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Nicolas Maduro Wins Third Term; Israel Strikes Hezbollah Deep Inside Lebanon; Trump and Harris have 99 Days to Go Until Election Day; Paris Olympics 2024 Updates. Locals Outraged: Overtourism Sends Costs Soaring in Europe; U.S., Japan To "Modernize" Military Partnership; Attorney: Client "Forcibly Kidnapped By El Chapo's Son; California's Park Fire Burns 360,000+ Acres, 12 Percent Contained. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired July 29, 2024 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States, around the world and streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead, Israel retaliates with strikes on Hezbollah targets inside Lebanon after a deadly rocket attack, raising fears of further escalation.

Venezuela's authoritarian leader will serve a third consecutive term as the opposition claims election irregularities.

And with just 99 days until the U.S. presidential election, the Harris campaign sees a surge in funding and support.

And we begin with the breaking news from Venezuela, where longtime strongman Nicolas Maduro has been declared the winner of Sunday's election. That is according to the country's National Electoral Council. The government-controlled council reports Maduro won more than 51 per cent of the vote, with more than 80 per cent of the votes counted.

This marks Maduro's third consecutive six-year term. Maduro suggested there would be bloodshed if he lost, but sang a different tune after being declared the winner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICHOLAS MADURO, VENEZULEAN PRESIDENT (through translation): I said it, there was peace before and there was, during and we have it. And there will be peace, stability and justice after the 28th of July, starting from today. Peace, justice, respect of the law and justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The leader of Venezuela's main opposition coalition rejected the council's results, saying their candidate won 70 per cent of the vote. Maduro's main challenger was opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, a soft-spoken former diplomat who the coalition rallied behind after their two preferred candidates were barred from running. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on the electoral authorities to ensure transparency and accountability of the vote counting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We've seen the announcement just a short while ago by the Venezuelan Electoral Commission. We have serious concerns that the result announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people. It's critical that every vote be counted fairly and transparently, that election officials immediately share information with the opposition and independent observers without delay, and that the electoral authorities publish the detailed tabulation of votes. The international community is watching this very closely and will respond accordingly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And we go now to Venezuela where journalist Stefano Pozzebon joins us live from the capital, Caracas. So good to see you. There was, of course, a lot of concern that these would not be free and fair elections and exit polls had the opposition up 30 percent at one point. So what's been the reaction so far to Maduro claiming victory again under these circumstances?

STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: Well, the reaction, Rosemary, has been that deep doubts are being cast over these results. It's not just the opposition who is saying that they did not recognize the results, but even many countries in Latin America, including Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru and Uruguay, have already presented statements or declarations saying that they either do not recognize these results or that they urge the electoral authorities, which we must say are heavily controlled by the government here in Caracas.

They urge them to publish all the data, all the numbers that they have, and to keep this process as transparent as possible. For a little bit of context, in many countries, when you have an election, the electoral authorities present the numbers as they are being counted. You see, normally, we journalists receive several bulletins, hour after hour, or sometimes minute after minute, and we can see, we can follow the scrutiny in real time.

There's none of that in Venezuela. We wait, in this case we waited for more than six hours, to hear from the electoral authorities what they said were the ultimate data.

[02:04:59]

Just one announcement in the middle of the night. And this is why many people here are casting serious doubts over this result, starting from the leader of the Venezuelan opposition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIA CORINA MACHADO, OPPOSITION LEADER (through translation): We want to tell all Venezuelans and to the entire world that Venezuela has a new president-elect, and that is Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia. We won and everyone knows it. Everyone knows it. I want you to know that this was something so overwhelming, so big, that we won in every sector of the country. (END VIDEO CLIP)

POZZEBON: Now, Rosemary, Maria Corina, who is the leader of the opposition, can claim all the victory that she thinks she won, but at the same time, how does she enforce her results when Maduro controls the judiciary, the parliament, and most crucially, the armed forces are still very closely sidelined with the government. I think that the next few hours will be crucial.

