of imminent ceasefire.

But essentially, over the past few days, top U.S. officials, the National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, the top White House officials for the

Middle East have been working with French and other counterparts to try to put together a proposal for a cease fire, which is a bit of a misnomer.

What we're talking about here, Becky, is really a pause. They're pushing for a 21 day pause in order to get the parties back to the negotiating

table, to then come up with some kind of permanent cease fire that would allow tens of thousands of residents on both sides of the border, both in

Lebanon and in Israel, to go back home.

So late last night, around 09:30 New York time, that the White House scrambled a call to brief reporters on this plan, and they frankly sounded

rather optimistic. They talked about this being a big breakthrough. They talked about when the Israeli and Lebanon -- Lebanese governments would

respond to this.

And then we wake up this morning and hear the office of Prime Minister Netanyahu saying that they are encouraging the IDF to continue fighting

with full force. So, it is clear that there is still a lot of work to be done.

[09:05:00]

But what is interesting here is that the Israelis and the Lebanese and Hezbollah have been fully aware of the back and forth over this text in the

past few days. So, it wasn't like this was announced and then now they're reading it for the first time. So that's why there was this sort of this

sense of optimism, I think, from the U.S. side, that something might be possible.

But it is clear that there's a lot of work yet to be done. Netanyahu, as you mentioned, he is arriving in New York today. There was some question

about whether he would come to the U.N. General Assembly at all. He's expected to speak to that assembly tomorrow morning, where Israel and the

United States are on the same page as they want those residents to go back home, but where they differ is how to get there.

The U.S. wants to see this pause so that negotiations can continue, while Israel is arguing that it is the military pressure that is going to get

Hezbollah to back down and eventually get those Israeli residents back home. So there really is still quite a bit of daylight there.

The second part of this, Becky, is that the U.S. is hoping that if this ceasefire were to go into effect, and keep in mind, it's not just the U.S.,

it's U.S. and 10 other countries or bodies, including G7 countries and three Arab countries, that if this were to go into effect, that it would

then give them the space they're calling it diplomatic space, to turn back to the Gaza cease fire deal, which as you know, has been on hold for quite

some time.

You and I have spoken endlessly for the past few months about American hopes and optimism for the ceasefire deal in Gaza. Now what they're saying

is, if we can only get to that pause in the North of Israel and the South of Lebanon, get that fight to stop, then we can turn back to Gaza and keep

working on that but it is far from clear whether they're going to be able to make any movement on either of those two fronts, as we continue to see

that fighting today play out, Becky.

ANDERSON: Alex, thank you. Your reporting is so important here, because as we say, it's away from the action, but that diplomatic action that is going

on behind the scenes is absolutely crucial at this point. Let me bring in Jomana where the action is, of course, and this is important.

Benjamin Netanyahu denying reports of this imminent Lebanon ceasefire, he is telling his military to fight, quote, with full force, and today, the

effect of that all too clear to the residents of Southern Beirut. Just explain what has been going on, where you are.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, in the last hour or so, we heard from the Israeli military saying that they carried out what they

described as precise strikes in Beirut, without giving more information about what they were targeting and where they had struck.

But from our live position here, we could see a thick plume of smoke rising just behind me here from Beirut's southern suburbs known as Dahieh. And

we've heard from Lebanon's state news agency saying that it was an apartment in a 10-story building that was hit by three Israeli missiles,

they say.

CNN has also geolocated some of the images that have emerged from that scene to the neighborhood of Harat Hurayk in the southern suburbs of

Beirut. This is one of Lebanon's most densely populated areas, Becky. It's also where you have heavy Hezbollah presence. Hezbollah leaders are known

to have been in Dahieh.

It's unclear right now if there are any casualties, what the number of casualties is, who the target of that strike, or what the target of that

strike was. We are waiting to hear both from Lebanese authorities as well as the Israeli military. And you know, we have seen the Israelis carry out

several strikes in recent days targeting the southern suburbs of Beirut.

The most recent one was on Monday. But of course, the most significant and deadliest was on Friday, when the Israelis targeted a gathering, meeting

where you had the commander, senior leadership of what is known as the Radwan Force, that is Hezbollah's special elite force, if you will.

