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Isa Soares Tonight

IAEA Director Addresses Media After Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant Visit; Gazprom Halts Gas Supplies Through Nord Stream One; Biden: Trump And "MAGA" Republicans Are Threat To Democracy; Argentina's VP Survives Apparent Assassination Attempt. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired September 02, 2022 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

RAFAEL GROSSI, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY: The power plant which is controlled by the Russian-occupying forces, creating a

situation whereby you have a co-habitation of the operators, people, Ukrainians, people and police, and professional experts that have been

working there.

And there are -- there's also presence from Russian-nuclear experts and also medical reports. We don't put it for the record for one reason. Yes,

and it is that the plant continues to operate and there's a professional modus vivendi, if I can put it like that. They work together, and the

plant, as it is obvious, because it has been operating two units as of today, are still operating, including unit number 5, which was scrapped a

couple of days ago, and now is back in operation.

So, all the physical conditions are there and the plant continues to operate. The same code we are applying to off-site power plant. This has

also been a matter of enormous concern and interest around the world, because as you know, if you don't have off-site power supply, the cooling

systems for the reactors cannot work.

If they -- and if they cannot work, these can lead to a major accident. We have seen on several occasions, that there have been blackouts or

interruptions of one or two or three of the lines feeding the plant from outside. At the moment, there's -- there are two operational, and what we

know also is that, when there was one situation of a total, complete blackout, that these are the generators operated normally.

We visited them. I saw them. I was talking to those in charge of that part of the operation of the plant. Logistical aspect supply chain. This is

important in terms of the replacement. You have to think about Zaporizhzhia, which is the biggest nuclear power plant in Europe, also as a

big industrial facility.

As any industrial facility needs spare parts, there are things that need to be replaced, and so on and so forth. Given the enormous situation of a war,

it is obvious that logistical chains are interrupted. We were -- by probing about it -- about this, we were discussing with people on site, and the

impression that they gave us is that, here, there are no major problems.

There are some interruptions, hence, the qualification we are putting here. And in the case of the radiation, monitoring an emergency response, we have

-- we have had some complete interruptions against the half-read situation, but also some systems are working well. So we do see a mixed back.

In terms of reliable communications with the regulator, it is also an operating function with some difficulties. So, this gives you a bird's eye

view of a situation which we are, of course, not wanting to analyze in any way. We believe, and I continue to believe that the situation is extremely

complex, extremely challenging, and it will continue to require the permanent support and the monitoring that we are trying to provide now that

we are there.

So, now that I gave you this general overview, I am open to your questions. Thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A couple of questions. First of all, what do you know now that you didn't know just before going to Zaporizhzhia? And secondly,

you mentioned specifically on the IAEA presence. You mentioned six people who are there now. I think if I heard you correctly, you said something

about two people staying --

GROSSI: Yes --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the longer term --

GROSSI: Yes --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So when does that -- when does that presence get drawn down? And those two people who stay on? Are they supposed to stay there

until the end of the war, or are they going to get rotated out, what's the plan for it?

GROSSI: Well, I started with the easiest part so the -- those who are there will continue to be there. The end of the war, we all wish for that, we

hope it happens soon, we don't know.

[14:05:00]

We believe that it was important. It was important for the agency to be there permanently. And this is a good segue for your first -- the first

part of your question. You were saying, what do you know now that you didn't know before? We knew a lot but of course, our trade is inspecting.

The difference between being there and not being there is like day and night.

So -- excuse me, so, many things we had information including remote data transmissions, et cetera, but when it comes to many other things that are

important, it's very different to go. Now, I saw and as I did, but also my technical experts, things that were being said, and we were able to assess

the seriousness of them and what are the questions.

You can compare it with the inspections in the safe gutter here. You see something, then you ask something else. So, we know much more and we are

learning even more as we speak.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sort of, I guess what I was getting at is the fact that, you said you're going to report to the board of governors --

GROSSI: Yes --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obviously, and so I'm trying to get a sense of, you know, how much information you expect us to have by then, kind of what

point you retain this information --

GROSSI: Oh, we are getting this information all the time. Well, we have been getting it from the very beginning, and now we are trying to have an

in-depth assessment of how things stand at the moment. I expect to produce a report early next week, as soon as we have the full picture of the

situation by the end of the weekend, more on this. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stephanie.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, how are you doing, I hope you're fine.

