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Biden Addresses Painful Decision To Exit Presidential Race; Netanyahu Lashes Out At Critics In Speech To U.S. Congress; Slow- Moving Storm Makes Delayed Landfall In Taiwan; Trump Attacks Harris as "Radical Liberal"; U.S. House to Create Task Force to Investigate Trump Shooting; Ending the Ocean Plastic Crisis; Copernicus: Record for Earth's Hottest Day Broken Again Monday; U.S. Women's Football Star on Embracing Olympic Pressure. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired July 25, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm John Vause. Ahead here on CNN Newsroom.
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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy.
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VAUSE: U.S. President Joe Biden tells the nation he ended his campaign for a second term to save American democracy from Donald Trump.
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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: This is not a clash of civilizations. It's a clash between barbarism and civilization.
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VAUSE: The Israeli prime minister addresses the U.S. Congress, pleading for American support and vowing to win the war against Hamas in Gaza.
And typhoon Gaemi makes a loop de loop, walloping Taiwan twice, the now deadly storm just hours away from mainland China.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: The oldest president in U.S. history, Joe Biden has made the first of what will likely be many farewells. In a primetime address from the Oval Office, Mr. Biden said serving as president had been the privilege of his life. He never mentioned Donald Trump by name, but implied the Republican nominee was a threat to American democracy. And defeating Trump was more important than his own personal ambition, which is why he ended his bid for a second term and said the time was right to hand leadership to a younger generation and end the deep divisions within the Democratic Party.
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BIDEN: It's been the honor of my life to serve as your president. But in the defense of democracy, which is at stake, I think it's more important than any title. I draw strength and I find joy in working for the American people. But this sacred task of perfecting our union is not about me. It's about you, your families, your futures. It's about we, the people.
America's going to have to choose between moving forward or backward, between hope and hate, between unity and division. So I've decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That's the best way to unite our nation. You know, there is a time and a place for long years of experience in public life. There's also a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices. And that time and place is now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Members of the Biden family were there watching. And this was perhaps the most important speech the U.S. president never wanted to make. It was heartfelt at times, and he also voiced unwavering support for his chosen successor, Vice President Kamala Harris.
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BIDEN: In just a few months, the American people will choose the course of America's future. I made my choice. I've made my views known. I would like to thank our great Vice President Kamala Harris. She's experienced. She's tough. She's capable. She's been an incredible partner to me and a leader for our country. Now the choice is up to you, the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: All of this just weeks after a disastrous debate performance by Biden against Donald Trump and after a week in self-isolation because of COVID. Emotions were running high at the White House during Biden's televised address, one official saying many watched in tears. The administration's deputy communications director later posted this photo of President Biden speaking in the Rose Garden with his family standing behind. More now from CNN's Karen Kaifa.
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BIDEN: It's not about me. It's about you, your families, your futures.
KAREN KAIFA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Joe Biden addressing his decision to step away from the 2024 presidential race.
BIDEN: So I've decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. KAIFA (voice-over): And priorities for the final months of his term.
BIDEN: I'll keep defending our personal freedoms and our civil rights, from the right to vote to the right to choose.
KAIFA (voice-over): Biden's Oval Office speech time to give the President's voice an opportunity to recover from COVID-19 and deliver the address with vigor, a senior adviser said. Regarding Biden's decision to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris to take his place at the top of the ticket, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the President has no regrets.
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This is again a decision that this President made and -- and I think he is proud to have made that decision.
[01:05:01]
KAIFA (voice-over): Harris has had a quick start to her presidential bid.
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There is so much at stake in this moment. There is so much at stake.
KAIFA (voice-over): And former President Donald Trump in North Carolina for his first rally since Biden's announcement, wasted no time pivoting his attacks.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The vote for Kamala is a vote for four more years of dishonesty, incompetence.
KAIFA (voice-over): But back at the White House, President Biden used one of the most important speeches of his long political career to stress the importance of November's election, even as he leaves the ballot.
BIDEN: History is in your hands. The power is in your hands. The idea of America lies in your hands.
KAIFA (voice-over): In Washington, I'm Karen Kaifa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Allan Lichtman is a presidential historian and distinguished professor of history at American University. He joins us this hour from Los Angeles. Thank you for being with us.
ALLAN LICHTMAN, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: My pleasure.
VAUSE: So the President packed a lot into just, what, 11 minutes. He explained why he was ending his bid for a second term, his plans for the remaining months in office. So in the bigger picture here, where does this moment and this national address by President Biden fit within the context of U.S. presidential history?
LICHTMAN: This is absolutely extraordinary. We have never before seen a sitting president who has also voted as the nominee of the party by 87 percent of Democratic primary voters, being openly trashed by members of his own party right out there in public. It was a very sad spectacle. And now we've seen something else that we've never seen before. The presumptive nominee and the sitting President withdrawing at the 11th hour just prior to the party convention and handing off the nomination to his Vice President.
