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Isa Soares Tonight

Heartbreak And Devastation In Libya After Unprecedented Floodwaters Wash Away Entire Villages; U.S. House Speaker Calls for Impeachment Inquiry Into President Joe Biden; Protests Grip Israel Ahead Of Historic Supreme Court Ruling Over Judicial Reform; Israel Supreme Court Opens Hearing In Historic Case; Kim Jong-Un Arrives In Russia; Escaped Pennsylvania Prisoner Armed With Stolen Rifle. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired September 12, 2023 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:39]

ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, heartbreak and devastation in Libya

after unprecedented floodwaters washed away entire villages. We'll ask the Red Cross about rescue efforts on the ground.

Then, the U.S. House Speaker says he is calling for impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, despite a lack of direct evidence. We'll have all

the details for you from Capitol Hill. Plus, a landmark hearing in Israel. Will the country's Supreme Court rule to limit its own powers?

But first, this evening, we start with catastrophe in Libya where flooding has devastated a country torn apart by civil war. And a warning some of

what you are about to see is graphic. At least, 2,000 people are dead in the wake of Storm Daniel, another 10,000 are reported missing. The storm

triggered the collapse of two dams which overwhelmed parts of Derna, you're looking at there.

Officials say hospitals in the city of -- are flying -- in morgues are at full capacity. Gruesome images show the bodies of victims lying on the

ground. Families are looking for their loved ones and praying they're not among the dead. Meanwhile, groups like the Red Crescent are putting their

lives on the line to save others. They say they're low on resources and they've lost three volunteers. Our Eleni Giokos has more now from Dubai.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Chaos as volunteers from the Libyan Red Crescent scramble to save residents. Put him in the car, one of

the rescuers says, bring him here. A tireless effort, but limited by the sheer scale of floods that swept eastern Libya. The full scale of the

disaster visible in the daylight. The earth ripped apart, houses destroyed or completely washed away, and thousands dead and missing.

Apocalyptic scenes stretching farther than the eye can see. The culprit, Storm Daniel, the same that ravaged Greece and Bulgaria last week, it made

its way back into the Mediterranean, picking up strength before crashing down on Libya. The downpour, several times higher than the rain Libya

usually sees in the entire month of September.

Too much for the war-torn country's infrastructure to handle. In Derna, one of the hardest hit cities, two dams reportedly collapsed wiping out a

quarter of the city. Rescuers have been faced with a catastrophic scene.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This storm is huge, it might reach 2,000s really. But we don't have a definite number right now.

GIOKOS: Aid has began flowing in from nearby countries, food and much needed medical supplies. The issue now getting it to the hardest-hit areas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Derna is a disaster by all means. The situation has caused Al-Abyar, Al Bayda, Al Marj, Al Brak and Bani

Waled(ph) to be cut off entirely.

GIOKOS: Many also fear aid could become a political issue in the divided country. Split with two competing governments since 2014, a disaster on top

of another. Eleni Giokos, CNN, Dubai.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Well, my first guest was featured in that report by Eleni Giokos. Tamer Ramadan is the head of the delegation for the International

Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Libya. He joins me now from Cairo, Egypt, which is also feeling the effects of Storm Daniel.

Tamer, thank you very much for taking the time to speak to us this evening.

The situation as we just saw in that report there from Eleni Giokos is clearly very dire. Just give us and the viewers around the world a sense of

what your team, your contacts on the ground, what they are telling you?

[14:05:00]

TAMER RAMADAN, HEAD OF IFRC DELEGATION, LIBYA: Thank you very much for availing this opportunity to give you a bit of feedback from the field.

Actually, the -- our colleagues on the ground are very much devastated and disappointed and sad to see this destruction in the city that they used to

go for luxury or for a visit or whatsoever. The city of Derna is completely -- almost completely destroyed by the hurricane.

It's the most affected city among the five affected cities in the east of Benghazi. The numbers are thousands of families affected by this hurricane.

