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Isa Soares Tonight
Israel Carrying Out Fierce Strikes on Gaza City Ahead of Takeover Plan; Israel in Talks to Possibly Resettle Palestinians in Gaza to South Sudan; Alaskan Glacier Outburst Leads to Dangerous New Record; Perseid Meteor Shower Puts on a Show. Aired 2:00-3p ET
Aired August 13, 2025 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
LYNDA KINKADE, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Lynda Kinkade in for ISA SOARES TONIGHT. U.S. President
Donald Trump touts the possibility of a second meeting on Ukraine, this time, one that could include both Ukraine and Russia. I'll discuss this
with a Ukrainian member of parliament.
Plus, Israel's military chief approves the main concept for a new attack plan in Gaza. We'll hear from the Palestinian ambassador to the U.N. And a
melting glacier sends a surge of water towards the capital of Alaska. We'll have a closer look at what's at stake.
Well, two days before his summit with the Russian President in Alaska, Donald Trump is once again changing his tone and issuing a threat. The U.S.
President warns Moscow will face very severe consequences if Vladimir Putin doesn't agree to end the war in Ukraine.
On Monday, Mr. Trump took a much less confrontational approach and said he's ready to walk away and say good luck if no progress is made at the
talks. A short time ago, the President spoke to reporters, and while he wasn't clear on what the threat was, he said he's hopeful Friday's meeting
could be followed by face-to-face talks that would involve the Ukrainian President.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If the first one goes OK, we'll have a quick second one. I would like to do it almost immediately,
and we'll have a quick second meeting between President Putin and President Zelenskyy and myself if they'd like to have me there.
And that would be a meeting where maybe it could be absolutely worked. But the first meeting will not work that out. Certain great things can be
gained in the first. It's going to be a very important meeting, but it's setting the table for the second meeting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, earlier, President Trump was part of a virtual meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders. Mr. Zelenskyy says
President Trump agrees that there must be a ceasefire before any security guarantees.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT, UKRAINE (through translator): And as said about it to our European friends, to President Trump, that Putin definitely
does not want peace. He wants to occupy Ukraine. And we all understand that Putin cannot fool anyone. We need future and further pressure and European
and American sanctions against Russia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, CNN's Betsy Klein is at the White House. Well, our Nick Paton Walsh joins us live from Kyiv. Good to have you both with us. I'll
start with you first, Nick. So, Donald Trump has spoken about the fact that there could be discussions about land swaps during this summit in Alaska
with the Russian President. Talk to us about the concerns in Ukraine and the pressure they could feel to compromise.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Yes, I mean, look, Ukraine has been clear since it first emerged from U.S. special envoy Steve
Witkoff's meeting with the Kremlin last week that potentially land swaps could be part of the thinking here, that it will not cede territory to
Moscow.
Moscow has taken significant amounts of eastern Ukraine through military force, but Ukraine is not going to give them more purely out of an exchange
for a ceasefire, for cessation of hostilities initiated by Russia. We have also heard from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz saying that legal
recognition of areas occupied by Moscow is quote, "off the table".
That's the Europeans clarifying that they don't want to have as part of any sort of settlement here, the notion that the parts of Ukraine they've hived
off are actually formal Russian territory as Russia's constitution amended since the invasion now suggests. The question, though, of what could they
swap?
Well, look, Russia has taken lots of what it wants, but not the entirety of its Maximalist goals. It could potentially give back tiny amounts of land
up near Sumy and Kharkiv that it's taken near the border, there were little consequence to it. But that's nowhere near comparable to the large amounts
of Donetsk that it wants Ukraine to cede, or even the parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson it wants to cede as well.
Zelenskyy also again today re-affirmed they will not be giving up Donetsk region as part of talks here. Friedrich Merz, though clear that he thinks
there may be serious decisions made in Alaska.
And we've seen in the last 24 hours, the White House going from calling this a listening exercise to trying to pile pressure on the need for some
kind of result, perhaps Trump warning of very serious consequences, saying he would like to have a meeting if it's possible, if the results go well
with Putin, maybe a trilateral meeting between Ukrainian-Russian and American Presidents.
