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Republican Liz Cheney Backs Democrat Presidential Bet Kamala Harris Instead of rival Donald Trump. Latino Voters in Pennsylvania Share their Views Before the November 2024 Elections. Port Workers Union Reach a Tentative Deal. Typhoon Krathon Weakens, Killed Two People in Taiwan; Haitians Illegally Migrated to the Dominican Republic May Expel Soon. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired October 04, 2024 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom."

Israeli strikes shake Lebanon's capital, the latest blast hitting near a border crossing with Syria, being used by residents to flee the bombings.

Kamala Harris makes a pitch to voters with a show of bipartisan solidarity in the birthplace of the Republican Party.

And China extends its military arm with Russia's help, the latest on Beijing's first-of-its-kind voyage.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: It is 10 a.m. in Beirut where new evacuation orders are in effect in Lebanon's capital as Israel's military vows to keep hitting Hezbollah targets. Lebanese authorities report dozens of people were killed on Thursday, more than 1,400 in the past few weeks.

And we're following a new development this hour. Lebanon says an Israeli strike on a key border crossing with Syria has cut off access to the international road. Tens of thousands of people fleeing the fighting in Lebanon have used the crossing over the past few weeks.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

Well that video you're seeing there is from Beirut. Source tell CNN the IDF targeted Hashem Safieddine with a strike on the Lebanese capital. He's seen as a possible successor to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an airstrike last week. His fate is unclear.

Israel says it struck Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters in Beirut and killed several Hezbollah commanders in southern Lebanon. The IDF says its goal is to eliminate Hezbollah's threat to the residents of northern Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GEN. HERZI HALEVI, IDF CHIEF OF THE GENERAL STAFF (through translator): We will not allow Hezbollah to settle itself in these places in the future. The severe blows against Hezbollah in all areas, in Beirut, in the Beqaa Valley, in south Lebanon, will continue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: And we're also keeping an eye on the Grand Mosque in Tehran, where Friday prayers are underway. Iran's supreme leader is expected to pay tribute to the slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen is standing by with more on that. But first, Paula Hancocks has the latest on Israel's military operation against Hezbollah. So Paula, on the targeting of Nasrallah's successor, what are we learning?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Kim, at this point this is coming to us from an Israeli official saying that Hashem Safieddine was targeted by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut overnight. We have seen a number of airstrikes hitting in particular the southern suburbs there, the Hezbollah strongholds.

Now at this point we do not know whether or not he was killed in that airstrike. We do know though that he was considered to be a possible successor to Hassan Nasrallah who was killed in an airstrike just last week. He's a cousin of Hassan Nasrallah. He's also heading up the executive council and is very high up within Hezbollah. He's one of two really that are considered to be potential successors. Naeem Qasim, also the number two in Hezbollah considered that as well.

So, this is really in keeping with what we have heard from the Israeli military consistently, that they will be targeting all Hezbollah targets, all personnel, to try and make sure that they can lessen the threat from Hezbollah.

You heard from the IDF chief just then, and he was saying that the military is determined to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure, saying we will not allow Hezbollah to re-establish itself in these places, specifically talking about these villages along southern Lebanon just across the border in northern Israel. And this is where we are seeing this ground incursion that Israel has called limited and localized.

There was some skepticism at the beginning when they announced that. We know now that they have also added at least another battalion, which has potentially 10,000 soldiers in that aim to try and destroy Hezbollah along the border. So not many believe it to be limited, but we've been hearing from the Israeli side, that it is close-range engagements with Hezbollah at this point.

[03:05:02]

So what we're really seeing is this continuation along southern Lebanon and Israel calling on residents to evacuate. There are even more villages along the southern Lebanon area that have been ordered to be evacuated further north. And then of course, for many of those who have evacuated, they're finding safety they believed in Beirut but we are also seeing a significant number of these air strikes in Beirut as well.

BRUNHUBER: Alright. I appreciate that. Turning to Iran now. Fred, Iran Supreme Leader mourning the slain Hezbollah leader as the country waits for a potential attack from Israel. What more can you tell us?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, they certainly are. And I think one of the key organizations right now is certainly the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the really elite part of Iran's military.

And in that Revolutionary Guard Corps, the aerospace forces, because the same unit that conducted those missile strikes on Israeli territory, which by the way, the Iranians continue to say they believe were very successful, that is also the unit that is responsible for air defenses in Iran.

First and foremost their general, Amir Ali Hajizadeh. And the Iranians really do take pride in their air defenses because a lot of them were made by the Iranians themselves after the sanctions. So they say the fact that they've been able to do that is certainly something that they take great pride in any case.

