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Isa Soares Tonight
Ukraine Seizes Villages Inside Russia; Wildfire Rages Near Greek Capital Athens; Elon Musk To Interview And Welcome Donald Trump Back On X Platform; Evacuations In Greece As Wildfire Rages; Hamas Says It Killed One Israeli Hostage And Injured Two Others; James Comey's New Thriller "Westport"; Paris Goes To Hollywood for Olympics Closing Ceremony. Aired 2- 3p ET
Aired August 12, 2024 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Lynda Kinkade in for Isa Soares. Tonight, Ukraine claims it's
captured 1,000 square kilometers of Russian territory as Kyiv's forces press further into Russia.
Plus, Greece calls for aid as a fast-moving wildfire burns near its capital, Athens. We'll speak to a nurse who's working on the frontlines
there. And then later, new polling showing that Kamala Harris is pulling ahead of Donald Trump in critical swing states. We'll break down those
numbers for you.
Well, we begin with Ukraine's cross-border advances in Russia. That surprise incursion began one week ago. The Ukrainian military chief says,
troops now control about 1,000 square kilometers of Russian territory. Video into us geo-located by CNN shows how Ukraine appears to be making
gains on the battlefield.
It shows a Ukrainian armored vehicle passing through a Russian village in the Belovsky District and heading north to Lipetsk in Russia's Kursk
region. Russian authorities have now evacuated over 100,000 people, 11,000 people in the Belgorod region, the second border area where civilians have
now fled.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is ordering his forces to quote, 'squeeze out" the invaders. Well, CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is following the story and
joins us now from Berlin. Good to have you with us, Fred. So, we know that Ukrainian troops have now been inside carrying out this incursion in Russia
for almost a week, forcing the evacuation of more than 120,000 people.
More people are now being told to evacuate, certainly, an embarrassing development for Vladimir Putin.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it certainly is, and I think that the Russians understand they were caught
off-guard by these operations. It's been going on for six days now, and the Ukrainians still appear to be on the move and trying to gain additional
territory.
And you're absolutely right, 180,000 people are now under evacuation orders. And that's in the Kursk region alone. There's other people who are
under evacuation orders in the Belgorod region, which is just south of there as well. And the Ukrainians say that this operation is going to be
ongoing as they want to take the fight to the Russians inside Russia. Here's what we're learning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Ukrainian troops sweeping through Russian territory. "Dear Ukrainians", this soldier starts, and then says, his forces went into
a Russian supermarket, but that Ukrainian stores have a better selection. Videos released of several areas inside Russia showing Ukraine soldiers
taking down Russian flags and raising Ukraine.
And while the Kremlin claims its forces have held up Ukraine's advances in some areas, posting videos of bombed-out, alleged Ukrainian vehicles. The
numbers the Kremlin does admit are staggering. Almost 30 villages under Ukrainian control, more than 120,000 Russian civilians evacuated in the
Kursk region alone, and more under evacuation orders in Belgorod region to the south.
Russian President Vladimir Putin irate, vowing to respond while ripping into Ukraine and its western allies.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT, RUSSIA (through translator): It appears that the enemy with the help of his western masters is fulfilling their will and the
West is fighting us with the hands of the Ukrainians. So, it looks like the enemy is seeking to improve its negotiating position for the future.
The enemy will certainly receive a worthy response, and all our objectives will undoubtedly be achieved.
PLEITGEN: All this as Russia and Ukraine blame each other for what appears to be a major fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine,
an area under Russian control. So far, no increased radiation levels have been detected. Kyiv has published little information about its offensive
into Russian territory, but Ukraine's President justifying the incursion.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT, UKRAINE (through translator): From the beginning of this Summer and only from the Kursk region, our Sumy regions
of almost 2,000 strikes artillery, mortars, drones. We also monitor every missile strike, and each such strike deserves a fair response.
[14:05:00]
PLEITGEN: And it seems Ukraine's response is not over yet, even as Moscow scrambles to prevent further loss of territory.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN: And that's one of the things that we're hearing from the Russians as well, Lynda, is that they're trying to pull additional forces up there
to the Kursk region to try and hold up the Ukrainians there. Of course, one of the things that Ukrainians have wanted to achieve through this incursion
into Russian territory is for the Russians to divert some of the forces that are pressing the Ukrainians in the east of Ukraine, making slow but
incremental gains in that area and have them divert those to the Kursk region.
Unclear whether or not that's going to succeed certainly, a big boost in morale though for the Ukrainians as their troops still seem to be on the
move there on Russian territory, Lynda.
KINKADE: All right, Frederik Pleitgen, good to have you on this story for us, thanks so much. We are going to stay on this story and for more, I'm
joined by Major General James "Spider" Marks; he is a CNN military analyst and retired U.S. Army Officer. Good to see you. So --
JAMES MARKS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Thank you, ma'am.
