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One World with Zain Asher

Critics Call It A Danger To Democracy That Puts Israel On The Path To Dictatorship; Ukraine Claims Responsibility For Drone Attacks In Moscow And Russian-Annexed Crimea Overnight; Dangerous Wildfires Are Turning Summer Vacations Into Travel Nightmares In Parts Of Greece; Italy Wins Over Argentina In Women's World Cup; "Barbie" And "Oppenheimer" Make Their Biggest Opening Weekend Of 2023; A Battle Brews Between The State of Texas And The U.S. Government Due To A Series Of Barriers Put Up Along The Border With Mexico. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired July 24, 2023 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Eleni Giokos live in Abu Dhabi and this is One World. Now, critics are calling it a danger to

democracy that puts Israel on the path to dictatorship. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims the changes are a necessary response to digital

overreach. Angry protesters are gathered outside the Knesset after Israeli lawmakers approved the first part of a sweeping bill that would

significantly weaken the power of the Supreme Court.

Earlier, police used water canon to push some of the demonstrators back. At least 19 have been arrested, so far. And businesses across the country have

closed their doors in protest of the vote. Israel doesn't have a constitution. And the Supreme Court is one of the few checks on government

power.

Joining me now is Amir Tibon. He's a diplomatic correspondent for "Haaretz" newspaper. Welcome to the show. Look, you've described the situation in

your country as very, very dangerous. And we've just seen the first votes out of a package of bills passed through Parliament. Opposition, walking

out, chanting shame. In a clear message to Netanyahu government, help us understand what happened today and how this lays the ground for wider

judicial overhauls.

AMIR TIBON, DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT, HAARETZ NEWSPAPER: Hi, Eleni. So, the bill that was passed today is the first installment of a plan by the

Netanyahu government, which is the most right-wing, most religious and most extremist government in Israeli history to completely alter the balance of

power between the authorities and the country.

What they passed today is now a law, it's no longer a bill, that makes it much more difficult for the Supreme Court of Israel to conduct judicial

review over government decisions. It means that appointments made by the government or decisions to remove senior people from the civil service can

no longer come under judicial review and be described by the Supreme Court as extremely unreasonable.

One question we're asking now in Israel, for example, is will Netanyahu try to use this new reality to fire Israel's attorney general, who is leading

the prosecution against the prime minister himself in his own corruption trial? But again, this is just the first installment of a wider plan, and

there are several bills that are still waiting to be approved by the government that would take even more powers away from the Supreme Court and

remove really the last existing checks and balances that we have in the Israeli system.

GIOKOS: Yeah, a really, really good way of putting everything to perspective. What is ironic here is the very institution that will see its

powers eroded, the Supreme Court, will in effect decide whether it's going to challenge this bill, given the fact that we've seen many organizations

filing appeals. So, where to from here?

TIBON: So, apart from the huge street demonstrations that we've been seeing here in Israel for months now, we're talking about 30 weeks of constant

demonstrations all over the country, including today, thousands of people in very hot weather, 35 degrees Celsius, close to 100 Fahrenheit, standing

in the streets of Jerusalem and chanting shame against this legislation. There is now an appeal to the Supreme Court, several, as you said, civil

rights organizations have already taken action on this, basically asking the court to nullify this legislation.

Now, I want to explain what is at stake here. The bar in Israel for the Supreme Court to strike down legislation that is part of Israel's basic

laws and this bill came as an amendment to one of the country's basic laws, is very high. Basically, the court needs to state that the law in question

puts a threat to the very Jewish or democratic character of the state of Israel. I will not make any predictions about what the court will actually

rule in this case, but whatever happens, we are now facing the possibility of a constitutional crisis in Israel.

[12:05:00]

The Supreme Court will strike down this legislation that is meant to curb its own powers. I'm not sure if this government will actually adhere to the

Supreme Court decision. And this touches on the wider threat of social unrest and social disintegration in Israel, because already now, we're

seeing in the last few hours, hundreds of people here in Israel who have served for years in the reserve forces of the Israeli military, including

combat pilots and people in the special forces and fighters in all kinds of units announcing that because this law has passed, they will no longer

report to duty if they are called to serve the state in uniform again. They're saying, we signed a contract with a democratic country.