VAUSE: There were some heartfelt moments, as you say, during this speech by or addressed by President Biden. Here's one of them. Listen to this.
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BIDEN: I've given my heart and my soul to our nation. Like so many others, I've been blessed a million times in return with the love and support of the American people. The great thing about America is here, kings and dictators do not rule. The people do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: As to that last part, Biden never mentioned Donald Trump by name. But there does seem to be a very clear contrast between the 45th president, who lost but refused to go, and the 46th president, who won but stepped down for a greater good.
LICHTMAN: The contrast could not be clearer. First of all, Biden is pointing out he's not just been the President for the past three and a half years, but he has devoted his entire life of so many decades to service to the country. And by passing on the baton to Harris, he's actually continuing not repudiating that service and clearly, without being explicit about it, which is totally unlike Donald Trump, who grants the raves. He is drawing a contrast between Donald Trump, who has no respect for American institutions and American democracy, and is not a selfless public servant, but someone who's in it for himself.
VAUSE: In March of 1968, though, the 36th president of the United States, LBJ, also addressed the nation from the Oval Office. Here's part of what he said.
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LYNDON B. JOHNSON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Accordingly, I shall not seek and I will not accept the nomination of my party for another term as your president.
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VAUSE: Yes, Lyndon Johnson spoke for about 40 minutes and then added that last line, which at the time, you know, was a shock to the nation. But there are -- what are the similarities here between 2024 and 1968?
LICHTMAN: You know, I remember being utterly shocked by that announcement, watching it way back in 1968. But here's the difference. Lyndon Johnson, when he stepped down, there was no orderly transition. In fact, there was a real brawl within the Democratic Party marked, of course, by the great tragedy of the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy and then the explosion of social unrest at the Democratic Convention of 1968. And the result was the nation got Richard Nixon, who prolonged the war in Vietnam for five years and almost killed off our democracy.
If the current Supreme Court immunity decision had been in effect in the 1970s, our democracy may have died back there.
VAUSE: Just very quickly, we're out of time. But are you willing to make one of your famous predictions about the outcome? Because you've got it right over the last 40 years, apparently, you know, all up. It's a good track record. So for 2024, a prediction, perhaps? Harris or Trump?
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LICHTMAN: I said, I will not make a final prediction until after the Democratic Convention. But Democrats, a lot would have to lose for them to suffer defeat. On my key system, it takes six keys to count out the White House party. The Democrats are only down three, and there are only four questionable keys, third parties, social unrest, foreign/military failure and success. Three of those four keys would have to fall to predict a Democratic defeat. Possible, but not highly likely.
So I haven't changed what I've been saying for many, many months, that a lot would have to go wrong. It could, but a lot would have to go wrong for the Democrats to lose this election.
VAUSE: Allan Lichtman, sir, thank you. Appreciate your time.
LICHTMAN: My great pleasure. Take care.
VAUSE: President Biden insists he will continue to carry out the duties of his office for the remaining months of his term. That includes meeting with the Israeli prime minister later Thursday. Ongoing negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal are expected to be high on the agenda. But during an address to the U.S. Congress, Netanyahu gave no indication he was close to agreeing to a ceasefire with Hamas anytime soon.
Netanyahu, though, said he was grateful for Biden's support for Israel and the war in Gaza, support which cost the President support among Democrats.
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NETANYAHU: I thank President Biden for his heartfelt support for Israel after the savage attack on October 7th. He rightly called Hamas sheer evil. He dispatched two aircraft carriers to the Middle East to deter a wider war. And he came to Israel to stand with us during our darkest hour, a visit that will never be forgotten.
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VAUSE: More details now from CNN's Alex Marquardt, reporting in from Washington.
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: This was not as partisan a speech as we saw from Benjamin Netanyahu last time, which was back in 2015. We heard plenty of praise for both Presidents Biden and Trump, and thanks for the U.S. support for Israel, particularly during this war in Gaza. But a large number of Democratic House and Senate members did boycott and protest, including some big names like Nancy Pelosi. Vice President Kamala Harris wasn't there either. Her excuse was that she was traveling.
Netanyahu spent much of the beginning of the speech talking about Israeli hostages and getting them home, but he didn't mention the Biden framework that was proposed back in May, which Israel has apparently signed on to. Israeli opposition figures and critics accused Netanyahu of delaying agreeing to a deal and adding conditions to make one more difficult.
Now, source tells me that there is another round of ceasefire negotiations being planned for early next week with the top mediators, including CIA Director Bill Burns. And as protests raged outside the speech in Washington, Netanyahu painted anti-Israel protesters with a broad brush as Hamas supporters propped up by Iran. Take a listen.
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NETANYAHU: Many anti-Israel protesters, many choose to stand with evil. They stand with Hamas. They stand with rapists and murderers. You have officially become Iran's useful idiots.