GROSSI: We are fine, ma'am, I'm happy to be back home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, so, my main question for you, what is it that you are -- what is your biggest concern, in terms of the safety of the plant? I

mean, we can see the red spots here, on physical integrity. What is it that could happen? What is it that is -- you are mostly worried about, and you

feel a little about putting the necessity, about radioactive -- storage that is there.

What is it that you are mostly concerned about? And I also have another question. You mentioned that there is a co-habitation between Ukrainian

staff and Russian occupiers. Could you give us a bit of a sense of the atmosphere, what is it like to be there at the plant?

GROSSI: Well --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Others --

GROSSI: Yours is a very deep question, Stephanie. It's a very deep question that has human and psychological factors that I would -- I should be very

prudent in answering. What I can tell you is that, the plant is operating. There's a professional relationship between these experts. They are all

nuclear experts, so they know what they are doing. They know what they are talking about.

But they are human beings, and they have sides on the war. It is affecting them and their families. So, the situation is one of, I would say, it's

admirable for the Ukrainian experts to continue to work in this conditions in the way they are doing. They care for the facility. They work very well,

but of course, there is -- there is a tension.

There is a lengthened tension there because of the obvious reasons of the war. So, I would say, this is something that needs to be -- must be dealt

with enormous caution. And again, our presence there is -- has a very big added value. I believe because we can interact with people constantly,

frequently, through our base. They know that the IAEA people are there.

So, I think it is very important that we have this presence there. I missed something of your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That was the second question.

GROSSI: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The first question was in terms of --

GROSSI: What is most --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You moved to the last. What is like the most --

GROSSI: Well, you know, I think we have to be looking at the main points, and when it comes to the main points, first of all, it's the physical

integrity. Why?

[14:10:00]

And here, I don't -- I will not get into that. But I will simply mention that it is obvious that there is a lot of fighting in the region in

general, in this part of Ukraine. So, the military activity and operations are increasing in that part of the country. And this worries me a lot. This

worries me a lot. There are references to offensives, counteroffensives, I don't want to get into that, because it's not my domain, but it is obvious,

and we all know it and everybody acknowledges it on site.

So, it is obvious that the statistical possibility of more physical damage is present. Let me give you an example. The physical damage to the plant,

with the exception of the event on the night of the 3rd to the 4th of March with this fire, the shelling actually started in August.

So, it is quite clearly a more recent trend, if I can call it like that. So, what we see with this increase of military activity is that the

physical integrity is more compromised. And with that, we -- I take you to four. I take you to the power supply, because it is clear that those who

have this aim, these military aims, know very well that the way to cripple or to do more damage is not to look into the reactors which are enormously

sturdy and robust, but to, you know, hit where it hurts.

So, the plant becomes, you know, very problematic. So, my concern would be, you know, the physical integrity would be the power supply and of course,

the staff. So, these are the areas, the rest are things that we can work on, radiation systems, supply chains all very important. All very

important, but of course, they have a lesser degree, if you want dramatism, when it comes to what -- if I have to address your question directly. Thank

you. Next.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE), how sure are you that there's a union, that both sides will be able to stay for long? And though, there will be a

moment when it is (INAUDIBLE).

GROSSI: Well, how sure I am? You know, we can never be sure, what we need to do is always try and to improve. If you look at what we have now, it is

far better that what we used to have, now I have my people. I was there. We have a big team there, we have people who are going to stay there, this has

tremendous value. This is a huge difference,

And of course, if something happens or if any limitations comes, they are going to be reporting it, they'll be reporting it to us. It is no longer a

matter of A said this, and B said the contrary. Now, the IAEA is there. And this is like I said, from night to day. In terms of the people being there,

naturally for me, the safety of my people is the first thing.

You remember that I said I will never send somebody to a place where I don't go myself first. And this is what I have been doing. Now that we know

that we have a certain degree, a system that is working, we have our people there. And it has been very challenging. Of course, we are -- we are

looking at this, they are in constant communication with us if something happens of course, we will take the necessary measures. Thank you.

ISA SOARES, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: You have been listening to the Director-General of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, who of course has just

returned from Ukraine, from that Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. He's been inspecting it, he is just returning, he's speaking to us from Vienna,

five members of his team remain at the power plant, as you just heard there, Mr. Grossi said.

