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Harris to Interview VP Finalists; JD Vance's Uneven Rollout; U.S. Sends Forces to Middle East; U.S. Calls Multination Prisoner Swap a "Human Victory"; Freed U.S. Citizens in Post-Isolation Program in Texas; Michigan Town Celebrates Whelan's Release; Algerian Boxer Imane Khelif Controversy. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired August 03, 2024 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and welcome to all our viewers watching from around the world. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, presumptive no more. Kamala Harris secures enough delegates to officially become the Democratic nominee for U.S. president.

The U.S. makes military moves in the Middle East in anticipation of any retaliatory strike against Israel and its allies.

And Russian dissidents speak out about their ordeal after they were freed in that historic prisoner swap with Russia.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Lynda Kinkade.

KINKADE: We begin with a historic moment in U.S. politics. Kamala Harris now officially the Democratic Party's presidential nominee, making her the first Black woman and Asian American to lead a major U.S. party ticket.

The Democratic National Committee chair announcing Friday that Harris had enough delegate votes to clinch the nomination. And it comes at a pivotal time. The U.S. vice president is expected to choose a running mate any day now, so they can campaign together early next week.

Heading into a crucial weekend of final candidate interviews, Harris will also hit the road for a swing state blitz with her new VP pick. U.S. President Joe Biden confirming that he and Harris have discussed her upcoming decision. But he's not saying much else.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION (from captions): Have you spoken to Vice President Harris about her running mate?

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (from captions): Yes. (CROSSTALK)

QUESTION (from captions): Do you know who she's going to pick?

QUESTION (from captions): Sir, you have been a Vice President before.

What key qualities should the Vice President be looking for when she picks hers?

BIDEN (from captions): I'll let her work that out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Harris and her future running mate are expected to visit seven battleground states in just five days, with their first appearance together on Tuesday in Philadelphia. CNN's Sunlen Serfaty has more now from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAIME HARRISON, CHAIRMAN, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: I am so proud to confirm that Vice President Harris has earned more than a majority of votes from all convention delegates.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The DNC announcing Friday that Vice President Kamala Harris has won enough votes from Democratic delegates to become the party's nominee for president.

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE: I will officially accept your nomination next week. Once the virtual voting period is closed but already, I'm happy to know that we have enough delegates to secure the nomination.

SERFATY (voice-over): And Harris is closing in on one of the most consequential decisions of her political career as she is set to debut her running mate on Tuesday in Philadelphia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you be in Philadelphia on Tuesday by chance?

GOV. JOSH SHAPIRO (D-PA): I hope to be, yes.

SERFATY (voice-over): Sources tell CNN that Harris has not made a decision yet but is scheduled to meet with top finalists over the weekend with most expected to be in person.

Those set to meet with Harris include Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.

Some contenders shifting their schedules as Harris nears a decision.

PETE BUTTIGIEG, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: You know, every day we have to tweak the schedule a little bit because things come up, calls and meetings that we have to take of. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Could you explain what those are?

BUTTIGIEG: No.

SERFATY (voice-over): Others joking about fellow hopefuls clearing their calendars.

GOV. J.B. PRITZKER (D-IL): Lollapalooza is happening this weekend here in Chicago. You know, I've heard other governors talk about how they've cancelled their weekend plans. I was going to perform, of course, with Blink 182 on Sunday but I've cancelled in order to clear my schedule.

SERFATY (voice-over): The meeting's poised to play a critical role in her selection process. Sources tell CNN Harris is looking for a running mate that she gets along with personally and will not be a distraction.

But her top consideration is electability, assessing which contender will help most with independents and swing voters, especially in the battleground states.

SHAPIRO: I got a message to Donald Trump. Stop (INAUDIBLE) talking America. This is the greatest country on the face of the Earth.

SERFATY (voice-over): Shapiro, Walz and Kelly are seen as the top contenders with Beshear also being looked out closely. Shapiro and Kelly hailing from key battleground states.

SEN. MARK KELLY (D-AZ): This is not about me. You know, this is about Donald Trump. And what a sad figure he has become.

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SERFATY: The vice president is spending her weekend here in Washington at her home at the U.S. Naval Observatory. And sources tell CNN that these face-to-face meetings, they are absolutely critical to her decision-making process ahead.