GIOKOS: Yeah, and brings -- that's such a good point, right? Because that brings up, you know, a big question on the security threats. I, for the

sake of time, I also want to look at what you've tweeted. You've said the intensity of the protest is camping outside the Knesset overnight. I mean,

this is a reality.

And frankly, we've got live pictures coming through from Jerusalem. We've seen chaotic scenes today. There's anger, there's emotion. This has been

going on, as you say, for six months now. Even some reservists say they want to stand back here. This is where they draw the line. What power do

these protesters yield at this stage?

TIBON: So, I think the issue of the reservists is key, because there are already reports that because these hundreds, and soon it will be thousands,

of reservists will no longer show for duty, it will hurt the Israeli military's readiness for war. This will be an unprecedented situation in

the history of the state of Israel, that because of civil disobedience, the military will lose its readiness for war.

And this is a huge concern for the government because the responsibility eventually lies with one man, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He is the

one who took the decision today to promote this legislation. Until the very last minute, there were attempts for compromise, to either delay the

legislation or moderate its contents.

There were a lot of efforts put forward by the President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, who just spoke before the U.S. Congress last week and promised to

promote compromise by senior officials in the defense establishment, including Netanyahu's defense minister, to basically raise a red flag of

alarm and say, we need compromise here. And Netanyahu rejected those attempts because he was put under a lot of pressure from the far-right

elements within his coalition.

So, if we see the military losing its readiness for war, Netanyahu will bear responsibility and we're already seeing that a lot of people here in

Israel are blaming him for this disintegration of the military, which is one of the most important institutions in Israeli society.

GIOKOS: Amir Tibon, thank you so much for setting the scene for us, putting it into context. A lot is at stake at this point as these protests

continue. As you can see, live pictures from Jerusalem. Amir Tibon, thank you. Well, I want to take us now to the protest action. We've got Hadas

Gold joining us now live in Jerusalem, who has been on the ground seeing first-hand, some of the protests leading up to this vote. And now in the

aftermath of this first part of the bill, Hadas, that has been passed. What are you seeing on the ground? What is the reaction being to this vote?

HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Eleni, it's not only what we're seeing, it's what we're smelling, and that's skunk water that the Israeli

police appears to have been used against protesters who have been blocking or attempting to block some of the highways. It's a foul-smelling water,

the smell, the stench of which really wafts across the entire area but that's not affecting the protesters here.

They are standing here, they are still protesting, they are still marching and they are angry but they say that they will not give up. That's actually

one of their chances. We will not give up. They are -- some of them are even declaring this essentially the beginning of a war. They say that they

will stay here. They say that they will continue protesting until the judicial overhaul legislation is stopped and off the table. And that's, of

course, does not seem to be happening. You know, the government governing coalition had a victory today at 64 to zero because the opposition

lawmakers walked off the stage.

Now, what's also going to be interesting to watch is what happens with those military reservists you guys were talking about because thousands of

them said they will not serve. So, there is a question of if there is a major conflict. Will they still not serve? And then what might they face

legally, set any sort of legal implications if they could be arrested or anything like that for failing to show up to service?

And then, of course, the protest movement. They're angry right now. There's a lot of emotion, a lot of passion. How long will they stay out here? How

long will they continue this sort of protest movement? Maybe perhaps as these legal challenges make their way through, we'll see these protests pop

up, up and again. But from what I'm hearing from the speakers here, they're trying to encourage people to keep up the momentum to keep up the pressure.

Eleni, something else that's just happened in the last few minutes is the White House has issued a statement about this vote. This is from the White

House Press Secretary who says it is unfortunate that the vote took place today. With this happening in the last few minutes is the White House has

issued a statement about this vote.

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This is from the White House press secretary who says it is unfortunate that the vote took place today with the slimmest of possible majority. And

they go on to say that they understand talks are continuing and ongoing, and they hope that they will be successful to forge a broader compromise.

But there is a question of whether the opposition will even agree to sit down with talks.

There were a lot of last-minute negotiations before this vote took place today, even about a potential delay, even to just that vote. Those

obviously failed and the vote took place 64 to zero. This is the first aspect of this judicial overhaul to pass parlay, not quite law yet, but it

is a major victory for the Senates of New York government.

GIOKOS: Hadas, very quickly on the issue of U.S. aid, we know that a former ambassador has said that the U.S. should think about aid to Israel. Is that

being discussed extensively as a possible risk here because of these overhauls?