KINKADE: Ukraine's incursion into Russia is the most significant cross- border attack on Russian soil since World War II. What's your assessment of Ukraine's move here?
MARKS: Ukraine has taken advantage of the Russian clear inability to, first of all, detect movement like Ukrainians have provided. The speed by which
the Ukrainian advanced completely eclipsed the Russian sensor capabilities, their Intelligence capacity. And the third thing is what is demonstrated,
is the inability of the Russian forces to respond to maneuver at the tactical level quickly, to strike against the Ukrainians.
I mean, this is -- this is long-overdue by the Ukrainian forces. But what we need to keep in mind is what is their near-term objective? Is it to stay
in Russia to begin to bury, you know, to kind of dig away, bury their defensive positions as deeply -- and is hard, you know, hardened them as
much as they can, or is it to create havoc? Build -- break a bunch of things, force the Russian forces that are there to be what we call
dislocated, to completely mis-orient them and then depart. That remains to be seen.
KINKADE: Yes, and it's interesting when you listen to Vladimir Putin describe what he believes to be the key objective. He said this attack was
done to put Ukraine in a better negotiating position for possible future talks to end this war. Do you think that's an objective there?
MARKS: That's not untrue. Let's be frank. Ukrainians have had a magnificent -- have done a magnificent job over the course of the last two-and-a-half
years. They have demonstrated that the Russian military is feckless, is inept and is immensely corrupt throughout its entire organization.
And it's led by nothing but political hacks. That's a fact, and that has been demonstrated. And at -- but as a result of the law of large numbers,
Russia has been able to just continue to bombard the infrastructure of Ukraine to really attack the will of Ukrainian people to resist, but they
have been able to resist.
So, this is an amazing morale boost for Ukraine, the Ukrainian citizen, certainly for the military. And it puts them in a much better position if
there was a desire to negotiate. So far, President Zelenskyy has indicated he doesn't want to negotiate, but let's be frank, at some point, those
discussions I think will take place.
KINKADE: Yes, it certainly seems that way. I want to get your perspective, General, on how this incursion compares to what's playing out on the
frontlines?
MARKS: Yes, what is -- what we've been seeing along the frontlines is very much what's been described unfortunately as a stalemate. A lot of tactical
victories back-and-forth, kind of like a couple of boxers that are laying some good punches in, but there's no knockout blow. The thing that neither
the Ukrainians nor the Russians have been able to do is to link those tactical victories into a larger operational context to really reach as
deep as they can, not only with Intelligence, but with fire capacity to reinforce their logistics, to go as deep as they can.
So, what you delivered to the frontlines is an enemy that you can just punch away at and defeat. They haven't been able to connect all those
capabilities. This is the first, what I think is an operational-like maneuver that really puts the Ukrainians in a flanking position behind the
Russian forces, which allows them to set the tone of the engagement.
They can cut off their logistics, they can continue to strike, strike deep at military targets and really gives the advantage to the Ukrainians, which
we have not seen at an operational level, clearly, at a tactical level, we've seen some great victories. But at the operational level, Ukraine has
demonstrated that it has some mastery that the Russians simply do not.
[14:10:00]
KINKADE: Yes, certainly interesting to see the way this is taking shape right now. Major General James "Spider" Marks, always good to have you on
the program, thanks so much.
MARKS: Thank you.
KINKADE: Well, now to a show of force from the U.S. military meant to send a clear message to Iran. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has deployed
this nuclear-powered submarine armed with cruise missiles to the Middle East. He's also ordered a carrier strike group to speed its arrival to the
region, saying that the U.S. is committed to taking every possible step to defend Israel.
Well, the White House says the U.S. shared Israel's concerns that a significant attack by Iran or its proxies is increasingly likely, and it
could happen within days. National Security Spokesman John Kirby says that could jeopardize Gaza ceasefire talks, which are set to resume Thursday.
But he's still calling on all parties to show up. The U.S. and its allies are trying to defuse the regional tensions by mediating an end to the Gaza
war. Hamas has indicated that it may not attend the next round of talks, saying mediators should compel Israel to accept a U.S.-backed ceasefire
proposal that is already on the table.
Let's get more now from Jeremy Diamond in Haifa in northern Israel, and our Ben Wedeman who joins us from Beirut, Lebanon. Good to have you both with
us. I want to start with you first, Jeremy, because it's interesting that the Pentagon confirmed that it was sending this guided nuclear submarine.
And the big question is, why publicize it? Because that is unusual. What sort of message is the U.S. sending here?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Lynda, it is an extraordinarily rare step for the U.S. military to confirm where a nuclear submarine is
actually positioned, and they're doing so for one key reason, and that is to try and send a message of deterrence to Iran, making clear that the
United States will stand behind Israel in the event of an Iranian attack against Israeli soil.