And certainly, there could be additional candidates added to her schedule throughout the weekend, a critical few days ahead as she works toward making that big decision by Tuesday -- Sunlen Serfaty, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, Donald Trump says he is backing out of the ABC debate he previously agreed to when Joe Biden was the presumptive Democratic nominee. Now the Republican nominee says he has agreed to participate in a debate moderated by FOX News instead.

According to Trump the new debate would be hosted in Pennsylvania on September 4th with a live audience. It's unclear whether Kamala Harris has accepted the invitation from FOX News. Harris' campaign did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment.

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KINKADE: Joining me now is Democratic strategist Caroline Heldman, who is also a professor of critical theory and social justice.

Good to have you with us.

CAROLINE HELDMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good to see you, Lynda.

KINKADE: So Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris could name a VP pick any day now.

Who would you say is most likely and why?

HELDMAN: Well, she is certainly going to go for someone in a swing state, probably a Mark Kelly or a Josh Shapiro. Pennsylvania is such an important state. The question is whether or not Josh Shapiro would have as much appeal as an astronaut, someone with Mark Kelly's success story.

But what we do know is the bench is deep. She's going to choose a white guy. She's talking to six white guys this weekend, including Pete Buttigieg, JB Pritzker, also Andy Beshear. He doesn't come from a swing state but he also looks like he's out of central casting for a presidential pick.

So who knows who or how she will finally make that decision because she has so many good choices?

But if it were just me with the information I have, I would put it on one of these swing states. I would put it on Kelly or I would put it on Shapiro in Pennsylvania.

And it's interesting, we've already heard some of those potential running mates out, sounding like they're on the campaign trail.

I just want to roll some sound from Pennsylvania's Governor Shapiro.

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SHAPIRO: JD Vance is a total phony baloney. He is the most inorganic (ph) candidate I think I have ever seen on the national stage. He doesn't know what he believes. Donald Trump really has buyer's remorse with his pick.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: I mean, does it sound like he is auditioning for that role as running mate?

HELDMAN: He's absolutely auditioning. We have heard every single one of these candidates -- and I should also mention Tim Walz, who came up with the weird framing or has been using in popularizing it, aimed at Trump and Vance.

Every single one of these candidates has been on the new shows on -- out on the trail, pitching themselves as a potential VP contender. We saw the same thing with Trump.

Mostly they were at his trial, if you recall. There was just a revolving door of potential VP candidates, Republican candidates, who were attending his trial in New York.

KINKADE: Harris, of course, is the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India. And former president Donald Trump had a pretty contentious interview session with the National Association of Black Journalists when he questioned her race. Let's just play that sound.

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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: She was always of Indian heritage and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn't know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black. So I don't know.

Is she Indian or is she Black?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: I mean, it certainly sounds like he didn't know his audience. He didn't prepare at all for this.

And for those who thought we would say a new Trump post that assassination attempt, what does this tell you?

HELDMAN: Well, Lynda, this tells me that he is undisciplined. This was a real failure for him. He had this opportunity with a Black audience to try to make some more inroads.

And in fact, we have seen Trump make some inroads, especially with Black men, who have been flocking to him over Biden.

But now we actually see a shift. We see Harris improving her polling compared to Biden when it comes to Black and Latino voters, especially men; also, young voters. So it is -- it's not a surprise to me in the recent polling, that we've seen that shift.

Trump is essentially unbridled. And he doesn't quite know how to respond to Harris. And so he's going for the racism and the sexism, which is what we anticipated.

But what his campaign is really trying to get him to rein in.

KINKADE: And it's interesting. JD Vance is proving to be highly problematic for the Trump ticket every day. More and more interviews are being dug up, showing where he stands on women, where he stands on domestic violence, where he stands on people without children.

At one point, of course, he said that childless people don't have any physical commitment to the future of this country.

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And he said, he's sort of claimed some sort of proposed new voting scheme, where parents would have a larger stake in the future of the country.

Do you think at this point that he could get replaced on the ticket?

HELDMAN: Well, we have seen so many unprecedented things happen.

Who knows?

I think Trump even before kind of all of these guffaws (ph) on JD Vance's part, he really missed -- Trump missed an opportunity to broaden his appeal with his vice presidential pick.

You notice Harris is trying to broaden her appeal. You do this through geography, by choosing someone from a swing state or a crucial state. You do it through ideology, by choosing someone who's different from you.

