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One World with Zain Asher

Spectators Need Certified Eclipse Glasses to Protect Vision; Millions in Europe Await Celestial Event of the Century; Partial Eclipse Over North America, Europe, Northwest Africa; CNN Tours Hard-hit City Amid Disaster Relief Efforts; Trump Insists the U.S. Controls the Strait of Hormuz; Rescue Attempt Underway After Colombia Earthquake. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired August 12, 2026 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ZAIN ASHER, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: All right, coming to you live from New York. I'm Zain Asher. Bianna is off today. You are watching "One World".

Ahead on the show, darkness will descend on countries around the world today for a total solar eclipse. But could the weather impact some of the

views?

Plus, the conflict with Iran is making those working at U.S. embassies across the Middle East come up with contingency plans for their staff. And

the establishment strikes back with a huge upset in Wisconsin in that governor race, governing primary race there. We'll look at what lessons

were learned.

All right. We are less than two hours away from the start of a grand, stellar spectacle. Millions of people across Europe will be getting a

front-row seat to a total solar eclipse. Prime viewing locations will be in certain parts of Iceland, Spain, and a certain part of Portugal as well.

The skies will basically go dark as the sun completely disappears from view. Some lucky spectators will even get to see a rare sunset eclipse as

well. Meantime, a partial eclipse will pass over the northern U.S., Canada, and much of Europe and northwestern Africa. If you do plan on watching,

make sure to pack certified glasses like these.

That's for your safety. This will help protect your vision any time the sun's light is on display before, during, or after the eclipse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, so what are you waiting for?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I'm waiting for the eclipse glasses since I came obviously at the last minute to the whole thing as and I'm prepared.

Apparently, maybe over an hour or two hours of a line for, but at least there's supposed to be glasses in this stock.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: CNN has a team across all the latest for today's solar eclipse. Clarissa Ward is in Port de Soller, Spain, where the start of eclipse is

set to begin in the next couple of hours. We've got Isa Soares in Land's End, Cornwall, England, where they will see the start of eclipse in about

two hours.

And CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is looking at how the weather could impact the view for some people across the globe. Let's begin with Clarissa

Ward, who is in Mallorca for us. I am sure it is so hot where you are, Clarissa. But just talk to us about the level of excitement because this is

actually going to be Spain's first eclipse, specifically for Spain, in about a century.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Huge amount of excitement here. It is absolutely scorching, as you said, it's the high is

expected to hit 35 degrees, but nobody here is complaining because what everybody is thrilled to see are these beautiful, crystal-clear blue skies.

And that's what everyone wants to see to ensure that they manage to get a glimpse of this rare and beautiful so-called cosmic coincidence that we are

going to be seeing in the next couple of hours. Now, we're in a nature reserve here along the sort of northwest Coast of Mallorca.

What you can't see behind me is that literally every single one of these trees has dozens of people huddled under it, waiting in the shade, trying

to stay cool and bide their time before the main event because it is so hot and because it's really hard to get here at the moment.

The roads have been closed. That's because this is a nature reserve. They don't want too many people here. They don't want any chance of wildfires

being started here because obviously you can see how dry the ground is. This is a terrain that is naturally prone to fire, so they're really trying

to control access to this site.

It's one of several similar sites along this part of the island, but this is the best view in town. And we have met people from Seattle, from

Colorado, from California, all over the world, who have come and gathered in this place to be sure that they can see firsthand this incredible

moment.

And it really is a fleeting moment-just over 1 minute and 30 seconds of totality. But certainly, everyone very excited, just trying to stay cool

and stay hydrated before the main event.

ASHER: All right, Clarissa Ward. Yeah, definitely try to stay cool, but it is it's certainly a sight to see what you're going to be seeing there in

about a couple of hours from now. Thank you very much to our Clarissa Ward in Mallorca for us.

[11:05:00]

I want to bring in the Head of Astronomy at the Royal Observatory. Greenwich, Liz Avery, for her insight on the solar eclipse. Liz, can you

hear me? Yes, there you are.