And also, effectively, indicating that it is prepared to help us defend U.S. troops in the region and to support any potential Israeli response to
those attacks. We know that this is obviously just the latest indication of the U.S. sending weapons and material to the region.
Defense Secretary Austin also accelerated the movement of a carrier strike group to the region as well. We know that U.S. troops, U.S. Marines are
already in the Mediterranean prepared to assist with a non-combatant evacuation of civilians from Lebanon as well.
So, clearly, all signs are pointing to very heightened readiness, not only from the United States, but also from the Israeli military, which tonight
we heard from the Israeli military Spokesman Daniel Hagari who said that there are no changes yet to instructions to civilians, but that the
military itself is very much at a heightened state of alert as we are now getting reports indicating that U.S. and Israeli Intelligence believe that
this Iranian attack, perhaps in coordination with its proxies like Hezbollah, could come effectively in a matter of days, perhaps even hours.
And so, this is a very tense moment in the region, and one that could of course, potentially derail plans for ceasefire negotiations later this
week.
KINKADE: Yes, and I want to ask you what exactly it could mean for those ceasefire talks because the bloodshed in Gaza continues. We know 93 people
were killed over the weekend, now to Israel -- an Israeli strike on a school and a Mosque in Gaza. What are the expectations for Thursday when
those ceasefire talks are set to resume?
DIAMOND: Well, you know, last week, Lynda, there was a lot of pressure building up towards a diplomatic path. The potential even for some kind of
a diplomatic off-ramp as even Iran indicated, that movement towards a ceasefire or certainly a ceasefire itself, could potentially change its
calculus in terms of retaliating against Israel for the assassination of Hamas' political leader while he was in the Iranian capital.
And all of that hope and optimism is very quickly vanishing this week. In particular, because Hamas, first of all, yesterday indicated that it was
unlikely to attend these talks, casting doubt certainly on its participation, following that Israeli strike in Gaza on Saturday that
killed more than 90 Palestinians according to local officials.
But also because we are now seeing this movement from Iran and from Hezbollah according to U.S. and Israeli Intelligence, indicating that they
are preparing to carry out some kind of an attack likely before those talks even kicked off on Thursday. And so, all of this hope is now dissipating
not only with that statement from Hamas following that Israeli strike this weekend, but also as it appears that we are headed for more escalation in
this region rather than the de-escalation that was hoped could be achieved through those talks on Thursday.
KINKADE: Our thanks to you, Jeremy, and Ben, to you on that, the fear of how this might escalate. We know the Israeli Defense Minister has warned
the U.S. that it is preparing for a large scale attack from Iran.
[14:15:00]
But Iran has said that any retaliation would not impact those ceasefire talks for Gaza. So, how at this point in time do you think things may play
out?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think the message from Iran and Hezbollah has been clear since those dual
assassinations took place about 13 days ago, 14 days ago. Is that they would -- they don't want war, but they are -- feel obliged that they have
to reply.
So, for instance, the -- Iran's U.N. mission in New York put out a statement saying that Iran has the right, the legitimate right of self-
defense, and that it will not be that response will not be tied to the Gaza ceasefire. But it added that we hope that our response will be timed and
conducted in a manner not to be detrimental to a potential ceasefire.
So, clearly, both Iran and Hezbollah are not eager to engage in a full- scale war with Israel. They don't have the capacity to do so. But we spoke with a diplomat recently who said that the problem certainly with both
sides is that they've sort of talked themselves into a corner, saying that they must respond, and the reputation, the legitimacy of the so-called Axis
of Resistance, of which Iran is the leader and Hezbollah is the senior partner, that's on the line.
If they don't in some way respond, then they will be seen as weak and ineffectual. So, they're in a bind, but they don't want to sort of bring
down upon them the kind of Israeli retaliation that Israel is capable of doing, giving its vast superiority in terms of weaponry, Lynda?
KINKADE: All right, Ben Wedeman, we no doubt will talk again soon. Ben Wedeman and our Jeremy Diamond, good to have you both with us, thank you.
Well, still to come tonight, a race transform. The Harris-Walz ticket gets a key boost in swing states as it re-energizes the Democratic Party.
And Donald Trump is back on the social media platform, formerly known as Twitter. We'll have the latest on his campaign and his upcoming
conversation with Elon Musk.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:20:00]
KINKADE: Welcome back, I'm Lynda Kinkade. Turning to the U.S. presidential race, an already surging Democratic ticket is riding a new wave of
momentum. Vice President Kamala Harris is showing gains among likely voters in the key battleground states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The poll from the "New York Times" and Siena College shows a tight presidential race overall with no clear leader. The former President won't
be on the campaign trail today, but he will sit down later for an interview with Tesla CEO Elon Musk on his platform X.