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MARQUARDT: He was referring to newly released U.S. intelligence that found that Iran has been fomenting and financing protests here in the U.S. But that intelligence assessment also noted, quote, Americans who participate in protests are in good faith expressing their views on the conflict in Gaza, end quote. Netanyahu also pushed back on criticism against Israel about aid for Gaza and the civilian death toll there.
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NETANYAHU: Despite all the lies you've heard, the war in Gaza has one of the lowest ratios of combatants to non-combatants casualties in the history of urban warfare. If there are Palestinians in Gaza who aren't getting enough food, it's not because Israel is blocking it. It's because Hamas is stealing it.
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MARQUARDT: The death toll in Gaza is believed to be almost 40,000 people. Even if you take out the number of Hamas militants that Israel claims to have killed, around 14,000. More than 1 percent of the civilian population in Gaza has been killed. And it's likely higher than that. That is shockingly high. And U.S. officials continue to say that Israel's military operations inside Gaza make it extremely difficult to distribute aid and protect aid convoys. Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.
VAUSE: And the White House called those protests against Netanyahu's visit, disgraceful. Some burned flags and effigies of Netanyahu, and a pro-Hamas slogan was spray painted on a monument. Nine arrests were made in all of them.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It -- it's a shame, you know, it's a shame that they are saying that were violent when clearly weren't.
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VAUSE: And the Secret Service is the besieging reports that protesters gained access to the Watergate Hotel where Netanyahu is staying, then released maggots and other insects and called fire alarms.
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Protest too in Tel Aviv with the group representing hostages and their families, criticizing Netanyahu's address to Congress, saying the words deal now were absent. The father of one hostage warned there will be no forgiveness if there is no deal.
To Washington now, and CNN global affairs analyst Kim Dozier. So good to see you, Kim. Thank you for being with us.
KIM DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Good to be here.
VAUSE: So the criticism in part seems to be that Netanyahu barely mentioned the hostages being held in Gaza during this address. Instead, he focused on all out victory and total defeat of Hamas and gave every indication he's not ready to sign on to a ceasefire deal with Hamas. So how does that now play into this meeting he has with President Biden on Thursday?
DOZIER: Yes. His -- his only mention of the hostages was to point out a hostage family that had flown with him to Washington, D.C. But beyond that, he didn't sound like a man ready to negotiate. However, a White House official briefed several reporters this afternoon and told us that Biden and Netanyahu will be talking about some of the final aspects of this hostage deal, that the framework is agreed, that it's in place, but that some implementation details have to be decided, and that they need some give and take both from Israel and Hamas.
All of that said, Netanyahu doesn't sound like a man in the mood to agree to anything with Hamas. And he's taken some grief back home from politicians for that, as well as from the hostage families. Is it -- is it say one thing in public and do another thing in private? Not sure.
VAUSE: Yes, that's the question. How much of this is to appease the right wing of his coalition? How much is actually genuine and true? The families of the hostages, though, some of them at least and other protesters gathered outside the Capitol, Wednesday. Here's what the father of one hostage told CNN about Netanyahu's address to Congress.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're coming here to the U.S., you're coming here to speak in Congress. Don't think we'll say, wow, Netanyahu is speaking in Congress. He's a very important man. Well, we don't care about him. We want him to sign a deal. That's all we want. Sign a deal and go to hell.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: It's very typically Israeli in many ways, but does that reflect how most Israelis are feeling right now about the prime minister?
DOZIER: Just about every major poll in Israel shows that about 70 percent of the country wants Netanyahu to resign. Many Israelis believe that Netanyahu has extended the length of the war, drawn it out so that he could get more Hamas leaders killed and thereby claim some sort of victory and save his own political future. That is why many accuse him of making this trip to Washington, to prop up his own political image, and that this is playing as much to the Israeli audience back home, saying, you know, look, I'm taken seriously by our major ally. I can get all of these congressmen to stand up and applaud. Israeli hostage families say, we've seen the show before, just get our people home. Stop drawing this out.
VAUSE: Netanyahu also spent some time sort of painting this picture of Israel as a bulwark against Iran, which was defending the United States and other allies. And he described the conflict in very stark terms. Here he is.
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NETANYAHU: In the Middle East, Iran's axis of terror confronts America, Israel, our Arab friends. This is not a clash of civilizations. It's a clash between barbarism and civilization.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Many might take issue with that coming from a man who's been indicted by the ICC for war crimes, for a war in Gaza, which has left almost 40,000 civilians dead.
DOZIER: You know, that is an argument that Netanyahu successfully used to argue in favor of the Abraham Accords under the Trump administration. And it worked. That Israel would unite with a number of Arab nations against a rising Iran. But after Israel's response to October 7th, Arab officials that I'm speaking to say, look, we could do that before when the Palestinian cause was just about forgotten about across the Arab world.
