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Isa Soares Tonight
Zelenskyy Thanks Denmark For Pledge To Send F-16 Jets; Eight Hundred And Fifty People Still Missing After Maui Wildfires; Post-Tropical Cyclone Hilary Lashing U.S. Southwest; Trump Faces Friday Deadline To Surrender In Georgia; Trump Says He'll Skip First Republican Primary Debate; Biden To Visit Fire-Ravaged Maui As Searches Continue. 2-3p ET
Aired August 21, 2023 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:34]
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Hello, and a very warm welcome to the show everyone, I'm Christina Macfarlane in for Isa Soares.
Tonight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanks Denmark's parliament as the country pledges to send F-16 fighter jets. Then, 850
people are still missing in Maui after deadly wildfires.
In the coming hours, U.S. President Joe Biden will be there to see the devastation firsthand. We'll have more on that. Plus, record flooding and
dangerous mudslides in California after a rare tropical storm batters the coastline. We'll have the latest as the Storm Hilary moves north.
And we begin right there in southwestern United States. That's where 16 million people remain under flash flood warnings as a record-breaking storm
moves past California through Nevada, and up north towards Idaho. Hilary, a real Tropical Storm dropped a year's worth of rain on some parts of
southern California.
One particularly hard-hit region is the desert area east of Los Angeles. The intense rain and flooding turned local streets and valleys into virtual
rivers. The Los Angeles mayor spoke out earlier today saying, despite the threat, the city escaped major damage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR KAREN BASS, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: As of right now, there have not been any deaths or significant risk of injury. Our commitment to you is
that we will reproach -- we will approach our recovery with the same intensity as we approached our preparation. As skies clear, the Department
of Water and Power crews have already mobilized to return power to Angelenos.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: But it was a different situation in Mexico where then Hurricane Hilary hit the Baja peninsula. Now, towns were flooded and at least one
person was killed. The power has now been restored to 80 percent of those impacted by outages.
Well, joining us now, CNN's Stephanie Elam in Cathedral City, that's about two hours east of Los Angeles. Stephanie, good to see you. As we understand
it, the worst of the storm has passed now. But how dangerous does a situation continue to be with those flood warnings still in place?
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's still very messy out here, Christina. We are standing on what should be a major way to get to
the interstate highway that takes you from all the way from California, all the way to the east coast of the United States. And it has been shut down
for a good part of the night.
If you look down there in the distance, you can see that there are still cars that are stuck there from last night. We talked to one man who's been
out here doing rescues with his jeep, and he said that there were cars floating, semi-trucks that were getting pushed around in the mud, and just
if you can see how thick and gross this mud is that I'm walking through, and it's residing -- it's receding a bit here.
And you can see that it's going down, but it is still so thick. It's like - - almost like walking through quicksand in some places. And that's what's trapped cars like these here on the side of the road. Those two cars, a
black and white car there together have been there since it was dark. We've been out here all night, and they've been there.
This black car has been there going on five hours now because they flew by while we were standing out here, passed some police officers, and that's
how far she got, and she's been stuck there now inside her car still all this time. That's why they don't want people to come outside. We're talking
about so much water that fell so quickly, and the desert cannot accommodate this much rain at one time.
And so, throughout the Coachella Valley, you're seeing scenes like this where cars are still stranded, and they're still working to free cars, and
also making sure that everyone is safe. I can tell you they had three water rescues while the water was still flowing here, but other than that, it
seems like no one has been -- has lost their life here.
But just to show you, I'm just going to turn around here just to show you, how messy it is here. You know, people come to the desert, Christina, to
get a mud bath, to get that treatment out at the spot in the desert. This kind of mud is not what they had in mind I'm sure.
MACFARLANE: Absolutely not, Stephanie, and one wonders the scale of the clean-up, how much it's going to cost to -- you know, the operation here to
try and get that under control. Our Stephanie Elam there live for us, thank you. I want to turn to CNN meteorologist Jennifer Gray who is tracking
what's left of Hilary from Atlanta.
Jennifer, I understand this is now classified as a post-tropical storm which is still significant. Just tell us what direction Hilary is now
headed in.
JENNIFER GRAY, METEOROLOGIST: Well, Hilary is headed to the north, bringing a lot of moisture with it.