I think there are several incitations that right now the Iranians will be looking at. First and foremost, their nuclear installations, which of course they will have protected by their air defense systems, which of course is something that's very difficult given the fact that the Israelis do have those fifth generation fighter jets that have stealth capabilities making it extremely difficult for surface-to-air missile systems to hold them off.

But then also one of the things that we've been hearing about a lot as potential strike targets are, for instance, the oil and gas installations that Iran has, for instance, in the area of the Persian Gulf but also in the border area between Iran and Iraq. So those are certainly things that the Iranians right now will be bracing for. They'll be bracing for other targets as well. But you can bet that Iran's aerospace forces and their surface-to-air missile troops will definitely be on high alert.

But I do also want to talk about, Kim, those Friday prayers that are taking place today, because I do think it is highly significant that the Supreme Leader himself, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is leading those Friday prayers.

The last time he did that was when Qasem Soleimani, the legendary Iranian general, the director of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed by a U.S. missile attack in 2020. We can see there some of the crowds gathering, obviously a massive crowd that is already on hand.

I think that it's very difficult to overestimate how important Hassan Nasrallah was for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. There was a deep bond between Khamenei, Nasrallah, and also Qasem Soleimani. In fact, the three actually wrote a book together a couple of years ago.

And in that book, the "2006 Lebanon War," Israel's incursion into Lebanon at that time, played a major role. And the Iranians and Hezbollah certainly believed that Hezbollah held their own in that. And I think that was really a defining moment for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. And so for him, it certainly was a big blow that Hassan Nasrallah has now been killed.

The Iranians, of course, have said that they will continue to support Hezbollah and of course also Hamas as well. And if you look at the crowd, I was looking at some of the feeds that were coming in, there are a lot of Palestinian flags, but also a lot of Hezbollah flags that are being waived by the people who currently are coming to those Friday prayers. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Interesting, we'll be looking for that later. Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi, thank you so much. And Fred Pleitgen as well, I really appreciate having you both.

All right, I want to bring in Alon Pinkas, former Israeli Consul General in New York. Good to see you again. Thanks so much for being here with us. So listen, we've been talking, you know, escalation so much.

I wholeheartedly agree with what you said recently that the term escalation is the term of the year in the Middle East, unfortunately. And one consistent theme in your recent writing is the warning that none of the parties are in control of the escalation and there's a real risk of things spiraling out of control.

ALON PINKAS, FORMER ISRAELI CONSUL GENERAL IN NEW YORK: Yeah, and the problem Kim is that they each think respectively each think that they do control escalation and you know it's almost an immutable law of escalation that when you think you control it you actually do not.

And the thing that the problem with a spiraling escalation is that it could come in any of three forms or for any of three reasons. One is that it is deliberate, which is partially the case here.

The second is that it is a result of the failure or deficiency of deterrence, which is also partially the case here. Israel thinking that Iran would be deterred from attacking it, Iran thinking that Israel would be deterred from attacking Hezbollah, and that's exactly how the spiral works.

[03:10:05]

And the third cause or element driving forward escalation is miscalculation. You know, everyone thinks they know exactly what they're doing. And there is a gap. I'll just add one more line here, Kim. There's a big gap between, you know, the sterile planning rooms and the fog of war, so to speak.

BRUNHUBER: So the consequence of all of this is basically that we keep lurching from attack to response and no one really seems to have a plan.

PINKAS: Well, you know, in order to stop this, you need willing parties, you need cool heads, you need rational thinking. Now, part of the problem is that each side is so immersed in their respective, I'm right and my cause is just and I need to do this and I had no other choice. I'm purposely being neutral here and objective because each side seems to believe that he's right and their logic subscribes to the same line of thinking.

And look, what's going on with Hezbollah was going to happen anyway. I mean, there was the Hezbollah grossly miscalculated their participation in this war after October 7th 2023, you know when it was a token participation it was sort of tolerable, but they made it intolerable and untenable for Israel and there needed to be a response.

And okay, let's assume that that's contained and even the U.S. whose prime interest in the last year was to contain escalation or prevent escalation altogether, the U.S. thought that as long as it's confined to Israel and Hezbollah, we America could live with that.

But enter the Iranians into the equation and the Iranian relationship with Hezbollah and the Iranian sense that they need to project power and the sense that if Hezbollah is being damaged earth or degraded significantly, Iran needs for its own geopolitical reasons to respond. So all this put together leads to inevitable escalation. And again, I'm using that. And again, I'm sorry, Kim, I'm using that word.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, it is inevitable. And speaking of, you know, you've said that this conflict with Hezbollah, has a sense of inevitability. Israel has says that has said that its operations in Lebanon will be limited even as more troops the move towards the border. How far do you expect them to go?