GOLD: I think the overall relationship, especially by the opposition, is being discussed as a risk as a result of this legislation. But I don't know

if anybody has gone so far as saying that aid might be cut off. Something that the government continues to say is that whatever differences that they

may have with the Americans over what the Israelis see as very much an internal matter, that the important security relationship, the military

relationship, is still very strong between the two countries.

Now, we might see that affected if these military reservists and if more soldiers say that they will not serve. That could affect Israel's military

readiness, but the Israeli government is asserting that the relationship with the U.S., even if there are disagreements, will stay strong.

Now, one thing to keep an eye on is that invitation from Benjamin Netanyahu to come see President Biden in the United States. It's still not clear if

it's a formal, proper White House, Washington, D.C. invitation or if it's going to be some sort of other meet-up in the United States, but we'll have

to keep an eye on whether that still happens now after this legislation has passed.

GIOKOS: Hadas Gold, thank you so much for that update, much appreciated. Ukraine is claiming responsibility for drone attacks in Moscow and Russian-

annexed Crimea overnight. Russia says it downed at least two drones that hit a pair of buildings in Moscow early Monday. And in an attack in Crimea,

Russia says Ukraine fired 17 drones. It says a Russian ammunition depot was hit.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy vowed retaliation for a weekend of relentless strikes by Russian forces, missiles heavily damaged a

historic cathedral in Odessa. Alex Marquardt takes us there.

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ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: President Zelenskyy had said that Russia would feel the retaliation for all the

strikes that we've seen here in Odessa and now Ukraine's defense intelligence directorate claiming responsibility for that overnight drone

strike in Moscow, which did do less damage, far less damage than we've seen here in Odessa for the past few days.

We are in the Transfiguration Cathedral. Church officials have asked us to put these helmets on because of all the work that's going on, all the

debris that is falling from the roof. I want to show you this corner of the church. This is where there is the most destruction. This is where we are

told that the missile or rocket came plunging through the roof, going down at least two stories that daylight, that sun coming through the roof and

really brightening up this otherwise dark cathedral.

Over here is the altar. You can see up there those pillars now off to the side. That altar just leaning over and really only staying upright because

it's leaning up against the wall. And then farther up is the beautiful dome of this cathedral, all of its windows have been blown out. Below that, the

frescoes have also been knocked down.

We've seen large sections of the roof also coming down as these workers seek to clear it. They say that will take several weeks, but it could be

months or years before this cathedral is fully repaired. The nave goes all the way back there, and in the corner, there was a fire. We're told that a

shockwave started an electrical fire.

Now, this church was destroyed in 1936 when Stalin was in power. It was rebuilt when Ukraine got independence and now, of course, in a significant

state of disrepair. It is attacks like these on civilian infrastructure, on buildings that frankly have nothing to do with this conflict that now has

President Zelensky calling for more air defense support from Western allies for what he calls a full-fledged air shield for Ukraine. Alex Marquardt,

CNN, Odessa. (END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: Dangerous wildfires are turning summer vacations into travel nightmares in parts of Greece. Fires are burning in several corners of the

country. More than 20,000 people have been evacuated from resorts on the islands of Rhodes and Corfu in recent days. We get more from CNN's Sam

Kiley.

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SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's a regular visitor wildfire and no one knows where or when it will strike.

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This is tourism in the 21st century. The latest maelstrom in Southern Europe, Rhodes, an island of ancient ruins facing a modern apocalypse.

Intense heat waves have turned forests into desiccated tinder, yearning for a spark to roar into flame. And anything that fails to flee the inferno has

little chance of survival. Greek authorities have evacuated tens of thousands from popular resorts at peak season. And the government says it's

the largest such operation in the country's history.

KEVIN SALES, BRITISH TOURIST: Oil and money, passports, clothing. We had to lend a woman some of my wife's clothes because she had nothing to wear. It

was terrible. British tour operators are flying empty planes here to bring desperate tourists home.

KILEY: Powerful winds have made life just about bearable for people on these islands living through this heat wave, but those self-saved winds are

fanning the flames of these infernos. And the problem is spreading. The latest overnight, the island of Corfu, where thousands have now been

evacuated, and police are bolstering their ranks in anticipation of more to come.