Our colleagues on the ground, they are trying to do their best to contain the crisis to support the affected families, to provide them and

Dernaians(ph) assistance. However, the Dernaians(ph) needs are huge and the resources are limited, and the time is constraining all their operations.

SOARES: And Derna, like you said then, Tamer, is the worst-affected. Is search and rescue underway? Are hospitals operable? What do your teams --

what do they require right now?

RAMADAN: The needs assessed right now are medical equipment and medical supplies, of course, because the main hospital in Derna is now out of

service. So, there is no access to basic health services for the affected people. Dead body management is another priority for our teams on the

ground because as you saw from the photos, there are a lot of dead bodies on the street and they cannot be left like that.

Thousands of families has lost their -- have lost their shelters, and they need shelter and food and non-food items as well to accommodate them until

they can find a replacement for their houses or they can reconstruct their destructed houses. Communication is a big challenge, access to the affected

area is another big challenge because the roads are destroyed and the access or the reach in the affected area is not that easy for our teams on

the ground right now.

SOARES: And Tamer, for those who have lost their homes, where are they staying?

RAMADAN: The regional crescent is using some schools to build temporarily shelters for them. However, of course, the numbers are huge, and we are

trying to deploy shelter and tents to accommodate these people in a more humane and dignified manner.

SOARES: Yes, and I'm guessing many more families still looking for their loved ones. So thousands upon thousands still missing. How -- is there a

rescue operation? Do you see the support there in trying to find loved ones?

RAMADAN: Yes, this is one of the main aspects of the operation of our colleagues from the Libyan Red Crescent on the ground, which is restoring

family links. They are very well trained on that, and they are doing it in many disasters, as they are used to do this service for the migrants who

lose a family member while on their journey.

In this kind of larger scale disasters, of course, there are a lot of families who lost one or more from the members of their families and

restoring family links is one main aspect of the operation.

SOARES: I can't imagine the pain that everyone is going through right now. I mean, I'm keen to get a sense of what you need and your teams need on the

ground, because like we heard in that report, Tamer, there is no single functioning government. In fact, there are two rival governments really

seen on the ground.

Does that create challenges for the government because of political situation? Does that make it -- does it complicate action in terms of

coordination?

RAMADAN: I will respond to both points mentioned in your question. So I will start with the second point that political division is there in Libya

for many years now. But it had never affected the humanitarian operations of the Libyan Red Crescent nor the international federation. We do have

very good relationship with officials in both governments, and Bolivian Red Crescent has its branches spread all over the country.

And it never affected our operations in the country. The second point which was the first point in your question, what -- the sense of what we need

now, we need humanitarian solidarity from the international community. We need to refocus again on Libya in these hard times. There are many crisis

in the world right now. We don't want Libya to be the forgotten crisis while they ship their donations or their funding for other crisis. Libya

has to be on the table as well.

SOARES: And very quickly, have you heard that international support of that is coming in? What are you hearing?

[14:10:00]

RAMADAN: I can tell you from our side as international federation, we are in the process of launching an emergency appeal, where we call on the big

donors and inside the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement and outside the movement as well, to donate for the operations in Libya. We are aiming at

collecting $10,000 -- million dollars.

All of this money will be directed to the rehabilitation and recovery efforts exerted by the Libyan Red Crescent in the affected areas.

SOARES: I thank you for your time, Tamer, and for that of your team as well, all their efforts, really appreciate it. Thank you very much, Tamer,

joining me there --

RAMADAN: Thank you very much --

SOARES: From Cairo in Egypt --

RAMADAN: Thanks --

SOARES: Well, the weather system that hit Libya, developed, if you remember, in Greece. Meteorologists say It had the characteristics of what

they call a Medicane or a Mediterranean hurricane with the rain falling in Greece, if you remember, equaling about 18 months worth in a 24-hour

period. Greece officials report at least 15 deaths and catastrophic flooding in the central agricultural region. The EU has opened up more than