[14:15:00]

And he had at the beginning, he had like a spotlight system where he was talking us through what he's seen, his team is seeing. He talked about the

physical integrity of the nuclear power plant, the physical integrity of the facility. Said the physical integrity of the nuclear power plant, which

of course, has been caught in the center of intense hostilities and fighting.

He said it's been violated several times. Because that's what he said. He said he saw impact, hole markings on buildings, all from shelling. He said

the situation is complex and the situation is challenging. He's expected to release a report coming out over the weekend, that he's -- that's what he

was talking about.

But he's worried about the shelling, and he's worried about, of course, the possibility of course, of further damage, given that of course, we've seen

increased activity. He says situation is unprecedented at the power plant and the damage at the facility, he said is unacceptable.

Let's go to Sam Kiley who is in the city of Zaporizhzhia for us this hour, and he was listening in. So, Sam, what stood out to you from what you heard

there from Sam Grossi -- from Rafael Grossi, of course, who's just returned from Zaporizhzhia?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think the stand-down technical issue, which is one that we've been highlighting on CNN, is the

issue that he drew attention to, and suggested that it was deliberate, which was the cutting of power supplies into the nuclear power station from

the outside.

He said that in his view, military planners and military experts knew enough about the integrity of the plant. They knew that the reactors and

other things were extremely robust. But if you wanted to be able to do damage to the plant, then you would sever the power supplies into the

plant, which would drive the cooling systems.

Now, we know that, that has happened at least twice in the last seven days. Just while the IAEA were there on the ground, reactor number 5 was

disconnected from the main power source, had to go to the backup diesel generators. And a few days prior to that, a similar incident affected both

number 5 and the other working reactor there.

In all of these cases, if the power supply fails completely, in other words, the back-up generators fail, run out of diesel, break down,

something like that, then you could end up with a Fukushima o Chernobyl- type situation. A meltdown of the radioactive core within the reactors. So, he's very concerned about that, it was interesting he didn't draw attention

to any of the video that we've seen emerging from their visit.

In which, the Russians have got trucks parked inside the facility, the Ukrainians have said that they could even be carrying explosives on those

trucks. He made no judgments and point any fingers, very studiously avoided apportioning blame, didn't identify where the shelling was coming from. But

did say that having the inspectors there puts an end to the A says something and B says something else against them, that the he said, she

said-type activity that we've seen in terms of claim and counterclaim over the last couple of weeks.

SOARES: Yes, exactly. What he said is being there, the difference of being there, of inspecting, of being on the grounds, the difference between night

and day. Of course, what we have seen for weeks on end, that you have seen, you've been reporting on this, Sam, is the fact that the both sides have

been blaming each other. In the meantime, we -- from what I understand, and correct me if I'm wrong, Sam, we still have five members from the IAEA,

they're still on the ground, they continue to inspect, is that correct?

KILEY: Actually, he said six. So the IAEA had said that they'd left five, he's updated that figure to six. They may stay just through the weekend as

part of the initial reporting team, and then he said that the longer term, there will be at least a minimum of two inspectors on the plant permanently

in the future, of course.

Whether they're able to stay there during periods of intense combat, this is a dangerous area, there have also been widespread allegations against

the Russians for the disappearance, torture, and other pressure being put on Ukrainians in and around the nuclear power plant. It's going to be very

difficult indeed to operate there as independent observers and work freely of the Russian military occupied forces.

This is a country that invaded a democratic nation in order to seize territory, topple its government and to seize the nuclear power station.

This is completely without historic precedents.

SOARES: Yes, talks of course, about how the both sides seem professional inside the plant, but clearly, tensions palpable. Sam Kiley for us there

this hour in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, thanks very much, Sam, appreciate it. Well, Russian energy giant Gazprom says that it will indefinitely halt gas

supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline due to an oil leak.

Now, it follows, if you remember, a 72-hour shutdown of the pipeline earlier this week. The news comes on the same day that G7 nations agreed to

impose a cap on the price of Russian oil.

[14:20:00]

It is the latest bid to curb Moscow's profits and its ability to fund the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin says it will stop oil exports to any nation

that applies the cap. Anna Stewart is following all these different strands. Anna, let's start first of all with Nord Stream 1. It was expected

to open on Saturday, that's not happening, quelle surprise, why?

