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Isa Soares Tonight
Israeli Military Operation in Jenin is Largest in Decades; President Zelenskyy Calls Putin "Weak" in New CNN Interview; French Mayor whose Home was Attacked Says Riots are an Attack on French Democracy; Two Killed, 28 Wounded In Baltimore Block Party Shooting; U.S. State Department Urges Americans To Reconsider Traveling To China Due To Risk Of Wrongful Detention; Musk: Rules Needed To Address Data Scraping. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired July 03, 2023 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
ISA SOARES, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight --
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SOARES: Israeli defense forces launched the largest West Bank military operation in two decades, targeting the city of Jenin. I'll speak to
retired IDF colonel about how such a massive operation unfolds. Then, President Zelenskyy speaks to CNN. There can be no victory for Ukraine
without Crimea, he says. And the Russian rebellion laid bare Putin's lack of control.
Plus, the mayor whose home came under fire along with several government buildings calls the riots in France an attack on democracy. We'll have the
very latest. But first tonight, the biggest Israeli military operation in the West Bank in decades is still unfolding tonight and could be far from
over. Hundreds of troops backed by drone strikes launched a major incursion into Jenin today; a densely-populated area under military occupation.
Now, the Palestinian Health Ministry says at least eight people have been killed including five teenagers and some 80 others injured. Israel calls
Jenin a terrorism hub, and says it's going after militant targets, including an operational command center as well as weapons manufacturing
sites. Palestinian officials call it a new war crime, accusing Israel of launching an open war against the people of Jenin. Medics say they are
treating people injured by airstrikes as well as gunfire on the ground. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SALAH MANSOUR, PALESTINIAN MEDIC (through translator): Today, most of the cases we treated were between moderate to critical injuries. And that is
due to the Israeli strikes on areas inside the camp, where there are not only militants, but civilians too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Let's bring in CNN's Hadas Gold, she's following developments from Tel Aviv for us this evening. Hadas, I believe these raids are still
ongoing. What exactly does the IDF say is the objective for these raids, and how long do you think they'll last for?
HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we actually just heard from the Israeli military that this specific operation had been in the works for
some time. And it started last night around 1:00 a.m., with what the Israeli military says were precise drone-operated air strikes on the camp.
They say they were targeting what they called command centers for militants.
Now, there have been several other airstrikes overnight, and as you said, this operation is still ongoing. We believe as we're speaking, all the
indications we're getting from Israeli officials is that it will continue as long as they believe is necessary. They say they want to remove Jenin as
a safe haven for militants. Now, we have seen over the past year and a half, of course, these very regular Israeli military raids into the
occupied West Bank, but especially focused on Jenin, which has become a hot spot for militant activity.
This raid that we've been seeing over the past 18 hours or so, this is the largest Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank since 2002.
Since the days of the second Intifada, when images of Israeli tanks rolling through Palestinian towns were what we were seeing. And so, today, there
have been not only airstrikes, but there are hundreds of Israeli forces that were operating in there.
We saw bulldozers being used to rip up roads, the Israeli military saying this is because IEDs that we've seen targeting Israeli forces in previous
weeks. They say that those IEDs were hidden under the asphalt. But of course, civilians use these roads as well, those have been completely
ripped up. And of course, we have actually seen Israeli tanks, not inside Jenin, but on the outskirts of Jenin as well.
Now, the Israeli military saying that they are engaging in fierce gun battles they say with militants in places such as a Mosque, they say they
found tunnels underneath the Mosque before the civilians of Jenin. This is really a dire situation, Isa. I was actually in Jenin just yesterday to
talk with residents there. We heard Israeli military drones buzzing ahead, and while they have sort of become, if you can become used to the Israeli
military activity there and the ensuing clashes with militants.
They say today, that, this is something completely different. Now, we know, at least eight Palestinians have been killed so far. Now, we heard from an
Israeli official earlier on CNN, saying that almost all of them were armed when they were killed. But there are also more than 80 injuries. The
Israeli military saying, one of their soldiers have been injured.
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And just in the last hour or so, we heard from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he says that this operation will go on, he says as long as
necessary, and that -- he says, quote, "in recent months, Jenin has become a haven for terrorism. We are not ready to accept this, and we are putting
an end to it." Isa, the big question right now is, of course, how will this unfold over the next few hours?
What kind of casualty counts will we continue to see? But also, will this have any sort of spillover affected to other parts of the West Bank. The
Israeli military saying that while they're focused on Jenin, on the Jenin refugee camp specifically, they don't want this to turn into some sort of
massive across the West Bank operation.
But we're already hearing from Hamas, the militant group, they are calling on all of their members, they say to essentially target Israel anywhere
that they can. So, there is the possibility this will only further sort of inflame the cycle of violence, and it could inevitably spill over into
something much larger than we've seen before. Isa?
