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Trump Pushes for Election Reforms in His Primetime Address; Chinese President Express Openness in A.I. Development; Andy Burnham Swears In as Labor Party Leader, Road to 10 Downing Street Now Closer. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired July 17, 2026 - 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)

BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, wherever you are in the world. You are now in the "CNN Newsroom" with me, Ben Hunte in Atlanta, and it is so good to have you with me.

Coming up, U.S. President Donald Trump claims America's election system is vulnerable, but he stops short of providing evidence that election results were manipulated.

President Trump mentions the war with Iran just once during his address. As the U.S. military says, it has completed its latest wave of strikes.

Plus at least two people are dead after flooding in Texas, with more rain expected to fall.

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

HUNTE: Welcome.

U.S. President Donald Trump is making a major push for his election reforms before the November midterms. He delivered a primetime address on Thursday, discussing newly declassified evidence of meddling by foreign countries and vulnerabilities in voting machines and mail-in ballots, too. He did not provide proof that any U.S. votes were manipulated or that any election outcomes had been altered.

The President accused China of stealing voter data and trying to influence voters against him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Unfortunately, the system we have today falls catastrophically short of that standard. Tonight, I'm announcing the immediate declassification and release of

critical intelligence, revealing shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure. This evidence shows that the election system we have dangerously exposes and really exposes like levels never thought possible to hacking, exploitation, and foreign interference, just as disturbingly this vital information has for many years been covered up and hidden from you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Let's get some more now from CNN's senior White House reporter, Kevin Liptak.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Trump used his primetime address here at the White House on Thursday to make new claims about what he says are major vulnerabilities in the American election system, doing very little to tamp down on criticism that he is trying to sow distrust in the American election system, and really underscoring just how fixated he remains on this issue and how central he wants it to become ahead of November's midterm elections.

The President said that his claims were backed up by hundreds of pages of newly declassified documents that appeared on the White House's website just before he began speaking, but the documents that the White House released were somewhat more guarded than what the President said in his speech, which was that American elections were, quote, "left vulnerable to being rigged and stolen."

Just to pick out one of the President's claims, which was this purported effort by the Chinese government to undermine him in 2019 and later to illicitly acquire 220 million U.S. voter files. In fact, U.S. intelligence agencies long ago concluded that Beijing ultimately chose not to interfere in the 2020 race, and that conclusion was repeated in the documents the Biden administration declassified ahead of Thursday's speech.

Now, another claim that the President made was that the CIA analysis of Venezuela's use of voting technology had allowed the country to digitally alter vote totals. In reality, the documents are somewhat more circumspect. They say that there was no definitive evidence that such technology had been used to commit large-scale electronic fraud.

Now, nowhere in his speech did the President provide any evidence that votes had been manipulated or that election outcomes had been altered, and he did stop short of repeating his lies about the 2020 election being stolen. Instead, he seemed most intent on claiming that some of the intelligence about election security had been kept from him by what he called the Deep State, and while he announced that punishment would be coming for those who tried to keep that information from him, he made no mention of punishing China for what he called the largest compromise of election data in history.

[03:05:00]

Now, ultimately, the biggest push in this speech was for Congress to pass the Save America Act, which is the bill that the President is trying to get passed that would impose new voting reforms, but that measure is ultimately stuck in Congress, and it's not really clear whether it would do anything to fully solve the issues that the President identified in his speech on Thursday.

Kevin Liptak, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Let's bring in CNN's Beijing bureau chief, Steven Jiang, live in the Chinese capital for us. Good to see you again. How is Beijing responding today, and are Chinese officials actually treating these allegations seriously?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, Ben. The Chinese foreign ministry's daily press briefing is happening as we speak, but this question has already been asked and responded by a spokesperson by their embassy in D.C.

Very predictably, a very strong denial, the statement reads in part, "China has all along adhered to the principle of non-interference in others' internal affairs." It goes on to say "China has never and will never interfere in the Presidential elections of the U.S."

So, this very much echoes their longstanding position, even though it does not touch on hacking allegations, they have always vehemently pushed back on those allegations in the past whenever it came up in the U.S. election context as well.

Now, part of this rather restrained response so far could be because they could point to the past assessment by the U.S. intelligence service, as you just heard from Kevin, that basically cleared them in that 2021 report by the majority view.

