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Connect the World

Xi Shows Off Weaponry and Alliances at Victory Day Parade; 113 Palestinians Killed in Gaza in Last 24 Hours; U.S. Strike Kills 11 on Suspected Venezuelan Drug Boat; House Committee Releases 30,000 Plus Pages of Epstein Documents; Xi's Gala Luncheon for Kim, Putin and Other Foreign Leaders. Aired 9-9:45a ET

Aired September 03, 2025 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, this is the U.S. Capital. It is 09:00 a.m. in Washington. And later in this show, we will

expect to hear from survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse. That's as a trove of documents from the case are released. It's 05:00 p.m. in Abu Dhabi. I'm

Becky Anderson, you're watching "Connect the World".

Also coming up, does this image reflect a new world order? President Xi is side by side with North Korea's Kim Jong Un and Russia's Vladimir Putin.

How Donald Trump is reacting. The U.S. military has blown up a boat in the Caribbean claiming it belonged to a notorious drug cartel, and a landmark

antitrust ruling helps Google avoid the worst-case scenario.

The stock market in New York opens in about 30 minutes from now. The picture somewhat brighter after a down day Tuesday, which of course, was

the first day of the trading week, in part because of good news for one of America's most valuable companies. We will have more on that later.

Well, a stunning show of military might in Beijing today, sending a clear message to the world, China is willing and able to face down any challenge.

Well, Leader Xi Jinping presiding over his massive Victory Day Parade with fellow strongmen, Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin front and center.

The optics of the three of them standing together for the first time, sending its own message of a rock-solid alliance. The parade featured

hundreds of advanced weapons and more than 10,000 troops. President Xi assuring his military that China is now, quote, unstoppable.

U.S. President Donald Trump, watching from afar, weighing in on social media, accusing China, Russia and North Korea of conspiring against the

United States? Well, CNN's Ivan Watson watched the spectacle play out in Beijing, and has filed this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Chinese soldiers on the march and then an arsenal of Chinese made weapon systems,

part of a mammoth parade held in Beijing on Wednesday to commemorate 80 years since the surrender of Japan in World War II.

WATSON: This has been an enormous display of Chinese military strength and discipline, but perhaps the most powerful images of the day will be of the

Chinese Leader Xi Jinping and his choice of foreign guests.

WATSON (voice-over): President Xi kicked off the event leading Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un up a red

carpet up to Tiananmen Gate. On this day of Chinese victory, these two strongmen received top honors.

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL & NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Having this group of other Leaders, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, the President of Iran, all

their reinforced China's role as the centerpiece of a new coalition that is basically there to challenge the West. And his message was, this is what we

challenge it with.

WATSON (voice-over): Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump has been sending mixed messages, claiming he's not worried about China.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Not at all. China needs us. And have a very good relationship with President Xi is, you know.

WATSON (voice-over): And then hours later, writing this to his Chinese counterpart, please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong

Un as you conspire against the United States of America. At the event, China displayed conventional armaments, tanks, missiles, helicopters and

fighter jets flying in close formation.

Also paraded air and undersea drones, types of weapons that have transformed modern warfare on battlefields around Ukraine. And Beijing

showed off a new intercontinental ballistic missile, as well as air defense lasers. Amid these weapons of war, Xi expressed some hope for peace.

XI JINPING, CHINESE LEADER: Today, humanity, once again, faces the choice between peace or war, dialog or confrontation, win-win cooperation over a

zero-sum game.

WATSON (voice-over): China's leadership wants to reshape the world order so it put on this elaborate show of force to back up this demand. Ivan Watson,

CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[09:05:00]

ANDERSON: Well, CNN's Marc Stewart is also in Beijing. He joins us live. Alayna Treene has the view from the White House. Marc, let's start with

you. What we saw was evidence of China's investment in the technology of modern warfare, things like air defense, lasers, hypersonic anti-ship

missiles and undersea drones. What did we learn about China's capabilities?

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, one thing we always have to keep in mind when talking about China, especially when it comes to an issue such as

the military. We can't necessarily take things at face value, but what we do believe to be true, and what our reporting reflects, is that China is

very much interested in modernizing its military.

It's pouring a lot of money into it, hoping to make a shift from something that is more reminiscent of the Soviet era to something more modern,

something that could rival the United States. So indeed, Becky, we did see this big show of force. One type of weapon that's getting a lot of

attention are these lasers inspired weapons that would be mounted, perhaps on a warship or even being used in the air.