The Greek government has been battling wildfires across the country for a week, during what's expected to be the longest heat wave this country has

ever seen. As temperature records are shattered across Europe and the world, every day our planet has become slightly more unlivable. We are

experiencing here and in many countries, extreme climatic events.

Please, I renew my appeal to the leaders of the nations to do something more concrete to limit polluting emissions. It is an urgent challenge and

cannot be put off. It concerns everyone. Let us protect our common home. As heat waves and fires are escalating yearly in southern Europe, the threat

is now even, perhaps, to the Pontiff's own home. Sam Kiley, CNN in Leros. (END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: Coming up, it was the father of the atomic bomb versus the Queen of Pink. So, who won at the box office? Theatre owners say they did. The

story, just ahead. And the teenaged girl known as "Little Messi" makes her record-setting World Cup debut. All the scores from the Women's World Cup

are coming up. Stay with us.

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GIOKOS: Well, this year's Women's World Cup has been full of history making debuts, but perhaps none is more remarkable than a 16-year-old Giulia

Dragoni wearing number 16 to match her age. Dragoni was in the starting lineup for Italy as they took on Argentina known as "Little Messi". Dragoni

played almost the entire match in Italy's 1-0 win, and she is the youngest player ever to represent Italy in the competition's history.

Well, to get more information on what's happening in the Women's World Cup, we've got Don Riddell from the World Sports Center. He's going to give us a

recap of really difficult to watch Morocco versus Germany. Take us through what happened, Don.

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Well, it wouldn't have been difficult if you were a German fan, but yeah, Morocco struggled, that's for sure. They are

one of eight debutantes playing in the Women's World Cup. And of course, some fans might have been hoping for a repeat of the heroics of the

Moroccan men's team, the semi-finals of the World Cup in Qatar six months ago, but this was a very different story here. Germany just destroyed them.

Alexandra Popp with a couple of headers. She missed the Euros last year, so she will have been thrilled to be back in the team and scoring goals, 6-0

for the German team. This was the biggest win at this World Cup by any team so far, and frankly, it could have been a lot more. They hit the woodwork

twice, they had a goal disallowed. And after a lot of European teams have struggled to really establish their dominance, so far, in this competition

with this performance Germany really -- have established themselves as one of the favorites.

GIOKOS: Yeah, really interesting. Depends on what side you're on, right? So, I'm definitely showing a bit of bias here in the sports. Look, there

are so many interesting, you know, teams that are playing. To be honest, it's just so exciting to watch some of these play-outs. Tell me about what

we can expect in the next day.

RIDDELL: Yeah, well, you know, I'll tell you what happened with Brazil last night because there's always so much interest in Brazil, the beautiful

game, the samba style, the way they play. Of course, that's what we've come to expect from the men's team. The women's team play this way, too. And

you're looking at their game against Panama where Ari Borges scored a hat- trick.

And not only that, I mean by the way, what a thing to do in your World Cup debut, but look at what Borges does here with his back heel to Bia Zanarato

for a wonder goal. That certainly, so far, is the goal of the tournament. A really big win for Brazil here, 4-0 against Panama. And keeping up Brazil's

record of always winning their opening game in the World Cup. They have yet to achieve what the men's team have, but always a lot of excitement when

any Brazil team plays.

Coming up later on, as you mentioned, some more big games. We've got Colombia playing South Korea, Switzerland against Norway, and New Zealand

against the Philippines. New Zealand, one of the co-hosts, they won their first ever World Cup game in their last match against Norway. So, a good

result for them tonight could put them through the knock-out stage for the first ever time.

GIOKOS: And then I was watching Sweden and South Africa and that really hurt because you know I'm South African. "Banyana Banyana" losing just in

seconds. I was so -- I got emotional. You know, this game really does get people emotional. It was at 89 minutes and 15 seconds that the Swedes --

not winning that goal. What happened?

RIDDELL: Not that the trauma recede it into your memory or anything, yeah. I mean it was it was really, really unfortunate for South Africa. They came

so close. Remember, they have only played in one World Cup tournament before they lost all three games and so, you know they took the lead in

this one. They came so close to getting a result. They would have been thrilled with a point but it just wasn't to be. They'll be hoping to have

some better luck and a better result when they play Argentina in their second game on Thursday.

