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First Move with Julia Chatterley
Hezbollah Leader Issues Warning to Israel; Israeli Warplanes Fly Low Over Beirut; Israel Targets Hezbollah Infrastructure in Lebanon; Graphic Comments by NC GOP Gov Nominee Uncovered; Harris to Hold Livestream with Oprah Winfrey; Chinese Divorce Rate Spikes; Tensions Between Japan and Chin on the Rise; New Footage of Titan Submersible Wreckage; Astronauts Cast their Ballots in the Upcoming U.S. Elections. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired September 19, 2024 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: -- they don't have the old ones that still say Biden on them. You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X,
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puppy waiting for you at the gate. The news continues on CNN with Wolf Blitzer in The Situation Room. See you tomorrow.
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN ANCHOR, FIRST MOVE: -- 1:00 a.m. in Tokyo, and 6:00 p.m. here in New York. I'm Julia Chatterley. And wherever you are in the
world, this is your "First Move."
And a warm welcome to "First Move," as always. And here's today's need to know. The reckoning will come. The leader of Hezbollah issues a warning to
Israel as the two sides launch cross-border attacks. CNN uncovers disturbing and graphic comments made by the Republican nominee for governor
in the battleground State of North Carolina. Beijing breakups, the firms cashing in on climbing divorce rates in China. And 50/50 baseball superstar
Shohei Ohtani approaching a brand-new kind of record. All that and plenty more coming up.
But first, escalation in the Middle East. Israel says two of its soldiers have been killed after Hezbollah launched at least 17 attacks into Northern
Israel. Earlier in the day, Hezbollah's leader accused Israel of crossing, quote, "all the red lines" and warned the reckoning will come. It follows
the detonation of pagers and walkie-talkies used by the group's members in Lebanon earlier this week.
As he spoke, Israeli warplanes flew low over the southern suburbs of Beirut, dropping flares. Israel also attacked what it called Hezbollah's
terrorist infrastructure sites in Lebanon. From Beirut, Ben Wedeman has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Final prayers for a Hezbollah militant, one of many killed in the spate of pager
and walkie-talkie blasts across Lebanon linked to Israel. Outside, others pay respects to the family.
The blasts killed dozens, including children and wounded thousands.
WEDEMAN: This is a memorial and graveyard for Hezbollah fighters killed in action. And what the group has seen since the beginning of this week is its
highest death toll since the start of hostilities with Israel last October.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): The group's supporters, however, are putting on a brave face.
The enemy is terrified of us, Beirut resident Meriem (ph) tells me. They're afraid. They attack us with planes. We fire back with rockets and bullets.
But there's no denying the attacks have taken a serious toll. Surgeon Ghassan Abu-Sittah (ph) has treated the war injured across the Middle East,
most recently in Gaza.
GHASSAN ABU-SITTAH, SURGEON: So, the problem is we don't have enough equipment because of the sheer number. And more importantly, these are
surgeries, these are injuries that will need between five and 12 surgeries in the next few years.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): In a televised speech, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah conceded the group had suffered a major unprecedented blow and
called it a mass terrorist event. While the speech was broadcast, Israeli warplanes roared over Beirut. Adding, perhaps, insult to injury. Yet,
Nasrallah insisted, Hezbollah is unshaken.
I say to Netanyahu, Gallant, the enemy army, and the enemy entity, he declared, you will not be able to bring the residents back to the north.
He vowed Hezbollah will stop firing on Israel when Israel stops its war in Gaza. And then, Israeli warplanes returned, breaking the sound barrier
twice over the Lebanese capital.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN (on camera): And the escalation continues. This evening, Israel launched more than 50 airstrikes across Southern Lebanon. Both Hezbollah
and Israel have made it clear, neither will back down. Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Our thanks to Ben Wedeman there. And now, we're joined by Lieutenant General Mark Hertling. He's retired U.S. Army officer and a
military analyst. Lieutenant General, great to have you with us on the show.
Retribution will come according to the leader of Hezbollah in the speech that he gave. But he also acknowledged that without a doubt, we have
suffered a "major blow," quote. How painful is this operationally and emotionally, I think for Hezbollah at this moment, with the loss of the
communications equipment that we've seen, but also, as we saw there, aircraft flying over Lebanon and breaking the sound barrier?
[18:05:00]
LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST AND FORMER COMMANDING GENERAL, U.S. ARMY EUROPE AND SEVENTH ARMY: Yes. Julia, let me start off
by saying it's an interesting report by Ben Wedeman, but he didn't mention the fact that Lebanon and Hezbollah out of Lebanon has been launching
anywhere from 30 to 50 missiles per day, rockets and missiles per day into Israel. They have relocated close to 80,000 citizens in Israel away from
the blast zones.