It will be interesting to see what the rest of the international community, not just the United States or other countries in Latin America, but big political and diplomatic powerhouses around here, such as Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico, will have to say about this election. And then, one more thing, there is an independent body that has come here with an observation mission to observe and monitor this election.

It's the Carter Center, based in Atlanta. They've sent a team of 17 people to monitor the election and they will hold a presser on Tuesday morning. What they will say will be heavily watched by many countries around the world, by the Venezuelan opposition, and by everybody who cares about this country, to decide and to understand whether this election, which has not been free or fair by any standard, could at least have been called competitive. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Stefano Pozzebon, many thanks for that report, bringing it live from Caracas. Appreciate it. And now to the growing tensions in the Middle East following a deadly rocket attack in the Israeli occupied Golan Heights. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a Security Cabinet meeting on Sunday to discuss the situation. The Cabinet authorized Mr. Netanyahu and his Defense Minister to quote, "decide on the nature of the response against Hezbollah."

Israel has blamed the Lebanese militant group for the strike, which killed 12 children and injured more than 40 people on Saturday. Hezbollah has firmly denied it was behind the attack. Israel's military says it conducted airstrikes against Hezbollah targets deep inside Lebanese territory and along the border overnight Sunday. Lebanon is warning Israel of a regional war if it goes too far.

Meantime, America's top diplomat says the U.S. doesn't want any escalation in the region.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLINKEN: But we also don't want to see the conflict escalate. We don't want to see it spread. That has been one of our goals from day one, from October 7th on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's Jeremy Diamond is on the ground in the occupied Golan Heights. He has this report. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-Over): Sirens pierce the serenity of this town in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. And in an instant, this explosion will shatter the very soul of the Druze community that lives here. As residents and first responders rush to the scene, the horror of this strike becomes clear.

Soccer field, children's bikes, pools of blood between them. Twelve children, the youngest just 10 years old, torn from this life. It is the deadliest attack on civilians in Israel or Israeli-controlled territory since October 7th, according to Israeli officials. Israel says Hezbollah, which has frequently targeted the Golan Heights before, is behind the attack. Hezbollah denies responsibility.

(On camera): It was 6:00 p.m. on a hot summer evening. Dozens of children were playing on this soccer field right behind me when suddenly sirens rang out. Seconds later, a rocket made impact just right here, where in its place now stands this black flag of mourning. But one of the most devastating parts of all of this, as you see this scene frozen in time, is the fact that right behind us was safety, a bomb shelter, but there simply was not enough time for these children to get inside.

(Voice-over): Taymor Wili was looking out his window when the rocket struck and rushed to the scene. We found him that night, hours later, still trying to make sense of it all.

TAYMOR WILI, WITNESSED ROCKET STRIKE: Well, at first, I saw the injured children running around. I saw blood. They didn't respond to us. They were panicking. I saw a lot of guys gathering here. Most of them didn't go down.

[02:10:01]

I went down here and I saw a lot of things that are way too gruesome to mention, out of respect for the families. And we tried to help, but it was beyond our help. There's nothing we can do.

DIAMOND (voice-over): In Majdal Shams, mourning is all that remains. Thousands gathered here to pay their final respects. The sight of each casket brings with it another wave of cries and wails, as nightmares turn into crushing reality, where photos of smiling children, like 11- year-old Alma (ph), can only mean one thing.

AYMAN FAKHR EL-DIN, DAUGHTER KILLED IN ATTACK (through translation): I reached the stadium and, in the corner, I saw dead bodies and body parts. When I got closer to one of them, I saw a bracelet. I knew it was Alma (ph).

DIAMOND (voice-over): Ayman Fakhr El-Din is only just beginning to process the loss of his only daughter.

(On camera): She liked soccer, huh?