Or you do it based on identity to appeal maybe to a different voter group.

Trump did none of these things. He chose a mini-me and it turns out his mini-me is not well vetted. He's said some really weird things; seems to be obsessed with childless cat ladies.

It's not going well, so who knows what will happen?

I would've said in normal politics, no way you replace a VP candidate this close to the election. But you can't predict anything with Trump in a race.

KINKADE: And Caroline, just finally, talk to us about the energy right now around Kamala Harris, given that we've seen these record breaking figures of fundraising and volunteers now stepping up to help.

HELDMAN: Well, $300 million plus raised in 12 days. We've not seen anything like this in the modern political age. Her enthusiasm, if you look at polling, has surpassed Barack Obama; it has surpassed Bernie Sanders during the primaries.

She is gaining momentum simply like we have never seen. I think Trump has always given his followers kind of a good time. They come to his rallies. He uses xenophobia, racism and other things to make them feel good.

But he gets them fired up. He tells jokes. They're enthusiastic. The Democrats have not had that for a very long time. And now they finally have that in Kamala Harris. She has got lots of fun memes roaming around. She's got great quips and comebacks.

So I think the enthusiasm you're seeing isn't a new thing. It's not just anti-Trump, it's pro the Democratic Party candidate.

KINKADE: Yes.

Exactly right. Caroline Heldman. Good to have you on the program. Thanks so much for joining us. HELDMAN: Thank you. Lynda.

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KINKADE: A U.S. military armada is headed to the Middle East amid fears that Iran could retaliate soon against Israel. The White House is sending in a naval strike group led by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. That's after Iran vowed to attack Israel following the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran this week.

Israel is neither confirming nor denying that involvement. Haniyeh was buried in Qatar on Friday after a funeral procession attended by thousands of people. Prayers were held in several countries and anti Israel rallies broke out after the ceremony. For more, Salma Abdelaziz joins us from London.

Thanks for being with us, Salma. So we've got airlines canceling flights to Israel; Israelis preparing bomb shelters with supplies. And now the U.S. deploying aircraft carriers to the region.

How soon could they arrive and what sort of role could they play?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, in the move of the movement of rather U.S. assets, is an indication of just how concerned, not just the region is but the international community at large.

This is the biggest movement of U.S. military supplies in the region since the beginning of the Gaza conflict on October 7. So it gives you an understanding of where this lies on this scale. And of course, the concern is that, in retaliating, Iran might not just hit Israel directly but could catch U.S. assets, potentially U.S. service members, in the crosshairs.

And this happened only recently, if you'll remember, in January, three U.S. service members were killed along the Jordan-Syria border. You'll hear this concern from John Kirby. Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADM. JOHN KIRBY (RET), COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS AT THE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: We have heard the supreme leader loud and clear that he intends to avenge this killing of a Hamas leader in Tehran and that they want to conduct another attack on Israel.

We can't just assume that we aren't also potentially going to be victims of that kind of an attack. So we've got to make sure we've got the right resources and capabilities in the region.

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ABDELAZIZ: What the U.S. is predominantly worried about is that Tehran would not only retaliate directly but would also activate its tentacles around the region, mobilize its proxies militias that exist from Yemen to Syria, to Iraq, to begin that vow of revenge that has come from Tehran.

And that could further escalate tensions in the region, further widen a conflict that already includes Israel, Lebanon, Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran. It could widen that even further in hopes for bringing down the temperature for finding diplomacy, for finding mediation.

[03:15:00]

That's extremely difficult to imagine, Lynda, when the issue that caused this is the killing of the chief mediator for Gaza's side.

KINKADE: All right, Salma Abdelaziz, we will have more on this later this hour. Thanks for joining us from London.

Well, still ahead. Russian dissidents are speaking out following a historic prisoner swap between Moscow and the West. Their message to the world -- next.

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KINKADE: Well, some of the Russian opposition figures released in a historic prisoner swap with the West are speaking out against the Kremlin and president Vladimir Putin. Three of the dissidents posed for a photo together after arriving in Germany Thursday. Some of the former prisoners were detained for criticizing Russia's war on Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR KARA-MURZA, RELEASED RUSSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER (through translator): Don't confuse the Putin regime with Russia. Kremlin propaganda wants to pretend that everyone in our country supports Putin's leadership and supports his aggressive war in Ukraine.