LIZ AVERY, HEAD OF ASTRONOMY AT THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY GREENWICH: Yeah --

ASHER: Now I see you. OK, so just really talk to us about how special it is what we're about to see. It's such a, as Clarissa was saying, this is a

sort of so-called cosmic coincidence. Photographs and words really don't do it justice. It is hard to describe what you're going to sort of see and

experience in that moment, that 1 minute 30 seconds, if you're in Spain, that Clarissa was talking about.

And even if you do see it in previous sort of old photographs, it's not the same as actually living it.

AVERY: Yeah, I mean, so we see solar eclipses fairly regularly, but we don't see them of this caliber very often. This really is rare. So, the

last one comparable to this for us in the UK was in 1999. And I remember seeing that with my own family, and we still talk about it now because we

all watched it in the sea on the beach.

So, it was a real memory-making moment, and I think that's what's so lovely about these big astronomical events. It's a great opportunity for us to

kind of share our collective love of astronomy. And yeah, for us at the observatory, that's super important because we love it so much.

So, any chance for us to share our love of astronomy is brilliant, but something on this scale is just yeah really special.

ASHER: Yeah, because you know the difference between you know a 90 percent or a 95 percent partial eclipse and actually getting totality. It's

actually quite a significant. It doesn't sound like it, but it is actually quite a significant difference. Just talk to us about that.

AVERY: Yeah, it is. I mean, the light levels will be different, and I think anyone that's experienced a solar eclipse, you can feel that it's like the

light is kind of a little bit eerie as well. It is a bit weird. It's a funny level of light, not something you'd expect for that kind of point in

the day.

So, it is unusual, and I think that is that becomes even more prominent when you are -- when even more of the sun is covered. So, when you are

closer to the path of totality. But I think you know, so we've got 91 percent coverage in the UK in Greenwich. And I think the excitement hasn't

been dampened at all by that.

I think it's still a chance for us to see the inner workings, the kind of clockwork nature of our solar system in action. And there's something a bit

magical about that, I think. Yeah. So, it's still yeah, it's really special thing.

ASHER: It is. It is beyond magical because you, as you point out, the light takes on this eerie quality. It's sort of like a romantic sort of feeling

with the light, and then you have shadows are also a bit bizarre. Animals start behaving bizarrely because they kind of think it's night time as

well, but how rare is it to have?

I mean, you talk about the fact that you know total solar eclipses do happen often. What's rare is that sort of the chances that it's going to

happen in your home town is what is rare, and we're seeing Spain being the lucky winners of this. Just talk to us about how rare it is to have a total

solar eclipse that sort of coincides with sunset.

AVERY: Yeah, I mean, so they happen at different times, and the one that we had in the UK in 1999 that wasn't at sunset that was kind of in the middle

of the day. But yeah, I think so we have we have partial solar eclipses really regularly, but it's these total solar eclipses that are like you say

somewhere over land where you know people can just pop outside and safely look at it.

Those really are rare because I think it is that you know the for everything to line up just so perfectly in our solar system, or

particularly with the sun, Earth, moon system, that is very unusual for that to happen. It doesn't happen that often, you know. The moon doesn't go

round the Earth in a perfect plane with the sun.

It's tilted. So, you know you really do have to wait for these, as you said, cosmic coincidence is a brilliant term. Cosmic coincidence is for

them to everything --

ASHER: Yeah -- And really, just in terms of what that moment is going to be like, not just during the solar eclipse, the sort of totality, but then

afterwards when the sun does become visible, because it is a beautiful moment when you have the moon covering the sun and you have the corona, the

rim, you know that sort of shines more brightly, and then the sun becomes visible again. What's that transition like?

[11:10:00]

AVERY: I think it's a really funny moment because I think I remember last time thinking, oh, oh, lovely! Oh, oh, the sun's back out, and oh, it feels

all nice and warm again. And I think it's just a really stark reminder of how powerful our sun is, in terms of you know that you can't look at it

because it's going to hurt your eyes, but also the heat.