Meantime, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told "Fox News" that Trump has to stop talking about crowd size and start focusing on the Vice
President's positions on issues like immigration and fracking. Well, CNN's Isaac Dovere joins us now from Washington with more.
Good to have you with us, Isaac. So, overall, the polls show that it's going to be tight at this point in time between Trump and Harris, but the
Democrats are really surging ahead compared to when Biden was on the ticket, now that Harris is top of the ticket, right?
EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, that's certainly true. Look, we're three weeks into Kamala Harris running for President here. So, the
race has changed very rapidly, but in that time, certainly the polls are in a different place. We'll see how that holds as we go into the Democratic
Convention next week, and then everything after Labor Day when things will really start ramping up in a full way.
KINKADE: And of course, Kamala Harris is set to roll out their economic policy soon, and we are hearing that Trump's team have just announced the
largest ad spend of this campaign, $37 million, most of it to be spent here in the swing state of Georgia.
DOVERE: Yes, and that's revealing in itself, right? Georgia was a state that Joe Biden won narrowly in 2020, but that four weeks long before that
debate performance. Really for months, Democrats have been saying Georgia was not going to be competitive this time around.
That the Trump campaign feels that they need to spend money there and that much money is an indication that the race is in a different place for real,
and not just a couple of polls showing that, that they see that, and that they feel like they need to try to stabilize and hold on to Georgia.
Whereas if Harris can win Georgia, it makes it much harder for Donald Trump to put together the path to 270 electoral votes that he would need to win.
KINKADE: Exactly, a key state. Isaac Dovere, good to have you with us. Thanks so much.
DOVERE: Thank you.
KINKADE: Well, Donald Trump and his running-mate J.D. Vance are looking to swing the election momentum back in their direction. One of the first ways
is Trump is returning to the platform X, formerly known as Twitter. Several phrases referring to Donald Trump have been trending, including Trump is
back and Trump on X.
The former President posted a message promoting an interview in the coming hours with X owner Elon Musk. Well, joining us now for more on all of this
is CNN's Alayna Treene. So, let's start with that because Elon Musk is going to speak to Trump on his platform in the coming hours, and for the
first time, Trump has posted on that platform. What can we expect?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, first of all, I think him rejoining X was a long time coming. If you talk to Donald Trump's allies and honestly
people more so outside of the campaign, they had been pushing for him to rejoin the social media platform for months.
They believe that it is in his best interest to be able to speak to a larger crowd to amplify by his message. However, that is not always been
the same desire, I guess I should say, with the campaign itself. They have been hesitant to have him rejoin X, because a lot of the times, you see
Donald Trump share conspiracy theories, we saw him share some over the weekend about Harris' crowd size.
He has more outlandish takes that he puts on Truth Social, and they kind of have liked allowing that to stay there, where it doesn't get as much
coverage, and as many people are not on Truth Social as they are on X. The other part of it, of course, as well, is that Donald Trump has a stake in
Truth Social and for business reasons, he's supposed to be putting more of his content out on that website.
But that is changing now. And part of that is because we are so close to the election and they want him to be amplifying his message and emphasizing
that to as many people as he can in -- you know, this sprint to November. Now, as for this interview with Elon Musk, it's going to be really
interesting to watch.
Donald Trump has really been kind of enamored with Elon Musk for a long time, but especially in the past few weeks, we know that Musk had endorsed
Donald Trump in the aftermath of the attempted assassination of the former President in Pennsylvania. And ever since then, you can hear when you go to
Donald Trump's rallies, like I do, you hear it in his speeches. He talks about their relationship.
He says he talks with him personally. And I think this is a way for him -- you know, it's a comfortable interview, it will be more of a friendly
interview, but a good way for him to kind of reintroduce himself to the world of X, formerly known as Twitter.
[14:25:00]
KINKADE: We'll see how that plays out, but I have to ask you as well about the other conspiracy theories we are hearing from Donald Trump with regards
to crowd sizes, something that he is quite obsessed with. He claims that Kamala Harris' crowd sizes are created using artificial intelligence. Has
he provided any evidence for that?
TREENE: He hasn't, and I mean it's just false. It's a wildly-out-there conspiracy theory to be frank. And it's one that, you know, Donald Trump
didn't come up with this on his own. He actually -- you know, this is a far-right conspiracy that he saw and bought into, and then amplified
himself on his own social media.
But there's no basis for this. I mean, hundreds, if not thousands -- of thousands of people were at that rally, but a lot of people in the media as
well were there, including CNN who witnessed the crowd. We have our own video people shot at CNN who were at that rally.