According to Chinese state media, these laser focused weapons would use a microwave to electronically disable a potential target. So, there's no

question that China is very much pushing this high-tech narrative. You know when we talk about China's military strength and its weapons. It's not just

the traditional weapons that are in its arsenal.

I'm going to go out on a little bit of a tangent here, in the sense that we have seen China really double down on technology. It's something that Xi

Jinping presented earlier this year during his annual meeting of the rubber stamp legislature to really double down on technology that focuses on

things such as AI, such as robotics, such as electric vehicles.

That is another point of strength that China can add to its arsenal as it has this bigger goal of trying to establish itself as this alternative to

the West, this leader, Becky of a potential new world order.

ANDERSON: It's fascinating, isn't it? Alayna events in Beijing clearly got the U.S. President's attention. Trump posting that the three leaders were

conspiring against the U.S., if that was his own post written by him, and we got a sense that clearly, he's pretty annoyed at this show of strength

by three people.

Two of whom he's had hotly anticipated meetings with, of course, Putin and Kim. How much of his message is about his annoyance of being left out of a

photo op like today's? What's your sense of you know what he means here?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah. Well, look, I mean, he was clearly watching this as these leaders gathered together. And I think part

of the reason he's so frustrated by this, and it was a pretty cryptic post, although he did very forthrightly say, and wasn't clear if he was being

sarcastic or not, but saying that they were conspiring against the United States.

Look, I think a lot of this has to go back to something that we've seen the president struggle with throughout his second term in office, which is he

has always believed that he could sit down with these leaders. He's often touted. You heard this repeatedly on the campaign trail, but also once he

came back into the White House, saying that he has great relationships with Vladimir Putin, with Xi Jinping, with Kim Jong Un.

You even recently heard him say that when the South Korean President was here last week, he was talking about his great release -- relationships

with China and even with the North Korean Leader. And so, to see this clearly a sign of them uniting. You just heard Marc and Ivan walked through

how this is potentially trying to set up this image of an alternate world order, something alternate to the West, clearly something that gets under

the president's skin.

And I would argue that it all comes, of course, as we've seen, these relationships between the United States and these different countries be

very tense, despite what the president is saying about his relationships with each of their leaders.

One thing I would also point out, as well as one person who isn't in that photo op of the three of Putin and Xi and Kim Jong Un all standing together

was India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. I mean, he is someone who the president and the United States has long had a good relationship with.

But it's become very tense during his second term because of the tariffs the United States has issued against them, because the president has

claimed that he did a lot to end a potential conflict. The conflict that was going on between India and Pakistan, all things that have, kind of, we

know, angered India's Prime Minister, seeing him there as well, another stark sign.

[09:10:00]

Because I'd argue that when Trump came into office, a big goal, big foreign policy goal, was trying to push these different leaders apart. What we're

seeing now is clearly it's having the opposite effect of bringing them together. So, I think it all is, of course, weighing very heavily on the

president, and of course, as well.

I mean, this comes just two weeks after President Donald Trump welcomed Putin to on American soil, to Alaska, and that meeting yielded really no

tangible results for him. So that's adding on to all of that frustration, Becky.

ANDERSON: It's good to have you, Alayna. Alayna Treene is at the White House. Marc, of course, is in Beijing. Thank you. Well, a final point on

those famous -- infamous Trump meetings that we discussed with Alayna, our colleague, Stephen Collinson wrote about both, pointing out Trump's gushing

red carpet welcome of Putin has so far failed to unlock any progress towards ending the war in Ukraine.

And the U.S. President's first term summits with Kim were similarly unsuccessful. The North Korean Leader has more nuclear weapons now than he

did before take part in Trump's photo op diplomacy. You can find his full analysis on CNN's Digital Platforms.

Well, Kim Jong Un is coming away from this event with an invitation to visit Russia outside lengthy one-on-one talks in Western Beijing. President

Putin was over hear -- over her, telling, Kim, we are waiting for you come visit us. Before those discussions, Mr. Putin thanked North Korean troops

for fighting with Moscow against Ukraine. And the North Korean Leader vowed his country would continue to support Russia quote as brothers.

Well, their close ties also on display during that military parade in Beijing. Vladimir Putin stood beside the North Korean Leader and President

Xi is Moscow launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Ukraine. Kyiv says its air defenses shot down most of them, but some they say, hit their

targets.

CNN's Sebastian Shukla is following this story for us. And Sebastian China has claimed to be neutral in the Russia Ukraine war. Perhaps it did not

appear that way, as President Xi stood beside Putin and Kim Jong Un during this Beijing parade that, of course, while Russia attacked Ukraine. And

what more can you tell us at this point?

SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN PRODUCER: Yeah, good afternoon, Becky. Well, why President Xi may claim that China is neutral in the war in Ukraine. The way

that China is supporting Russia suggests almost the opposite. Russia has been sending oil to China, and China has been buying it in vast quantities.

And we actually saw in the last couple of days that's going to continue with this huge Gazprom deal that has also now been penned. And all of that

means that China has been boosting the coffers of the Kremlin for Vladimir Putin, enabling him to continue this war of attrition that is going on, on

the battlefields of Ukraine.

And in that photo up, we saw President Xi stood alongside President Putin, and on the other side you had Kim Jong Un of North Korea, a Dictator of the

Hermit Kingdom, stood alongside the authoritarian leaders of Russia and China. And North Korea has sent actual physical soldiers to Ukraine to

fight on Russia's behalf.

So that optic, there was one that was taken and noted very keenly. As you noted though Becky, as that photo op was taking place Russia continues its

aggression and its fighting, and which shows no sign of abating in Ukraine. 500 attack drones launched overnight towards various different regions of

Ukraine.

Amongst 24 ballistic missiles to all of that, showing that whilst President Putin is on a red carpet in Beijing, shaking hands and looking at military

equipment. The war in Ukraine shows no signs of ending.

And President Zelenskyy, for his part, will be taking part in a meeting today of the Coalition of the Willing with President Macron, where the

three of them are hopefully going to try to flesh out a little more detail on what the Coalition of the Willing may be? And what the support and

security guarantees that Europe will be able to provide to Ukraine? Becky.

ANDERSON: It's good to have you. Sebastian, thank you. Well, just into CNN, the UAE is saying any plans by Israel to annex parts of the West Bank would

cross a red line. We've just gotten this statement in from the foreign ministry, quote, annexation in the West Bank would constitute a red line

for the UAE.

It would severely undermine the vision and spirit of the Abraham Accords, and would alter the widely shared consensus on what the trajectory of this

conflict should be, two states living side by side in peace, prosperity and security.

[09:15:00]

And this is a pretty unprecedented reaction to Israel's reported annexation plans. Meanwhile, anger grows in Jerusalem. Protesters are out in the

streets today. They are once again demanding that the government reach a ceasefire deal and abandon its plans to take over Gaza City, which many

fears will be a death sentence for the remaining hostages.

But as you can see, Israeli forces continue to close in on Gaza City. Over 100 Palestinians have been killed in the Enclave in the last 24 hours,

according to local health officials there. CNN Jerusalem Correspondent Jeremy Diamond reporting live for us this hour. Just explain where you are

and what you're seeing?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, over the course of the day, we are seeing a series of actions being led by protesters, activists,

families of hostages, all aimed with one goal, and that is to convince the Israeli Prime Minister to prioritize the lives of the hostages being held

in Gaza, to take this ceasefire agreement and hostage release deal that Hamas has accepted that is on the table.

And not to move forward with this planned offensive for Gaza City, a total conquest of the city that is already in its early stages. We have seen

today, as protesters have blocked highways in Israel. We also saw some activists burning vehicles near the prime minister's residence, which

sparked police investigation.

And protesters barricading themselves on top of Jerusalem's National Library and deploying banners there, once again, with messages aimed

directly at the Israeli Prime Minister. We've also seen the families, the parents of several of the hostages being held in Gaza, testifying before

Israel's Foreign Policy and Defense Committee in the Knesset Israel's Parliament.

And all of it will culminate, ultimately, in just a few hours-time, in what organizers have been describing as a massive demonstration in front of the

prime minister's residence aimed at blocking the entirety of the street there, filling that street with protesters and activists calling for the

prime minister to focus on the plight of the hostages.

And what is notable this time about these protests is that it comes as the Israeli Prime Minister and his government are moving forward with these

plans for a massive military incursion into Gaza City, against the advice of Israel's security establishment, against the advice of not only Israel's

Military Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir, the Mossad Director, David Barnea, and also the Head of the Shin Bet.

All of whom have been advising this Israeli government that an offensive in Gaza City is unlikely to achieve the aims of destroying Hamas is likely to

put the hostages at greater risk. And instead, they have been urging this Israeli government to take the deal on the table, which Hamas agreed to two

weeks ago and which Israel has yet to respond to.