And then you know it really is the big boss of our solar system, sun. It's a good reminder of that. I think it's a yeah.

ASHER: How does -- I mean, I remember the one in 1999, I was going to age myself now, but I was 16 then, and it was such a big deal in the UK. It was

I remember everybody talking about it. How does this one compare to what we got back home in the UK? What is that now?

30, almost 30 years ago. Am I doing my math correctly? Yeah.

AVERY: In terms of coverage or kind of popularity, because I think in terms of coverage.

ASHER: Oh.

AVERY: Oh well, in terms of coverage, it's this is 91 percent and that was a total solar eclipse. If you were in the right places, so Cornwall was a

total solar eclipse that time. But in terms of popularity, I would say that actually, this -- potentially this is even more popular now because I think

astronomy is more.

I don't know. I guess it's become very popular. There are loads of you know films and books and music and art and there's loads of links to astronomy

in all sorts of places now, which is just beautiful. So, and it is just all another opportunity for us to get to chat about it. So, I think the

enthusiasm this time around feels really, yeah, some real energy behind it.

ASHER: Yeah, I mean, I think information in general is just more accessible, and then you have obviously social media. A lot of people

obviously are talking about this. And there's a whole community of eclipse chasers who literally plan their lives around these events and travel and

book hotels and you know, look at transportation.

And obviously the most important thing is the weather forecast, which we're actually going to be getting into a little bit later on the show, because

there are certain places, including Iceland, that might not be lucky in terms of weather this time around because of clouds.

Liz Avery, thank you so much for that. Appreciate your perspective, and as I mentioned, we'll have much more on the eclipse later on this hour.

AVERY: Thank you.

ASHER: All right, the search for survivors has entered its third day in Western Colombia. More than 200 people are dead following Monday's 7.4

magnitude earthquake. But amid the devastation, there's also been extraordinary moments of survival. Social media video shows a team of brave

volunteers pulling a baby out of the wreckage of a five-story building in the City of Cali.

Earlier, CNN spoke with the volunteer who says that he was led to that specific spot by the whispers of a survivor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN OSORIO ZULUAGA, HELPED RESCUE BABY: It sounded like a whisper. Yes, I'm here. I'm with a baby, but it was like a very soft whisper. So, I said,

silence, silence, because the noise from the girl and everything from the people who were there at the moment, who were the neighbors from the area,

they all went quiet.

And thanks to the cries of the person, the man who was shouting that he was with the baby, I was able to identify where he was, and that's when I

started to act. There is a person at home with a baby, Beckham (ph). So, they started coming closer. We began moving some very large pieces of

rubble, really heavy ones.

We started moving debris, and there was a piece of the building slab that had fallen quite wide, very large. The seven of us tried, but us on the

first attempt, we couldn't lift it. Unity is strength because no one person alone could have lifted that piece of rubble. It was so large and so heavy.

Let's say that at that moment it was about taking the initiative, and thanks to that, I would say that was the greatest contribution I made.

Taking the initiative.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: That is an incredible story. CNN's David Culver is in Pereira, in western Colombia, reporting on the damage there.

DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's been hours in the relentless, scorching 90-degree-plus heat, and you look around and

you'll notice the vast majority of all these folks aren't officials, but they're volunteers. They believe there's still signs of life coming from

within the rubble here.

Pereira is a city of about a half million, roughly the size of Minneapolis. The airport's damaged and closed, so getting here from Bogota took us eight

plus hours. Sun's just coming up. We've been driving all night. Arriving, you find destruction spills into nearly every street in the city center.

While much of the city is still standing, the facades have shattered onto the sidewalk or even onto parked cars, and amid the rubble, life and death.

[11:15:00]

She says, as of last night, they had pulled out seven bodies and five survivors from this collapse right here. Another believed to be still

inside this once hotel. At least they heard her voice three hours earlier. Again, he's asking. They need the machinery to be able to move this.

