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Protests Erupt After Maduro Declared Election Winner; Netanyahu Vows "Severe" Response to Golan Heights Attack; Biden Calls for Supreme Court Reforms Including Term Limits. Biden Calls for Supreme Court Reforms, Including Term Limits; Two Children Dead, Nine Injured in Knife Attack in England; Blinken, Austin Hold High-Level Talks in Philippines; Kim Jong-un's Daughter Training to Lead in North Korea. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired July 30, 2024 - 00:00   ET

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

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICOLAS MADURO, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT (through translator): -- bloodshed in Venezuela.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Not so fast, El Presidente elect. A day after Nicolas Maduro wins a rigged election, anti- government protests erupt across the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Our response will come and it will be harsh.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The goldilocks dilemma for Israel. How to respond to a weekend rocket attack, strong enough for deterrence without sparking an all- out war with Hezbollah.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The elementary age girl is being groomed as the next North Korean leader.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Take your daughter to workday, North Korea style. How Kim Jung- un plans to hand over the family business to a fourth generation.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE: Angry protests have erupted across Venezuela just hours after Nicolas Maduro was formally declared winner of the presidential election and a third term in office. A vote which by most accounts appears to be rigged. Protesters have been blocking roads, chanting fraud and toppling a statue of the late leader Hugo Chavez. Maduro warned Monday night the government knows how to, in his words, defeat those who are violent.

Along with most Venezuelans, the U.S. and regional leaders have also questioned the legitimacy of the election with the Maduro government refusing calls to release tally sheets and other voting data. The Council of the Organization of American States plans to meet Wednesday at the urgent request of nine Latin American countries. And in the past 24 hours Venezuela has withdrawn diplomats from seven countries in tit-for-tat expulsions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIA CORINA MACHADO, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER (through translator): We're with all Venezuelans. It's a miracle. It's a miracle. Today I want to tell all Venezuelans, both inside and outside the country, all believers in democracy around the world, that we now have the means to prove truth of what happened yesterday in Venezuela.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And that was vetted by opposition leader basically telling their own candidate was the winner of that weekend vote and they have the proof to show it.

Journalist Stefano Pozzebon is following all these developments, and he reports it now from Caracas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: Protests have erupted in the city center of Caracas less than 24 hours after the government-controlled electoral authority proclaimed Nicolas Maduro as the winner of last Sunday's presidential election, an election whose results where disputed by many countries in the region. And as you can see, those results have triggered widespread anger in the city of Caracas.

Nobody has called for these protests to be organized, but these people have taken to the streets by themselves. About 50 meter from where I am, you can see the teargas at the bottom of these roads, of these avenues, because there are intense clashes with forces of the government security forces of Nicolas Maduro. You can see there a semi-armored vehicle. I can see that from the bottom.

People around me are shouting on a microphone that they want freedom, and that they won't leave the streets until Nicolas Maduro is ousted.

(Voice-over): On the other hand, the government of Nicolas Maduro has proceeded by claiming the legitimacy of that election. Maduro was formally proclaimed the winner on Monday morning by the electoral authorities and shortly before that, the attorney general had this to say to anybody who wished to think that they could protest these results.

TAREK SAAB, VENEZUELAN ATTORNEY GENERAL (through translator): Acts of violence and calls to ignore the official results can be framed in the crimes of public instigation, obstruction of public roads, resistance to authorities, and incitement to hatred, with a sentence of 10 to 20 years.

POZZEBON: That announcement was made on national television here in Venezuela, and it's just a measure of how tense the situation is right now in Caracas as there are very many moving pieces in the chessboard between Venezuelan government, the opposition, and many countries around the world from Brazil to Chile, Peru and the United States, all urging electoral authorities to release all the data from that controversial and contested election.

The opposition, just as a reminder, claimed to have won that election with almost 70 percent of the vote, while the government-controlled electoral authority gave the victory to Nicolas Maduro with 51 percent of the vote.

For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Caracas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Benjamin Gedan is the director of the Latin American Program at the Wilson Center. He's also the former South American director for the White House National Security Council.