GIOKOS: Oh, yeah, that's gonna be interesting. All right, Don Riddell, great to have you on. Thank you very much for breaking that down for us.

Well, this weekend, the two blockbuster movies, "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" made it the fourth highest grossing weekend ever. The so-called Barb and

Heimer is just what the movie business needed. This after struggling to regain ground after the pandemic. If you don't think it's a Barbie world,

then take a look at this.

"Barbie" smashed expectations, bringing in $337 million globally, while Oppenheimer earned $174 million. That makes it the biggest opening weekend

of 2023. Doing numbers not seen since 2019's "Avengers: Endgame".

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And kudos are rolling in for Director Greta Gerwig. It is the biggest ever debut for a female director. "Barbie" is a Warner Bros. film which is owned

by CNN's parent company Warner Bros. Discovery.

So, let's get some perspective on not only these big box office numbers. We're joined by Entertainment Journalist Michael Musto. Great to have you

on. I mean, it couldn't be two completely different topics, themes, two different worlds, "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer". Were you surprised that

"Barbie" did better over the weekend?

MICHAEL MUSTO, ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST: You're right, they're very different films. And one of the genius promotions involved in these two

films is that they sold double-header tickets so you could see both. So, if you're going to see a three-hour prestige movie like "Oppenheimer", you can

also kind of water that down by having a frothy summer comedy like "Barbie" and vice versa.

If you feel guilty about just going to a summer movie, you're also going to see this Academy Award type of film. And people turned out for both films.

Yes, "Barbie" did better than "Oppenheimer". That was no surprise. But the surprise is that both films did so well. People are really ready to leave

the house again to see a movie they want. And these are not franchise films.

Yes, "Barbie" itself is a franchise as a doll, but this is the first "Barbie" movie. And Oppenheimer is basically a biopic about a relatively

obscure subject. But people were drawn to both subjects. It's really amazing. They're both going to make tons of money. And I'm happy for

everybody involved.

GIOKOS: Yeah, I mean, fantastic. Look, I spoke to the CEO of You earlier, and he was saying that the issue with theaters, you know, post pandemic

wasn't so much about people not wanting to get back into theaters, but it was lack of inventory that they just didn't have the right movies to draw

back people back in. And this is testament to the fact that people still want to go to the movies, get a popcorn, get a drink and enjoy what's on

the big screen.

MUSTO: And also, these movies appeal to wide swatches of the public because "Barbie", of course, I'm a boomer, "Barbie" was part of my growing up. I

didn't play with, well, maybe I did. But in any case, young people still know about "Barbie". It's still extremely relevant. And in the case of

"Oppenheimer", even though that was a story a long time ago about the founding of the atomic bomb, it has a lot of relevancy today, especially

when you get into the movies coverage of the congressional investigation into "Oppenheimer." It feels very now. So, really appealing to not just one

niche market, I think, was important for the success of these films.

GIOKOS: Yeah, exactly. I want to talk about the strike that we're seeing right now, SAG-AFTRA. I mean, basically deadlock negotiations, the impact

that that's going to have on the industry as a whole down the line. Just when we've seen two really successful films come out and clearly showing

that the box office can still make, you know, a lot of money. How does the strike action impact what we will see going forward?

MUSTO: Well, bear in mind, "Barbie" had been promoted really non-stop for a long time. I felt like I'd seen it already just from the promo. So, when

the promo stopped because of the strike, it didn't hurt "Barbie". People knew very well about this film. Oppenheimer, I just ran into Matthew

Modine, one of the stars of the film, and he said we were at the premiere and we had to leave in the middle of the premiere when word got out about

the strike. So, that did hurt the promotion of the film.

But in any case, the strike is extremely important for actors, because actors are fighting for things like being paid for AI usage of their image,

and to be properly paid for that. So, whatever is hurting, as far as the promotion of films in the future, I think will be worth it in the long run,

because actors deserve to get what comes to them.

GIOKOS: Yeah, I mean, it's really interesting points. I mean, in terms of content from here forward, I mean, we've clearly set the bar. We kind of

know that people want this sort of big ticket movies that look fantastic, that feel good to watch. What is the ability of content creators to come

out with these movies that clearly cost a lot of money to produce? I think "Barbie" cost at least $100 million.

