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Isa Soares Tonight
Trump Repeats Lies on Federal Storm Response; Harris Pushes Back on Trump Storm Misinformation; Israel Expands War Against Hezbollah; Toll in Civilians and Children in Gaza as War Escalates; Hezbollah Fires Rocket Barrage at Haifa; Florida Braces for Hurricane Milton; Biden Speaks as Florida Braces for Hurricane Milton. Aired 2:00-3p ET
Aired October 08, 2024 - 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, a mass exodus in Florida, many residents
who had only just returned from Hurricane Helene are now fleeing once again as extremely strong Hurricane Milton threatens the state. We have the very
latest for you.
This as Donald Trump uses misleading comments to politicize storm aid. Details on what he said and what the truth is. And Israeli forces hoist
their flag on the outskirts of the Lebanese border village as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issues a stark warning to Lebanese citizens.
We'll have more from the region in just a moment.
But first, tonight, Hurricane Milton is on track to pummel Florida's central Gulf Coast as soon as Wednesday evening, while it is expected to
make landfall as a Category 3 hurricane. Meteorologists warn it could be one of the most destructive storms on record.
And take a look at this time-laps we're showing you here from NASA, and you can see Hurricane Milton's massive size as it moves across the Gulf of
Mexico. Hundreds of thousands are evacuating, you can see there, highways in Florida clogged and some gas stations are running low on fuel.
Milton's arrival comes less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene, which made landfall in Florida's Big Bend area in the north part of the state.
U.S. President Joe Biden is urging people to get out while there is still time. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This could be the worst storm to hit Florida in over a century. And God-willing, it won't be, but that's
what it's looking like right now. If you're under evacuation orders, you should evacuate now. Now, you should have already evacuated. It's a matter
of life and death.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, in the past 24 hours, coastal towns in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula suffered Hurricane Milton's first effects. Carlos Suarez is
tracking Milton, joins us now from Fort Myers in Florida. And Carlos, just give us a sense of what you are seeing and how people there are preparing
this evening.
CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Isa, the folks that live in southwest Florida and to the north of where we are, are very much getting
prepared for Hurricane Milton as it continues to make its way north. Here in Fort Myers, business after business after business has put a plywood,
they have sandbags out, all in anticipation of what we expect to be some significant flooding.
This one business here behind me has just started in the last couple of minutes inflating a water dam. What they're doing, what you're taking a
look at right there is an inflatable dam. They're filling it with water all in an effort to try to keep some of the flooding out of this business.
I'll tell you though, not really sure how much this is going to work considering that the storm surge that is being forecasted for this part of
southwest Florida is anywhere between 6 to 10 feet. And so, if that does materialize, that water is going to be well above that inflatable dam here
behind me.
Part of why this part of Fort Myers is a part of an evacuation zone is because there is a rather sizable -- a major river, about a block and a
half from where we are. It's called the Caloosahatchee River, it goes out into the Gulf of Mexico, and it also goes into Lake Okeechobee, which is in
the central part of Florida.
What's going to happen -- what the forecast is calling for is that as the storm continues to make its way north and makes landfall, as it stands
right now, just to the north of us, we are still going to see all of that storm surge, we're still going to see all of that rainfall anywhere between
6 to 8 inches over a 24-hour period.
And then when you add in high tide, the fear is that, that river, the Caloosahatchee is going to overflow, it is going to crest. And so, it is
going to have to end up going somewhere, and that somewhere is where we are standing. This area is known to flood, two years ago, Hurricane Ian just
pretty much destroyed a good part of Lee County and flooded a great deal of Fort Myers, where we are and a large part of the damage was the flooding
brought on by the Caloosahatchee River.
And so, these folks are taking the storm serious, they're trying to do everything they can to try to keep some of this water out. But I've got to
tell you, if the storm-surge predictions hold, I'm not entirely sure that, that inflatable --
SOARES: Yes --
SUAREZ: Dam is going to do much in keeping the water out of that business.
[14:05:00]
SOARES: That is incredibly scary picture that you've just painted for us, Carlos, and of course, important context for our viewers, because for so
many of these people, of course, they only just started, right? Picking up the pieces after Hurricane Helene, which also packs a punch to these
communities.
So, give us a sense, are people heeding the call, and how easy is it, Carlos, for people to get out of Tampa?
SUAREZ: Well, so, I mean, as you noted, I was in Tampa a week ago. We were --
SOARES: Yes --
SUAREZ: Doing a story on the damage from Hurricane Helene up there, and the debris has -- there's just not enough time has passed for officials and
cities to clear that debris. And so, the concern going into this storm is all of a sudden, that stuff becomes like missiles. It becomes, you know,
projectiles.