They just don't have sufficient equipment to do it. But until then, this city, known for how friendly its people are, are using their bare hands to

clear the paths of destruction as time and heat is working against them. Hope that's really is what motivates them to push forward.

ASHER: Many thanks to CNN's David Culver for that report and for information on how you can help the earthquake victims in Colombia? Go to

cnn.com/impact. There is a lot more to come here on "One World". The war of words between the U.S. and Iran escalates as both sides harden their

positions and issue new threats.

At the center of it all, the world's most critical energy choke point. Also ahead, several U.S. embassies in the Middle East get yet another clue that

the war with Iran will not be resolved anytime soon. Details on that as well after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: Right, we're learning more about the elaborate ruse that caused Donald Trump to secretly switch planes on his way home from the NATO summit

in Turkey last month. A source familiar with the matter says that the Iranian threat to assassinate the U.S. President involved shoulder-fired

missile aimed at Air Force One.

Officials decided there was actually an enormous risk to the president's life as he departed Ankara. So, they snuck him off the plane in a catering

container and then flew him to the UK in another military jet. On Tuesday, Trump confirmed the plan while downplaying any concerns that journalists

and White House staff left behind unknowingly on the decoy flight were actually in any danger.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The plane that I flew on was at greater risk, and I think was at greater risk because that

would be the plane I think that we that they would be more likely to go for. I have a lot of threats. I have a lot of threats that you don't know

about.

Any consequential president has a lot of threats.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were you worried about a shoulder-fired missile?

TRUMP: I don't worry about anything, to be honest. Whatever it is, you know my attitude. Whatever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: But one prominent Democrat is worried, calling the situation unprecedented and surreal.

[11:20:00]

Richard Blumenthal told CNN there needs to be a congressional investigation because it wasn't just the president's safety at stake. Since the U.S. and

Israel launched strikes on Iran nearly six months ago, Donald Trump has repeatedly declared victory while also claiming a deal is just around the

corner.

But a top adviser to the commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is now indicating that Iran is the one calling the shots and could

actually prolong the war until the U.S. President is out of office. That hasn't stopped Trump from wrapping up his own rhetoric.

He's now threatening to blow Iran away if it tries to do anything, and he's still insisting that the U.S. controls the Strait of Hormuz. But shipping

data is not backing that up. One maritime intelligence firm says that only 14 vessels crossed the strait on Tuesday. Obviously, that is a dramatic

decrease from pre-war levels.

And in what may be another sign that Washington and Iran remain far apart diplomatically, Iran is shaking up its military leadership. This week, six

hardliners were elevated to top security positions. It's a move that could suggest Iran's new command may not be inclined to compromise.

CNN's Nada Bashir joins us live now from London. Lots to tackle here. I mean, obviously, on the one hand, you have the U.S. President claiming that

the U.S. is now in charge of the Strait of Hormuz. Obviously, when you look at shipping data, that appears very unlikely.

And also, you have the fact that Iran is now apparently, according to sources, trying to prolong this war to hurt Donald Trump politically. Just

walk us through that, Nada.

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. We are seeing a real stepping up the rhetoric from the Iranian regime and its top officials, according to

a Top Adviser to the Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, that could potentially be a strategy that the Iranian regime pursues,

deepening this conflict until President Trump is out of office.

They say pursuing a policy of attrition and trying to put pressure on the United States and its allies, and we certainly have seen that pressure

mounting, as you mentioned, Zain, we've seen only 14 vessels, according to marine traffic tracking websites, only 14 vessels passing through the

Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday.

That is well below, of course, those pre-war levels, and there is concern around the safety of vessels that do manage to pass through the Strait of

Hormuz. We've been hearing the warnings from the Iranian regime that it could also continue to target what it deems to be hostile vessels passing

through the Strait of Hormuz in any sort of agreed parameters that are set out in any sort of negotiated resolution.