EL-DIN: Yeah. Like sport, all sport, and basketball. DIAMOND: And she played. She was good? Yeah?

EL-DIN: Yeah, good. Yeah.

Alma (ph) is a child filled with energy. She loved life. She was special in school and in athletics.

DIAMOND (voice-over): He now calls on his son, Rayan, (ph) for comfort. But Rayan's (ph) grief is all too fresh.

(On camera): Rayan, what do you remember about your sister? What do you want people to know about your sister?

RAYAN (through translation): Everything about her was lovely.

DIAMOND (voice-over): She liked to play, just like any other kid. In the end, we have a room without Alma (ph).

(On camera): And it is not just the Israeli government that says that Hezbollah was responsible for this awful rocket attack. It is also at least one of the fathers of the 12 victims. That man, Ayman, the father of 11-year-old Alma, says that there is not a doubt in his mind that Hezbollah was responsible for this. He said that they killed my daughter. He said it was Hezbollah, for sure. My enemy is Hezbollah. I say it openly. Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Majdal Shams, Golan Heights.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And it has been a deadly weekend in Gaza. Palestinian officials say at least 19 civilians, including children, have died in Israeli attacks on Sunday alone. At least 10 people were killed in Khan Yunis when an Israeli airstrike struck a house. Gaza's civil defense says four people died when an airstrike hit tents in al- Mawasi.

The Israeli military has designated that area humanitarian zone and had just ordered some 29,000 people to evacuate there. One woman describes the agonizing process of moving constantly with no assurance of safety.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SADIQA KHALIL, DISPLACED PALESTINIAN: My back hurts. I can't walk. I'm barely walking. I can't count how many times I have been displaced. I went to the school, back to my home. Then my husband died. And I went to my daughter. Then I went to the hospital.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says the recurrent displacement of civilians is depriving them of, quote, "dignified survival." According to UNRWA, only 14 per cent of Gaza is not under Israeli evacuation orders.

We are now less than 100 days away from the 2024 U.S. presidential election and it's hard to believe it's only been one week since U.S. President Joe Biden exited the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who moved quickly to consolidate support from the Democratic Party. Both Harris and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump took a break from the campaign trail on Sunday and instead let their allies' stump for them.

But the Harris campaign did announce in a memo that it has raised $200 million just since last Sunday. It says 66 per cent of those donations are coming from small first-time donors. And according to a new ABC News Ipsos poll, the vice president's favorability rating has gone up eight points since last week, while Trump has seen his rating slip by four points. CNN's Jeff Zeleny has the latest on this race from the battleground state of Michigan.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris heading into a phase of their campaign now with fewer than 100 days to go before Election Day.

[02:15:01]

A very busy weekend of campaigning here in Michigan and in battleground states across the country. The former president campaigning in Minnesota, trying to bring that state back into play. Of course, President Biden carried it quite comfortably, but Donald Trump lost it narrowly back in 2016. It's seen as the reddest blue state in the country, if you will. So many different polls are showing that Vice President Harris is doing much better than President Biden.

Now, of course, this race is still too close to call nationally and in battleground states across the country, but she is showing gains among younger voters and voters of color. Now, the race to define Vice President Harris is on aggressively. The Republicans are trying to do that through campaign ads, branding her as a San Francisco liberal in their words. J.D. Vance, the Ohio senator and the Republican vice- presidential candidate going after her aggressively this weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, REPUBLICAN VICE-PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The people are going to learn her record. They're going to learn that she's a radical. They're going to learn that she's basically a San Francisco liberal who wants to take San Francisco policies to the entire country. And I don't think it's going to sell in Minnesota. I don't think it's going to sell anywhere else. So, as we tell the message and as we talk about how President Trump has made people's lives better and can do it again, I think we're going to turn Minnesota red and a lot of other states as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: But speaking of running mates, Vice President Harris is looking for one of her own. She's entering the final days of making that choice. She's considering Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and even Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Vice President Harris has relationships with most of these potential candidates, but the question is who can be a governing partner?