PINKAS: Okay. That -- that's probably the second most popular term, limited. I mean in the -- in the last year in the Middle East. I mean, what do you mean by limited? I'm asking, I'm asking not you, I'm asking Israel.

BRUNHUBER: Of course.

PINKAS: Limited, you know, I've been in the 1982 war. I was witness to the 2006 war. In both cases Israel declared that this is a limited operation designed to achieve limited goals in the hope of a diplomatic solution thereafter. And in both cases it was anything but limited.

And so, what I am afraid in this case, Kim, is that what Israel defines as limited is going because of miscalculation is going or, you know, or a little power grab and greed is going to break the confines of limited. There's always another hill. There's always another town. There's always another Hezbollah force that was spotted.

And one other factor here. You know, the ground operation, even if it's planned to be limited, does not take care of the long-range missiles that Hezbollah, however degraded and however effective Israel wasn't eliminating the top strata, the top echelon of its military leadership, they still possess a formidable long-range missile capability.

Now, It would have been, again, manageable, not nice, not a pretty sight by any measure. It's a war, people die, there's devastation, and there's nothing in it for anyone, obviously. However, as long as it was confined to the Israel-Lebanon theater, the Israel-Hezbollah theater, without Iran, it was sort of manageable. The moment Iran entered and they attacked, and then Israel vowed to attack backwards could happen any day now.

[03:15:00]

So after which Iran will feel compelled to retaliate against the retaliation. Retaliation, by the way, Kim, is the third most popular book.

BRUNHUBER: We're amassing a vast lexicon here of repeated terms, unfortunately, as this continues to go back and forth. We'll have to leave it there. Ambassador Alon Pinkas, thank you so much for joining us. I really appreciate it.

PINKAS: Thank you, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right, still to come, Kamala Harris teams up with Republican Liz Cheney on the campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIZ CHENEY (R), FORMER WYOMING REPRESENTATIVE: I was a Republican even before Donald Trump started spray tanning. He is vindictive and he is cruel. And Donald Trump is not fit to lead this good and great nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Well, look at what else they said to try to win the support of swing voters after the break.

Plus labor walkout at many U.S. ports set to end after threatening to shake up the American economy. That's all coming up. Please stay with us.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHENEY: So today I ask all of you here and everyone listening across this great country to join us. I ask you to meet this moment. I ask you to stand in truth, to reject the depraved cruelty of Donald Trump. And I ask you instead to help us elect Kamala Harris for president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Well, there you see her. Former Republican congressman Liz Cheney, joining Vice President Kamala Harris on the campaign trail for the first time on Thursday. Cheney told a crowd in the battleground state of Wisconsin that she's proudly voting for Harris in November and said Donald Trump, quote, "can never be trusted with power again."

The former president bashed both Harris and Cheney while speaking to Fox News earlier in the day. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, Liz Cheney lost for Congress. She was terrible. Liz Cheney is a stupid war hawk. All she wants to do is shoot missiles at people. I really think it hurts. I think frankly, if Kamala, I think they hurt each other. I think they're so bad, both of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Harris will campaign in Michigan today as Trump heads here to Georgia. CNN's Kirsten Holmes is traveling with the Trump campaign, but first our Eva McKend has the latest on Harris and Cheney's stop in Wisconsin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVA MCKEND, CNN U.S. NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: This was a very different campaign event for the vice president. She typically talks about reproductive rights, the economy, gun violence. This was not that. This was a conversation for the country about core values.

The vice president joined by Liz Cheney. Cheney, seemingly recalling some of her work from the January 6th committee, she strenuously outlined for voters the many ways in her view the former president threatened the peaceful transition of power.

[03:20:06]

The vice president warning this audience that there is no guarantee that if former President Trump is reelected, that he would honor his oath to the Constitution. Take a listen.

VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS (D), U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. As you have heard and know, he refused to accept the will of the people and the results of an election that was free and fair.

As you have heard, he sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol, where they assaulted law enforcement officers. He threatened the life of his own Vice President and refused to engage in the peaceful transfer of power.

And let us be clear about how he intends to use power if elected again. He has called for jailing journalists, political opponents, anyone he sees and deems as being an enemy. He has pledged to destroy the independence of the Department of Justice, and he called for deploying our active-duty military against our own citizens.

MCKEND: This was a message for a very specific type of voter, conservatives and independents that have no appetite for the former president, but may otherwise sit this election out. The vice president, Liz Cheney, leaning on those voters, essentially arguing that this election is too urgent for them to skip. Also leaning on their sense of patriotism in this hour.

