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Nine Killed, At Least 2,800 Wounded In Pager Explosions In Lebanon; FBI Searches Hawaii Home Of Suspect In Trump Incident; Three- Count Indictment Details Sean "Diddy" Combs' Alleged Criminal Enterprise; Parts Of Europe Battling Deadly Flooding & Wildfires; Instagram Forcing Millions Of Teens Into Protected Accounts. Aired 12- 1a ET
Aired September 18, 2024 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:48]
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Ahead this hour.
Israel's spy agency accused of turning pagers used by Hezbollah militants into bombs. We'll have the latest on that attack and the regional response.
Rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs is behind bars, accused of creating a sex trafficking enterprise. And introducing Instagram Teens, a major effort by the social media platform to make it safer for young people. But will it work? We'll discuss.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Lynda Kinkade.
KINKADE: Well, the Middle East is on edge after thousands of pagers simultaneously exploited in Lebanon, killing at least nine people and injuring more than 2,800.
CNN has learned that Israel is behind the attack. A joint operation between Israel's intelligence service, the Mossad, and the Israeli military targeting Hezbollah militants. A Lebanese security source tells CNN that the devices were new and had been purchased by Hezbollah in recent months.
And a warning, the images you're about to see may be disturbing. The pagers exploited simultaneously across the country Tuesday afternoon. The Lebanese government blames Israel calling it a, quote, "serious violation of Lebanese sovereignty."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This is an earthquake that must be met with response from the resistance. A decisive, destructive, and shattering response even if it leads to war.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It has to escalate. That's how the situation seems. I don't know. Action and reaction. No one really knows honestly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Israeli military officials held a situational assessment meeting Tuesday following those blasts. Israel has refused to comment publicly on the explosions, though it has engaged in cross-border strikes with Hezbollah since the start of the war in Gaza.
Here's what the Pentagon had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJ. GEN. PATRICK RYDER, PENTAGON SPOKESPERSON: A key focus for this department and the U.S. government writ large is on working with partners in the region to include Israel to prevent the conflict between Israel and Hamas from spiraling into a wider conflict. And that includes the tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border. And so we'll continue to strongly advocate for a ceasefire and the release of the hostages, and will continue to strongly advocate for a diplomatic resolution to the tensions that we're seeing along the Israel-Lebanon border.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Schools in Lebanon will be close Wednesday in the wake of those explosions.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has more, and again, a warning, the images in this report are graphic.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the fruit display. At the checkout. In the street. Hard to overstate the psychological impact of hundreds of blasts across Lebanon. Mostly in Hezbollah areas, pagers exploding at about 3:30 according to the group.
Security forces asking Lebanese to stay off the road so the sheer volume of emergency vehicles could get to hospital. Nearly 3,000 patients, at least 170 critical. Easily the most widespread moment of violence to hit across Lebanon since the 2006 war with Israel, who Hezbollah is now firmly blaming for these new attacks on their TV channel.
We blame the Israeli enemy with full responsibility, the TV anchor said, for this criminal attack that also harmed civilians.
Israel themselves declined to claim the attack. To blame, perhaps these tiny devices, according to posts on social media CNN can't verify, the race now to work out how. Was it just one type of device? A cyber-attack? A battery bomb? Did they just hit Hezbollah areas?
[00:05:03]
It comes at yet another critical time. Monday, Israel's defense minister hinted, meeting the U.S. envoy, that the time for a diplomatic solution of how to get tens of thousands of Israelis home to the war plagued north had mostly passed. That a military option is all that remains. The hope had been for calm after the death of Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr, also killed in a violation of Hezbollah's stronghold in Southern Beirut, led to great fury but minimal fire.
With Hezbollah's retaliation restrained, perhaps by pre-emptive Israeli strikes, many felt the moment of conflagration had passed. Now, it seems back again with Hezbollah once more under pressure to hit back hard. But only because another sophisticated attack has made them look weak.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: For more now, I'm joined by Bob Baer, a former CIA officer and the author of the "Perfect Kill; 21 Laws for Assassins."