Her vetting team is looking through the backgrounds of all of these candidates and she, of course, I'm told, will begin weighing in with interviews. She hopes to have a decision by August 7th. That, of course, will frame this race. Harris and whoever she chooses against Trump and J.D. Vance going into the final three months of this campaign, clearly too close to call. This election, already one for the history books, could be headed there in November. Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Detroit.

CHURCH: Still to come, French swimmer Leon Marchand breaks an Olympic record held by American Michael Phelps. That and more highlights from Paris just ahead.

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[02:20:00]

CHURCH: Japan is now leading the gold medal count after an exciting weekend of tough competition in Paris. Australia is a close second, both countries with four golds. But Japan has the edge with an extra bronze. The U.S. holds the third spot with three gold wins and 12 medals total. France and South Korea round out the top five. And CNN's Corey Wire takes a look at some of the highlights from Sunday, including the long-awaited return of Olympic superstar Simone Biles.

COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORT: It was a Sunday fun day at the women's gymnastics team qualifier. Celebrities from Tom Cruise to John Legend to Lady Gaga in the house, all to witness the GOAT in Paris. Simone Biles in her third Olympic Games. But during her warm-ups, she injured herself. She was limping. The arena got quiet. But Simone rises up, tapes up her ankle, rallies and dominates.

Her coach told media that it's a lingering calf injury. But Biles dug deep for an iconic performance. The team qualified for the final four of the five U.S. gymnasts, qualified for individual events led by Biles in four of them. So she will have a shot at five more medals here in Paris.

France's Leon Marchand has broken Michael Phelps' Olympic record, crushing the field in the 400-meter individual medley. The host nation's speedboat left his competition in the whitewater, finishing a mile ahead of the pack. Marchand had already beaten Phelps' world record. The host nation's fans made the atmosphere in the arena absolutely electric.

And a shocker in the pool, Team USA's world and Olympic record holder in the 100-meter butterfly, Gretchen Walsh, in her first ever games, getting caught down the stretch by teammate Tori Husk. The U.S. finishing 1-2 with 21-year-old Husk, who missed the podium in Tokyo, becoming an Olympic champion.

LeBron James and Team USA pulling away in the fourth quarter in their opener to dominate Nikola Jokic in Serbia for their first win of these Olympics. LeBron finishing with 21 points. But U.S. all-time leading scorer Kevin Durant came off the bench for his first game with the team and lit it up to the tune of 23 points. Final score 110-84. And the U.S. will play South Sudan next on Wednesday.

Finally, these are not high school yearbook photos. This teenage trio has swept the women's skateboarding street medals at these Games. Japan's 14-year-old phenom Koko Yoshizawa taking the gold and 15-year- old teammate Liz Akama winning silver as 16-year-old Raisa Leal from Brazil takes the bronze and Olympic medal, and they can't even drive yet. The IOC said they wanted younger fans to watch the Games.

The U.S. said, oh, we're not just watching, we're competing and we're winning all the medals. Thank you very much. What an awesome Sunday Funday for the Olympics here in Paris.

CHURCH: And still to come, some flights to Beirut are cancelled as fears grow in Israeli retaliation for a rocket attack in the occupied Golan Heights. I'll speak to a Middle East expert on the escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:25:00]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, more now on one of our top stories. Lebanon says it has received international assurances that Israel's response to the deadly attack in the occupied Golan Heights will be limited. Israel vowed Hezbollah will pay the price after blaming the Lebanese militant group for a rocket attack which killed 12 children and injured more than 40 people on Saturday. Hezbollah has denied responsibility.

Meanwhile, Israel's military says it conducted airstrikes against Hezbollah targets deep inside Lebanese territory and along the border overnight Sunday. Several international flights to Beirut were delayed or cancelled amid fears the conflict could escalate.