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Well, this news came 12 hours before it was due to restart. And you know what? We were reporting earlier this week, what

would happen if Russia --

SOARES: Yes --

STEWART: Didn't resume supplies through this pipeline, and we were reporting that because this was a possibility. Now, according to Gazprom,

this is due to this last-minute three-day maintenance of a compressor station, and they say they found an oil leak, and they've actually released

a photo that we can show you of the said oil leak.

They also released a statement saying until the issues on the operation of the equipment are resolved, gas supplies through the Nord Stream gas

pipeline have been completely stopped. And of course, we have no timeline now as to when they will reopen. Now, the timing of this, as you made

mention of, is interesting because just a few hours ago, the G7 said they would like to impose a price cap on Russian oil.

SOARES: Break that down further for us? What is the fact that the Nord Stream 1 won't open? I think it cut capacity to 20 percent or so. What does

that mean by not having that oil flow in, what impact does that have?

STEWART: In terms of the gas --

SOARES: Yes --

STEWART: Industry, the pipeline, well, as you say, supplies are already reduced to just 20 percent of --

SOARES: Yes --

STEWART: Capacity. And I think we need to remember that the EU is or was Russia's biggest gas customer, it accounts for about 35 percent of the EU's

annual gas consumption of gas imports. It was trying to reduce that, but also Russia, week-by-week has been cutting off various countries from its

gas, citing payment issues and reducing supply through that pipeline.

So, in a way, this has been increasingly expected. This will be hard for the EU as it tries to fill up gas storage, it wants to wean itself off

Russian gas, it's not quite there, it's not quite ready. It would be very hard at this stage to get through Winter without Russian gas.

SOARES: And in terms of the cap, that seems to have been unanimous from the EU --

STEWART: From --

SOARES: Yes --

STEWART: The G7 --

SOARES: From the G7, what is the reaction from the Kremlin?

STEWART: Well, the interesting part was the reaction from the Kremlin came before the G7 announcement.

(LAUGHTER)

The -- Russia had said that if there's an oil price cap on its oil, it simply will not export oil to those countries. And the nuclear option for

Russia here, if this cap is introduced, is to simply stop exporting oil. It's made hay in the last few month with oil prices so high, $600 million a

day, just in oil revenue, and this is exactly what the price cap is designed to try and control, reduce those revenues, but ideally, keep the

oil in the system so that global oil prices don't go so high.

SOARES: Anna Stewart, thanks very much, Anna. Still to come tonight, Myanmar's deposed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been found guilty of

electoral fraud, and that's not the only sentencing that was handed down on Friday. We will discuss, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:25:00]

SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. We are following two major court sentences out of Myanmar. Aung San Suu Kyi; the country's former leader and a Nobel

Peace Prize winner has been found guilty of electoral fraud and sentenced to three years in prison with hard labor. And a source says former British

ambassador Vicky Bowman and her husband have been sentenced to one year in prison, they have been accused of violating immigration laws.

Let's take a closer look here. Tom Andrews is United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, well known face

here on the show, he joins me now. Tom, great to have you back on the show.

TOM ANDREWS, U.N. SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON MYANMAR: Thank you.

SOARES: This is incredibly concerning, just how worried are you about these latest developments both obviously for Suu Kyi, but also for Vicky Bowman

here.

ANDREWS: Well, I'm very worried. The president of the country also had increased penalties and prison time handed to him today along with these

other charges. You know, it's like the Junta is doubling down, I think it's trying to send a message of terror to the people within Myanmar and kind of

a stick in the eye to the international community.

We know for example that there was international outrage when opposition leaders were executed, hung just last month. We know that the U.K. just

recently as last week imposed new sanctions --

SOARES: Yes --

ANDREWS: On the Junta, they've indicated their intentions to join the genocide case against Myanmar, brought by the Gambia or the International

Court of Justice. So, I think what is happening here -- and of course, it's all speculation, who knows what's in the mind of the Junta. But I think

they're trying to show the international community they just don't care.

They're willing to do anything and everything while they signal to the people of Myanmar, that look, don't get out of line, because if we can put

a former U.K. ambassador, put her in prison on labor, and put the state counsel, Aung San Suu Kyi, now up to 20 years in prison for hard labor, and

we can execute your leaders, look what will happen to you.