Good to have you with us, Bob.
ROBERT BAER, FORMER CIA OFFICER: Of course.
KINKADE: So this sounds like a pretty sophisticated attack. Pagers made in Taiwan that were then embedded with explosives by Israel, according to information obtained by CNN before being distributed to Hezbollah militants and then simultaneously detonated with a push message. How would you describe this attack?
BAER: It's, well, one, that's devastating for Hezbollah, but more than that, it shows Israel's ability, for instance, to get into logistics chains for Hezbollah. That typically is not easy for anyone so somewhere between Taiwan and Lebanon, they got in the middle of this and they rigged all of these phones, almost definitely high explosives, plastic. In the past, they've used RDX. And it doesn't take much really. It's like, you know, 10 to 15 grams to do real damage and kill people.
KINKADE: And of course --
BAER: And it's just a matter -- yes, go on.
KINKADE: I mean, Israel has a history of carrying out complex attacks like this. Just tell us what you've witnessed, Bob?
BAER: Well, I investigated an Israeli assassination of a Hamas bomber in Gaza and what they did there was they put explosives in a cell phone, 15 grams of RDX, and as soon as he got on the phone and they heard his voice, they remotely detonated the phone and he had the phone to his ear so it blew half his head off and it was -- didn't kill anybody else in the room and it was a very neat operation and this man had been wanted for a long time. He'd kill something like 90 Israelis with suicide bombs.
So they do know what they're doing, and they also know the technical sides of this is that it is possible to hide explosives in a pager or a cell phone, put a miniature detonator and make sure that the connection is encrypted. So a code is sent, the de-encrypts. The detonator, so they explode all at one time.
Now, to get these many pagers all at once, and apparently it's Hezbollah's primary communication network, is, like I said, it's devastating for Hezbollah and takes an enormous amount of skill which no country in the world, probably even the United States, could pull this off.
KINKADE: Wow. And in this attack, we know that several people were killed, thousands injured, almost 200 critically injured, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. What is the risk calculation? Why would Israel do this?
BAER: Well, I can speculate and I think it's a provocation against Hezbollah because I usually keep reading the news and lot of smart people are saying that Netanyahu wants to go into Southern Lebanon and remove Hezbollah especially the rockets. Now, is this what Netanyahu has in mind? Well, they haven't claimed the attack. I don't know. And will Hezbollah respond to the attack is another question because, I mean, their responses to Israel have been relatively measured.
I mean, they could do a lot more damage with their rockets but they haven't. But is this a tipping point, an escalation? It very well could be.
KINKADE: I mean, that is the big question, right? Whether this could be a prelude to a wider regional war. Because we know that at least since the October 7th attack, Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire across the Israeli-Lebanese border. Surely this sort of an attack that we've just witnessed won't make Hezbollah roll over and stop, right?
BAER: No. This is a guerilla organization. It can absorb losses like this. Fuad Shukr was assassinated a couple of weeks ago.
[00:10:02]
He was a key military figure, but there's a younger groups that can come along and they can operate all cross Southern Lebanon into the Beqaa Valley. They're everywhere and they're not going away.
KINKADE: And you mentioned, Bob, just how crucial these pagers are to communication within the Hezbollah organization. I mean, they've been described as the most sacred form of their communication. And if that of course is the case how could that disrupt their planning going forward?
BAER: What they did, they got caught with cell phones too many times, people carrying them were hit with drones. I got involved in investigation. They killed the prime minister. They were caught because of cell phones. So gradually they've gone away and since 7th October, they've definitely gone away from cell phones.
Now, pagers are impossible to track. Our special forces use them because all they are is receivers. They don't transmit. And iPhone you can track it anywhere, any kind of phone you can track, but pagers, no. And this is what they have defaulted to since 7th October. But the Israelis, rather than trying to track these pagers, like I said, they can't, has used them as assassination devices.