[14:05:00]
In fact, some of the moisture still in California, still seeing some showers there. But just as Stephanie was talking about, I want to get some
context as to what was happening. You know, we see these mud flows, these mudslides when we have very wet conditions in desert areas, and what
happens is, and especially when you have burned scar areas, you know, we've had a lot of wildfires across California in recent years, so there's not a
lot of vegetation on some of these hillsides.
But that heavy rainfall on the steep terrain, and the runoff is funneled into those narrow channels and it causes very rapid rises, small creeks and
streams, and it flows down into the areas below. So that's what we saw there, and a lot of times as we mentioned, when you have those wildfires
and those burned scar areas, that soil on top is not going to stay on that hillside.
And so, it just slides right off in the form of mud. And so, that's what we saw happen dozens and dozens of times across the desert southwest within
the last 24 hours or so. Post-tropical Hilary, 55 kilometer per hour winds, moving at about 39 kilometers per hour. We had impressive rainfall totals,
almost 300 millimeters of rain across Mount San Jacinto, we had almost 300 millimeters reported in San Bernardino County, and that record rainfall,
Palm Springs, 109 millimeters, nearly a full years worth of rainfall in just 24 hours.
San Diego had 46 millimeters, this is 10 times a Summer time average rain for that location and Los Angeles is 63 millimeters, it was the rainiest
Summer day on record in 150 years. So really impressive. We're still seeing flood alerts. We have flood watches, flood warnings in effect. This is for
a huge portion of the west as the remnants of Hilary, the post-tropical cyclone continues to spread to the north and bring a lot of moisture with
it.
So, here is the radar picture, and you can see -- still seeing a lot of rain across northern California. A few lingering showers across southern
California, but the bulk of it is pushing to the north. And so, this is bringing a very wet day across not only the southwest, but the Pacific
northwest as well as these moves into portions of Idaho, Montana.
So, this is by the time we get into midnight tomorrow night local time, and things will be much better. So, we are slowly clearing out, Christina, but
it was a rough 24 hours across the southwest.
MACFARLANE: Yes, absolutely. Those numbers just extraordinary, those record numbers. I know you'll --
GRAY: Yes --
MACFARLANE: Continue to track it for us, Jennifer, thank you.
GRAY: Thanks.
MACFARLANE: Now, over the past few months, Russia's air power has largely had the upper hand in Ukraine, an extremely difficult situation for
Ukrainian forces on the ground, but that might change soon. Ukraine's President has wrapped up a visit to Denmark, which has agreed with the
Netherlands to send his country F-16 fighter jets.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the Danish parliament a short while ago, while the Russian ambassador to Denmark called the plan, an escalation in the
conflict.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT, UKRAINE: All of Russia's neighbors are under threat if Ukraine does not prevail, international law will not be
resuscitated. Democracies of the world, each of them can become a target either for missiles or for mercenaries or for destabilization, and I'm
sure, you can feel it. But Ukraine will prevail.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well, Mr. Zelenskyy is now in Greece, where he is meeting with Balkan leaders and the EU Commission president. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is
standing by for us in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. And Nick, President Zelenskyy obviously welcoming this development. But the reality is that these F-16
fighter jets are unlikely to be operational until early next year. So, how significant is this really for Ukraine with Winter fast approaching?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: No, ultimately, I think it's fair to say, it is significant, in that, Ukraine has long wanted
these probably the most complex arm system that NATO can really realistically provide. And now, they're going to get it. It's another
triumph for Ukraine's previously successful tactics where they essentially, publicly called for something and then see NATO slowly acquiesced to that
particular request.
We've seen late last week, Ukraine being clear they wanted them fast, they weren't going to get them this year, and now, perhaps by coincidence,
Zelenskyy travels around Europe, all these particular European allies saying they will be involved in training and in Denmark's case, give 19
jets, the Netherlands case, give some of the 42 jets they have.
And Zelenskyy, just recently, he says, the Greece, where he is now have agreed to training. We haven't got the full side of the Greek story on that
too. But it is essentially an open question as to how effective these F-16s will be to the counter-offense when they arrive next year. We don't know
where the war will be then, we don't know if they'll have success pushing through Russian lines and getting the Azov Sea, cutting Crimea off from the
rest of occupied Ukraine or whether essentially the F-16s at that point will be policing the skies over frontline.