SOARES: Yes, I mean, like you said and like so many NGOs have been saying, you know, these charges are farcical, Aung San Suu Kyi, what? We're now

what? Like you said, 20 years. And it does show that --

ANDREWS: Yes --

SOARES: They wanted to be free or to be seen, in fact, Tom, perhaps, really trying to raise her influence in the country.

ANDREWS: Well, she's -- I'll tell you. This regime is just hated, I can tell you. I've been speaking to hundreds and hundreds of people throughout

Myanmar. Almost every day of speaking to people in the country. And I can't tell you, there is not a corner of Myanmar where there are not many people

who just despise this Junta.

And of course, Aung San Suu Kyi, remains popular, the opposition movement remains very popular. So, I think they are in a sense desperate to do

anything that they can to hold on to their iron fist and --

SOARES: Yes --

ANDREWS: Holding the entire country, really, 54 million people hostage. And I think one after another after another show of this kind of defiance and

outrageous behavior by the Junta, makes me -- in answer to your first question, very concerned about what's going to happen next. When does the

next shoe drop? Because it doesn't seem to me that there's anything that they won't do.

SOARES: And you know, something that you said that struck me. You said that it's like they don't care, they don't care what the world thinks, Tom. So

if they don't care, I mean, what can be done diplomatically, of course, like you said you'd mentioned sanctions from the U.K. Will that have any

impact? We're back to the question I asked you a few months ago, what can be done? And I feel like we're just going around in circles here.

ANDREWS: No, that's right. And you know, I think what is really important - - and I'll be speaking to the Human Rights Council in Geneva, a week after next, is that the international community do a complete fundamental reset.

The Foreign Minister of Malaysia, Saifuddin Abdullah says, look, we need to rethink as a region. That is the Asian region. How we're approaching this

crisis.

And I think that's exactly what we have to do as an international community. Because look, everything that the international community has

done, sanctions here, sanctions there, this imposition of an arms embargo here, some other statement from a leader of the world there.

[14:30:00]

This is not adding up to an effective focused strategic response by the international community. And I think, as we're seeing here, they are

escalating their outrage, their atrocities, it seems to me that we, as an international community, have to stop. And as foreign minister (indistinct)

said, rethink our approach to this crisis. Because if we don't if we -- if the status quo continues here, I think this is going to get worse, perhaps

even exponentially worse.

SOARES: And that's incredibly troubling. I mean, what is clear, like you've just outlined, Tom, is that whatever the international community has done,

the literary has done, it has not moved the needle at all. Tom Andrews, great to get you on the show. Let -- keep us posted on what happens in that

meeting next week. Appreciate it.

ANDREWS: Terrific. Absolutely. Take care, Isa.

SOARES: Thank you.

ANDREWS: Thanks for having me on.

SOARES: Thank you. Still to come tonight, new details about what was found during an FBI search of Donald Trump's home and what was not. Why dozens of

empty folders are raising concerns.

And this is the moment Argentina's Vice President survived an apparent assassination attempt ahead. We'll go to the scene where people are

rallying in support.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: Welcome back. Now a detailed inventory of property seized from Donald Trump's home is giving us new insight today into the government's

investigation. Among other things, it shows dozens of classified government documents were taken from Trump's office at Mar-a-Lago during an FBI

search, as well as dozens of empty folders with classification banners.

Trump's legal team told the FBI in June that all classified documents had been turned over and said no documents had taken from the White House

remained in any private office space. The judge who unsealed that inventory report is still considering Trump's request to appoint an independent

official to review the evidence. We are waiting on that. What Trump's lawyers are likening the search to a dispute over a "an overdue library

book." Do you remember those?

But in another filing, just unsealed, the justice upon makes it clear it's not just about getting the documents back, saying they're key evidence in

an ongoing criminal investigation.

[14:35:07]

CNN's Kara Scannell is following all the developments from New York. And there's a lot to go through, Kara. So, first of all, what are we learning

about this inventory?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's so interesting. We are learning that they collected these 37 boxes and containers of documents.

But what we're learning from this newer, detailed inventory is just how commingled all of these documents were. I mean, you look at one of these

examples I pulled out of box number 10, it says it's within -- contained within that is magazines, articles, 32 classified documents, three articles

of clothing, and one book.