SOARES: Yes, and the timing, Hadas, of this -- of these rates are quite interesting. Because the Israeli government, as you and I have talked about
is facing somewhat a volatile -- somewhat volatile, and facing pressure of course, for more far-right cabinet ministers. But we've also seen today,
large anti-government protest at the airport. So put this into a political context for us, if you will.
GOLD: Yes, I mean, I think when it comes to these sorts of military operations, the Israeli military is the one sort of calling most of the
shots. And I think that, you -- while there have been, obviously, pressures from the right-wing of the Israeli -- this current Israeli government to go
harder against these operatives. We are actually seeing reports that some members of this right-wing government, the more right-wing ministers, they
want an even broader, bigger operation.
And so far, they have been held back mostly by the Israeli security agency, saying they should be kept targeting. But we're seeing images right now on
the screen of the protests that was going on today at the airport. We were also at the airport to see this protest going on. This, of course, is part
of the months of protests that have been going on against the planned judicial reforms that the Israeli government is pushing through.
And protesters today, they wanted to essentially shut down the airport, and they managed to definitely slow things down. They were slowing down not
only, as you can see there, the arrivals and departures for passengers, but also the roads leading up to the airport were completely clogged. And
the protesters are still coming out. This, despite the fact that Benjamin Netanyahu has actually officially stepped back from some of the more
controversial aspects of this judicial reform.
Namely, the proposal that the Israeli parliament would be able to overturn Supreme Court decisions. He says that is completely off the table, but they
are still pushing forward with other aspects of the reform, especially how the Supreme Court judges are selected. And that's why you're seeing these
protesters out today, and have been coming out now for the past few months.
And they say, they will not stop. And Isa, this has turned into a protest, not just against the judicial reforms, but also against this government in
general, the most right-wing religious government in Israeli history. Isa?
SOARES: Hadas Gold, I know you'll stay on top of the very latest that's happening in Jenin. Of course, we are 18 hours or so into this raid.
Thanks, Hadas, appreciate it. We want to talk more now about the Israeli military operation in Jenin that Hadas was mentioning there, that
Palestinian leaders are calling a war crime. We're joined by Miri Eisin; a retired colonel in the Israel Defense Forces.
Miri, great to have you on the show. I really want to tap into your expertise here, and talk to us first of all, about the challenges and the
risks of an operation of this nature in Jenin to start off with.
MIRI EISIN, RETIRED COLONEL, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: I'd say that the first thing that anybody can understand is that when you plan something, it
doesn't always play out the way you expect. The fact that inside the heart of Jenin, inside the refugee camp, but also in other portions of the city,
it became a war colony in Israel, a safe haven for terrorists, is something which I, as a mother, as a wife, as -- I have three kids serving right now.
For me, that's a terrible thing for the people who live in Jenin, first and foremost. And when you are trying to plan to go into a city, into an urban
area, you need to take with different types of capabilities. And the most important for Israelis is that when you go in, what you do is effective.
Isa, think about what that means. Effectiveness means that you absolutely want to direct this against the weapon caches, the tunnels, the fact that
underneath the Jenin Refugee Camp, you had a subterranean area that I wouldn't want to live above that, either if I was living there.
But together, with that, you don't want to hit on, involve people. You want to make sure as much as you can, that, that will not happen. We're very
aware of that, and that's the double challenge.
SOARES: And Miri, CNN spoke earlier to a political analyst and former spokesperson for the Palestinian Authority. Have a listen to what she told
us. Have a listen and we can talk afterwards.
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NOUR ODEH, POLITICAL ANALYST: A large contingent of Israeli armored vehicles have gotten into the refugee camp. They basically plowed many of
the streets, they've destroyed the water network, cut off electricity, so the residents now have no electricity, no water, and nowhere to go.
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And many of the buildings have been taken over by Israeli soldiers to be used as sniper positions. So, those who have had the misfortune of Israeli
soldiers taking over their home are now trapped. The Palestinian are -- ruled against their will, by the Israelis, and in order to maintain that
rule, which is violence in its nature. Israel conducts these campaigns against Palestinian resistance, which exists because the occupation exists.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: So, Miri, would you say that is an accurate description of what's happening on the ground, what you've just heard?
EISIN: I want to hope that the Palestinian spokesperson like myself, another additional woman, would not want to have her or her family living
over subterranean terror military cache. What the IDF have exposed, and that's a different aspect of the pictures that you could show. Because the
IDF has been putting out numerous photographs and videos throughout the day of the weapons that are there, or the IEDs that are there of plowing up
those IEDs.