And the last thing you want are pieces of furniture and cabinetry and water tanks, you know, being thrown around in 100 and 125-mile per hour winds. As
for whether or not folks are getting out, I can tell you, having a crossover from south Florida last night, people are hitting the roads. They
are trying to get over to south Florida on the eastern side of Florida if they live north of where we are, they're trying to get more inland into the
Orlando area.
And then if they're not going to the Orlando area, they're just trying to get farther north from where they live in the Tampa Bay area, because as
you noted, the forecast track, if that holds, we're looking at a very powerful storm that's going to hit the Tampa Bay area over the next couple
of days.
SOARES: Yes, very concerning indeed for everyone. Carlos Suarez, appreciate it, thank you very much, Carlos. Well, my next guest is Jeff
Monsien, who is a resident in Tampa in Florida, he joins us now. And Jeff, I really appreciate you being with us tonight. Give us a sense of how
you're preparing and whether you're evacuating, whether you're heeding those calls.
JEFF MONSIEN, TAMPA RESIDENT: Oh, yes, we are definitely evacuating. We've been told that depending on where the storm lands, that there could
possibly be between 10 and 15 feet of surge, which would destroy our neighborhood. So, we have definitely evacuated to higher ground.
SOARES: What have you -- how did you leave your home and how did you prepare? Because I saw my team were showing me photos earlier of your home
--
MONSIEN: Right --
SOARES: How it'd been kind of boarded up inside as well, also covered up. Just give us a sense of the preparations here before you even left?
MONSIEN: Sure. So, our house is about 80 years old, and it's on a crawl space, so, one of the first things we did was we boarded all the crawl
spaces underneath the house so that water won't fill under there again and come up into the house. And then we put boards across all the doors, 4 feet
tall. So, we're protected to about 11 feet I think --
SOARES: Yes --
MONSIEN: Ten or 11 feet, so, I don't know if it goes much more than that we're sunk because it's already flooded once --
SOARES: Yes, and this is the thing, you probably heard my discussion that I was just having with our correspondent in Fort Myers. We're seeing it in
for so many, yourselves included. You know, you've seen, you faced Helene just -- Hurricane Helene just what? Two weeks ago that really walloped
Florida.
In fact, we've got video of your house being flooded. And for Helene from what I understand, this is -- this is your house during Helene and how it's
flooded. During Helene from what I understand, if you didn't evacuate, right? You decided to ride it out. Why?
MONSIEN: We rode it out because we thought that it was not going to be that bad, and the wind and the rain, we were fine, and we just didn't
realize how bad the surge, the water was going to be coming back out of the bay. It was probably -- it went up, I think 8 to 9 feet, and that's just --
that's too much for us. We also lost my mom's condo and four cars.
SOARES: My goodness, that's a lot. And clearly, a wake-up call for so many this time round with Milton. Your mother, your 85-year-old mother, I
believe, she was also with you --
MONSIEN: Yes --
SOARES: During Helene. What is -- is she with you this time as well --
MONSIEN: No, she was -- in her first-floor condominium, and as it started to flood, she went upstairs to a higher one for the night, and then we
grabbed her the next day.
SOARES: And what about this time round with Milton? Is she -- what is happening to your mother?
MONSIEN: She's -- we are taking her with us. We're not letting her go anywhere.
SOARES: That is very good to hear. Look, you have from what I understand, Jeff, you have been a resident for at least 20 years in Tampa, have you
seen anything like this, consecutive storms?
MONSIEN: Yes --
SOARES: And hurricanes that we are seeing.
MONSIEN: Actually, we've been here 40 years, and now, we've never had a direct hit since we've been here, never.
[14:10:00]
SOARES: What are you then as you --
MONSIEN: And when --
SOARES: Go ahead, go ahead --
MONSIEN: In the past, when we've had hurricanes in the past, the Bay has actually emptied. The surge was in the opposite direction, so we had no
water. But when it -- when it goes to the north side of Tampa Bay, then the water goes into the Bay and that's when it overflows into all the
neighborhoods.
SOARES: And as you -- we wait for Milton, Jeff, I wonder what your biggest fear is right now. You are clearly heeding the calls. You are moving with -
-
MONSIEN: Yes --
SOARES: Your mother as well, your loved ones. I suspect --
MONSIEN: Yes --
SOARES: Many of your friends and family --
MONSIEN: Yes --
SOARES: Are following suit and listening to authorities --
MONSIEN: Yes --
SOARES: What is your biggest threat right now, Jeff?
MONSIEN: Well, if the worst comes to happen and we get 110-mile per hour winds and 15 inches of rain and 15 feet of surge, our Davis Islands will be
decimated, and we will not have a neighborhood to go back to. So, that's the worst thing, but at least we're not going to die where we are I hope.