Now, obviously, class -- classified top secret documents are supposed to be maintained in a secure fashion, not mixed in with clothing and news

articles. So, we see this in a number of these boxes. So it really shows that things were commingled, it seems like it was a bit chaotic in the way

that this wasn't and that these documents weren't secure. And as you noted, you know, they retained all these documents, including 11,000, other

presidential records, non-classified documents, which goes to the point that you had made of how Trump's team had certified that they turned over

everything in June. So how was it that there were still 11,000 additional documents that were not classified?

And even within that, there were these 90 empty folders and these folders had labels on them saying "return to staff secretary/military," and another

label that said classified. That just raises a lot of questions of why were these folders empty. Were they always empty? Did they contain information

which was then taken out and then strewn in these other boxes or piles? It's really unclear and we don't know the answer to that. But it always

just raises more questions here of what was going on, how are these documents handled.

And in another filing today that the judge unsealed where it's an investigative status report, the prosecutors noted that part of their

investigation also includes the nature and manner of how these documents were maintained. So certainly, this is an addition to what we already knew

they were looking at. They're also looking at this commingling and the handling of these highly classified documents. Isa.

SOARES: Lots of questions and answers we need here. We shall await. Kara Scannell, appreciate it. Thank you very much.

Well, Trump, of course is also under investigation on other fronts, including his role in inciting a mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol to try

and overturn the 2020 election, the government has been prosecuting some of the rioters (indistinct) including one sentenced just yesterday, in fact,

to 10 years in prison for assaulting a police officer.

Well, now, Trump says he is funding some insurrectionists and could take an even bigger step in the future. Have a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I met with financially supporting people that are incredible. And they were in my office actually

two days ago. It's very much on my mind. It's a disgrace what they've done to them. I will look very, very favorably about full pardons. If I decide

to run, and if I win, I will be looking very, very strongly about pardons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, those kinds of words supporting rioters who attacked us democracy are deeply troubling to President Joe Biden. He's now confronting

the threat, well, pretty much head on. Mr. Biden gave a rare primetime speech to deliver his sharpest rebuke of Trump yet. He said the former

president and his supporters represent an extremism that threatens America's very foundations. Warning they live "in the shadow of lies," have

a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution. They do not believe in the rule of law. They do not recognize

the will of the people. They refused to accept the results of a free election. And they're working right now as I speak in state after state to

give power, to decide elections in America to partisans and cronies, empowering election deniers to undermine democracy itself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Very strong words there from President Biden.

I want to take you to Argentina now because a man has been arrested after attempting to shoot Argentina's vice president and former president. The

apparent assassination attempt was caught on camera. And a warning, you may find this video disturbing.

As you can see there, the man appears to pull the trigger while facing Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner at point blank range, but no bullets were

fired and she was unharmed. Now the incident happened outside her home in Buenos Aires on Thursday. CNN Espanol's Ivan Perez Sarmenti is at the

scene.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN PEREZ SARMENTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: many Argentines are on the street today. Rallies all over the country are taking place this Friday afternoon

in support of Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner after this failed assassination attempt this Thursday evening. In a televised address,

President Alberto Fernandez declared this Friday a national holiday to allow people to join these rallies.

[14:40:04]

The main one is going to governance house here in Buenos Aires. In the meantime, the suspect has been arrested and justice is investigating this

incident to the current vice president and also the two-time President of Argentina. Ivan Sarmenti, CNN, Buenos Aires.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Well, let's bring in Stefano Pozzebon who has been following the story for us. And Stefano, this is terrifying for Kirchner. What do we know

at this hour about the suspect and the investigation?

STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: Yes, Isa. We're actually learning quite a lot, well, thanks to our team on the ground about what the investigators

are finding about this suspect. He's a 35-year-old man. He was born in Brazil. That's why we've seen in some reports that he was a Brazilian

national. He is indeed a Brazilian citizen, but moved to Argentina at an early age and has lived in Buenos Aires for over 30 years.

And we have found out, which is the -- it's an information that the Enquirer has confirmed to our team on the ground that he did have a Neo-

Nazi tattoo. He wears a Neo-Nazi tattoo. We also have learned that the President of Argentina, Alberto Fernandez, he's visiting or has visited

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner at her house, just in the same place where the apparent assassination attempt took place over the last few hours.