So, this is an attempt, they talked about the effects that this had targeting terrorists. It is a direct attack against the terrorists that are
part of Hezbollah. And by the way, both Hezbollah and Hamas have promised to destroy the State of Israel and kill as many Jews as possible. That is
their charter.
From a military analyst perspective, this is -- this was an attack against the terrorist operational commanders and the fighters that are launching
those missiles against Israel. So, from my perspective, having fought in terrorist fights in different parts of the world, this was a considerable
approach by Israel to literally destroy those who are leading the attacks against the Israeli system.
And, you know, it was interesting watching the story about showing that the majority of those three dozen or so people that were killed were Hezbollah
fighters. There were two children, and that is extremely unfortunate and saddening that those individual children were killed as part of this. But
again, it's part of the fact that terrorists will swim among the people and try and include them in the attacks that are going against them and then,
use those attacks as propaganda to say, see what Israel is doing against our brave fighters that are attacking Israel.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, so many vital points in that. And including the fact that the Israeli defense minister reiterated that they want the Israelis that
have been relocated from the north to be able to go back to their homes, to the first point that you made about the mutual rocket fire that we're
seeing pass between the two areas.
You also posted in the aftermath of the walkie-talkie explosions as a mentor once told me, as a fighter, if you ain't talking, you're just
camping to the operational side of this. I just wonder if the -- will have a wider impact, because there will be other organizations that are
communicating via these tools in the region? And we can choose who we mentioned at this point. Do you think there will be a wider impact than
just beyond Hezbollah and in light of what we've seen?
HERTLING: It's a great question because the attack on the walkie-talkies, the beepers, the computers, that's all tactical stuff, Julia. It's not
strategic in nature, but it will certainly have an effect on the command control of the organization.
There were also reports that not just Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon suffered some of the casualties, but there were others in places like Iraq
that were part of the various PMS groups, the Iranian supported PMS in Iraq that were struck as well.
So, yes, this is an interesting approach having conducted terrorist operations. The most important thing you have to do is to counter the
terrorist is to interfere with and disrupt their communication systems. Because if you do this, they can't fight. They can't coordinate their
activities. There are a lot left to be in signal -- symbol -- single cells, excuse me. And that's what Hezbollah and Hamas have been able to do
recently, they've been able to synchronize their attacks, use large-scale attacks as opposed to independent terrorist operations, and that's what's
made them so incredibly effective over the last year and a half.
CHATTERLEY: To what end? Because I was listening to the State Department spokesman today talking about this and saying, look, certainly from the
United States perspective, they don't want either side at this moment to escalate. We know that the talks on a broader ceasefire over Gaza are
continuing at this moment so that the sensitivities here for many reasons are heightened. To what end, do you think, as far as Israel is concerned?
HERTLING: You know, it's interesting, Julia, because one of the things that was reported today, the chief of the general staff of the Northern
Command -- Israelis Northern Command, Lieutenant General Holiday (ph) said, every time we conduct an operation, we already have the next two stages
ready to advance.
[18:10:00]
So, what we've seen in this disruption of communication methods seems to lead to potentially other operations that are going to go on in Southern
Lebanon. We know from the very beginning what I've been watching very closely is when Israel first mobilized after the October 7th attack, they
mobilized 300,000 soldiers. That was more than they needed to go into Gaza and fight Hamas.
So, I think from the very beginning, Israel knew they would be on a two- front and possibly a three-front or even four-front war, if you include what might be coming out of Syria and what might be happening with the
Houthis in Yemen. And we have seen all of those groups attack into Israel.
So, I think that the large mobilization that Israel did early on in this conflict seemed to be preparing for the potential of fighting on four
different sides. And we're seeing now a shift from the Hamas operation in Gaza to the Southern Lebanon front to see what they can do to counter the
amount of artillery and rocket fire they've been receiving from Hezbollah coming out of Southern Lebanon.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, and to be fair to them this week, they've sort of telegraphed that, to some extent, that the fronts are shifting and
increasing. Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, always great to get your insights, sir. Thank you.
Now, turning to a disturbing new development in the 2024 U.S. Elections. CNN's K-File Investigative Unit has uncovered shocking new details about
the Republican candidate running for governor of North Carolina, the state's current lieutenant governor, Mark Robinson.
The investigation shows Robinson posted on a porn site starting in 2008 where he described himself as a quote, "black Nazi" and wrote posts
expressing support for reinstating slavery. Andrew Kaczynski is the senior editor of K-File and he joins us now. Andrew, great to have you with us.