This is a lie. And don't let anyone convince you that these Kremlin lies have any connection to reality.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: The White House is celebrating the arrival of three U.S. citizens back on American soil after being wrongfully detained in Russia.

[03:20:03]

The three Americans are part of a prisoner swap involving 24 detainees and seven countries in what was the largest exchange between the U.S. and Russia since the Cold War. CNN's Alex Marquardt has the latest from Washington.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those last three?

That's us.

ALEXANDER MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva holding a flag that flies over the White House commemorating detainees and hostages were brought home. There places now on the flag.

The message from U.S. officials to the three American now former prisoners and their families as they arrived overnight in Texas, your ordeal is over but quote, the next phase of your journey begins now.

PAUL WHELAN, AMERICAN RELEASED FROM RUSSIA: As we came over England and I looked down, you know, that's when it became real.

Whelan, a former marine who was held in Russia for over 5.5 years, was in good spirits.

Getting off the plane and seeing the president, the vice president, that was nice. It was a good homecoming. So looking forward to seeing my family down here and just recuperating from five years, seven months and five days of just absolute nonsense by the Russian government.

The three are now being evaluated and treated at the Brooke Army Medical Center where a program is offered to help those recover physically and psychologically from being detained or held hostage.

Trevor Reed was held by Russia, released in 2022 and went through this specialized program.

TREVOR REED, AMERICAN PREVIOUSLY HELD IN RUSSIA: When you actually go through that, it's much more difficult than the even you yourself can imagine it to be in that situation. So it does take awhile and San Antonio, there at the army base there very effective at helping you to readjust.

MARQUARDT: Earlier, tearful reunions unfolded on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews just before midnight. President Biden gave Whelan the American flag pin off his jacket.

Gershkovich walked over to the press area where a group of his "Wall Street Journal" colleagues were waiting, who spent the past 16 months advocating for his release.

EVAN GERSHKOVICH, REPORTER RELEASED FROM RUSSIA: I'm all right. It was a good flight.

REPORTER: What about the show of support?

GERSHKOVICH: It's --

(CROSSTALK)

GERSHKOVICH: It's overwhelming.

MARQUARDT: The stories and emotions from the released prisoners are starting to spill out.

In Germany today, three Russian dissidents released spoke with reporters. Vladimir Kara-Murza, a U.S. resident, said he thought he was going to die in prison but vowed to return to Russia, promising it will one day be free.

VLADIMIR KARA-MURZA, RELEASED RUSSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER: I know that I'll be back in my home country and it'll be much quicker than you think.

MARQUARDT: On the Russian side, when we saw the Russian spies, criminals and that assassin, Vadim Krasikov, arrive back in Moscow, they were greeted by president Vladimir Putin on the tarmac.

Two of those spies who got off that Russian plane had been caught in Slovenia and they had two children with them, a boy and a girl. Those spies were a couple, who were undercover, posing as Argentinians in Slovenia.

They were under such deep cover that their children actually thought that they, too, were Argentinian and they only learned that they were actually Russian -- and this is according to the Kremlin -- when they were on that flight to Moscow.

And when they met President Putin, they didn't know who he was. And since they didn't speak Russian, he spoke with them in Spanish, welcoming them to Russia with "Buenos noches" -- Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, Israel is bracing for a possible retaliation from Iran following the killing of a senior Hamas leader.

Still ahead, we ask a foreign policy expert what the Iranian military response may look like.

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KINKADE: The U.S. is deploying a naval carrier group to the Middle East as the region braces for a possible retaliation by Iran against Israel. That's happening days after Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran.

Iran has vowed to retaliate against Israel, which had neither confirmed nor denied involvement in the death. Haniyeh was killed less than 24 hours after Israel eliminated a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon. As Ben Wedeman reports, that country is uneasy about what could happen next.

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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A sense of dread is dawning on Lebanon as the region waits for Hezbollah and Iran to make good on their threats to take revenge on Israel for the killing of a senior Hezbollah commander Tuesday evening in Beirut.

Followed hours later by the assassination, presumably by Israel, of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied his killing

Haniyeh's funeral was held Friday in Hutta (ph), attended by the Qatari emir and prime minister, in addition to Halil Haya, deputy Hamas leader. Prayers for Haniyeh were held in, among other places, Turkiye, Pakistan, Indonesia and Jordan.