[14:10:00]
There's more frozen -- forgive the metaphor, because of the onset of Winter. But yes, a victory on the global stage and in terms of getting NATO
to do what it wants, doesn't translate though into a victory on the frontlines anyway fast enough for Ukraine soldiers dying daily, Christina?
MACFARLANE: And Nick, Russia's response to this has been kind of predictable to a degree. I mean, we've heard this sort of threat of
warning, I should say, I suppose, of escalation before from them, when in the past, western allies have provided military hardware. So, how seriously
should we take that at this juncture?
WALSH: It's very hard to know two things. Exactly what military juice so- to-speak Russia has left, that it could use to escalate with NATO if it did indeed choose to follow through on the rhetoric. We've heard this rhetoric
every single time there is a rise in the kind of weaponry that NATO supplies to Ukraine. The other side too is the threat that Russian
officials frequently use whenever they sort of feel backed into a corner or just want to be heard.
Which is that, potentially, some sort of nuclear use. Now, that has never really been taken seriously by the west, doesn't look like it's going to be
taken seriously now. But at the same time, for people living in Ukraine, the emotional impact of this war has been utterly staggering, away from the
headlines we're talking about here, the geopolitics.
There are families torn apart, there are people whose jobs are about cleaning up the wreckage. And we spent a lot of time recently with one
particular fireman from the heavily-bombed city of Orikhiv, right on that southern counteroffensive frontline. And here is the story of the time he
spends away from the horrors of his daily job.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALSH (voice-over): The aftermath is not always easier. These are the firemen of the most bombed city on earth, Orikhiv.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WALSH: In the throes of the counteroffensive, and this is a normal day for them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WALSH: Here's the story of one we've gotten to know. Dima(ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WALSH: Pain here doesn't just come from the flames. Away from the frontlines, Ukraine is suffering in ways we don't see. Dima(ph) has lost
nearly all his family since the war began. His wife left for Europe as a refugee just days after the war started with his son, and he doesn't know
if they will ever come back. The emptiness of their family home is a crippling constant weight on him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WALSH: The gaps between the horror, harder than the horror itself. And sleep, when it comes is sometimes worse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WALSH: Orikhiv has been ground to dust in the last two months. But Dima's(ph) grief here came immediately with last year's invasion. His
father died in its first days just before his wife left from a heart attack. He says because of shelling. In that chaos, Dima(ph) had to bury
his father himself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
[14:15:00]
WALSH: Now, he only has his mother left. She won't leave the house where his father died and where Dima(ph) was born, and where the flames may
strike again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WALSH: Nearly every Ukrainian home has holes in it. From people who won't come back and the motions forged in a war with no end in sight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALSH: Now, while you hear a personal story like that, and it is awful, frankly, then we met Dima(ph), we were just astonished by the suffering
he's endured since the very first days of the war. It's important to remember that, that is replicated in multiple homes across Ukraine. The
majority of Ukrainians, frankly, feeling some sense of loss, and just I think, it brings home away from what we normally talk about every single
day, the fight in the trenches, the supply of weapons, the back-and-forth of the conflict itself.
Russia's invasion here is altering the lives permanently of generations of Ukrainians. And that's going to be felt across Europe for decades.
Christina?
MACFARLANE: Yes, and it is so important, Nick, to be reminded of the enormous emotional toll this is having on average Ukrainians. Thank you
very much for bringing us that report. Nick Paton Walsh live from Zaporizhzhia. Again, still to come tonight, in a race that's been
overshadowed by violence, Ecuador's presidential election is headed to a runoff after there was no outright winner in Sunday's poll.
Plus, U.S. officials prepare for former President Donald Trump to surrender himself at a Georgia jail, which could happen any day now. We're live from
Atlanta just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:20:08]
MACFARLANE: Welcome back. Ecuador's presidential election is headed for a runoff. Leftist Luisa Gonzalez will face centrist Daniel Noboa in another
vote in October 15th. Gonzalez took the most votes while Noboa, the son of one of the country's richest men, was the surprised runner up. Both have
vowed to tackle Ecuador's rising crime and violence which saw one anti- corruption candidate assassinated during the campaign.