And I want to warn our viewers very quickly this report does include some disturbing and graphic comments. Just bring us up to speed on what you
discovered.
ANDREW KACZYNSKI, CNN K-FILE SENIOR EDITOR: Julia, my colleague Em Steck and I found a series of highly disturbing post made on the message board of
a pornographic website more than a decade ago, and we traced them directly to Mark Robinson. Now, we did interview Robinson today and he categorically
denies making these posts. I'll get to that in one moment.
But first, I want to walk people through just some of them. Take a look at this one right here in one post, Robinson called himself a quote, "black
Nazi." And when discussing then-President Barack Obama in 2012 wrote, quote, "I'd take Hitler over any shit that's in Washington right now." It
even goes beyond that. Another disturbing post. Robinson defended slavery, writing, quote, "Slavery is not bad, and I wish they would bring slavery
back. I would certainly buy a few." All of these comments and many others that you can read on cnn.com were made on the message board of a website
called Nude Africa.
And, Julia, in addition to these posts, he also expressed views on Nude Africa that sharply contradict his current policies as a socially
conservative candidate for governor. For example, he has been vocally anti- transgender. But look at what Robinson wrote on the porn message board a decade ago, writing, quote, "that he liked watching transgender porn,"
adding, quote, "that's effing hot," while calling himself a, quote, "perv."
In another thread that was discussing the story of a woman who said she was raped by her taxi driver while drunk, Robinson wrote, quote, "And the moral
of this story, don't eff a drunk white bitch."
CHATTERLEY: OK. So, he wrote all this years ago when he was an ordinary citizen, before he got into politics. Andrew, I think the obvious question
to be asking now is, how do we know it's him?
KACZYNSKI: Well, Julia, we found that Robinson consistently used that same username, minisoldr, that he used on Nude Africa and all of his social
media. You can see it here on Pinterest, Black Planet, YouTube. He even used it as his Twitter handle. His full name was actually also listed on
Nude Africa and the e-mail we found that he used on Nude Africa, he used on several other websites.
Now, the biographical data from Nude Africa and multiple other websites using the username minisoldr matches Robinson's exact date of birth, his
hometown, the fact that his mom worked at an HBCU, even that his favorite episode of the "Twilight Zone" is number 22.
CHATTERLEY: OK. So, the obvious next question is, what does Robinson himself say about all of this, Andrew?
KACZYNSKI: So, Robinson calls this trash. He says it's not him. We asked the campaign for comment and gave them 48 hours to respond. That deadline
was this morning. And that's when Lieutenant Governor Robinson agreed to do a brief interview with us. Here is just a part of that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KACZYNSKI: Lieutenant Governor Robinson, thank you so much for being able to talk to us. I think we'll just jump right into it. Do you deny that this
account is you?
MARK ROBINSON, U.S. REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FOR NORTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR: Well, first off, let me say thank you so much for allowing me to come here
and clearly here. We absolutely do. This is not us. These are not our words and this is not anything that is characteristic of me, nor has it ever
been.
[18:15:00]
The people here of North Carolina know. I have been completely transparent about my history, all the warts. We put them all out. We let folks know
about it. But the folks here also know my character. They know who I am. They know my voice. So, to speak. This is not my voice. This is not things
that we would ever say or even think. And so, absolutely we do.
KACZYNSKI: How do you explain all of the matching details on this profile? The profile on Nude Africa lists your full name as Mark Robinson. The e-
mail listed on an account is an e-mail that you used -- you have used elsewhere on the internet, including with your photo. You have used that
name, minisoldr, on multiple social media accounts, including Twitter, Pinterest, Black Planet, and YouTube. How can you deny, with all of these
matching details, that this is you?
ROBINSON: Look, I'm not going to get into the minutiae of how somebody manufactured this these salacious tabloid lies, but I can tell you this,
there's been over $1 million dollars spent on me through A.I. by a billionaire's son who's bound and determined to destroy me. The things that
people can do with the internet now is incredible.
But what I can tell you is this, again, these are not my words. This is simply tabloid trash being used as a distraction from the substantive
issues that the people of this state are facing. We have addressed it. We have said it's not true and we wish we could move on and get busy with the
business of the people of the state.
KACZYNSKI: OK. Well, these posts, they do take place over a five-year period from 2008 to 2013. You mentioned A.I. Are you saying that somebody
was the somehow manufacturing biographical details to exactly match you using your username?
ROBINSON: Look, I have no idea how this was done. I have absolutely no idea how it was done. And I have five weeks left in this campaign, to focus
on the substantive issues that North Carolinians face. I do not have time for tabloid trash.
KACZYNSKI: There have been rumors that some of your campaign staff have quit. Can you tell us if that's true or not?