But right now, Arab youth, Muslim youth, this is the first thing on their minds. We are not going to be making any sort of peace with Israel. And Netanyahu, if he thinks we are, hasn't understood how things have changed. VAUSE: And this is Netanyahu's fourth address to the U.S. Congress, more than any other foreign leader, more than Churchill. In a tweet, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said it was by far the worst presentation of any foreign dignitary, invited and honored with the privilege of addressing the Congress of the United States. A lot of Democrat and lawmakers boycotted in protest over the war in Gaza. And while U.S. support for Israel sort of remains strong, it seems the same cannot be said for Israel's longest serving prime minister.
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VAUSE: Well, what is going on is that the Democrats have asked the White House, and the White House has asked Netanyahu time and time again, make your attacks more precise. If you feel like you've got to attack certain targets, get more aid in. And time and time again, they feel like Netanyahu has paid lip service to that and that there's still this carnage, still an unacceptable number of civilian deaths inside Palestinian territory.
And hey, the Israeli Knesset just voted against ever agreeing to any sort of Palestinian state. This is not what Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Party want to hear, especially going into a tough election where the left, even the center part of the Democratic Party, is very upset that the Biden administration has continued to arm Israel. So Pelosi had to send a strong message. You know, we know what you're doing, including what we ask you to do behind closed doors, and you just went ahead and kept on smashing things and killing people.
VAUSE: Yes. It is notable that most of the people standing during those, the clapping and the applause, were Republicans. Kim Dozier, thanks so much for being with us. Good to see you.
DOZIER: Thank you.
VAUSE: At least 33 dead in the past 24 hours and residential buildings destroyed amid ongoing Israeli strikes targeting the city of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, according to hospital officials. Israeli troops and vehicles are reportedly still in the area, leaving many Palestinians trapped and pleading for help to be evacuated. The IDF says there's been significant terrorist activity and rocket fire from that area towards Israel, which is why the operation is underway.
Still to come on CNN, after battering Taiwan and the Philippines, Typhoon Gaemi heading towards mainland China. The very latest on the storm's path in a moment.
Also, the not so subtle attempt by Donald Trump to demean and insult his Democratic opponent.
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TRUMP: Kamala. Kamala Harris. Kamala Harris. Kamala.
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VAUSE: At least two people in Taiwan and 13 in the Philippines have been killed as Typhoon Gaemi swept through the region. Forecasters were stunned by Gaemi's unusual path, a loop de loop, which meant the storm made landfall twice on Taiwan. It's now heading for mainland China. And CNN meteorologist Chad forecast has the forecast.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And Taiwan is no stranger to big typhoons hitting the land there. I mean, category four or five hurricanes here, 30 of them since 1950, the equivalent of an Atlantic or a Pacific Cat 4 or Cat 5. But this storm was going to make landfall early yesterday. It decided to make a complete loop still in the water, putting down significantly amounts of rainfall and obviously the wind damage and surge damage as well.
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That happened because of the topography of Taiwan, some spots 4,000 meters high. So when the storm tried to a land -- make landfall here, it said, oh, hold on, let me try this. And then it almost made landfall in the exact same spot. But that 8 hours of delay making the landfall put down so much rain, especially in the higher elevations, some spots even in the south, over 1 meter and it's still raining. And not even close to the eye, people were getting crashed down here in Taipei because of the wind between the buildings, that looked like that hurt.
And then yes, we are going to see more in the way of rainfall for China already coming on land now with that heavy rain but not really the wind. There'll be some wind. I mean we could see 100 kilometers per hour, no question, maybe even gusts a little bit higher than that. But is this is a rain event here for China? Significant amounts of rain, 250 rainfall in places that don't need it, especially to the north where it's already been flooding over the past couple of weeks. We'll have to see where this goes.
VAUSE: That was Chad Forecast Myers. Let's go to CNN's Marc Stewart. I got your name right. You're live in Beijing. So Marc, what's the latest on the forecast here? When do we expect this typhoon to make landfall? What's the expectation in terms of the area which has been soaked by a lot of rain already?
MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, John. As Chad said, a rain event is how it's being described. And it is creating a lot of concern here in China because for weeks we have seen extreme flooding. And although this next round of the storm is not expected to be as intense as we've seen in the past few hours, what has happened in Taiwan and particularly in the Philippines certainly unsettling.
And by the way, I want to start with the Philippines. Let me show you some video that we received over the last few hours from Manila. Many of the streets there are literally covered in water, water that is very deep. In some cases it's almost up to people's necks. And we've seen a lot of pictures of rescues taking place. We've seen rescue boats, those inflatable boats. We've seen rescuers, you know, wearing protective gear because this can be very dicey.
It's not just adults. I mean I saw at least one image of a child being carried to safety. So it is quite unsettling. We've also seen it impact transportation. I saw a picture of at least two buses that were pretty much submerged in the water. This is really disrupting everyday life in the Philippines. Schools have been closed. Government offices have been closed. Airports have had to cancel flights.