[14:05:00]
Shortly after Zelenskyy talked about the possibility of going to Alaska, he said there's talk of that particular meeting not clear. He's been invited
formally at all or even clear what his travel plans are. Remember, it's a pretty long distance to get from where he is now in Berlin, all the way
across to the other side of the United States.
But pressure clearly building a European official I spoke to, familiar with the contents of the call between Trump and European leaders, said it was
clear to them that the threat is on for secondary sanctions if Trump doesn't get what he wants out of that first, Putin meeting. Remember he has
scheduled two weeks from now for sanctions against India to potentially kick in a key customer of Russian energy that could potentially damage both
the Indian and Russian economies.
India funding a lot of the Russian war effort. So, a feeling potentially that those very severe consequences might actually be those secondary
sanctions emerging, but a wider concern too, potentially, that Ukraine won't be at those initial talks. Putin and Trump meeting in the past has
been a bit of a black box, a roll of the dice as to what these two personalities conjure up.
It sounds like Trump is piling on the pressure, talking about the possibility of a short shrift meeting quickly afterwards with Zelenskyy,
Trump and Putin. But remember, all of this was proposed back in May in Istanbul, and Putin rejected it -- Trump said Putin rejected the idea of
Zelenskyy's attendance at this first meeting. Will he suddenly agree to it? Unclear. His forces are making progress on the frontlines here, Lynda.
KINKADE: OK, Nick, I want to go to Betsy because we know that President Trump initially said he'll know within minutes whether he can get a deal
with the Russian President. Now, he's saying or at least, the White House is saying that this is just a listening summit and hinted at a possible
follow-up involving Ukraine. Is this a shift in expectations? Are they lowering the bar?
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: I think they're certainly trying to minimize expectations that there will be a full ceasefire coming
out of this very high stakes meeting on Friday. But I want to circle back to something Nick just mentioned that, the German Chancellor said following
that very critical call between President Trump and his European counterparts, along with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy.
Merz said that they are expecting, quote, "major decisions to be made on Friday in Alaska". So, the President now telling reporters that this
meeting is essentially, quote, "setting the table for what could potentially be a second meeting with Putin and Zelenskyy together at
another location."
President said if he -- if this goes well and if he gets the answers that he wants, there will be a quick second meeting and he would like to do it,
quote, "almost immediately". He also warned that there will be very severe consequences if Putin does not express openness toward achieving some sort
of peace deal.
But he declined to say whether that would take the form of sanctions or tariffs when pressed. Now, of course, European allies have expressed so
much concern to the White House, to President Trump, along with Vice President J.D. Vance about the possibility of requiring Ukraine to cede
territory in any potential deal.
They have also advocated strongly for Ukraine to have a seat at the negotiating table. The White House with this very quickly arranged call
this morning, seeking to send some reassurances to the United States' European allies. But as you mentioned, they are characterizing this
upcoming summit in Anchorage as, quote, "a listening exercise".
The White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says that President Trump wants to get a better understanding of where President Trump -- where
President Putin stands.
KINKADE: I think we might have just lost our link with Betsy Klein, but there she was explaining some of the expectations of this summit in Alaska
between the Russian President and the U.S. President. I want to thank our Nick Paton Walsh for us in Kyiv and Betsy Klein at the White House. We are
going to stay on this story.
I want to welcome Alexa -- Oleksandr Merezhko, he is a member of the Ukrainian parliament and the Chair of its Foreign Affairs Committee. He
joins us now live from Kyiv. Thanks so much for your time.
OLEKSANDR MEREZHKO, CHAIR, FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT: Thank you for inviting me.
KINKADE: I want to start first with what role you believe this upcoming summit between Trump and Putin in Alaska might have in shaping the
international response to the war, and whether or not you're optimistic about any potential breakthrough.
MEREZHKO: I am rather pessimistic, or I prefer to say realistic about the possible outcome of this summit. I don't believe that there will be any
tangible outcome for a very simple reason, because Putin has not abandoned his ultimate goal to subjugate and destroy Ukraine. He hasn't abandoned his
ultimatum.
