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Polio Vaccinations to Begin Sunday After Israel and Hamas Agree to Humanitarian Pauses; Prosecutors: Overseas Swatting Scheme Targeted U.S. Politicians; NHL Star Johnny Gaudreau, Brother Killed Riding Bikes in New Jersey; Record Airport Crowds for Labor Day Weekend. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired August 30, 2024 - 15:30   ET

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

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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: ... of swatting incidents that targeted lawmakers, federal judges, even President Biden will have the story coming up.

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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Israel's military says it killed three Hamas members, including a commander, as its offensive in the occupied West Bank enters now a third day. Meantime, the Israeli defense forces say that ground operations in some parts of Gaza are now complete.

[15:35:00]

The IDF statement coming as it tells residents of some parts of southern Gaza that they can return to their homes, even though many neighborhoods have sustained damage.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond joins us now live. Jeremy, what can you tell us about these latest developments?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, for the last month or so, the Israeli military has been carrying out ground operations in southern and central Gaza, and the Israeli military now says that those have reached an end, at least in the areas of Khan Younis, as well as Deir al-Balah, which is in central Gaza.

They say that over the course of the last month, they've destroyed six tunnel routes, over three miles of tunnels, and killed over 250 militants. We also know, of course, that those military operations have taken a toll on civilian lives as well over the course of the last month.

Some residents of those areas have been allowed to return home. They were told so by the Israeli military today. And already, people who have returned home are finding very little.

Their homes are in ruins. Infrastructure has been totally destroyed in some of those areas. No power, no sewage, no gas lines as well.

Some people are even setting up tents next to the ruins of their homes. And there's a lot of anger, of course, not only directed at Israel, but also at Arab governments, who they feel have not done enough to rein in Israel, and also anger at Hamas as well, with one man saying, let Sinwar be satisfied. Can you hear? They ruined us -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Jeremy, what can you tell us about these pauses that the IDF is starting on Sunday to allow people in Gaza to get polio vaccinations?

DIAMOND: Well, first of all, I think the context of this is critical. Gaza has been polio-free for 25 years. And last month, the first confirmed case of polio was found in a 10-month-old baby.

And now there are concerns that this could spread further throughout the Gaza Strip. And so there has been enormous international pressure brought to bear to allow for pauses in fighting so that the vaccines can be distributed to an estimated 640,000 children under the age of 10. And so beginning on Sunday, the Israeli military has agreed to pauses in the fighting in specific areas of the Gaza Strip for about 12 days.

So beginning Sunday, starting in central Gaza and then moving to southern Gaza, followed by northern Gaza, you will see the distribution and the administration of vaccines in those specific areas, something that the Israeli military has agreed to.

Now the question is, how will that actually be implemented on the ground? Will we see pauses in the fighting from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., as a World Health Organization official said, would take place in these three areas of the Strip over the course of these next 12 days? Will the troops on the ground follow that? Will Hamas follow it as well?

And one other thing that's important to note, this is a two-dose vaccine. And so the question is, after two weeks, they would need to get a second dose. Will there be another pause in the fighting once again at that time -- Boris?

SANCHEZ: Yes, we'll have to see how this is implemented. Jeremy Diamond, live for us in Tel Aviv. Thank you so much.

Ahead, condolences pouring in as the sports world mourns the death of a young pro hockey player and his brother killed the night before their sister's wedding. We'll tell you what happened in just a few minutes.

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KEILAR: CNN has learned about a huge swatting scheme that targeted scores of American politicians, including then-president-elect Joe Biden, as well as other officials, election and judicial. And it was all allegedly run by just two people. CNN senior justice correspondent Evan Perez is joining us with more on this.

What happened here? EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: This is bizarre. These were two guys in Eastern Europe, one of them in Romania, another one in Serbia, who, according to officials, have been doing these calls. There were about 500 swatting calls in all to at least 250 police departments.

The whole scheme is essentially to try to pretend that there's some kind of police emergency that gets police to arrive at a location. And they were targeting prominent people, including Jack Smith, Judge Tanya Chutkan. A lot of it, again, on both sides of the political spectrum.

And it was all for giggles, essentially. They were all just doing this because they were having fun. They were reading from scripts.

Now, one of these people, according to reporting from Holmes Lybrand, is now in custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. That person is in Romania. The other one remains at large, believed to be in Serbia.

But, you know, these are serious things because someone could get hurt when they answer the door and it turns out the SWAT team or police officers are there. It could turn very bad very quickly. And so that's the reason why these things are so dangerous.

And, you know, the charges now that these two people are facing are going to be serious charges because of the amount of police resources that are involved in responding to these fake emergency calls, essentially. And, you know, what we learned from this is that, you know, essentially they weren't doing it because of any political leanings. They were just doing it because they were trying to have fun. They were even following a script that was provided by a third party.

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So that's why, you know, police are investigating these and they want to make sure that they try to stop these things. They want to try to make sure that these things stop happening around the country.

KEILAR: Do they know who the third party is?

PEREZ: They did talk to a minor who agreed to supply these scripts. Yes, they do know who that person is.

KEILAR: Wow, interesting. Evan, thank you so much for following this -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Today the sports world is mourning the tragic death of one of the NHL's all-star players. State police say the Columbus Blue Jackets' Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were riding bikes in New Jersey last night when an SUV driver struck and killed them both. Police suspect the driver of the SUV had been drinking alcohol.

Gaudreau and his younger brother were supposed to be groomsmen today in their sister's wedding. CNN World Sports' Patrick Snell joins us now. Patrick, this loss is obviously hitting the league and hockey fans hard.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes, absolutely, Boris. Absolutely devastating story to report. Absolutely heartbreaking, it really is.

The Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau passing away on Thursday night along with his brother Matthew. This after the pair were struck by a vehicle. They were out riding their bicycles at the time, Boris, in New Jersey.

The siblings were actually in the area preparing for their own sister's wedding which was scheduled for today, Friday. Police say a man has now been charged with two counts of death by auto. A news release outing the 43-year-old was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol.

Now, just for context here for our viewers. Nicknamed Johnny Hockey he was, Gaudreau playing 11 pro seasons and was going into his third with the Blue Jackets. He actually spent his first nine seasons with the Flames where he became one of the league's top players, the absolute fan favorite as well.

In a statement from the National Hockey League on Friday, the league saying it was shocked and saddened by the tragic passing of Gaudreau and his brother Matthew.

Adding: While Johnny's infectious spirit for the game and show- stopping skills on the ice earned him the nickname Johnny Hockey, he was more, he was more than just a dazzling hockey player, he was a doting father and beloved husband, a son, a brother and teammate who endeared himself to every person fortunate enough to have crossed his path.

Just an unthinkable tragedy, Boris. His current team, the Blue Jackets, adding in a statement of their own that Gaudreau played the game with great joy, the club and its fans also establishing a memorial tribute there outside of Nationwide Arena where he played.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You definitely could tell that he was happy and in a good place when, you know, he saw him with his daughter. So I've been thinking about them a lot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He loved Columbus, spoke highly of Columbus, he wanted to raise his family here, he talked about that all the time. And so as a community I felt it was important for us to back him up and show him support and his family's support.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And Johnny was so important to Columbus and so important to the hockey community, just wanted to take a walk down here and pay our respects.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNELL: You can just feel that sadness there, Boris, for a player that made such an impact off the ice, but also on it as well, a seven-time NHL All-Star with 243 goals in 11 seasons. It's no wonder they call him Johnny Hockey, right?

And basketball great as well, LeBron James earlier on Friday taking to social media.

I instantly got so down and sad after reading the story. My thoughts and prayers going out to the Gaudreau family. May Johnny and Matthew fly high, guide and guard and bless their families from the heavens above.

Boris, this is a desperately sad moment, and it goes without saying, of course, our own prayers are very much with the entire Gaudreau family at this time. Our deepest condolences to them all -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Our hearts are with them. Patrick Snell, thank you so much.

Stay with CNN. We'll be right back.

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KEILAR: Happening now, the holiday travel rush. It is in full swing already. Tens of millions of Americans on the move for what could be the busiest Labor Day travel weekend ever.

SANCHEZ: CNN's Pete Muntean is live for us at Reagan National Airport near Washington. Pete, you know the one thing nobody can forget to pack this weekend. What is it, Pete?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: It's their patience, right?

KEILAR: Yes.

MUNTEAN: Can't help but finish the line, you know. It's a little cliche, but I'll play along. You know, I have a lot of friends who come and visit me here at Reagan National Airport all the time, and I just heard from one going through security here. She said the line to get into the airport today, the traffic outside on the GW Parkway, was a lot worse than the line to get through security here.

In fact, the TSA says it will take about 7 to 10 minutes right now, that's the live update, to get through standard security screening here at the North Checkpoint, here at Terminal 2, about 5 to 8 minutes to get through pre-check.

You can see the line, though, is getting a little bit longer here behind me at Reagan National Airport, and that local head of TSA here tells me they're anticipating 40,000 people here to be screened today alone. That is a number even bigger than pre-pandemic.

In fact, we might get close to the all-time TSA record at airports nationwide. TSA was anticipating about 2.8 million people at airports nationwide. Now they tell me that number, by the end of the day, will be closer to 2.9 million people.

The big thing here, though, is that airlines are in a bit of recovery mode here in the Mid-Atlantic, after some severe storms rolled through last night. About a third of all flights were delayed here out of DCA. Also at Philadelphia International Airport, a big hub for American Airlines, one in five flights canceled just down the road at Dulles International Airport.

The FAA is saying that there could be more ground stops today. As the afternoon thunderstorms build, we've already seen one go into place at Raleigh-Durham.

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Charlotte could be on the list. The DC metro area could be on the list. The New York metro airports, Newark, LaGuardia, and JFK, they could also be on the list, along with Florida and Dallas and Houston. So we are not totally out of the woods just yet.

A lot of people pulling for really smooth trips, and there will be a lot of company when it comes to the end of the day. We will see when the numbers finally come in tomorrow.

SANCHEZ: Yes, got to keep an eye on those potential delays. Got to keep an eye at DCA if you're going to be there for Pete Muntean. Get that man a Glizzy. He loves him. Thanks so much, Pete.

By the way, if you're flying this weekend, this next story is how to not handle a crying toddler on board. We'll explain.

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KEILAR: All right, we've all been there, right? You're on a plane, thousands of feet in the air, someone's child, maybe it's your own. I know it's been mine. They start crying, they won't stop. And there are a few ways you can handle the situation, but you absolutely would not want to handle it this way.

Two airline passengers in China got so fed up with a toddler's nonstop crying on a flight that they locked the one-year-old in the plane's bathroom.

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SANCHEZ: The little girl was on the plane with her grandparents, and after three hours of crying, the two passengers took her to the restroom to quote, educate her. They said they had the grandmother's consent.

They even posted a video of it, you saw some of the frames there, which has since been taken down. The airline has now apologized for the incident. Yes, just not the way you handle that.

KEILAR: Huge outrage in China online because of this, we should mention. And that's it.

"THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.

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