Thank you for being with us.

BENJAMIN GEDAN, DIRECTOR, LATIN AMERICA PROGRAM, WILSON CENTER: My pleasure.

VAUSE: So as the so-called President-elect Nicolas Maduro formally claimed what appears to be very much a fraudulent win, the opposition leader Maria Corina Machado declared that Edmundo Gonzalez, the opposition candidate, is actually in fact the real winner. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MACHADO (through translator): 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 want in every sector of the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And the Gonzalez campaign says it has proof to back up that claim. Notably the tally sheets from the weekend vote. At this point, though, could they have every single paper ballot cast in the election verified and signed by each individual voter and it still wouldn't have much impact on Maduro? He went to a lot of trouble to rig the election. It seems unlikely that he'll stand down because there's something like evidence of wrongdoing.

GEDAN: Well, look, it's a dictatorship. That's not a democratic political system, and so fundamentally, Nicolas Maduro and his henchmen can do whatever they please. But I wouldn't say it's irrelevant. I think, as this evidence accumulates, the views of the Venezuelan people and the international community can be reshaped in a way that would put quite a bit of pressure on the government.

VAUSE: Well, the German foreign minister zeroed in on why this rigged election in Venezuela seems different from previous rigged elections in Venezuela. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNALENA BAERBOCK, GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): Many people in Venezuela had hoped that they would finally be able to vote freely, that they would finally be able to take a step towards democracy again, not only were they bitterly disappointed, but no major international election observers were allowed in. And so it is a bad day for the people of Venezuela. We had hoped for democracy. It has obviously failed again with this election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: There was a real effort by a united opposition for a democratic change of government. Tens of, or hundreds of thousands of people, you know, voted -- lined up for hours rather simply to vote. People don't do that to support the status quo. So it's change through the ballot box not possible in Venezuela?

GEDAN: I actually think this rigged election was quite different from the last rigged election. The last time around the opposition was divided, fundamentally opted to boycott the whole process. That was six years ago. This time around, you had a united opposition, massive opposition turnout, and even low turnout in districts that traditionally are strongholds of the ruling party.

I think we learned a lot about public opinion in Venezuela, not only from pre-election polls, which showed overwhelming support for change, but also from the performance of voters the day of the election, even if we don't have all the evidence of who turned out and for whom they voted.

VAUSE: So just sum that up, what do we actually learn after the weekend vote?

GEDAN: There was great hope stirred up in Venezuela for the first time in many, many years. This political movement has governed Venezuela for 25 years. This president has been in charge for over a decade. And I think many Venezuelans before the last election campaign had really given up hope of any political change and now emotions have been stirred up. We're seeing protests after the announcement of the fraudulent results from the government. And we're seeing quite a bit of pressure regionally and domestically for political change.

I don't think this story is over, even though the voting has concluded and the fraudulent results have been announced.

VAUSE: It was interesting, though, congratulations for Nicolas Maduro from countries like Russia, as well as from Cuba, and also from Beijing. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIN JIAN, SPOKESPERSON, CHINESE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS (through translator): China congratulates Venezuela for smoothly holding the presidential election and congratulates President Nicolas Maduro for his reelection. China and Venezuela are good friends and partners supporting each other.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: It seems to say a lot when the only congratulations on the outcome of your so-called free and fair democratic election are coming from countries which do not have free and fair democratic elections. So where does this now leave Venezuela internationally?

GEDAN: Yes, so I wouldn't exaggerate the isolation of Venezuela. It is a pariah state in the Americas, certainly it has no partners any longer in Europe. These aren't small partners, though, that remain. They're authoritarian states, but Russia and China historically have provided critical support for Venezuela at critical moments. But you're absolutely right to suggest that Venezuela very much stands alone right now, certainly in the Western hemisphere.

Even former leftist allies like the president of Brazil, the president of Colombia, have begun distancing themselves from Venezuela and insisting upon some sort of transparency in the counting of votes. So I think this has really damaged Venezuela's standing even again among typically allied countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

VAUSE: Benjamin Gedan, thanks so much for being with us. Really appreciate your time as well as your insights, sir. Thank you.