[14:10:00]
He continues to insist on this ultimatum, and he will be trying to deceive President Trump because -- and there is a danger in this summit, first of
all. Putin has already been rewarded by the summit instead of being punished by tariffs and sanctions. And unfortunately, the second reason is
that Putin will be trying to put forward those suggestions, those proposals, which will be absolutely unacceptable to Ukraine.
And he will try to persuade President Trump that the blame should be put on Ukraine instead of Russia. And I see a huge danger in that.
KINKADE: And of course, Trump is now downplaying this first meeting, calling it just a listening summit and hinting at the possibility of
Ukraine being at the table for a follow-up meeting. What strategic significance would that Ukrainian presence have in any sort of negotiations
going forward?
MEREZHKO: Well, first of all, we hope that President Trump will continue to honor the basic principle. Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine. It's
tremendously important because the fate of our country cannot be solved without us, without a participation of our president. And additionally,
since the issue of Ukraine is not only the issue of Ukraine, but also the issue of European security, our European allies should be also present at
the table of negotiations.
It would create guarantees against Putin, against his provocations and attempts to create traps into which, unfortunately, President Trump can
fall.
KINKADE: And of course, there are these worrying signs about territorial swaps. And we heard that from Chancellor Merz saying that, you know,
Ukraine could be forced into a compromise after this Alaska summit in terms of a deal. And as we are approaching this summit, Russia is escalating its
attacks on Ukraine.
We just got some stats out from the United Nations that said, in July, the highest number of civilians killed in Ukraine since May of 2022, that
number 286 civilians killed. I want to get a sense from you of the mood in Ukraine going into these talks, given what you're seeing on the ground
there.
MEREZHKO: Well, of course, Putin as a terrorist, he is trying to -- by these attacks, by these shellings and bombardments of capital of Ukraine
and other cities, he is trying to terrorize us into submission. He is trying to break our will to resistance. But he has failed. He has failed so
far due to our resilience, of course, our population due to determination of our President, our parliament, our people, and due to support of our
closest European allies.
KINKADE: President Trump has again made threats of severe consequences. We've heard talk of, you know, further secondary sanctions, particularly
those on countries buying oil from Russia that will come into effect in the coming weeks. From a Ukrainian perspective, how effective are those sort of
threats, those sort of sanctions, and what else can be done?
MEREZHKO: Well, first of all, it's a high time for President Trump to finally deliver on his promises, and he made several promises. We're still
waiting for his resolve. As for effectiveness, yes, these sanctions are very effective. But the final goal is how to stop Russian war machine and
Russian war economy, which has provided, sort of lifeline, from those countries which buy Russian oil and gas.
And the problem is that the issue is how to stop Russian war machine by imposing secondary sanctions on those companies and countries which help
Russian economy to survive and to continue to kill Ukrainians.
KINKADE: Given so much talk about land swaps and territorial concessions going into this Alaska summit. From your perspective, what red lines are
non-negotiable?
MEREZHKO: Well, first of all, even from moral point of view, we cannot talk about any territorial swaps for very simple reason. It's not only
about territory, it's about people living in villages, in towns and cities. How can we sacrifice those people knowing what had happened in Bucha, in
Irpin?
We cannot do it from a moral perspective, from legal perspective, territorial swaps are also impossible because it's against our
constitution. It's against principle of territorial integrity of Ukraine, on which our constitution and state is based upon. So, it's impossible also
from international legal perspective, because it would undermine global security and international law.
KINKADE: Oleksandr Merezhko, Ukrainian lawmaker, we appreciate your time and perspective. Thanks so much.
MEREZHKO: Thank you.
[14:15:00]
KINKADE: Well, still to come tonight, a new era for the Kennedy Center and possibly the Smithsonian Museums. We'll look at President Trump's cultural
overhaul in Washington the same week as his crime crackdown. And later, a new report that Israel is in talks to resettle Palestinians in Gaza, a
continent away from their homeland.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Hello, I'm Lynda Kinkade, welcome back. Well, President Donald Trump is exerting greater control over Washington D.C. -- in the spotlight
today, America's most prominent cultural institutions. Well, earlier, Mr. Trump announced that the artist who will be celebrated at the Kennedy
Center this year, and says that he will be the one hosting it.