MUSTO: Yes, and both "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" are well going to make back the money because you have to double the budget and include the marketing

costs, but they're still going to make quite a lovely profit. But you have to make movies that people want to see. One way to do that is make them

good. Another way to do that is not just recycle the same old stuff. We're seeing a lot of remakes of Disney classics over and over again. We'll do it

live action. We'll do it as a musical. We'll do it as an on-music. We'll do it as a cartoon.

Eventually, that well runs dry and people want -- let's see a story about "Barbie", a character that we know, but she's made into a modern feminist

parable. Or let's see a movie about the guy who invented the atomic bomb and its moral complexities. We've never really seen a look at what went on

in his mind. And both of those were a big gamble, but they paid off because they were specific matters that tapped into what the public wanted to see.

[12:30:00]

GIOKOS: That absolutely is true. Okay, so I'm getting sort of grey vibes from you, which, you know, "Oppenheimer" energy in terms of what you're

wearing. A lot of people that I've been interviewing over the last few days have been coming out with "Barbie" pink. What did you want to watch first?

What have your friends watched first? I mean, it's anecdotal, but it's interesting to kind of get a sense of what energy people are feeling right

now, which kind of points in a certain direction of what people want to see going forward. As you said, "Barbie" is something we grew up with. It's

sort of entrenched in our memories. You know, it's a feel-good movie.

MUSTO: Oh, there's no way I would miss both. There's no way I would miss either of these two films. I saw "Oppenheimer" first because I'm like, oh

right, this is three hours. This is gonna be a long sit. They didn't give out free popcorn, but I got through it and I thought it was very well-done

with excellent acting by Cillian Murphy, who's very kind of remote. You're not quite sure what he's thinking as "Oppenheimer", which works for the

character and also Robert Downey, Jr. as his antagonist.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

MUSTO: But if you think I'll miss "Barbie", forget about it. I'm definitely going to be there for that.

GIOKOS: All right, thank you so much, Michael. Great to have you on. It's such a pleasure to speak to you. Much appreciated. Well, coming up. Caught

in political limbo, Spain's weekend election was meant to choose new leadership for the country, but it still remains far from clear who will

take power. We'll be right back.

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GIOKOS: Hello and welcome back to One World. Let's catch up on the headlines. As Russia's war on Ukraine continues, President Vladimir Putin

has signed a law raising the minimum -- the maximum age, rather, for Russian military reservists by five years. The age limit depends on rank.

For example, for soldiers, sailors, and sergeants, the maximum age increases from 35 to 40 years old. For midshipmen, it goes from 50 to 55.

The law also ups the age limit for those in the mobilization reserve.

A conservation -- a conversation, rather, over the welfare of the U.S. soldier in North Korean custody has begun. That's according to the deputy

commander for the United Nations Command. He says the entire incident is still under investigation. Private Travis King was on a tour of the

demilitarized zone when he crossed from South Korea into North.

North Korea has fired a suspected ballistic missile which fell into the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea. That is according to the Japanese

Coast Guard. Now, this is the latest in a series of launches over the past week as tensions with the U.S. and South Korea rise, Pyongyang fired

several cruise missiles over the weekend and ballistic missiles last Wednesday.

Protesters in Israel are not vowing, are vowing not to give up. After the most dramatic judicial shakeup in the nation's history earlier, lawmakers

approved the first part of a sweeping bill that will significantly weaken the power of the Israeli Supreme Court. Now, it's a move that not only

threatens to unleash a political earthquake following months of angry street demonstrations that have deeply divided the country. But it's one

that critics say could turn Israel into a dictatorship by giving the prime minister's hard right coalition unlimited authority. Not everyone is

against it. On Sunday, thousands of people rallied in support of the judicial overhaul.

Spain is in political limbo after no clear winner emerged from Sunday's general election. All parties fell short of the 176 parliamentary seats

needed to form a government on their own. The center-right Partido Popular came out on top with 136 seats, while Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's ruling

center-left Socialist Party won 122 seats. Its supporters were optimistic about the results.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICARDO GONZALEZ, SOCIALIST PARTY SUPPORTER: I was so afraid. I lived through the far-right when I was young, and I do not want to remember it.