And as the same person said, just a couple of weeks ago, an Israeli military vehicle was blown by an IED. That was the event that Israel used,
airborne forces for the first time in a very long time near Jenin. So, yes, it's not a question of two sides. There is --
SOARES: Yes --
EISIN: No pretty military action. There is no beautiful occupation for that matter. The Israeli forces are going in to uproot those types of
underground and overall capabilities. And we need to do so as much as possible, without hurting innocent people there. My heart can go out to
them, I would not want to have to live with those --
SOARES: Yes --
EISIN: Terrorists in my houses near me.
SOARES: And Miri, the point that the guest was making in that first point, she made, of course, the concern of course, is for civilians. You've also
made that point. The Red Crescent saying today that the Israeli forces prevented crews from entering Jenin. Of course, so our viewers understand,
I mean, Jenin is home to about 13,000 people, it's densely-populated. So how is Israel -- how can Israel attempt to minimize then civilian harm?
EISIN: Minimizing the civilian harm has to do with having the best intelligence that you can have, that you are attacking the operational
rooms, that you're finding these different weapon caches as we've been exposing throughout the day. When it comes to taking care of people being
hurt -- and by the way, it doesn't matter if it's the terrorist who's firing at us, who is being hurt or sadly, other innocent people around.
The IDF has its medical crews there that are working, and again, these are things that come out. People are aware of that, they are taken care of,
they're taken to hospitals, they're taken care of, and the fact that it's being isolated is to try to stop in that sense in isolating that area to
arrive at a different target. So, definitely is not an easy situation.
And as I said, I don't think that there's --
SOARES: Yes --
EISIN: An easy way out. But we do need to be aware that if we leave it there, that's worse for the people who live there.
SOARES: Do you have any sense, Miri, how many -- you know, how people, you know, people there, militants are operating in Jenin?
EISIN: It's probably one of the biggest questions that everybody asks is, how many people are there? In the city of Jenin itself, where you have tens
of thousands of people, certainly in the greater area within the refugee camp, most Palestinians are not terrorists, certainly not the regular
people that you and me, when we're talking about the ones who are carrying weapons, being trained, using IEDs, having explosives, building a cache of
rockets that they want to fire at Israel.
We're talking about several hundred to thousands. In this operation, already, in the numbers that I've heard from Palestinian side, the eight
people that were killed, then I'm going to allow myself to call terrorists. When the Palestinians put out their photographs, not our photographs of
them, they showed the photograph of seven out of the eight with their weapons.
It hurts me as a mother of three when I see a 17-year-old or a 19-year-old, who are working in that way, and not in a different way. So we're talking
about hundreds to thousands of people, certainly, that have weapons. Hundreds of the younger generation that are being trained, trying to gather
the weapons.
The area of Jenin, Isa, for many years now, it's an added point to what Hadas was talking about before. Israel left the entire area of Jenin in
2005, after the second Intifada. It has been in its own way, a self-run area for the Palestinians. It was one of the first areas that they had. For
example, there is an American University in Jenin, there's a whole arena there that both Israeli-Arab citizens -- Arab citizens of Israel go also
into Jenin.
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And the idea of the terrorists turning this into their safe haven, this is a challenge where there is never a good time to take care of it. It became
worse and worse, both for the people in Jenin and throughout that area of the West Bank, and it needed to be taken care of. Now, what I do hope is
that we know how to keep this short, precise, really as much as possible to understand the importance for us as human beings, and not having --
SOARES: Yes --
EISIN: The uninvolved. But that's where we are.
SOARES: Yes, unfortunately, 18 hours doesn't seem like short, and Netanyahu is saying today, as long as necessary. The fear of course, is
that more civilians will die, the impact on civilians, but also the cycle of violence will just, you know, would make it worse. And the fear, of
course, over a spill effect --
EISIN: Isa, when I say that 16 years of not being inside Jenin has had its own way, allowed it to become a place where if nobody else is in there,
what grew there is a little terror kingdom, and you and I don't want that either. And in that sense, when you're going in and doing an effective
military operation, it isn't something that you can do in an effective way, from the air, which is what the United States and the U.K. would do.
It's something that you go in with your forces, you try to be as pinpointed as possible, and yet, it needs to be done.
SOARES: Miri, really appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. Thank you very much.
EISIN: Pleasure, good evening.
SOARES: Now, people gathering outside town halls in France early as violent protests of the deadly police shooting of a teenager carry on. In
one suburb, south of Paris, hundreds took part, and you can see there in the march to show solidarity with their mayor. Rioters attacked his house
if you remember, over the weekend.
The shooting happened last week in a multi-racial working class town outside Paris. The 17-year-old boy was of North African descent. Our
Melissa Bell is in Paris for the very latest. And Melissa, violence from what I understand has somewhat ebbed. This of course, as calls grow louder
for calm and order. Just bring us up-to-date with the very latest.
MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we see, Isa, as you say, over the course of the weekend, a drop really in the level of violence. And
you can measure that by the number of people arrested. Friday night, 1,300, Saturday night, 700, by last night, it was just over 150, Isa. Now, partly,
that is no doubt down to the calls from the grandmother of the young man who buried her grandson just the day before on Sunday, for calm, urging
people to stay at home, explaining that it isn't the buses they should be attacking.
This is something that the mothers take in these neighborhoods, that may have worked, and yet, police authorities here in Paris are taking no
chances, saying, the head of the police chief that they hope that calm is being restored, it's fairly that this anger is heated up. But they are
still going to keep tonight, this Monday night on the streets of France, 45,000 police men and women with those elite units, to try and keep the
peace on the streets.
There is also the political action that's being taken. Emmanuel Macron, the president meeting not just with the heads of parliament today, but also is
planning to meet the leaders, the mayors of some 220 communes, the villages, suburbs, that have been so badly affected by the violence.
Tomorrow, and longer term, what he's announced is that they've launched -- they are launching rather, a procedure of consultation to try and figure
out exactly what was behind this anger, and how they can help get to the bottom of it.
So, appeals for calm, appeal -- appear to have done part of the work. The political action will be another. There is also, as you say, that
demonstration that we saw today in L'Hay-les, which is that suburb where in very shocking scenes, the mayor's house was attacked. There was a big
demonstration today of support, hundreds took part, calling for an end to this violence.
Whether that would work, of course, it's far from certain. There is a great deal of anger that is very deep-seated out there, and of course, as we've
been talking about these last few days, Isa, to do with a very particular nature of French tours(ph), they make it very difficult, and it's happened
many times these last few years when there have been allegations of police brutality or indeed, when there have been fatalities that have been the
result either of traffic stops or identity checks often against the very same populations of African a North African descent in the suburbs that
we're talking about.
It's been very hard for them to be able to investigate whether or not there may be systemic racism behind that. Now, in the neighborhood, I'm talking
about, that is felt very strongly by the government officials there is a reluctance to go down the road of talking about racism. So, one of the
questions as part of this consultation will be whether French leaders are finally able and willing to go down this road of trying to consider exactly
what part systemic racism may be playing in those dreadful figures that we've seen these last few years in France. Isa.
SOARES: Melissa Bell for us in Paris this evening, thanks very much, Melissa. And still to come tonight, police in Baltimore are investigating a
mass shooting that erupted Saturday night at a block party. We're have the very latest on that tragic incident. That is next.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: In an exclusive interview with CNN, Ukraine's president calls Vladimir Putin weak over his response to the armed Wagner rebellion.
Speaking to Erin Burnett, Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed half of Russia's support of Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin and the paramilitary group's
mutiny. And said, the Russian president is losing control of his own people. Have a listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT, UKRAINE (through translator): Yes, we see the reaction after certain Wagner steps. We see Putin's reaction. It's
weak. Firstly, we see he doesn't control everything. Wagner is moving deep into Russia and taking certain regions shows how easy it is to do. Putin
doesn't control the situation in the regions.
He doesn't control the security situation. All of us understand that his whole army is in Ukraine. Almost entire army is there. That's why it's so
easy for the Wagner troops to march through Russia. Who could have stopped them? We understand that Putin doesn't control the regional policy, and he
doesn't control all those people in the regions. So, all that vertical of power he used to have just got crumbling down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, Zelenskyy also spoke about the importance of Crimea and peninsula, of course, illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, saying the
ultimate goal is to liberate it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENSKYY: We cannot imagine Ukraine without Crimea. And while Crimea is under the Russian occupation, it means only one thing, war is not over yet.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: To be clear, in victory, in peace, is there any scenario where Crimea is not part of Ukraine?
ZELENSKYY: It will not be victory then.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: And you can see more of that interview on "ERIN BURNETT OUT FRONT", that is on Wednesday, that is midnight if you're watching in
London, 7:00 p.m. in New York. Well, let's get more on this. I want to bring in our senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman, he is in
eastern Ukraine for us.
And Ben, I want to focus on the counteroffensive. Ukraine says it's been making progress in the east, and I believe in the south as well. But, you
know, it's facing quite a rebuffed from the Russians. What are the officials saying about that progress, albeit, slow progress here?
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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They're saying it's slow, that it's difficult, but progress is being made. Now, the head of
Ukrainian military land forces visited today, the frontlines near Bakhmut. And he said that both sides, the Russians and the Ukrainians are trying to
seize the initiative, but it sounds like quite a struggle for either side to do that.
He said the Russian defenses are very deep. He said Ukrainian forces are making some progress from the south of Bakhmut, but from the north he said,
they are fighting hard. I mean, really, the amount of territory that has been conquered in the last week according to the Ukrainian deputy defense
minister is fairly modest. It's about 14 square miles.
But this is something that many people did not anticipate. I think the intendancy of analysts and observers was that, looking back, for instance,
to the lightning offensive that took place last September in the Kharkiv region, and then later in the year in Kherson, where the Ukrainians took
huge amounts of territory, that was a different situation.