GEDAN: Thanks for the invitation.

VAUSE: The Israeli prime minister continues to weigh its options on how best to respond to a deadly rocket attack, which killed a dozen Israeli children over the weekend. Israel has blamed the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah for the rocket strike on the Israeli occupied Golan Heights.

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Benjamin Netanyahu is now warning it will be a severe response. He conveyed that warning on Monday as he visited the site of the attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NETANYAHU (through translator): Hezbollah, backed by Iran, fired an Iranian missile that took the lives of 12 pure souls. 12 children that were playing soccer here and unfortunately couldn't make it to the bomb shelter. Our heart is torn by the heavy disaster. We embrace the families that are going through an indescribable suffering. These are our children, the children of all of us, and the state of Israel will not and cannot ignore this. Our response will come and it will be harsh. (END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke with his U.S. counterpart Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Monday, hold Hezbollah responsible for the attack, which also left 40 people injured. Hezbollah, though, is denying responsibility. Meantime, Iran warning Israel any attack on Lebanon and Hezbollah could backfire and have severe consequences.

And U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Israeli President Isaac Hertzog Monday, stressing the need for a diplomatic solution to prevent any further escalation in the conflict with Hezbollah.

CNN's Ben Wedeman has extensive experience covering the region. He has more now reporting in from Beirut.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Lebanon awaits Israel's next move, hope lives on that somehow a major escalation can be avoided. Lebanon's caretaker foreign minister Abdallah Bou Habib told me that through diplomatic contexts, the government has received assurances that the Israeli response to the deadly strike on the Golan Heights will be limited.

He said the government's interpretation is that Beirut and its airport will be spared and specifically Beirut's southern suburb, where many of Hezbollah's leaders are believed to be based. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has in the past declared strikes on any of those locations will be met with an equal response against similar targets in Israel.

Skyrocketing tensions are sending jitters through the country with the United States, Germany, and Italy, among others, urging their nationals to leave while flights out are still available. The U.S. adding that if Americans remain in Lebanon, they should be prepared to shelter in place for a long period of time.

Despite all this life goes on in Lebanon. Hundreds of thousands of relatively prosperous Lebanese from the vast diaspora have returned home for the summer, determined to enjoy their time with friends and family despite the specter of war.

I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: H.A. Hellyer is an academic and author, as well as nonresident senior fellow for the Middle East at the Atlantic Council.

Thank you for being with us. We appreciate your time. So Israel's most important ally, the United States, is among the countries working to try and prevent this conflict from escalating into a regional war. I want you to listen to John Kirby, spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council. Here he is. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS ADVISER: Look, Israel has every right to respond. It's Hezbollah that started firing on Israel way back in October. And I think we need to keep that in mind, but nobody wants a broader war and I'm confident that we'll be able to avoid such an outcome.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Again, that's not entirely true. Israel and Hezbollah have actually been trading cross-border fires since 2006. It just ticked up after the Hamas attack on October 7th. And since it's been that fear of miscalculation since then, like what happened over the weekend, does political pressure now determine what happens next as well as the need for deterrence?

Any response will be punishing and significant, which then forces Hezbollah to respond in kind and then we get into this spiral of an escalating conflict.

H. A. HELLYER, MIDDLE EAST STUDIES SCHOLAR, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: So thank you for the question. Just a clarification on your reports, you noted these were Israeli children. They weren't Israeli children. Your own national security correspondent Alex Marquardt confirmed that these were not Israeli children. They're not Israeli citizens.

The Golan Heights is occupied Syrian territory, and the children that died and were killed didn't have Israeli citizenship. Actually, most of the Druze community in the Golan Heights refused Israeli citizenship and maintained their identity as Syrians. And the international community and the U.N. continues to recognize the Golan Heights as occupied territory since 1967.

Now, I think there's a big risk of escalation that could spiral out of control. I think that the United States and others have been pushing the Israelis not to fire on Lebanon in a way that would entice Hezbollah to retaliate. And, you know, we have this ongoing tit-for- tat reprisals that can really spin out of control.