Now, the President's claims in part reflected the minority view in that report, but he has gone much further, not only highlighting the mass scale of hacking of voter data by the Chinese, but also their capability and even intention to interfere with U.S. election infrastructure. It's very interesting to see how this kind of allegations will have an impact on bilateral tie.

So, we are watching further reactions from Beijing very closely, especially in the context of that expected visit to Washington by Chinese leader Xi Jinping in September, which is something Trump himself has repeatedly said he's looking forward to. Remember, when Trump came here in May, his talks with Xi has really ushered in a period of relative calm in this relationship with a very tenuous trade truce going on as well.

So, before the speech, there were chatters of Chinese officials going to D.C. to hash out details of Xi's visit because these summits are very important guardrails to prevent this relationship from deteriorating, but they also need to happen with the right atmosphere.

Now, the President's latest overwhelming and some would say ominous allegations obviously are not conducive to that, but at the end of the day, Ben, Chinese officials could choose to look past this quickly after issuing their predictable strong denials to really turn the page over to maintain this rather fragile stability between the two governments. Ben.

HNNTE: All right, Steven. Thank you so much, I appreciate it.

Sarah Sadhwani joins me now from Los Angeles. She is a professor of political science at Pomona College, and democracy fellow at the Harvard University Kennedy School.

It's good to see you. Thanks for being with me.

The President promised to shock the nation. Did this speech actually reveal anything new or was it just a repackaging of claims that he has made before?

SARAH SADHWANI, PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, POMONA COLLEGE, AND DEMOCRACY FELLOW, HARVARD UNIVERSITY-KENNEDY SCHOOL: Yes, nothing new here. Donald Trump has been on a six-year crusade at this point, trying to suggest that there was some wrongdoing in the 2020 election as to why he lost.

It honestly makes him look like a childlike sore loser. He's brought over 60 cases himself against the election in 2020, most of those being thrown out, including some by judges that he even appointed.

So there has been no evidence that any kind of fraud actually occurred in 2020. But Donald Trump is a master at crafting a narrative. He's the DIC, the Deflector-in-Chief, and this is an opportune moment for him to take some of the pressure off many of the other domestic issues that we have going on here in the United States, across much of the East Coast and the Midwest.

We have triple-digit heat and plumes of smoke that is causing choking air for people. He's not focusing on that, he's not focusing on affordability, not focusing on the lack of yet another treaty with Iran, not focusing on the fact that ICE killed three people just in the last week. So instead, he goes back to his ongoing bogus claims about fraud in the 2020 election.

HUNTE: Wow. Well, tell us what you really think. Juicy.

The White House released documents alongside that speech, which you are clearly a big fan of. Based on what we have seen so far, do they actually back up the President's biggest claims?

[03:10:01]

SADHWANI: Based on what I've had a chance to look at thus far tonight, I'm not seeing anything. FBI reports that are mostly redacted, talking about someone in their car maybe holding false voter registration.

Thus far, I mean, there's a lot in there. I just started looking at it myself, and there's many, many documents. So it would be easy to kind of swim in all of these documents that have been procured.

But thus far, I'm not seeing anything that changes previous court cases that have been out there. We haven't seen the Department of Justice actually bringing any additional kinds of claims or investigations. That's what you would anticipate seeing if there was actually evidence that could be used in that way.

HUNTE: We are seeing lots of people say that the President is laying the groundwork to challenge the 2026 midterms when they happen, if Republicans underperform, of course. What do you think about that?

SADHWANI: Yes, that's the part that worries me the most about this speech. Not that there's some new evidence, but instead it's the pattern that he's creating, manufacturing doubt about the system's integrity, so that he could potentially use that as a rationale in the future for putting the executive branch in charge of the elections. That would be a worst-case scenario, not only for the 2026 elections, but for democracy writ large.

HUNTE: Okay. Sarah Sadhwani in Los Angeles. Thank you so much. Speak to you again soon.

President Trump only briefly mentioned the war with Iran during his primetime address. His speech to the American people came on the same night the U.S. military says it hit dozens of Iranian military targets in its latest major wave of strikes.

This marks the sixth consecutive night of U.S. attacks on Iran. Iranian state media says several bridges in the country's south were targeted in the latest U.S. strikes, along with a railway junction and power lines, too.

Meanwhile, Gulf States are fending off fresh retaliatory attacks from Iran. Tehran says it launched drones at U.S. military targets in the region.