And they killed its commander and several other senior leaders and members of that group, but you also had many civilian casualties in that strike.

So, keeping in mind that this is a very densely populated area, and according to reports that we have heard, it was busy in that area at the

time, pedestrians and residential area as well.

[09:10:00]

So, have to wait and see if there are civilian casualties in that strike and who and what the target was.

ANDERSON: Yeah.

KARADSHEH: But also, Becky, this is happening at a time where the country has been under intense Israeli bombardment in Southern Lebanon and in the

Eastern -- region, as the death toll continues to rise by the hour.

ANDERSON: That's right. And it is those strikes, and the strikes by Hezbollah, of course, on Israel, which provides the backdrop to what is

going on in New York. Let me bring Nic in here. And Benjamin Netanyahu, of course, on his way to New York, we know that he is sort of not back any

imminent ceasefire.

We know this ceasefire has been proposed by the U.S. and France. Qatar, one of the Arab states who has signed up to it. We've heard from the Qataris

earlier today. They, of course, have been hugely involved in trying to mediate a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza. This is how the spokesman

responded to what is going on in New York, and the news we have of this proposal stand by.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJED AL-ANSARI, SPOKESPERSON OF QATARI FOREIGN MINISTRY: I think there is a general sense in the international community that everybody is working

together in order to ensure this is why happening in Lebanon. I don't think we can now say that there's a formal mediation track, rather than all

channels of communication remain open, and that all of us are doing all that we can -- not only Qatar, I think all parties who are interested in a

ceasefire right there are working on this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Briefly, Nic, there is clearly a sense of urgency in the international community at this point, a ceasefire in Gaza is what has been

so tirelessly worked on. Of course, a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel would certainly help to calm things down and to de-escalate the word

we hear so much at this point, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, the mood music doesn't seem right for it at the moment, Becky. Of course, those

negotiations between Hezbollah, through proxies, of course, and Israel and the shuttle diplomacy that Amos Hochstein, the U.S. negotiator on that has

been trying to pull off for the past year, have rewarded results that we see publicly.

So, I think trying to do it in a shortened time frame, despite the international attention, despite the high death toll, despite the need,

despite the desire to avoid more civilian casualties, more destruction, it does seem to be pushing into the wind. The messaging, both by Hezbollah

today, the missiles that they fired by Israel, the missiles that it's fired, the targeted what appears to be -- the moment, absent more details.

But what appears to be another targeted assassination of a senior Hezbollah official. We don't know that, but it appears to be in Beirut. The fact that

the military's, the IDF is releasing more video of more troops doing more rehearsals and more training and terrain close to the border is really

messaging the pressure from the Israeli side that they think that this isn't the time to pull back the pressure, military pressure off of

Hezbollah, because they would regroup.

And right now, they're relying on the fact they're not regrouping to stop Hezbollah actually having a stronger response. And politically, the prime

minister here has taken a huge hammering from the right-wing members of his cabinet and others, not to mention some residents in the north who are

criticizing any maneuver and move he may take towards a 21-day truce.

So, it just doesn't feel as if the mood music is there, and to try to latch a Lebanon ceasefire to a completely stalled out Gaza ceasefire seems hugely

improbable, albeit nobly ambitious, just improbable, Becky.

ANDERSON: Yeah, Nic, always good to have you. Thank you very much indeed, to all of our correspondents on the story and thank you. Well,

catastrophic, unprecedented and life threatening. Forecasters are not pulling their punches saying a major hurricane is set to explode in the

Gulf of Mexico, taking aim at the Southeastern United States.

Hurricane Helene has already pounded Mexico and Cuba. It is forecast to make landfall in Florida's Big Bend area, as it's known, late on Thursday

or early Friday, and then barrel into Georgia and remain at hurricane strength as it moves inland. Well, Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis held a

press briefing just a short time ago. Let's listen in.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): As you know, as of 08:00 a.m. hurricane Helene is now a Category 2 hurricane. It is located 365 miles South of Apalachicola.

Is expected to speed up throughout the day, and it's expected to make landfall in Northern Florida sometime this evening.

[09:15:00]

Maximum sustained winds are currently about 100 miles per hour. It is possible that this storm could make landfall as a major hurricane, as a

Category 3, or even potentially a Category 4. It is moving fast. More rainfall is, of course, expected, and it could lead to significant storm

surge in our coastal areas.

