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Harris' Candidacy Sparks Surge of Activism Among Black Women; IDF Investigating Soldiers for Throwing Bodies Off Roof; Inquiry Hears New Details About Doomed OceanGate Voyage. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired September 20, 2024 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00]
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster. If you're just joining us here are today's top stories.
There are renewed concerns about a widening conflict in the Middle East and as Israel on Thursday launched one of its most intense bombardments against Hezbollah in Lebanon this year. Hezbollah is promising a reckoning after Israel targeted members with explosives hidden in pages and walkie talkies.
The North Carolina Republican Party standing by its candidate following CNN reporting on Mark Robinson's disturbing comments on a porn forum over a decade ago. Robinson's been backed by former U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump's campaign says it's focused currently on winning the White House.
And Vice President Kamala Harris got a boost of star power in a live streamed rally on Thursday hosted by Oprah Winfrey, the Democratic presidential nominee made her pitch to undecided voters outlining a list of freedoms she wants to preserve if elected president.
Winfrey collaborated with a group called Win with Black Women to organize that rally as part of a surge of political activism amongst Black women that has seemingly been sparked by Harris's entry into the race for the White House. CNN's Rene Marsh has more.
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RENE MARSH, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kamala Harris' historic candidacy has ignited a surge of activism among Black women.
JOTAKA EADDY, FOUNDER, WIN WITH BLACK WOMEN: We often talk about this idea of Black girl magic and, or the secret sauce. It's the work. It's the work that Black women have put in.
MARSH (voice-over): Jotaka Eaddy, founder of Win with Black Women, organized the Zoom call that she says netted 90,000 Black women in support of Harris in the hours after President Joe Biden exited the race in July. She also organized Thursday's virtual rally with the vice president, hosted by Oprah.
EADDY: There have been over 140 Zooms for Kamala that have raised collectively over $20 million that many of them have said that they were inspired by our call.
JANICE ROBINSON, RED WINE & BLUE, NC DIRECTOR: We are here in these states.
MARSH (voice-over): Black women are crisscrossing battleground states to mobilize voters in places like North Carolina where Donald Trump won by a little more than a point in 2020.
ROBINSON: Good morning.
MARSH (voice-over): At this political house party south of Charlotte, Janice Robinson is training a kitchen full of suburban women how to boost voter turnout and flip the state blue.
ROBINSON: We call them troublemakers. We are training them how to talk to their friends, family, and acquaintances about the issues that are important in North Carolina.
When it comes to convincing people to vote and become consistent voters, people will listen to the people that they trust.
MARSH (voice-over): After Trump's 2016 victory, the occupational therapists turned political activist made it a mission to prevent his reelection.
ROBINSON: I pulled those lists of Democrats and independents who lean Democrat and we went knocking on doors, making phone calls.
MARSH (voice-over): She flipped her historically Republican precinct blue and hopes to replicate the strategy statewide. In 2020, Black women were key to Joe Biden winning the presidency, backing him over Donald Trump by roughly 80 points.
Harris is counting on their support in November. And while she has not leaned into the history making aspect of her candidacy, she has embraced her ties to Black sororities, including her own Alpha Kappa Alpha, which is one of nine historically Black fraternities and sororities that boast 2.5 million members.
The sorority recently launched its own political action committee, allowing it to support candidates. The driving force for these Black women are the issues.
MARSH: Why is this so important for you to do this work?
ROBINSON: I went through one of those back alley abortions at 15. I'm lucky to be alive today. That's personal to me.
EADDY: Not only is it historic, but they're pivotal issues that on the ballot that Black women are paying very close attention.
MARSH (voice-over): Paying attention, but also clear-eyed about the challenge ahead this fall.
ROBINSON: We're going to work our asses off to make sure that this election turns out the way that we wanted to turn out. And if it doesn't, then it won't be because we did not do everything we could.