I want to bring in Patrick Oppmann, who's been monitoring events for us from Havana. And Patrick, understandably, crime has been topping the agenda
of this year's presidential race following that assassination. And now, these two candidates are headed for a runoff with Noboa, a surprise second
finish after what I understand was a very good debate performance. What more can you tell us about it?
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's correct. He has come from behind, and finished a strong second and of course, everything is
still up for grabs in about six weeks or so before the final vote is held. And in an election that has had plenty of drama and tragedy as one of the
candidates say -- Drewles(ph) who had spoken out against the increased influence of drug trafficking and criminal gangs in Ecuador's political
system was himself assassinated.
And so, voters went out on Sunday, and the result is still of course, up in the air. But you have this two very different candidates, two very
different visions for Ecuador, one, a leftist, much better known candidate who has promised to increase social spending, reversal to the politics of
years past where the much bigger government, left-leaning government, and then this right-leaning candidate who studied in the United States, comes
from a very wealthy family that heads a banana-growing empire in Ecuador.
And he did because of this debate performance, really capture voters attention. And so, they will be making their case, and both candidates are
trying to show Ecuador that they are the ones to lead this country during a very difficult period, but of course, will be leading for a short term
because they are just taking over the outgoing president's Guillermo Lasso's final two years -- less than two years in office since he was about
to be ousted by those legislatures.
So he called for snap elections, and both candidates, while they promise a very different Ecuador, of course, fulfilling that promise -- those
promises in such a short time will be a challenge.
MACFARLANE: Yes, and also, Patrick, taking place alongside this election on Sunday, Ecuadorians voted against the oil drilling of a protected area in
the Amazon. Just walk us through how historic that decision has been?
OPPMANN: This may even be more significant story here really, because you're talking about one of the most biodiverse places on the planet, and
oil drilling will be stopped there, thanks to this referendum. Again, voters coming out and overwhelmingly supporting the idea that this Yasuni
National Park or one of the most biodiverse places on the planet needs to be protected, the oil drilling which has a long and very checkered history
in Ecuador, should be stopped there.
And essentially, what voters are saying is that they believe that protecting this very unique natural area, that is the future, that tourism
and that protecting the natural forest there, the incredible variety of natural life that exists really only in this national park, that, that is
the future rather than trying to exploit for drilling of oil, and something of a stunning turnaround, not many people expected this to happen, but of
course, it's a sign of the times.
MACFARLANE: Yes, extremely positive development, nonetheless. Patrick Oppmann there live from Havana, thanks, Patrick. Now, Guatemala has also
been to the polls, and preliminary results show progressive candidate Bernardo Arevalo has taken the presidency. He campaigned on the anti-
corruption platform, and says, the results show the people have spoken loudly.
The son of a former president campaigned on a pledge to curb crime and corruption, tackle malnutrition and grow the economy. Official results show
Arevalo took nearly 60 percent of the vote, but the party of the second place candidate, former first lady, Sandra Torres is questioning the
results.
Now, a damning new report from human rights watch accused a Saudi border guards of mass killings of Ethiopian migrants. It claims hundreds of
migrants seeking asylum including women and children, have been shot at close range while trying to cross the Yemeni-Saudi border, and attacked
with explosives. The Saudi government source tells CNN, the allegations are unfounded.
[14:25:00]
This map shows the dangerous route these migrants are taking. First, to Djibouti before crossing the Gulf of Aden, then smugglers transport them to
Saada, an area under the control of the Yemen's Houthi rebel group, then the perilous border crossing. Well, Salma Abdelaziz has more now on the
atrocities survivors say they witnessed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): A deeply disturbing report released on Monday. But human rights watch alleges that Saudi border guards
killed at least hundreds of Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers attempting to cross the border from Yemen into Saudi Arabia, between March
of 2022 and June of this year.
The more than 70-page report, again, released by human rights watch, is based -- the organization says, on interviews with more than 40
individuals, some 38 of them, themselves migrants, asylum-seekers who attempted to cross the border. Human rights watch says it also conducted a
review and assessment of some 350 pieces of video and imagery, and also assessed extensive satellite images from the region.