[00:15:06]

I have to say that over the past 10 months, this fear of escalation has been continuous, which is why so many actors in the region have called for a ceasefire in Gaza. And instead, the Israelis have continued to bombard Gaza and risks spiraling the entire region out of control.

VAUSE: Yes, in any war between Hezbollah and Israel will see a lot of pain, a lot suffering in Lebanon itself, with the militant group's base.

HELLYER: Yes.

VAUSE: Lebanon's caretaker foreign minister admits his government is essentially a bystander in this conflict. Here he is. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDALLAH BOU HABIB, LEBANESE CARETAKER FOREIGN MINISTER: We don't want escalation. The most important thing is that if they -- it's an opportunity for them to do something it shouldn't be big because we know we cannot control Hezbollah retaliation as well. So Hezbollah is going to retaliate if they have it -- they have it in the normal tuition, well you know, we have war in south Lebanon, whether we like it or not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So while there may be a little bit target response by Israel, which is what the caretaker foreign minister seems to be saying, you know, which will allow for de-escalation, given the threat posed to Israel by Hezbollah, is it just a matter of time before there is in fact a major escalation if not this time, you know, sometime in the coming future, in the not-too-distant future, rather? Can Israel continue to have a heavily armed terror group on its northern border?

HELLYER: So I think we have to, you know, make a few things clear here. First, the risk isn't simply to Lebanon, it's also to Israeli cities and towns because the reprisals from Hezbollah are likely to be quite severe. You also said a targeted response. In escalation I don't think there's anything called targeted. I think unfortunately the calculations that people make will be based on variables that they cannot control.

And with any response from the Israelis, without taking into account the broader context in which this conflict is occurring, which of course is the bombardment of Gaza and the destruction of so much of it, you're going to continue to have this situation where unfortunately there will be reprisals, there will be escalations.

The key to deescalating this entire situation is Gaza. It is getting a ceasefire there. If there's a ceasefire in Gaza and tensions on the border I think diminished tremendously and you can have a negotiated political agreement between Hezbollah and the Israelis.

VAUSE: Just quick response to your response, when Israel responded to Iran's barrage of missile fire within about a week or two after that happened, that was targeted. It wasn't an overwhelming response in terms of military might. But it sent a clear and distinct message to the Iranian regime. Is something similar to that possible with Hezbollah?

HELLYER: Of course it is. And by the way, what happened then as well with the Iranians, I think on both sides was incredibly reckless and we were all in the region more generally, but also in the world very fortunate that didn't spiral out of control. But there's something called the law of unintended consequences.

People can't calculate these sorts of things with any degree of certainty and that's why again, you know, the way forward is to move towards actively de-escalation as opposed to assuming that this constant reckless behavior can continue without something really spiraling out of control.

It's a deep risk, I have to be clear, John. Over the past 10 months, this is why so many have been calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. So you don't have these sorts of situations coming up. If all-out war breaks out, it will be catastrophic and devastating for everybody.

VAUSE: Absolutely. H.A. Hellyer, thank you so much for being with us. Really appreciate it.

Well, Israeli authorities say two million compounds were breached Monday by right-wing protesters. Angry over an investigation into nearly a dozen IDF soldiers accused of abusing one Hamas prisoner. Israeli civilians as well as far-right members of parliament were among the protesters arguing the soldiers are being treated like criminals.

The protesters were eventually dispersed. And Prime Minister Netanyahu and members of his cabinet has since denounced the break-ins at the facility.

Still to come here on CNN, two of the best in men's tennis, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, take their rivalry to the Paris Olympics. More on their match and other highlights from day three at the summer games.

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VAUSE: The Paris Olympics are heating up with France experiencing the first major heat wave of the year. Tuesday will likely be the hottest day of the year so far in the French capital. More than two dozen sports will hold competitions in the day ahead. Medals up for grabs in eight, including the women's team artistic gymnastics where American Simone Biles will be going for her eighth Olympic medal overall. Her first gold since Rio in 2016.