ROBINSON: Absolutely not. And we are not getting out of this race. There are people who are counting on us to win this race because, again, we don't
want a governor who's going to be a person that can't be counted on to tell the truth. And I can assure you, my opponent has been taken to court for
not telling the truth in campaigns. And he's been completely dishonest in his ads against me. This camp is so desperate to destroy us.
It's just like Clarence Thomas said years ago, this is a high-tech lynching. And, you know, back long years ago, they used to use rope. Now,
they're using cable.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KACZYNSKI: Now, Lieutenant Governor Robinson released a video on X shortly after our interview, underscoring that he plans to stay in this race.
Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Astonishing findings in that investigation. Andrew, great to have you on the show. Thank you. Andrew Kaczynski there.
Now, the Kamala Harris campaign wasting no time trying to connect Robinson to challenger Donald Trump. The campaign posting this on X just a short
time ago. A picture of Trump and Robinson together with the header best friends and a heart emoji.
Larry Sabato is the director of University of Virginia's Center for Politics, and he's the editor of "A Return to Normalcy?: The 2020 Election
That Almost Broke America." And he joins us now. Larry, I know you were listening to that. Let's talk about this first. I assume that the former
president has been quoted as calling Mark Robinson Martin Luther King on steroids. What do you make of this investigation, that interaction,
obviously with Andrew and his decision to continue to fight on in this race?
LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA AND EDITOR, "A RETURN TO NORMALCY?": Well, I would encourage people to read
the article. I've read it and it's quite convincing, despite what the Lieutenant Governor had to say.
I just returned from North Carolina midday today and I was talking with people about the politics of the race rather than this information, which I
didn't have at the time. But what's important to know is Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson was already losing. He's well behind, some would say
way behind the Democrat, Josh Stein. Despite the fact that North Carolina normally leans Republican, not in every race, but certainly in presidential
contests.
This is -- this can only hurt Robinson more. He's probably going to lose by more on account of it. And that hurts Donald Trump. People say, well, how
can that be? He's further down on the ballot. Because this is going to disillusion a fair number of Republicans. Some of them may not show up,
others may not do the volunteer work that makes elections run and campaigns run. So, this is damaging. And the 16 electoral votes in North Carolina
could be the electoral votes that determine the presidential race.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, although, it is just one of the crucial states that the other 43, I think, are watching to see who picks the president, quite
frankly. Can we talk about CNN's latest poll of polls? Because it is so incredibly tight so close to the election.
[18:20:00]
SABATO: Yes. Well, we've had three dozen polls that I've looked at in the last two and a half weeks, and we'll have many dozens more between now and
November 5th. And from all that polling, while they don't agree on every detail, they suggest that Kamala Harris is leading nationally, but under
our system in the United States, it doesn't matter who's leading nationally. She can win by millions and millions and millions of votes,
Hillary Clinton won by 3 million and didn't win the presidency. What matters is the Electoral College.
And as you said, correctly, 43 states are watching the only seven states that matter. They're the ones that are going to elect a president because
all the other states, we already know how they're going to vote. They're already going to be blue or red. We could pick them today instead of
waiting for November 5th.
So, this is a campaign that is extremely close because the seven swing states are virtually tied. When you add all the polls together in each one
of those states it's within the margin of error. So, you can't tell who's winning.
CHATTERLEY: Do you trust the polls, Larry? Like how much weight do you really give them?
SABATO: No.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. OK. Just checking.
SABATO: I used to. I used to, but after 2016, no. And sometimes they've been right since 2016, but sometimes they've been wrong. They weren't
particularly good in 2020 in the Biden-Trump race. So, no, I have a lot of questions about them. I found even the ones released today very
contradictory.
You know, they're -- who knows which one is right. I mean, you can just go eeny, meeny, miny, moe and pick one and say, well, that one must be right
today, but you're guessing, they're guessing. They don't know exactly who's going to vote, and they still have a problem trying to identify the hidden
Trump voters, the people who won't talk to pollsters.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, the shy vote has to be and still remaining Donald Trump in this election as it arguably was four years ago to what end. Kamala
speaking with Oprah Winfrey tonight. The hope is that it's a big moment, I think, to reach a sort of broader range of persuadable voters. She could do
more interviews.
We keep asking this question. If you compare her, the number of interviews that she's done and press briefings, statements versus what we get from the
former president, even his vice-presidential nominee, it's dwarfed by what they're doing.
SABATO: That's absolutely true. But of course, a candidate has only one job. And that's to win the election.
CHATTERLEY: Yes.