KINKADE: Interesting insight. Bob Baer, former CIA officer, great to have you with us. Appreciate your time.
BAER: Thank you.
KINKADE: U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is back on the campaign trail just days after an apparent assassination attempt at his Florida golf club. The former president walked through the crowd of supporters, shaking hands. Usually at his rally, Trump walks onto the stage and waves at the crowd without getting close to them.
On Tuesday, he spoke about the incident in Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, only consequential presidents get shot at. When I say something like that, you have countries saying this guy, but what can you do? You have to do, you have to do what you have to do, right? You have to -- we have to be brave. Otherwise, we're not going to have a country left.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, his Democratic rival Vice President Kamala Harris attended an event hosted by the National Association of Black Journalists in Philadelphia. She answered questions on a wide range of issues and shared details about her call with Trump after Sunday's incident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I checked in order to see if he was OK. And I told him what I have said publicly, there's no place for political violence in our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, the apparent assassination attempt has prompted swift reaction on Capitol Hill and a call for more protection for both presidential nominees. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise says minor changes are being made to a bill that would mandate that both Harris and Trump received the same level of Secret Service protection as President Joe Biden. The goal has been to put the measure on the floor this week. Meantime, the FBI is searching the suspect's home in Hawaii.
CNN's Kyung Lah has the details on that investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Federal agents entered Ryan Routh's home in Kaaawa, Hawaii, executing court authorized search warrants, trying to piece together how a man described as delusional, obsessed with national and global politics, would cross the ocean and the continental U.S. and allegedly attempt to kill a former president. Neighbors who saw Routh just weeks ago didn't see immediate signs.
RAYMOND CORREA, ROUTH'S NEIGHBOR: Never said a word. Nothing. No Trump, no nothing. Never raised his voice, never seen him mad.
LAH: But Routh's criminal history does reveal a decades long history with law enforcement dating back to the late 1990s. In April 2002 Routh was arrested and later convicted for possessing an explosive, described in court records as a binary explosive device with a 10-inch detonation cord and a blasting cap.
SGT. TRACY FULK (RET.), GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA POLICE: I knew who he was.
LAH: Later in 2002, retired Greensboro police sergeant Tracy Fulk pulled Routh over. He fled and barricaded himself inside his business.
FULK: Because I knew his history with guns or different weapons I decided not to follow him in and we've set up a perimeter. We called out special response and then we were eventually able to get him out of the house.
LAH: About six years ago, Routh moved to Hawaii and picked up steam on social media, taking on small and large causes like the war in Ukraine, even tweeting at Ukraine's president, I will fly from America and fight with you. Routh kept that pledge to travel there. With the help of a GoFundMe, he landed in Ukraine in April 2022.
RYAN WESLEY ROUTH, SUSPECT: Putin is a terrorist and he needs to be ended.
LAH: Chelsea Walsh, a nurse, met Routh in Kyiv at one of those protests.
[00:15:03]
CHELSEA WALSH, MET RYAN WESLEY ROUTH IN UKRAINE: He was very delusional, but he acted on his delusions. He was dangerous.
LAH: Walsh found Routh's behavior so alarming that she reported his name to Customs and Border Patrol when she returned to the U.S. in 2022, and listed Routh as the most concerning American she met in Ukraine.
WALSH: And I told him that out of everyone on that list, Ryan Routh that lived in Hawaii was the number one person to watch because he was a ticking time bomb. Something was going to happen with him. Ryan's behaviors were escalating and nobody was stopping him.
LAH: In March of 2023, Routh continued his global travels for the Ukrainian cause, landing in Washington, D.C., visiting Capitol Hill, asking members of Congress to help. Two representatives confirmed Routh showed up at their offices without an appointment, but did not meet him in person. Then in June of 2023, he tweeted he traveled to Taiwan and posted this photo from Taipei. He said he went to recruit supporters to defend its sovereignty.
