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Israeli Airstrike In Gaza Kills 40, Injuring 60; Harris, Trump Set To Face Off In High-Stakes Presidential Debate; Princess Kate Completes Chemotherapy Treatment For Cancer; Legendary Actor James Earl Jones Dies At 93; Ukrainian Forces Struggling To Repel Russian Fighters From Pokrovsk; House GOP Blames Biden For Chaotic Afghan Exit. U.S. House Republicans: "A Catastrophic Failure"; Pope Francis in East Timor; Harris & Trump Set to Face Off in High-Stakes Debate; Video Shoes 2023 Exchange Between Suspected Shooter and Deputy. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired September 10, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone. I'm John Vause, live in Atlanta. Ahead here on CNN Newsroom.
A safe zone turned killing field with Israeli airstrikes in southern Gaza, killing at least 40 Palestinians, wounding more than 60 others.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I cannot tell you what relief it is to have finally completed my chemotherapy treatment.
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VAUSE: And their back on message. The Prince and Princess of Wales released a slick, emotive video statement about Catherine's health and an end to her cancer treatment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am your father.
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VAUSE: That I'm a sacral classic baritone voice of a generation goes silent, remembering James Earl Jones, one of the true greats.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.
VAUSE: And we begin with breaking news this hour once again and Israeli declared Safe Zone in Gaza has come under Israeli fire, killing at least 40 people, leaving at least 60 others wounded, according to Palestinian officials, Witnesses report at least five airstrikes targeting a tent encampment
west of the city of Khan Younis, this area which Israeli officials said would be safe instead, local officials say an entire family is now buried under debris and sand. While rescue efforts are underway, emergency teams are facing great difficulty in retrieving bodies.
Israel says a significant number of Hamas terrorists were operating a command center embedded within the humanitarian zone. Hamas deny any fighters were in the area. Palestinian officials say there was no advance warning of the airstrikes.
More CNN's Paula Hancocks live this hour in Abu Dhabi with what we know, what we don't know, and where this is all heading. So, essentially clarify where we're at with the data that we have.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, this is a humanitarian area, and it's designated so by Israel. It's an area just west of Khan Younis along the coast in the Gaza Strip, and it's where thousands of Palestinians have been moving in recent months to try and find safety, many of them having been moved on by Israeli military evacuation orders.
So what we know at this point is that in the early hours of today, the early hours of Tuesday, there were Israeli strikes on this particular area. We hear from officials on the ground the Gaza civil defense, they believe at least 40 have been killed and many more injured.
Now there's no breakdown of militants versus civilians in this respect, but they do say that they believe there were more than 200 tents in this area that the humanitarian zone is filled with tents. This is the shelter that many of these evacuees rely on, and they believe that at least 20 of them have since disappeared.
Now, eyewitnesses telling the Gaza officials that there were five strikes and there are three very large craters. Now we have a CNN photojournalist on the ground at this point, hoping for more information about what is happening.
But we do see from images that there is a desperate search to try and find more survivors that the officials there saying they lack the heavy equipment that is necessary to really try and get this job done. But you can see clothes and other personal belongings strewn across the area.
Now, Israel's argument is that there were senior Hamas commanders that were operating in this area. They say there was a command and control center embedded inside the humanitarian area. They say that they did take steps to mitigate civilian casualties. They say they used precise munitions, aerial surveillance and additional measures.
Now the Gaza Civil Defense says that there was no warning to the civilians in the area that these strikes were about to happen. And we have reports as well of panic afterwards, of others in the area trying to move away and trying to evacuate somewhere else, believing that this was a safe area. But at this point, certainly the search is for any possible survivors that could be in that area. It's not the first time that Israel has carried out air strikes in Al Mawasi, in this so called humanitarian zone, back in mid-July, they carried out a strike to try and kill Hamas' military chief, Mohammed Deif which Israel said later was successful in killing him
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But that killed at least 90 Palestinians in the vicinity as well. Just to set the scene. This is a very sandy area along the coastal region. It is filled with tents, which is the basic shelter for many of these Palestinian evacuees. And of course, a tent does not prevent any kind of shrapnel from traveling through, so it is a very difficult situation for those on the ground. John.
VAUSE: As we say, this is not the first time a safety zone or safe zone has been hit by Israeli airstrikes. It's important that the Israelis declare them safe zones, no one else. If this continues to happen like it has been, where do the Palestinians go? Where is safe there in Gaza?
HANCOCKS: Well, John, for months now, we've been hearing from Palestinians. We've also been hearing from humanitarian aid groups within Gaza that there is nowhere safe. There have been many evacuation orders that have been given by the Israeli military when they want to operate in a certain area of the Gaza Strip, they give warning to civilians to move to another area, and that's the key here.
Al Mawasi was one of the areas that they have repeatedly said is a safe humanitarian area. They have designated it so, and they say that is where there will be shelter. That's where there will be humanitarian aid.