So --
SOARES: Oh, no, of course not --
MONSIEN: That's a good thing --
SOARES: Stay -- you're listening, you're heeding the call, you're doing all the right things. Can I just ask very quickly if you're getting
everything that you need in order to stay safe and those around you doing the same thing. Do you think that the community is stepping up? Authorities
are stepping up here in terms of the preparedness here, Jeff?
MONSIEN: You know, they're doing the best that they can to remove --
SOARES: Yes --
MONSIEN: The debris that you were talking earlier. But some people didn't start emptying their houses until a couple of days ago. And at that point,
it was just -- it's just too much. So, there still is tons, households full of debris wood, wood floors, dry wall, furniture all over the streets. And
you know that if it floods, that's going to pick up and go everywhere, and if it doesn't flood, the wind is going to just throw it in the air. So, I
am worried about that.
SOARES: Jeff, keep in touch with our team, let us know how you get on, and please, stay safe, wishing you and your family, of course, and your mother
the very best. Thanks very much, Jeff.
MONSIEN: Thank you, and my wife too, thank you very much --
SOARES: And your wife --
MONSIEN: Appreciate it --
SOARES: Your family and your mother, of course, I can't leave the wife out. I know how that would feel --
MONSIEN: Yes --
SOARES: Appreciate it, Jeff, thank you. We'll stay across -- you're very welcome, we will, of course, stay across all the latest developments out of
the United States and Hurricane Milton, which is incredibly dangerous as you just saw there from our correspondent and from one of the -- one of the
people living near Tampa.
Let me focus on what's happening in the Middle East. Israel says it's expanding ground operations in southern Lebanon, even as a top Hezbollah
official has publicly endorsed a ceasefire effort for the first time in this war. New drone footage shows the extent of the destruction in the
south after repeated Israeli strikes on Hezbollah targets.
And here you see Israeli forces hoisting the Israeli flag on the outskirts of a Lebanese border village. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just issued
a direct message to the people of Lebanon urging them to free their country from Hezbollah or else. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER, ISRAEL: Today, Hezbollah is weaker than it's been for many years. Now, you, the Lebanese people, you stand at
a significant crossroads. It is your choice. You can now take back your country. You can return it to a path of peace and prosperity.
You have an opportunity to save Lebanon before it falls into the abyss of a long war that will lead to destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, Hezbollah is still keeping up its attacks on Israel, with the IDF saying more than 100 rockets were fired today at Haifa and the
Galilee area. Some schools in Haifa suburbs are now closed. And in the last few minutes, serious state news agencies said Israel has targeted a
residential building in Damascus, details are still coming in, but injuries have been reported.
Syrian air defense has confronted what it's called hostile targets in the skies of the mask. This according to Syria's state broadcaster, residential
building had been targeted by what the state broadcaster said, quote, "Israeli aggression". So, this coming in, in the last few minutes. Let's
get more now from Jomana Karadsheh in Beirut and our Nic Robertson in Tel Aviv.
And Nic, can I just start by asking not only the -- what we've just heard in the last few minutes that Israel's being targeting a building in
Damascus in Syria. But also this footage that we just showed our viewers of the IDF hoisting the flag on a Lebanese border village. What more can you
tell us?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, El Ras Maroun; the outskirts of that village less than half a mile from the border with
northern Israel. The rest of the village, perhaps a mile or so away. It's a mountain-top village, and this is exactly the sort of place that the IDF
has said that they were going to go to and what they've described as these limited, targeted raids to take control or positions that they say
Hezbollah can be used -- use to fire into Israel.
[14:15:00]
And these hill-top places along the border, which overlooks some Israeli border towns there, are exactly the sorts of places. The IDF is not saying
why they are in this town, but it's causing a lot of consternation at the U.N. because there are U.N. bases there, the U.N. observer mission, the
UNIFIL troops are along the border.
And satellite imagery of their base appears to show Israeli armored vehicles around the berms outside of that base. And that's triggered the
U.N. Secretary-General to again issue his concerns that Israel is endangering or potentially endangering the lives of the UNIFIL troops, and
ask for them to observe their independent status there.
So, is this what we're going to see more of, more Israeli flags raised on mountain top border towns along the border? It really isn't clear at the
moment. This is -- the IDF has closed over the past 24 hours or so, another area of northern border in the west. It's a closed military zone now. And
where we're seeing these closed military zones open up in the -- on the eastern end of the northern border, in the more central locations not far
from El Ras Maroun is indicative that the IDF will start operations there.