$2.5 billion in funds to help in recovery efforts. Have a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

URSULA VON DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: A lot of investment will be necessary to rebuild, but right now also, a lot of immediate

support and help is necessary to restore the livelihoods. My main message is that the commission will be inventive. We will be quick and we will be

flexible. We will mobilize all EU resources that can be deployed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: While Greece has seen unprecedented weather this year, we've shown it to you on the show including heat waves and wildfires, at one time

battling at least 60 wildfires that burned more than 8,500 hectares. Joining us now is Theodoros Skylakakis; the Greek Minister of Environment

and Energy. Minister, I appreciate you taking the time to speak to us.

Here on the show, what we were just saying briefly, we have been showing viewers now for several months of some of the extent of the damage, not

just of the wildfires, but critically of this devastating flood. Can you give us first, minister, your assessment of the impact of these storm, this

flooding across the country?

THEODOROS SKYLAKAKIS, MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY, GREECE: Well, the floods were very extensive, but one area in particular especially was

extremely exposed to these floods. One area, we had 8 billion tons of water in this area for 14,000 square kilometers, we had 8 billion tons of water.

And this is an event that in the old climate would happen once every 500 or once every 1,000 years.

SOARES: And from what I understand, from Farsala, I think is what you mentioned, Farsala, it accounts for most of Greece's -- and you can correct

me if I'm wrong here, agricultural production --

SKYLAKAKIS: Well --

SOARES: What is the government doing to help citizens in that area, from what I understand, minister, there are a dozen villages that remain

submerged or cut off because of this flooding.

SKYLAKAKIS: Yes, we've been working in this unprecedented event in terms of getting back electricity, getting back water in one big city, the water

system has been severely damaged because it's not just the flood in big parts of the area. It worked as a flash flood where it destroyed local

infrastructure because it was catastrophic as the water went down.

You remember there are also mountains in -- a lot of mountains in Greece. So, there are two kinds of damage, and also we have a lot of livestock that

has died, and this is what we're trying to remove now and there in a proper manner. We have infrastructure that was damaged. The main railroad has been

damaged. We're talking about a huge event.

And also, a lot of private property has been destroyed for citizens and for businesses. And we are now working both on the immediate help in terms of

water, in terms of food, et cetera. Plus, in terms of having electricity back. And we're also working in terms of the long- term help that this area

would need.

[14:15:00]

Our prime minister as you have shown has been to the European Commission president, and there was a very good meeting with results that we will see

in practical terms in the months to come in terms of money that we use from EU funds, and also our national budget will also contribute so that we will

try to deal with this unprecedented event.

SOARES: We'll talk about the EU funds in a moment. But you mentioned the water is severely damaged. There was concern about clear running water, and

there's still some concern over contaminated waters. Has that been rectified for many of these villages?

SKYLAKAKIS: Well, we are -- we haven't seen yet evidence of contamination, but there's a good possibility that there will be evidence of

contamination. So, we're working with the hypothesis that there are contaminated waters and people must avoid them as much as possible. So,

this is one way that we are working. The water is subsiding, but it will take --

SOARES: Yes --

SKYLAKAKIS: Days before the -- it gets out, and during that period, people must be aware and protect themselves, and our Ministry of Health has been

issuing directives and are helping as much as possible through that ditch.

SOARES: Right, let me --

SKYLAKAKIS: That the --

SOARES: So, get -- finish your thought, minister. Finish your thought.

SKYLAKAKIS: My thought is that we have to understand that these events are not unconnected. These events are specifically the flood event --

SOARES: Yes --

SKYLAKAKIS: Has the fingerprints of climate change in it --

SOARES: Indeed --

SKYLAKAKIS: Because we had the warmest Summer in terms -- on record. The sea was very warm and the warm sea -- our meteorologist say absolutely

contributed to this very unique meteorological event.