And on March 5th, 2024 records place Ruth in Guilford County, North Carolina, where he voted in-person in the Democratic primary election.
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R), FLORIDA: This guy, I mean, you look at his rap sheet, you look at the things he's been involved in. This guy had red flags. How the heck did it end up where he's in West Palm Beach in those bushes?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAH (on-camera): Federal agents have been at Routh's Hawaii home throughout the day. They are planning on staying there throughout the evening as well. And there are still a lot of outstanding questions in this investigation. How did he fund that life in Hawaii? How did he fund all of those global travel? How did he get to Florida? How long was he there? In addition to where did this gun come from?
Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.
KINKADE: Well, Senate Republicans blocked a bill on invitro fertilization for a second time as Democrats try to spotlight the issue ahead of November's presidential election. The right to IVF would have guaranteed access to fertility treatment nationwide and forced insurance companies to cover the costs.
The vote was 51 to 44 with Republican senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins siding with Democrats in favor of advancing the measure. The vote appears to put Senate Republicans out of step with their presidential candidate, Donald Trump. In August he claimed that if elected, he would require IVF to be covered by insurance.
Well, still to come, Sean "Diddy" Combs faces a three-count indictment alleging that he ran a sex trafficking criminal enterprise. More on those charges and the reaction from his accusers after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kincade.
Music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs is being held in a federal detention center in New York until his next appearance in court on Wednesday.
[00:20:06]
Combs has pleaded guilty -- not guilty, rather, in response to a scathing three-count indictment alleging that he ran a, quote, "criminal enterprise built on sex trafficking and prostitution, among other crimes."
CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister has more details on that indictment.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER (voice-over): Sean "Diddy" Combs, one of music's biggest stars, ordered behind bars after pleading not guilty to a sweeping federal indictment. Charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution, the grand jury indictment accuses the music mogul of running a criminal enterprise over decades.
DAMIAN WILLIAMS, U.S. ATTORNEY FOR SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: Between at least 2008 and the present, Combs abused, threatened, and coerced victims to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.
WAGMEISTER: Combs was seen dining out in Manhattan Friday before his arrest on Monday night in New York. According to the U.S. attorney prosecuting the case --
WILLIAMS: Combs allegedly planned and controlled the sex performances, which he called freak offs. And he often electronically recorded them.
WAGMEISTER: Hotel surveillance footage obtained exclusively by CNN back in May appears to corroborate some of the allegations of abuse against the rapper, now cited in the new indictment. The video, captured on multiple cameras, shows Combs wearing only a towel assaulting his then girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, at a Los Angeles hotel in March 2016.
Combs has repeatedly denied multiple allegations against him, saying that his accusers are looking for money, but he issued an apology for his conduct on the video only after it came to light.
SEAN "DIDDY" COMBS, MUSICIAN: My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I'm disgusted. I was disgusted then when I did it, I'm disgusted now.
WAGMEISTER: His attorney responding.
MARC AGNIFILO, ATTORNEY FOR SEAN "DIDDY" COMBS: He's going to fight this with all of his energy and all of his might and the full confidence of his lawyers.
We're appealing the decision to hold him without bail.
WAGMEISTER: Combs faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years imprisonment and could face life in prison if convicted.
WILLIAMS: In addition to the violence, the indictment alleges that Combs threatened and coerced victims to get them to participate in the freak offs. He used the embarrassing and sensitive recordings he made of the freak offs as collateral against the victims.
WAGMEISTER: The criminal charges come as Combs faces 10 civil suits, all filed over the last year, nine of which accused him of sexual assault. He has previously denied the accusations of abuse, saying, I did not do any of the awful things being alleged.