SABATO: It's not to generate news. It's not to give face time to 150 reporters. They are very carefully selecting these opportunities because
they don't want a gaffe to eat up a week that they need to introduce Kamala Harris to people who still don't know what she is all about, what she
stands for.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. I mean, yes, you're speaking to reporters, but arguably you're doing it speak to voters in the end who do want to get to know you,
but your point is a very valid one. Larry, great chat to you, sir. Thank you so much.
SABATO: Thank you.
CHATTERLEY: Larry Sabato there. Thank you. All right. Coming up, hundreds of miles from Earth and the nearest voting booth, the astronauts aboard the
International Space Station are about to cast their ballots in the upcoming U.S. elections. NASA moving heaven and Earth to make their vote count.
Plus, the business of breakups. Demand in China is hot for firms helping untie the knot. We'll explain after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:25:00]
CHATTERLEY: OK. welcome back to "First Move." U.S. stocks seeing a pop one day after the Fed's big interest rate chop. That and more in today's Money
Move. Wall Street soaring Thursday with the Dow and the S&P 500 closing at record highs. The Dow topping the 4,200-mark for the first time ever. The
NASDAQ rising two and a half percent too. A delayed reaction to the Fed's half a percentage point rate cut during the previous session. And helped --
helping along too by new data showing U.S. jobless claims falling to four- month lows, a fresh sign of the resiliency, the relative resiliency of the American labor market.
Now, after the closing bell, shares of sports apparel giant Nike rallying on news that CEO John Donahoe is leaving. He'll be replaced by company
veteran Elliott Hill. Nike has been struggling with slowing sales, particularly in China.
And turning to Asia now, nice gains for stocks there too. The Nikkei and the Hang Seng both rising 2 percent. The Japanese central bank kicked off
its two-day policy meeting Thursday with a rate decision due just a few hours from now. The Bank of Japan expected to hold rates steady, but to
keep the door open, at least, for another rate hike in the near future.
Now, to China where the government is desperately trying to reverse a declining birth rate. One key hurdle, divorce rates are spiking. They're up
more than a quarter between 2022 and 2023. Bureaucrats may despare, but some businesses are turning a profit. Marc Stewart has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a factory complex about 60 miles outside of Beijing. It's fueled in part by the business of breakups.
STEWART (voice-over): Divorced couples send their mementos to Liu Wei and his team, paying to destroy the evidence of their marriage.
STEWART: For Chinese families, photos like these are a big part of their home on full display for friends and family to see.
STEWART (voice-over): But these photos are pretty much indestructible, made out of hard acrylic boards. The team spray paints faces to ensure
privacy before being placed inside the crusher. It's a better solution compared to just throwing things in the trash. Divorce is still seen as
shameful in China.
STEWART: This entire process is recorded on video. Customers want proof the deed has been done.
STEWART (voice-over): It's happening as China's divorce rate is skyrocketing and as authorities try to avert a demographic crisis by
promoting marriage and parenthood. But the slumping economy leaves many young couples feeling stressed out about work, life, and relationships.
STEWART: Where did you even get the idea to have a business like this?
LIU WEI, CO-FOUNDER, BEIJING ZHONGTIANJIE COMPANY (through translator): This was actually an accidental idea, but it quickly became an obvious
business. During my daily contact with some customers, they all had the same thought, because they were troubled by the issue, but there was no way
they could destroy them. I had the same thought. I saw their dilemma.
STEWART: A lot of these photos have captions talking about happiness and dreams. These were couples that were once in love.
Does this ever make you sad watching this process happen, knowing once happy couples are no longer together?
WEI (through translator): I think of myself as a doctor. I see my job as being a witness to the disappearances of all kinds of relationships, love
or not, marriage or not, it's all normal. And a divorce might not necessarily be a bad thing. It could be a good thing.
[18:30:00]
STEWART (voice-over): The cost of this varies up to around $30 depending on what needs to be destroyed. Yet, for some people in China, it's a small
price to pay for a fresh start.
Marc Stewart, CNN, Longfeng, China.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: Now, from stormy relationships to stormy weather, Vietnam and Eastern China have been flooded with rain in recent days with even more on
the way. Chad Myers joins us now from Atlanta. Chad, good to have you on the show. No stormy relationship between us. Tell me what the weather is
going to bring us. Yes.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: My wife absolutely loves you. When you're not here -- when she -- when you're not here, she went, where is my Julia?
And I go, I don't know. She's on another show. I don't know what she's doing. So, yes.
CHATTERLEY: Heart back to her.
MYERS: So, we have that tv husband wife marriage here. Shanghai. You're seeing the rain showers still for you, also rain showers into Vietnam as
well This is all part of the tropical system This is going to happen until really almost the end of the year, very warm water out here.