SOARES: And that means -- that leads me nicely to one of the questions that, you know, we have been posing here from our correspondents on the

ground and from the voices we have had covering not just the impact of the storms and the flooding that we have seen, but also the wildfires. And one

criticism that I've heard from some of the Greek contacts that we have is that the state reacts rather than prepares.

It's a criticism that our teams have heard on the ground, too. In fact, I want to play a little clip, just play -- let's play this and we can talk

afterwards.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I have a business that has been ruined by Daniel and everything that has happened. I'm alone with two

bedridden women, my mother and my father's sister, my aunt. Who after we had carried them in a canoe by hand on a pickup truck, I had nowhere to put

them last night. We are waiting for some help.

I don't know how. Someone, the authorities, to show interest. They are completely bedridden with 90 percent disability. And we don't have beds to

put them in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: And this is just one voice, but then we've heard several voices over the last several weeks with the wildfires, but also the flooding. What

do you say to that criticism, minister, that the state basically react as many say, but doesn't prepare. When you talk about this being all linked,

linked to climate change, what can the state do to prepare --

SKYLAKAKIS: So, first of all --

SOARES: Things like this?

SKYLAKAKIS: First of all, we have to understand in terms of flood, the -- it's a different issue, the wildfires where there can be -- and we have

already started getting a lot more prepared. But it needs a lot of work, you need to work within the forest to prepare for wildfires. So, you need

to change the economy of the forest.

But this is a different issue, and it can be done, and we have already started it, and it will be -- it will be removed what so direction, a lot

in the next few months and the next few years. And the floods, the floods are -- permit me, a different animal. Because you are talking about

infrastructure that is built within an era, for the KG, are building anti- flood projects, and all these projects were built for events that happen every 50 years.

Now -- and also, there's something else about flooding that you must know. That we are dealing with a flood to prevent it, we are as strong as our

weakest point is. It's like building a city wall.

[14:20:00]

They are bridged in one point, then if there is a big event like that, a huge catastrophic event like that, the bridge covers everything. Thus, the

floods need a lot more preparedness in terms of resilience, and this is where we must work very hard together with making a lot more anti-flood

projects. But the anti-flood projects take -- have been made for decades and they need a lot of time to be changed.

And also, if the floods are 1,000-year floods or 500-year floods, then, nobody knows if this can be stopped at least, totally stopped. I don't

think that there is any country in the world today, that has prepared for 1,000-year events.

SOARES: Minister, really appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. I know how busy you are. Minister Theodoros Skylakakis, really appreciate it.

Thank you, sir.

SKYLAKAKIS: Thank you, sir -- thank you madam, thank you.

SOARES: Well, it's after 7:00 p.m. in Morocco where first responders are continuing to dig through the rubble, looking for survivors after Friday's

devastating earthquake. The death toll is now approaching 3,000, and tragically, that number is expected to rise. Thousands of homes have been

destroyed and families displaced. CNN's Sam Kiley is at a village in northern Morocco which lost half of its 200 residents.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): This is what remains of the village of Taghazout(ph). Now, the municipality extends up

into the hills, way up there, accessible only on foot. Here in the central area, there were 200 homes. Now, across the area, some 88 people were

killed, many more of course, injured.

Because at 11 O'clock on Friday night, this is what happened. Similar scenes in every village on every hill top in this region in the foot hills

of the Atlas Mountains. It's as if a giant running downhill stamped, stamped out the life, crushed the futures of the inhabitants of these

villages. Now, there is a whiff in the air, mercifully not of dead bodies, but of dead animals.

And of course, it's the animals that represent for a farming community like this, the incomes for the present, the pensions for the future, and indeed

any kind of hope for a future education for the younger generations. Now, we've been talking to people here, and they insists some of them that they

want to be able to rebuild.

But from the government's perspective, they're having to go right up into those mountains, into the much more further flung regions using helicopters

to drop aid, going out with sniffer dogs to try to find out in these last few potential moments of finding survivors under this kind of rubble,

trying to identify the greatest need. And that is going to be an ongoing and fraught activity. And then, of course, Morocco somehow has got to

recover. Sam Kiley, CNN, in Taghazout(ph).