Well, the White House is taking on the Smithsonian, it has ordered a full review of the iconic institutions exhibits and materials to make sure they
align with the President's directive. And all of this unfolding in the same city where Mr. Trump declared federal control over local police. Stephen
Collinson writes in his piece online, quote, "three things can be true at once, namely that Democrats are hopeless at coining winning messaging;
Trump's drastic measures do fit into an increasingly chilling turn towards authoritarianism.
And while crime may be down, D.C. can be dangerous." Let's bring in Stephen Collinson, he joins us now live from D.C. Good to see you, Stephen. So, the
executive branch of the federal government now has control of law enforcement in the nation's capital. You described Trump's militarized
crackdown as a clarifying political moment. Can you elaborate on what this moment means about the state of American politics? And also the debate on
law and order?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, I think it shows that Donald Trump is trying to absolutely maximize whatever power he can
find as President. Presidents don't normally intervene directly into Washington D.C., which is a federal district and not a state. But they do
have the power to do so.
And he's often spoken about how he's disdainful of what he sees as a dirty, violent city. It also happens to be one of the most liberal cities in the
United States. Obviously, that's one reason why he wants to impose his imprint upon it. The other part of this, which is very interesting, is the
way the Democrats reacted to what many people see as quite a worrying turn from the President.
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Democrats have struggled to talk about crime, and Trump manages to maneuver them into politically-disadvantageous situations. So, a lot of the initial
reactions from Democrats were, this is a totalitarian crackdown. Trump doesn't have the power to do this. Sending troops onto the streets is a
very chilling image. And all of that is true.
But what it doesn't do is take into account the views of a lot of people who live in Washington D.C., and, you know, people don't feel safe very
often. It's fine for Democrats to talk about how crime is falling, which is true, but it's coming down from a very high level.
There have been 100 homicides in Washington D.C. this year, and it's not that big, a city much smaller than New York or Atlanta or Chicago. So, you
can see why people don't feel safe. And Democrats therefore get on the wrong side of this law and order issue. Trump then turns around and say,
well, I'm the only person that's worried about fighting crime. This is quite an appealing message to right-wing and even centrist political
audiences across the country.
KINKADE: And Stephen, beyond the militarized crackdown, Trump appears to be exerting control over cultural institutions like the Kennedy Center and
potentially the Smithsonian. How does that fit into this broader pattern of consolidating power across different institutions? And how could that
change our democratic norms going forward?
COLLINSON: Well, he's certainly trying. What Trump does is, he tries to find out where he has leverage, where there are unused pockets of
presidential power, and then he acts upon it. So, most Presidents just show up at the Kennedy Center once a year, honor a bunch of showbiz stars, but
don't really take any interest in what is going on at the Kennedy Center and the program and decisions as granular as that. Trump does.
And there's a strong strain of his MAGA philosophy that believes that liberals for decades have really co-opted the arts and culture, and have
pushed them to the left in a way that alienates many people in the heartland. The kind of people that speak -- that vote for Donald Trump. So,
there is this kind of cultural pushback from Trump.
Then there's the more troubling side, I think, where the administration, ahead of the 250th anniversary of the United States next year, seems to
want to go into the Smithsonian institution, all the museums and galleries in Washington, and scrub them for political messages that it finds
unappealing.
Now, a lot of people worry that what Trump is trying to do is to get rid of the most troubling periods of American history. Perhaps, not mentioning
things like slavery or the civil rights movement, because it doesn't accord with his political philosophy. And if you have a President who is trying to
whitewash history, that is something that we've seen in the past, is what wannabe totalitarian leaders do.
So, a lot of the things that Trump is doing, having more interest in the arts, the museums are OK in themselves. But when you put them against this
backdrop of widening authoritarian motives, the crackdown in D.C., for example, the way that he's used the Justice Department to go after
political enemies, it does add up to something that's a lot more, you know, unusual and threatening than a lot of Americans have seen for a long time.