ANDERSON: And further pressure on the Israeli government, very specifically, Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet. The UAE telling CNN that

annexation of the West Bank is a red line. This is a significant statement from one of the very few Arab countries that have normalized relations, of

course, with Israel. What do you make of it?

DIAMOND: Yeah, that's right Becky. I mean, the UAE, as you well know, was the first Arab country in more than two decades to normalize relations with

Israel during President Trump's first term. It became known as the Abraham Accords, and it was a vision, not only for broader integration of Israel

into the region, but also a way for the UAE in particular, to have some influence over trying to preserve the option of a two-state solution.

Back in 2020 when the UAE agreed to normalize, it was very clear that the goal of that normalization at the time was partially, at least, to prevent

Israel from moving forward with plans that it had at the time to annex parts of the West Bank. And so, the UAE is now saying that if Israel moves

forward with annexation of the West Bank, this would be crossing a red line.

It would undermine the vision and the spirit of those Abraham Accords. And could also they say, shelve -- you know, these broader prospects of

regional integration. There is still some lack of specificity, I think, in this statement, you know, what is a red line here? Is it annexation of any

parts of the West Bank? Is it only the entire West Bank?

[09:20:00]

And they also haven't outlined exactly what the consequences will be, but nonetheless, a very significant warning coming from the UAE, and one that

has to make the Israeli Prime Minister think twice about his plans here, as he is set to have a meeting tomorrow night to discuss the possibility of

moving forward with at least partial annexation of the West Bank.

ANDERSON: Yeah. Good to have you. Jeremy, thank you very much indeed. Well, still to come, the Trump White House just escalated its war on Latin

American drug cartels. Details on that in a live report are just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: U.S. President Donald Trump says the U.S. military killed 11 people in a strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat in the Southern

Caribbean. Now, President Trump posted the strike on Truth Social, his social site, saying it should, quote, serve as notice to anybody even

thinking about bringing drugs into the United States.

Before heading to Mexico on Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the counter drug mission would continue. Well, CNN's State Department

Reporter Jennifer Hansler joins me now. And the Trump Administration wasting no time, sharing details of yesterday's mission, Jennifer?

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT REPORTER: Yeah, that's right, Becky. We heard from the president in the Oval Office yesterday saying he was

speaking just minutes after they took this significant and seemingly unprecedented, deadly military strike on this alleged drug boat that they

say was tied to the cartel Tren De Aragua. This is what the president said in the oval yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Over the last few minutes, literally shot out a boat, a drug carrying boat, a lot of drugs in that boat. And there's more where that

came from. We have a lot of drugs pouring into our country, coming in for a long time, and we just these came out of Venezuela, and coming out very

heavily from Venezuela. A lot of things are coming out of Venezuela, so we took it out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANSLER: Now Becky, this is, of course, a very significant escalation in the administration's war against these cartels. We have heard both the

President and Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, adopting this bellicose rhetoric when it comes to their approach. Rubio said yesterday that they

were going to wage combat against these cartels.

Now, in recent months, they had designated a number of Latin American cartels, including Tren De Aragua, as foreign terrorist organizations. And

this seems to be the basis under which they are saying they are conducting these unprecedented military strikes.

Rubio was asked about the legal authorities for doing so, and he pointed to the White House legal counsel office, but he did again say that they had

designated these as terrorist organizations, and he claimed that they were funneling drugs into the U.S. that were killing Americans.

[09:25:00]

We do not know of a past instance Becky, in which a U.S. military asset was used to strike these alleged drug cartel members. And as we hear from the

President, from the Secretary of State, they are suggesting that this will continue amid this massive military buildup in the Latin American and

Caribbean Seas, Becky.

ANDERSON: Yeah, it's fascinating. It's good to have you, Jennifer. Well, let's get you up to speed on some of the other stories that are on our

radar right now. And police in Northwest Pakistan, say six security personnel and six militants were killed during an assault in a paramilitary

base in the Town of Banu on Tuesday.

They say the attack began with a suicide bomber ramming his car into a wall of the base, allowing other attackers to enter. That led to a 12-hour gun

battle. So far, no group has claimed responsibility.

The U.S. Federal Appeals Court has ruled against President Donald Trump's move to quickly deport Venezuelans accused of being gang members. It says

he unlawfully invoked the use of an 18th century law to try to deport them. Ruling blocks deportations in Texas, Louisiana and in Mississippi.

Well, ahead on this show you're watching "Connect the World", of course, with me, Becky Anderson. Women who say they were abused by Jeffrey Epstein

speaking out today in Washington. The impact these events could have on a measure to force the Trump Administration to release the full Epstein

files.