Together, human rights watch says that this work found -- or paints a pattering of widespread and systemic violence by Saudi border guards
against groups of migrants, Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers attempting to cross into Saudi Arabia, again, from Yemen. The accounts are
absolutely harrowing.
More than two dozen individuals describing exclusive incidences, so the use of rockets, mortar fire, gunfire by Saudi border guards. Some survivors
describing Saudi border guards asking them which limb they would prefer to be shot before shooting them at close range. To give you an understanding
of just how deadly these crossings are, according to humans rights watch's findings, its work, again interviews with 10 individuals who were
describing multiple crossings that totaled to some 1,200 individuals trying to cross that border.
Of those 1,200, 655 resulted in death. That is less than a 50 percent survival rate, again, according to humans rights watch's work. Now, humans
rights watch says that if these killings are committed as part of an intentional Saudi government policy to murder migrants, it could amount to
a crime against humanity.
We do also have a statement from an anonymous Saudi source, this is a source that requested anonymity, citing long-standing norms around the
government's communication with the media. But this is what the statement from the Saudi official from the Saudi government source says. The
allegations included in the human rights watch report about Saudi border guards shooting Ethiopians while they are crossing the Saudi-Yemeni border
are unfounded and not based on reliable sources.
Now, the route I'm describing known as the eastern route, essentially connects the horn of Africa across the Gulf of Aden, and then sees migrant
asylum seekers cross into Yemen and eventually, try to get to Saudi Arabia. That is among the most dangerous routes in the world. It has been for many
years, but it has come under increased scrutiny in recent years with a conflict in the Tigray region, forcing many vulnerable families out, and
civil war in Yemen making that place ever more hostile.
Human rights watch says that the violence along that Yemeni-Saudi border region is ongoing. Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: All right, still to come tonight, he's due to be booked on criminal charges, and now he says, he'll be skipping this week's Republican
primary debate. A look at Donald Trump's highly unconventional presidential campaign just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:32:26]
MACFARLANE: Now it's the start of a busy week for Donald Trump. The former U.S. President and his 18 co-defendants have until Friday to surrender to
Georgia authorities. They're charged with racketeering and conspiring to subvert the 2020 election, and they could be booked at Fulton County Jail
any day now.
Meantime, one thing missing from Mr. Trump's schedule is the first Republican primary debate. The former president and Republican frontrunner
told his followers that the public already knew who he was and that he would not be taking part in the debate on Wednesday. And I want to bring in
CNN's team, Katelyn Polantz is outside the Fulton County Courthouse and Kristen Holmes is in Washington, D.C.
Katelyn, I just want to begin with you because as we wait for the 19, including Donald Trump, to turn themselves in, I understand there has been
some negotiating going on behind the scenes from various parties. Tell us what you're learning.
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: There definitely has. There's going to be a lot of things that happen this week for quite a
busy week, culminating in the fourth arrest of Donald Trump under criminal indictment in this state for his actions related to the 2020 election. That
is very much expected to happen at the end of the week, but right now, what has to take place first is that prosecutors and defense lawyers for Trump
and 18 other defendants in this case, a racketeering case, as well as other charges, they have to negotiate how these people will await their trials.
Do they sit in jail, which none of them would be very likely to want to do at all, or are they released on bond, on bail?
We're now just learning that some of them are having their bail condition set, meaning that the judge is signing off on their ability to pay some
sort of amount of money, either a percentage to a bail bondsman or some directly into the court system to assure that they will come back, they
will appear for their trial when it happens, and if they don't meet the terms of their release as they await trial, that they could lose that money
or go back in jail.
And so, we're getting these bail terms. Two just came in just recently. One John Eastman, a very prominent attorney who worked for Donald Trump after
the 2020 election, his bail is set at $100,000, and he also has a provision where he is not going to be able to discuss the facts of this case with any
of the other co-defendants, Trump included, and also some other attorneys he knows well, or he's not able to discuss the facts of this case with any
other witnesses, which could be many, many people in Eastman's circles.
[14:35:02]
So that is his terms.