And so, we are prepared for that, of course, and we'll see what happens in terms of the intensification. I think that these things can rapidly

intensify. Sometimes they become major. Sometimes there's changes. So, we're just going to continue to do our thing and assume that this is going

to be a major hurricane when it makes lands fall.

This is a very large storm, so you're going to see tropical weather that's going to extend hundreds of miles away from the center of the storm.

Doesn't necessarily mean you're going to have a hurricane Category 3 winds, say, on the east coast of Florida, but you are going to have tropical

conditions, and it's going to be nasty throughout the latter part of the day here in the State of Florida.

We are, of course, looking at the track, if you look at the 08:00 a.m. advisory. And I think this has been happening probably for probably the

last eight hours, the models are nudging the center of the storm a little bit east, and that's significant when you're talking about Tallahassee,

because I think yesterday, we were looking at an eye wall that was probably just on the western part of the city when the storms hit the northeast part

of the storm is usually the most damaging.

And so, to the extent it is tracking east and mirroring more of an Idalia track, rather than a direct hit on Tallahassee that is going to impact the

extent of the damage. This area has not had a major hurricane hit in quite some time, and certainly nobody in recent memory has seen a storm of this

magnitude that has hit.

So, we'll watch that. There's no guarantee that it's going to continue on that trend, but we have seen that slight trend, and that could potentially

be very impactful. If you're talking another 30 or 40 miles to the east, versus maintaining course or even toggling a little bit west.

There will be debris either way, obviously, if it hits direct in the Tallahassee with the trees that we have here, and it's nice, but it will

cause a lot of damage. We have been Kevin and his team have been working with local governments throughout the state, but particularly throughout

this region, about making sure they have their debris contracts ready to go.

There's going to be a need to get debris out of the roadways. Kevin and his team are going to be helping. Jared and his team are going to be helping.

But then also with power restoration, you want to be able to get the power back on. The linemen are going to have to access these power lines.

And that could be more challenging in an area like Tallahassee than it would be in areas that may not be as wooded. So those debris, all local

governments do your debris contracts. You're going to get FEMA reimbursement for this. Fiscally constrained counties, we've stepped up at

the state level and helped them in the past.

But I think you can anticipate that there's going to be a need for some serious debris removal. So please take the appropriate steps. As we've said

all along, this storm was never projected to make landfall in kind of the Florida peninsula Gulf Coast, whether you're talking about Sarasota, Tampa,

some of those areas.

But because it's such a big storm, it's churning a lot of water, and so you're going to see surge all up and down the West Coast of Florida, the

water is going to rise, and that is going to create hazards as well. So just because you're outside the cone, and I think a lot of those parts on

the West Coast of Florida are probably outside the cone, that does not mean that you're not going to see significant impacts.

We have overnight had 14 different tornado warnings. There's likely to be more of those throughout today. Warnings were issued in Palm Beach, Hendry,

Glades and Collier County. Now parts of our state are starting to feel the effects.

ANDERSON: Right. Let's bring in Allison Chinchar, who is at the CNN weather center. Allison, by all accounts, this is a very dangerous storm. Just take

us through your charts and where this is headed and where it might go next in the what next 48, 72 hours?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, so right now it's moving into the Gulf of Mexico. It is a Category 2 hurricane, sustained winds of 100

miles per hour, gusting to 115, but it's expected to strengthen more, because when it sits over these very warm, open waters, that is fuel for

these types of storms.

And we anticipate it will get into at least a Category 3 hurricane, which officially makes it a major hurricane. Another thing we started to notice

in the last couple of hours, tornado watches now in effect for Florida, portions of Georgia, as well as South Carolina.

[09:20:00]

And these are going to last for several hours for a lot of these areas, as those outer bands continue to make their way across the states. We've

already had several tornado warnings for places like Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. More of them will continue throughout the day as more of

these outer bands begin to spread inland.

Here's a look. This is where we expect the storm to become a major hurricane this afternoon before making landfall tonight, local time in the

Big Bend region of Florida. But the thing is, the forward speed is going to pick up as well. This means, if it's moving faster, it can spread farther

inland before weakening down to a tropical storm.