MARSH: Black women who are on the ground mobilizing voters are going beyond communities of color. The question is, will the unprecedented outreach we're seeing be enough to help Harris carry those tight battleground states? That is something that we will have to wait and see after the election.
But this virtual event, the Harris campaign is hoping that it is a moment where they can reach a broad cross section of persuadable voters.
Rene Marsh, CNN, Washington.
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FOSTER: Tourism emerging as a major driver of economic growth and trade across Africa. In the southern part of the continent, five countries have come together to form the world's largest land-based conservation area.
[04:35:00]
As Connecting Africa's Eleni Giokos explains, it incorporates one of the best known tourist attractions in that part of the world.
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ELENI GIOKOS, CONNECTION AFRICA (voice-over): The magnificent Victoria Falls. It's a major tourist destination, attracting visitors from all over the world. But this giant attraction is only a tiny location inside one of the world's largest national parks, the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area.
NYAMBE NYAMBE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, KAZA BOTSWANA: It translates to a geographical space, which is, if you're in America, about the size of Texas or California. If you're in Europe, German, Austria combined. And here in southern Africa, it's about the size of Botswana.
GIOKOS (voice-over): These salt pans in Botswana are among the largest in the world. Visitors can traverse this landscape as they go in search of different wildlife species, from elephants to giraffes, crocodiles to hippopotamus.
NYAMBE: South Africa, especially self-drive tourists from South Africa is a growing component and Kaza offers a wide variety of opportunities for a wide range of tourists.
GIOKOS (voice-over): Angola is the group's latest member. The civil war there came to an end in 2002. Wild animals started to return, and now the country is making huge strides to attract tourists. Among them, these elephants reveling in this cooling pond.
RUIZ BOA, KAZA NATIONAL COORDINATOR, ANGOLA: We are in Biko of Angola, that is part of Luengue-Luiana National Park, and this area we can consider as the biggest wildlife sanctuary in Angola. GIOKOS (voice-over): It already offers visitors luxurious accommodation, but it still faces many challenges as it aims to boost tourist numbers.
BOA: We need to create all the facilities to allow people really to enjoy all the tourism products that Africa can offer to the world.
GIOKOS (voice-over): One thing that should help, a UniVisa, a special visa that currently allows entry into Zambia and Zimbabwe. There are plans to expand the visa to cover entry into all five countries.
NYAMBE: The experience so far has shown quite some positive feedback from tourist because it's made the experience to travel relatively easy. If you can get one visa and be able to visit multiple countries that is a bonus.
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FOSTER: Some breaking news into CNN. The Israel Defense Force says it's investigating soldiers for throwing bodies off a roof in the West Bank. Let's go to CNN's Paula Hancocks. She's just got this video into Abi Dhabi, talk us through it.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Max, this is a shocking video, and we should warn our viewers that they may find it disturbing. This, we believe, happened in Qabatiyah, which is in the northern part of the occupied West Bank. We have these images from multiple different angles filmed by people, and it shows what appears to be Israeli soldiers throwing Palestinian bodies off a roof.
Now, CNN cannot confirm that those Palestinians were, in fact, deceased. The bodies do appear motionless and lifeless, but we cannot confirm that. So what we see is, in one occasion, the soldiers pushing a body off the side of the building.
The foot becomes entangled in cables before another soldier loosens it and the body falls to the ground. We see a second Palestinian body, the hands being picked up by one soldier, the feet by another. It is then swung before it is dropped over the side of the building.
In a third case, we see a Palestinian body being pushed over the side of a building with the feet of an Israeli soldier.
Now, Israel has responded to this. We've heard from the IDF.
Their statement is as follows, quote: This is a serious incident that does not coincide with IDF values and the expectations from IDF soldiers. The incident is under review.
Now, it's suffice to say that under international law, this would not be acceptable. Militaries are required to treat enemy combatant bodies with respect. They're also required to hand them back to the families of that particular individual. Now, the Israeli military has a history of confiscating bodies.