In Amman, the prayers were followed by a massive demonstration condemning his killing. The rising tensions have prompted several airlines to extend their suspension of flights to Beirut. Other flights have been canceled.

While getting a flight out of Beirut is becoming difficult, a host of embassies have already urged their nationals to leave Lebanon now. In a speech Thursday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned that retaliation for Israel's killing of commander Fuad Shukr is inevitable.

And he also threatened those behind Israel, presumably the United States. Israel carried out a series of air and drone strikes and artillery barrages Friday along the border with Lebanon, while Hezbollah resumed its strikes on Israeli positions after a two-day lull.

But these are what has become the daily and sometimes deadly exchanges between the two sides. The leader of Hezbollah has made clear his group's response to Israel's deadly strike on Beirut will be of a much greater magnitude -- I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Beirut.

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KINKADE: Joining me now is Robin Wright, contributing writer for "The New Yorker" and fellow with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Good to have you with us, Robin.

ROBIN WRIGHT, CONTRIBUTING WRITER, "THE NEW YORKER"; FELLOW, WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR SCHOLARS: Great to be with you, Lynda.

KINKADE: Israelis are being told to prepare their bomb shelters, stock up on basic necessities as fears of a revenge attack grow.

What's your assessment of where things stand at this point?

What sort of response could we see?

[03:30:00]

WRIGHT: Well, I think the Iranians and its allies, including Hezbollah, have made clear that this could be an attack on multiple fronts, not just by Iran alone.

The language from the leader of Hezbollah and from the Iranians themselves have indicated that this could be very different from the kind of strike we saw in April, when Iran alone unleashed missiles and drones on Iran (sic).

The United States is also taking additional precautions now, in deploying additional forces in the Middle East to provide greater capability in countering what could be a more complicated and multi- front attack.

KINKADE: I want to ask you about that, considering the fact that the U.S. is sending those aircraft carriers to the region.

What should the U.S. response be going forward?

What could reduce tensions here?

WRIGHT: Well, it's not going to be U.S. forces that reduce tensions. This is where U.S. diplomacy is critical to what happens next. And the problem is that diplomacy led by the United States but involving Egypt and Qatar and Israel has basically not gotten to the finish line of an agreement that would end the Gaza war.

And of course, all the tensions in the region date back to the Hamas attack on October 7 on Israel and Israel's military response ever since.

And so as the conflict gets more complicated, the U.S. faces an even bigger challenge in trying to figure out a way to unravel the tensions, push the diplomacy across the finish line and prevent something from escalating from strikes and counterstrikes into something that is a real, substantive war.

The guns of August has taken on a whole new meaning.

KINKADE: Of course, Robin, the assassination of the political leader of Hamas in Iran happened on the same day as the swearing-in of Iran's new president. That, of course, has been described as an embarrassment for Iran.

How is the new president likely to handle this in the coming weeks?

WRIGHT: Well, the killing of Haniyeh in an attack in Tehran on the day of the inauguration of a new president puts enormous pressure on Masoud Pezeshkian, who has campaigned for weeks on the platform of lessening tensions with the West, ending sanctions.

Which implicitly means dealing with Iran's nuclear program, finding some kind of compromise middle ground or diplomatic resolution. And he hasn't even confirmed his entire cabinet yet and he's been forced into making decisions, leading the National Security Council into actions that respond to Israel's assassination of the Hamas leader.

So this is very complicated on a lot of political levels as well as military levels.

KINKADE: You've spoken, Robin, in the past about how the challenge is for Israel to find a formula that will diminish the presence or the political influence of Hamas.

Has the assassination of the Hamas political leader, who, of course, was responsible in part for the hostage negotiations, done that?

Or could this backfire, especially when it comes to the prospects of bringing those hostages home?

WRIGHT: Well, that's the real danger that the lives of dozens, more than 100, I think, Israelis and including some Americans, is still on the line as these tensions play out and make diplomacy ever more complicated.

Israel hasn't shown a great deal of interest in the deal; it has introduced new provisions. So as Hamas, over the course of these deliberations, and the danger is that there are a lot of human lives that are at stake.

The hostages as well as lives that may be threatened as a result of escalating tensions.