So, you're going to have some of these cities that are 100 or maybe more miles away from the coast that are still dealing with hurricane force

winds. So again, this isn't just going to be a coastal city problem, but for a lot of inland cities as well. Rain also going to be a widespread

concern.

You can see all of these areas here, where you're talking the orange, the red and even the pink color, you're talking widespread four to eight inches

of rain, but some of these areas will end up with 10 or even 12 inches of rain before this is all said and done.

Another concern we talked about the tornado watches, that is going to be a thing for Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas as we go through the evening

and really the overnight hours as well, not just tornadoes, but waterspouts and damaging winds. But by far the biggest flood threat for this storm is

going to be flooding, not just from rainfall.

We also have the storm surge component, but you've got the flooding that's going to start right there where the landfall is, but then it's going to

continue the whole way in as this storm moves inland. So, cities like Atlanta, Greenville, Spartanburg, Nashville, all of them are hundreds of

miles away from the coast.

They too will have the potential for significant flooding, not just today, but also into Friday. Here's a look at the storm surge map. You can see

pretty much up and down the entire West Coast of the Florida peninsula. There is some level of storm surge. Obviously, the highest is going to be

right through here in the Big Bend region, where we could see as much as 15 to 20 feet.

But even cities that are well away from it, look at Tampa, for example, nowhere near the landfall location, they're still likely to get storm surge

of five to eight feet. So, this is going to be one of many concerns that we have going through the next 36 to 48 hours.

ANDERSON: Yeah, fascinating! All right. Well, everybody here in the eye of that storm and elsewhere, as Allison explains, this is going to be felt so

far away from the actual eye. Please stay safe. We will be back right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Well right now, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is meeting with senators in Washington before holding talks later with

President Biden and Vice President Harris. Mr. Biden has ordered a surge in aid for Kyiv in case Donald Trump wins in November.

[09:25:00]

Some Republicans are claiming President Zelenskyy's visit to an ammunition plant in Pennsylvania on the weekend was motivated to boost Democrats

chances in the state, an absolutely crucial battleground in the tight presidential race. They want him to fire his U.S. ambassador for organizing

the trip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): I do hope that Zelenskyy does the right thing. I think it was wildly inappropriate what happened, and we cannot have foreign

nations interfering in our elections, and I think that's what it amounted to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, CNN's Arlette Saenz is in Washington. Fred Pleitgen is in Kyiv. Let's start with you, Arlette, Joe Biden ordering what's being

described as a surge of assistance to Ukraine, and it does appear that he is trying to get out front of what is a potential Trump presidency.

The reception from the White House quite different from that of Congress at this point, certainly from the Republican side, correct?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it certainly is, Becky. And President Biden is trying to do what he can while he was is in office

to ensure that Ukraine has the aid that they need to continue their war against Russia. Today, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy will make that

personal appeal to President Biden for more assistance when they meet in the oval office this afternoon.

Zelenskyy expected to present a victory plan outlining the ways that he believes Ukraine can still win and how exactly USAID, Western aid, can help

in that effort. Ahead of the meeting, President Biden did roll out a new surge of aid for Ukraine that includes calling on the Department of Defense

to use the $5.5 billion in presidential drawdown authority that Congress has already authorized to provide further assistance to Ukraine in Biden's

waning months in office.

There's also the Defense Department has another $2.4 billion they can provide through the Ukraine Security Initiative. And just last night, they

rolled out 375 billion million dollars in additional aid. Biden, in a statement today, say that there is still more work to do for Ukraine as

they continue this fight.

He talked about how they are going to provide more long-range weapons, more Patriot missiles to Ukraine, as well as providing more training to their

forces on fighter jets that they can use in this war effort. But a big question on the table for President Biden and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy

today is the question over whether Ukraine can use western made long range weapons deep into Russia.

That is something that Zelenskyy has said is central to their victory plan. But so far, President Biden has not shown any signs of budging, though he

has expressed some openness to it. So, we will see where those conversations go today. There's also an expectation that Zelenskyy could

try to seek some type of long-term security guarantees, basically to make sure that the American support for Ukraine can continue past this election.