In March, authorities searched Combs' homes in Los Angeles and Miami as part of a months' long federal investigation by a team that specializes in human trafficking crime that led to today's indictment. Among the items seized, firearms, including three AR-15s, ammunition, more than 1,000 bottles of personal lubricant, such as baby oil, and video evidence of freak offs, according to the indictment.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WAGMEISTER (on-camera): Now, Cassie, who is Diddy's ex-girlfriend, who was shown in that disturbing hotel surveillance footage, declined to comment on these new charges against Diddy. I reached out to her attorney who says that they will not have anything to say about this indictment, but we have heard from some of the accusers and their attorneys. Aubrey O'Day, who is a singer from the band Danity Kane, which is a band that Diddy formed on his MTV show, "Making the Band," here's what she had to say. Quote, "I feel validated. Today is a win for women all over the world, not just me. Things are finally changing."
And Tyrone Blackburn, who is an attorney who represents three Diddy accusers who have filed civil suits against him, said that this was the first step for justice, quote, "We knew this was coming. The evidence is very clear and it was only a matter of time."
Back to you.
KINKADE: Our thanks to Elizabeth there.
Well, criminal defense attorney Bernarda Villalona joins me now. She's also a former New York prosecutor.
Thanks so much for your time tonight.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you for having me.
KINKADE: So this indictment is damning. It alleges that Combs engaged in a persistent and pervasive pattern of abuse towards women and other individuals, including physical violence in order to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.
What are the most serious charges in this indictment and if found guilty, what punishment could he face?
BERNARDA VILLALONA, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, Sean Combs is facing serious charges. The first charge is the one that's most serious for me, which is the racketeering conspiracy.
[00:25:05]
And the reason why is that but for that charge, there wouldn't be a federal case because that racketeering charge is what allows this case to be in federal court, and also because of the timing, because we're talking about 2008, the racketeering charge allows for this type of case to go on because of the age of the alleged incident.
But that is the most damaging charge in this indictment. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets charged with additional counts, but we'll see in the future to see if whether the prosecution will bring additional charges, but just on racketeering alone, he faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years' incarceration and up to life imprisonment.
KINKADE: Wow. It was interesting to note that despite offering a $50 million bond, as well as home detention, he was denied bail. He's been locked up in a special housing unit in Brooklyn. Why would they make that call to deny bail? What are the risks?
VILLALONA: Well, first off, the purpose of bail and even setting bail is to assure that the person returns to court and I don't think that was the issue that the judge had with Puffy returning to court especially with offerings so much collateral, $50 million. And also telling the judge that he plans on selling his plane and offering his home as well as the home of his mom for him to return to court.
The main issue that the judge had is that a lot of these allegations took place inside of a home, inside of a hotel room, inside a privacy where pretrial detention wouldn't be able to supervise that type of conduct because it's taking place inside of a home. Also, what was concerning for the judge is that there's allegations that he tampered with witnesses, that he was intimidating witnesses.
And for the prosecution, they have already stated that this investigation is ongoing and that they believe that this type of conduct would obstruct the future investigation having to deal with females coming forward in the future and in essence actually enhancing this prosecution.
KINKADE: And prosecutors highlighted what happened to Combs' former girlfriend, how he was seen beating her in the corridor or the hallway of a hotel. I want to show our viewers some of that video, and a warning it is disturbing.
We know that Combs initially denied that this took place saying that she was out to get money but after CNN obtained that video and after it aired he apologized.
Now his attorney spoke with CNN a short time ago about that. I just want to play some of that sound.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AGNIFILO: This video that we've all seen, and it's a bad video for Mr. Combs and he said so himself, when he gave his apology. This is eight years ago and the prosecutors are talking about him bribing a hotel security worker. There was no criminal investigation. This was just a matter of personal embarrassment because he and the person in the video were in the midst of a 10-year relationship that was difficult at times, that was toxic at times, but it was mutually so.
