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Texas Senate Race; Moscow And Kyiv Trade Deadly Strikes; Typhoon Dolphin Hits China. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired August 10, 2026 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The late Senator Lindsey Graham. She was appointed to finish the final months of his term, but now wants the party's nomination to run in November. She has no previous experience in elected office.

And in Wisconsin, yet another test of Democratic Party unity. Progressive Francesca Hong is leading the field in the race for the governor nomination. She's hoping to prove that Democratic socialists can win in a true battleground state.

My colleague Kristie Lu Stout spoke with CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein about the party's tactics headed into the midterms. He says Republicans are adopting tried and true arguments to keep their base, but attacks against specific candidates are probably part of a much larger fear.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: In modern US politics, the single most important factor in midterm elections over really the last three decades has become views of the incumbent president. And, you know, right now, Trump's approval rating is lower than it was in 2018. It's also lower than it was for Biden in '22, Barack Obama in 2010, George W. Bush in 2006, and Bill Clinton in 1994.

If the election is a referendum on Trump's performance, Republicans are going to have, by these historical metrics, a very bad night. So their goal is to shift the focus to Democrats wherever possible. And that is going to largely be, given that people are so unhappy with the economy, that's largely going to be a cultural argument.

It's going to vary from place to place but it's basically the Democrats are weak on crime, weak on immigration, extremists on issues, LGBTQ issues, and in the case of El-Sayed, emphasizing his background. You know, some of these candidates that are off to the left are giving Republicans a lot to shoot at on policy, but the history is that it's been really tough for the party in the White House to make the midterm about the party that isn't in the White House.

So we'll see how far Republicans get with this strategy. The best thing they have going for them is that, it's being fought out mostly in Republican terrain in the Senate and the House, most of the districts and the Senate seats that are being fought over places that Trump won. So there may be a bigger audience for this.

But again, the historical record is that this has not been an easy kind of switch for the in party to make.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: Texas Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton is asking his party to spend money in his race against Democrat James Talarico. In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Paxton said, we need help now.

According to filings with the Federal Election Commission, Paxton had raised some $2 million by the end of June, compared to $21.5 million for Talarico. Paxton says Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senator Tom Scott have pledged to devote resources to his race, but the National Republican Senatorial Committee has yet to offer that strong financial support after Paxton defeated incumbent Senator John Cornyn in the May primary runoff.

Republican Representative Max Miller will officially remain on the ballot for re election. This is according to his spokesperson, and it is now too late to turn back. The deadline for a party leaders to replace him with a new candidate for Ohio 7th district has passed.

Miller is defying widespread pressure to step down after abuse allegations by his ex-wife came to light. That pressure is also coming from his former father-in-law, Republican Senator Bernie Moreno. He's calling Miller a danger to my daughter and says he "should not serve in Congress." Miller has denied that those allegations.

He told CNN that US President Donald Trump had warned him the race would be tough. The controversy could jeopardize Miller's chances of reelection, which could keep Republicans from controlling the House after the midterms.

Now to Russia and Ukraine where civilian death tolls are mounting on both sides as they continue trading aerial attacks. Ukrainian officials say that a Russian strike on a residential building in Kharkiv killed two, injured 27 people on Sunday. And we're learning new details about Ukraine striking back at Russia.

Joining me for more on all of this is our Fred Pleitgen. He is live in Moscow. Good morning, first of all to you, Fred. We've just had this news, I think just in the last hour about a Ukrainian drone strike that's been deep inside Russian territory, far from the front lines. What are you learning?

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Town called Nizhnekamsk, which I would say is about maybe about 100 miles away from a town called Kazan, which is the capital of Tatarstan. And we're talking about, I would say about 1,000 miles away from Ukrainian territory. So certainly a strike deep inside Russian territory.

And the Russians are calling this an act of terrorism. They say that civilian buildings were struck in that drone attack which they say took place in the early morning hours of today. The death toll, and I was just checking this with Russian state media. Initially they had put it at 12, they've just corrected it up to 13.

[04:35:10]

They said one child is also among those killed, as well as more than 40 people who have apparently been injured in this drone attack. I was also reading the Russian Investigations Committee because, of course, they have opened an investigation into all this. They say that civilian infrastructure was hit, but they also say that industrial places apparently were targeted as well.

One thing that we have to know about this town of Nizhnekamsk, because, first of all, it is very deep inside Russian territory. So certainly the Ukrainians showing that they do have the ability to strike very far away from their own territory, but it is also a hub of the petrochemical industry for that area of Russia. And apparently there's a tire factory also in that town as well.

So certainly a significant strike and one that the Russians are calling an act of terrorism was quite interesting because officials here in Russia are already coming out. One of them saying that these strikes that they're seeing inside Russia show that the Russians have to continue what they call their special military operation. Of course, the combat operations inside Ukraine.

And, Salma, one of the things that we have to point out being on the ground here in Russia, is that, right now, despite the fact that the Ukrainians are increasing these strikes on Russian territory, the Kremlin shows no sign of backing down on what they call their special military operation. In fact, Vladimir Putin himself just recently named for the first time a commander of drone warfare for the Russian military. So it certainly seems as though they, if anything, are standing by.