But as you mentioned, we are seeing significant daylight between the Iranian regime and the U.S. government, the Trump Administration, President

Trump claiming that the U.S. maintains control of the Strait of Hormuz. That certainly isn't reflected in what we're seeing on the ground.

And also, of course, in what we're seeing in terms of the diplomatic efforts that are being pursued to try to bring about some security to that

vital shipping ring. What we've been seeing in recent days is continued talks between Iranian officials and their Omami counterparts.

These talks appear to have been moving in a more positive direction, with the broader framework of a deal on the table to allow for a central

shipping route through that key strait to be established, in which both Oman and Iran would share control over traffic incoming and outbound

through the Strait of Hormuz.

Now that deal hasn't been signed as of yet. And of course, Iran has also been very clear that it maintains the right to target, in its eyes, any

hostile vessels. But it has also said that it is maintaining some key parameters, some key conditions for the United States in order to see any

sort of peaceful resolution, these conditions include, for example, lifting the U.S. naval blockade on Iran, unfreezing Iranian assets.

We're also talking about compensation potentially for any damages caused by the war, and of course, a permanent end to the war in Iran. At this stage,

it appears as though those talks between the U.S. and Iran are not pushing forward. We heard from President Trump just in the last few days speaking

to Axios, saying himself that those talks are being, in his words, low key, and that he is focused on pushing economic pressure on Iran instead.

ASHER: Nada Bashir, thank you for that. Right, the International Energy Agency is warning that it's becoming more urgent to reopen the Strait of

Hormuz as the world burns through its oil stockpiles rapidly. Oil prices are ticking up as Iran hardens its stance over the control of the Strait of

Hormuz and its other demands to end the war.

Brent crude rose briefly to hover at close to $90 a barrel. Let's see where it is right now. It's slightly lower than that at $88 a barrel, while WTI

is at $83 a barrel. And sources tell CNN, the U.S. State Department is now asking embassies in several countries in the Middle East to make

contingency plans to keep operating with reduced staff.

[11:25:00]

This comes as the war with Iran appears to be at a stalemate, non-emergency personnel. And family members were ordered to leave nearly every diplomatic

post in the region shortly after the U.S.-Iran war began in late February. CNN's Jennifer Hansler joins us live now from Washington.

Obviously, another indication here, Jennifer, that this war likely is not going to be ending anytime soon.

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT REPORTER: That's absolutely right, Zain. So, what sources are telling me is that embassies that have been on

what's called diplomatic or order departure, rather, which means they only have emergency diplomats operating on the ground there, have been asked to

come up with plans for something called restricted operations, which would maintain a reduced number of personnel working out of the embassies in the

region.

At the same time, the State Department has increasingly allowed diplomats who were displaced from the region to curtail their posts to end their jobs

early and move on to a different job. And of course, taken together, this does indicate that the State Department does not expect to be able to

return to its normal staffing operations in the region, any time in the near future.

Now, under State Department rules, they are actually required after 180 days of ordered departure to either move back to normal staffing operations

or put these restricted operation plans in place. And now, these are not yet finalized, but when they are put into place, they could offer some

degree of clarity for diplomats and their families who have been moved out of the region.

As you mentioned, the State Department has put most of its embassies into order departure. This includes Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the

United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait. But they did not do so, ahead of the start of the war. It was only in the weeks after those operations began in

late February when the Iranians and its proxies began to target U.S. diplomatic facilities.

So, when they made U.S. diplomats and their family members leave the region and return to the U.S. there was a great deal of uncertainty and inability

to make long-term plans because it was not clear if these diplomats would be allowed to return to their posts, according to a diplomatic spouse who I

spoke with, they weren't able to make plans for long-term housing.

They've been bouncing from housing to housing because they didn't know if they could sign a long-term lease. They had questions about whether they

could enroll children into schools. This is what that spouse told me quote, we've had evacuations in various parts of the world, but this is different

in that there's such a large portion of people from one part of the world with so many people coming back to one spot.