Plus, it's a case that's been closely watched in California's Silicon Valley, the U.S. Government versus Google and the search giant has walked

away with a significant win.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson and Abu Dhabi. You are watching "Connect the World" from our Middle East Programming Headquarters. These

are your headlines. And China has unveiled hundreds of advanced weapons at its Victory Day Parade in Beijing, highlighting its investments in modern

warfare.

New missiles, undersea drones and robot dogs were on display. Leader Xi Jinping telling troops that China's rise is unstoppable, while Vladimir

Putin stood beside the North Korean Leader and President Xi at the military parade in Beijing, Moscow launched hundreds of drones and a number of

missiles at Ukraine. Kyiv says its air defenses shot down most of them, but some of the missiles and scores of drones reached their targets.

Demonstrations are taking place across Jerusalem today for what's being called a day of disruption. The protesters are calling for an end to the

Gaza war and for the Prime Minister to bring the hostage home.

[09:30:00]

They're expected to gather outside Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in the coming hours.

Well, that is the opening bell on Wall Street ringing the trading day this Wednesday. It is just after 09:30 in the morning there. That is a group --

that is a residential home construction company celebrating, it seems 100 years. Well, they are enjoying themselves at the New York Stock Exchange

today.

Let's see whether investors have a better day of it. A bit of a busy day on Tuesday, which of course, was the first day of a shortened working week

this Wednesday, we will let these markets settle. Certainly, a mixed sort of look on the futures. The DOW down.

Just a landmark decision in the U.S. government's antitrust case against Google. A federal Judge ruling on Tuesday that the tech giant does not have

to sell off its Chrome web browser or Android. Now this comes let me explain after the same judge ruled last year that Google was operating an

illegal search monopoly.

Well, let's get the very latest from CNN Business and Economics Reporter Anna Cooban. The Department of Justice had proposed bigger changes,

including forcing Google to divest Chrome. The judge, though, said that doing so would be incredibly messy and highly risky. It's an interesting

change of tune. What else is in this ruling?

ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS & ECONOMICS REPORTER: Well Becky, there's two main things that Google will have to do, beyond the most extreme outcome,

which obviously it now has been saved from doing, which is selling off Chrome and its Android operating system.

What it will have to do, though, is sell some of its search data to competitors. Now this is something that Google says is likely to compromise

its user privacy, but also, it's now banned from entering into so called exclusivity contracts with device makers. So, this would be when a contract

is signed with a device maker saying that you can only load Google search, Google's Gemini AI App onto these devices.

But crucially, at Google will be still allowed to pay device makers to become the default app. And this is something that it's currently doing

with Apple, a very lucrative partnership. And I think that the fact that this partnership seems like it can very much continue is shown in the stock

market today. We've seen Apple shares up. We've seen Google shares up around 6 toward 7 percent pre market.

ANDERSON: Yeah, it's fascinating, isn't it? AI playing a role in this case. Just explain.

COOBAN: Well, Google has said in a statement after the ruling, that is in fact, facing stiff competition, particularly in the AI space. So, in -- you

know, just look at Open AI, look at perplexity these challenges. Google is saying that people are increasingly finding out their information, not from

-- you know, traditional search engines, but from AI Chat Bots.

Now this is, you know, something that the judge ruling this case has also touched upon. They said that they're really keen on not letting Google's

dominance in search bleed over into a dominance in AI. And I think you know from what we're seeing with this ruling and with others that we are now

moving into a new era where these antitrust cases will be focused increasingly on artificial intelligence.

ANDERSON: It's good to have you. Anna, thank you. And Google outperforming what is an otherwise rather lackluster start to the trading day. Let's just

bring up the numbers for you. We are about three minutes into the trading day. The DOW just off, NASDAQ and the S&P, not doing too badly, of course.

And as that's full of those tech stocks and certainly that Google -- that Alphabet push today will be helping there the S&P climbing back today after

a pretty busy day yesterday.

Well, it's a big day in the push to release the full Jeffrey Epstein files. Happening this hour in Washington, a stand with survivors rally that

organizers say is in solidarity with those sexually exploited by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

Well, a number of those women will speak at a rally, and next hour, some of them will join Congressmen Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie for a news

conference. The Democratic and Republican House members are co-sponsoring a measure that would force a vote on the House floor demanding the Trump

Administration fully release the files.

Now all of this follows what was a document dump, effectively by the House Oversight Committee. You have tens of thousands of pages related to the

Epstein investigation on Tuesday. Arlette Saenz joining me once again from Capitol Hill. We've got a busy day.