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Well, for more information about how you can help victims of the Morocco earthquake, go to cnn.com/impact. And still to come tonight on the

show, the U.S. House Speaker endorsing a formal impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden. We'll have a live report for you from Washington.

Plus, a historic hearing in Israel's Supreme Court. We'll be live from Jerusalem with the latest on the challenges to Benjamin Netanyahu's

controversial judicial overhaul.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:26:33]

SOARES: U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is calling on his committee -- committees, I should say, I'll try that again, to open a formal impeachment

inquiry into President Joe Biden over allegations he profited from his son's business deals.

So far, house-led investigations haven't provided any direct evidence that Mr. Biden has financially benefited from any of Hunter Biden's deals

overseas. McCarthy has been under intense pressure from right-wing Republicans to push ahead with an inquiry or face being ousted from his

speakership role. Here's more from the House Speaker. Have a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): The American people deserve to know that the public offices are not for sale. And that the federal government is not

being used to cover up the actions of a politically-associated family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: White House spokesman calls this move extreme politics at its worst. Let's get more on all of this, CNN's Melanie Zanona is on Capitol

Hill for us this hour. So, Melanie, just talk to us about the politics of this for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. And did he present any evidence when

he announced this?

MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think the politics here are really important to play out. Republicans have said they will not

use impeachment for political purposes, but they want to further investigate Joe Biden and his family, even though they have yet to uncover

any evidence, they say an impeachment inquiry will really strengthen their hand and their ability to obtain information.

But you can't ignore the politics here, because over this six-week recess, Kevin McCarthy has been facing mounting pressure from both is right-wing

and former President Donald Trump to move forward with an impeachment inquiry. In fact, some of those hard-line members were even threatening

McCarthy's speakership if he did not move quick enough.

So, that does explain some of the thinking as Kevin McCarthy returned to Washington this week. But at the same time, he is still facing resistance

from other members of his party including some moderates, some members who were up for re-election and are vulnerable, and even some conservatives who

say they just have not seen enough evidence yet.

And so, that is why Kevin McCarthy is not going to have a formal floor vote on this impeachment inquiry. He doesn't have the votes, and he wants to

protect some of those members. So, instead, he has instructed his committees to move forward with this process. He has not put a timeline on

how this process will play out, but Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of his allies said there is no rush, and they should take as long as they need to

develop this investigation.

SOARES: But what is clear from what you just outlined there for us, Melanie, is that the GOP representatives both in the House and the Senate

are not all reading from the same helm(ph) sheet, right? So --

ZANONA: Yes --

SOARES: What kind of reactions have you been -- have you been hearing today on Capitol Hill?

ZANONA: Yes, I mean, there has been a mixed reaction. There have been plenty of Republicans who are applauding this effort, saying they're

ready, the speaker is on board, and they're in his corner in his effort to move forward with impeachment. But there are other Republicans including

Ken Buck who serves on one of those key committees that will now be leading the impeachment inquiry, who say he just hasn't seen the evidence yet.

And meanwhile, on the Senate side, many Senate Republicans are distancing themselves from this idea. And remember, a Senate is where an impeachment

trial would occur if it does ultimately lead to that. And so, Senate Republicans say their counterparts in the house should be cautious, they

don't want to see them rush to any conclusions. And they're worrying that there could be a political blowback, and it could have the effect of

actually rallying Democrats around President Biden as he heads into re- election next year.

SOARES: Such a good point, important context there from our Melanie Zanona, Thanks, Melanie, appreciate it.

And still to come, despite warnings from Washington, North Korea's leader begins a trip to Russia that could have major implications for the war on

Ukraine. That story after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

[14:33:57]

SOARES: After months of protest in Israel against the government's judicial overhaul, a historic showdown is happening right now. The country's supreme

court is hearing a case on its own powers. It is considering challenges to a law that takes away some of the court's powers to overrule government

decisions.