CNN's Eleni Giokos joins me now live from Dubai. It's good to see you again. There is so much going on right now, but what's the latest from where you are in the wider Gulf?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There is a lot going on. I mean, as you say, six consecutive nights of strikes against Iran.

Iran retaliating against Gulf States, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, all activating air defenses and, you know, intercepting incoming projectiles. Iran posting videos, Iranian state media showing that they still have launch sites and military capabilities.

Importantly, Qatar also dealing with drones and attacks in the early hours of this morning. Our colleagues in Doha reporting loud explosions being heard. And then Qatari media also saying that one child, Ben, was injured by shrapnel because of these strikes.

Now, importantly, and you mentioned this, the primetime address by President Trump barely mentioning Iran, you know, only offering a few seconds in terms of what he believes is going on. And he says the United States is winning. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: We won in Venezuela, which is now working with us to produce millions and millions of barrels of oil. We are likewise winning big in Iran and you will see the fruits of that labor very shortly. America is back and doing really well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: You know, and a lot of experts are now saying that what was meant to just be a few weeks, which was promised by President Trump, is now perhaps turning to be what people are saying, a forever war with both sides really just doubling down and with escalatory rhetoric. For Iran, they say that the Strait of Hormuz is an unbreakable red line that it wants to exert control.

And just a few minutes ago, Ben, the U.K. MTO announcing that a vessel, a tanker, was struck by an unknown projectile. Some damage caused to the vessel, but no injuries reported.

Now, we keep on seeing commercial vessels being targeted as the United States keeps on striking Iran overnight. We saw CENTCOM announcing that they specifically target strategic sites in Iran. The U.S. wants to now expand its military operations as well.

Iranian state media releasing videos of several bridges that were targeted, leading to the port city of Bandar Abbas. The CNN geolocated some of those images, and we saw some of the damages to the bridges.

[03:14:54]

And then we also saw some of the images coming through from a town over Chabahar, showing smoke rising and a drone hovering over that area, where Iran is saying that several sites were targeted there as well. Many people are saying this is an escalation trap, and there is still hope for some kind of diplomacy that perhaps mediators could intervene.

But right now, it's just looking so fragile, so vulnerable in terms of getting both sides to the negotiating table, because the Strait of Hormuz is still, frankly, Ben, that flashpoint.

HUNTE: Okay, Eleni, thank you so much. Look forward to your future updates. Thank you.

In the last hour, I spoke with Mehran Kamrava, a professor of government at Georgetown University in Doha. I asked him what he's seen and heard on the ground today, and just how tense the region feels right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEHRAN KAMRAVA, PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY IN QATAR: Today, at 3:30 a.m. local time, we were all woken up by loud bangs when the Iranians apparently attacked the American base al- Udeid. And then again, there was a second wave around 6 a.m. local time. So everyone here in the region is quite tense, and we appear to be at the beginning of an escalatory cycle from which neither side knows how to back down.

HUNTE: It is interesting to me that you're speaking very matter-of- factly about the fact that you've seen strikes overhead. Just tell me, how are you feeling about this level of risk that you're now facing in this area?

KAMRAVA: Ben, like thousands of others, I and my family moved here about 20 years ago because of safety, security, stability.

And so for us, life has become somewhat, I don't want to say risky, but unstable and insecure. And, you know, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Dubai are major transit hubs in terms of global airlines. Flights might be once again disrupted.

And so life is uncomfortable. But I do want to mention that although here in the region, in a place like Doha, we live with insecurity and uncertainty, I think it's also important to remember that the other side of the Persian Gulf, in Iran, lives are being destroyed and people are dying. And so the death and destruction is of unprecedented scale there.

HUNTE: Yes, I do think that's very important to mention, I was speaking to my team about that earlier. Some analysts are warning that this risks becoming a forever war. Do you agree with that?

KAMRAVA: Well, what Iran has done successfully, somewhat, is to turn a military conflict into an economic one. The Iranian leadership is quite aware that it cannot go toe-to-toe with the United States militarily. So what it's done and what it's trying to do is to make sure that this conflict turns into an economic battle over energy resources.

And therefore, Iran has successfully pushed up energy prices globally. And it has disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Major oil producers like Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar have a hard time exporting their oil and gas.