Arlette, thank you for getting across this for us. Let's start with that document dump that was released. What's been the reaction on the Hill and

these events today, one assumes will go on despite that, correct?

[09:35:00]

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's right, Becky. And the House Oversight Committee last night released more than 33,000 pages of documents

that were handed over by the Justice Department relating to Jeffrey Epstein. These documents included things like flight records, past court

filings and other redacted information.

But Democrats were very quick to point out that the majority of the documents that were released last night actually had already been made

public. And we have heard from others like Congressman Thomas Massie, the Republican who was part of that push to force a House floor vote on the

full release of the files, also saying that it's just not enough.

Now for House leadership, they are really trying to offer their Republican colleagues an alternative to what Massie and Ro Khanna have been pushing.

They're hoping that the release of these documents by the House Oversight Committee might satisfy some people's concerns.

House Speaker Mike Johnson is also trying to push forward with a vote on a bill that's largely a resolution that's largely symbolic, encouraging the

House Oversight Committee to continue its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein's situation. But certainly this -- the release of these documents,

has not satisfied Democrats. It has not satisfied some Republicans who still want to see more be released.

ANDERSON: This is not over, is it at this point?

SAENZ: No, it's not. And in just a little over an hour, we will hear directly from some survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking ring.

They will join Khanna and Massie for a joint press conference, all while Khanna and Massie are still pushing forward with that effort to force a

vote on the House floor.

Now they will need 218 lawmakers on board in order to force this vote. If they have all Democrats on hand, that means they need six Republicans, and

we've already heard from four, including Massie, who said that they would support this measure.

Now last night, a White House official pushed back on Massie's effort, saying that it's simply an effort to try to grab attention, but also saying

that anyone who supports this measure would be committing a hostile act towards the administration.

They believe that the way that the Justice Department has said that they will offer House Oversight these documents, that that should satisfy

people's concerns, but it's unlikely to really die here, as this is an issue that has really continued to drive a wedge between President Trump

and his party, as more have called for the release of these files.

ANDERSON: Arlette always a pleasure. Thank you very much indeed. It is 09:37 in Washington. A busy day there. Well, it's a busy day in New York at

Flushing Meadows, we are set for another round of Djokovic versus Alcaraz. We've got the very latest from the U.S. Open coming your way up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:00]

ANDERSON: Well, the Leaders of Russia and North Korea have been given the red-carpet treatment during their visit to China, including meticulously

planned meals. The "WIPO Newspaper" giving the world a sneak peek at how the leaders live it up during this Scala Luncheon in Beijing.

They enjoyed a host of dishes, drawing from both Chinese tradition and more international flavors, including, I'm told, chicken soup with conch meat

and lily bulbs, roasted lamb chops, stir fried lobster with crab meat, roe and egg white, clear scallop consummate with assorted mushrooms and roasted

salt marinated salmon with the creamy mustard sauce, mouth-watering.

We are set for a mouth-watering semi-final clash at the U.S. Open on Friday with victory over Taylor Fritz last night Djokovic is now 11-0 against the

American and sets up another bout with Carlos Alcaraz. Patrick Snell joining me now. That is going to be a decent match.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes, it absolutely is. He may be 11-0 Becky against Taylor Fritz, who could have taken it to a fifth set, I will say,

last night in New York City, and had he done so, he may well have gone on to win, but we'll never know, because Nolay closed it out in four.

But he's five and three currently in all-time career meetings with the young Spaniard, who's already, can you believe it Becky? He's already a

five-time Grand Slam Champ. Nolay, of course, wants number 25 to have the standalone record for Grand Slam Singles Title, surpassing the Australian

Great Margaret Court.

So, he wants that number 25 very badly indeed, but it's going to be very, very tough against Alcaraz in the semifinals. But he can take heart from

this. He has beaten the young Spanish player the last two occasions they have met, including the Olympic Final in Paris. So, there's definitely much

encouragement there for Djokovic.

We'll see how his body holds up. But he looked good, I will say he looked good. And of course, he's mentally very, very strong indeed. So fascinating

to see how it all plays out. Full highlights from his victory over Taylor Fritz on "World Sport" coming our way in just a couple of minutes or so

from right now, back to you.

ANDERSON: That's right. Good stuff that is after this short break. Patrick, up with "World Sports". We'll be back 15 minutes top of the hour if you're

in this part of the world with more "Connect the World".

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:45:00]

END