There is the question right now of whether Zelenskyy would be working with Vice President Kamala Harris as president, who has said that she would

continue President Biden's foreign policy objectives, including in the space of Ukraine, or whether he will be working with Former President

Donald Trump, who just this week was saying that criticizing Zelenskyy, saying that he is not willing to reach a deal with Russia to try to end

this war.

So, a lot of questions going forward for Zelenskyy and for Ukraine about what that American support can look like. But for President Biden, while he

remains in office, he's trying to ensure that they can get as much aid as possible to the war-torn country. And really, this war between Russia and

Ukraine has been a key focus for Biden's foreign policy agenda.

He has sought to rally Western allies around Ukraine throughout this war, and so this is something he wants to try to set up for Ukraine going

forward to ensure that they continue to get the assistance they need in their fight.

ANDERSON: Well, despite that, thank you, Arlette. Of course, there is a growing war weariness, even amongst Ukraine's staunchest allies, that of

this Western alliance, and very specifically, some countries in Europe. Of course, also we are seeing that weariness from the Republican side in the

United States. Fred, I just wonder how Zelenskyy's visit is playing out inside Ukraine.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, I think that the Ukrainians believe that this visit is extremely important,

and I think it's something that we've seen the build up to the visits to the White House today over the past couple of days, where, of course,

President Zelenskyy of Ukraine spoke first in front of the U.N. Security Council, then the U.N. General Assembly.

And I think in that those speeches, he at first, wanted to make clear that from Ukrainian point of view, and no doubt also from Ukraine's Western

allies' point of view as well, that it was Russia that is in breach of International Law in breach of the U.N. Charter.

[09:30:00]

And that therefore Ukraine's defense of its territory and its attempts to get back all of its territory were definitely just defenses by the

Ukrainians. However, of course, the key thing on President Zelenskyy's visit is going to be that meeting at the White House today.

And some of the things that Arlette says certainly are absolutely true, President Zelenskyy wants to present that what he calls his plan for

victory, which, of course, has several stages or several points to it. One of it is economic support for Ukraine. It's also political support for the

future of Ukraine as well.

But of course, the Ukrainians also want substantially more weapons from the United States, substantially more weapons that can hit targets at longer

distances. And of course, they do also, and this is also something that Arlette was talking about as well. They want to be able to use those

weapons to strike deep into Russian territory.

And one of the things that we've seen from the Ukrainians over the past couple of weeks is that they have actually been striking deep into Russian

territory using some of their own weapons, using some of their own drones that they've made themselves, but the Ukrainians are saying they could be

much more effective at that if they had western weapons at their disposal with which they could do that as well.

They believe that for them, that would be the best chance to hold up the Russians as they continue to invade Ukraine, and possibly even turn the

tide in this war, where they get to a stage where Russia will be ready, as the Ukrainians have put it, for negotiations. So definitely a key visit

from the part of the Ukrainians, from the viewpoint of the Ukrainians.

And certainly, an important visit to the White House for the Ukrainian President, as he's trying to convince the Biden Administration to allow

Ukraine to use those weapons to strike deep into Russian territory and therefore possibly weaken or blunt some of that Russian offensive that

we've seen.

Especially, in the east of the country, over the past couple of months, where the Russians have been making territorial gains, not large

territorial gains, but certainly a lot quicker than they have in the past. And that is a worrying sign for the Ukrainians, who still are very much

undermanned and outmanned by the Russians, especially on the Eastern Front, Becky.

ANDERSON: Yeah, understood. Fred, thank you. Fred is in Kyiv in Ukraine. And we are at Abu Dhabi. The time here is just after half past 5. We will

be right back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Welcome back. You're watching "Connect the World". The markets in New York are open, and I'll get those numbers for you. I can tell you that

these markets are higher today. Markets looking pretty buoyant, more than ever. It is though the economy stooping, how Americans feel about that.

[09:35:00]

We're talking Main Street could lift or sink a campaign. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is slamming Donald Trump's economic plan, saying

that the tariff hikes that he talks about, that he's promising, would drag America into a recession. In an interview with MSNBC, the Democratic

presidential nominee, said that his talk of a broad increase in import tariff shows he's just not very serious, adding that it's not an idea you

just throw around.