There's another person, Scott Graham Hall, whose bail is set at $10,000, and he is accused of tampering with or trying to tamper with ballot markers
and tabulating equipment in an elections office in a county outside of Fulton County, Georgia. And so these people, all put together, are part of
this racketeering case against Donald Trump. We don't know the terms that Trump is going to be facing for his bail, what he might have to put up as
some sort of surety bond, but we're going to be watching. And we do expect his lawyers to make that negotiation finalized this afternoon.
MACFARLANE: Yes, some interesting developments there from John Eastman, as you say, Katelyn.
Kristen, I just want to turn to you regarding this primary debate. So, I want to our viewers first the latest polling data out of Iowa that, as you
can see, shows Trump here with a commanding 20 plus point lead over his rivals. How much are those numbers going to be playing into Trump's
decision to not participate in this GOP debate?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's a huge part of why they decided not to participate in the debate. You know, this is
something that Trump himself has said that because he had such an enormous lead, why would he go out there and risk it by getting on the debate stage?
But when I talked to his advisors earlier today, they really laid this out for me. They talked about how they do believe that there is some risk in
him not going. And that also means that there could be someone having a moment, getting a viral clip, getting some kind of rise, stealing the
limelight in some way.
However, when they look at those polling numbers, particularly the numbers you just showed, was such an enormous lead there by Donald Trump, they
believe that even if another candidate was to have some sort of moment, that they wouldn't be able to catch up to the former president. So, that's
what they're banking on.
The other thing that I'm told by these advisors that played into him not showing up tonight or, excuse me, on Wednesday night is that they believe
that if Trump was there on the stage, he would automatically become the punching bag. Now, they still believe that he will be the center of a lot
of the insults that are slung around. He will still be a huge topic of conversation, but they believe optics-wise, it was better for him not to be
there.
They also are hopeful that without Donald Trump on the stage, that Ron DeSantis, Florida Governor, will be thrust into the spotlight and likely
face more attacks, that's something that we know political advisors to Ron DeSantis have warned him about, something that his team has been preparing
for. So right now, what we're watching is just to see how these other candidates navigate this, know that many of them were preparing for two
scenarios. One with Donald Trump on the stage and one without, is anyone able to actually get any traction?
As you show these latest poll numbers, you see that even Ron DeSantis is he was trailing Trump, but is next in line here in terms of rivals, that is
still a 20-point difference, and some of the other polls have that margin even wider. So, is there an opportunity for some of these lesser-known
candidates, some of these candidates that are polling at lower numbers, to actually get some traction with the voters to have again that moment? And
that's something that's common in these debates. That is what these candidates are seeking, trying to get to know the American people and get
the American people to know them.
MACFARLANE: And Kristen, just briefly, there has been some suggestion that Trump is planning to take part in some sort of counter-programming. Do we
have any idea what that might be?
HOLMES: Yes, we are told by sources that he is going to sit down with Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host, for an interview. I'm actually
told that was already taped and that it will air on Wednesday sometime around the debate. I was also told that it probably would not be something
that made an enormous amount of news.
We also know that a lot of Trump's team is going to be in Milwaukee, despite the former president not being there. They are going to be hitting
the airwaves. Donald Trump Jr. is going to be there with Kimberly Guilfoyle. We know several of his campaign aides, staffers, advisors are
going to be there doing interviews, talking to reporters, doing podcasts, all trying to create a media narrative that puts Donald Trump front and
center, even if he's not on that debate stage.
MACFARLANE: Well, we will wait to see how this plays out. Kristen Holmes, thanks very much, and thanks to Katelyn Polantz as well.
Now, U.S. President Joe Biden is on his way to Hawaii to see the devastation caused by Maui's recent inferno. It's the deadliest American
wildfire in more than a century. The mayor of Maui County says there are now 850 people believe missing after the fire in Lahaina. The death toll
remains at 114, and that number is expected to rise as emergency responders and cadaver dogs search for victims among the incinerated wasteland. But
until days ago was a picture of paradise.
CNN's Bill Weir is live for us in Maui with the latest. And Bill, we know this is a very emotionally charged time in Maui. President Biden, due there
in the next couple of hours, has been very much criticized for his response following the wildfires in the days afterwards.