We understand from the governor of Jenin that four Palestinian bodies have been taken by the Israeli military and that there are three others that were killed on this one particular day -- this was yesterday. And the funerals of those three will be held later this Friday.
So some disturbing video, disturbing information, which the Israeli military, Max, says they will be investigating.
FOSTER: Paula, thank you.
Police in Texas say it'll take some time to identify the human remains in an SUD that crashed into a natural gas pipeline. Monday's crash set off a massive fire that lasted three days. It was so intense, it melted parts of nearby homes and cars and prompted an evacuation of about 100 homes. Firefighters finally put out the fire by cutting off the flow of gas. That's when investigators found the remains. They say the case is now a criminal investigation.
Unsettling revelations, including never-before-seen footage, have emerged during the U.S. Coast Guard's inquiry into the Titan submersible's ill-fated voyage to the Titanic wreckage. Our Jason Carroll has the latest.
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JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Troubling details emerging about a test of the Titan submersible just days before it ultimately imploded.
STEPHEN ROSS, FORMER SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR, OCEANGATE: The pilot crashed into the rear bulkhead. The rest of the passengers tumbled about. One passenger was hanging upside down.
CARROLL (voice-over): The revelations coming during a week of stunning testimony and harsh criticism before the U.S. Coast Guard's Marine Board of Investigation hearing.
DAVID LOCHRIDGE, FORMER MARINE OPERATIONS DIRECTOR, OCEANGATE: There was a big push to get this done and a lot of steps along the way were missed.
CARROLL (voice-over): Marine Operations Director David Lochridge was one of a number of former employees testifying about safety issues that had been flagged.
LOCHRIDGE: The whole idea behind the company was to make money. That's it. There was very little in the way of science.
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CARROLL (voice-over): The proceeding is part of an effort to determine what caused Titan's catastrophic implosion last year on June 18th and who, if anyone, was at fault and should be held accountable. For the first time, the Coast Guard revealed never before seen video of Titan's wreckage on the ocean floor. All five on board were killed, including the OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush.
STOCKTON RUSH, CEO, OCEANGATE: You know, I've broken some rules to make this.
CARROLL (voice-over): Lochridge testified Rush ignored safety concerns he raised about the Titan after inspecting it in 2018.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you have confidence in the way that the Titan was being built at this time?
LOCKRIDGE: No confidence whatsoever. And I was very vocal about that.
CARROLL (voice-over): Lochridge says he was fired in 2018 after relaying his concerns.
Experts warned Rush to get Titan classed or certified from a safety organization, citing concerns with materials used to construct its hull. But Titan's former director of engineering testified Rush did not want to wait or spend on that.
TONY NISSEN, FORMER DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING, OCEANGATE: One of the days he was crying on my shoulder. It's going to take too long and way too expensive. It's ridiculous. And in his words, it stifles innovation.
CARROLL: Today, mission specialist Renata Rojas supported Rush. She says OceanGate was about making dreams come true.
RENATA ROJAS, FORMER MISSION SPECIALIST, OCEANGATE: Nothing is going to bring our friends back. I hope that this investigation creates an understanding that with exploration, there's risk.
CARROLL: Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.
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FOSTER: Now, a shocking story in Kentucky, where an officer sworn to protect the public. A sheriff is alleged to have shot and killed a judge in his chambers. A state trooper says District Judge Kevin Mullins was alone in the room with Letcher County Sheriff Shawn Stines on Thursday. This is what played out.
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MATT GAYHEART, KENTUCKY STATE POLICE TROOPER: We know that it was an argument between the two that led up, but what exactly transpired prior to the shots being fired, still things that we're trying to get answers to.
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FOSTER: The trooper says the sheriff turned himself in after the shooting and was arrested at the scene. No other injuries were reported. The motive still under investigation.
A hiker in East China is just nursing some bruises after falling down a steep mountain. Yang Meng captured the scary moment on his camera. You can see him trip and plunge down the slope. He keeps picking up speed until a tree stops his fall. That's what saved his life. Yang said he's OK and this won't hold him back from exploring the world because, in his words, life is really short, so we need to cherish every day.