How far they plan to go, how long they plan to stay isn't clear, but the satellite imagery and El Ras Maroun coupled with this image of the flag
being flown, that indicates a stay that's not just in an out, it looks like they may stay for limited period, we just don't know.
SOARES: Yes, exactly, that is the concern. Let me go to Jomana then. Jomana, I'm wondering what the reaction has been to that very flag being
hoisted, and just speak -- broaden this up to the concerns of this widening ground operation and what that means for civilians, because this comes as
Netanyahu addressed the people of Lebanon.
As we said, he said, you have an opportunity to save Lebanon before it falls into abyss of a long war that will bring destruction and suffering,
similar to that, what we see in Gaza. And I remember you speaking yesterday -- and that is one of the concerns, isn't it from so many in Lebanon?
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is, Isa, I mean, those images and the announcement today from the Israeli military that more
troops will be involved in the ground operations. The 146 division carrying out operations in southwestern Lebanon. This sort of news is just adding to
the fear, the anxiety, the uncertainty here.
People are extremely worried about what the Israeli plan is in south Lebanon especially. I mean, we've heard the Israeli military saying that
their operations are going to be limited and targeted. But people here don't really believe that. They are very worried that they are going to be
seeing a repeat of 1982 when the Israelis said that they were going in for a limited ground operation, limited incursion that turned into a full-scale
invasion, and years of Israeli military occupation of south Lebanon.
And you know, this is happening at the same time as you're seeing Hezbollah today, as you mentioned earlier, launching a massive barrage of rockets
targeting Haifa and the upper Galilee. And people are just really worried that this is going to be a very long war, unclear what the Israeli plans
are -- and you have civilians, the people of the towns and villages in south Lebanon especially, who feel that they are the ones who are paying
the price for this and they are the ones who are caught in the middle.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARADSHEH (voice-over): And picturesque, it's what Al-Mashaf(ph) once was. Today, much of this Lebanese border village lies in ruins. "The destruction
is horrific", says Hanna Zarro(ph), "homes in Al-Mashaf(ph) are destroyed, completely devastated by strikes, the face of the entire area has changed."
He says war hit his village long before most were paying attention.
They began on October 8th, when Hezbollah launched attacks against Israel under the banner of solidarity with Gaza, sparking a year of tit-for-tat
cross-border attacks. Homes in Al-Mashaf(ph) were destroyed, almost its entire population, including local officials. Zarro(ph) was forced to flee
the border conflict has now expanded to all-out war.
[14:20:00]
"The last ten days, no one can imagine the level of brutality", Hanna(ph) says, "they began using different weapons against the village, whenever
there's an airstrike now, it destroys a whole neighborhood, five to six homes destroyed at the same time." Hanna(ph) thought like previous wars,
their Christian village would be spared the worst of the violence.
He believes its strategic position right on the border overlooking Israel has turned it this time into a battlefield for both sides and its people
are paying the price, like 90-year-old Ohm Jameel(ph), she was too old to leave, killed late last month in an Israeli strike on her home. Hanna(ph)
like many of his generation has seen every war in Lebanon since the 1970s.
He says the Israeli onslaught in recent weeks is like nothing he'd seen before. He doesn't name Hezbollah, but he questions those who started this
war. "Was that banner of solidarity with Gaza worth all the pain, destruction and displacement?" He asks, "now we talk about help for Lebanon
and have forgotten that solidarity".
Hanna(ph) and his wife Sahat(ph) show us what's left of the neighborhood where they grew up. "When these homes were hit, I felt like a part of my
childhood is gone", Sahat(ph) says. "The memories are gone. "It was all erased in an instant, the pain is unbearable. It hurts so much." Al-
Mashaf(ph) is now a ghost town, the last of its residents have now fled. Their livelihood, these agricultural lands, olive trees gone.
"The big question is, will we ever return to our homes? Will we ever go back to our village?" Hanna(ph) says. "Will we rebuild it again and who
will rebuild it? If this had stopped ten days ago, maybe". But now, with this level of destruction and devastation, all has spread far beyond their
small village home now, the mountains above Beirut, what will become of their village and their country has never been so uncertain.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KARADSHEH: And Isa, this is a story of one village out of so many in south Lebanon -- just in recent days, the Israeli military has ordered the
evacuation of more than a 100 villages in the south and on a daily basis nearly, we're hearing from the IDF spokesperson telling people not to
return to their homes in these villages, in these areas in the south until further notice.
And so, you have hundreds of thousands of people who have fled their homes now, not knowing when, if they'll return to their homes, and if their homes
will still be standing after this.