And yes, the storm here that did move through Shanghai, it wasn't a big storm, but still around 50 or 60 kilometers per hour and making more
rainfall. It will become more intense for South Korea and even Northern Japan because some spots here south of Seoul could pick up 250 millimeters
of rainfall. And I can do the conversion for you, you know, that's somewhere around 10 inches of rain that is coming down. So, that's still to
come.
Now, the rainfall into parts of Vietnam, just a little bit south of where Yagi came through, but 350 millimeters, 357, that's 14 inches of rainfall.
And that was just in the past three days. More rainfall to come where they just don't need it. But that's what happens in the tropical season. More
rain comes down. It even moves farther even toward the to the west into Laos as well, where we'll pick up 150 to 250 millimeters of rain.
Now, to some spot that, boy, this storm has just not left. They named it Boris, and it seems like it was two weeks ago, but even in Italy now, over
200 millimeters coming down. And if you want to kind of do this at home with me, you think about a meter stick about 39 and a half inches or so
long. So, if you took about 100 millimeters, that's one-tenth of that stick. So, 100 millimeters is about four inches of rain. Here's what they
had. Some of the spots picked up four inches of rain in about 12 hours. And so, Italy really got hit hard with this flooding.
The thing is finally settling down, finally leaving the problems that it left behind, but it is still going to be a little bit of a rainfall event
here for parts of Northwestern Europe, and they'll take the rainfall in Portugal. Because, really, they need the rain to help put out those
wildfires, certainly.
Still tropical season out here in the Pacific. We'll keep watching it. And so, will my wife keep watching you.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, and we send a big heart to her, my partner in climate crime, Chad Meyers. Thank you. More "First Move" after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:35:00]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move." Tensions between Japan and China are on the rise after a horrifying act of violence that took place in the
Chinese city of Shenzhen. Mourners on Thursday laid flowers at the spot where a 10-year-old boy was stabbed just outside a Japanese school. He
later died of his injuries in hospital. It was the second such attack near a Japanese school in China in recent months. This man, like others in
Shenzhen, denouncing the violence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I am a random residence of Shenzhen. As the Chinese people, we oppose this behavior. We oppose this
teaching of hatred. Many of us have been under such hatred education for a long time, which has led to such evil consequences. This is the evil
consequences of persisting in hatred education for a long time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Hanako Montgomery joins us now from Tokyo. Hanako, great to have you with us. What more do we know about what happened here and what
are the Japanese governments saying?
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Julia. I mean, this -- we're talking about a very tragic attack here. The murder -- the
brutal murder of a young Japanese and Chinese boy.
Now, in terms of what else we know about this attack, we know that Chinese authorities are currently investigating the motive behind this brutal
murder. We still don't yet know quite why this occurred. We also know that locals in the southern city of Shenzhen have been leaving flowers for this
young boy and his bereaved family members. We also know that Japanese companies are offering their Japanese employees a chance to go back to
their home country in case they fear for their safety and their families lives.
Now, there's also been an urgent demand for Chinese authorities to better protect the lives of foreign nationals in the country. Even though violent
attacks like this are rare, there's been a spate of recent attacks in these past couple of months that have caused some concern. For instance, back in
June, four college instructors from the United States were stabbed in China. Just two weeks later, a Japanese mother and her son were also
stabbed at a bus stop. A Chinese bus operator who tried to intervene later died from her injuries in hospital because of this attack.
Now, at his press conference on Thursday, the Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, also described his grave concern about the safety of
Japanese nationals. He said, and I quote, "It is a despicable crime and a serious and grave matter." He also added, such an incident must never be
repeated. We strongly urge the Chinese side to ensure the safety of Japanese people. So, again, a very sensitive and distressing time for both
Chinese and Japanese people. Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Absolutely. I mean, you talked there about a number of recent events, but for this latest one with the 10-year-old boy, can we also talk
potentially about the significance of the date, September 18th?
MONTGOMERY: Yes, I'm glad you mentioned that, Julia. The September 18th date is widely regarded in China as the beginning of the Japanese invasion
of the country back in 1931. It's a date, of course, fraught with tension, with grief and sadness. And it's often a date that Chinese state media and
the government urge its citizens too to remember.
And again, we don't yet know what the motive behind this attack is. But many on Chinese social media speculate that it could have been fueled by
racial tensions and also fanned by Chinese state media and anti-Japanese sentiment.
In fact, in the hours after the attack on Chinese social media platforms, we saw some extremist nationalists speculate that this attack was planned
or staged by the Japanese. And they also went on to question why Japanese schools even existed in China.
