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Biden, U.K. Prime Minister to Discuss Loosening Limits on Long- Range Weapons; Pope Francis Says Americans Must Vote for Lesser of Two Evils; Starliner Astronauts Speak as Return Home is Delayed. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired September 13, 2024 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: In the next hour, President Biden will meet with new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House and they will discuss the hot-button issue of allowing Ukraine, perhaps, to use long-range weapons provided by Western allies to strike deep into Russian territory. Biden has been facing increasing pressure to loosen the restrictions, he's been facing it from Ukraine and also from folks here at home, and he's signaling a new openness to this. Russian President Vladimir Putin is warning that if those restrictions are lifted, it means NATO countries will be at war with Russia.

We're joined now by retired Army Major Mike Lyons to talk a little bit more about this. Major, how should the Biden administration consider that warning from Putin as they are looking at this possibility?

MAJ. MIKE LYONS, U.S. ARMY (RET.): I think they have to take it seriously and this is why. These weapons are strategic. They're going to give Ukraine somewhat of a tactical advantage at first, but from a strategic perspective, firing 150 miles inside of Russia does create a supply logistics issue that Russia will have to defend there.

But more important, Putin knows that it's going to take the United States to do battle damage assessments and things with regard to these targets. So the United States and NATO countries will be all over the intel with regard to what these targets hit. And from Putin's perspective, that's a red line.

And that really says NATO is now involved with this and that would give him a chance to escalate. Now, we've crossed many red lines already with him, but this might be the final one that he says, look, the United States is definitely involved because of the level of intelligence it's giving back to Ukraine if it fires these rockets.

KEILAR: And then how might he respond, do you think?

LYONS: Well, you know, he can escalate in the region itself. He can mobilize more troops. I mean, Russia still maintains this advantage from a manpower perspective.

We know that we've seen the Ukraine forces have gone into Russia. There was a counteroffensive now trying to get them back. I think Ukraine military is doing what they can to protect those forces there. But eventually Russia has capacity to just grind down the troops that are there. They have this long range capacity.

They could also decide to go proxy. They can decide to get with the Iranians to try to increase funding to Shia militia groups that decide to attack U.S. forces in the Middle East. So the retaliation might not take place in country inside Europe, let's say, but it might take place outside as Russia continues to try to expand its influence.

KEILAR: Can you tell us what it would look like if Ukraine was using these longer range weapons? I mean, when Ukraine has used drones to attack inside of Russia, we do often see video of what happens of the targets. What would we be seeing in this case? What would the damage be? Where would it be? What would it look like?

LYONS: Well, we'd give them about 150 miles inside the Russian border based on where they could fire them from Ukraine, going after likely infrastructure targets that would hurt really the civilian population, as well as some military targets there. But the Russians have done a good job of moving those assets back.

For example, the air assets that launch many of the drones that they're sending towards Ukraine are well outside the limits of the HIMARS and the Storm Shadow and these rockets.

So again, and we would be blind. We wouldn't know we'd launch those and not be able to see them. There might be some cameras on. There might be some technology that's used. But the bottom line is that would come from the United States from satellite shots to determine what exactly they hit.

So again, they're not difference makers. None of these things that we're providing are actual difference makers. They're just more tools for the Ukrainian military to use tactically. But they all have strategic implications.

KEILAR: So you don't see it changing the dynamics of the war?

LYONS: Oh, I don't at all. It won't change Russia's calculation. It won't change anything.

What will change if they can get both sides to some kind of negotiation quickly. In fact, there's likely some political pressure to try to do this from our side. If you can get to an agreement here before our election, this administration can take a lot of credit for that, which is good.

I think eventually we want to see a peace settlement there. The question is, what does that look like? But again, historically, countries that have greater capacity in wars of attrition end up winning those as they try to grind each other's down.

And right now, that's where we're still at. There's no real change in the front lines of what's going on in Ukraine and Russia.

KEILAR: All right, Major Mike Lyons, thank you so much for your insights. We appreciate it.

LYONS: Thanks, Brianna.

KEILAR: Boris.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: The Biden administration is unveiling new evidence against RT, accusing the Russian TV network of playing a key role in the Kremlin's global intelligence operations. The State Department is taking direct aim at the network, revealing declassified U.S. intelligence findings about it.

Here to walk us through it, CNN's Sean Lyngaas. Sean, what are we learning?