This brings me huge happiness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: All right, the tough task now of trying to build a coalition begins. It could be weeks until the country's political future becomes

clear. Journalist Al Goodman knows the ins and outs of Spanish politics, and he joins us now from Madrid. Great to see you. I'm looking at these

margins coming through from the opposition and the current ruling party. And look, both sides will have to think about a serious coalition to try

and even get close to a majority that will help them govern. What is happening behind closed doors that could give us a sense of the next move

here?

AL GOODMAN, JOURNALIST: Hi, Eleni. Well, the conservative leader, the main conservative party leader who got the most votes has announced that he's

reaching out to other parties to try to make a deal. But that's all uncertain. That could take some weeks. One thing that is certain was that

Spaniards on Sunday voted to keep the far-right Vox Party out of the next Spanish government.

The main conservative party fell well short of the majority, as you said, but even adding in a potential ally in the far-right party, whose leader

used to be part of the main conservative party, they still didn't get it. So, that's what's the far right has been making advances across Europe,

okay, they govern in Italy with hard right Prime Minister Maloney. They are in the government in Finland. There are other examples. But the Spaniards

on Sunday seem to be saying, the far-right, not here, not now.

So, that opens the door for this coalition building, while the conservative leader is pushing ahead, trying to find some allies, some analysts say that

the socialist prime minister might have a better chance of finding a left coalition, because he's already got one, Eleni, in this current term. He's

got the contacts, et cetera. But a Socialist Party leader told CNN this day that this time could be more difficult because the nationalist parties in

Catalonia, around Barcelona, and in the north of Spain could try to extract a much higher price this time. Eleni.

GIOKOS: Look -- fascinating. What happens next when Parliamentary convenes in August? What happens between now and then?

GOODMAN: Well, between now and then, there's a general sense that since the conservative got the most votes and he says, he said publicly last night

and again today that he's reaching out to see what he can find, but he doesn't have a lot of natural allies beyond the far-right party. There's

some very small parties. The rest of these parties are last night and again today that he's reaching out to see what he can find.

[12:40:00]

But he doesn't have a lot of natural allies beyond the far-right party. There's some very small parties. The rest of these parties are basically

left-leaning. So, it's a tough fit. The socialists have given no indication of what you mentioned a moment ago, that they might just make a general

consensus right and left. It doesn't seem like that's going to play. There's a lot to watch for coming up. Eleni.

GIOKOS: Absolutely, Al Goodman. Thank you so much for that update. A battle is brewing between the state of Texas and the U.S. government. At issue, a

series of barriers Texas has put up along the border with Mexico. Barriers that may be in violation of U.S. and international law. We get more on the

story from CNN's Rosa Flores along the Texas-Mexico border. She spoke earlier with my colleague Erica Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're on the Rio Grande and you can see that there are two layers of concertina wire. This is part of the border

barriers set out by the state of Texas. And beyond that you'll see in the middle of the river these buoys.

Now, these are four inches -- four feet in diameter, excuse me, and according to the U.S. State Department, the state of Texas did not consult

with the federal government before deploying these. They didn't even get permits before deploying the buoys. And now, a top diplomat in Mexico has

complained to Washington, saying that these violate two international treaties, and Mexico's concerned that these buoys could be on Mexican

territory.

Now, more than 80 U.S. Democratic lawmakers pressuring President Biden to investigate this and also to file legal action against the state of Texas.

Well, late last week, the U.S. DOJ sent a letter to the state of Texas saying that the construction of these buoys is unlawful and that it raises

concerns that are humanitarian, public safety and environmental, as well, and the U.S. DOJ giving the state of Texas a deadline. And here's what the

letter says in part, quote," If we do not receive a response by 2 PM Eastern on July 24, 2023, indicating your commitment to expeditiously

remove the floating barrier and related structures, the United States intends to file legal action.

Now, Governor Greg Abbott fighting back on Twitter in a thread, saying, in part, quote, "Texas has a sovereign authority to defend your border under

our border, excuse me, under the U.S. Constitution and the Texas Constitution." Governor Abbott goes on to blame President Biden for the

problems on the border and ends the thread with this, Erica, saying, quote, "We will see you in court, Mr. President '. So, does this mean that Texas

will be defiant on deadline day? We will have to see.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: Well, thanks so very much for watching One World. I'm Eleni Giokos. Marketplace Africa is up next. Stay with CNN.

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