SOARES: Incredibly concerning for so many, especially as the ground incursion widens as we have seen in the last 24 hours. And as you were
talking, Jomana, we've just heard from the State -- U.S. State Department regarding the flag that was hoisted by the IDF. I'm going to quote the
State Department's spokesperson Matthew Miller that said, and I'm quoting it here, "it is obviously inappropriate for Israeli soldiers to raise
Israel's flag in Lebanon."
He went on to say -- "and we should look for them to comply with what they said, which is these are limited incursions, not with the goal of holding
territory." So, that's Matthew Miller, the U.S. Department spokesperson speaking in the last few minutes. And the last few minutes, Nic, we've also
heard that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant doesn't seem to be departing or at least not departing as expected tomorrow to the United States to meet with
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Do we know the reason for the delay in departure or for not leaving?
ROBERTSON: Well, the Prime Minister has asked Yoav Gallant not to leave right now. We don't know the reasons. We do know that a lot of tension
exists between Prime Minister Netanyahu and Gallant. We know that this tension almost led to Gallant being replaced by another Minister, somebody
who doesn't have Gallant's military experience.
That was sort of put to one side when Israel began operations against Lebanon and against -- well, rather against Hezbollah. But as for that
flight tomorrow, still not clear whether or not the Defense Minister will be able to get onto it. We know that just in the past few days, he hosted
General Kurilla; the head of U.S. Central Command, their relationship has closed, Gallant's relationship with Lloyd Austin is close, they generally
talk pretty much every day.
And part of the tension between Prime Minister Netanyahu and Gallant in the past has been that Gallant has his own channel of communication with U.S.
officials, it's a strong channel, it's a productive and powerful channel. And the narrative appears to be that Netanyahu wants to be the only one
leading conversations with the United States.
[14:25:00]
SOARES: Nic Robertson for us in Tel Aviv and Jomana Karadsheh in Beirut, thank you to you both, keeping us abreast, of course, the latest
developments there, our correspondents on the ground. And later in the show, we'll take a look at the devastating humanitarian impact on some of
the conflicts most vulnerable, and that is the children in Gaza. That report coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Well, as millions brace for Hurricane Milton's impact, Donald Trump is spreading misinformation about the federal government's response
to Hurricane Helene. The former President has repeated his false claims multiple times that the White House, Kamala Harris in particular, is
somehow diverting emergency release funding to undocumented immigrants. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Kamala spent all her FEMA money, billions of dollars on housing for illegal migrants.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, that claim is false. Vice President Harris has fired back, dismissing Trump's basic claim that FEMA has run out of money. This is what
she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES & DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: There's a lot of mis-and-disinformation being pushed
out there by the former President about what is available and particular to the survivors of Helene.
And first of all, it's extraordinarily irresponsible. It's about him, it's not about you. And the reality is that FEMA has so many resources that are
available to folks who desperately need them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, our politics senior reporter Stephen Collinson's latest piece on cnn.com takes a closer look at the lies being told by Donald Trump
and the potential impact, of course, those claims could have on the election. He joins us from Washington. Stephen, great to have you back.
Look, some of the lies and the distortions that we've been hearing by the former President are quite something like Kamala Harris said irresponsible.
Just explain to how his lies being received and whether they're getting pushback critically from mayors, senators on both sides of the aisle here,
Stephen.
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: I think it's difficult for people outside the U.S. to really appreciate the extraordinary world of
--
SOARES: Yes --
COLLINSON: Conservative media, right-wing podcasts, the Trump media ecosystem plays in all of this. When the former President says something,
it becomes a new kind of truth that millions of people then buy into. You've had some Republican governors and mayors push back against this,
this of course is their responsibility to look after their people.
[16:30:00]
It doesn't make it any easier for them. But the -- it's clear that what the former president is doing is trying to create an impression of negligence
and chaos on behalf of this administration and Kamala Harris, in particular, to play into his wider narrative. It's all about him, as the
vice president was saying, it's not about the people in the way of this hurricane.
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Yes. And as these lies are being told, this is how FEMA reacted. I want to listen -- play a clip from the head of
FEMA. Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEANNE CRISWELL, FEMA ADMINISTRATOR: We really have just got to stop this rhetoric because what it's doing is it's putting fear in the people that
we're not going to be there to help them, and I worry that they won't register for assistance with us and get access to the critical resources
that they are eligible for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: And this is part of the problem why it is so responsible because there are so many who faced, of course, the path of Helene who are
desperate for help and answers and this rhetoric, this misinformation, these lies just do not help.
COLLINSON: That's right. There's a real issue in hurricanes in the United States where people do often ignore the advice of local leaders and try and
stay with their property. Try to ride it out. That's why it's important. You always see the president, whoever it is of either party, come on TV and
say you have to listen to people and you have to get out. Anything that gets in the way of that message clearly is a problem.