[18:40:00]
Now, these posts were censored by these platforms and taken down, but again, there is that sentiment still in parts of China and held by these
extremist nationalists that have, of course, made the situation that much more complicated also because of this very significant and sensitive
anniversary. Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Awful news, but good to have you with us, Hanako. Thank you so much for that report.
All right. Next, remarkable new images show the wreckage of the Titan submersible on the sea floor as an investigation into what happened
continues. We've got the very latest, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move." Stunning new video has been released by the U.S. Coast Guard showing the wreckage of OceanGates' Titan
submersible, which imploded in June last year. All five aboard were killed. The footage is being released as the U.S. Coast Guard conducts an inquiry
into exactly what went wrong.
Earlier this week, OceanGate's former operations director told the panel that the deaths could have been prevented if safety officials had
investigated concerns he'd previously raised. Jason Carroll has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight, troubling details emerging about a test of the Titan Submersible just days before it
ultimately imploded.
STEPHEN ROSS, FORMER OCEANGATE SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR: The pilot crashed into the rear bulkhead. The rest of the passengers tumbled about. One passenger
was hanging upside down.
CARROLL (voice-over): The revelations coming during a week of stunning testimony and harsh criticism before the U.S. Coast Guard's Marine Board of
Investigation hearing.
DAVID LOCHRIDGE, FORMER OCEANGATE MARINE OPERATIONS DIRECTOR: It was a big push to get this done and a lot of steps along the way were missed.
CARROLL (voice-over): Marine Operations Director David Lochridge was one of a number of former employees testifying about safety issues that had
been flagged.
LOCHRIDGE: The whole idea behind the company was to make money. That's it. There was very little in the way of science.
CARROLL (voice-over): The proceeding is part of an effort to determine what caused Titan's catastrophic implosion last year on June 18th, and who,
if anyone, was at fault and should be held accountable.
[18:45:00]
For the first time, the Coast Guard revealed never before seen video of Titan's wreckage on the ocean floor. All five on board were killed,
including OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush.
STOCKTON RUSH, FORMER CEO, OCEANGATE: You know, I've broken some rules to make this.
CARROLL (voice-over): Lochridge testified Rush ignored safety concerns he raised about the Titan after inspecting it in 2018.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you have confidence in the way that the Titan was being built at this time?
LOCKRIDGE: No confidence whatsoever. And I was very vocal about that.
CARROLL (voice-over): Lochridge says he was fired in 2018 after relaying his concerns. Experts warned Rush to get Titan classed or certified from a
safety organization, citing concerns with materials used to construct its hull. But Titan's former director of engineering testified Rush did not
want to wait or spend on that.
TONY NISSEN, FORMER OCEANGATE DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING: One of the days he was crying on my shoulder. It's going to take too long and way too
expensive. It's ridiculous. And in his words, it stifles innovation.
CARROLL (voice-over): Today, mission specialist Renata Rojas supported Rush. She says Ocean Gate was about making dreams come true.
RENATA ROJAS, FORMER OCEANGATE MISSION SPECIALIST: Nothing is going to bring our friends back. I hope that this investigation creates an
understanding that with exploration, there's risk.
CARROLL (voice-over): Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: Two sheriff deputies in Michigan are being praised for rescuing a man who was suffering a medical emergency at the wheel. Video
shows their vehicle moving alongside a silver truck on a highway before one of the officers climbs inside and stops the vehicle safely. The motorist
was taken to hospital and is said to be recovering.
All right. Coming up for us, making their voices heard in a place that cannot carry sound. How the astronauts stranded at the International Space
Station will be able to vote. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move." Now, if you've ever had trouble heading to the voting booth on election days, spare a thought for these
stranded U.S. astronauts aboard the International Space Station. They will be hundreds of miles away from the nearest polling station on election day,
November 5th. But never fear, NASA has a way to make their ballot count. And Kristin Fisher explains how it's all going to work.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: So, in order to vote from space, NASA first had to make it legal to vote for space. And so, the
Texas Legislature actually passed a law making that legal back in 1997. And later that year, NASA Astronaut David Wolf became the first American
astronaut to vote from space while he was aboard the Russian Mir Space Station, it's now defunct.
[18:50:00]
So, that's the legal aspect. Now, for the technical side of things. In order for NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to vote from
space in this election, the way it's going to work is they will be sent pretty much like a glorified e-mail with an encrypted document, they will
then use their own personal password to open that document, they'll make their selection and then it will be uploaded securely to the Space
Station's internal computer. From there, it will be transmitted to a NASA satellite. And from there, it will be received by an antenna that's on the
ground.