Now, the Russians have had months to prepare. They've apparently dug deep defenses along the 1,000 kilometer frontline, and therefore the going is
tough. So, for instance, we heard Ukrainian President Zelenskyy saying that last week was difficult on the frontline, but we are making progress. We
are moving forward step-by-step, and that's a pretty accurate description.
SOARES: And I'm guessing Ben, it will get even more difficult as we get into autumn and when rains and slug will get -- make it much harder in this
counteroffensive.
WEDEMAN: Yes, and the weather is always a critical factor. At the moment, certainly for the next coming days, what we are seeing is that it's going
to be very hot, when it's very hot, some of this western equipment, which is very good, but very sensitive to the weather can start to malfunction.
And then, of course, when Fall comes along and then Winter, you've got heavy rains, you've got mud, you've got the cold.
So timing is essential as far as the weather goes, and you've just got a few more months for this counteroffensive to continue before things start
to become more complicated as a result of the weather. Isa?
SOARES: Yes, Ben Wedeman for us in eastern Ukraine. Thank you very much. Now, police in Baltimore, Maryland, are urgently searching for at least two
suspects wanted in a block party shooting. Two people were killed, and 28 others injured when gunfire erupted early on Sunday. Most of the victims
were teenagers, some as young as 13.
In the surveillance video, you can see people running for safety. So far, no arrests have been made. Baltimore's acting police commissioner and mayor
spoke earlier about the investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD WORLEY, ACTING POLICE COMMISSIONER, BALTIMORE POLICE DEPARTMENT: It is an event that's happened, like the mayor said, every single year, and
most of the time, we are able to find out the date that it's occurring. That's why you have police presence. On this date, we did not -- as far as
we know, and we are definitely looking into this to see if anyone knew ahead of time that Brooklyn day was occurring.
MAYOR BRANDON SCOTT, BALTIMORE, MARYLAND: What we can't lose focus of is that, we are talking about a few people. This is who we should be focused
on. A few people who cowardly decided to shoot up a big block party celebration for our community. That's where our focus should be. On them,
the weapons they used, where they got those weapons from, how they got them in their hands, and how we're going to hold all of them accountable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, CNN's Gloria Pazmino joins us now from Baltimore for more on the investigation. And Gloria, what do we know at this hour about the
search for these suspects? That's the crucial part right now.
GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Isa. And we just heard from law enforcement officials, they have yet to name the suspects,
but we do know that they are looking for multiple people. We also learn more about the weapons that were used. They said they believe multiple guns
were used in this incident.
They have recovered dozens of shell casings that match different kinds of weapons. Now, Isa, another interesting detail we learned today is the
incredible medical response that the city of Baltimore deployed on Saturday night. They said that they were able to save dozens of lives as a result of
their training, they train for these kinds of mass casualty event.
And on Saturday, as dozens of people were showing up into their emergency rooms, they went right to work. Now, as you mentioned, 28 people were hurt
by gunfire, many of them are still in the hospital, seven of them still recovering, four are in critical condition, and medical officials here said
that they treated traumatic gunshot injuries.
Now, you heard from the mayor there, talking about the police response, and that's because he has been getting a lot of questions about why police were
not at this event. This is a yearly event that takes place in this neighborhood, and usually it is staffed and protected by police.
[14:30:00]
And the neighbors and the residents that we spoke to told us that they were surprised to see that there wasn't a larger police presence. Now I want you
to hear from the mayor who has been vowing to find the people who are responsible for Saturday's violence, also encouraging the community to come
forward and share any information that they might have.
ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: And Gloria, we don't have the SOC. Can you just give us a rough idea of what the mayor said?
PAZMINO: Yeah, you know, Isa, he has been encouraging the community to come forward and share any possible information. He says that the community has
made incredible progress in recent years. Overall, the city of Baltimore has made a great progress regarding gun violence, and he doesn't want that
to be lost. So, he is encouraging people who, who may have more information about what happened on Saturday to share that with police.
We should mention that law enforcement has told us they are looking through videos that were posted on social media, including videos where you can see
that people have a gun, that they're holding a gun. Police are combing through that evidence in order to be able to identify some of the possible
suspects here.
But so far, from what we learned, it sounds like this could have been a much bigger tragedy, of course. Two people did tragically lose their lives
an 18-year-old woman and a 20-year-old man were sadly lost that night. But the mayor, again, encouraging people to come forward and share any
information. Isa.
SOARES: Gloria, really appreciate it. Thank you very much.
And still to come tonight, as an expected 15 million people travel for the U.S. Fourth of July holiday, there are a few dramatic roadblocks already
causing delays.