Eva McKend, CNN, Ripon, Wisconsin.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Former President Donald Trump was slated to give a speech on the economy and while he did touch on some economic points in Saginaw, Michigan, he talked about some of the policy proposals he has if he is reelected, including no tax on tips, no tax on Social Security, no tax on overtime.

He also veered off topic pretty much half or more of the time talking about everything we have heard from Donald Trump in the past, including re-litigating the ABC debate talking about Kamala Harris' ascension to the top of the ticket. At one point, he called Nancy Pelosi crazy, yet again, having nothing to do with any policy on the economy.

But one of the things that he continued to fixate on was the federal response to Hurricane Helene. Now, that's not that surprising given the fact that Donald Trump and his team have been working to tie Kamala Harris to the current administration, which is not that hard to do. She is the vice president, but now he has fixated on this idea of the federal response to Helene.

He has been claiming over and over again that it has been disastrous. That is not what we have heard from Republican and Democratic governors on the ground, particularly on a day like today where President Joe Biden was on the ground there, assessing some of the damages, promising some more resources, but he also made this claim. Take a listen.

TRUMP: Kamala spent all her FEMA money, billions of dollars on housing for illegal migrants, many of whom should not be in our country, including one billion for gift cards for illegal aliens and putting them up in luxury hotels, with a gift card to welcome them to America, as our veterans are sleeping on the sidewalks below those hotels.

HOLMES: Now, one thing to point out here, this obviously mixes two things that Donald Trump wants to talk about over and over again, immigration and failures of the current administration. But we are told that this is not accurate.

While FEMA does have some resources that go towards grants for migrant housing, that is a completely different account than disaster relief. The two of those things would not be conflated. But obviously, as we know, Donald Trump often tries to take some part of the truth and bolster it out there to try and use incendiary language. It appears that's what he was doing there tonight.

Now, one interesting point I want to note, he is going to be in Georgia on Friday, standing next to Governor Brian Kemp, the popular Republican governor, who he has been at odds with for years. This is the first time the two of them will appear side-by-side since before the 2020 election.

Of course, as we remember, they had a huge falling out when Kemp decided to certify the election in Georgia going against Trump's wishes. However, Kemp has said that he was going to try and help Donald Trump win the presidency this cycle.

Kristen Holmes, CNN Detroit, Michigan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Recent nationwide polling of Latino voters shows that a majority of Latinos may back Harris, but inflation worries about the overall economy have given Trump a way to potentially peel off some of that support.

[03:25:09]

Our Danny Freeman examines the Latino vote in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fresh off his vice presidential debate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was in Redding, Pennsylvania, stopping at a Puerto Rican-owned restaurant to boost support among the city's majority Latino population.

GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), U.S. VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This thing's going to come down to our blue wall states, come down to Pennsylvania, might come right through this restaurant.

FREEMAN (voice-over): At the same time, just four blocks away, the Trump campaign was holding its own phone bank, specifically targeting Latinos in the Lehigh Valley.

FREEMAN: Why are you supporting President Trump? What are the three reasons you are supporting President Trump?

MARCIA HERA, TRUMP SUPPORTER (translated): Three reasons. Family. Life. And the end of the war.

FREEMAN: And end of war.

FREEMAN (voice-over): The dueling outreach, just the latest sign, both campaigns understand the importance of Latino voters in the Keystone state.

In 2020, President Joe Biden beat former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania by about 80,000 votes. But with this race still extremely tight, the estimated 615,000 eligible Latino voters here could easily help decide the November outcome. While recent national polls show Harris doing better than Biden was with Latino voters, they also show Trump outperforming past Republicans among this group, which in recent elections has solidly backed Democrats.

At a Harris campaign event this week in Allentown, another deeply Latino city, there were plenty of voters excited about the vice president.

This man told me he feels Harris represents hope and will help small businesses. But there were warning signs, too.

FREEMAN (translated): You're going to vote, right?

HECTOR SANTANA, UNDECIDED VOTER (translated): Yes.

FREEMAN: You're not going to stay at home. You're going to vote.

SANTANA (translated): No, I will never vote. But, to this day, I haven't made a decision on which of the two I will vote for.

FREEMAN: Today, you have not made a decision who you're going to vote for.

CARMEN DANCSECS, MORTGAGE LEADER: I think we have too many people that are kind of, like on shaky waters that are known what they stand.

FREEMAN (voice-over): To energize this community in Pennsylvania, the Harris campaign is turning to volunteers like Yamelisa Taveras. The campaign featuring the Allentown small business owner and mom in a new ad focusing on health care this week.