A spokesperson for the Harris County clerk told me that they will be submitting Butch and Suni's ballots on Saturday, enabling them to vote
while they float well before the November election
Kristin Fisher, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: Now, to our Sports Move. And closing in on something that's never been done before, Shohei Ohtani could become the first Major League
Baseball player ever to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season. The L.A. Dodgers star is very, very nearly there. He stole two more
bases Thursday against the Marlins, giving him 51, and he also hit his 49th home run.
Patrick Snell is here with more. Patrick, one more to go, and he's playing.
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Come on. One more to go, playing at this hour. It's incredible. If it happens while we're on air, we will share the
moment with you.
CHATTERLEY: Magic.
SNELL: So, to speak. Yes, the L.A. Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, as we said at this hour, Julia, in Miami, it's already a truly historic season
for the Japanese icon. But let's just remind everyone what's on the line here. An unprecedented 50-50 season never been done before in the whole
history of the sport. 50 home runs and 50 steals in the same season.
On Wednesday night, let's set the scene for you, Ohtani stealing is 49th base off the campaign to move to within one steal and two home runs. A
magical 50-50 season. The two-time American League MVP had a quiet game, I think fair to say, by his own very high standard, striking out twice in the
Dodgers 8-4 win over the Marlins.
So, after last night, he was sitting at 49 steals and 48 home runs on the season. So, we get to this Thursday here in the U.S., over there in the
Sunshine State and edging ever closer, and he would add to his amazing tallies, the Dodgers superstar stealing his 50th and then his 51st bases
off the season. And there was a really special moment for the fans there to witness there, Julia, to celebrate the achievement of 50 bases taken.
What happened? Well, the third base was removed in between innings and replaced with another. I think we can safely say we know where that base is
likely headed. It's going to the Sports Hall of Fame, you would have to think. And then in a strange twist, Ohtani's stolen base moving him ahead
actually of Dodgers manager, Dave Roberts, for second place for most stolen bases in a single MLB season by a Japanese-born player in MLB history.
Ichiro Suzuki stealing 56 bases. That was back in 2001. Ohtani would steal second base in the second innings as well. But then, wow, the moment, the
special moment, just a short while ago, Julia, another incredible moment for him, a really, really special moment for him, for the fans to witness
then, for Ohtani smashing home run, number 49 of the season to right center field it went. He just smashed it, sending it some 438 feet in the process.
The stats are coming in thick and fast, I can tell you. Shohei now matching the Dodgers franchise record of 49 set by Shawn Green, that was also back
in 2001. I'm not hearing of any more home runs so far. We wanted to bring you this while we were on air. But look, if it happens, we'll get it to
you. You can be sure of that, Julia. Incredible.
CHATTERLEY: Awesome. Yes. I'll keep watching. I was just checking there just to see if I could even break the news myself. He's a powerhouse, isn't
he? Fantastic.
SNELL: Just amazing. It's so special to be reporting on this. We are part of history and just reporting it.
CHATTERLEY: Yes.
SNELL: Amazing to me. A privilege. A right privilege.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, it is. Fantastic. We love excellence of all forms, and he's certainly that. Patrick, keep us posted. Thank you so much.
And from sporting excellence to the other end of the sporting spectrum, as any amateur golfer may tell you, the chances of finishing a game with the
same ball you started with is slim, to say the least. But did you know just how many golf balls end up getting lost, in inverted commas, every year? A
new estimate puts the number around 1.5 billion balls in the U.S. alone. That would be enough to span the Earth's circumference more than one and a
half times if those balls weren't laid out in a row.
And actually, it gets worse. The CEO of Found Golf Balls, which recovers and refurbishes lost balls, says the total worldwide number could be up to
5 billion a year. Something to think about when you're next teeing off. I mean, lost means, you know, somebody else picked them up, doesn't it? Just
back pocket. I don't know.
[18:55:00]
And finally, on "First Move," let me introduce you to perhaps the most famous animal in all of Thailand right now. Her name is Moo Deng. She is a
two-month-old pygmy hippo, and she's become an internet sensation with millions of fans following her every move on social media.
Thai businesses are cashing in. A bakery in Bangkok is offering a Moo Deng cake. Wowzers. It's so popular that they are limiting orders now. Sephora
Thailand getting into on the act too featuring the animal in a new ad with the tagline, wear your blush like a baby hippo.
The zoo is reportedly setting up a 24-hour live camera so people can watch all over the world and catch up on Moo Deng wherever they are. And by the
way, the translation of Moo Deng means bouncy pork. A popular type of meatball in Thailand. That's an unfortunate name, but I get the blush
reference actually now. Very cute. We like that. Very cute.
Yes, that just about wraps up the show. Thank you for joining us. You never know what you're going to get. And I'll see you tomorrow. Thank you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:00:00]
END