So there are rallies that are taking place all over Argentina right now. It's a moment of recognition for the nation. The day has been called a

national holiday, this Friday, to allow her supporters to rally together and, in the hopes of President Fernandez, to unify the nation in the strong

rejection and condemnation about this apparent assassination attempt. But also, of course, there are many questions about how can Argentina move

forward and steer away from further political violence at a very difficult moment for the nation. Isa.

SOARES: Stefano Pozzebon for us there in Colombia. Thanks very much, Stefano. Appreciate it.

And still to come tonight, two political candidates, a prime minister on his way out, and a cost of living crisis, up next, we'll look at the state

of British politics. Bianca joins me next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:45:00]

SOARES: The U.K. is on the cusp of getting a new prime minister. Voting has closed in the Conservative Party leadership contest, which will decide

Boris Johnson's successor. The results will be unveiled on Monday. Former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss are both vying

for that top job. Whatever the outcome, of course, the new British leader will face urgent questions on how to tackle the country's cost of living

crisis. The economy has been top of the agenda in both their campaigns. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIZ TRUSS, BRITISH CONSERVATIVE MP: I will make sure we're not taking money from people in tax, and then giving it back to them in handouts.

NICK FERRARI, LBC PRESENTER: Can you say --

TRUSS: So my first approach will be to reduce, to reverse the National Insurance increase.

RISHI SUNAK, BRITISH CONSERVATIVE MP: Inflation is the number one priority facing our country. It will be my number one priority. I've been saying

that since the beginning of this campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, CNN's Bianca Nobilo joins me now here in London with more. Let's talk about the massive (indistinct) and the amount of work that they

will have, cost of living crisis, we both heard them there. That will be the top priority. Where do they stand on how to tackle the biggest

challenge the country is facing right now, Bianca?

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Isa, you're right, the new prime minister is going to inherit a nightmare scenario. We know there's a biting

cost of living crisis, inflation set to increase, and it's been the dividing line between them. Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor, has been

one for wanting to grip inflation first, then he wants to grow the economy. And then he'll think about tax cuts. So, he was always gonna go ahead with

the planned corporation tax, hike next year in April, and he wasn't going to cut anything else just now because he wants to get a handle on

inflation.

Liz Truss comes at it from a completely different direction. She says you can't tax your way to growth. So, she wants to reverse the 1.25 percent

national insurance rise, she wants to cut the corporation tax planned increases, she also wants to remove the green levies as well, which

environmentalists obviously are not happy about. So, different perspectives there.

And I've been speaking to economists and it's interesting because both of those perspectives could have a pessimistic and an optimistic outcome

depending on what happens when circumstances in Europe and the global economy.

SOARES: I mean with Liz -- and with Liz -- I mean, with Liz Truss here, in terms of the tax will be increased borrowing and that's something obviously

she's not thinking about right now. But long term, that's something that economists no doubt will be worried about. How -- let's -- how would they

fare on the international stage? Let's start with Liz Truss, with the likes of China, Europe, what would that relationship be like, you think?

NOBILO: So technically, Liz truss has more practice because she's still the foreign secretary. So she's been there with world leaders. She's had

meetings with Lavrov, she was very forceful about going to Ukraine, even when people advised her not to. She had a very frosty reception in Moscow.

Lavrov mocked her basically saying that what he was saying was falling on deaf ears.

She's also put her foot in it a couple of times diplomatically, saying it would be fine if Brits went to go and fight in Ukraine not really

comprehending the NATO implications of that. And then recently, the hustings that both you and I were watching, she said that much she was

equivocal about whether Emmanuel Macron, Britain's geographically closest ally and partner, was a friend or a foe. That is quite tactless. Obviously,

she's trying to appeal to quite a hawkish base. But she's a bit more of an unpredictable quantity, I think, on the international stage.

Rishi Sunak, we've seen him a lot with finance ministers and meetings like that. He's a slick operator and I think we would expect less misstep, but

probably less color and excitement as well.

SOARES: What kind of Prime Minister would Liz Truss be? Because from the hustings that you and I have been listened to, she strikes me that she's

appealing more to the popular side of the party.