Those are explosions from fireworks and ammunition. It was aboard a luxury yacht in Marina del Rey, California. On Wednesday, something set off the fireworks, which sparked this massive fire. The yacht was carrying 1,000 rounds of fireworks. There were no reports of major injuries. Two passengers got off the boat before it sank in the marina.
For two hours, a python wrapped itself around her body, but she lived to tell her terrifying tale. Details straight next.
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FOSTER: Dow and the S&P 500 hit record highs at the close on Thursday. Thanks to the Fed's half-point interest rate cut, the Dow crossed 42,000 for the first time, with tech stocks leading the way. The Fed's large cut came as a surprise to many.
Lower borrowing rates should ease pressure on individuals as well as companies. President Joe Biden hopes the cut will mark a new phase for the country and its recovery but cautioned against complacency.
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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: At its peak, as you all know, inflation was 9.1 percent in the United States. Today, it is much closer to 2 percent. That doesn't mean our work is done. Far from it. Far from it.
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FOSTER: And Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned that investors shouldn't expect a half-point cut to be the norm going forward.
An historic day for Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani, meanwhile.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On a one, two, Ohtani sends one in the air. The other way! There it goes! Goes! One of a kind player. One of a kind season. Shohei Ohtani started 50-50 club.
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FOSTER: The 50-50 club, or 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases. Ohtani is the first in major league history ever to achieve that feat. Besides the homer, he stole two bases in Thursday's game against the Miami Marlins. Ohtani, who also pitches, has an historic 10-year $700 million contract with the Dodgers, and he's proving he's worth it. They're in the first place in the National League West division, and Ohtani is the odds-on favorite to win the league's Most Valuable Player award after that.
Now, the crowd at MetLife Stadium chanted Aaron Rodgers' name as he made a stunning comeback on Thursday night. It was his first home run since tearing his Achilles tendon in last year's season opener. And it doesn't disappoint either. The New York Jets won their second game of the season, beating the New England Patriots 24-3. Rodgers threw two touchdowns in the first half, completed 27 of 35 passes, and was only sacked twice.
Stories in the spotlight this hour include a terrifying scene out of Thailand. A 64-year-old woman is alive after being wrapped up for more than two hours by an enormous python. It happened in her kitchen while she was washing dishes. It took rescuers about half an hour to get her free. After the ordeal, she described exactly what happened.
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ARROM ARUNROJ, SURVIVED PYTHON ATTACK (through translator): While I was washing the dishes, I was also scooping water. As soon as I sat down, the snake bit me. At first, I thought it was a cockroach. But when I saw it was a snake and it started constricting me tightly, I fought with it for a while. At first, I grabbed its head, trying to make it let go, but it wouldn't. It just kept squeezing tighter. When I saw it start to slither, I let go of its head and it slithered away, then came back and finally went down below.
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FOSTER: Police say they couldn't catch the python. Snakes are pretty common in Thailand. Officials there say some 12,000 people were treated for venomous snake bites last year. Pythons aren't venomous but kill by suffocating their prey. Not this one, though.
A massive medical marvel has a rhino running on all fours again. Amara, a southern white rhino, weighing nearly 2,000 pounds, received a groundbreaking operation to help heal a broken front leg. The medical team from Knowsley Safari and the University of Liverpool had to lean on their expertise in treating horses to perform the five-hour surgery. That's because they had no documentation or records of previous rhino surgeries.
Amara and her cast removed in -- had her cast removed, rather, in May, but it's still being monitored closely as she recovers.
A zoo in China causing quite a pandemonium. The Strange Animals and Cute Pets Paradise Zoo has gone viral after painting two chow chows, a Chinese dog breed, to resemble the country's beloved national animal. The video was first posted on a Chinese social media platform on Monday and has since been shared more than a million times.
Thanks for joining me here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster in London. CNN "THIS MORNING" is next after a break.