Its just completely false, but it does speak to -- I think the broader -- you know, the broader frustration that I've been hearing from Donald
Trump's team about how the former President is feeling, particularly when it does come to crowd size. It's no secret that Donald Trump has long been
obsessed with crowd size, even back when he was running in the lead up to 2016.
And I mean, for a long time, it's something that he took pride in, I mean, he still takes pride in it, but for a long time, he was the only one who
could really turn out those massive numbers. You know, you look at Joe Biden's campaign, they were not bringing in thousands and thousands of
people to his events, but that has changed with Harris now at the top of the ticket, and it's really gotten under Donald Trump's skin. It is
frustrating him.
You've heard him mention this and talk about it at a number of his rallies ever since Biden ended his campaign and Harris became the successor and the
presumptive Democratic nominee. And so, that's why I think a lot of this is coming from, and I can tell you it's definitely not something that I think
a lot of Republicans are happy with.
We heard some of his allies, including the former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy go on "Fox News" this morning and say he should not be talking
about crowd size. He needs to be talking about the issues.
KINKADE: Exactly, we'll see if he heeds that advise. Alayna Treene, good to have you with us, thanks. Well, still to come tonight, a huge wildfire
threatens the Greek capital. I'll be speaking to a nurse on the frontlines of that blaze coming up. Plus, the debut of Isa Soares' new book, "Club".
She sits down with James Comey, former FBI Director-turn novelist, to discuss his gripping new legal thriller "Westport".
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:30:00]
KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade. A fast-moving wildfire to the north of Athens has now triggered evacuations in the Greek capital. Nearly
700 firefighters, along with more than 30 water bombing aircraft, are working to extinguish the blaze. Greece's climate ministry has called for
more air and ground assistance from the E.U.
At least two hospitals among -- are among those evacuated. As officials warn the extremely dangerous fire is spreading rapidly. Strong winds
expected to continue until at least Thursday are hampering those efforts to contain the blaze.
Our Meteorologist Chad Myers joins me now from the CNN Weather Center in Atlanta. Good to have you, Chad. So, it's not just the impenetrable
terrain, but obviously, those strong winds and the prolonged drought that are making it really difficult, right?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You could just see the brown grass on that last picture that was in my screen. That shouldn't be brown this time of
year. And yes, it has been dry, it has been hot, and today is a blustery, windy day.
Today is the worst day of the week. This is going to go on through Thursday. But tomorrow, it calms down slightly. But this afternoon -- I
talked to one of my friends who's actually from Greece, and he said, it's horrible. It's really, really bad out there.
Remember now, we're talking about Athens, which is in the red for the extreme category of fire hazard today, a little bit less tomorrow. We lose
one category about everywhere, but still very, very high, just not to that extreme category. So, a level four out of five, not five out of five like
it is today. And yes, the smoke and the fire, there's Athens down there. Notice like that looks like an urban area.
Most of the fire is just to the northwest. But now with those winds that are blustery from the north, those ambers -- those embers are pushing down
from the north to the south and spreading that fire. And you can see the smoke kind of here on satellite, kind of hard to find them, but it's there,
the smoke coming out of there. And there's going to be more smoke again into Athens.
The more you smell the smoke in Athens, the more likely is you're going to get an ember pushing toward that city. So, at least for today, most of that
smoke is well to the south of the city. But look, here's the Acropolis. I mean, this is Ancient Greece. This is where the Olympics truly began. And
you can just see the smoke in the sky. So, it's not far at all from Athens, Greece.
And look at the fires we're seeing here in Athens. But I'm going to zoom out because we just don't want to focus on one spot. This is the worst spot
today. But look how many fires are burning across Europe. Southern Europe just very, very desperate for any rainfall. Now, it does get cooler across
parts of Northwestern Europe for tomorrow, but this drought and the heat alerts here across parts of Southern Europe, they're not going away.
Temperatures are not going down.
Even for Athens, we're going to be 35. Near those fires, maybe 37. Think about the firefighters that are in uniform trying to fight those fires and
how difficult that must be. Lynda.
KINKADE: Yes, exactly. Horrific conditions right now. Chad Myers, good to have that update from you. Thank you.
Well, for more now, we're joined by Vasiliki Dalla. She's a nurse with the Hellenic Red Cross who's currently on the wildfire front lines. Vasiliki,
good to have you with us. So, hundreds of firefighters battling this blaze, dozens of aerial bombers. Describe the situation where you are right now.
VASILIKI DALLA, NURSE, HELLENIC RED CROSS: Good afternoon here in Greece. It's 9 30 right now. I had -- I was in a position now that I was intended
to talk to you, but unfortunately, we have to evacuate the place because it's really dangerous.