And so, yes, of course, this conflict has global repercussions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: China makes it no secret that it wants to compete with the U.S. on artificial intelligence. Still ahead, China's leader lays out his vision for the future of A.I.

Plus, political blowback for Ukraine's President. Why hundreds of people came out to protest despite the ongoing war. See you in a moment.

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[03:20:00]

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HUNTE: Welcome back.

China is spelling out its view of the future of artificial intelligence. A couple of hours ago, President Xi Jinping spoke at the opening of the World A.I. Conference in Shanghai.

China has a massive artificial intelligence industry. But its closed models still lag behind those made in the U.S. Partly because of limited access to advanced U.S. chips.

Kristie Lu Stout is monitoring the story for us from Hong Kong. And she joins us live. So Xi Jinping is laying out his vision for China's A.I. development, right? What else did he say?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Xi Jinping is laying out his vision for China to become a global leader in A.I. development.

While emphasizing an inclusive approach to A.I. development. He's headlining this big World A.I. Conference. It's happening right now in Shanghai.

And in his keynote address, he called A.I. development, quote, a symphony of global cooperation. And this comes after an agreement was inked the day before.

Some 29 countries signed this agreement to form this new A.I. global cooperation body that will be headquartered in Shanghai. And countries taking part in that include Russia, include Brazil, Venezuela, members of the global south, countries across Asia as well.

Now this is a four-day conference. China has invited policymakers, industry leaders, world leaders to attend, including the U.N. Secretary General is there, as well as the leaders of Cambodia and Thailand.

And to this audience and a domestic audience and a global audience, Xi Jinping gave this address.

[03:25:05]

Again, emphasizing China's A.I. leadership. A vision of a people- centered A.I. development. He also said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

XI JINPING, CHINESE PRESIDENT (through translator): We should jointly oppose over-stretching the national security concept in the field of A.I. Or placing one country's security over that of others.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now the summit comes at a time of rising high-tech tension and competition. Between these two superpowers, the U.S. and China. Chinese companies like DeepSeek, like Drupal, like Moonshot, which is on the cover of the F.T. today are creating and unleashing these new A.I. models that are increasingly sophisticated and very competitive.

At the same time, China and the United States are also making moves to protect their own domestic home-grown A.I. Just a couple of months ago, as reported here on CNN China ordered Meta, that is of course the parent company of Facebook to unwind its $2 billion acquisition of a company called Manus which is an A.I. startup that's currently headquartered in Singapore, but has roots in China.

So, as we listen to Xi Jinping's speech, and he's calling for A.I. for all and for this message of inclusivity. We can't forget that China, along with the United States, are making moves to protect their home- grown A.I. Back to you.

HUNTE: CNN's Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. Thank you.

A city in southern Ukraine is reeling from the latest Russian strike.

Officials say at least three people were killed when a guided bomb hit Zaporizhzhia on Thursday. The attack damaged private homes and non- residential buildings. Zaporizhzhia has been a frequent target of Russian strikes.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed his acting security chief to take over as an acting defense minister. The move came after Mr. Zelenskyy removed his popular predecessor, Mikhail Fedorov. As Clare Sebastian reports, the President is now facing pushback on the streets.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is coming at a critical juncture in this war. Russia is clearly in escalation mode. Ukraine is in this desperate race for new air defense supplies.

And this decision by President Zelenskyy to let go his defense minister, a very popular figure, Mikhail Fedorov, has only been in the job six months, but he's seen as a bit of a technological whiz. He's credited with the expansion of Ukraine's drone program, with the big success they've seen over recent months in terms of deep and mid- strikes, attacking Russia's oil infrastructure, the effort ongoing at the moment to isolate Crimea, and the improvement of Ukraine's fortunes on the front line. And this decision has really touched a nerve, I think, among the people.

We're seeing protests not only in Kyiv, but in other parts of Ukraine as well. People calling for him to be reinstated, very worried about where this leaves the war effort. This is the guy also, by the way, who convinced Elon Musk to shut down Starlink for the Russians, which was something that caused a lot of problems for the Russians back in the winter and early spring.

So why is this happening?

Well, President Zelenskyy said that he wants unity between the defense ministry and the military. It seems that Fedorov has clashed to some degree with the top levels of the military establishment, but I think the feeling on the streets is that people haven't really had a full explanation. And that, again, is why this has touched a nerve.