We are hearing from the Philippines president, from Ferdinand Marcos Jr., he said on Wednesday he's calling on all national agencies to provide assistance to all those affected by the typhoon. So certainly a mess in the Philippines. I should stress that the typhoon actually didn't make landfall in the Philippines, but it brushed by the coast and it's these bands of wind and rain that are causing all of this damage, proof that the storm at one point was extremely strong.
Also, of course, we can't neglect the damage that we have been seeing in Taiwan. In Taiwan, it's interesting. The mountainous terrain there really helped to bounce the storm away. But in some places of Taiwan, what was predicted to be very minimal impact turned out to be much stronger than thought because the mountains actually moved the path of the storm. And as far as here in China, you know, concern is high.
People's -- people are -- people's concern is elevated because as we have seen in recent weeks, the flooding, particularly in central and southern China, has been extremely severe. John, in China we have seen the flooding resulting in more than $10 billion worth of damage and tens of millions of people have been impacted. So the presence of this typhoon obviously is going to be very attention getting.
VAUSE: Marc, thank you. Marc Stewart live for us in Beijing with the very latest. Appreciate that.
Images have emerged on social media showing three people apparently being assaulted by police at Manchester's Airport in England. A warning, what you're about to see is disturbing. One video shows an officer taser drawn, kicking a man as he lay on the ground and then stomping on his head.
Another officer is seen wrestling a man to the ground and kicking him while being restrained. Police were also seen using pepper spray on yet another man.
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CNN though cannot verify independently verify the condition of the man or the events leading up to or directly after this violence was recorded on video. Three officers were injured in what authorities say was a violent assault. A female officer suffered a broken nose.
In a statement, police called the incident truly shocking and say four men were arrested and they're asking for an independent review of what happened.
With that we'll take a short break. Much more ahead here.
Stay with us. You're watching CNN.
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DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: For three-and-a-half years lying Kamala Harris person has been the ultra-liberal driving force behind every single Biden catastrophe.
She is a radical left lunatic who will destroy our country if she ever gets the chance to get into office. We're not going to let that happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Donald Trump on the campaign trail, his first rally since Kamala Harris became the presumptive Democrat nominee for president. He accused the vice president of being a dangerous radical.
CNN's Kristen Holmes has more now reporting in from CNN in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Former president Donald Trump, wasting no time going after Kamala Harris at that North Carolina rally. At one point calling her lying Kamala Harris, tearing into her record on immigration and really working to paint her as a radical liberal and sometimes as the mastermind behind some of Biden's policy.
Take a listen to just some of what he said.
TRUMP: I was supposed to be nice. They say something happened to me when I got shot, I became nice.
They're very dangerous people. When you're dealing with them, you can't be too nice. You really can't be so. If you don't mind, I'm not going to be nice. Is that ok?
This November, the American people are going to tell her, no thanks, Kamala, you've done a terrible job. You've been terrible and everything you've done your ultra-liberal. We don't want you here. We don't want you anywhere.
Kamala, you're fired. Get out of here.
HOLMES: At one point Trump mocked Harris' attempt to define this race as that between a former prosecutor and a convicted felon saying he doesn't think that people buy that.
Kristen Holmes, CNN -- Charlotte, North Carolina.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Kamala Harris though hitting back taunting Donald Trump where he's -- one of his weak points, abortion rights.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In this moment, I believe we face a choice between two different visions for our nation. One focused on the future, the other focused on the past. And with your support, I am fighting for our nation's future.
[01:34:52]
HARRIS: Donald Trump, former president the handpicked three members of the United States Supreme Court because he intended for them to overturn Roe v Wade, which they did.
Well, let me tell you something. When I am president of the United States and when Congress passes a law to restore those freedoms, I will sign it into law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Kamala Harris likely to be officially the Democrat presidential nominee before the party's convention. Democrats on Wednesday adopted the rules which will be used to choose the presidential nominee with voting expected to begin a week from today.
There's not yet clear leader in this transformed presidential race according to this new CNN poll which finds that Trump holds a 49 percent of support among registered voters with Kamala Harris at 46 percent and that is within the margin of error.
Harris though gaining more support as a candidate than President Joe Biden. 50 percent of those who say they will vote for the vice president are voting for her as opposed to against Donald Trump. Only 37 percent of voters polled in June say they'll voting explicitly in support of Joe Biden.
The U.S. House will set up a bipartisan task force to investigate the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump voting 416 to zero Wednesday to create a task force of Seven Republicans and Six Democrats with the authority to subpoena witnesses, as well as documents. The final report expected early December.
Meantime, FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before Congress Wednesday that the man who fired the shots at Trump, flew a drone around the Pennsylvania rally area just hours before Trump took the stage.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTOPHER WRAY, DIRECTOR, FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: Around 3:50 p.m., 4:00 in that window on the day of the shooting, that the shooter was flying the drone around the area --
REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): Two hours --
WRAY: I want to be clear -- but when I say the area not over the stage and that part of the area itself. I would say about 200 yards -- give or take away --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The FBI director says the investigators believed the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, with watching the live feed from the drone on his phone right before the rally.