We had no idea when we walked out of our house in March that we not only wouldn't be returning in six months, but now the reality is we won't be

returning at all. So, a lot of people are now just making plans as they have to, especially if they have children as the school year is starting to

just stay in the United States.

And now that reduced presence on the ground as well, Zain, could have an impact on dramatic efforts. The State Department disputes that it's having

any impact, and they said that the safety and security of their personnel is paramount in any of the decisions that they might make, Zain.

ASHER: Hansler, live for us. Thank you so much. All right. We have a lot more coming up here on "One World". And we'll have more after the break.

Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:30:00]

ASHER: All right, welcome back to "One World". I'm Zain Asher in New York. Here are some of the headlines we are watching today. For the third day,

rescuers in western Colombia are racing to find survivors trapped beneath collapsed buildings there. At last check, 213 people have died in Monday's

7.4 magnitude earthquake.

President Donald Trump still insists the U.S. controls the Strait of Hormuz, and he is threatening to blow up Iran if it tries anything.

Meantime, a Top Adviser to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps tells CNN that Iran may prolong the war until Trump is out of office.

In Wisconsin, David Crowley has narrowly won the Democratic primary in the race for governor. CNN projects the moderate has just edged out Democratic

Socialist Francesca Hong. This vote is being seen as a test of the party's ion logical direction in a key battleground state.

And Reuters reports that Ukraine struck a Russian Black Sea port city overnight. The mayor says the drone attack killed a child and injured two

other people. He says over two dozen residential buildings were damaged. Russian industry sources say two major grain terminals were put out of

action.

All right. Now back to that total solar eclipse that is set to begin in northwestern Spain. CNN's special coverage of the celestial event starts at

01:00 p.m. Eastern. 6 million visitors to Spain are ready with protective glasses in hand to watch the total solar eclipse when the moon completely

covers the sun.

It casts a shadow on the earth, turning daylight into darkness for several minutes, revealing a glowing ring. In Spain, the event will be followed by

a sunset. Officials in the tiny country of Iceland say they expect about 80,000 visitors who began arriving over the past few days.

Let's go to Land's End, England, where a partial eclipse is going to be taking place. Partial, obviously, not quite the same thing, right, as

totality. But just walk us through the excitement East and what people can expect.

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not quite the same thing, but do not take those 3 percent away, Zain, because people here are excited. There is a

real sense of anticipation and wonder because I'm starting to see now, and especially in the last 30 minutes, people coming out with their chairs,

with their hats, with their sunglasses to see that moment.

Even if it's not a total eclipse, it is 96 percent. So I've heard children very quietly saying, oh my God, it's going to be so dark. It's going to be

so freakish, and it's that level of excitement that you're starting to build right here, Land's End. Now, glasses, as you can imagine, well,

they're going for quite a pop, about $20 for these cardboard glasses, but that is not stopping people from purchasing them, and I'll tell you why.

The last time we had a total eclipse in mainland UK. It was in 1999, Zain, I don't know if you remember that, but you probably don't even remember

seeing it. That's because it was such a cloudy day that so many people were disappointed on that day. Today, people know there's going to be perfectly

blue skies, and they're here for that.

For that perfect alignment, like you were saying, Zain, of the moon and the sun and the earth.

ASHER: So, you know, people are still excited, even though it's not quite what they're going to be seeing in Spain.

[11:35:00]

They're still excited to see it there in Cornwall, where you are.

SOARES: Yeah.

ASHER: Isa Soares live for us. Thank you so much. Right, let's go straight to Pereira, Colombia now where David Culver is there on the ground.

Obviously, there was an earthquake there, 7.4 magnitude earthquake two days ago. David has been witnessing what appears to be another live rescue.

David, just walk us through what you're seeing.

CULVER: I'm going to have to just stop talking. I'm sorry, but listen, and I'll pick it up. They've asked for silence as they've heard something.

ASHER: Right. What you're looking at here on your screen is a live rescue operation taking place before our eyes in the City of Cali, Colombia. A

reminder that this was one of the areas that has been devastated by this 7.4 magnitude earthquake that has so far left at least 200 people dead.