KINKADE: Yes, it's certainly major concerns there. Stephen Collinson for us in D.C., good to have you across all of --
COLLINSON: Thanks --
KINKADE: That for us. Thanks. We want to turn to Mexico, which has turned -- handed over 26 high ranking cartel members to the U.S. It's part of a
new deal with the Trump administration aimed at increasing pressure on major drug trafficking networks. Mexico's attorney general says the
handover came after U.S. Prosecutors agreed not to pursue the death penalty.
Those handed over include leaders of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, and a suspect wanted in the
killings of a Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy. Valeria Leon is in Mexico City with more on this deal. Good to have you with us, Valeria. Just
explain for us how this deal came about to extradite these 26 high ranking cartel members, and what effect they think it might have on violence and
the power struggles within Mexico.
VALERIA LEON, CNN REPORTER: Well, Erica, this is the second time in the year that Mexico has handed over more than 20 high ranking cartel members
to the U.S. The last time was back in February with 29 kingpins sent to the U.S.
[14:25:00]
This time, there were 26 cartel members, but in this time, we're learning more details about this extradition. I'm standing at the press conference
room inside the security secretariat in Mexico City, where Mexico's Security Secretary, Omar Garcia Harfuch, just said in this conference that
Mexico decided to send these 26 cartel members to the U.S. because they were -- continue operating criminal organization inside federal prisons in
Mexico.
Also at this conference was the Mexico's Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero, and he said that the Mexican government decided to make this
extradition just after the U.S. government promised not to seek the death penalty for these 26 cartel members in Mexico.
So, these are part of the details that we're learning now after this press conference. But also this morning, Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum
showed more reasons on why this is something that Mexico was convinced to do. Let's take a listen of what she said this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM, PRESIDENT, MEXICO (through translator): We can say that in all these cases, the cases of extradition or the transfer of these
members of organized crime, the decision is for our country's safety. These are sovereign decisions and are not related to a request from the U.S.
government, although many of them do have such request.
And there are many others who still have request. The decision made by Mexico's National Security Council is intended to help ensure the security
of the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEON: And also, the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico just sent a message yesterday. He posted on X, congratulating the Mexican government and also
Claudia Sheinbaum because of this high cooperative move to the U.S. and for the Trump administration. So, just a detail that was important to highlight
for us.
It was yesterday when the Justice U.S. Department was the one that released the full list of names that 26 members that were extradited to the United
States, while the Mexican authorities keep those names secret. Now we're learning a bit more of details about this historic move that the Mexican
government decided to do with the request for extradition come from the United States. Erica.
KINKADE: It's Lynda here, but that's all right. Valeria, I just want to ask if you've had much reaction from communities that have been dealing
with the violence from these cartels. What's the response to this extradition?
LEON: Well, right now we're not seeing, like, violent acts across Mexico, but yesterday, just a few hours after the extradition was confirmed and the
U.S. Justice Department published this list, the U.S. government published a warning alert from -- for 30 out of the 32 Mexican states, warning their
citizens not to come down to this Mexican state.
But for the first time, the U.S. government in this warning is using the word terrorism to justify -- to justify this advisory alert, Erica, so
that's something that has been changing that we haven't seen before.
KINKADE: All right, Valeria Leon in Mexico City, thanks very much. Still to come tonight, fear strikes on Gaza City as Israel's military chief
approves the main concept of a plan to dramatically expand the war. Also ahead, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, says statements of
support are not enough. He's urging the world to act to stop the war. We'll speak with Riyad Mansour next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:30:00]
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Israel is carrying out fierce strikes on Gaza City ahead of a threatened plan to take
it over and relocate its 1 million people into camps in Southern Gaza. Israel's military says the IDF chief of staff approved the plan's main
concept today. It could bring Israel closer to fully occupying Gaza for the first time in years.
Gaza City residents are reporting heavy bombing of eastern neighborhoods. Health officials say 123 Palestinians have been killed over the past 24
hours with eight people dying from starvation and malnutrition, including three children.
Israel is facing increasing pressure to end the war from countries lining up to recognize a Palestinian State. New Zealand is considering the move as
its prime minister accuses Israel of ignoring the world's demands.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTOPHER LUXON, NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER: What's happening in Gaza is utterly, utterly appalling. I think Netanyahu has gone way too far. I think
he has lost the plot. And I think that, you know, what we're seeing overnight with the attack on Gaza City is utterly, utterly unacceptable.