Now, what we've heard from on the ground, from the humanitarian aid groups, is there is not sufficient to consider this a humanitarian zone. There is not enough shelter, there's not enough humanitarian aid, food and water is still scant, but this is where the Israeli military has consistently said that Gaza civilians should move to stay out of more dangerous areas where they're operating, to try and root out Hamas operatives, but we have seen a number of times that this is an area that is also targeted, if Israel believes that there are significant Hamas targets in that area.
So I mean, that's the long answer, the short answer, John, to that question, is there isn't anywhere safe in Gaza. We've been hearing it for months from those on the ground, from humanitarian aid groups, and we know that after this particular strike happened, that many surrounding these large craters then packed up and left fearful that there could be more strikes, but it's very difficult for them to know where to go
VAUSE: It's such a small piece of land. There's so many people there, and as you say, there is nowhere safe. Paula, thank you. Paula Hancocks live for us in Abu Dhabi. 74 days since the last presidential debate upended this year's race for the White House. We're now on the eve of Vice President Kamala Harris coming face to face with Donald Trump, an encounter which also has the potential to be another election defining moment.
Harris arrived in Philadelphia Monday and has spent days preparing. She predicts Trump will lie and use his old, tired playbook of personal attacks. The Trump campaign spokesperson says Trump will just be himself while previewing some of likely attack lines, including that Harris owns everything from this current administration.
The latest polling shows the race remains extremely tight, both candidates hoping to sway still undecided voters when they meet Tuesday night in Philadelphia. CNN correspondents are in Philadelphia covering both campaigns in a moment. Kristen Holmes will have the very latest from Team Trump, but we'll begin with Priscilla Alvarez, who is following the Harris campaign.
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PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: vice president Kamala Harris arriving to Philadelphia on Monday for what will be her first face to face encounter against former President Donald Trump on Tuesday night, that debate, one that the Vice President has been preparing for, for weeks and over the last several days, was in Pittsburgh for her and her teams in mock sessions as well as review policy books to again, try to identify where the former president has flipped on issues, something that she's likely to mention during the debate on Tuesday.
But her debate team is also preparing her for possible insults, derogatory comments and name calling from the former president and the vice president, suggesting in an interview that she is well prepared for that.
KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: He played from this really old and tired playbook, right? Where he -- there's no floor for him in terms of how low he will go and we should be prepared for that. We should be prepared for the fact that he is not burdened by telling the truth.
ALVAREZ: Now a close Harris ally tells me that the Vice President is also keenly aware that this is also an opportunity for her to try to appeal to a large audience of voters, especially those persuadable and undecided voters, and doing that by presenting a vision and policies, especially on issues like the economy, which up until this point, she has lagged behind former President Donald Trump in the poll.
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So her team both preparing her for what may be insults from the former president, but also trying to keep her focused on policy. Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, Philadelphia.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Trump campaign held a preview call on Monday going over some of what seems to be Donald Trump's debate strategy, or at least what he plans to use as attack lines against Kamala Harris. We heard from Jason Miller, Matt Gaetz, the Florida representative, as well as former representative, Tulsi Gabbard. Not surprising, all of them have been helping Donald Trump with his preparation, even though, of course, Donald Trump himself doesn't call it preparation.
Here's what we heard Miller talking about in terms of what you might hear from Donald Trump on Tuesday.
JASON MILLER, TRUMP CAMPAIGN SPOKESMAN: Another opening. I do want to point out here that Harris is clearly created with all the flip flops within the ill-fated interview with Dana Bash is Kamala said that her values haven't changed, which really opens the door to talking about, what are those values? What has Kamala Harris stood for over the years, going all the way back to the beginning, with the point being, these are dangerously liberal policy positions.
HOLMES: He also alluded to potential surprises, which is unclear what exactly that would be, especially given the fact that, remember, there is no live audience here, so it's kind of limited in what those surprises might play out to be.
It was also asked about what exactly the preparation looked like. We were told on that call, something that we've heard time and time again from Donald Trump's senior advisers, where they essentially say that everything Donald Trump does is a part of preparation, talking about interviews, short or long, going and speaking before a town hall, getting asked questions at the New York Economic Club.
These are things they call his kind of preparation. We also know he sits for what they call policy sessions to talk to some of those senior advisers about policy, but also about how to pivot to the issues that they believe will help Donald Trump win in November, like immigration, like crime, like inflation.
The biggest question we are hearing from a lot of Donald Trump's allies is, will he be able to control his temperament? Though, all of this preparation is for not if he shows that he lets Kamala Harris get underneath his skin? That is what I've been told by number of allies.
However, as we have seen time and time again, this is all going to come down to Donald Trump and how he chooses to present himself when he takes the stage on Tuesday. Kristen, Holmes, CNN, Philadelphia.
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VAUSE: And tune into CNN, yes CNN, to watch the ABC News, presidential debate. Yes, you heard that right. Tuesday, 9:00 p.m. Eastern. Watch the debate here on CNN, otherwise replay Wednesday, 2:00 a.m. Eastern Time. That's 7:00 a.m. in London.