KINKADE: And when you've got the back-to-back assassinations that a Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and the political leader of Hamas in Iran, what does that do to the risk calculation for what could come next?

WRIGHT: Well, this has really played out since April because Israel's killed three Iranian generals with Revolutionary Guards at a diplomatic facility in Syria. And that has escalated into kind of these for tit-for-tat strikes since October 7 and of course, for many years before that but escalating since the October 7 war began.

And so there's a real danger that we don't see a way out of this anytime soon. And that's what I think everyone's worried about, that we know the military calculations. It's the diplomatic and political way forward.

[03:35:00]

It doesn't look like there's any kind of reasonable or visible way to prevent the tensions from escalating.

KINKADE: And, of course, there's just a few months left of the Biden administration. There was hope that there would be some sort of lasting ceasefire in Gaza.

What's the likelihood of that now, given what's transpired in recent weeks?

WRIGHT: Well, I think this probably makes it more difficult for a lame duck president to have the kind of leverage he wants, whether it's in dealing with allies, dealing with Israel, whether it's trying to send a strong message to Iran.

And there will be some players in the Middle East who are gaming the American political horizon and trying to perhaps not take the decisive steps needed to prevent an escalation or to stop this cycle of violence. And that's -- the political factors play out in the United States as well as in the region.

KINKADE: Robin Wright, we appreciate your time as always.

Thanks so much for joining us.

WRIGHT: Thank you. Lynda.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Growing fears of weakening in the U.S. economy could prove challenging for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris as the U.S. election draws closer. A disappointing jobs report sent stocks tumbling Friday with the Dow closing 612 points down after falling more than 900 points earlier in the session.

The S&P 500 lost nearly 2 percent and the Nasdaq fell 2.4 percent. The U.S. economy added just 114,000 jobs in July, far below economists' estimates of 175,000 new jobs. And the unemployment rate surged from 4.1 percent to 4.3 percent.

So what can we expect to see from the U.S. economy going forward?

Our Richard Quest explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST: The jobs numbers on Friday were a clarion call, if you will, a canary in the mine, that maybe the U.S. economy is slowing down further and faster than the U.S. Fed had intended.

A slowdown was inevitable. And rising interest rates was always going to lead to an uptick in unemployment.

Just take a look at the number of rate rises there were in short order since April 2022. The problem with rate rises is they were cumulative and, over a period of time, the effect of them got ever greater.

So we call it the monetary lag. It's the time between the rise and its effect. And this is what it looks like over the course of this tightening cycle. Only now are we feeling the full force, the cumulative force of all these rate increases.

The result, an increase in unemployment.

Has the Fed got there in time by cutting rates next month?

We won't know because, once they start cutting, we'll have to wait and see if the snowball of job losses gets ever greater, of course, if they've managed to put it to rest -- Richard Quest, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Still ahead, a small town in Michigan is thrilled about the release of Paul Whelan and other wrongfully detained Americans in Russian custody. Neighbors and family friends share their reactions to this historic prisoner swap -- next.

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[03:40:00]

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KINKADE: Welcome back.

The three U.S. citizens freed from Russian custody are beginning a second day at an Army medical center in Texas, in a government program to help them readjust to being back home.

Americans Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva were released from Moscow as part of a major prisoner swap involving the U.S., Russia and five other countries.

In total two dozen people were exchanged. Whelan thanked the Biden administration for securing his freedom in some of his first public comments since returning to the U.S. Whelan criticize Moscow's charges against him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL WHELAN, FORMER U.S. MARINE FREED FROM RUSSIA: I went on a two- week vacation, you know?

The FSB grabbed me, said I was a spy. I'm apparently a general in the Army, a secret agent for DIA. This is the nonsense narrative they came up with. And they just, they wouldn't let it go. So you know, this is how Putin runs his government. This is how Putin runs his country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, after getting medical care that they need in Texas, the three Americans will soon be able to return to their hometowns and be among friends and neighbors. Our Jason Carroll reports from Manchester, Michigan, home to the parents of Marine veteran Paul Whelan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL WHELAN, FREED IN PRISONER SWAP: I just say thank you to everybody. You know, thank you for all your prayers, you know, your good wishes. Thanks for doing everything you did. You know it all -- it all helped. JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When he was finally able to set foot back on U.S. soil, Paul Whelan thanked all those who worked so tirelessly to bring him home and reflected on what's next now that he's a free man again.