Then after the hurricane, Trump, for example, has been telling people that the government is capping what they can get for -- when their homes are
destroyed in federal aid to $750. That is not actually true, but a lot of people apparently believed it. It's just a down payment which you can get,
use to buy food and shelter, et cetera, in the immediate aftermath, then you can get help up to about $40,000 afterwards. So, the worry is that
people are going to listen to Trump and not get the aid to which they're entitled for.
SOARES: And you've done, like we said, a deep dive on a lot of these mysteries, and you've spoken there just now about negligence and chaos on
the side of the Trump -- of president -- of Former President Trump. Just explain then for our viewers around the world, because you're right, I
think we don't have a sense of some of the rhetoric and the lies and misinformation that's being spewed. Why Trump, Stephen, kind of trades in
this kind of easily debunked falsehoods?
COLLINSON: He does it because it's who he is. It's how he made his name in New York as a real estate shark. It's actually worked for him in many ways.
It elevated him to the presidency in 2016. He almost got back there in 2020, despite the mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic. You know, he's
got a 50-50 chance of winning now.
More broadly, Trump uses falsehoods as a way of imposing power on his party and his voters. If he says something is true and people buy into it, he,
therefore, gets power over them. It's like in 1984, George Orwell, when the party declares white is black and black is white, and everyone has to buy
into that narrative.
In a deeper sense, also, Trump tries to delegitimize sources of accountability. The Justice Department, the federal government, Congress,
the media, in order to break against the constraints that constrain his power, if you like. We've seen this, for example, in places like Hungary
with Viktor Orban, where institutions are devalued, and that leaves a vacuum where the strongman can come in and say they're the only legitimate
source of authority. So, Trump is playing a multilayered game here.
SOARES: Yes, and as we head into election, we're four weeks away, the concern is that these falsehoods will only increase and an increased doubt,
of course, on the integrity of the electoral system. That is one of the biggest concerns as well. Stephen, appreciate it. Thank you very much
indeed.
COLLINSON: Thank you.
SOARES: And still to come tonight, as the conflict in the Middle East escalates, we take a closer look at the toll on civilians, including Gaza's
children. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:35:00]
SOARES: And returning now to the Middle East, where Israel says it is expanding its war against Hezbollah in Southwest Lebanon. And it comes as
Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets at the Northern Israeli city of Haifa. All this while the humanitarian crisis inside Lebanon is rapidly
deteriorating.
The World Food Programme warns the country soon may be no longer able to feed itself as agricultural land in the south is bombed as well as
abandoned.
Lebanese authorities say more than 1.2 million people have been displaced since the fighting escalated last month.
And one family fled to Iraq to give birth as Lebanon's medical system is swamped.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (through translator): That's what we're afraid of, that the war will go on for a long time because what is to happen to our
children? We are preparing our children to go to school. There is no education now. This little girl, are we going to stay here? Are we leaving?
Are we going back to our country or not? If we don't, eventually a person wants to work. How will he find work? How will he secure his children's
lives?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: So much unknown, so much uncertainty. Meantime, in Gaza, the ministry of health says 56 people were killed by Israeli airstrikes in the
past 24 hours. Israel's military response to last year's October 7 terrorist attack has reportedly killed more than 41,000 people. More than a
third of those are children.
And we do want to warn you, our next report from my college, Nada Bashir, contains disturbing as well as graphic content. But we find these images
are necessary to understand the immense suffering of Gaza's children.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Where is the world? Look at this, this man shouts. Beside him, two young boys wounded in an Israeli
strike, left bleeding out on the cold tiles of the hospital floor. A scene of chaos and anguish that has played out day after day in Gaza, now for an
entire year.
These are all civilians, this father says. Look at this child. Does he look like a fighter to you?
Across the ward, this little girl is left shaking and calling out for her parents. Outside, another unbearably familiar scene, the body of a limp
child being rushed into the already overrun hospital. This little girl is three-year-old Hanan (ph). She was pulled from the rubble of her now
destroyed home in Central Gaza. Her injuries are so severe that we have had to blur part of this footage. Against all odds, doctors were able to save
Hanan's (ph) life, but they had no choice but to amputate both her legs.
[14:40:00]
Hanan's (ph) one-year-old sister, Misk (ph), was also severely injured. Like her sister, and so many other children in Gaza, she too has had to
undergo an amputation. Both now robbed of their ability to play like they used to, and in many ways, their innocence too.
Mama, she calls out. Misk (ph) is too young to know that her mother, Shema (ph), has been killed. Relatives say it's unclear whether their father, who
is still in intensive care, will survive.
I don't know how Hanan (ph) will continue with her life, without legs, without her mother, with all the pain that she has suffered, Hanan's (ph)
aunt says.