Wray also says that a few days before the shooting, Crooks Googled asking "How far away was Oswald from Kennedy?"
Crooks is believed to acted alone and used a rifle, which his father bought legally.
The bigger they are, the harder they fall. And so it was on Wall Street Wednesday as a major sell-off in big tech including Alphabet and Tesla sent the Nasdaq and S&P 500 to their worst daily losses in two years.
Nasdaq fell more than 3.5 percent. S&P, more than 2 percent. The Dow was also down bigly. That was bad (ph).
Almost a week out to the global tech outage, Delta's CEO is promising Thursday will be a normal day with the airline fully recovered. That's lets little consolation though to thousands of passengers whose lives have been upended for days, many of whom are still looking for their luggage.
Delta workers were seen moving unclaimed baggage from the Atlanta airport on Wednesday to an off-site location. They say they'll help with sorting and delivery.
Meanwhile Cloud monitoring and insurance firm Parametrix says the catastrophe will cost Fortune 500 companies more than $5 billion in direct losses.
The health and banking industries were hit the hardest and airlines have lost around $860 million between them.
China and Russia have apparently started conducting joint air patrols near Alaska. North American military officials say U.S. and Canadian fighter jets, intercepted two Russian and to Chinese bombers Wednesday.
They remained in international airspace and were not seen as a threat, but a U.S. Defense official says that was the first time bombers from China and Russia were intercepted while operating side-by-side.
A senior U.S. general recently said China is pushing further into the arctic which he described as a (INAUDIBLE) sign.
Up here next, CNN heads to South Florida and Central America with an organization with a crazy idea to clean up the world's oceans, rivers, coast lines and it's showing some success.
[01:39:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) VAUSE: Plastic pollution is a growing threat to the future of our planet, especially in the ocean where much of the waste ends up harming animals and even our own health.
Today on "Call to Earth", we hit the water with an organization with an ambitious mission to clean up the world's oceans, rivers, and coastlines.
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BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: this is the mouth of Guatemala's Motagua River where it quite literally dumps into the Gulf of Honduras and ultimately the Caribbean Sea.
Topping the list as the country's longest river, it's also one of Central Americas most polluted, a tangible reminder of a much larger global crisis.
ALEX SCHULZE, CO-FOUNDER/CEO, 4OCEAN: It's estimated every 60 seconds, a dump truck full of plastic is entering the ocean.
WEIR: Florida native Alex Schulze first came face-to-face with this issue on a surf trip to Bali with a fellow ocean-loving friend.
SCHULZE: And that's where we saw a crazy amount of plastic pollution on the coastlines.
WEIR: In 2017, they launched 4Ocean, two American surfers with an ambitious and what some called crazy dream to clean up the ocean.
SCHULZE: Most people say what's even the point of even trying, but we believe that each step is a step in the right direction.
WEIR: Cleanup started locally, like in the nearby Florida Keys where Alex and the team worked to protect mangrove estuaries from a constant threat.
TONY ERNST, DIRECTOR OF CLEANUPS, 4OCEAN: These type of derelict fishing gear and ghost nets pose a lot of dangers to the mangroves.
Number one, it's going to inhibit the natural growth of the mangrove and mangroves are important to our coastlines because it's our first line of defense against any extreme or increased weather systems that come through.
WEIR: But these days, a primary focus is put on their two international locations. Bali, Indonesia where the idea was hatched and here in Guatemala where it is the start of rainy season, the time of year when the country's biggest river can grow much bigger.
KEVIN KUHLOW, COUNTRY MANAGER-GUATEMATLA, 4OCEAN: The real Motagua is a huge river and it's such a little country. The water levels can rise and fluctuate even at ten feet overnight and which we experienced that in the last year.
WEIR: It's a staggering amount of plastic that flows through this river each year. According to 4Ocean, more than 18 million kilograms.
To help stem the flow of garbage, they built a containment boom system in 2023 and installed it further upstream. Eventually, the waste gets put into what they call super sacks loaded onto a barge.
KUHLOW: This is our second barge that the Quetzalito team has loaded this month.
WEIR: And brought back to their facility in the seaport town of Puerto Barrios where workers meticulously sorts and weigh everything they've collected.
The highest quality of plastic gets transformed into bracelets, which are sold to help finance their operations, while other materials get made into different products or upcycled into building materials. They've even been able to turn some of the plastic waste into energy.
While the ocean of free plastic is the ultimate goal, there's very much a human element to what they're doing as well.
JOSH LIBERMAN, CREATIVE DIRECTOR, 4OCEAN: It's extremely important that we engage and empower local communities to do these cleanups. In Java, in Bali, in Guatemala. A lot of times these are fishermen, fisherwomen whose livelihoods have been taken away because there's so much plastic in the water.