A legendary, unmistakable voice of stage and screen has fallen silent actor James Earl Jones died Monday, at age 93 according to his agent. Jones is known as the booming voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars films and Mufasa as the Lion King, as well as so many other on screen roles. And he gave voice to who we are here at CNN. CNN's Randi Kaye remembers.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tonight, he owns the most famous voice in America.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That most famous voice belongs to none other than James Earl Jones.
JAMES EARL JONES, ACTOR: This is CNN.
KAYE (voice-over): For decades, Jones was the voice of CNN. He first recorded those three words. This is CNN in 1989 to mark CNN's upcoming 10 year anniversary.
JONES: It was so short. I mean, it took five minutes, right? And I forgot it.
KAYE (voice-over) But perhaps his most famous line is this.
JONES: I am your father.
KAYE (voice-over): Darth Vader was originally played by a different actor, but the way Jones tells it, Director George Lucas decided he needed a more sinister voice.
JONES: Called me and said, you want to do a day's work? And I said, Yes.
LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: A day's work.
JONES: Two and a half hours. Yes.
KING: That's all the Darth Vader languages in two and a half hours.
JONES: Yes. A few $1,000. I went home.
KAYE (voice-over): How'd he master Vader's voice?
JONES: The key to Darth Vader is a narrow band of expression, no inflictions. He's not human.
KAYE (voice-over): His movie credits extend well beyond Star Wars. Jones also appeared in Field of Dreams, The Lion King and Patriot Games, to name a few. All of this from a man who struggled as a child to speak. He opened up to Larry King in 1993 about his childhood stutter.
KING: You were a stutterer.
JONES: Yes, stutter a stammerer. I still am, and you'll hear me tonight stutter, I'm sure. I just, you know, I fake it, you know, you stutter, come on.
KING: And so you stayed silent.
JONES: It was so embarrassing and painful to talk, you know, because the kids in the back row would laugh, and it was painful for the stutterer, and I just decided to go mum. KAYE (voice-over): In fact, Jones hardly said a word from age six to
age 14, but after a teacher helped him write and read poetry --
JONES: He discovered I wrote poetry, and he got me to read my poetry in front of the class. And when I did, it didn't stutter.
KAYE (voice-over): Jones eventually found his distinctive thundering voice.
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And those vocal cords of his launched a career he'd never imagined, not just Hollywood, but Broadway too. He won three Tony Awards, including one in 1969 for his role in The Great White Hope.
JONES: Is your wish coming true.
KAYE (voice-over): He may not have done it all, but for James Earl Jones, he'd done enough.
JONES: Death is OK. It is something that happens to all of us.
KAYE (voice-over): James Earl Jones was 93.
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VAUSE: Life well lived. CNN's Randi Kaye with that report, and around the world, there have been tributes to James Earl Jones. Kevin Costner, who starred with Jones in a Field of Dreams, posted on social media that booming voice, that quiet strength, the kindness that he radiated. So much can be said about his legacy. So I'll just say how thankful I am that part of it includes Field of Dreams. Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in the early Star Wars films posted simply RIP dad, rest in peace.
Well, nine months after her cancer diagnosis, the Princess of Wales says she's entering a new phase of recovering, and her chemotherapy treatment is now complete. The royal family produced -- release rather highly produced, a mode of video Monday of Catherine as well as Prince William and their three children, and the princess has talked about how her plans for the future, how difficult the past few months have been. CNN's Max Foster has details.
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MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): After months of uncertainty, Catherine, the Princess of Wales, at last, shared a feeling of relief whilst announcing that she has completed her chemotherapy.
CATHERINE, PRINCESS OF WALES: As the summer comes to an end, I cannot tell you what relief it is to have finally completed my chemotherapy treatment. The last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family. Life as you know, it can change in an instant, and we've had to find a way to navigate the stormy waters and road unknown.
FOSTER (voice-over): In a heartfelt video released by Kensington Palace, Catherine said she was entering a new phase of recovery and will gradually return to public duties over the coming months, but she noted that the road to full recovery is still a long one.
CATHERINE: The cancer journey is complex, scary and unpredictable for everyone, especially those closest to you, with humility, it also brings you face to face with your own vulnerabilities in a way you've never considered before, and with that, a new perspective on everything, doing what I can to stay cancer free is now my focus.
FOSTER (voice-over): In March, Catherine announced that she had an unspecified form of cancer, and it started preventative chemotherapy.
CATHERINE: And I'm now in the early stages of that treatment.
FOSTER (voice-over): The news came after widespread speculation over her extended absence from public events. Since then, updates on the princess's condition have been sparse. She's largely avoided the spotlight, making only two public appearances, joining her family on the balcony at Buckingham Palace for the trooping of color ceremony in June and in the following month, accompanied by her daughter to the men's singles final at Wimbledon, where she received a standing ovation.
Catherine expressed profound gratitude for the love and support that she felt whilst receiving treatment from both her family and the public.
CATHERINE: This time has, above all, reminded William and me to reflect and be grateful for the simple yet important things in life, act so many of us often take for granted of simply loving and being loved.
FOSTER (voice-over): As she moves forward with her recovery, Catherine has declared her desire to be a beacon of hope and light for those facing their own battle with the disease. Max Foster, CNN London.