NOBILO: She is. And it's been amazing to watch her transformation. Liz Truss, historically, has been very gaffe prone. We've all probably seen the

cheese speech from several years ago. She's admitted herself throughout the leadership campaign that she's not a particularly strong performer. But she

has transformed. She looks like she's enjoying it now. She's a lot more dynamic, a lot more confident. And I would expect that transformation to

continue. She's clearly thriving on the attention and pressure.

Whereas in contrast to someone like Theresa May, who really struggled when she was under those lights and that microscope, so I think we'd expect her

to bring maybe a collegiate feel. I speak to people who have worked with her who said that she can be quite warm with MPs. There's also some who

would disagree with that. But people underscore her ambition, the fact she is fixated on achieving, she's fixated on this office. So, I think Brits

would be hoping that she will apply that ambition to wanting to excel in this role. But you're right that she's in the lead in polls, because she's

been appealing to that sliver of the electorate that's older, whiter, and wealthier than the average voter.

SOARES: And some of the comments that she's made has definitely raised eyebrows, particularly on climate and on LGBTQ plus, comments that she's

made as well. We shall see. Bianca, thank you very much. And Bianca will be leading our coverage starting on Monday alongside Max Foster.

[14:50:05]

That starts at 4:00 a.m. Eastern, 9 a.m. in London, 10:00 Central European Time right here on CNN. I will continue that coverage as well throughout

the day on Monday with the results of who exactly the winner will be, who will be the next Prime Minister. Nic Robertson will be at Downing -- oh my

God, Downing Street, 10 Downing Street. I couldn't say that. So do stay for that.

Now the Queen will miss the Highland game events in Scotland on Saturday, but Prince Charles will still be attending the Braemar Gathering. Source

says the decision is due to the Queen's comfort. Several events over the last year have been modified for the same reason, including the tradition

of appointing the new prime minister at Buckingham Palace, which is now happening on Tuesday at her Balmoral State instead. You've got all that to

look forward to.

And still to come tonight, back to the moon, a live report from the launch pad as NASA is less than 24 hours away from the scheduled launch of Artemis

1. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: In almost exactly 24 hours, NASA hopes to be back on its way to the moon. The U.S. space agency says it is very confident it will launch the

Artemis 1 mission on Saturday. A launch attempt early this week, if you remember, was scrubbed due to a faulty sensor. Artemis is unmanned and will

circle the moon before coming back to Earth. NASA says this is the first step towards sending people back to the moon in 2025. CNN's Space and

Defense Correspondent Kristin Fisher joins me now live from Cape Canaveral in Florida. So it's all looking better. Everything's been fixed, ready to

go.

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: Let's hope so, Isa. On the technical side, NASA does believe that they have fixed the two big

problems that they ran into on Monday. They have fixed the hydrogen leak that they ran into during fueling and then you remember that pesky engine

number three that they thought had not cooled down enough? Well, it turns out it was just a bad sensor. And so now, NASA's plan is they're basically

just going to ignore it and continue on with the launch. So, they are going to start that chilled down process just a little bit earlier so they think

they've got the technical stuff fixed.

Then on the weather side of things, yesterday, we got to tour got this really rare access inside the 45th Weather Squadron, which is the control

room where they make all of the weather go, no-go calls on launch day. And we got the Chief Weather Officer to explain to us all of the various

weather violations you can encounter, from lightning to rain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELODY LOVIN, ARTEMIS WEATHER OFFICER: No rain is acceptable to fly through for Artemis. So if there's one drop out there that's going to fall on that

rocket, I'm going to give you a no-go for that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FISHER: So not a single drop, Isa. And one other fun fact that I learned while I was inside that 45th Weather Squadron control room was that the

Launchpad 39B is exactly 20 miles from the lightning capital of the United States, just 20 miles from the launch pad. There are more lightning strikes

than anywhere else in the U.S. So, you know, it's just one of the many things that --

SOARES: What are the chances then? What's the weather looking like?

FISHER: So there is a 60 percent favorable weather forecast at the beginning of the launch window at 2:17 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday. And

then it gets even better, it goes all the way up to 80 percent favorable weather conditions by the end of that two-hour launch window. So fingers

crossed there go for launch.

SOARES: Fingers crossed indeed. We're all waiting for this moment. Kristin Fisher, we really appreciate it. Thank you very much. And thank you for

your company. Do stay right here with CNN. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS is up next. I shall see you all Monday. Have a wonderful weekend.

END