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CNN International: Concerns Over Jewish Support for President Biden; Woman Accused of Trying to Drown 3-Year-Old Muslim Girl; Saudi Arabia: More Than 1,300 Died During This Year's Hajj; State Media: Dozens Dead Amid Flash Floods, Mudslides in China; Community Forced to Relocate in Gardi Sugdub Due to Rising Seas. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired June 24, 2024 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Demonstrators turned out across Brazil on Sunday to protest against a bill that would equate abortions after 22 weeks to homicide. The legislation would also impose prison sentences of six to 20 years. Abortion is only allowed in Brazil in cases of great fetal deformity or when the mother's life is in danger.

Rescue crews in Spain continue to search for a British teen in Spain. 19-year-old Jay Slater disappeared in an area of Tenerife's remote national park. Dozens of police officers, rescue teams and firefighters are combing a steep valley on the Canary Islands west coast with dogs, drones and a helicopter.

Tense moments on Sunday during protests outside a synagogue in a predominantly Jewish Los Angeles neighborhood. Social media videos showed police pushing pro-Palestinian protest demonstrators. Police said they responded to two protests in the neighborhood but there were no reports of injuries.

Video also showed counter-protesters with Israeli flags confronting the pro-Palestinian demonstrators. The two sides shouted at and sometimes scuffled with each other. Videos from the scene showed multiple altercations.

Protesters also blocked traffic. One person holding a so-called spiked flag was issued a citation and then released.

A new building will be constructed at a Pittsburgh synagogue where there was a mass shooting in 2018. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on Sunday for the building of the Tree of Life synagogue, which will include a memorial and a museum to combat anti-Semitism. Eleven worshippers were killed and six others wounded in the hate crime. Second gentleman, Doug Emhoff, who is Jewish, spoke at the ceremony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG EMHOFF, HUSBAND OF U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Let me be very clear. When Jews are targeted because of their beliefs or identity, or when Israel is singled out because of anti-Jewish hatred, that is anti- Semitism plain and simple.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Meanwhile, there are concerns in democratic circles that the Israel-Hamas conflict could hurt President Biden's re-election prospects. It's not just because of flagging Arab American support. Some experts worry that the support of Jewish voters may be diminishing as well, as CNN's Edward-Isaac Dovere has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: The ongoing turmoil set off by the October 7th attack by Hamas and Israel's bloody war launched in response is becoming yet another weight on President Joe Biden's re- election, with warning signs flashing over Jewish voter support for the president.

For all the attention over how the Israel-Hamas war has endangered Biden's standing with Arab-Americans and progressives who have taken up the cause of Palestinians in key states, Jewish Americans who make up enough of the population to be determinative in tight battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Arizona have been scrambled too. That's all the feelings brought up by the conflict, but also the pain over the surge in anti-Semitic incidents and rhetoric, particularly on the left in recent months.

Josh Shapiro, the governor of key battleground state Pennsylvania, and an observant Jew himself told me, from Pharaoh to Hitler to Kim Jong- un, at what point in our history when a dictator has been leading a nation has a minority group done well. Donald Trump will eviscerate the rights of minority groups, including American Jews.

Doug Emhoff, who's Vice President Kamala Harris' husband, and also Jewish, has been taking a lead on this too, calling Donald Trump a known anti-Semite.

Now, Biden and Donald Trump have very different records on Israel and condemning anti-Semitism, with Biden spending a lot of time on both over his years in politics. But Republicans are looking to play into the anxieties, with operatives telling me they plan to campaign on the idea that Biden's presidency has led to Jews in America being less safe and more Israelis being killed.

Isaac Dovere, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Police in Texas say a woman has been charged with attempted murder for allegedly trying to drown a three-year-old girl in a swimming pool. The accused, identified as Elizabeth Wolf, was initially arrested for public intoxication. One civil rights group has called the attack a hate crime after identifying the victim as a Muslim.

CNN's Camila Bernal has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CAMILA BERNAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Council on American-Islamic Relations says that this family was Muslim, and it's why they believe this could have been racially motivated, and it's also why they're calling for this to be investigated as a hate crime.