That was passed in July by Benjamin Netanyahu's government and some say it puts Israel on a path to dictatorship. Hadas Gold has been following this

story all along.

The court has started hearing arguments on the reform this morning; 12 hours later, it's still going. Give us a sense of what you have been

hearing so far today, the arguments for and against.

HADAS GOLD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, 12.5 hours now. No indications this is wrapping up anytime soon. That reflects really, the

magnitude of what is happening today in the supreme court. It's already historic that they are hearing the law. It could potentially have the

supreme court nullify a basic law --

[14:35:00]

GOLD: -- which is one of the closest things they have to a constitution. There is no written constitution. As we are seeing now, there are 15

supreme court justices sitting around in the courtroom. That has never happened before in Israeli history, where all the 15 judges, when there are

15, are sitting to hear the case.

It's still going. What they are considering is the law passed in July, that takes way the supreme court's ability to nullify government actions that

they deem unreasonable. Now the question put before them is whether this law can stand.

Something that the supreme court president said, she is the woman smack dab in the middle of those 15 justices, there must be a mortal blow to

democracy to strike down the law. That is what they are considering right now.

The plaintiffs, who are the ones that brought the petitions, say the law should be struck down, they say it harms Israel's democracy. What the

lawyers argue is the supreme court has no authority to review the basic laws.

They say that authority rests with the people themselves and their democratically elected representatives. What is interesting is that the

government's lawyer is not the attorney general. She is a nonpolitical appointee but on the opposite end of the spectrum.

She has been arguing that this law should be struck down. Now arguments are still continuing. It's difficult to take the judge's words and try to

figure out which way they will rule.

But some key lines that have stood out to me from what the judges have said today, one of the judges asked, fine, if all of this power should rest with

the democratically elected people, what's if the government decides not to hold elections?

How will the people have their voice?

The supreme court is essentially the only check on power for the parliament and for the executive.

Another key quote, this might be one of the major key quotes of the hearing, one of the justices said, "Democracy dies in a series of small

steps."

It doesn't happen all at once but in a series of small steps. Even if this hearing wraps up today, it's very, very unlikely we will get a decision.

The 15 judges have to write the decision.

At this time it has to come by January, anytime before then. But that sets up potentially another crisis. The Netanyahu government has so far not said

that it will abide by a supreme court ruling that would potentially strike down this law. That is setting up a constitutional and judicial clash.

SOARES: I'm guessing we don't know how long the hearing would last. It will take as long as it takes, I suspect.

GOLD: We were not expecting it to last more than a day, maybe two. It's surprising that it's going on this long, late into the night. It's past

9:30 pm. They have taken a few breaks but have been going and going.

They are listening to all the arguments. People get to respond to the arguments as well. So they are not going to be stopping any time soon.

SOARES: One of the justices was starting to close his eyes. Getting weary but important what is happening. Thank you, Hadas. Appreciate it.

Stav Shaffir is an Israeli activist and former member of the Knesset.

Great to see you again. I'm keen to get a sense from you of the arguments that you heard so far from this hearing in the supreme court.

What stood out, 12.5 hours and still going, what are the key quotes there?

STAV SHAFFIR, ISRAELI ACTIVIST, FORMER KNESSET MEMBER: Well, I think the main thing is that during the supreme court hearing, the government has no

understanding of what democracy is.

Today they talked about the fact that Israel's declaration for independence, used as the basic foundation law, is not even a real or

important document. The people that signed the declaration of independence were not elected by the public.

It was something that they had, a series of excuses that just show that they had no understanding of what democracy is.

As you said, democracy doesn't fall in one day. It's a very long and slow process. Israel has been experiencing it for a long time. In the last year,

since the government was reelected, they exposed their real intentions.

And their real intentions are to break down democracy. They want to change the democratic structure of the country.