WHELAN: Looking forward to seeing my family down here and just recuperating from five years, seven months and five days of just absolute nonsense by the Russian government.

CARROLL: This is where he will be greeted with open arms. It's Manchester, Michigan, population about 2,000, where like many small towns in America, everyone seems to know everyone. It's where Whelan's parents lived.

So when word got out, he was its free, many here felt like one of their own was coming home.

LESLIE KIRKLAND, OWNER, MANCHESTER DINER: Once I -- you really saw it in writing, I can to tear like I cried for them like, you know, like what a relief -- what a relief.

CARROLL: Leslie Kirkland owns Manchester diners. She says Whelan's parents are regulars. His picture posted outside yellow ribbons on trees and front end throughout town have been a symbol of his return.

KIRKLAND: Anybody that wants to politicize it is, you know, it doesn't matter. He's home. Who did -- who did we trade for it?

I don't care. CARROLL: Some were able to share their joy with Whelan's parents, Ed and Rosemary. They showed up at a church ice cream social Thursday night, making it all that more special for people like Brenda Maysano and Janice Little.

JANICE LITTLE, SAW WHELAN'S PARENTS THURSDAY: There were so many people talking to her and the look of relief on their faces was a citable and I'm so happy for her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I congratulated them and told them how joyful, you know, the community and he was that their son was coming home.

CARROLL: Dawna Stockwell organized the social at Emanuel Church and got word Whelan's might stop by.

DAWNA STOCKWELL, SPOKE WITH WHELAN'S PARENTS THURSDAY: I was walking down the sidewalk in front of the church to plug-in up bouncy house and there they were walking toward me and I just went -- and they went, chills down my body and we hugged and I told them, you know --

CARROLL: What a moment --

STOCKWELL: A moment.

CARROLL: -- it must have been.

Many in Manchester hoping Whelan will make an appearance with his parents when he's ready. [03:45:04]

MICHAEL SESSIONS, MANCHESTER, MI CITY MANAGER: This community really wanted Paul back, really wanted him back for both -- you know, both the sake that Paul could be back here in the United States but for the family as well.

CARROLL: If it happens to pay Manchester diner visit, Leslie Kirkland will have a dish waiting.

KIRKLAND: Maybe our country fried steak and maybe some biscuits and gravy. And I will be -- I'll hug him, too.

CARROLL: The point here that many folks that we were speaking to were trying to make is that this is not just about the Whelans. It's about all of those who endured throughout all of this and that it's not just a time now for the Whelans to be celebrating but all of those families to celebrate -- Jason Carroll, CNN, Manchester, Michigan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Turning now to unrest in Bangladesh as another round of protests takes over the streets of Dhaka. Demonstrators are demanding the resignation of the prime minister. This after UNICEF reported at least 32 children were killed during protests last month.

Bangladesh has been going through turmoil in recent weeks as protests over a government job quota system and the police response claimed more than 150 lives. Demonstrators also demanding justice for those killed. Venezuela is accusing the U.S. of what it calls a coup attempt

following the country's contested presidential election. The U.S. rejects the claim but officials say it is clear that president Nicolas Maduro lost.

This as the opposition claims to have vote tally information that confirms his loss. Journalist Stefano Pozzebon has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Venezuela is bracing for more protests Saturday as both the authoritarian government of Nicolas Maduro and the country's opposition have called for competitive rallies in Caracas as the results from last week's presidential election remain in the balance.

On Friday, electoral authorities released a new tally, giving the victory to Maduro with 51 percent of the vote. But they are yet to release any ballot papers to dismiss all the claim of illegalities.

The opposition, on the other hand, has released about 22,000 ballot papers, saying that, according to their own count, their candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, has won with 71 percent of the vote.

On Friday, CNN's Mario Hernandez (ph) was able to ask Maduro about those documents. And this is what he had to say. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (OFF MIKE COMMENTS).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POZZEBON: There's been many calls from the international community to release any ballot paper and to add transparency at the only way to resolve this disputed election. Meanwhile, the United States and several other Latin American countries have already recognized Gonzalez as the ultimate and legitimate winner of the election.