Now, authorities say this all happened back in May 19th when they were called to an apartment complex pool in Euless, Texas. They were called for a disturbance between two women and an attempted drowning, and authorities say when they initially arrived to the scene, they arrested Elizabeth Wolf for public intoxication.

And once they began that investigation, they spoke to the mother of the victim who told them that Wolf had asked her where she was from and asked if those were her children. Once she answered that question, that mother says that Wolf grabbed her 6-year-old son.

[04:35:00]

Here is how the executive director of the council's Dallas-Fort Worth chapter is describing it.

MUSTAFAA CARROLL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COUNCIL ON AMERICAN-ISLAMIS RELATIONS, TEXAS: According to the mother, the 6-year-old son was able to escape, but her petite 3-year-old daughter was unable. The alleged attacker snatched off the mother's headscarf and used it to beat the mother with as well as kicking her to keep her away from forcing her child head underwater.

BERNAL: Now, that mother also telling police that her child was yelling for help, that her child was coughing up water, but thankfully she was able to pull her child out of the water. Both children were evaluated medically and authorities saying they are OK. The mother also telling police that Wolf made racial statements and made statements about her not being American.

Now, Wolf was charged with attempted capital murder. The bail was set for $25,000. She was also charged with injury to a child. That bail was set at $15,000. She posted bail and it's why the council is now asking for a higher bail. It's why they're asking for this to be investigated as a hate crime and they're also asking for the safety and security of the Muslim community overall.

Camila Bernal, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: CNN is trying to reach the accused, Elizabeth Wolf, for comment. It's unclear if she has an attorney at this point.

Now, police in Arkansas say the man behind a deadly shooting at a grocery store on Friday was armed with a pistol, a shotgun and dozens of rounds. He killed four people and wounded nine others in what authorities have called a completely random senseless attack. Police say officers were on the scene in less than three minutes after getting calls from panicked shoppers. The 44-year-old suspect is set to appear in court today. Authorities are still trying to figure out his motive, but they say it appears he has no personal connection to any of the victims.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, there were 11 more mass shootings in the US this weekend, bringing the total for this year to 247. The group defines a mass shooting as one in which at least four people are shot or killed in a single event.

Still to come, the Saudi government blames scorching heat and ill- prepared travelers for the staggering death toll of this year's Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. But witnesses say the entire journey was a logistical nightmare.

[04:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Saudi Arabia says more than 1,300 people have died during this year's Hajj pilgrimage as temperatures at times peaked above 50 degrees Celsius, 122 degrees Fahrenheit. It says most of those who died were unauthorized to perform the trip and walk long distances in the scorching sun without adequate shelter or comfort.

Some eyewitnesses tell CNN they saw pilgrims losing consciousness and falling ill. Some have also complained of the bad infrastructure and organization for this year's trip.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz joins us now. I mean, there has been a bit of a fierce reaction, hasn't there, amongst many of those who did go, with how the government's responded, effectively blaming some people for the way they handled the trip.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, and we keep hearing that term. I think it came from the Saudi government statement, but we hear it from other officials, unregistered or unofficial pilgrims.

Look, all of this is coming after for days we saw families of those missing on the ground in Saudi Arabia desperately looking for those loved ones, desperately looking for their elderly parents, posting on social media, calling local hospitals, trying to get answers, and now we have this figure officially from the Saudi authorities. 1,300 people who have died during the Hajj pilgrimage.

Fears that that number could go up, and now governments are looking at why. How did this happen? What does it mean to be unofficial or unregistered in the pilgrimage?

Many of these people really are at the mercy of these tour groups. You have to remember how important the Hajj is. This is an absolute pillar of Islam. People save up their whole lives for it. They apply year and year after year to try to get that OK, that permission, that green light to go to the Hajj, and then you have these tour operators who oftentimes are calling these families up and saying, look, I'll sort it out for you, I'll find you a way. So it's not always clear whether families are aware if they have the correct permissions, if they have the correct paperwork, until they get there. They're in these scorching temperatures. They have to get to a site,

one of the key sites, Mount Arafat, is where a lot of the deaths happen, is on the route to that, and they find they have no bus, that they have no accommodation, they have no proper way to care for themselves.