And more changes at Twitter, causing mass confusion. We look at the impact of Elon Musk's latest mandate. That is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:35:05]
SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. A new warning is urging Americans to reconsider any travel plans to China. The U.S. State Department has issued
in the updated advisory citing an ongoing risk of arbitrary detention by Chinese officials. It comes of course, during a period of heightened
tensions between the two superpowers. Well, later this week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will travel to Beijing as part of efforts to
stabilize that relationship.
Well, tomorrow, of course, is the Fourth of July, I should say, and as the U.S. marks, of course, its independence day, severe storms and heat are
impacting holiday travel plans, as well as celebrations. AAA estimates some 15 million Americans will take to the roads and skies over the next few
days. And today alone, there have been some 1,600 us flight delays and 700 cancellation, that is according to the FlightAware website.
Joining us now from the Reagan National Airport in Washington is CNN Aviation Correspondent, Pete Muntean. And Pete I mean, these are a lot of
cancellations, 700 constellations. How are things holding up where you are?
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: You know, things are relatively smooth, Isa, compared to where we were a week ago, when in the U.S.
airlines canceled about 2200 flights last Monday, right now in the U.S., that cancellations sort of pale in comparison, only about 100 cancellations
right now in the U.S. We're sitting at 1,750 delays. Things just yesterday, though, were a lot worse, especially when thunderstorms hit the East Coast
of the U.S. Big population centers, cancellations went up to about 600 nationwide for the entirety of Sunday.
Things can change relatively quickly. And the Federal Aviation Administration is warning that we could see ground stops for flights bound
as a major hubs on the East Coast. We're talking Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, DC, all the way down to Charlotte, which is a big
hub for American Airlines, Atlanta, a big hub for Delta Airlines, and then down into Florida, in Tampa and Miami. Although airlines say they have
really turned the corner here. And it's also matched by what Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is saying, he says that airlines are doing a lot
better than they were just last week, listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE BUTTIGIEG, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: We're watching more severe, potential for severe weather, that's what touched off all of these problems
about a week ago. But you look at where we were a year ago where even on blue sky days with no severe weather, there were really unacceptable levels
of cancellations and delays. We've come a long way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MUNTEAN: United Airlines currently sitting at one percent of all flights canceled, very different from last week. It was the airline that canceled
the most flights in the U.S. and United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby is vowing to look again at its own crew scheduling system, something it can control
rather than the FAA, which is what Kirby placed the blame on last week, and also the weather, which really compounded those problems.
The good news is that we are through the initial part of the holiday travel rush. 2.88 million people screened by the Transportation Security
Administration on Friday. That's not the highest of the pandemic area, that is the highest of all time. 2.88 million, a number we've not seen since
December 1st, 2019, the Sunday after Thanksgiving here in the U.S. So, we are now waiting for all of these people to begin their return trip, which
could happen all at once, the TSA says between now and July 5th, it'll screen a total of about 17 million people, Isa.
SOARES: Pete Muntean with the very latest there. Thanks very much, Pete.
Now the days of endlessly scrolling Twitter may be over, well, at least for now. CEO Elon Musk announced he is limiting the number of tweets people can
view each day. Musk's declaration came on Saturday, hours after people had already begun reporting issues on the site. CNN's Business Writer Clare
Duffy is in New York for us. And Clare, I think it's fair to say, this took many people by surprise and many others were fuming about it. Just explain
what happened here.
CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Right. So Musk on Saturday announced this policy change. He said that Twitter users who had bought a blue verified
checkmark could read up to 8,000 tweets, people who hadn't bought that verified checkmark could read up to -- sorry, verified checkmark users
could read up to 8,000 tweets, unverified users could read up to 800 tweets, and he said this was due to extreme manipulation of the platform of
companies scraping too much Twitter data.
But there appears to also have been a glitch on top of this policy change. You had thousands of Twitter users saying they were unable to access the
platform. Many of them saying they got this rate limit error before they had read hundreds or thousands of tweets, and this would be just the latest
glitch and technical issue that the platform has faced since Musk took over as its owner just over six months ago.
SOARES: You said scraping data. What does that mean?
DUFFY: So Musk has raised concerns about companies training AI models, scraping too much data using too many tweets to train their AI models.
[14:40:05]
SOARES: Right.
DUFFY: So that's sort of possibly the concern. But I think one of the interesting things about the situation is that Musk just hired a new CEO
for Twitter, Linda Yaccarino, she started a few weeks ago. And yet this has been the first big sort of debacle under her leadership. And we didn't hear
anything from her this week. And we continue to be in the space of sort of trying to read the tea leaves from Elon Musk's tweets, instead of getting
sort of official declarations from the company about what's happening. And that's leaving a lot of really concerned and confused users.
SOARES: I don't know. Maybe it's the cynic in me, how much is this part of a move to push people to the blue tick, to that paid subscription service,
Clare?