YAMELISA TAVERAS, HARRIS SUPPORTER: I believe we have a great shot with Harris-Walz. However, the campaign can do more. There's still so many people on the fence. And having those conversations and knowing that there truly are a lot of people that can benefit from so much more information.

FREEMAN (voice-over): For their part, the Trump campaign is turning to men like Daniel Campo. The Venezuelan-born pilot recently spoke at a Trump rally in northeastern Pennsylvania. But Campo said his biggest challenge when canvassing Latino neighborhoods are people who feel the former president is prejudiced against Latinos.

FREEMAN: How do you convince them to vote for him?

DANIEL CAMPO, TRUMP SUPPORTER: So are you going to invite him to your wedding? Are you going to invite him to your birthday party or your kids' birthday party? You have somebody that did the job and did a good job and you're hiring him again for that job. You're not inviting him to your wedding.

FREEMAN: Now one thing several Democratic Latino voters told me over the course of the week is that they hope to see more popular Latino celebrities come out in support of the Harris-Walz campaign, especially considering that a few reggaeton stars have already come out in support of former President Donald Trump. These Democrats say that star power and more face-to-face interactions can help perhaps bridge some of that energy gap they're seeing on the ground.

Danny Freeman, CNN, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BRUNHUBER: The U.S. economy may have dodged a bullet from the huge strike of port workers along the nation's eastern and Gulf coasts. On Thursday, their union reached a tentative deal with the employers, offering gradual raises each year until 2030.

Union members will be back at work on Friday, even though they've yet to ratify the agreement. The strike, which began this week, threatened to upend U.S. exports and imports ahead of the crucial holiday shopping season. Sources say President Biden urged White House officials to turn up the pressure on the employers to reopen the ports.

Prosecutors are reviewing new evidence in the case of Eric and Lyle Menendez, two California brothers serving life sentences for killing their parents decades ago. The Los Angeles County District Attorney announced the review on Thursday and said, the new evidence includes a letter written by Eric.

Attorneys for the brothers have asked the court to vacate their 1996 murder convictions. Prosecutors say they'll make a decision on whether the new evidence warrants a resentencing. The next hearing is set for late November.

All right. Ahead, the latest on the deadly strikes between Israel and Hezbollah. And we're live in the Iranian capital where the late Hezbollah leader is being honored.

And many areas of the southeastern United States are still struggling with the effects of Hurricane Helene. One of those stories when we come back. Please stay with us.

[03:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom."

Cross-border attacks between Israel and Hezbollah are intensifying. The Israeli military says 20 projectiles were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel a few hours ago. That's after the IDF attacked central Beirut and its southern suburbs on Thursday.

Meanwhile, according to a Lebanese official, an Israeli airstrike along Lebanon's border with Syria has cut off a highway leading to the main international checkpoint between the two countries. The U.N. refugee agency says 160,000 people have left Lebanon for Syria in the past few weeks.

CNN's Ivan Watson has been tracking these developments. So Ivan, lots of threads to follow. I just saw that Israel has ordered residents of more villages in southern Lebanon to move north. So let's start with the latest strikes in Beirut. What more can you tell us there?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, when it comes to those evacuation orders, that's right. Israel ordering 35 more villages to be evacuated. That brings us up to more than 100 villages in all, to a depth of about 30 kilometers into southern Lebanon that they're saying must be depopulated right now as part of its operations. The Israeli military says it has carried out dozens of bombing runs in Lebanon from the south and the east of the country to the southern suburbs Beirut as well.

It says it is targeting Hezbollah militants and infrastructure. However, UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, has said that more than 690 children have been wounded in Lebanon in some six weeks of these types of airstrikes. Meanwhile, take a listen to what the director general of the World Health Organization has to say about hospitals and health care workers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: In southern Lebanon, 37 health facilities have been closed. While in Beirut, three hospitals have been forced to fully evacuate staff and patients, and another two were partially evacuated. And yet, healthcare continues to come under attack. In Lebanon alone, 28 health workers have been killed in the last 24 hours.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Now the fighting also continuing, Israel saying a ninth Israeli soldier killed in ground operations. Israel has called up an additional division of soldiers to participate in the ground operation.

[03:35:03]

Hezbollah has continued to launch rockets into Israel, more than 200 such rockets. Israel not reporting any civilian casualties as a result of this. Two Lebanese soldiers, the Lebanese army says were killed by Israeli fire on Thursday. And that's important because while Israel is fighting a war against Hezbollah, its sworn enemy, the Lebanese state is not technically part of this war. In fact, the Lebanese army is funded in part by the U.S. government, Israel's close ally.