The situation is really very difficult at the moment. The fire is enormous is in the suburbs of Athens right now. Our volunteers and all the staff of
Hellenic Red Cross are operating from the first moment of the outbreak of this enormous fire in the Varnavas region.
[14:35:00]
And constantly we're in the site of the firefighters and the citizens who are fighting the flames in the suburbs of Athens and other areas of Attica.
KINKADE: And I understand that you are one of the hundreds of first responders going door to door asking people to evacuate. Are people heeding
those warnings or are you finding some resistance, people that want to stay back and try and save their property?
DALLA: We find resistance, unfortunately, because the people, they don't want to leave their properties. It is really very difficult, but our
specially trained teams of Samaritans rescuers, they go from door to door, from the very first moment, and we're trying to persuade the people to tell
them how important it is to move from there and to leave space to the firefighters to do their job the best they can.
KINKADE: The mayor of the historic town of Marathon warned that people are facing a biblical catastrophe. From a health perspective, what has been the
biggest impact so far?
DALLA: Most of the cases that we have dealt with so far are shortness of breath, watery eyes, minor burns from the constant battle and the flames
and minor injuries, because some trees are falling on the firefighters arms sometimes. And we're trying, from the first moment, in order to address all
the needs that are out there in the field.
KINKADE: Wildfires in Greece during summer are not unusual, but we are hearing from climate scientists who say that global warming making these
fires much more fierce. How would you describe this fire season compared to what you've seen in years gone by?
DALLA: It's the first time that we see that. The fire is really enormous in very -- in a lot of areas, in the suburbs of Athens, the capital for the
first time. We never faced fires inside of Athens. It's really very close to areas that are in the suburbs of Athens.
And really, from the first moment, we have so many areas that they are affected that we cannot believe it. We see it in the field and we can't
believe it. (INAUDIBLE) I think that is here (ph).
KINKADE: And not only are you evacuating residents, but two hospitals, a children's hospital and a military hospital have been evacuated, two
monasteries. A children's home also evacuated. Where are all these people going?
DALLA: They're going in the -- the kids that they were in the hospital, they went in the other children's hospitals, the same with the people that
they were in the hospital in the military hospital. All of them, they were moved in other hospitals in the capital, they're safe. And for the people
that they are evacuating their homes, they are big areas that they're on social media that the state has opened in order to accommodate them.
KINKADE: All right. We wish you all the back. Vasiliki Dalla, a nurse on the frontlines of those wildfires in Greece, thanks so much for your time
and all the best.
DALLA: Thank you very much.
KINKADE: We have some news just into us. Hamas says it has -- its fighters have shot and have killed a male Israeli hostage and they've injured two
female hostages in separate incidents. Now, the militant group says its fighters had been assigned to guard the hostages and attempts are being
made to save the lives of the two who have wounded it. CNN has reached out to the Israeli authorities for comment. We will continue to track this
story and bring you the latest as we get it.
We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, we're going to hear from a former FBI director and author James Comey on his new legal thriller
"Westport." It's the first edition of Isa Soares new Book Club.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:40:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST (voice-over): In this month's Book Club, we welcome James Comey, former FBI director and author of the new thriller
"Westport."
JAMES COMEY, AUTHOR, "WESTPORT" AND FORMER FBI DIRECTOR: I was pushed to consider it by the editor of one of my nonfiction books, who kept calling
parts of my actual life scenes. He said, this scene is really good, this scene's good. I said, dude, it's my life. That's not a scene. And he said,
yes, but you write narrative well, you write dialogue well. You could do fiction. And I said, no, forget it. And then he said, what if we paired you
with an established fiction writer? And I said, no, I've always loved to write. If I were going to do it, I would try and do it alone. And so, I
gave it a shot and I have found it addictive. And this is what I want to do when I grow up.
SOARES: Did you ever read thrillers?
COMEY: Not really. I read Grisham and Tarot (ph) right before I first became a federal prosecutor in Manhattan in the '80s, and I couldn't read
it thereafter, it was just too close to my work. But after getting fired in 2017, I'm farther and farther from the work now, and it's easier to think
about and write about.
SOARES: I suppose people often say you write about what you know, right? How much do you -- were you inspired by those positions, by the work you
did? How much of that did you bring into your book?
COMEY: A lot, I hope. I want to show people cool worlds and tell them what I hope are fun stories in those worlds.
SOARES: And your protagonist in "Westport," Nora Carleton, I mean, she is quite a sharp prosecutor. What inspired her, that character? How much did
you have to work in trying to put it together as a leading character?
COMEY: My oldest daughter is a prosecutor in the Southern District of New York in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan. And when I started writing
my first book, she was prosecuting Glenn Maxwell.
SOARES: Oh, wow.