In the ruin of what once was Hanan (ph) and Misk's (ph) home, survivors comb through bloody debris. Gathering fragments of flesh and bone with
their bare hands.
Many were killed and injured in the blast, Muad (ph) says. The majority of them were women and children. The whole place has been destroyed.
In just one year, more than 41,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, among them over 16,000 children, according to the Palestinian health
ministry. The data is staggering and has even led the U.N.'s chief to describe Gaza as a graveyard for children.
As Israel's blockade on Gaza continues and as famine now advances across the strip, the U.N. has warned that more than 8,000 children have already
been diagnosed and treated for acute malnutrition.
Medical supplies are also scarce, posing a huge challenge to doctors operating under the most difficult of circumstances. With thousands of
children injured and having to undergo amputations, in some cases even without anesthesia.
The reality on the ground is hard to ignore. And yet, a year on, the people of Gaza are still begging for the world to take notice and to take action.
For Gaza's children, an entire generation has already been lost to the brutality of a war they had no part in.
Nada Bashir, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:45:00]
SOARES: Now, a recap of our top story, a mass exodus is underway as Hurricane Milton bears down on Florida's Gulf Coast. The National Hurricane
Center says landfall will happen overnight from Wednesday into Thursday. And the powerful storm has already lashed Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, as
you saw there. Milton could end up being one of the most destructive hurricanes on record.
For the latest, I want to bring in our meteorologist, Elisa Raffa. And, Elisa, what is clear, you know, you and I have been talking the past kind
of 48 hours, we have seen how quickly Milton has built up in magnitude and strength in such a short period. I remember you saying that you went to
bed, I think, on Monday, it was Category 1 and you woke up, it was a Category 3 or 4. Do we have a sense, though, at this stage, what is likely
to be the most dangerous? Is it wind speed that was, I think, 180 miles per hour, or is it storm surge or was it -- I mean, was it both?
ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. I mean, in a lot of cases that mean it is both. But storm surge is always, always the most deadly part of a
hurricane. I actually was just talking to a storm surge expert and he said, you can always hide from the wind, but you need to run away from the water.
You cannot face 15 feet of ocean just coming in.
The storm surge definitely is deadly. The wind, though, that will knock out power and can also cause problems with a lot of trees down, too, and it
amplifies that storm surge problem.
155 mile per hour winds in this hurricane right now. That eye, it is wide, it is clear, it is perfectly circular, classic signs of an incredibly
strong hurricane. We are teetering on that Category 5 strength. We are a half a step away there. So, this is incredibly strong hurricane still. And
again, you can see where that eye is just continuing to be so wide and so clear.
It teeters in straight a little bit as it heads towards the Florida Coast, but it gets fatter, it gets wider. So, those winds will expand from coast-
to-coast. Hurricane warnings from the West Coast of Florida all the way to the East Coast.
We're looking at hurricane force winds even in Orlando. You have that purple area, Tampa, 110 plus mile per hour winds down to Sarasota. And
again, hurricane force winds stretching to the other side of the state as the storm just becomes so wide. Tropical storm force winds over the entire
peninsula. And then you see the red, that's the hurricane force that goes from coast to coast to coast, that's going to cause your problems with the
power.
This is the storm surge, the unsurvivable part, why the evacuation orders are in effect, and it's for that up to 15 feet of storm surge from Tampa
down to Fort Myers, even up to 10 feet around the Fort Myers in Naples area. Again, you cannot -- you just can't survive that.
We'll find these impacts starting to come in through the day on Wednesday, landfall happening in the middle of the night going into Thursday, Isa.
SOARES: Appreciate it, Elisa. We're going to cut you short because we've just heard that President Biden just spoke a few minutes ago, for moments
ago, about the hurricane in Milwaukee. Just have a listen.
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Before I begin, I want to say we're prepared for another horrible hurricane did Florida. I'm directing my team to do
everything they can to save lives and up communities before or during and after this hurricane. The most important message today, for all those who
may be listening to this and the impacted areas, listen to the local authorities, follow safety instructions, including evacuation orders.
This is serious. You've got to be safe because people are dying. People have died so far, not from this hurricane, but from the last one. So,
folks, let me for this -- get to today's event. Shy (ph), thank you for sharing your family's story. You said it all. The worst things.
SOARES: Well, you were listening there to President Biden speaking just moments ago from Milwaukee on Hurricane Milton, of course. He said, we are
prepared for another hurricane to hit Florida. We are going to help communities before and after. Listen to local authorities. That's what his
advice to the Americans. This is serious. People have died, of course, referring to the hurricane that we've seen just the last two weeks,
Hurricane Helene, where more than 220 people have died across the United States.