SOARES: Like we heard earlier in Jerusalem, a ruling is not expected for weeks or months. But the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu --

[14:40:00]

SOARES: -- has refused to say if his government would abide by a court ruling striking down the law.

How worried are you that it may come to this if their own government can not even say it?

SHAFFIR: Actually what they said was they will not fulfill a supreme court ruling that is not what they planned for. And this is the main danger. It

doesn't matter what the ruling will be.

If the government declares that they won't abide -- comply with the law, that is the problem we are experiencing. It's really important for

Americans to understand. Israel's government structure is very different from America's structure.

We don't have two elected houses. We don't have a constitution. We don't have districts or constituencies. The only check to government's power is

the supreme court. And what they are trying to do now is to remove that check.

They want ultimate power with no balance, with no checks, with nobody to stop them. In this government today, the most racist and extremist

government we have ever had, it's a collaboration of the most racist extremist politicians together with Netanyahu.

He has one goal in mind, to escape his trial. And they are not representative of Zionism, of the Israeli idea and hopes and dreams of most

Israelis. Even their own voters didn't know that this was the government, the judicial reform. They had no idea this was the plan when they voted for

them. So we are now for the last eight months, on the streets, protesting against it.

SOARES: We have seen, showing the protests on the show every time there have been large protests. I remember last time there was a large protest,

you and I spoke and we saw you in the street. But this is really split Israeli society.

We have seen military reservists reporting for duty. Today as the hearing began, the shekel weakened against the U.S. dollar.

How damaging is this for Israeli internationally?

SHAFFIR: We are a small country. We are based on solidarity. Israelis have a very strong sense of care for one another. We have public health care

services and public education services, it's a mutual agreement.

Because we want to have that social security network for everyone, we all serve in the military because we protect our country. And what this

government is doing, because of their own interests and regardless of the interests of our society, they are just breaking this solidarity apart.

They spread fake news and lies. Netanyahu doesn't take any interviews to Israeli media, any interviews in Hebrew. He only takes interviews for

American and foreign media because he expects the people outside of Israel will not understand what he is doing here.

He doesn't talk to the voters. And the Israelis are very much afraid of what is happening here because we see how our country is breaking apart.

But I have to tell you, I'm actually incredibly optimistic now. For the past eight months, week over week, we have been protesting in the streets

in hundreds of thousands of people, who are holding flags and go outside and dedicate so much of their time, effort and sacrifice for this country.

And this gives me a lot of hope that we will win the fight. It's going to be hard. It's challenging but Israel's democracy is --

(CROSSTALK)

SOARES: We will of course keep a close eye on all the developments. Great to have you on the show. Thank you.

We will be back after this.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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[14:46:32]

SOARES: North Korea's reclusive leader began a rare overseas trip that could have big implications for the battlefield in Ukraine. Kim Jong-un

arrived in Russia today ahead of an expected summit with Vladimir Putin. Each has something the other wants.

And the West is highly concerned that they could strike a deal. Paula Hancocks has more.

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PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kim Jong-un has had his first interaction with Russian officials on his way to meet with Vladimir Putin.

Now we see footage of him getting off his armored train. This is on the Russian side of the border.

We understand that he met with the head of the ministry of natural resources. That was earlier this Tuesday. He is heading north to go and

meet with the Russian president. Still there is no official location or timing on this meeting.

There is plenty of speculation that it could, in fact, be in a place called Vostochny, at a space launch center there. We do know from Russian state

media that Vladimir Putin himself has said that he will go to this area after the economic forum that he is attending in Vladivostok because he has

a personal agenda there.

So this is all speculation as to where exactly the two will meet. But they are expected to meet. One thing, it will have a military focus, a military

flavor to this meeting.

We have been told by Kremlin spokesperson through Russian state media Dmitry Peskov that it will be a full-blown visit with talks between two

delegations and touch upon, quote, "sensitive issues."