We know Egypt is already taking steps. The Egyptian government says it has banned 16 tour groups for their part in these illegal pilgrimages. We know Jordan is taking steps to crack down as well. Tunisia has fired one of their ministers for not cracking down.

But the question is, for all of these pilgrims, and for the families who are still looking for loved ones, because it is this week that the homecomings are going to happen.

You have to remember, this is going to reverberate throughout the Muslim world when people don't return home. Those governments are going to have to answer questions. The question is going to be, why did it take 1,300 people dying of the heat, many of them, in order for this to take place, in order for these actions to be taken?

So a lot of consideration here about the logistics, and you have to remember going forward, these temperatures could potentially only rise with the climate crisis. Governments are going to be looked at, these tour groups are going to be looked at. People are going to ask, how can I safely get my family member, get my relative, to carry out this pilgrimage to Mecca in the future?

FOSTER: Salma, thank you.

Torrential rains still lashing southern China, as it deals with deadly flash floods and landslides. At least 71 people have died so far, according to Chinese state media, and tens of thousands have been forced to relocate. Heavy flooding and rainfall also affecting more than 500,000 people in the eastern part of the country.

For more, let's go to CNN's Steven Jiang, who's live for us in Beijing -- Steven.

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, Max, these floods are turning more dangerous, and in many cases, deadly. As you mentioned, the authorities continue to revise up their casualty figures. That death toll from these summer floods you just mentioned is expected to rise, as we're not even in the month of July yet.

But the bad news is, after pounding southern China for days, torrential rains are now moving northwards to impact more provinces. The National Weather Service just a few hours ago issued a red alert, that's their highest level of alert for heavy rainfalls, to cover multiple provinces along the Yangtze River. That's, of course, one of the country's most populated and economically important regions.

[04:45:00]

And already, over the weekend, in one eastern Chinese province, in Anhui, we have seen, as you mentioned, half a million people being affected by these floods, with the authorities there evacuating more than 60,000 people. And the state media has also reported some tragic stories of entire families being wiped out by these flood water.

And we have seen dramatic footage, showing both urban and rural areas submerged in muddy water, with emergency responders rushing to rescue trapped residents, using everything at their disposal, from speedboats to rafts, and sometimes just carrying elderly citizens on their shoulders, away from their submerged houses.

Heavy equipment has now been sent in to clear some of the debris, and the choppers being deployed to send in supplies, as a growing number of residents are finding their access to roads, electricity and communication all being cut off.

But while this is happening in southern and eastern China, in northern China, many parts are experiencing record high temperatures and severe droughts. So as many experts and scientists have pointed out, these things tend to happen in the summer season, but the effect of climate change has amplified extreme weather, making everything deadlier and more frequent -- Max.

FOSTER: OK, Steven Jiang in Beijing, thank you so much for that update.

Rising sea levels have forced hundreds of families off the coast of Panama to leave their homes for a more permanent place to live, but some of them aren't pleased about the move. CNN's Rafael Romo reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Some 300 families have left their home on the island of Gardi Sugdub in Panama, in hopes of a better future. For some, that does not seem to be the case. The Panamanian government relocated these families to the new community of Nuevo Carti on the mainland, due to the rising sea levels affecting the island.

CNN went to the island and spoke with locals there, and on the mainland, not all locals seem happy with this solution to climate change. Resident Brenes Garcia goes back to his home on the island every day.

BRENES GARCIA, GARDI SUGDUB RESIDENT (through translator): This morning at 6 a.m. I crossed here. Here and there, I have quite a few things here. I would have to take everything with me.

ROMO (voice-over): Garcia owns a shop in Gardi Sugdub, and he tells CNN there's not enough space in the new community for his business. It would not be profitable for him to stay in Nuevo Carti. Community officials say some 32 families stayed on the island, there were no more houses left, and others decided to stay on their own.

Residents of the Panamanian island tell CNN living on the mainland would affect their livelihood and lifestyle.

HERMINIO REYES, GARDI SUGDUB RESIDENT (through translator): I'm losing fishing time because I'm not looking at the sea every day, and that's in my nature. I want to ensure that every day my family is eating fish, and also yuccas, everything that is natural.