[14:40:04]
I mean, how are people feeling there about his arrival?
BILL WEIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's mixed. You have some people who are grateful to have the full support of the federal government. You got
others who say he shouldn't come. Their feelings are hurt because it was last Sunday when the president was asked about the victims here and the
rising fatality account. He said no comment, which is very uncharacteristic.
The White House later said that he didn't hear the question, but there was five days there of silence before he made another comment about the tragedy
here. He's known as the Consoler in Chief, given all the personal tragedy in his life. So, he has some making up to do, and I'm sure that he will
when he meets with people. He's scheduled to fly over Lahaina town here to survey the damage, maybe up in the Kula as well, and then actually walk the
streets, Front Street of Lahaina later with officials before meeting with survivors and first responders in the main shelter here in Maui.
A lot of questions, but the federal response right now is all hands on deck. A thousand personnel, seven million dollars in support, they're
putting up people in luxury hotel rooms, FEMA is paying the bills for that. The president also expected to name a veteran FEMA official to be the
permanent recovery commander here on Maui for the foreseeable future, maybe years. But when it comes to that number, the missing, that's -- that is
what's so complicated for people here.
The mayor of Maui saying last night that the original list of the missing was well over 2,000, but thanks to the FBI, they'd whittled it down to 850.
That was a big drop when the governor told us just a day before it was over a thousand. And so at this point, with communications backup, you would
think that most people would have made contact, but we were hearing of people in the hotels asking how do we get off of the missing list. So,
still a lot of confusions nearly two weeks after. And some people just coming to grips with the idea that their loved ones may never be found
because essentially the heart of this historic beautiful place was cremated.
MACFARLANE: Yes, still such a sad situation and a grueling situation for those continuing to trying to identify the dead. Bill Weir, appreciate it.
Thank you.
All right. Still to come tonight. The most prolific child serial killer in British history will be in jail for the rest of her life. We'll bring you
more details on the sentencing of nurse Lucy Letby.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:45:07]
MACFARLANE: Turning now to a shocking case here in the U.K. Lucy Letby, the most prolific child serial killer in modern British history, will spend the
rest of her life behind bars. The nurse was sentenced today to life in prison without the possibility of parole. On Friday, a Manchester court
found Letby guilty of murdering seven babies and the attempted murder of six others in a hospital where she worked. Sangita Lal has this report for
us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANGITA LAL, ITV REPORTER (voice-over): Lucy Letby arrived in court to face her crimes, but she wouldn't face her victims' families. The 33-year-old
child murderer refused to leave herself and refused to listen to the families who bravely described what she took from them. The mother of
Letby's first victim, a twin boy who she murdered in June 2015, said, never could we have imagined that the most precious things in our lives would be
placed in such harm in the care of a nurse.
Another mother of a girl born prematurely also spoke. Letby killed her child when she was two days old by injecting air into her veins. She
described what Letby took from her family, clutching a small teddy in her hands, she said her daughter's ashes were buried in a tiny box on her
actual due date. She said, "My arms, my heart, my life felt so painfully empty."
And the mother of a baby boy who Letby murdered shared how she felt when she first saw her child. "It was like nothing I'd experienced before, the
way he smelled, my tiny, first-born son."
LAL: She went on to say how she will never forget the touch of his hand and how every day she used to wear his hand and footprints in a necklace until
she heard Lucy Letby had been arrested because it was Letby who took the prince. For years, she couldn't wear this memory of her son until now, now
that she has justice for her child.
LAL (voice-over): Letby always denied every charge she faced. Instead, she claimed she was bullied by doctors and used as a scapegoat for poor care on
the unit. In a trial that lasted ten months, it took the jury more than 110 hours to reach their verdicts. She is guilty of murdering seven babies and
attempting to murder six others in what the judge described as cruel, calculated and cynical attacks. For sentencing, he addressed the court as
if she was in the dock.
JAMES GOSS, BRITISH JUDGE: You acted in a way that was completely contrary to the normal human instincts of nurturing and caring for babies and in
gross breach of the trust that all citizens placed in those who work in the medical and caring professions.