The key is who is involved in these discussions. We heard from the Kremlin that the Russian defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, will be in the talks with

Kim and with Putin. We know from footage as well that, within the Kim Jong- un delegation, there is a key military figure, Ri Pyong Chol.

He is considered the leader of the missile program in North Korea. He is sanctioned by the U.N. and U.S. and he is also involved in these

discussions.

Even though we don't know the location and the timing, we can guess at the topic and it is what U.S. officials are saying, that there could be

potentially an arms deal between North Korea and Russia at the end of this meeting -- Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: The White House has warned that North Korea will, quote, "pay a price" if it sells weapons to Russia for the war in Ukraine. But it hasn't

said what the price might be. Let's get more reaction. Oren Liebermann joins me now.

How concerned are officials about this meeting?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: There is concern about what might come out of these meetings. Let me pick up where Paula left off.

These are countries on very different parts of the sort of technology spectrum. Russia, an advanced country with advanced capabilities; North

Korea, not so much. But they have something the other needs.

North Korea has vast stocks of artillery ammunition, which could help Russia in Ukraine, becoming a key component as the war stretches the

Russian defense industrial base thin.

[14:50:00]

LIEBERMANN: Russia has looked elsewhere for more ammo. That is what North Korea can provide. In the past, the U.S. says North Korea provided

ammunition to the Wagner mercenary group but not to Russia itself.

After decades of imposing sanctions on North Korea to stop its ballistic missile program, its nuclear program, Russia is capable of providing all of

that. And Russia has the veto at the U.S. Security Council resolutions, that may make it difficult to impose more multilateral sanctions.

Is the U.S. watching this?

Yes, very closely. It was the national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, who said North Korea would pay the price if it went forward with an arms deal

with Russia. But what that price might be is a difficult question to figure out since sanctions have not been able to prevent a meeting like this.

SOARES: Indeed. Oren Liebermann, thanks.

We are taking a short break and back after this.

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SOARES: The convicted killer that escaped from a Pennsylvania prison has stolen a rifle and is considered armed and extremely dangerous. Police say

a Pennsylvania homeowner encountered Danelo Cavalcante as he stole the weapon from the garage.

The homeowner fired several shots. It's not clear if the fugitive was injured. He was serving a life sentence for killing his former girlfriend.

For more, I want to turn to Danny Freeman near Chester County, Pennsylvania.

He was spotted twice but no capture.

What are authorities saying why it is taking this long?

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's the million-dollar question. To specifically answer that direct question, this area of Chester County,

Pennsylvania, where we are, is densely wooded. There are a lot of places to hide in this area.

But frankly, Cavalcante has shown that he is determined to escape law enforcement capture, no matter what. But I got to say, this development

that we got today is one that so many feared for so long, that Cavalcante, now armed and dangerous.

[14:55:00]

FREEMAN: So to what you initially said, there were two sightings that happened on Monday night in Pennsylvania. The first happened at 8:00 pm. A

woman called police because she thought she saw Cavalcante crouched on the side of the road.

Police followed up and found footprints, followed the footprints then found the prison issued sneakers that he was wearing. They still weren't able to

catch him.

Then at 10:00 last night, Cavalcante, according to police, entered an open garage that he was able to find because he saw a rifle sitting in a corner.

It was a rifle with a scope on it and a flashlight on it.

He entered, tried to steal the rifle but there was a resident of the home inside the garage. The resident started to fire at Cavalcante with his

handgun, not hitting him. Cavalcante escaped with the gun. That's why law enforcement said he is armed and dangerous. Day 13 and no capture.

SOARES: I know you will stay on it for us. Danny, thank you very much with the latest.

If you are just joining me, an update on the top story. We are hearing 5,300 people are presumed dead in Libya's floods. That is according to the

interior ministry of the eastern parliament-backed government. Local rescue teams are continuing to search for missing people. At least 5,300 people

are dead in the floods.

I will see you tomorrow.

END