[15:35:00]

SEAN LYNGAAS, CNN CYBERSECURITY REPORTER: Boris, this is the latest effort by the U.S. government to try to expose RT, the Russian media outlet, that for a long time was doing overt propaganda. We could see it on the airwaves in the U.S. before it was shut down here. But they've really gone covert, according to U.S. intelligence officials. They've tried to hide their activities.

This announcement today is a warning that the U.S. is trying to give to its allies that it's not just U.S. elections that RT and the Russians are trying to meddle with. It's elections around the world, and they provided discrete examples from South America, Africa, elsewhere, where this Russian influence operation has been very active.

And, you know, there's a lot of criticism about various media outlets and how they operate, but this is, can we say, very unorthodox and not a media outlet if they have Russian intelligence agents feeding them information and vice versa.

They responded to our request for comment with mockery, which is usually the way it goes. They're trying to assume the role of Russian trolls. And this is just the latest step for us right before the election to try to stave off this kind of information operation.

SANCHEZ: And Sean, you also have new reporting about these right-wing influencers that were apparently being funded, at least in part, by a Russian disinformation campaign. They initially said that they didn't know they were being funded by Russians, but you're getting some new information.

LYNGAAS: Right. There's no sign, Boris, that they're going to give back the money. According to the Justice Department, this is nearly $10 million that RT and the Russian government funneled into this company.

Now, we have to say that the influencers say they have no knowledge that they were being paid by a Russian representative or anything like that, and that they controlled their own content. But it's pretty lucrative. You know, a lot of people would take that money. And for now, what we know is that they're keeping it. However, we also know from our reporting that the investigation into

this activity is ongoing from the Russians. So whether we see another announcement on that before November is a strong possibility -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Sean Lyngaas, thank you so much for the update. Appreciate it.

In the last few minutes, Pope Francis has weighed in on the U.S. presidential race and the two candidates. Hear what the pope has to say about the race in the U.S. when we come back.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: This just in, Pope Francis has just weighed in on the U.S. election, kind of sharing how he thinks Americans should be thinking about who they choose to vote for.

SANCHEZ: Yes, CNN Vatican reporter Christopher Lamb was traveling with the Pope and was there when he made these comments. Christopher, did either candidate get the Pope's endorsement?

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: No, they didn't, is the honest answer to that. The Pope very clear that both former President Trump and Vice President Harris have policies that are against life. Trump's anti-migrant position and Vice President Harris' pro-abortion position.

The Pope saying very clearly that these are both policies that go against life. And he said that Catholics had to make a choice at the election between the lesser of two evils. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): You have to vote and one must choose the lesser of two evils. Who is the lesser of two evils? That lady or that gentleman? I don't know. Everyone with a conscience should think on this and do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAMB: So the Pope making these remarks on board the papal plane from Singapore to Rome after the longest trip of his pontificate, a very strong intervention from Francis. And what's significant is his remarks about anti-migrant policies, equating them with abortion. Of course, the Catholic Church historically opposed to abortion.

But what Francis is saying here is that anti-migrant policies, which he says are evil, it's wrong not to welcome migrants. He talks specifically about the U.S.-Mexico border, but equating that with abortion. Of course, some in the Catholic Church want to single out abortion as the main political issue.

Francis is saying that both are wrong and anti-life. A strong intervention, I think. KEILAR: And Christopher, how does this compare to what he has or has not said about past U.S. elections?

LAMB: Well, Brianna, in 2016, you may remember that the Pope described then presidential candidate Donald Trump's plan for a border wall on the U.S.-Mexico border as not Christian. And he caused a lot of controversy at the time. He's not afraid to weigh into these big debates.

He doesn't want to endorse either candidate, but he certainly wants to make his point known and to make his voice heard to Catholic voters in this forthcoming election.

KEILAR: Very interesting. Christopher Lamb, thank you so much for that report from Rome. We appreciate it.

[15:45:03]

And ahead, how the Boeing Starliner astronauts are really handling their extended stay in space. I'll give you a hint, pretty well, but they told us some interesting stuff.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: For the first time since their spacecraft was sent back to Earth without them, the Starliner astronauts are speaking. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams just spoke to reporters, including our very own Kristin Fisher from the International Space Station.

SANCHEZ: They talked about adjusting to life on a mission that was supposed to last a week, but now will keep them in space and away from their families until February.

[15:50:03]

CNN's Kristin Fisher took part in that press conference, got to ask a question live to the astronauts in space on CNN. What did they share?

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was so great to finally get to see them, right? After this big decision had been made. But you know, as Starliner's commander and former Navy test pilot himself, Butch Wilmore said it was really tough to watch his ship go off without him, you know?