But a critical juncture in this war. We're seeing these missile attacks going up, and I think this is going to lead to questions not only within Ukraine, but among its allies as well.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: All right. The evolving door at 10 Downing Street spins once more as Britain prepares to welcome its seventh Prime Minister in a decade. A look at what Andy Burnham could bring to the job.

That's ahead on "CNN Newsroom," see you in a moment.

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[03:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HUNTE: Welcome back, I'm Ben Hunte. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

President Trump discussed election security at a primetime address on Thursday night. He said newly declassified intelligence shows China meddled in U.S. elections. China denies the allegation, insisting it does not interfere in other countries' internal affairs.

Gulf States are fending off fresh attacks as the conflict between the U.S. and Iran escalates. Iran says it launched drones at U.S. military targets in the region, Qatar and Kuwait also report intercepting missile and drone attacks after loud bans were heard in Doha. Meanwhile, the U.S. military says it hit dozens of Iranian military targets during its sixth consecutive night of attacks against Iran.

China's President laid out his vision for the future of A.I. in a speech in Shanghai a few hours ago. He said Beijing wants to use the technology for good and called for finding an effective way to regulate it. He spoke as the competition between the U.S. and China in the A.I. technology is heating up.

Well, in just a few hours, Britain will be well on its way to a new Prime Minister. Former Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is expected to be officially announced as the new leader of the country's Labor Party this morning in London.

[03:35:03]

He will formally take over as P.M. on Monday, replacing Keir Starmer, who announced his resignation last month after losing the support of his party.

Earlier this week, Burnham praised the outgoing Prime Minister in the House of Commons for pushing through the Hillsborough Law, which aims to criminalize public officials and groups that lie to the British public. It is named after the 1989 Hillsborough Stadium disaster, in which dozens of football fans were killed in a crush at a semi-final match.

For years, British authorities and parts of the media forcefully blamed the victims for that deadly incident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY BURNHAM, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER-IN-WAITING: It does feel tonight like life is coming full circle. And as we pass this momentous piece of legislation, a piece of legislation that will change the way this country thinks and works about justice, it truly is a rewiring of the state and a passing of power from the authorities to the hands of ordinary people.

And it is happening because of the Prime Minister's commitment to a country based on justice and fairness, and we thank him for that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: CNN European Affairs commentator Dominic Thomas joins us now. It's good to see you, sir. Andy Burnham is becoming Britain's seventh prime minister in 16 years. What does that level of political turnover say about the state of British politics right now?

DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Well, Ben, we're at a crossroads once again, and we've been at a crossroads many times over the past decade or so. And I think in this particular case, there are a couple of things worth underscoring.

First of all, as the run-up feature discussed, this is really a reappointment of a new Labor Party leader who in the process will become Prime Minister. And as with predecessors who were appointed in that particular way, the big question that hangs over him is what will happen when he goes to a general election, which is something for which he's going to have to lay out a timetable, because even though the Labor Party controls this vast majority, it won't satisfy the shifts that have taken place in British politics just over the past few years with the rise of Reform and the rise of the Greens.

So he's going to have to address that. And I think what is going to unfold in the next week or so, and are going to be interesting, are the cabinet appointments that will not only indicate the path forward for this particular administration, but also how he goes about essentially shuffling the deck within the Labor Party and appointing indicative leaders and representatives from the different factions as he moves forward to see if he can continue to steer at least this Labor ship that won that momentous election just two years ago as we move forward.

So those are the sorts of things we'll be looking out for, Ben.

HUNTE: And at the same time as that, Burnham has talked about shifting power away from Westminster and towards the regions. How quickly can he turn that vision into government policy, do you think?

THOMAS: Yes, well I think that's going to be the uphill challenge. I mean, this is an experienced member of parliament who left a significant footprint in the Greater Manchester area as mayor. Translating that into national politics, let alone international politics and the position of the U.K. on the global stage is going to be an uphill challenge.

It is clear that he wants to privilege a more equitable U.K., in many ways replicating some of the devolution models that many have talked about that worked in Germany, that led to the rise of multiple centers around industry and culture and research and so on and so forth. That's one model.

The question is how does he go about reconciling that with the greater challenges on the global stage, the shifting relationship with the United States, conflict in Ukraine, uncertainty with Russia, the Middle East and so on and so forth, with U.K. politics. There's talk about increasing spending on defense.