So what we're doing is we're giving them a new job that enables them to clean their local community, while also making a fair living wage.
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WEIR: Today 4Ocean has collected over 16 million kilograms of waste worldwide, a remarkable achievement born from a crazy idea but a solution they recognize is only a band-aid for now.
SCHULZE: We're trying to drive as much attention as possible to this issue so that we can drive change within the industries to cut down on the amount of plastic that's being consumed and ending up in the ocean in the first place.
We say it a lot that cleaning the ocean alone will not solve the ocean plastic crisis. We have to stop it at the source and turn off the tap.
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VAUSE: Let us know, what you're doing to answer the call with the hashtag #calltoearth.
Back in a moment.
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VAUSE: Forest fires burning in northeastern Spain spurred by the second heat wave of the summer. The Weather Service has (INAUDIBLE) about half of Spain on heat alerts with forecast temperatures, 44 degrees Celsius. That comes as the Copernicus Climate Change Service reports the record for the planet's hottest day was broken again on Monday -- 17.15 degrees Celsius. That's after Sunday's record breaking globally average temperature, which was above last July's record of 17.08 Celsius.
July is typically the hottest month, so there's a few more days to go for that record to be broken one more time.
Leah Stokes, associate professor of the University of California at Santa Barbara. It's good to see you. It's been a while.
LEAH STOKES, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-SANTA BARBARA: Yes, it's always great to see. You almost sounded like breaking those records was a good thing, John.
VAUSE: Go for gold. Yes. I know. Yay, let's break the record. No, bad -- breaking records.
Every month, it seems to bring this new record high temperature, but these numbers though they're different.
And the director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service noted this. "What is truly staggering is, "How large the difference is between the temperature of the last 13 months and the previous temperature records are."
You know, it's not just the record-setting heat, but it's the margins that (ph) those records are being broken which really sent out.
So what are the warning flags there? What does that say? Why should we be truly worried about that?
STOKES: Yes. You know, scientists are saying that we're in uncharted territory, right? When you see 13 months in a row of record-breaking temperatures, I mean, that means that something is happening.
What's happening is that we've been burning fossil fuels, you know, for over a century now. We're putting all that additional heat into the earth's system. And its heating up the planet.
You know, the oceans are getting warmer, the air is getting warmer. And I can't believe it. We break a record for the hottest day on record on Sunday, and then we do it again on Monday.
I mean, these are really big warning signals that the earth is telling us that we have to stop burning fossil fuels.
VAUSE: And that is what we're not doing, although there is some hope that maybe carbon emissions have peaked. But here's the thing. Even if we stopped the carbon emissions, even if they start falling today and the temperature is sort of, you know, we stopped the rise in temperatures, a lot of the climate change factors are baked into the cake. There's nothing we can do about things that have gone past these tipping points, right?
STOKES: Well, that's like saying I have the flu. So why stay in bed to get healthier? I'm already sick anyway.
No, we still have to stop the bleeding, so to speak, stop putting more carbon pollution into the sphere. And that will pay dividends, you know.
Every tenth of a degree of warming matters. You know, every degree matters. Every ton of carbon pollution matters. And so we are beginning to turn the corner and starting to reduce carbon pollution.
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STOKES: Certainly in countries like the United States and there's even some indication that that could be starting to happen, that carbon pollution could be peaking in China. So you know, we do have the potential to really start making progress here.
VAUSE: You know, when we talk about these records being broken. Last year, we kind of passed the buck to El Nino, which is a warming weather pattern. We're now coming into La Nina, which is the cooling phase. So how concerning is it that we're still seeing these new record high temperatures as we come into a cooling phase.
STOKES: Yes, you know, it is concerning the fact is that we continue to burn fossil fuels and that is leading to all these devastating consequences. Forest fires, hurricanes, even in some places like California where we really haven't had them, right. Drought, these heat waves that are killing people. We have to stop burning fossil fuels.
And the good news is that there are governments around the world who are starting to put in policies that will help people get off fossil fuels. Get an electric vehicle, get a heat pump, put solar panels on their roof.
And that's already starting to happen in the United States.
VAUSE: You know, I try to avoid politics, but since you brought up the fact that there are governments around the world which are putting in these policies in place. When we talk about climate change right now, it's impossible to avoid talking about what's happening with the Democrats and the Republicans in this country. Because there is a clear difference in policy when it comes to global warming.
You know, I want you to listen to the presidential nominee Donald Trump speaking last Thursday at the Republican National Convention.
Here he is.
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TRUMP: We will add the ridiculous and actually incredible waste of taxpayer dollars that is fueling the inflation crisis. They've spent trillions of dollars on things having to do with the green new scam. It's a scam.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: Ok. Trump wants to scrap subsidies on electric vehicles and Republicans have this platform of drill-baby-drill. You know, given the seriousness of the crisis we're facing, the outcome of this presidential election will have a very big impact on the future of the planet because those subsidies that they want to scrap, those programs that have been put in place, have made a very real change to the climate crisis.