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VAUSE: Earlier, I spoke with CNN royal historian Kate Williams about that video which sets a new standard and a new way for the royal family to get their message directly to the public.
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VAUSE: So it's easy to forget that this was a video message intended to provide an update on Kate's condition. Highly produced, very slick at one point, Catherine says her focus now is to remain cancer free while adding this.
CATHERINE: I am, however, looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months, when I can. Despite all that's gone before, I enter this new phase of recovery with a renewed sense of hope and appreciation of life.
VAUSE: That line, despite all that's gone before, I presume that's a reference to her battle with cancer. It also seems to make clear that it will be a long time before she returns to her pre-cancer schedule of public appearances, if she ever does.
KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL HISTORIAN: Yes, John, what we saw in this really beautiful three minute film the shots of the family in Norfolk by the coast and in the forest with and also the shots of Kate with her parents, that Carol and Michael Middleton.
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What we really saw here there was two main messages. Number one was her talking about what she's been through with cancer, what the family's been through, as she called the complex, scary and unpredictable journey. And number two was her giving as a heads up about the future, and what she was saying was we shouldn't expect to see Kate back as she once was, in terms of engagements for some time. She said it's going to be light engagements this year, maybe, you know, a few local engagements. We'll expect to see her in November, in the Remembrance Sunday in December for Carol service.
But apart from that, it may not be that she returns to full engagements until well into next year, and everything is done on doctor's orders. So, the royal family is superstar, who is Catherine, the Prince of Wales, they're still going to have to wait some time for her to be back in full action, because, as she says, her path to healing is long, even though it's chemotherapy.
VAUSE: One thing which really struck me was sort of this message of this how life changing, you know, the past eight or nine months have been for Catherine, but listen to this sound bite.
CATHERINE: The cancer journey is complex, scary and unpredictable for everyone, especially those closest to you. With humility, it also brings you face to face with your own vulnerabilities in a way you've never considered before.
VAUSE: Kensington Palace has declined to make public any further details about Catherine's cancer. There are no details on treatment apart from saying this chemotherapy, it's all very broad. There's no specifics. But the way she's talking. It sounds like the last, you know, eight, nine months were just difficult, that life threatening in a way.
WILLIAMS: This really is such a moving, moving film and it's so different to the way that royals have normally done it in the past. As a historian, I've seen so many royal statements. This one was a film. It was narrated by Catherine. It's her words. She's speaking directly to us, and although, as you say, John, we don't really know very much about what kind of cancer it is, what stage it was, what the prognosis is, but what she's saying here is she's really had a very hard time. It's been incredibly tough. Those are her words, and she's as we were talking about, she's confronted her own vulnerabilities.
This is clearly Catherine didn't know. There was no warning she had cancer. It was planned abdominal surgery she had in January, and then during that they found, obviously, some point that needed cancer treatment. She started it in late February. She's been going through it until now, and it's been a long and hard road. And really, you know, she looks great. She looks vibrant. She sounds
so full that it's so full of hope. She talks about her hope, the light coming through, but it's clearly, as she said, you know, that there has been darkness, that those are her words. There has been darkness.
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VAUSE: Part of my conversation there with Kate Williams just a short time ago. Well, a scathing congressional report on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. In a moment, why the White House is trying to push the buck back onto the White House the previous Trump administration just ahead.
Also Ukraine, drawing from an unconventional source of troops as it tries to shore up its eastern front lines with new manpower. Details in a moment.
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VAUSE: 144 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight, including 20 over the Moscow region, according to Russia's Defense Ministry.
Images on social media appear to show what looks like a fire in a residential building in the Moscow region. Local officials say some of the drones landed about 38 kilometers south of the Kremlin.
Meantime, Ukrainian forces appear to be struggling to hold defensive lines as a Russian advance pushes closer to a key military supply hub in the next region. Fred Pleitgen has the very latest now from the embattled city and a warning his report contains graphic images.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Ukrainian troops sweeping into a village on the Eastern Front. But these aren't career soldiers. They're ex-convicts who volunteered from prison, got some basic training and were thrust into battle. Vitaly, 41 years old, 10 years in jail for theft and violent assault, now assaulting Vladimir Putin's army.
VITALY, EX-CONVICT, SHKVAL COMPANY, 59th BRIGADE: We have a goal. We have a task and we must do it. We're never confused, always focused. You need to be very quick there.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): The ex-convicts are part of Ukraine's 59th brigade, their camp near the front line, rudimentary, but a lot better than jail.
Our conversations remain basic about survival or death.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He who was a strong spirit wins.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Many are dying here on both sides. The 59th Brigade gave us this video showing Russians fleeing a burning house as the ex-convicts attack, but Vitaly admits they are suffering casualties as well,
VITALY: We were moving into a position and my buddy was blown apart as soon as we went to the field. He was dismantled. It's hard to watch, but what can you do? You can't help.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Their deal is simple, fight, survive and become free men.