Joining me now from London is Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House. Appreciate you joining us.

SANAM VAKIL, DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA PROGRAMME, CHATHAM HOUSE: Good morning.

CHURCH: So the big fear right now is that Israel's response to the Golan Heights attack could trigger a wider conflict despite this international assurance we're hearing now of a limited response. But how likely is it that we would see this wider escalation, do you think?

VAKIL: Well, Rosemary, this war in Gaza has been going on for nine months and we are at a moment that everyone has been very fearful of.

[02:29:57]

Hezbollah's attack, which has been the most deadly since Hamas's October 7th attack, is a moment that could risk this wider regional war. And let me explain briefly why, Hezbollah, which sits on Israel's border and is very provocation all and has threatened Israel security as well. It's now, of course, expecting an Israeli response. For Israel, addressing its security in the aftermath of October 7 is

paramount. And this opens the door and offers an opportunity for Israel to try and push Hezbollah as far back away from -- from its borders. There have been behind the scenes negotiations for many months now to arrive at a deal.

But that deal has been held hostage and is dependent on obtaining a Gaza ceasefire deal. And that those Gaza as ceasefire talks are also underway right now in Rome. We've been waiting for many months for those negotiations to come to an end, and we're not there yet. So we're in a moment of fragility.

How hard Israel hits Hezbollah or how calibrated Israel's targeting of Hezbollah will be the decisive factor in whether Hezbollah can climb down, or how is Hezbollah counter response towards Israel?

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: And Lebanon is warning of a wider regional war involving multiple militia groups from the region if Israel goes too far with its retaliatory strikes. What would that look like if many militia groups got involved?

VAKIL: Well, we have seen bits of this since October 7, the axis of resistance, the militia groups, proxies see groups across the region that are aligned with Iran and have overtime received financial and training support from Iran, has been coordinating attacks on the U.S. and Israel and the choreography -- the choreography of those attacks are designed to pressure the U.S. and Israel and to help Hamas simultaneously.

If broader war breaks out, that alignment will be much more coordinated. You'll see attacks coming from Syria. You'll be seeing attacks coming from groups in Iraq at the same time. And let's not forget that the Houthis in Yemen just last week sent a drone that hit Tel Aviv near the U.S. embassy, and in return, the Israelis responded to that. We are not yet in that formal big regional war, but some have argued that we are in a different sort of regional war. We're just not calling it that.

CHURCH: (INAUDIBLE) as we've been reporting, Israel has already struck deep inside Lebanon in response to this deadly rocket attack in the Golan heights. So what more of a response would you expect to -- from Israel?

VAKIL: Well, I would expect that Israel certainly will hit more targets in Lebanon, but will also brought in and target Syria, as well where there are Iran backed militia groups, Iran has long supported Bashar al Assad there and so this is an opportunity to try to degrade Hezbollah and militia groups in Syria simultaneously.

CHURCH: Sanam Vakil, many thanks for joining us. Appreciate it.

VAKIL: Thank you.

Well, for some, it is a holiday. For others, it's home in some of Europe's renown travel hotspots. It's a whole topic right now. Are they simply too many tourists to handle? We'll take a look. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:37:09]

CHURCH: Taylor Swift fans took tailgating or Taylor-gating as its become known to the next level in Munich, Germany. Police estimate 40,000 people camped outside the open roofs stadium to see and hear Swift Saturday performance for free. That's in addition to the 75,000 fans who had tickets for the show. Swift is on the European leg of her Eras Tour. After two nights in Munich, she's heading to the Polish capital of Warsaw for three concerts.

Well, Europe, of course, is known for some of the world's most beautiful and beloved travel destinations. But in some cities, the locals have had enough. They're tired of rolling out the welcome mat for tons of tourists. And some say over-tourism is pricing many locals out of the places they call home.