ROMO (voice-over): The community secretary, Augusto Walter, said that before the move, the island of Gardi Sugdub had around 1,300 inhabitants. And in some homes, up to four generations would live under the same roof. But conditions in the new community of Nuevo Carti do not seem to be better. Walter says that electricity and water go out sometimes for days at a time.

The climate change effects will only get worse as sea levels rise. Residents of the island looked at other solutions to protect their homes. These fillings seen here on the island are built with wood and stones to prevent water from entering the houses when the tide rises.

CLAUDIANO LOPEZ, GARDI SUGDUB RESIDENT (through translator): What they told me at first was that they didn't think it was climate change, they didn't believe it. But now they're tired of drying everything, removing stones, and when the sea rises, it takes things away.

AGUSTO WALTER, COMMUNITY SECRETARY (through translator): I know that in 10 or 30 years this will be noticeable, but not now. Now people think that it is not a big deal, that it's not going to happen. But yes, the sea level is going up.

ROMO (voice-over): Rafael Romo, CNN Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Some new video just in CNN shows what's believed to be debris from a Chinese rocket falling over a village after launch. Images circulating on social media, as you can see, show debris plummeting in southwestern China, leaving a trail of yellow smoke. It's believed the rocket in question was one carrying satellites jointly developed by Chinese and French scientists.

A statement released by aerospace officials on Saturday hailed that launch as a complete success. Witnesses say they heard a loud explosion after the debris crashed into the ground. CNN spoke to an eyewitness who said they saw the suspected rocket fall with their own eyes. There were no reports of immediate injuries from local authorities.

A hard-fought, close game saw the rivalry between Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark get a little bit hotter. Find out who came out on top when we come back.

[04:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Six climate activists are charged with criminal mischief and trespassing after they stormed the 18th green of the PGA Tour's Travelers' Championship in Connecticut on Sunday. They appeared to wave smoke bombs, which left red and white powder on the green, just as the tournament leaders, including world number one Scotty Scheffler, were getting ready to putt.

The protesters were quickly arrested. Some were wearing shirts that read, no golf on a dead planet. The group Extinction Rebellion claimed responsibility.

The WNBA rivalry between Angel Reese's Chicago Sky and Caitlin Clark's Indiana Fever just got a little hotter.

After two previous defeats, Reese and her team reversed the trend, coming out on top 88-87 in a hard-fought game. Clark had a strong game, 17 points and 13 assists, and Reese finished with 25 points and 16 rebounds, extending her double-double figures streak to eight games, only the third WNBA player to reach that mark.

Fans at Taylor Swift's London concert on Sunday got a big surprise when the singer's boyfriend, American football star Travis Kelce, appeared on stage.

[04:55:00]

Kelce carried Swift on stage during one of her transitions of her Record-Breaking Eras Tour. The reveal has gone viral on social media. While in the U.K., Swift also posted selfies with members of the royal family that Kelce also appeared in. It's the first photo of the two of them shared online for a while.

Now, they say the early bird catches the worm, but what about the worm charmer? Yes, there is a World Worm Charming Championship right here in the U.K. Armed with various tools on Saturday, the contestants had 30 minutes to charm as many worms out of the hole as they could.

No digging, no chemicals or water allowed. Very strict rules there, but anything else seemed to go, from saxophones to banging pots and pans, even some persuasive singing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS WHITE, COMPETITOR: There's various techniques that you can try. It's supposed to be the way that you hit the fork and mimic the rain that attracts them to the surface. We've had no success with that, so we thought we'd try doing it by dressing up and singing as well. And we still haven't caught any worms.

JOHN WRIGHT, COMPETITOR: Didgeridoos are from Australia. Australia's down under. The worms we're trying to charm out of the ground today are down under the ground, so it's that whole didgeridoo-worm- Australia connection, really.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: There you go. Now you're an expert. This year's winner charmed 195 worms to the surface with rocking vibrations. So you've got your tip for next year.

Thanks for joining me here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster in London. CNN "THIS MORNING" up next after a quick break. END