And that's what we have been calling for as International Community now for a long period of time. He is not listening to the International Community
and that is unacceptable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, Hamas delegation is in Cairo to discuss the stalled ceasefire negotiations. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has vowed to
militarily defeat Hamas and says he will not agree to any more partial deals. In an interview with Israeli channel I24NEWS, he also stressed an
idea backed by U.S. President Trump that Palestinians should, quote, "leave Gaza."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I think that the right thing to do, even according to the laws of war as I know
them, is to allow the population to leave and then you go with all your might against the enemy who remains there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: The Associated Press reports, Israel is in talks with South Sudan, one of the world's most unstable and conflict-ridden countries about
the possibility of resettling Palestinians there. The report says six people have confirmed the talks. But South Sudan denies its government is
discussing that issue, saying the claims are baseless and do not reflect its official policy.
An Israeli delegation is in South Sudan today, headed by the deputy foreign minister Sharren Haskel. Her office says she did not plan to broach the
subject of moving Palestinians.
[14:35:00]
Well, our next guest says, there is no force on Earth that can eliminate the Palestinian people. Riyad Mansour is the Palestinian ambassador to the
United Nations. He joins us from New York. Good to have you with us, Ambassador.
RIYAD MANSOUR, PALESTINIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: Thank you for having me.
KINKADE: Ambassador, you've described Israel's actions as a genocidal regime and reaffirm that there is no force on Earth that can eliminate the
Palestinian people. Can you tell us how you see this current war shaping the future of the Palestinians?
MANSOUR: What the International Community is saying and what the Palestinian people are saying that this genocide has to stop. Netanyahu and
his extremist government and their armed forces supported by settlers who are attacking the Palestinian people in the West Bank have been trying, you
know, to accomplish their objectives, which we don't know exactly what the objectives are. They keep changing the target. But they've been doing that
for 22 months, and yet, they are unleashing now or trying to unleash hundreds of thousands of soldiers to accomplish something that they
declared long time ago that was the objective. And when they entered Rafah, that they accomplished that objective almost 15 months ago.
So, we don't know exactly what Prime Minister Netanyahu is talking about other than the continuation of killing Palestinians, children and women,
starving them to death and continuing to commit these crimes against our people. And the International Community is determined to stop him and to
have ceasefire now to implement Resolution 2735, which talks about three stages of the ceasefire and to allow for humanitarian assistance to reach
all corners of the Gaza Strip to scale.
And to begin the process of giving the people hope through peace, through the implementation of the global consensus on the two-state solution as was
demonstrated by that historic conference that took place in the General Assembly the end of July 28th through 30th, and a historic declaration was
adopted along with an annex that this war has to stop immediately. And to begin the process of having the two-state solution as a reality on the
ground.
KINKADE: Ambassador, I want to get your reaction to Netanyahu's comments, calling this mission in Gaza historical and spiritual, suggesting that
Palestinians should just leave the area before this military operation. He also said that Palestinians will have -- be allowed -- he framed it as
voluntary migration, that Palestinians will be able to leave Gaza. How do you respond to that sort of discussion, that proposal, and what does it
indicate about Israel's broader strategy in Gaza?
MANSOUR: He is living in a bubble. He is completely divorced from reality. When the ceasefire took place sometime recently, about 1 million
Palestinians returned from the south to the north, walking on their feet in a span of two hours and two days, each day two hours, hundreds of thousands
of them return to the areas where they were born, where they lived, knowing that they will be going to destruction, but there is no home for them
except that home that they love, and then they are attached to it, and they started the process of trying to clean around the destroyed homes where
they lived before the beginning of this insanity and this war unleashed against them by Netanyahu.