Washington has given billions of dollars to train and equip the Lebanese army. And in one of these instances on Thursday, The Lebanese army says its troops fired back at Israel when one of its soldiers was killed. So that's a strange and disturbing additional factor taking place here.

Now, the fighting has forced more than a million Lebanese to flee their homes in just the last couple of weeks. You mentioned the Israeli airstrike on the main highway running from Lebanon to Syria and the most busy border gate through which more than a hundred thousand people have fled into Syria in just the last couple of weeks.

A Lebanese government minister telling CNN that road has now been cut. You can see that giant crater there. And this is one of the last ways for many ordinary Lebanese civilians to try to flee their country and the deadly Israeli airstrikes that have also killed so many and wounded so many Lebanese civilians. There are a handful of sold out flights still continuing out of Beirut

Airport. It's very hard to get a ticket for those and it's forcing Western governments to arrange additional flights, but only for their own citizens and immediate family members.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, so many people desperate to leave. Ivan Watson in Hong Kong, thanks so much. I Appreciate that.

Now, I want to bring in journalist Abas Aslani, who's a senior research fellow at the Center for Middle East Strategic Studies. And he comes to us live from the Iranian capital. Thanks so much for being here with us. So since you're there in Tehran, what is the mood there in Iran as the country becomes more embroiled directly in this conflict?

ABAS ASLANI, SR. RESEARCH FELLOW, CENTER FOR MIDDLE EAST STRATEGIC STUDIES: Kim, now at the moment that I'm speaking there is a ceremony to commemorate the Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Tehran. Simultaneously, Iranian foreign minister is now in Beirut trying to meet Lebanese officials there. And there have been some speculations that how Israel or Hezbollah respond to the recent Iranian missile attack itself.

And, you know, officials are trying to make sure that if there is any response coming from the Israeli side, they will react, you know, partially this time as well, even in more devastating manner. And but, you know, previously Iranian president visited Qatar in order to attend a summit, as well as to meet Qatari officials and other regional, you know, high-ranking personalities.

And holding these public events in Tehran or Iranian foreign minister visiting Lebanon or a previously president visiting Qatar, Iran wants to make sure that it's not afraid of any attack or response coming from Israel side. And they want to say that they are resolved to react to any Israeli action or any action will have high costs for Tel Aviv.

BRUNHUBER: I want to turn back to what you mentioned, the service for Hassan Nasrallah, the former leader of Hezbollah. How significant is it that Iran's supreme leader himself is leading this service?

ASLANI: You know, the leader today is also leading the Friday prayers in Tehran. This happened, you know, a few years ago when the late commander of the Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani, was assassinated back, you know, a few years ago in Iraq. And this signifies that the importance of the loss of Hassan Nasrallah, and this was clearly stated by Iranian leader, you know, just in the past few days that this is not a small loss for the resistance front.

And I think Iran is trying to make sure that it is yet standing with its regional allies, including Hezbollah. That's why there is such kind of ceremony and the leader himself personally attending that. And also the, I think, message that the Iranian foreign minister's visit to Beirut has is that Iran at difficult times and challenging moments is standing with, you know, Lebanon and its ally Hezbollah.

[03:40:07] BRUNHUBER: You speak of the solidarity there, and until now the Iranians have exercised restraint in terms of attacking Israel directly. With all of this, do you think Iran is sort of re-examining the cost effectiveness, basically, of being lured into a war to defend Hezbollah?

ASLANI: Kim, you have been hearing many times about the strategic relations by Iran. But these days, what people are saying that era has gone. And if you were in Tehran a few weeks ago, the political factions, they were divided into two. Some were arguing that Iran should not fall into the war trap of Netanyahu. And the other faction was arguing that Iran has to respond to Israel and not fall in that trap as well.

These arguments, you know, in some ways contradicted each other. But, you know, in the past, I would say seven or last 10 days, this is not the case anymore. And what we are hearing from different political factions is that they are calling for unity. And they are resolved in order to react against Israel if any response comes against, you know, infrastructure or any facilities, including the nuclear facilities or civilians or important personalities in the country.

And this in some ways indicates that the country is in a situation where it is prepared and ready for the latter stages of this conflict, meaning even prepared for a war. This was not the case back in last April. And the sense here in Tehran is a bit different comparing to spring. And, I think, in case that Israel respond against Iran significantly, the chance of and the risk of further escalation to a new stage is very much high.

And Iran counts on the fighting capabilities of Hezbollah in Lebanon. Many believe that the advanced missiles have not so far been used. And the message that Iran wanted to send to Israel this time by attacking it directly was that its missiles are capable to reach Israel and they can hit the targets, but it's You know, next time Iran can change the angle of those missiles in order to target a different place.