STOKES: Whoever is in the White House next will be there until 2029. And scientists have told us that we have to cut carbon pollution in half this decade to be, you know, having a fighting chance to stop warming at 1.5 degrees Centigrade. So it really matters.
And yes, exactly. Former President Donald Trump says that he and I quote "wants to be a dictator on day one to drill, drill, drill". The amazing thing is that in the last few days we now have a front runner for the Democrats, Vice President Kamala Harris, who's really a long- time climate and environmental justice champion.
And you know, she's already talking about things like taking on fossil fuel companies, you know. I tell you the excitement from the climate movement right now, it feels like 2008 when Obama was running, honestly.
So it's really an amazing moment right now.
VAUSE: Yes, it's interesting that one of the things that Donald Trump is looking at is taking, you know, hundreds of millions to tell us from the fossil fuel industry in return for, you know, stopping all these subsidies on renewable energy sources.
It just seems like a very odd thing to be doing at this moment in time.
STOKES: Yes, so, you know, there's been reporting that at like Mar-a- Lago, Trump's hotel, that he, you know, he said to the fossil fuel industry if they gave him $1 billion, he would give them a blank check to do whatever they wanted on, you know, climate policy, on energy policy. That we'd just have a fossil fuel bonanza.
You know, that is not how democracy works. Democracy works by people voting and the American people want our government to be active in climate change. That's what poll after poll shows.
I think that this could become a really big wedge issue for the Democrats with such a strong candidate in Vice President Kamala Harris, who has a climate record, you know, going back to 2005 when she was district attorney and set up the first environmental crimes unit. I mean, this -- she has a very long CV, very long record when it comes to climate change.
VAUSE: Leah, get ready for the nasty tweets on social media, brace yourself. Thank you for being with us. Good to see you.
STOKES: Oh, I don't mind it. I'd rather that than the bad weather. The climate is worse. VAUSE: Absolutely. Thank you. See you soon.
An enthusiastic welcome for Palestinian -- I should say -- for Palestinian athletes arriving in Paris ahead of the Olympic opening ceremony Friday.
The Palestinian team consists of six athletes. They'll be competing in boxing, Judo, Taekwondo, shooting, as well as swimming. They're among the more than 10,000 athletes competing at this year's games.
And as the Olympics excitement grows, so does the pressure on the U.S. women's football squad. They're in a rebuilding mode, shooting for gold after coming up short in Tokyo in 2021 and at last year's World Cup.
But as midfielder Rose Lavelle told CNN's Coy Wire, her team is turning that pressure into an asset.
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ROSE LAVELLE, U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM MEMBER: It's exciting. I think we have obviously a lot of new faces, but I think they're all really good and special. They bring something different. And I think they've just like added so much to the group and elevated us.
When you play for the U.S. women's national team like that's like pressure is just kind of there, always. So I think it kind of becomes your new normal and you like learn to live in it and learn to thrive in it.
And I think pressure is not an unfamiliar territory for this team. Pressure is a privilege and we like having those expectations. I'll say expectations we have for ourselves and I know a lot of people have expectations for us, but there's no other place we want to be.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: How would you describe what you and this team are going through right now?
LAVELLE: This team where it's like you experience the highest of highs with them, and also the lowest of lows. But I think you take it all in stride, learn from it all and you come back even stronger than before.
And I kind of feel like that's where we're at now. I think we're going through a little transition period, but I think it's been like incredible and we've grown so much and learned so much. And I think it's going to help push us to where we want to go next.
WIRE: Tell me about your grandma and how she inspires you.
LAVELLE: Oh, I love my grandma so much. She's like the strongest person I know. The most amazing woman ever. She's the mother of 12. So she brought me this -- well, all of us like this huge, great, amazing family and she's just like -- she's just the best woman ever like I'm so inspired by her strength and her humility and her kindness and I just like I feel so like lucky and blessed that she's my grandma.
WIRE: I know you have a child. A fur baby named Wilma.
LAVELLE: Oh my gosh, I was like, I do not have a child.
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WIRE: Tell me about your fur-baby, Wilma.
LAVELLE: She's actually my sister. We got her when I was a senior in high school. She's like literally the cutest thing ever 11-year-old English bulldog. I keep saying she's like such an inspiration because that's really old for a bulldog.
So it's like she's still able to jump on furniture. She still gets the zoomies. She's like really sprightly and fit. And she's just like so cute.
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VAUSE: Yay, Wilma.
Be sure to watch our special one-hour program, "AIMING FOR GOLD", this Friday at 7:00 p.m. Paris time, that's 1:00 p.m. Eastern in the United States.
Thank you for watching. I'm John Vause.
Please stay with us. My friend and colleague, Rosemary Church is up next after a very short break.
See you right back here tomorrow.
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