CNN's Michael Holmes has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPNDENT (voice-over): Sunset on Greece's Santorini island, the view of the sky sinking into the ocean, stunning, but it's the reverse angle of the famed cliff-side terraces that's not so Instagram friendly, and that's drawing a lot of attention.

During tourist season, crowds clogged the winding paths to watch the sun go down some locals worry it's too much for the island.

KOSTAS SAKAVARAS, SANTORINI TOURIST GUIDE: The arrival of big numbers of people put a series of strain on local infrastructure. Our roads were never designed for this many thousands of people. Our narrow cobblestone streets were not designed for this either.

HOLMES: Nearly 3.5 million tourists visited Santorini last year, an overwhelming number compared to the islands, 20,000 permanent residents. And to combat the wear and tear from such a high amount of foot traffic, Greece's prime minister says he's considering limiting the amount of cruise ship visitors to the country's most popular islands.

And Santorini's mayor is proposing capping arrivals to just 8,000 a day, down from 17,000.

Calls to rein in the number of tourists and the inflated costs that often come with them are growing in many European vacation hotspots as local say they're being priced out of living in their own cities. In Barcelona, a group of protesters recently sprayed tourists with water pistols, which was quickly denounced by Spain's tourism minister, who says Spain welcomes its guests, but admits more regulations are needed.

JORDI HEREU, SPANISH TOURISM MINISTER (through translator): We all have the great challenge of governing tourism. Tourism is a great phenomenon that has a thousand positive consequences, but it must be governed.

HOLMES: Barcelona's mayor says he will bar short-term apartment rentals to tourists by 2028, in an attempt to reduce rents, which he says, have increased by nearly 70 percent over the past decade.

[02:40:10]

But anger has been growing in many Spanish holiday destinations, especially in recent months in places like Mallorca and the Canary Islands where there have been mass protest against what locals say is an unsustainable to risk model that enriches only a few.

ALBERT ARTIAGA, MAJORCA RESIDENT (through translator): We can't go to the beaches that we always went to his children. And we find that were retreating inland, giving up the better places that the island offers to people from outside. It's not the fault of tourism. It's the fault of those who run it, the government, the hotel owners in the people in power.

HOLMES: Venice has grappled with over-tourism for years he is, but says that it's had some success with a temporary entrance fee for day trippers, which brought in more than $2.6 million to the city, over 29 peak days between April and July. But officials say they'll need to study the data further to see if it's a long term solution to cutting down on overcrowding.

Michael Holmes, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And thanks for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church.

For our international viewers, "WORLD SPORT" is coming up next. And for those of you here in the United States and in Canada, I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment.

Do stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:45:36]

CHURCH: A warm welcome back to our viewers in North America. I'm Rosemary Church.

The U.S. is overhauling its military partnership with Japan as the two countries work to counter China's influence in the Asia-Pacific region. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with their Chinese counterparts in Tokyo announcing a new plan to modernize the U.S. force presence in Japan with expanded operations.

Blinken also says the U.S.-Japanese relationship will remain steadfast no matter who wins the presidential election in November.

Blinken and Austin will soon head to the Philippines to meet with leaders there.

And Hanako Montgomery joins us now from Tokyo.

Hanako, with some Asian nations concerned about the level of U.S. commitment to allies in the region and like Japan, how critical of these meetings that again, to take place.

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, these meetings are very critical because the (AUDIO GAP) all in on Asia, despite the looming uncertainty of the U.S. presidential election and the foreign policy that could come with a new head of state.

Over the weekend, one of the biggest announcements we saw was the United States deciding to massively reconfigure its military here in Japan. Essentially, the U.S. forces in Japan would be reconstituted as a joint force headquarters. When now what that really means is that the U.S. and Japan (AUDIO GAP) interoperability and cooperation when dealing with any regional security threats, especially in the Indo- Pacific region.