BRUNHUBER: Interesting to hear about a sort of a change in mood and perhaps more unity there in the country as a result of this. Abas Aslani in Tehran, thank you so much for joining us. I really appreciate it.

ASLANI: Pleasure to be with you, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Well, Hurricane Helene has come and gone, but the damage and devastation of the storm continues to affect millions. We'll have that and much more when we come back. Please stay with us.

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[03:45:00]

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BRUNHUBER: Well, have a look at this video. In Thailand, around 100 elephants have been evacuated from a popular elephant park to escape flash floods. The founder of the park told CNN this was the biggest evacuation they've ever done, but even so, they weren't able to evacuate 13 of the park's elephants who remain trapped in rising waters.

The animals that park rangers were able to evacuate are now waiting out the rain on a nearby mountain. Northern Thailand has suffered severe flooding and landslides in recent weeks, first because of torrential rains brought by Typhoon Yagi, Asia's most powerful so far this year, and as more downpours are expected today.

And two people have been killed as what was Typhoon Krathon batters Taiwan. It made landfall Thursday with the strength of a Category 1 hurricane. It's now weakened to a tropical depression, but it's still dumping heavy rain on the island. Those caught in the storm were rattled by its force. Damage is widespread.

Hundreds of flights have been canceled. Close to 100,000 households lost power. Schools and stock markets were closed. Before hitting Taiwan, Krathon hit the Philippines, where more than 23,000 families are estimated to have been affected.

Here in the U.S., the death toll from Hurricane Helene has risen to at least 213 people across six states. More than 200 people in North Carolina are still unaccounted for. In many areas, like Chimney Rock, entire parts of towns, including bridges, roads, and buildings, were wiped away. The area around Asheville was particularly hard hit. It's struggling to meet basic needs for residents as the search goes on for people still missing, and residents continue to cope with the destruction. Here's North Carolina's governor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ROY COOPER (D-NC): To wake up one morning and everything that you own be gone is a tragic situation. This is an unprecedented situation that is going to require an unprecedented response. We're working to turn on every avenue of resources that we can to help people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, says it has enough funding for now, but the White House has warned that disaster funds for small businesses are depleting quickly. Hurricane Helene cut an 800-kilometer path of destruction across the U.S. southeast. The National Weather Service calls it a once rainfall event.

And President Joe Biden surveyed devastated areas in the southeast again on Thursday, first in Florida, alongside Republican Senator Rick Scott. And later in Georgia, where he said, it's time to come together and break down the rabid partisanship in U.S. politics. Ryan Young reports from the President's stop in Valdosta, Georgia.

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RYAN YOUNG, CNN U.S. CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, all throughout Lowndes County, which is 500 square miles, you see destruction like what's behind me. You see this house right here with a tree across its roof, and the house next door has a tree across its roof. We've seen this repeat itself over and over again. Crews have been working their way to clear streets to make things safe for residents.

But that's why the president showed up here. We know that this has been such an impoverished storm that they need federal assistance in this area. The president went through to see the areas that were damaged. We know agriculture has been greatly impacted. Small businesses have been impacted, and they need federal assistance.

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: When it was like this, it was trying to put politics aside. Again, it's not one state versus the other. It's the United States. Our job is to help as many people as we can; as many as we can. And also, by the way, when you do that, I hope we begin to break down this rabid partisanship that exists. I mean, it's the ceiling. There's no rationale for it.

YOUNG: We saw Senator Warnock here. We also saw the mayor of Valdosta with the president. You see that tarp back there on that roof. Tarps are being handed out to citizens all throughout this county because they know more rain could be coming. They're trying to protect homes throughout this area. They're also giving out ice and water.

But more than 70 percent of this area is without power. There are power crews that are working from all across the United States here. We saw a crew from Mississippi that is trying to get lines back up, get critical power back on. It's still very hot here. The residents here are suffering more than one way because without power, as several small businesses, people aren't getting paid. They're not able to go out and get food. So these are things they want to see restored very quickly. It's something that we'll continue to watch.

Ryan Young, CNN, Valdosta.

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BRUNHUBER: China decided to push back against U.S. military activities near its shores. Still ahead, Beijing makes a stand in what the U.S. considers its home turf, with Russia watching its back. Stay with us.

[03:50:07]

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BRUNHUBER: Thousands of Haitian immigrants are facing an uncertain future in the Dominican Republic. Many of them fled there due to rampant gang violence and unrest in their country. But they soon may be forced to return to Haiti.

CNN's Jessica Hasbun has details.