ABDELAZIZ: Very interesting detail there from Fred Pleitgen, a new commander for drone warfare assigned by the Kremlin. Thank you so much for those updates.

For more on all of this, I want to bring in now Oleksiy Sorokin. He is the Deputy Chief Editor at the Kyiv Independent. Good morning, first of all to you. Thank you so much for being on with us.

So much of what I want to ask you about today is about Ukraine's capabilities to sustain this fight, because over the weekend President Zelenskyy said that despite an agreement with the US for monthly deliveries of Patriot air defense missiles, which are, of course, very badly needed, those volumes are insufficient and lower than in previous years.

Can you give me an update on where things stand with those interceptors and whether or not the US is going to allow Ukraine to build its own interceptors receptors, because there's been this back and forth on that as well. OLEKSIY SOROKIN, DEPUTY CHIEF EDITOR, KYIV INDEPENDENT: Well, first of all, thank you for having me. And if we're talking about Patriot air defense systems and missiles for them, the problem is that the US is shipping Ukraine around 70-ish missiles per month. And obviously that's not enough.

Russia is continuing to attack Ukraine with ballistics every two, three, four days, firing around 20, 30 ballistic missiles. So for Ukraine to have any sort of defense against those attacks, Ukraine needs 300 Patriot interceptors. Obviously, Ukraine doesn't have those.

And the only reasonable solution that Kyiv is looking at is producing the missiles themselves. Unfortunately, President Trump has been making contradictory statements about this issue. He twice said that Ukraine can get a licensing agreement. Then he said Ukraine is still not getting the agreement.

So unfortunately, me speaking to Ukrainian officials, they also don't know currently what's the status. They know that American companies are ready to provide the technology. They are interested in Ukraine building the production facilities because it will ultimately generate funds for those companies. But it all depends on President Trump.

ABDELAZIZ: So a continued lack of clarity on whether Ukraine can build its own interceptors. Now, I want to go to President Zelenskyy where he said this statement about the Patriot air defense systems, the monthly shipments. He said this while he was in Serbia. This is a very unlikely ally given its close relationship with Moscow.

Yet the two countries did agree to deepen cooperation. Is Ukraine starting to look for friends in unlikely places maybe?

SOROKIN: Yes, you're absolutely correct. Ukraine's current strategy is looking for friends wherever, right? Whoever has missiles, whoever has military technology to give to Ukraine, Ukraine will go there and ask for some kind of deepening cooperation.

It caused a stir in Kosovo and Albania because Albania and Kosovo were really supportive of the Ukrainian cause. They were obviously really vocal in supporting Ukraine against the Russian aggression. But unfortunately, those countries don't have production lines for missiles and for military hardware.

[04:40:04]

And because the US and European countries are slow on providing Ukraine what it needs to defend against Russia, Ukraine now looks for partners in Serbia and Turkey. There was a contract recently and other countries that can provide Ukraine with the hardware.

ABDELAZIZ: And speaking of finding friends in unlikely places, we have news this weekend that Syria has agreed a deal with Russia over the future use of two key bases that will ultimately end Moscow's control of those use -- of the use of those military outposts. Now, I know that President Zelenskyy visited Damascus earlier this year. What are people in Kyiv making of this news that Russia will

eventually withdraw, will eventually end its use of those military outposts in Syria?

SOROKIN: Well, obviously it's not the biggest issue in Ukraine currently, but what people in high cabinets are saying, that this shows that Russia is unable to produce strength in the world, right? It's hardly a regional power now. And that's because of Ukrainian attacks and also because Russia is doing so poorly in this war that other countries now can, maybe not bully Russia, but basically have their own opinions on partnerships with Moscow going forward. And that's what Syria is doing.

ABDELAZIZ: Oleksiy Sorokin there on Ukraine, as you said, seeking help, military help, anywhere it can find it and making new friends in unusual places. Thank you so much.

Typhoon Dolphin wreaks havoc across eastern China. Coming up, the latest on flooding as the tropical cyclone tracks deeper into the country.

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[04:45:00]

ABDELAZIZ: Hundreds of residents of Ceuta are asking the Spanish government and European leaders to find lasting solutions for the latest migrant crisis. As many as 72,000 people had illegally crossed land and sea borders into this very tiny Spanish enclave late last month. Dozens of people were killed in the rush.

Spanish officials say the vast majority of those migrants quickly returned to Morocco but still some remained, including more than , 300 unaccompanied minors. Protesters say they celebrate Ceuta's diversity and multicultural makeup, but they warn that the sheer number of migrants arriving at once is simply too much to handle.

Taiwan is in the midst of its 10 day long annual military drills, preparing for a potential Chinese invasion. Parts of Sunday's activities included a decontamination exercise with soldiers, tanks and armored vehicles put through a simulated nuclear, biological and chemical attack as you can see there. They've also practiced repelling an air landing assault on a strategic island. And later in civil defense drills, officials will slow down mobile internet speeds for the first time to test communications in case of a disaster or attack.