Now the U.S. secretary of defense, Lloyd Austin described this upgrade as the most significant improvement to military ties in 70 years. The U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken also praised the U.S.-Japan alliance especially believe when it comes to the U.S.'s foreign policy. Here's what Blinken had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: For 70 years, the United States Japan alliance has been the cornerstone for peace, for stability in the Indo-Pacific and now beyond, and its helping make our own people more free, more secure, more prosperous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MONTGOMERY: Now, this massive reconfiguration also comes after the Japanese prime minister made an official visit to Washington back in April and really further cements Japans role and its importance in Washington's regional security strategy.

It's allowed the United States to improve its ties with other Asian allies in the region, as we saw with the Quad meeting today. This meeting was held between foreign ministers of India, of Australia, Japan, and the United States.

Now, one really interesting thing to note about this Quad meeting and also the other meetings we saw over the weekend, which just how many times China, whether directly or indirectly as mentioned in the joint statement between the Quad ministers, they describe being very gravely concerned about Chinas increasing military assertiveness in the Indo- Pacific region, especially in the South China Sea.

Now, these four countries also agreed to bolster maritime security to address those concerns. Now, for Asian allies as though, this isn't the only concern that they have to worry about. There's also the looming U.S. presidential election. Former U.S. President Donald Trump has freed, has previously talked

about withdrawing U.S. troops from Asia, and as questioned the cost of these Asian allies. So that's really stoked some concern among some of these Asian countries. But as we saw over the weekend and through different meetings, the U.S. Secretary of State Blinken has assuaged that fear by saying that the U.S. is still steadfast in its commitment to the Asian allies into this region, and no matter the outcome of the U.S. presidential election, will work to improve and develop these relationships -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: Hanako Montgomery, many thanks, joining us live from Tokyo with that report.

The attorney for an alleged Mexican drug lord who was apparently tricked into being captured by U.S. authorities last week claims his client was a victim of a kidnapping.

Our Rafael Romo has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The attorney for Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, the alleged co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel, says his client neither surrendered nor negotiated any terms with the U.S. government, but was instead kidnapped.

[02:50:04]

I spoke earlier on the phone with Frank Perez, Zambada's U.S. attorney. He told me his 76-year-old client was kidnapped by Joaquin Guzman Lopez, son of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the other co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel.

Joaquin Guzman Lopez forcibly kidnap to my client. He was ambushed, thrown to the ground, and handcuffed by six men in military uniforms, and Joaquin. His legs were tied and a Black bag, was placed over his head, Perez said, in a statement sent to CNN.

He was then thrown into the back of a pickup truck and taken to a landing strip there he was forced onto a plane. His legs tied to the seat by Joaquin and brought to the U.S. against his will. The only people on the plane where the pilot, Joaquin, and my client, Perez added.

U.S. law enforcement officials had previously told CNN that Joaquin Guzman Lopez had duped Zambada and orchestrated their arrest by making him believe they were flying to northern Mexico to look at real estate. Instead, the official said, there are small private plane landed north of the border near El Paso, Texas, where U.S. authorities were waiting on the tarmac.

Former D.A. agent Jack Riley told CNN that Zambada managed to elude law enforcement for decades.

JACK RILEY, FORMER DEA AGENT: There's some speculation that Mayo Zambada may have been in the process of trying to negotiate a surrender. I see that highly unlikely, giving -- given nowhere but he was in the organization. But this is a tremendous blow to Sinaloa. And I think it's important to understand that this guy has been around, Mayo Zambada has been around for 40 years. That's really unheard of for someone in his position.

CNN learned Saturday that whatever action the U.S. might have taken to arrest Zambada and Guzman Lopez prompted a furious behind the scenes reaction from the Mexican government, a U.S. official familiar with the operation said, Mexican officials are demanding senior us law enforcement explain exactly what transpired then their own country.