Harris also explained how she intends to pay for her economic initiatives, which include an expanded Child Care Credit and help for first time home

buyers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S., (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to have to raise corporate taxes, and we're going to have to

raise -- we're going to have to make sure that the biggest corporations and billionaires pay their fair share. That's just it. It's about paying their

fair share.

I am not mad at anyone for achieving success, but everyone should pay their fair share, and it is not right that the teachers and the firefighters that

I meet every day across our country are paying a higher tax

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, CNN's Matt Egan joins me now. It was clear that the Vice President had to provide some further substance on her economic plans.

After all, it is on the economy that she is lagging so far behind Donald Trump. So, what more are we learning about her plans and about the

potential impact that Trump's economic plans could have on the U.S. economy?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Becky, you heard a little bit right there. Vice President Harris is making clear that she still continues to plan to

raise taxes on corporations, raise taxes on the wealthy. She has no plans to increase taxes for many other Americans who make under $400,000 a year.

She's focusing on trying to make housing more affordable by incentivizing more supply through tax credits for home builders. She's also appealing to

some of the frustrated first-time home buyers out there by talking about a $25,000 down payment assistance, although I would note that that's

something that's going to actually stimulate demand.

So, it's pretty important that the supply comes before the demand incentives there. But there is renewed focus on the Trump economic agenda.

There's this new analysis out from the Peterson Institute, and it's painting a very dark picture about what some of these Trump campaign

proposals would actually do if they were put into place.

It's the most comprehensive analysis to date, focusing on three key areas here, Trump's plans for massive tariffs, massive deportations, and

influencing Federal Reserve policy on interest rates. Now he's held up those ideas as a way to boost the economy, but these researchers may find

this would actually damage the economy.

Looking at just the jobs impact here, they found that even in a low scenario where many workers are deported, but not all of the undocumented

workers, and where other countries decide not to retaliate against Trump tariffs, even in that low scenario, employment would be almost 3 percent

lower by the end of Trump's term.

And in a high scenario where other countries do retaliate and all the undocumented workers in America are deported, you would have 9 percent

lower employment. So again, fewer jobs, not more jobs. But what's really telling is their research here on the inflation side of things, because,

again, Trump is promising to address the cost of living and to actually make prices plunge.

But the researchers find that even in that low scenario, where other countries don't retaliate, you would have 6 percent inflation in the year

2026 and in the high scenario, you would have 9.3 percent inflation. Remember, you're targeting 2 percent inflation. We've got 2.5 percent

inflation, and this means that at that high scenario, you'd have a worse inflation situation than two years ago, I reached out to the Trump campaign

have not heard back.

In the past, they've argued that some of the so-called experts and economists got it wrong during the first Trump Administration, and they'll

get it wrong again here. But Becky, I do think this brings us to one of the great ironies here, right. Voters say economy is the number one issue.

They say they trust Trump over Harris, and yet some of these experts fear that Trump's policies would actually make inflation worse, Becky.

ANDERSON: Good to have you. Thank you. Just after half past 9, in fact, nearly 20 to 10 in New York, 20 to 6 here in the UAE, ahead in the world of

sports, a memorable rookie season for basketball sensation Caitlin Clark comes to an end. What she's saying about her team's playoff's exit and the

future.

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[09:40:00]

ANDERSON: Caitlin Clark's entry into the WNBA sparked unprecedented interest in -- women's basketball. Well now her historic rookie season has

come to an end. Andy Scholes joining me now. And Andy, how will her first campaign be remembered?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: As an overwhelming success, Becky, I mean, we think about how some players, they enter their leagues with so

much hype surrounding them, and sometimes they don't live up to it. That was not the case with Caitlin Clark, she sold out arenas across the country

and just put on performance after performance.

I mean, you know, she has the WNBA record for most assists in a season. She did that in her very first season. There are great things to come in her

career for sure. We'll hear what she had to say about this rookie campaign coming up here on "World Sport". But, you know, sad to see it in but

excited for what Caitlin Clark's going to do for us here in the future in women's basketball.

ANDERSON: Absolutely, remarkable. It's a great, great story. All right, mate, that is "World Sport" up after this short break. We are back with the

second out of this show, "Connect the World" after that. Do stay with us.

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[09:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

END