VITALY: I need to turn the page of my life. I have five children after all. I need to think about my kids a little bit and about myself. My life was a mess.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): But company commander, Oleksandr says his men performed some of the most dangerous assaults around here. Oleksandr was a jail warden and many of those here his inmates. He recruited them and says the traits that put them in jail now keep them alive.
OLEKSANDR, COMMANDER OF SHKVAL COMPANY, 59TH BRIGADE: The convict subculture is used to surviving. They survived in very harsh condition. And they will make every effort to survive.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): This unit is part o Ukraine's force defending the key logistic hub, Pokrovsk.
PLEITGEN: Pokrovsk is now one of the main frontline towns in the war in Ukraine. As you can see, the streets here are virtually deserted at the same time, the Russians are hitting this place with really heavy munitions, everything from artillery shells to large rockets.
PLEITGEN: After major advances, the Russians are knocking on the door here. Shells and rockets constantly impacting, especially in the evenings, and that's when the medics from the 68th Mountaineer Brigade start receiving most of the heavy casualties.
They show us this video of a U.S. supplied Max Pro armored vehicle hit by a Russian drone, two killed, four severely injured. Casualties Ukraine's military, already badly outmanned, cannot afford the medic, who goes by the call sign Barbarian, tells me.
"BARBARIAN", MEDIC, 69TH BRIDAGE: There are fewer of us. One of us matches 20 Russians. But we lack training. The training period is very short. We lack equipment. They took the initiative in the sky. I mean drones.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): And Russian drones are also lethal at night, so we leave Pokrovsk as darkness falls Ukrainian troops heading towards the front, hoping to keep Putin's army away from this key city. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Pokrovsk, Ukraine.
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VAUSE: U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan has been called a catastrophic failure in a new report from congressional Republicans and despite White House attempts to push back claiming it's all political, Republicans insist it's not, despite adding vice president Kamala Harris's name more than 200 times since the initial report. CNN's Manu Raju has details.
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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: House Republicans releasing a scathing report about the withdrawal from Afghanistan, pleasing the warning directly on the Biden administration, or they say, Biden-Harris administration about everything that went wrong in that chaotic withdrawal from America's longest running war.
In fact, saying in this report, quote, "The Biden-Harris administration prioritized optics over the withdrawal of the -- over the security of U.S. personnel". And also saying it, quote, "Misled and in some cases directly lied to the American public about the withdrawal.
Top Democrats dismissing this report, saying it is all politics aimed at undercutting Vice President Harris on the eve of the presidential debate in fact, this report mentions Kamala Harris' name of total of 251 times.
That is much different than the interim report that Michael McCaul, the chairman of the committee, put out before Harris was the nominee. In that report, her name was mentioned just twice, but McCaul contending that this has nothing to do with politics, saying that the next time there's such a withdrawal there's going to be much changes to American policy and criticizing the Biden administration in the process.
REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL (R-TX): It's a historic document. It's not a political document. It was a document designed to get the truth.
This was a catastrophic failure of epic proportions. Some say Saigon was the worst. I say this was for many reasons.
RAJU: Now the White House pushing back on this report and also noting that -- contending that it was Biden whose hands were tied over this issue because of the agreement that the Trump administration had inked with the Taliban to get out of Afghanistan, saying that Joe Biden had a decision to make, essentially follow through with that plan or essentially keep that war running and say they had to do this because of that agreement.
JOHN KIRBY, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY: The Trump administration cut a deal called the Doha agreement that mandated a complete U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. And yes, that included Bagram Airbase.
President Biden for his part, faced a stark choice when he came to office. Abide by the flawed agreement and end Americas longest war or blow up the deal, extend the war.
RAJU: Republicans say this investigation is not over yet. There are plans to be more potentially hearings, potential subpoenas for some of those decision-makers who they say did not cooperate with this committee's investigation.
Manu Raju, CNN -- Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: When we come back, Pope Francis speaks out against sexual abuse while visiting East Timor. The significance of his speech on all of that in just a moment.
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VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Pope Francis will preside over A public mass in East Timor in a few hours, with more than half the country's population expected to attend. A day earlier he arrived with much fanfare with crowds lining the streets.
The pontiff has met with local church officials. He visited a school for children with disabilities. But so far, the highlight of his visit was a call to action for government leaders to protect children from abuse.
Live to Hong Kong, CNN's Kristie Lu Stout is standing by with all these developments for this trip.
Day 8, a marathon tour of Asia and now he's addressing the faithful in East Timor. This is a nation which was rocked by a sexual scandal within the church not so long ago.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, not so long ago at all. And it was addressed indirectly by the pontiff, Pope Francis, on Monday called on young people to be protected from abuse.
Again, he delivered this message on Monday, the first day of his three-day visit to East Timor, part of its marathon trip across Asia. And the Pope I should also add, according to his official schedule, is not scheduled to meet with victims while in the country.
This morning, he visited children with disabilities at a school. He met with religious leaders. And when he arrived at the cathedral in Dili, the capital of East Timor, he was greeted by multitudes, by throngs of well-wishers who filled the streets and chanted "Long live Pope Francis".
Now in about two hours from now about 4:30 p.m. local time, the Pope will preside over a much-anticipated open-air mass that could draw more than half of the total population of East Timor.