COMEY: Because she had brought the case against Jeffrey Epstein and then against Maxwell after Epstein killed himself. And I was originally going to
write the first book with a guy as the protagonist. And at the moment I was writing, she was in Courtroom 318 prosecuting Glenn Maxwell. This is going
to sound like I'm making it up, I'm not. That was the very same courtroom that I prosecuted John and Joe Gambino in when she was a little girl. And
so, I thought, it has to be a woman. It has to be inspired by her.
SOARES: What about the writing process? Just talk us through that.
COMEY: Well, it starts with my spouse giving me the idea for a story.
SOARES: Oh, it's her idea, is it?
COMEY: Oh, my gosh. She's read a tremendous amount of fiction, and I was always a nonfiction reader. And so, she'll say, what about this? You know,
you could write a cool story in a hedge fund, and do it as like an Agatha Christie. And I'll say, what would that look like? And then agree, OK,
that's what we're going to do.
And then I go write, and she reads it on a regular basis on a Google Doc and gives me loving but brutal feedback.
SOARES: Oh, wow. On a Google Doc. So, she criticizes it.
COMEY: Yes, she's a commenter.
SOARES: Tells you, change this, and then you listen to that.
COMEY: Yes. And she keeps track of all kinds of things for me. One of the many hard things about fiction is keeping your characters consistent. And
she'll notice that my characters are drifting. This doesn't sound like Nora, or this doesn't sound like Benny. And so, I'll be able to go back
then and fix that.
[14:45:00]
SOARES: And the Westport -- the hedge fund in Westport, you also worked in Westport, I believe, at a hedge fund, I think it was Bridgewater, right?
COMEY: Yes, three years before I went to FBI.
SOARES: To the FBI before Barack Obama called you in to for an interview with the FBI. And you had, at this -- and you can correct me, because this
is something that I've read in an interview that you did, that at this hedge fund at Bridgewater, the founder had a set of principles that now has
been talked a lot about, centered around the philosophy of radical transparency.
It was interesting because when I was reading the book, there were kind of elements of that throughout. There was one snippet here, Saugatuck was as
serious about security was about -- as it was about truth and transparency, and it goes on, by the company's determination to root out the twin poisons
of hierarchy and gossip.
How much of your time at that hedge fund were you inspired by that? But also, how much did that -- those principles, shape you on the years that
followed?
COMEY: I was attracted there because I've always thought transparency was the best approach to leadership. I've always thought we should try to get
people to tell each other the truth. And so, I've tried to capture some of that in the book. The hard thing about being FBI director is you're like
the Wizard of Oz. Everybody stands up when you come in the room. Who's going to tell you when you suck? As a boss you need to be told when you
suck because you're going to suck from time to time.
SOARES: One thing the majority of people watching and listening will know is, of course, your decision to release Hillary Clinton's e-mails just days
before the 2016 election. Does that still play on your mind? Would you do anything differently? I mean, can you sleep at night with that decision?
COMEY: I can.
SOARES: Yes.
COMEY: Because I'm still proud of the way the decision was made. I'm responsible for the decision, but a group of men and women trying to figure
out what the right thing to do was in a horrible situation, right? Where both doors lead to hell your, two options, and figuring out which one is
the least bad was our mission. I'm proud of the way we did that.
And even in hindsight, I think -- I wish I hadn't been involved, but I think the decision was the only one we could make.
SOARES: The irony in all of this is that, in many ways, your decision perhaps helped Donald Trump get into the White House. How do you frame
this, that moment?
COMEY: Yes, that just increases the pain of it. You know, I wasn't trying to help elect Donald Trump or help Hillary Clinton or hurt either of them.
I cannot make decisions based on who I think should be president. And I can't consider the political impact of that.
SOARES: I wonder now, when you hear -- when you see the polling and the possibility that Donald Trump may be coming back to the White House, when
you hear talk of Project 2025, how concerned are you about the state of American democracy under Trump?
COMEY: Very concerned. For obvious reasons, you just need to look at -- watch videos of January 6th, listen to the lies that former president told
to the American people, so I'm very concerned about that.
SOARES: What would it mean for American institutions, for the FBI, for the separation of those two? I mean, that's important.
COMEY: Oh, of course.
SOARES: It's fundamental.
COMEY: Right. My first encounter with Donald Trump was at dinner alone where he tried to get me to pledge loyalty to him, that basically the FBI
will be your personal assistant. It can't be. That same pressure is going to be brought to bear on the FBI again, and the whole Justice Department.
And Donald Trump, you can't trust any promises he makes, except when he makes a threat. Because he doesn't want to ever look weak. And so, he has
said, I'll be the retribution president. I will go after my enemies.
SOARES: You believe that?