He said, you don't want to see your ship go off without you. But he also said that he stood by and really understood NASA's decision.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUTCH WILMORE, NASA ASTRONAUT: When you have an issues like we've had, there's some changes that need to be made. Now Boeing's on board with that. We're all on board with that.

And I can tell you, when you push the edge of the envelope again, and you do things with spacecraft that have never been done before, just like Starliner, you're going to find some things. And in this case, we found some things that we just could not get comfortable with putting us back in the Starliner when we had other options.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FISHER: And that other option is, of course, SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft. But you know, even though Butch and Suni have both done long duration missions in the past, they have both trained as NASA astronauts and as test pilots for every possible contingency. It's still a big difference between what was supposed to be a roughly eight day long mission to go from that to an eight month mission.

So I asked them, you know, how has that transition been mentally going from eight days to eight months? Here's what they said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILMORE: The things that I can't control, I'm not going to fret over it. I mean, there's no benefit to it at all. There's nothing we can do. There's nothing we can do. So we march forward.

SUNI WILLIAMS, NASA ASTRONAUT: I have to say, though, in the back of my mind, you know, there's folks on the ground who had some plans, right? Like, you know, like my family. So to spend some time with my mom.

And I think I was fretting more about that, like the things that we had sort of all talked about and planned for this fall and this winter. And I think I was a little bit nervous, to be honest with you, to say like, OK, I'm not coming home for it. But you know what?

Like we both mentioned in the very beginning, everybody, you know, was on board.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FISHER: And, you know, as the daughter of two NASA astronauts myself, I stand by that it is much tougher for the families who are left back on Earth than it is for the astronauts in space because they're doing cool stuff, stuff that they've wanted to do their whole lives. You know, it's much harder for the wives, the husbands, the children and Suni's dogs who are left back on Earth and miss them.

KEILAR: That's right. And this was very interesting to hear this, Presser, because it reminds you or illuminates that you may not have known that they can vote from space. What?

FISHER: Yes, well, and think about it. I mean, Butch and Sonny were supposed to be back to Earth long before this election ever took place. But now they're going to be up there until February.

So do they get to vote? It was a great question. And Butch was asked it just a few minutes ago.

KEILAR: I guess we don't have that. SANCHEZ: And we're going to leave you in suspense.

FISHER: I thought we had a soundbit there, but I do remember his answer.

KEILAR: He requested an absentee ballot.

FISHER: He requested a ballot. And you can do that. Leroy Chow, who you had on the show earlier, he had to do that as well.

And so you can do a secure Word document. You can do emails and video chats to and from the space station. So you should be able to vote as well.

KEILAR: I guess it's easy to validate who it is. There aren't that many people up there in space. So you can just, you know, figure it out.

SANCHEZ: How many electoral college votes do you get for the International Space Station I wonder?

FISHER: Well, that is a great question. Nine people up there now.

SANCHEZ: Where did that soundbite go? The mysteries that we try to resolve on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

FISHER: Frogs.

KEILAR: Kristen, thank you so much.

All right ahead, Justin Timberlake back in court today, actually pleading guilty to a lesser charge of driving while impaired. He's also expressing regret for his lapse in judgment and imploring others not to drink and drive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, SINGER: I try to hold myself to a very high standard for myself. And this was not that. What I'd like to say to everyone watching and listening, even if you've had one drink, don't get behind the wheel of a car.

There's so many alternatives. This is a mistake that I made. But I'm hoping that whoever's watching and listening right now can learn from this mistake.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: This is not going to be the last time that we hear from Timberlake. As part of his plea deal, he agreed to appear in a public service announcement, a PSA, about the dangers of drunk driving.

[15:55:00]

He was also sentenced to 25 hours of community service and will pay a $500 fine. Coming up, it turns out that when mom says, don't put that thing up

your nose, she has a really strong point. We're going to talk about how one man learned a very tough lesson years and years later.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We've all heard stories of kids and some adults sticking random objects up their noses. But what if that random object somehow stayed stuck for over 25 years, a quarter-century?

[16:00:00]

That's exactly what one Arizona man claims happened to him. 32-year- old Andy Norton just dislodged a Lego that had been stuck in one of his nostrils since he was six years old. Norton recalls playing with him as a kid and shoving a small dot-shaped Lego brick into a place he later came to regret.

KEILAR: Now, he says he's suffered from asthma and sleep apnea over the years. You don't say. And eventually, his doctor recommended blowing his nose in the shower to take advantage of the steam and humidity. Well, what do you know? He can finally breathe from that side of his nose again.

And "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts now.

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