This country has deep ties with the Catholic Church, which has played an outsized role in its struggle for independence, which was decades- long and earned in 2002. But all that has been overshadowed by accusations of clerical sexual
abuse. It was two years ago when the Vatican said that it secretly disciplined East Timor bishop who had won the Nobel Peace Prize in the mid-1990s. His name, Carlos Ximenez Belo, after he was accused of sexually abusing boys in East Timor decades ago.
And again, speaking yesterday in Dili, Pope Francis did not directly address the scandal. Instead, he issued a call to quote, "do everything possible to prevent such abuse".
Watch this.
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POPE FRANCIS, LEADER OF CATHOLIC CHURCH (through translator): We shall not forget those children and adolescents that had their dignity violated. This phenomenon is happening across the world.
In response, we are all called to do everything possible to prevent every kind of abuse and guarantee a peaceful growth for all young people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT: Also hanging over this visit is the price tag. There has been criticism about the $12 million earmarked and paid for the visit. East Timor's one of the poorest countries in the world.
And according to the World Bank, it says 47 percent of children in East Timor are stunted because of malnutrition, that's one of the highest rates in the world.
The Pope did address East Timor's economic challenges, saying that there is a need for collective and wide-ranging action, John.
VAUSE: Kristie, thank you. Kristie Lu Stout live for us in Hong Kong with the very latest on the Pope's trip. Thank you.
Well, the death toll from Typhoon Yagi and its aftermath continues to rise in Vietnam with at least 59 deaths now reported by state media. Crews are still searching for survivors after a bridge collapsed and a bus carrying 20 people were swept away. Three people were pulled out of the river and 13 remain unaccounted for.
Yagi damaged farmlands and buildings in Vietnam and knocked out power from multiple provinces with even more damage done elsewhere in Asia.
Yes, it's must-see TV Tuesday night in the United States. For the first time ever Vice President Kamala Harris will debate former President Donald Trump. It's the prosecutor and the convicted felon.
Sources say the Harris campaign has been prepping her for possible insults and name-calling from Trump. While Trump's team is previewing attack lines and claiming that Harris has really been the one in charge of country, not President Biden. It's all her fault. The debate will take place in the key battleground state of
Pennsylvania, with both sides having to reach voters, those very few tiny number of voters who are still undecided.
CNN's Brian Todd reports on what could be a very high-stakes showdown.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There were some of Kamala Harris' most memorable moments in her debates.
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Susan, this is important. And I want to --
MIKE PENCE, FORMER U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Susan, I have to weigh in here.
HARRIS: Mr. Vice President, I'm speaking.
PENCE: I have to weigh in.
HARRIS: I'm speaking.
TODD: October 2020, Harris repeatedly admonished then-Vice President Mike Pence to stop talking over her.
[01:39:51]
TODD: Former President Donald Trump probably won't have the chance to speak over the vice president at Tuesday's debate because each candidate's microphone will be muted while the other is speaking, much like CNN's debate on June 27th when Joe Biden's disastrous performance led to his exit from the race.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Look, if -- we finally beat Medicare.
TODD: That means fewer moments like this.
BIDEN: The question is --
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: -- Radical left.
BIDEN: Will you shut up, man?
TODD: And the rules for Tuesday's debate say each candidate has to stay at their podium so Trump can't physically loom over Harris as he did with Hillary Clinton at a town hall debate in 2016.
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: He was literally breathing down my neck. My skin crawled.
TODD: On Tuesday, Trump could go on offense in other ways, like the personal attacks he leveled at Clinton.
TRUMP: Putin, from everything I see, has no respect for this person. CLINTON: Well, that's because he'd rather have a puppet as president of the United States. And it's pretty clear --
(CROSSTALKING)
TRUMP: No puppet. No puppet. You're the puppet.
TODD: This will be the first ever in-person encounter between Harris and Trump.
MOLLY BALL, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: We've never seen her go up against Donald Trump, who is himself such a unique force on the debate stage and elsewhere.
TODD: And CNN has learned that in debate prep sessions, Harris has had Philippe Reines act as a stand in for Trump, with Reines even wearing a red tie.
Reines was a longtime aide to Hillary Clinton who helped her prepare for the antics Trump would present on stage.
Trump has no stand in for his debate preps, CNN sources say, but has recruited former Democratic Presidential Candidate Tulsi Gabbard to help him prepare. Gabbard, known for her sharp, effective attack on Harris in a 2019 debate.
FMR. REP. TULSI GABBARD (D-HI): She blocked evidence that would have freed an innocent man from death row until the courts forced her to do so.
TODD: But Harris has given as good as she's gotten, like at a Democratic primary debate in 2019, when she challenged Joe Biden for working with segregationist senators in the past.
HARRIS: You also worked with them to oppose busing. And, you know, there was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools and she was bused to school every day. And that little girl was me.
TODD: One advantage Kamala Harris has benefited from is advice from the only two Democrats who have gone up against Donald Trump in debates, Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton.
Harris is said to have good relationships with both Biden and Clinton, and both of them have counseled her since she became the nominee.