How does he reconcile that with a commitment to reinvigorating the National Health Service, to addressing disparities between regions in the U.K. Those budgetary challenges, cost of living challenges have not gone away. And unless he can show the British people that he's on the path towards addressing those, it's going to be an uphill struggle as he takes the country to a general election in the months or the year to come.

HUNTE: One of the biggest political challenges is, of course, the rise of Reform U.K. What does Burnham need to do differently if Labor wants to win back voters who may have drifted away?

THOMAS: As we know, the issue with Reform U.K. and with far-right parties is twofold.

[03:40:00]

You have, on the one hand, xenophobic, racist supporters that support that party. But you also have a vast majority of disaffected voters who feel like they have been left behind by politicians and by the political system. Having a seventh Prime Minister in just over a decade emphasizes that kind of lack of stability.

For Andy Burnham to defeat the far-right, he's got to address social and economic issues in this particular country. It's the same challenge across the Channel in France and in Germany. If he fails to do that, those age-old questions around immigration and fear and social anxieties that define Brexit, that have provided the oxygen for the far-right moving forward, will continue to flourish.

But if he finds a way to revitalize the economy, to speak to the British people about the importance of fostering equity in society, support for Reform U.K. will dwindle. But it's a very difficult challenge. But I believe that is the best way and the best solution moving forward for the Andy Burnham administration.

HUNTE: Looking ahead a little bit, what should our viewers be looking out for during this transition period? What will be the first real test of Andy Burnham's leadership? THOMAS: Well, I think the test is going to be the Cabinet

appointments. It's going to be looking at the ways in which he can deal with these internal divisions within the Labor Party and also provide a strong message to the international community and the U.K. community on what kind of direction this government is going to go into.

How are we going to deal with the legacy of the problems associated with Brexit? How are we going to lead and focus on a general election landscape that will have shifted dramatically from just when Keir Starmer elected, with the rise of the Greens, with the rise of Reform. This is a more divided political party and a more divided national voting public. He's going to have to talk about those things and focus on those things moving forward.

HUNTE: Okay, Dominic Thomas, thank you so much.

At least two people have died after floodwaters surged through south central Texas, the same area where more than 100 people died last year. Flood warning towers were activated as rising waters triggered sirens, warning residents of the danger.

A flood watch remains in effect until midday on Friday for parts of south central Texas. While some rivers and creeks have receded, officials warn the threat is not over with more rain in the forecast. CNN's Ed Lavandera is in Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Intense flooding has once again wreaked havoc across the Texas hill country. This comes just a year since those devastating and deadly floodings that happened here near Kerrville just over a year ago, where nearly 140 people were killed in these floodwaters.

This is the Guadalupe River. It is a much different scene from what we saw early Thursday morning. In the overnight hours, floodwaters, this river was rapidly rising and reaching record levels along some portions of the river.

Here in Kerrville, you can see the debris left as the waters rose at least this high, covering up this roadway. And now crews are beginning the process of cleaning up all that tree debris that has once again covered the roadways.

As of now, we've heard of two deaths reported in the floodwaters across this region. The governor of Texas says one of those deaths took place in Comfort, Texas, which is not too far from where we are, and the other in Uvalde, Texas, south of here.

So this is widespread flooding, not just focused along the Guadalupe River here, which is obviously a place that has gotten so much attention, but also in other creeks and tributaries all around the region, from Fredericksburg down to Uvalde, south of where we are. So it has been an intense day. A number of high-water rescues, families stranded on rooftops, having to scramble to get out of the way of these floodwaters.

But the good news is now is that it appears that the worst of this storm has passed and that the floodwaters are beginning to recede here. But once again, the magnitude and the intensity and the memories that were brought back because of these floodwaters, given what happened here just over a year ago, is really something that is forefront on the minds of so many people here in this region.

What is interesting this time around is that many people that we've talked to say that the sirens and the warning systems, the alerts going off on phones, worked much better, much differently this time around. In fact, one person even said that people were much more aware, taking these warnings much more seriously to get out of harm's way.

Ed Lavendera, CNN, Kerrville, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Fires burning in Ontario are spreading smoke across parts of Canada and the northeastern U.S. Around 3600 wildfires in this intense season have burned more than 6 million acres.

[03:45:08]

About 210 fires are considered to be burning out of control right now. The smoke is driving air quality to dangerous levels for more than 120 million people in the Midwest and northeast U.S. Poor air quality is expected to hit these regions through at least Saturday as more smoke pours across the border.