And this whole notion that Mr. Combs is forcing drugs on someone is just nonsensical and it's going to prove to not be true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: I mean, what do you make of that argument? He described this as toxic but mutual. Is that going to be part of his defense? VILLALONA: Well, it seems like preliminarily that's what he's going to
argue. That's what he put before the magistrate judge today to try to get Puff Daddy released, but that didn't work and in fact it backfired on him because the one the judge took into consideration that the defense tried to say that he was going through some things, that this was a private situation, not a public one, and the judge said that is the same private dealings that he has huge concern with, especially when he has to consider Puffy's danger to the community, whether he's a threat to the community. So he did use that against him.
I will say, and he's arguing that, yes, this is between two private parties, but it sounds more of an issue of fact. And when it comes to issue of facts, that's what's supposed to go in front of the jury for a jury to determine what really happened and what's the true truth in any trial.
KINKADE: Bernarda Villalona, from Columbia Law School, appreciate your time. Thanks so much.
VILLALONA: Thank you.
KINKADE: Well, still to come, Europe battling floods and flames. We'll have the latest on the severe weather affecting the region. Also, a man accused of recruiting dozens of strangers to rape his wife over the course of decades takes the witness stand in France, admitting that, I am a rapist. We'll have the latest on that shocking story, next on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
[00:32:20]
The Venezuelan government is cracking down on dissidents, and it's plunged the country into an acute human rights crisis. That's according to a damning new report from the United Nations.
An independent fact-finding mission documented what it calls a continuing and coordinated plan to silence, discourage, and crush opposition to the longtime president, Nicolas Maduro.
The report found that Maduro's government escalated its efforts to crush peaceful dissent after the disputed presidential election in July. More than two dozen people have died in protests, and more than 2,400 people have been arrested.
The opposition leader, Edmundo Gonzalez, who experts say won the election, is seeking asylum in Spain.
An entire village in Northern Hungary is being submerged amid flooding caused by torrential rainfall. With no streets or other means of travel available, residents have had to use boats to get around until the water recedes.
This is the latest example of extreme weather events brought on by client [SIC] -- climate change across the continent.
CNN's Melissa Bell reports.
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MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Death tolls are continuing to rise in several parts of Europe as a result of extreme weather conditions. First of all, as a result of some of the havoc that's been caused by Storm Boris in parts of Eastern and central Europe, some of the worst-hit areas along Poland's border with the Czech Republic, where towns have been evacuated, bridges have collapsed, and there are fears that there could be more damage to come.
In some parts of central Europe, it was a month worth of rain that fell in a matter of just days, with many of those parts of Europe simply unprepared for the amount of water that fell from the sky.
We've seen dams burst, bridges collapse, and tens of thousands have to be evacuated, already with much of that chaos now spreading Southwards to parts of Europe along the Danube.
BELL (voice-over): There are also fears about the wildfires that have gripped parts of Portugal in the center, in the North of the country. Portugal and Spain that have been, for many years now, subject to forest fires over the course of ever-heating summers.
This summer, not so bad for those parts of Southern Europe, but it is the late surge in temperatures over the course of the weekend that appears to have caused several of those wildfires to start.
BELL: Many thousands of firefighters involved in several parts of Portugal and trying to port [SIC] -- put them out. But fears still that they could continue to spread.
Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[00:35:00]
KINKADE: Well, in a case that's making headlines in France, a 71-year- old man has admitted to recruiting dozens of strangers to rape his wife for nearly a decade.
Begging his family for forgiveness, Dominique Pelicot told the court, "I am a rapist, just like all the others in this room."
Prosecutors say Pelicot offered sex with his wife on a website, and then filmed the abuse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEATRICE ZAVARRO, LAWYER FOR DOMINIQUE PELICOT (through translator): Yes, he confirmed that he recognized his part in the rape of his wife. On the question of whether he raped her on his own, he confirmed that sometimes he raped her on his own.
What was the frequency of the rapes? He said that, regarding himself, it took place two or three times a week. Then, some men who came could be added on top of that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: His wife has become a symbol of the struggle against sexual violence in France.