Typhoon Dolphin has now made landfall in eastern China. It marks the strongest tropical cyclone to hit the country this year, receiving China's highest red alert threat level on Sunday. Some coastal regions faced 93 mile per hour winds, that's 151 kilometers near the storm center at landfall.

Here you're looking at video of strong winds flipping over a truck. Torrential rain is forecast throughout the day prolonging the risk of widespread flooding and landslides.

CNN's Mike Valerio is in Beijing with more on this typhoon for us.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly tons of rainfall. A nine-year-old boy who was swept out to sea and more than a thousand flights canceled, those are the main storylines that we are following here. So according to forecasters in China, because of this storm, Dolphin, central and eastern Zhejiang province could get between 250 millimeters of rain, which is as we hold up our tape measure, that would be about this much right here between 250 and 500, there we go, millimeters of rain because of this storm, which is the rough equivalent of around 9.8 inches to 19.7 inches of rain.

That is the expectation from forecasters because of this storm. Torrential rain in Zhejiang, Shanghai, northern Fujian Province, northeastern Jiangxi, central and southern Anhui and Jiangsu Province as well. A nine-year-old boy on Friday was with family members when one of the gigantic waves crashed against the seashore. Again, this is happening in Zhejiang province which is south of Shanghai.

Still, authorities were searching for the boy by the middle of the day on Monday after he was swept out to sea by one of those waves crashing into the seafront. More than a million people evacuated because of the storm. Shanghai's Yangshan province moved more than 500 vessels to shelter.

Shanghai also canceled about 1,500 flights, which is data, according to Veriflight. Shanghai also evacuated, just imagine this wherever you're watching us from, 30,300 people. And even more than that, in Zhejiang Province in the city of Wenzhou, they relocated more than 900,000 residents and opened more than 1,000 emergency shelters.

This storm tracking westward before slowing over central in southwestern China, the danger of flooding and landslides is expecting to persist. Mike Valerio, CNN, Beijing.

ABDELAZIZ: Parts of Europe will be treated to a very rare celestial event on Wednesday, a total solar eclipse. It will be the first one visible from the Iberian Peninsula since 1912. People lined up at Madrid's planetarium on Sunday to buy eclipse classes. Free pairs had been offered earlier but they went very quickly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

XIAOXI WU, TOURIST FROM SHANGHAI: It has been a dream for me to see the real one with a sunny day. And this year it will be a solar eclipse during the sunset. So I guess it will be more romantic with all the sunset views, so it will be really exciting to see.

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ABDELAZIZ: Italian divers have discovered a Roman era shipwreck. This is about 5km off the coast of Sicily. They were inspecting it when they found hundreds of well-preserved ancient wine jugs. Officials say the wreck most likely dates back between the second and first centuries BC. Sicily was once a major hub for ancient trade.

[04:50:04] A transplant to Queens, New York thought he was just buying a house. But unbeknownst to him, that new home came with a superhero-sized fan base. We'll hear his heartwarming tale of unexpected fame right after the break.

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ABDELAZIZ: "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" is enjoying another week of massive box office success. Its second week in theaters drew another $145 million. This is according to Variety. The film, starring Tom Holland and Zendaya, has now drawn $655 million in the US and nearly $1.7 billion around the world.

One homeowner in Queens, New York is getting a lot more attention than he bargained for. Turns out the home he bought has the same address as one of America's most popular superheroes, Spider-Man. Well, the Spidey fans have taken notice, and they've been swinging by to see the house for themselves. WABC reporter Anthony Carlo has this very cute story for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANTHONY CARLO, WABC REPORTER: If you lived here, you might expect the occasional neighborhood to stop by. But Jack Shi has learned to expect something else, Spider-man fans.

[04:55:07]

JACK SHI, OWNER OF SPIDER-MAN'S HOUSE: Almost every day, some people, they take picture for the house.

CARLO: Shi bought this forest hills home three years ago after moving from Georgia when his daughter graduated from NYU. He says he had no idea about the address until his real estate agent told him.

SHI: We decided to buy this house, and then the agent told me this is Spider-Man's house. I'm very surprised.

CARLO: The house on Ingram Street has the same address used for Peter Parker and Aunt May's home in the Spider-man comics. And the attention has gone far beyond people just taking pictures. Shi says he's received around a thousand letters from children who believe spirit Spider-man lives here.

SHI: Maybe a thousand letters, very young. And I asked my daughter to answer this later.

CARLO: Some kids ask spider man questions, some send drawings and apparently some just want to spend time with their favorite superhero. So his spider sense is tingling every time his doorbell is ringing.

SHI: This morning, early morning, 6:00, there's somebody take pictures of us, many people.

CARLO: But Shi says he really doesn't mind. In fact, he sees something bigger in all this attention.

SHI: I see the hope and the future of America.

CARLO: And judging by all the smiles and all those letters, it seems like he has become a friendly neighborhood Spider fan himself.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ: So much for watching. I'm Salma Abdelaziz. CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS is coming up right after a quick break.

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