One competition which won't be happening Tuesday is the men's triathlon postponed until Wednesday due to poor water quality in the River Seine. And leading the medal count so far Japan on top with six gold. Four countries, are tied with five each including host-country France. Team USA in sixth place with three gold but the most medals overall with the 20.

CNN's Coy Wire has a look at the biggest wins from Monday, including showdowns in the water and on the tennis court.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORT: It was another jaw-dropping day of competitive excellence here at the Summer Olympics in Paris, highlighted by two teammates in the pool. A battle for the ages in the women's 200-freestyle between defending Olympic champ, world and Olympic record holder in the event, Ariarne Titmus of Australia and teammate Mollie O'Callaghan. They share the same training pool, same coach. Titmus ripped away O'Callaghan's world record from her at the

Australian trials. But this time, the 20-year-old O'Callaghan snags away Titmus' Olympic record in a time of 153.27, adding to the two golds she won at the last Olympic Games.

Canadian teen sensation Summer McIntosh adding to her medal haul here in Paris. The 17-year-old phenom already with a silver in the 400-free blowing away the field in the 400-IN, finishing nearly six seconds ahead to take gold. She's the world record holder in the event. Two Americans, Katie Grimes and Emma Weyant, go silver and bronze.

In Roland-Garros, one of the greatest rivalries in sports, the 60th installment of Novak Djokovic versus Rafah Nadal, and the Serbian joker puts an end to Rafah's comeback, winning the best of three sets match 6-1. Joker now leads the rivalry 31 to 29 and this win puts him into the third round in Paris as he chases is first-ever Olympic gold.

After almost not even qualifying for these Paris games, Japan's Yuto Horigome stages the comeback of a lifetime, kneading an out-of-this- world performance in his final run. He slays it to repeat as the Olympic skateboarding street champion. America's Jagger Eaton takes the silver with skateboard legend Nija Houston taking bronze.

Finally, the entire men's team from Japan bursting into tears of joy after winning the artistic team gold in gymnastics in front of a packed house in Paris. China edged out in the end, takes the silver, and for the first time since 2008, the U.S. men are taking home some hardware with the bronze.

More high-flying fun tomorrow from these Paris Olympics, when Simone Biles and Team USA look to level up the silver medal in the team competition they took at the summer games in Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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VAUSE: Much more on the Paris games later this hour in "WORLD SPORT."

When we come back, after recent Supreme Court rulings in the U.S. which have eroded civil liberties, including reproductive rights, as well as faith in the independence of the court, President Joe Biden has the solution.

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VAUSE: Welcome back to viewers all around the world. I'm John Vause and you're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Donald Trump has agreed to be interviewed by the FBI over the attempted killing earlier this month. The FBI would like to know Trump's perspective on what he saw as they investigate the would-be assassin's motive. U.S. Secret Service officials are testifying to Congress about the security failure. The acting director set to tell lawmakers Tuesday about the agency's new measures for approving security plans for events, as well as protectees. Meantime, Trump says he will continue to hold outdoor rallies.

President Joe Biden proposing a longshot radical change to the U.S. Supreme Court including term limits for the nine justices. Activists have advocated for such limits and other reforms. Those calls are amping up after the court's conservative majority forced through several deeply unpopular decisions with huge ramifications.

CNN's Paula Reid has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Biden calling for major reforms to the Supreme Court.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The court is being used to weaponize an extreme and unchecked agenda.

REID: Speaking at an event in Austin, Texas, he laid out his plan which would allow a president to select a justice every two years and limit those justices to 18-year terms.

BIDEN: That would be make timing for the court's nomination more predictable and less arbitrary, reduce the chance that any single president imposes undue influence in generations to come.

REID: And implement a binding code of conduct requiring disclosure of gifts, no public political activity, and recusal from cases where justices' family has a stake. The court's current code is voluntary and has no enforcement mechanism.

BIDEN: The court is not self-policing. The court is not dealing with the obvious conflicts of interest. We need a mandatory code of ethics for the Supreme Court, and we need it now.