So, instead of him learning the lesson that those Palestinian people are so resilient and rooted in that land and they want to stay in that country, he
is making their life extra hell by unleashing a criminal, inhumane, illegal, depriving them of having food and water and medicine thinking they
would be so fed up with the situation to leave. But he is dreaming. They will not leave. He has to stop this genocide. And we should allow the door
for peace to be open in order to allow the Palestinian people and the Israelis to live in two states, the Israeli state exists, the other state
need to be independent after the end of this illegal occupation.
[14:40:00]
KINKADE: Ambassador --
MANSOUR: And to have two states living side by side in peace and security.
KINKADE: -- I do want to ask you about that, because more and more countries are calling for a Palestinian Statehood. At this point in time of
the war, do you see that as largely symbolic, or is there potential for tangible progress towards Palestinian independence at this point in time?
MANSOUR: For those who say it's symbolic, was the partition plan in 1947 when the General Assembly adopted Resolution 181, was it symbolic for
Israel or was it the birth certificate for the State of Israel? It is not symbolic. When you have almost 160 countries, including Australia, U.K.,
France, Canada, and many others to take that step as an investment in peace and as an investment in saving the two-state solution, it is not symbolic,
it is the real thing. And Israel has to grasp the moment and to yield to the swell of the International Community, which is much more powerful than
in 1947 when England finished its mandate against, you know -- and in Palestine and the United Nation decided to partition Palestine to two
states.
The moment now is much poor -- more powerful than the moment then that led and helped Israel to be created. The moment is now for our state to be
independent after the end of this illegal occupation and to complete what was advocated in the partition plan of 1947 through the United Nations then
-- and through the International Community now.
KINKADE: So, just quickly, what concrete action, Ambassador, would you like to see to move from, you know, a symbolic recognition to the support
of a viable Palestinian State?
MANSOUR: Well, you know, many of these steps are being taken. Take for example, what Germany declared recently saying that they will not send
weapons that Israel can use to kill Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Other countries such as Colombia severed their diplomatic relationship with
Israel, and they also said that they will not send call to Israel. And also, other countries are saying, a number of them, that they will not
allow ships carrying weapons to Israel to pass through the, through their ports, sending weapons to Israel.
Norway, they have a huge fund that invest heavily in the Israeli economy and they decided to terminate significant portion of that. I'm just giving
you examples of what the work is now ready to do in concrete way, in addition to the recognition of the State of Palestine. Because when
countries like France, U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and many others, to take that step of recognizing the State of Palestine, it means
they are opening the door for the acceptant of the State of Palestine to be a member of the United Nations, meaning the door of the two-state solution
is going to be open for no return and the end result would be the end of this occupation to allow for the independence of the State of Palestine,
and therefore, to have the two-state solutions.
KINKADE: Ambassador Riyad --
MANSOUR: -- two-state solutions a reality.
KINKADE: Ambassador Riyad Mansour, appreciate your perspective and your time today. Thanks so much for joining us.
MANSOUR: Thank you for having me.
KINKADE: Well still to come tonight, a glacial outburst in Alaska leads to a dangerous new record. We'll have a live report with the latest on the
conditions next.
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[14:45:00]
KINKADE: Welcome back. A glacial outburst set a new record in the State of Alaska. A wave of water has been rushing out of a glacier near the capital
city of Juneau, sending a river surging to record-breaking levels. Officials compare this outburst to pulling the plug out of a full bathtub.
The enormous amount of water from melting snow and ice as well as recent rainfall has been posing a huge flooding risk with water pooling in some
neighborhoods.
CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is looking at all of this and joins us now live. Good to see, Allison. So, there's no doubt that climate change is
certainly accelerating the glacier melting in Alaska. But just how unusual is this flooding and what are the -- what's the forecast there for the next
day or two?
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. So, I think the key thing here is that this the third August in a row they've been dealing with this
flooding potential because this same type of event just keeps happening over and over again, and we keep setting new records. So, here behind me,
this drone video where you can kind of see up above with a glacier that we've been talking about right through there.
Now, here's the time-lapse video. And again, you can kind of see the, see how it looks like it's dropping. It is. It's falling down because all of
the water underneath it is being released. The concern is that it's being released into the city of Juneau.