DUFFY: I mean, it is a question. And you Musk saying that that the verified Twitter users are going to be able to access even more tweets. But I think
big picture, this would be a really strange business decision. If your whole business is getting people to read content on your platform and
selling ads based on the user's reading content on your platform. Limiting the amount of content that they can read doesn't make a lot of sense. And
he says this is going to be temporary. We'll have to see how long it lasts.
SOARES: All right. Duffy appreciate it. Thanks very much.
And still to come tonight, could cows actually help fight climate change? One professor is on a mission to prove that a simple farming trick could
save the world. Bill Weir has that story when we return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Well, known for its high carbon emissions, cattle farming is a big climate problem. But one simple hack in the way we graze them could
actually make cows part of the solution. CNN's Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir met the farmers and the filmmaker trying to counter the narrative
on cattle.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the beginning was the buffalo, tens of millions of them, wandering the land, munching
wild grasses, and using poop and hoods to create rich fertile soil up to 15 feet deep.
WEIR (voice-over): Look at this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
WEIR (voice-over): But since Americans replaced buffalo with cows, generations of fertilizers and pesticides, tilling and overgrazing have
turned much of that nutrient-rich soil into lifeless dirt. But not on farms, where they graze cows just like wild buffalo.
PETER BYCK, PROFESSOR, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY: So adaptive multi-paddock grazing, AMP grazing, is a way that mimics the way bison have moved across
the Great Plains. And so it's really about the animals hit an area really hard, and then they leave it for a long time.
WEIR (voice-over): Peter Byck is a professor at Arizona State University and he believes that if enough beef and dairy operations copy this simple
hack, cattle could actually become an ally in the fight against climate change.
BYCK: I anticipate we'll get a lot of pushback. Because people are not thinking that cows can be a part of the solution.
WEIR: Not only are you going against the grain of environmentalists who think meat is evil --
BYCK: Yeah.
WEIR: -- for lots of reasons.
BYCK: Yeah.
WEIR: You took money from McDonald's for this.
BYCK: Yeah. I asked for money from McDonald's for this.
[14:45:01]
I wanted to go to big companies because if they don't change, we don't get there.
WEIR (voice-over): For his docu series, "Roots So Deep, You Can See the Devil Down There," Byck assembled a team of scientists.
BYCK: We're really interested in insects that live in poop.
WEIR (voice-over): Experts in bugs and birds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Fly, boy.
WEIR (voice-over): Cows, soils and carbon, they spent years comparing five sets of neighboring farms in the southeast. On one side, traditional
grazers who let cows roam one big field for months at a time, and often cut fertilized grass for hay.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on.
WEIR (voice-over): On the other side, AMP grazers who never mow or fertilize.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You open the gate, they go through, it takes five minutes, Cooper will roll up a wire.
WEIR (voice-over): And with a single line of electrical fence, move their cows from one patch of high grass to the next.
WEIR: Not smelling that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is how easy it is, Tater.
WEIR (voice-over): While their science is yet to be published and peer reviewed, Byck says early data has found ant farms pulling down up to four
times the carbon while holding 25 percent more microbes, three times the bird life, and twice as much rain per hour.
BYCK: If it's a thousand acre farm, it's 54 million gallons of water. That's now washing your soil away versus soaking into your land.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow. Look at this grass.
WEIR (voice-over): But this is also a human experiment to see whether data and respectful discussion can change hearts and minds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was grazed about 40 days ago. And this hadn't been fertilized in 12 years.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Awesome.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And when we got out of spending money on fertilizer, it was huge. And I didn't think it would ever happen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is such a stress relief. We just don't worry about a lot of it anymore.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And then you don't even fertilize when you plant your rye grass?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing. It sounds crazy, but just letting mother nature do the work.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.
BYCK: Would it be an interesting thing if you didn't have to pay for fertilizer?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wouldn't that be wonderful?
WEIR (voice-over): Curtis Spangler is one of the conventional farmers in "Roots So Deep" and he says his mind was changed when he realized he now
has a way to double his herd and quit his second off-farm job.
CURTIS SPANGLER, CONVENTIONAL FARMER: And right now, we're having to dump thousands of dollars into nitrogen every year that really if we just change
a couple things might be able to save that money to put it toward other resources.
WEIR: Is that something you're committed to doing now as a result of this project?
SPANGLER: Oh, yes. We're really looking and seeing the benefits of it and how we can work it.
WEIR (voice-over): So as we hit the height of grilling season, a little food for thought.
BYCK: There is ways to produce meat that is not good for the planet and there's ways to produce meat that's really good for the planet. And that's
the nuance that's been missing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Right. Bill Weir, our Chief Climate Correspondent, Bill Weir joins me now. Bill, this is absolutely fascinating, trying to wrap my head around
this because for so long, you and I've talked about this, you know, the problems, we're seeing, the world's sort of problem as the cows, right? And
the methane they produce. The cow then, they're not seeing the cow as the problem here.