LAL (voice-over): The parents of twin boys say they can, in some ways, now move on. Letby attempted to murder one of their sons by poisoning them with
insulin and his brother by injecting him with air.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It provides a bit of closure, not completely, but at least a bit of closure that they got the right person and she's going to be
punished for it. But it's not going to do justice no matter what. She's taken lives. She's tried to take other babies' lives, so whatever sentence
she gets is not going to be enough.
LAL (voice-over): Today was, for some parents, the first time they shared how they felt in hospital along these corridors when their babies were
attacked. One mother described how she walked in on Letby murdering her son, but left him alone with her because she was a nurse and she trusted
her. She and others shared how they now live with their own guilt and how they are traumatized that the person they trusted to care for their babies
betrayed them in the most brutal way. But she used her position to manipulate everyone around her so she could carry out her sadistic and
malevolent acts.
Escorted from court, Letby will never leave prison, now serving a whole life sentence, a serial killer who deliberately inflicted pain on the most
vulnerable babies.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: ITV's Sangita Lal reporting there. We'll be right back after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:52:10]
MACFARLANE: Spain is celebrating its first Women's World Cup trophy with a 1-0 victory over England. Spain has become the second country to win the
Men's and Women's World Cup. And they did it with a record number of their fellow Spaniards cheering them on. The final sets a viewing record in Spain
with more than eight million people tuning in.
But the victory came with controversy. The head of Spain's Football Federation is apologizing for kissing a player on the lips after the team's
World Cup win. Video shows Luis Rubiales embracing forward Jenni Hermoso, then putting both hands on her head before kissing her.
CNN's Don Riddell is joining us live with more on this. And Don, this kiss has been called inappropriate by many, including Spain's sports minister. I
understand Rubiales has issued an apology, which, depending on how you read it, could read like a non-apology. Just give us the context around why this
has sparked so much criticism and the back story, really, with the Spanish Federation and these women.
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes, so first of all, Christina, the Spanish women's team are absolute heroes. They've gone to the World Cup and they've
surprised many by winning this tournament and they are currently on their way home with the trophy and they are expected to parade it through the
streets of Madrid in the coming hours. Unfortunately, it has been somewhat overshadowed. I hesitate to say completely overshadowed, but it has been
somewhat overshadowed by this incident involving the Federation President Luis Rubiales, who, as you just accurately described this moment on the
stage during the presentation ceremony, where he grabbed Hermoso, who is the country's leading goal scorer, and kissed her on the lips.
Hermoso, afterwards, was asked about it by her teammates, and she said she didn't like it and somebody asked her, and she said, well, what was I
supposed to do? A statement later released on her behalf seemed like it was trying to downplay the incident, but this has been received by an absolute
storm of criticism globally, but particularly in Spain, the Equality's Minister described it as a form of sexual violence. The President's Spanish
political party has called for the President to step down.
And that led to this statement, which he made on video, and as you say, it's not the most fulsome apology, but this is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUIS RUBIALES, PRESIDENT, ROYAL SPANISH FOOTBALL FEDERATION (through translator): As we are before a historical fact, one of the happiest days
of world champion Spanish football, which is great, and this is what we have been working for for a long time in the Royal Spanish Football
Federation, and we feel proud. But there is also a fact that I have to regret, and everything that has happened between me and a player, with a
magnificent relationship between the two of us, as well as with other players.
[14:55:02]
And where I was surely wrong, I have to admit it, because at a moment of maximum emotion and enthusiasm, without any bad intentions, without any bad
faith, well, what happened happened. At first, we didn't understand the controversy, because we saw it as something natural, normal, with no bad
faith at all. But outside, it seems that a commotion has formed, and of course, if there are people who have felt damaged by this, I have to
apologize. I have no other choice.
And also, I can learn from this, and need to understand that when you are the president of an important institution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIDDELL: Very interesting comments there, Christina McFarlane. It's supposed to be an apology. Many people will see it as anything but and it
will only add to the story around the Spanish team who were already in dispute with their federation and their coach ahead of this tournament, but
they've returned home as champions, despite everything that they've been through.
MACFARLANE: Yes, and let's hope that they will have more leverage after this incredible World Cup win. They'd certainly deserve that, Don. Thank
you.
And thank you all for watching tonight. Stay with CNN. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS is up after this quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