Something Maduro has said amounted to a coup. Gonzalez and the opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, who is barred from running in the election, are currently in hiding after Maduro called for their detention -- for CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Caracas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Death Valley National Park in the Western U.S. is living up to its name. It broke its record for the hottest month ever in July. The average temperature over a day was 42.5 degrees Celsius or 108.5 degrees Fahrenheit. That's fractionally hotter than the average in 2018.

Prominent figures are calling an Algerian boxer's gender into question after her opponent withdrew less than a minute into their match. A look at that controversy and misinformation when we come back.

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KINKADE: Well, Friday marked another gilded day at the Paris Summer Olympics, 23 gold medals were won. China still leads the pack with the most gold medals.

Host nation France and Australia trail China with 11 each. Team USAs still leads the pack with the most medals overall.

An Algerian boxer is fighting a target of online abuse as she competes at the Olympic Games. Imane Khelif's gender is being called into question by prominent figures like Donald Trump, Elon Musk and JK Rowling. And her accomplishments in the ring are being overshadowed by misinformation. Melissa Bell reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a quick win for Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, defeating Italian opponent

Angela Carini after only 46 seconds in the ring. Khelif's powerful opening barrage of blows left Carini in pain, retreating to her corner and

withdrawing from the fight.

But there continues to be a backlash over the victory, with some critics questioning whether Khelif should have been allowed to compete in that ring

at all and claiming that Khelif is a man or transgender, something IOC officials have emphatically denied.

MARK ADAMS, SPOKESPERSON, IOC: The Algerian boxer was born female, was registered female, lived her life as a female, boxed as a female, has a

female passport. This is not a transgender case.

BELL (voice-over): The controversy over Khelif's gender has been fueled in part by her disqualification from the 2023 World Boxing Championships,

after the International Boxing Association says she and another boxer failed an unspecified gender eligibility test. But the IOC cleared Khelif

and the other athlete to fight in the Paris Games, casting doubt on the test that was previously used by the IBA, which was stripped of its

recognition as the official boxing body for the games by the IOC for corruption and financially related issues.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she didn't think the fight between Khelif and Carini seemed fair and raised her concerns with the IOC.

GIORGIA MELONI, ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I think that athletes who have, let's say, male genetic characteristics should not be

allowed to compete in women's competitions and not because we want to discriminate against anyone but to protect the right of female athletes to

be able to compete on equal terms.

BELL (voice-over): And some spectators say they wish that the IOC had done more to head off a potential backlash before the fight began.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm sure it was hard for her to decide to compete when she knew she was going to be getting a lot of criticism. I wish her all the

best and I know everyone has their own opinions.

[03:55:00]

So I mean, the Italian is entitled to forfeit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's an important topic and it has to be addressed. And I find it unfortunate it wasn't addressed before the

competition. And therefore, it's a bit tragic for both parties.

BELL (voice-over): Carini since said that she's sorry for not shaking Khelif's hand after the match and that she respects the IOC's decision to

allow her to compete. But the IOC says there's been a wave of online abuse against Khelif that's ongoing and rooted in misinformation.

BELL: The other boxer who fell foul of the International Boxing Association's eligibility rules last year at the world championships in New

Delhi is Lin Yu Ting, the Taiwanese boxer who here in Paris this Friday, took on an Uzbek opponent winning all three of her rounds.

BELL (voice-over): The IOC has strongly supported both Khelif and Lin's right to compete and says that it's in close contact with both athletes.

Khelif will get her next shot in the ring on Saturday when she faces the Hungarian Anna Luca Hamori -- Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: The Los Angeles Lakers are honoring their fallen star player Kobe Bryant with a second of three statues outside the team's home arena, the Staples Center.

The statue shows the two-time Olympic gold medalist hugging his daughter while cradled between the wings of an angel. Bryant, Gianna and seven others died in a helicopter crash in 2020. Bryant's widow, Vanessa, revealed that the last statue in the series, which show him donning his number 24 uniform.

New York is used to seeing pigeons overrun the city. But this one really seems to be ruling the roost. A giant pigeon sculpture by artist Ivan Argote will perch atop the High Line, which is an elevated park, in October. And it'll stay there for 16 months.

Called "The Dinosaur," it recognizes pigeons as descendants of prehistoric animals. The artist says the statue symbolizes all the New Yorkers who migrated to the city and now call it their home, just like the pigeon apparently brought to New York in the 17th century.

Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Good to have your company. Another hour of NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber is just ahead. Stay with us, you're watching CNN.