REID: He also called for a constitutional amendment that would make it clear there is no immunity for crimes a former president commits while in office. He previously criticized the court for its recent decision and Donald Trump's claim of immunity.

BIDEN: This nation was founded on the principle that there are no kings in America. Each, each of us is equal before the law.

REID: The call for action comes as approval ratings for the court hover at historic lows. A recent poll in May found that 61 percent of Americans disapprove of the job the court is doing.

But Biden's plan would require congressional action on a highly partisan issue. Republican leaders in both chambers promising it's going nowhere fast, with Speaker Mike Johnson saying it's "dead on arrival in the House," and Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell calling the proposal an attack on the court.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): All a campaign against the court's legitimacy and ultimately against its very existence.

REID: And on the 2024 campaign trail, the Supreme Court remains a hot- button issue.

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She will try as hard as she can to add as many justices as possible to the U.S. Supreme Court. We don't want that to happen, do we?

REID: Leonard Leo, who helped Trump install a conservative super majority on the high court, issued a rare statement rebuking Biden's plan.

"If Democrats want to adopt an across-the-board ethics ban for all branches, I'm in favor of that. Until they support that, let's all be honest about what this is: a campaign to destroy a court that they disagree with."

REID: The White House revealed that Vice President Harris was closely consulted on this proposal, and she even endorsed it on Monday.

But the White House has stopped short of saying that this was a realistic proposal that can actually pass Congress, instead saying they were merely going to give it, quote, "the old team try."

The court has not weighed in.

Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: In Northern England, a teenage boy has been arrested by police after two children were killed and nine wounded in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in the town of Southport.

CNN's Anna Stewart has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was late morning in Southport, a seaside town in the Northwest of England when police first received reports of a stabbing.

It was quickly declared a major incident with multiple victims. Later in the day, police announced two children had died.

The attack took place during a Taylor Swift-themed yoga class aimed at six- to 11-year-olds when a man walked in with a knife and started attacking the children.

Police said nine other children were injured, with six still in critical condition.

Two adults were also injured as they tried to protect the children from the assailant. All those injured suffered stab wounds.

A local business owner described it as like a scene from a horror movie, according to P.A. Media. And he described mothers arriving at the scene screaming. Merseyside Police arrested a 17-year-old male from Banks, a village

just outside of Southport --

STEWART: -- on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. They said the incident is not being treated as terror-related, and inquiries are ongoing to establish a motive.

U.K. leaders expressed their shock at the attack.

STEWART (voice-over): U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer posted a statement on X, saying, "Horrendous and deeply shocking news emerging from Southport. My thoughts are with all those affected."

And King Charles issued a statement sending "heartfelt condolences, prayers, and deepest sympathies to the loved ones of those who tragically lost their lives and to all those affected by this truly appalling attack."

STEWART: Anna Stewart, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: When we come back here, new intelligence on Kim Jong-un's worsening health and plans which appear to be in place for his daughter, possibly to take over as the next Dear Leader.

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[00:35:51]

VAUSE: Beijing's increasingly aggressive military action in the South China Sea is the focus of high-level talks between the United States and the Philippines.

U.S. secretaries of state and defense have been meeting with the Filipino president.

CNN's Mike Valerio in Seoul, covering all this.

So, I guess, why does this matter? And what are the Philippines, especially, what are they looking and hoping for here?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, I think, John, those are the key questions.

So, why this matters is because so much of us depend on the South China Sea to get what we want in terms of electronics and energy.

And what the Philippines wants today from this meeting that's being held right now, they want more help from the United States, John, to make that a reality, to keep these sea lanes, these trade routes free from their point of view, free from Chinese interference.

So, at the heart of this, we want to show you a map. This is what China claims as its own in the South China Sea. This is what's known as the nine dash map, or nine dashes that should be on that map. Just imagined nine dashes around the South China Sea that were made in the 1920s. And China's saying, essentially, this is ours. The Philippines and other nations vehemently disagree with that, saying that at least a chunk of that is the West Philippine Sea.