The International Energy Agency says Africa has 60 percent of the world's best solar resources. What's more, the solar industry lobby group, the Global Solar Council, says the continent had record growth last year, a 54 percent increase in capacity compared to the year before.

CNN's Eleni Giokos looks at how the African Rainbow Energy Company is building affordable clean energy solutions in South Africa and beyond.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELENI GIOKOS, "CONNECTING AFRICA" HOST (voice-over): Spread across this vast landscape, thousands of solar panels track the African sun. Here in the northern part of South Africa, Selamala Solar Park is an example of a new approach to renewable energy generation.

BRIAN DAMES, CEO, AFRICAN RAINBOW ENERGY AND POWER: Each one of them is about 191,000 solar panels. It's got trackers that get used to follow the sun, and that is to optimize the solar resource during the day.

GIOKOS (voice-over): Using trackers to chase the sun's rays, this park is utilizing the latest technology. Once the maximum amount of energy is generated from the sun, large-scale batteries store the electricity so it can be used for whenever it is needed. DAMES: We will not be building a solar plant without battery storage.

We're currently doing work to add batteries to that. And why? It's because we have quite a predictable solar resource, and battery technology has just seen a massive reduction in pricing.

And now you can have renewable energy that's dispatchable, particularly at times that it's needed.

GIOKOS (voice-over): What makes this park more innovative is its use of what is called electricity wheeling, where power is generated in one location and sent over the national energy network and sold to customers hundreds of kilometers away.

DAMES: Big power for private sector clients, mining customers in particular. So the projects are the first large-scale wheeling projects in South Africa, where at one place we produce electricity, and we deliver it across the grid to five different locations for two mining companies, which are the customers in that case.

GIOKOS (voice-over): The park was developed by the Sola Group, of which African Rainbow Energy is a major shareholder.

GIOKOS: You've increased your stake in Solar Group from 40 percent to over 80 percent. How important do you think that is?

PATRICE MOTSEPE, FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN, AFRICAN RAINBOW ENERGY AND POWER: Renewables is part of an industry that we've looked at for many years, and we've invested a huge amount of resources, finance. We've bought one of the best companies, not just in South Africa but in the continent, solar with world-class management.

So as a family we're in the mining industry, and in all of the industries we get involved, these are long-term investments. And sometimes for many years you don't make the sort of revenue that you'd like to, but we take a 5-, 7-, 10-year perspective.

So the renewables are doing very well, and we think we'll realize the benefits of that industry in the medium to long term.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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[03:50:00]

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HUNTE: Alright, welcome back. Here are your business headlines.

The Truth Social app will sell quicker access to President Trump's posts to Wall Street firms starting August 1st. Trump Media and Technology Group, which owns Truth Social, says the faster access offering would help expand its revenue stream. This is the latest in a growing list of examples of the President blurring the lines between his business and his duties in the White House. Toyota South Africa has begun a pilot production of a new generation pickup truck. The company says it hopes to eventually produce 140,000 copies of the Hilux each year. Toyota is also upgrading its production plant in the town of Durban as part of that move.

A California fruit farmer goes to trial on Monday after a distributor sued him for alleged breach of contract by using an outside packager. He says the company made it impossible to sell his crop, so he went viral last year by giving away about 180,000 pounds of nectarines and he says the trial could decide whether he continues farming.

In Bolivia, a skater collective is blending indigenous traditions with urban youth culture.

Members of the Women on Wheels collective are paying tribute to their roots by wearing a traditional skirt whilst skateboarding. They are part of a wider movement of female skaters in Bolivia using the sport to challenge gender stereotypes and celebrate their identity.

[03:55:09]

The leader of Women on Wheels says her choice of dress is a tribute to her great-grandmother.

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FRANCESCA LOZA, "WOMEN ON WHEELS" COLLECTIVE (through translator): I skate in a pollera to pay homage to my great-grandmother as she dresses in a pollera. But in my daily life, I don't dress like this, only on some occasions when I skate with my friends, who also have grandmothers and mothers who wear polleras. So we want to pay homage to our grandmothers and mothers and feel proud of our roots.

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HUNTE: Alright, that's all I've got for you. Thanks for joining me and the team, I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta.

There is so much more "CNN Newsroom" right after this and we'll be back here tomorrow at the same time. See you then.

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