COMEY: Sure, I take him at his word. He's going to do that, because, again, he's a warped dude, but he believes if he doesn't, then he'll look weak.
I'm not worried about an existential threat to America, but it will be a very bad four years for the United States.
SOARES: Thank you very much, James. I'm going to leave you -- do the honor, if you don't mind. I'm going to give you the pen and you'll be the first
author to sign for our Book Club.
COMEY: OK.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: What a great segment. I love that. Well, there are many more fantastic authors coming up to you here on Isa's Book Club. Next time
she'll be speaking with Aamna Mohdin, the author of "Scattered: The Making and Unmaking of a Refugee." Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AAMNA MOHDIN, AUTHOR, "SCATTERED": There's something about child refugees. You spend the rest of your adult life trying to -- you want to live a life
in which you're worth saving, and I think that spoke to me so powerfully as well because I wanted to know, OK, why am I here? And not just surviving in
the sense of being alive, but also, surviving in the sense of having this really fulfilling life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: And that full interview will be here next month on Isa's Book Club.
[14:50:00]
Well, still to come tonight, the countdown to Los Angeles Olympics is on. How Paris went and how Hollywood will go next time this year's games and
next, when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade. The Olympic flame was officially extinguished on Sunday on what was an elaborate closing ceremony, which
brought the 2024 Paris Games to a close.
Well, stunning fireworks just outside the French capital. A spectacular ending to the Summer Olympics. And now, all eyes are on Los Angeles 2028.
And what's more L.A. than superstar Tom Cruise. He went into "Mission Impossible" mode, rappelling into the stadium before taking off with the
Olympic flag on a motorbike.
Well, CNN's World Sports Don Riddell, joins me here in Atlanta. Just when I was getting sad that these games were coming to an end, we see Tom Cruise
come into Paris and bring the flag back here to the States. It makes me pretty excited about L.A. and what's to come.
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes, L.A. can't come soon enough. Sadly, it's still going to be four years away. But yes, it was an absolutely
spectacular closing to the Paris Olympics, and the games really did kind of restore the energy and the joy and the excitement and the enthusiasm. Of
course, we all remember the pandemic games in Tokyo three years ago. This was a completely different scene.
And they've raised the bar pretty high ahead of LA coming up in four years' time. I guess if anybody knows how to put on a show, it's going to be
Hollywood. So, we'll see what they can deliver. We certainly got a taste of it with Tom Cruise and some of the musicians we saw performing on the beach
again last night.
I think one of L.A.'s biggest challenges, and the mayor of the city has already acknowledged this, is the traffic in Los Angeles. They're going to
try and put on a car free games. We'll see if that's possible. Anybody who's been to L.A. will know all about the traffic jams there. So, that
would be quite a feat if they could pull that off.
KINKADE: Car free games in L.A., yes.
RIDDELL: Yes.
KINKADE: A huge feat indeed. But I have to ask you what your highlights were of this Paris Olympic Games, because it was such a contrast to the
last one, which is heavily impacted by the COVID pandemic.
[14:55:00]
RIDDELL: I mean, it's a bit like asking a parent who their favorite kids are. I'm a sports guy. So, I mean, all of it was amazing. And honestly, we
could be here for hours and hours talking about the incredible events and the competitions and the stars that we saw performing and winning the
medals.
I'll give you three, though. Let's break this down. A star is born. Leon Marchand, the French swimmer who absolutely dominated for the host city,
winning four gold medals. He's only the sixth swimmer ever to win four gold medals at a single Olympic Games. So, he was absolutely spectacular to
watch.
Pretty hard to argue against Simone Biles getting a mention after the agony she endured in Tokyo with the twisties and the mental health issues. What a
comeback she produced winning three more gold medals and a silver.
And I guess if I had to pick one moment, literally one moment, it would be the freeze frame from the end of the men's 100-meter race when the American
Noah Lyles took it by, what, five-thousandths of a second? I mean, it was absolutely insane. He was behind for the whole race. He was only ahead in
the moment they hit the finish line. That was just spectacular.
KINKADE: Yes, you have to feel for everyone that came behind him, that was so close.
RIDDELL: It was so close, yes.
KINKADE: But the best shot, Don, it had to be the surfer ride, the Brazilian Gabriel Medina.
RIDDELL: Oh, yes.
KINKADE: The three-time world champ.
RIDDELL: Of course. Yes.
KINKADE: Look at that shot. I thought it was artificial intelligence when it first came up.
RIDDELL: No, it looked like a terrible Photoshop job, until you saw the video of it and you realized, no, that's exactly what happened. He really
was, apparently, standing on the cloud.
KINKADE: All right. Don Riddell, good to have you with us. Thank you.
I'm Lynda Kinkade. Stay with us. Newsroom with Jim Sciutto is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
END