Gisele Pelicot insisted on a public trial to expose her husband and the 50 other men accused of raping her over ten years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTINE, SUPPORTER OF GISELE PELICOT (through translator): This case interests us women and especially seeing this little woman who is defending herself against all these lawyers and all the accused. We have to support her. And maybe this can happen to anyone: young, old, you never know. And it's important.
This hurts. As a woman, this hurts. We can't imagine such things. It's unacceptable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, some of the dozens of defendants say they thought they were participating in a couple's fantasy and that Gisele Pelicot consented to sex.
A critical witness in Harvey Weinstein's original New York trial says she will testify in his upcoming retrial in November. In 2020, the disgraced media mogul was convicted of sex crimes based on the testimony of Mimi Haley and Jessica Mann.
After the conviction was overturned in April, Mann agreed to testify again, but Haley had said she was not sure if she wanted to relive it.
Well, her lawyer now says Haley believes it is the right thing to do.
Well, changes are coming to teen Instagram accounts. The new control settings that could go into effect as soon as next week.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is just hours away from what will likely be its first interest rate cut since the height of the pandemic in 2020. Investors are expecting a quarter point, or perhaps a half-point cut, either of which could send Wall Street to new record highs.
But realistically, it could be a year or more before most Americans reap the rewards from one cut or even multiple cuts.
A rate cut triggers several changes. Commercial banks can charge lower interest rates on mortgages and other loans, making it cheaper to borrow money. That gives businesses the freedom to invest in new projects or hire more workers.
But as one expert explains, it's like the Fed is steering a big ship. And even though they're turning the wheel, it can take a while before the ship actually makes some movement.
[00:40:04]
Well, Instagram has announced sweeping changes for teen accounts, which could go into effect as soon as next week. The platform's parent company, Meta, has been under pressure for years to do more to protect young users.
CNN's Clare Duffy explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE DUFFY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. Starting next week --
DUFFY (voice-over): -- Instagram is going to start automatically applying new teen account settings for all users under the age of 18.
Here's what that's going to look like. All new and existing teen accounts will be automatically set to private. So, even if you're a teen influencer, your account will automatically be set to private.
There's going to be new restrictions on who can message teens, who can tag them in photos and comments.
Teens will start seeing less sensitive content in their feed. So, think for example, a post promoting a cosmetic procedure. They'll see less of that.
Teen accounts will also be automatically set to sleep mode by default, which means they won't be receiving notifications overnight. Messages will receive an auto response.
And teens are going to start getting a warning when they've spent an hour on the platform each day.
But here's what I think is the biggest change here. Teens who are 16- and 17-years-old, once this change happens, they can automatically, by themselves, go back in and change the settings back if they want.
But teens who are 13 to 15 will have to receive parental approval through the app if they want to change any of these settings. That means that teens who are 13 to 15 haven't set up parental supervision, linked their parents' account to their account, they're going to have to do that if they want less of these restrictions.
So, potentially, more control for parents here of young teens in terms of their kids' experience on Instagram. Now, Instagram has over the past few years, in the face of a lot of pressure, rolled out some one- off changes, new policy updates to try to keep teens safe.
But this is a much more comprehensive approach than what we've seen previously.
Now there may still be ways for teens to get around this. They could pretty easily lie about their age when they're signing up for accounts on the platform, for example. But I think certainly --
DUFFY: -- some reassurance for parents here that the company is making some effort to keep kids safe.
Clare Duffy, CNN, New York.
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KINKADE: Look at this beautiful image. September's full harvest super moon, shining brightly Tuesday night. It reached its fullest at 10:30 p.m. Eastern, but will appear full through until Thursday morning.
Sky-gazers around the world might have noticed an apparent bite mark taken out of the moon Tuesday evening. That was due to a partial lunar eclipse.
Well, next on the night sky's agenda is October's full hunter's super moon.
Well, thanks so much for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Lynda Kinkade. I'll be back with much more news at the top of the hour. WORLD SPORT is next.
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