Now, the real concern that had been up to this point was they didn't know exactly how much water would come out and how quickly it would do so
because that's a concern for the city. If you get all of that water just rushing in at enormous speeds into the town, it's too much. The tributaries
just simply can't take all of that water at once, and it starts overflowing into the community itself.
So, here's a look, again, major flood stage gets to -- or you get to major flood stage at 14 feet. The forecast was to get above 16 and a half feet.
Keep in mind, the previous record was 16. We did beat that previous record crested earlier today, and now the numbers are starting to come back down.
In fact, we are back down below 14 feet, which is good news. We are back down below that 14-foot threshold.
So, hopefully what that means is a lot of the barriers that they put in place actually did their job and really prevented some of the really severe
flooding that we saw last year when the previous record was broken.
So, to kind of put this area in perspective for some folks, here we go, the West Coast here of Northern America, this the City of Juneau. This would be
downtown right through here. But the city itself kind of expands and wraps around this mountain that you see through here. The airport is on the south
side of town, right through there. Let's kind of eye out this map here.
So, again, you can see here's the glacier that we've been talking about. Mendenhall Glacier. The concern has been the flood pathway would kind of
fall through this blue area that you see here. So, all of that water would rush down through there and then down into the town. So, again, this why
there was such a big concern for this area because when that water comes out, it only really has one place to go, and it would be down through that
channel and down through the city.
So, this why all of the area you see here in green was under that flood warning throughout all of the morning and even into the afternoon hours
because this was where they were most concerned about all of that water kind of spreading into the town. Again, not just roadways, not just some
streets, but also the potential for that water to go into homes and businesses, because we saw that last year when they had record-breaking
flooding.
[14:50:00]
So, the concern was this year, knowing that the forecast was supposed to be even higher than it was last year, we were also concerned that we would see
some similar flooding. So far, we have not had any reports of similar flooding compared to last year. So, I think a lot of people at this point,
Lynda, are just kind of saying, fingers crossed, maybe we dodged a huge bullet here and that all of the procedures that they had done and put in
place going into this actually maybe have worked very well compared to what had happened last year.
KINKADE: Lessons learned. Allison Chinchar, good to see you and great to have you with us. Thank you. Well, Typhoon Podul has made landfall and
Mainland China's Fujian province. Earlier today, it struck Southeastern Taiwan, injuring at least 33 people and leaving one person missing before
losing strength as it moved across the Taiwan Strait. The storm is expected to continue to weaken as it travels inland from China's southeastern coast.
But heavy rains over the next three days raise the risk of landslides and flooding.
Wildfires continue to rage across the Mediterranean. In Greece, the flames have forced evacuations around of Patras where houses, olive groves, and
forests are currently burning. On Tuesday, Greek firefighters used boats to respond to a massive blaze. And in Turkey, emergency workers battled fires
throughout the night in the westerner province of Izmir.
Spain and Portugal have been dealing with the wildfires for days. And in Northern Portugal, a fire raging since Saturday was made worse by lightning
strikes overnight. Albania has been one of the hardest hits, some 10,000 firefighters, soldiers, and police a fighting a total of 24 wildfires there
today. Two villagers in the center of the country were in flames, forcing locals there to flee.
And firefighters in Canada are battling to contain wildfires in the eastern part of the country. Planes and helicopters were deployed near Halifax with
some local businesses having to evacuate. Regional authorities say they're making progress, but that the blaze is out of control. Another fire is
raging near St. John's in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. People in the area were ordered to leave their homes.
Well, still to come tonight, a light show shines across the night sky. This year's Perseid Meteor Shower dazzling and delighting stargazers. We'll show
you that next.
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[14:55:00]
KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Finally, tonight, an exquisite cosmic show lighting up the night sky. The annual Perseid Meteor Shower
drew stargazers' eyes to the sky last night. It's notably one of the best meteor showers of the year. Although conditions were a little worse than
usual due to a bright moon. The celestial display peaking Tuesday. But it's not over yet. If you want to wish upon a star, a shooting star that is, or
at the very least a meteor, just look up. The shower runs until August 24th.
Well, thanks for watching tonight. I'm Lynda Kinkade. I'll be back same time tomorrow. Stay with CNN. "What We Know" with Max Foster is up next.
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