Brian Todd, CNN -- Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Amie Parnes is a senior reporter for the news Web site "The Hill" covering the 2024 presidential election, as well as national politics. Thank you for being with us.
AMIE PARNES, SENIOR REPORTER, "THE HILL": Thank you. VAUSE: So back in 2016, you'll remember this. Before each debate, commentators would often debate, you know, which Donald Trump will show up. The Harris campaign it seems is now expecting mean, nasty, name-calling schoolyard bully Trump.
And so the news is that the vice president has been preparing for a range of potential insults, name-calling and derogatory comments from Trump with Harris expecting attacks on her racial and gender identity. Clearly that is one debate challenge.
The other, Trump's superpower seems to be the ability to lie about pretty much anything and everything. But instead of worrying about Trump's behavior, his lying and the insults, at the end of the day would Harris be better off presenting herself as a viable president to win over those conservatives who detest Trump but are not yet sold on her.
So prove to them that the cure isn't worse than the disease.
PARNES: That's her greatest challenge right now, John, is that she has to introduce herself to some folks, reintroduce herself to other folks.
And it is the biggest night in her political career. And they know that and that is why she has been hunkered down and preparing for this debate in a Pittsburgh hotel. They know that this is her chance.
There is some flexibility there right now in terms of elevating her status in the poll. She's plateaued as of right now, but according to voters who are surveyed at these polls, they indicate that there is some movement, there is some growth for her.
They're looking to see who she is and they want her to talk about the future and how her policies will influence voters going forward. And I think she's going to do that.
VAUSE: Well, in the last few weeks, Trump certainly has turned up the volume on the insults. Here he is at a rally on Saturday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're run by stupid people -- stupid, stupid people and we found that out at the debate with Joe. How did that work out? And we're going to find it now again on Tuesday night. Is anybody going to be watching?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Just a couple. And while cause and effect arguments can often be misleading, if you look at the recent polls, Trump has closed the gap, you mentioned this, that Harris has plateaued in these national polls.
[01:44:50]
VAUSE: While in swing states either Trump and Harris have tied or Harris has basically a few points lead, no more than 3 percent.
So is this proof, at least in part, that name-calling works with Donald Trump, which means we will see a lot more of it come Tuesday night.
PARNES: I think he thinks it works with his base. And certainly they're looking for it. But the big question is for him, can he move beyond his base? Can he convince these few thousand voters in these key swing states that he is presidential, that he can do the job again because Kamala Harris is going to stand on the siege (ph) and say we don't want to go back to that. We want to move forward. We don't want the chaos of another Donald Trump presidency.
And so he's going to have to contest that and prove that he is, you know, a viable candidate.
VAUSE: Just a sort of follow up to that. Have Democrats sort of been behaving, you know, like Harris has is 20 percent lead in the polls and the election is in the bag and they sort of allowed the overwhelming relief that Biden withdrew from the race to sort of cloud their judgment of reality right now because this race this is really tight.
PARNES: It is super tight and there was this elation, this moment of relief when Kamala Harris came in and became the nominee. And I think that it was inflated a little bit. And now we're seeing it come down to reality and people are looking and giving her a second look.
And they want to know if she's prepared and she can handle this. Certainly she made headlines as vice president that weren't the most flattering. But we are seeing this right now and I think what's concerning to some Democrats is that she's performing lower than where Hillary Clinton was in 2016, and below where Joe Biden was in 2020.
VAUSE: Well, the Harris team released a new campaign ad Monday with former Trump White House aides denouncing their old boss. Here's part of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here is his vice president.
MIKE PENCE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Anyone who puts themselves over the Constitution should never be president of the United States.
It should come as no surprise that I will not be endorsing Donald Trump this year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His defense secretary.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Do you think Trump can be trusted with the nation's secrets ever again?
MARK ESPER, FORMER U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: No. I mean, it's just irresponsible action that places our service members at risk, places our nation's security at risk.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His national security adviser.
JOHN BOLTON, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER TO DONALD TRUMP: Donald Trump will cause a lot of damage. The only thing he cares about is Donald Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: You know, there's no shortage of Republicans willing to speak out and try and prevent Trump's reelection. Hundreds of workers from the George W. Bush campaigns, as well as the McCain and Romney campaign.
The problem here it just doesn't cut through, MAGA supporters especially see them as sellouts -- you know, not part of the new Trump-dominated Republican Party.
PARNES: No, the big question here is does it cut through with these undecided voters, these few voters that will make up this election in these key states. Does it cut through to them? And that's the big question.
And certainly the Harris campaign is really trying to convince those voters that she is the best candidate.
You saw that on the last night of the Democratic convention. She was speaking directly to those voters. You had a lot of moderates speaking that night.
Certainly they know that they have the Democratic base or most of the people in their party rallied, but they need to go beyond that.
VAUSE: Amie, thank you so much for being with us. We really appreciate it.
PARNES: Thank you.
VAUSE: We have this programming note. The ABC News presidential debate will be seen here on CNN as well. Live from 9:00 p.m. Eastern time. That's on Tuesday.