We have also known and pointed out in the last 49 minutes that President Biden, of course, has postponed his trip. He was expected to go to Germany,
is expected to go to Angola, but that has been postponed because, of course, Hurricane Milton is barreling towards Florida. We'll stay across
any more comments that the president makes and we'll bring that to you as soon as we can.
Well, Milton is also -- and affecting air travel ready, I should say, affecting air travel. I want to bring in CNN Aviation Correspondent Pete
Muntean. And he joins us from Washington, D.C. And, Pete, we heard President Biden and listen to local authorities. This is serious. And it
seems the airline industry is also taking this serious. Talk us through it.
[14:50:00]
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, so many airports are closing right now, Isa. And the big question is how long these airports
will remain closed with some of the biggest right on the water, expecting major impacts from the high storm surge predicted with Hurricane Milton.
Here's the latest from FlightAware. The cancellations and delays just keep on climbing. 700 cancellations in the U.S. so far. Today, 1,300 delays
nationwide. Still pretty early, though, and the FAA says there could be ground stops in Miami and Fort Lauderdale today, which could cause these
numbers to rise.
Really pales in comparison for the numbers for tomorrow. FlightAware reports more than 1,500 flights have already been canceled on Wednesday.
Here's what's driving this. So, many airports are closing or have already closed. Tampa International Airport, the first on the list to close,
shuttled -- is shuttered to commercial flights and passengers at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time. Sarasota Bradenton closing at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. St.
Petersburg Clearwater closing after the final flight today. Southwest Florida in Fort Myers closing after the final flight today as well. And
then, Orlando International Airport, one of the busiest in the state, closing at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight time on Wednesday.
You may be asking why these airports are closing so early since the storm isn't set to make landfall in Florida until late on Wednesday, maybe early
Thursday. Tampa International Airport says there is really little doubt that it'll be thrashed by the storm surge since it's right on Tampa Bay.
And right now, workers there are chaining all 58 jet bridges to the ground.
I want you to listen now to the head of airport operations, who says that workers will do a damage assessment after the storm passes, but there's
really no telling when the airport could reopen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN TILIACOS, TAMPA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT EXECUTIVE VP, AIRPORT OPERATIONS AND CUSTOMER SERVICE: The better job we do on the front end of securing
our airport, that helps to mitigate any potential damage and we are at better positioned to open the airport after the storm has passed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MUNTEAN: One thing we're hearing from airports, and this is key, Isa, many are in the evacuation zone and the airports are stressing they are not
storm shelters. You can't sleep on the floor like during a snowstorm. Airports also stressing they'll be open to relief flights before commercial
flights. But right now, airlines like United Airlines and American Airlines, they're adding extra flights for those trying to get out of the
storm's path. Most airlines also waiving change fees for those who had trips booked. This is a pretty big time to go to places like Disney World,
but needed to pivot. A lot of changes happening in the travel space.
SOARES: Indeed. And, of course, and not knowing, of course, how long this will last. That is also a big concern. Pete Muntean, appreciate it. Thanks,
Pete.
We are going to take a short break. We'll see you on the other side.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:55:00]
SOARES: Well, a new book is giving a stunning behind the scenes look at what President Joe Biden apparently really thinks about America's enemies
and even some allies. In his upcoming book, war legendary -- I should say, "War," legendary journalist Bob Woodward says a frustrated Biden privately
described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a bad effing guy after Israel's war in Gaza intensified in the spring. The White House
declined to comment, only saying the relationship between the United States and Israel is as strong as ever.
In the book, Mr. Biden also reportedly told advisers that Russian President Vladimir Putin was, quote, "the epitome of evil" following Russia's
invasion of Ukraine. Woodward writes that at one point Biden's national security team believed there was a 50 percent chance that Russia would use
nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Enlightening indeed.
Well, later this week and speaking of books, we'll have this month's edition of my book club. And I speak with bestselling author David Nicholls
about his latest novel, "You are Here." A witty tale of love as well as loneliness during the COVID pandemic. Here's a snippet of our conversation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID NICHOLLS, AUTHOR, "YOU ARE HERE": During lockdown, I think we all -- whether we were, you know, with a group of people or by ourselves, we all
had to work out little strategies to make it bearable, to make that sudden loss of freedom and contact bearable. And when lockdown ended, I think it
was quite easy to stay in those habits, you know, to stay online rather than out in the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Author (INAUDIBLE) and now, "You are Here." You do not want to miss that? Thanks for watching tonight. Do you stay right here with CNN.
Newsroom with Jim Sciutto is up next. I'll she'll see you tomorrow. Have a wonderful day. Bye-bye.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
END