Now, the latest estimates that we have from 2016, up to 20 to 30 percent, John, of global trade flows through the South China Sea. It matters who controls those sea lanes.

So, we heard from President Marcos a little while ago talking to, of course, these two top American officials. Listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FERDINAND MARCOS JR., PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT: I'm always very happy that these communication lines are very open so that all the -- all the things that we are doing together in terms of our alliance, in terms of the specific context of war situation here in the West Philippine Sea and in the Indo-Pacific, are continuously examined -- examined and re-examined so we are agile in terms of our responses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIO: So, the secretaries, Blinken and Austin, are going to announce during the course of this afternoon, $500 million, a check written by the United States taxpayers to the Philippines for military assistance in that vein. Military assistance to help the Philippines, in part, patrol what they say are their territorial waters in this very disputed corner of the world.

So bottom line, John, what we're going to be watching is to see if this assistance changes China's calculus in any shape or form.

But, you know, I sit two feet away from Brad Lendon, our global affairs military lead reporter here at CNN. And we were saying that China really, of course, does not back down from these claims. It would be very surprising for China to do so. It measures its progress in terms of decades, centuries, millennia.

So, it will be interesting to see what, if any effect, this United States aid has on this very delicate equation, John.

VAUSE: Beijing does take the long view. Mike Valerio in Seoul, thank you.

Well, for North Korea's Kim family, the family business is running North Korea. And so, with new South Korean intelligence indicating North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's health may be getting worse, it now appears that official training is underway in secret for his young daughter to take over one day, even though she's not even a teenager yet.

CNN's Will Ripley has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In flood- ravaged North Korea, along a swollen river near the Chinese border, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, overseeing the evacuation of thousands. Noticeably absent from state media coverage: Kim's young daughter, Kim Ju-ae now undergoing secret succession training, South Korean lawmakers say, suggesting the elementary-age girl is being groomed as the next North Korean leader.

Two lawmakers in Seoul, briefed by the national intelligence service, say Kim Jong-un's health may be deteriorating, his doctors searching for new medications to treat Kim.

[00:40:06]

He has a family history of heart disease; weighs more than 300 pounds; a dangerously high body mass index in the mid-forties; high stress, smoking and drinking, all putting the 40-year-old Kim at high risk, lawmakers say.

They add succession plans could change, but right now, all signs point to Kim Ju-ae, who could become the first female and fourth-generation leader of the ruling Kim family.

Kim Il-sung died in 1994. Kim Jong-il died in 2011, the year Kim Jong- un came to power in his 20s.

His second child, believed to be ten to 12 years old, bearing a striking resemblance to her father, a fixture by his side since her debut in late 2022 at missile launches, military banquets, massive parades.

South Korean intelligence says she's now engaging in non-public activities. Pyongyang, aware of reaction to her young age, adjusting propaganda, reducing public appearances as her father consolidates the Kim family's power, bolstering ties with Russian strongman Vladimir Putin; building up his military spy satellite program.

And South Korea says, stepping up training for a successor to someday take control of North Korea's growing nuclear arsenal.

RIPLEY: Kim Jong-un is the third son of the late Kim Jong-il. He was reportedly chosen as the successor on his eighth birthday, but the outside world didn't find out until many years later.

This very public revealed that we saw of Kim Ju-ae about a year and a half ago may have been the beginning, experts say, of a personality cult for Kim's daughter.

But now that people know who she is, she needs to build her military credentials behind the scenes, over time.

Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

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VAUSE: There was once a time when the golden arches were like ribose of gold, with seemingly endless revenue flowing to the fast-food giant.

But now McDonald's in the United States reports sales are down at restaurants open for at least a year. It's a small decline, just 0.7 percent last quarter, compared to the same period last year.

Global sales were down for the first time since the last quarter of 2020, the year of the pandemic.

The burger chain admitted some customers are revolting -- revolting against higher prices. McDonald's has since announced plans to expand its value meal offer.

Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause, back with more news at the top of the hour. In the meantime, WORLD SPORT is next after a short break. See you back here in just under 18 minutes.

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