Meanwhile, Guzman Lopez is expected to appear in federal court Tuesday in Chicago. His attorney told CNN but declined further comment.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Canadian officials say it was a good weekend for fighting fires after significant amounts of rain helped firefighters make progress against 135 wildfires burning in Alberta. More than 30 of those are considered out of control, like the one that destroyed more than one-third of the town of Jasper. Canada's parks agency says the fire burning in Jasper National Park is the largest one in more than 100 years in the area.

Meantime, in the U.S., the Park Fire in northern California has now burned an area larger than New York City. Only 12 percent of the fire has been contained so far.

But as CNN's Camila Bernal reports, they are optimistic about their progress.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Thousands and thousands of acres look a lot like what you see here behind me. So much destruction caused by this fire. And what fire officials are telling me is that the center of the fire is still very active. It's still in very steep terrain where it is difficult to access, but there are two things that have helped this weekend. One, lower temperatures and the second is resources.

When it comes to lower temperatures, it is still hot, but the lower temperatures also caused higher humidity. And that has been very helpful.

And then the other thing is boots on the ground. We now know that about 4,000 firefighters fighters are here battling this fire and it's been giving them the opportunity to make assessments, to go to areas like where I am now and thankfully they say now that the number of structures destroyed has gone down to 66 after these assessments. The other thing that they say they were able to do is a direct and aggressive attack on the flames and that's what has brought the percentage of containment up over the last couple of days. It is the first time that we're hearing sort of optimism from

firefighters who now say they are making progress there, saying that the priority is to get people back into their homes. They say they're very sensitive specifically, two people of this county because they already went through the deadliest fire in California history back in 2018. So they know what it's like for these people who were struggling and who are remembering what they went through in 2018.

Anecdotally, I can say that people are taking evacuation orders and warnings more seriously because of what they lived through. So, the bottom line is that firefighters are working around the clock doing everything they can. They're optimistic about this our grass. But there's still a lot of work to be done here as thousands and thousands of acres in this area continue to burn.

Camila Bernal, CNN, Butte County, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar has more on the Park Fire, along with a look at flooding expected across parts of the U.S. this week.

[02:55:08]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yet more than 90 active wildfires still ongoing in the western half of the U.S. and the one that all of those eyes are on is certainly the park fire here in California. And the main reason for this is just how much it has burned in a very short period of time, still over 350,000 acres just since late Wednesday.

When you do the math, that roughly equates to about 50 football fields on average, every single minute. So that really goes to show you how quickly it spread. But it's not just the flames, it's also the smoke. You have a lot of states under air quality alerts just because of how thick that smoke is unlikely to cause some problems, especially for folks that already maybe have respiratory conditions or illnesses.

Now one other thing to note, we got brie reprieve over the weekend in terms of temperatures that helped firefighters out a little bit able to bring those containment numbers up by a little bit, but it will be short-lived. Notice Sacramento here, those temperatures get right back up into the mid to upper 90s and even triple digits by the time we get to the end of the week.

Now in the eastern half of the country, the bigger concern here is actually flooding and this threat stretches from Minnesota all the way down through Florida as we head at least to the early morning hours of Monday. Now, once we get into the back half of the day, Monday and especially into the evening. The focus really becomes homes areas of the southeast and Ohio valley. So places like Cincinnati, Knoxville, Charlotte, even down through Atlanta and even towards Orlando and Tampa. The thing here is that it's been so much rain over the last two weeks. Now we're adding more rain on top of it. Most of these areas likely only to pick up about an extra one to three inches, but it's on top of four to eight inches that many of these areas have seen in just the last two weeks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And finally, a California rescue crew pulled off a daring operation to save a Rottweiler and her four puppies. The owner of the dogs had to leave them behind after the vehicle they were traveling in broke down, but once the Butte County sheriff's office learned its location, they landed as close as they could to save the dogs. Officials say a rescuer walked nearly two miles to find the dogs who were tired and thirsty. The puppies and their mother are being kept in a nearby shelter until they can be reunited with their owner.

I want to thank you so much for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment.

Do stay with us.