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JESSICA HASBUN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Dominican Republic denounced that this Wednesday it would start massive deportations of Haitians living illegally in the country, expelling up to 10,000 of undocumented Haitians a week. That would quadruple the numbers that Dominican migration authorities have been reporting up until September of this year.

These actions have been taken according to Dominican President Luis Abinader because of the inefficiency up until now of the U.N.-backed mission in Haiti fighting the gangs that control up to about 80 percent of the capital city of Port-au-Prince. Let's take a listen to Dominican President Luis Abinader.

LUIS ABINADER, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC PRESIDENT (through translator): We could see at the United Nations that the process of support to the Haitian National Police was slow, and that is why we said at the United Nations that if they did not act quickly we were going to take special measures. Today, we are starting to take those special measures.

HASBUN: The government spokesman, Omero Figueroa, told reporters that the government made the decision after noticing an excess of Haitian migrants in Dominican communities recently. He said authorities also agreed to strengthen border surveillance and controls to fight human trafficking.

The Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dominique Ayiri expressed via X her concern, saying there are a series of discriminatory measures for the mass deportation of Haitians. Ayiri called for their respect of international treaties and the inalienable rights of every child, woman and man affected by this decision.

Haitians consulted by CNN also expressed their concern while hoping Dominican authorities will focus their efforts exclusively on undocumented migrants. They worry that might not be the case on the ground.

By September of this year, Dominican authorities have reported the deportation of roughly 172,000 Haitians. That number is expected to rise exponentially.

For CNN, Jessica Hasbun, Santo Domingo.

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BRUNHUBER: U.S. officials say they've busted another Russian hacking operation that was underway in the run-up to the presidential election. The U.S. Justice Department and Microsoft say they've seized more than 100 web domains linked to Russia's intelligence agency.

The hackers didn't target political campaigns or election infrastructure. Instead, they went after about 30 civil society groups, including media outlets, think tanks, and NGOs. They also obtained sensitive data about U.S. government employees, which could be used in future influence operations. Now there hasn't been a response from Russia yet, but it routinely denies similar accusations.

China's Coast Guard is trying to extend its footprint in a region the U.S. usually considers its own turf. It says one of its vessels conducted a joint patrol with Russian ships in the Arctic Ocean in recent days. The U.S. says Chinese ships have never been spotted so far north. As Marc Stewart reports, the move is likely intended to be a message to Washington.

[03:55:03]

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MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For years, the Arctic Ocean has been a point of interest for China amid its strong ties with Russia. While this patrol, if it did indeed enter the ocean, may have just been on the outskirts, the messaging and images from the Chinese government show the symbolism and importance of the region to China.

Let me show you some of the pictures we've received. We see a shot from above of the Chinese Coast Guard vessel. There's a helicopter taking off, flying around. Officers are singing the national anthem on deck, along with some ceremonial moments. An officer from the Chinese Coast Guard said this voyage is about security.

HE FENG, OFFICER, CHINESE COAST GUARD (through translator): The arrival of China's Coast Guard vessel formation in the Arctic Ocean demonstrates the CCG has the ability to safeguard international maritime security. China actively fulfills its international obligations, participates in global maritime governance and shows an image of a responsible major country. Meanwhile, it's also showcasing its professional abilities in maritime law enforcement.

STEWART: Analysts point out that it is a broader pattern of collaboration and design to send a message to Washington whose maritime activities in the South and East China seas are annoyed by Beijing. A retired U.S. Navy captain who has worked in intelligence feels that this presence in the far north is significant because it implies China is extending its Coast Guard into areas the U.S. has traditionally considered to be its own domain.

The U.S. has raised concerns about China's presence in the region and its coordination with Russia as we see the two nations tighten their security and economic ties on a broader level. No official response from the Russian government, although state media did publish a report on the patrol.

Marc Stewart, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Undersea investigators off the coast of California have discovered the wreck of a U.S. Navy destroyer known as the Ghost Ship of the Pacific. And they say it's in exceptional condition. Now it's been nearly 80 years since the USS Stewart was deliberately sunk during a U.S. Navy exercise.

Explorers have been looking for it ever since. And it was known as the Ghost Ship of the Pacific because it was damaged and captured by Japanese forces in 1942. Then allied pilots operating deep behind enemy lines began spotting an old American destroyer.

They didn't realize it was the Stuart until it was found afloat at the end of the war and the mystery was finally solved. It was later towed back to California where it was used as a target during naval exercises and sunk.

Alright, thanks so much for joining me. I'm Kim Brunhuber, in Atlanta. "CNN Newsroom" with Max Foster is next.

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