And the debate will replay it in its entirety here at 2:00 a.m. Eastern time. That's 7:00 am in London. Yes, the entire debate from ABC seen on CNN.
Confusing perhaps, but we're taking note of it.
In a moment, new details in the mass shooting at a Georgia high school. The information that's raising some questions about whether more could have been done to prevent this tragedy in the first place.
[01:48:34]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) VAUSE: Police have released body cam images of officers detaining NFL star, Tyreek Hill during a traffic stop Sunday. He was pulled over near Hard Rock Stadium on his way to the Miami Dolphins game, where he argued with officers about rolling down his window and stepping out of the car.
He was dragged from the vehicle and handcuffed while he was face down on the pavement. He received two citations and was allowed to go a few minutes later.
He claims he was a slow to step out of the car and sit on the curb because of recent knee surgery. Yet he was able to play in the game celebrating an 80-yard touchdown catch with this apparent handcuff reenactment.
Body cameras just -- two new body camera images have been released showing this week or last week's suspect of a school shooting in Georgia being interviewed along with his father by Sheriff's deputies, part of an FBI investigation into online threats about school shootings.
All of this as details emerge about warning signs, which potentially may have prevented Wednesday's attack.
CNN's Isabel Rosales with details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: we've heard the audio, but now for the first time, were seeing this may 2023 exchange between law enforcement and the suspected shooter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So did your dad kind of explain everything to you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said something about shooting up a school.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you say something about school shooting?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never, I just told him, I don't know what -- maybe they misheard somebody else. I don't remember saying that.
ROSALES: The then 13-year-old and his father questioned after anonymous tips to the FBI regarding online threats to commit a school shooting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I want you to talk to him just -- just tell him. Like you I don't know anything about any threatening (EXPLETIVE DELETED) like that. I'm going to be mad as hell if he did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then all the guns will go away. And they won't be accessible. I'm trying to be (INAUDIBLE), trying to teach him about firearms and safety and how to do it all. And getting him interested in the outdoors.
ROSALES: At the time there was no probable cause for arrest. CNN also obtained text messages. Colt Gray's mother, Marcee Gray, wrote to family members after the shooting. "I was the one who notified the school counselor," she wrote. "I told them it was an extreme emergency and for them to go and immediately find Colt to check on him."
According to a phone log also obtained by CNN Marcee Gray urgently reached out to Apalachee High multiple times the morning of the shooting. One call lasted ten minutes and came in a full half-hour before the shooting.
"I don't understand what took them so long because the first shots weren't fired until 1030," Marcee Gray texted.
Gray told "The Washington Post" and a family member confirms to CNN that her son sent her an alarming text the morning of the shooting. It read only "I'm sorry, mom."
Students inside the alleged shooter's classroom confirmed to CNN that an administrator came looking for the 14-year-old but mistook him for another student with a similar name.
LYELA SAYARATH, APALACHEE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: The administrator comes looking for that kid. and my friend with like almost the same name is in the bathroom at the time as well. Eventually they realized like they take my friend's bag and soon he comes back in with his bag and he was like, I don't know why they had me like, I don't know what's happening.
30 minutes later at 10:20 a.m. law enforcement received reports of shots fired. In a panic, Rebecca Sayarath raced to the school after her daughter, Lyela called.
REBECCA SAYARATH, DAUGHTER ATTENDS APALACHEE HIGH SCHOOL: I'm furious. I believe it all could have been prevented.
ROSALES: Now, knowing that the suspect's mother had called the school that morning Sayarath, is even more angry.
R. SAYARATH: Knowing now that it was heard that had called and the fact that they had been telling the school for an entire week at least beforehand, that he was homicidal and suicidal and had access to guns just should have been in police's hand from the moment they got that call that morning.
ROSALES: The older sister of Christian Angulo, one of the four victims, tells CNN their family believes this was 100 percent preventable, saying in part they knew of the situation beforehand and didn't take the proper action to prevent this tragedy from happening.
Isabel Rosalas, CNN -- Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: We'll take a short pause and we'll be back in a moment. You're watching CNN. [01:54:45]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Evacuations have been issued in parts of Louisiana ahead of tropical storm Francine as it closes in on the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Francine is expected to strengthen to a hurricane anytime now. Warnings and watches are in place for the Texas coast as well. Landfall in Louisiana expected Wednesday with Francine potentially a Category 2 hurricane.
Flooding rainfall and heavy winds and dangerous storm surge are all expected. There you go.
We're just about two hours away from an historic SpaceX launch (INAUDIBLE) an all-civilian crew. The five-day Polaris Dawn mission, heading to the highest altitude of any crewed space flights since the Apollo mission ended more than 50 years ago.
The group of four will attempt the first-ever commercial spacewalk. Scheduled launches last month were postponed because of a helium leak and weather concerns.
And we will bring you the Polaris Dawn launch live, our special coverage starts at 3:00 a.m. Eastern time, 8:00 a.m. in London.
Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm John Vause.
The news continues with my friend and colleague, Anna Coren in Hong Kong after a very short break.
[01:57:23]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