WEIR: Well, it's interesting. Peter Byck would say if you take the five biggest grains, crops, row crops grown in the United States put them on one
side of the scale and cows on the other, those crops create much more climate change through that soil use. So, it's the plow, not the cow, they
would argue there as well. So, yes, the way that the modern world is producing beef is hugely destructive. This is just a way to point out there
are natural, easy remedies that make a healthier farm, not just for the cow, and all the bird life and the bugs, and the microbes, and the farmers
bottom line, but you don't need the $200 billion fertilizer industry as much anymore. You don't need to cut hay so you don't need to buy those big
machines.
So, the big interest in agriculture will certainly resist this sort of thing. But this is the way it was done. All of humanity up until World War
II and fertilizers really came into the picture in a big way, it's interesting that we think this is so mind-blowing when it's the most
ancient relationship between animals and our land.
SOARES: And like I said, you know, you're -- one of the guests said, you know, they will probably get some pushback, and that's got to do more with
financial aspects of this, right, Bill?
WEIR: Oh, that, and just environmentalists, folks who believe that veganism is a healthier way to go, both for people and the planet, and there are
science to back that up as well. But, yeah, they'll get pushback probably from both ends of the section on this. But it's so interesting to see
farmers cross the fence for the first time and maybe pick up a technique they didn't know about because they want to bring quail back or maybe they
care about that rainfall retention in a dry part of the world. And so hopefully, it's just breaking common ground as a way forward that's
healthier and happier for everybody.
[14:50:00]
SOARES: Bill Weir, always great. Thanks very much, Bill.
WEIR: You bet, Isa.
SOARES: And still to come tonight, Havana's famous neon lights are coming back to life, a look at the push to the classic signs, that's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: 1960's Havana, surprising the City of Lights that has since gone dark. The glamorous symbols of 20-century nightlife are getting switched
back on in Cuba more than 60 years after this started to fade. Our Patrick Oppmann has a story for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Throwing a party with 20 musicians for a neon sign may seem like overkill, but repairing and
relighting this pre-Revolution ice cream shop storefront has been a long time coming.
Before Fidel Castro took power, Havana was a sea of neon. After his 1959 Revolution, the government seized all private businesses, and as
replacement parts became scarce, the signs began to go dark.
ADOLFO NODAL, HAVANA LIGHT + SIGNS: Cuba was an early adopter of neon. It rivaled Paris and New York in terms of the amount of neon.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Enter Adolfo Nodal. He co-founded a small band of mostly U.S. and Cuban neon enthusiasts who have made it their unlikely
mission to rescue as many of the signs as possible.
NODAL: It helps to see the city in a new way. It brings back a lot of the memories of the city. People remember these signs from the '30s and the
'40s in Havana as well.
OPPMANN (voice-over): For the artisans who search out and repair the signs, it's a labor of love that can take months. "It depends on the complexity of
the metal structure, if it's in good condition," she says. "If we have to make new parts, it depends on the availability of the raw materials.
Unfortunately, none of these items you can find in this country and they have to be imported."
Repairing Havana's neon signs can seem like a quixotic pursuit in a city where aging buildings collapse every day. And even when they are restored,
the signs often stay dark during the regular power cuts here.
OPPMANN: The sign restorationists say that fixing up the sign is just the beginning of a transformation. The people are more likely to walk down a
well-lit street and less likely to throw trash on the ground. And that what they're hoping with Cubans is not just a restored sign but a little bit of
hope as well.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Nodal says the signs are his small gift to the homeland he left at a young age.
NODAL: I'm Cuban-American and I wanted to come back and make a contribution to my country.
[14:55:05]
And I'm a neon guy, so I figured that neon would be a wonderful thing to do and it goes in keeping with the history of Havana.
OPPMANN (voice-over): His team's dream, as they slowly bring the lights back, is that neon signs are not just part of the city's past but also its
future.
Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Now in the latest stage of mishap of her Eras Tour, Taylor Swift is proving she lives up to her name. A fan video shows an apparent stage
malfunction during Swift's concert so you can see it here in Cincinnati in which the star can be seen trying to activate a trapdoor with her foot
before swiftly, let's just say, racing off the stage to complete an outfit change.
Well, reaction to the video on social media, the star made light of the setback saying, "Still swift AF boi." And that, of course, it's boy, not
boi.
And that does it for us. Thanks very much for watching. Do stay right here with QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. We'll leave you with some photos, I believe,
tonight's incredible pictures live from the Temple of Poseidon in Cape Sounion in Greece and it is a beautiful Supermoon, as you can see there,
rising. Of course, it only occurs when the moon is at its closest point to earth while also being full. Enjoy that glorious sight. I shall see you
tomorrow. Bye-bye.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