Obviously, many more injured. The fear is that there are a lot of people who are missing, who might be still trapped beneath the rubble in buildings

that were completely flatten, buildings that were essentially pancaked by this earthquake. We have David Culver on the scene. He's on the ground

there.

He is witnessing this live rescue taking place. But part of the problem is the reason why he's unable to share what is going on is that rescue crews

have asked for total silence. We actually witnessed something very similar yesterday, where you had rescue crews essentially calling out, trying to

listen, to see if there were any sounds, any whispers, any cries from a person or people who might still be trapped.

And so, this is taking place right now in Cali, Colombia. Dozens of people there they are in hard hats. What we saw yesterday was a lot of people,

essentially using their bare hands, using pickaxes to literally bit by bit pull away at the concrete. And so, it appears that they are listening in to

see if there are sounds or there are cries.

We don't necessarily know how many people may indeed be trapped in this building. I'm going to have to ask David when he can talk again to explain

what this building was, whether it was an apartment building or an office building. But one of the things that David talked about yesterday is really

this idea of the community really coming together, locals rallying around to help volunteers.

This has really been a team effort, and one of the things that I think is also very important to note is that there is only this sort of 72-hour

window. Right, this golden window of opportunity where it is a race against time to rescue as many people as possible. I'm going to go quiet now so we

can listen into what's happening.

[11:40:00]

OK. So, they're resuming work, Zain. Yeah, sorry as soon as you were coming to us, they asked for total silence. I mean, all the heavy machinery,

excavators, dump trucks, everything stops at that moment because what they have are microphones planted in to some of these locations, crevices within

this collapsed apartment building, and they're then able to potentially get some response.

And in the past few hours, we've heard that they have gotten multiple responses. So that's why they're so determined to figure out how quickly

they can get to the bottom of what was a four-story or so apartment building. Let me give you a sense of where we are and what's going on.

I mean, this is an entire corridor with apartment buildings. We're going to step down here just briefly, but keep out of their way. And this one, I've

heard several people are still inside potentially. Initially, someone told me maybe five that they believe, and then it seems every person I've come

up to has told me, oh no, I have a friend or a loved one or somebody who's in there.

I'm going to pan over here because he's talking briefly, just local media. But the gentleman you see here in blue, this is Harold (ph). He is actually

from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and he flew in yesterday. And let me show you what he was showing me just a short time ago.

We're going to cross over very carefully because obviously this is still an unsecured zone. But I want to give you a sense here because he showed me

this and he wanted me to point it out. If you look in here, Harold's (ph) father, in his 70s, that's his mattress right there. Harold's (ph) father,

to give you some perspective, was on the second floor of what was a four- story-high apartment building with a basement.

It has now collapsed into the parking garage space. Harold (ph) has been staring at that mattress for the past hour or so that we've been here, and

also trying to coordinate. Again, he's just the son of somebody who lives here. He's trying to coordinate with crews to get this large slab up, and

we'll step away now.

As you can see, they're trying to move in some heavier equipment, but they're trying to get that up a little bit higher, hoist it up so they can

have some space to then be able to get in, but Harold (ph) is not alone here. His cousin also flew in. You have family members who have become

first responders as well, and they've been handing out a lot of these masks.

Asking us just to put them on because they're very cognizant of the fact that some of the things that are coming into the air could be potent. But

you have now an effort to try to get what is actually. Let me show you this. This Zain, if you look over here, so to give you a sense, that blue

tile that you see, that was the rooftop pool of this building.

So that has now come down to basically be about a story and a half. And see, he's asked me just to put this on, as he's worried that some of the

dust coming up is causing a lot more issues for folks. So, the focus here now is that they believe multiple individuals are still in there.

And I was talking to a doctor, who is from Cali, who flew in for holidays. He's an orthopedic surgeon. He's based in Canada, and he's now made this

his full-time focus as well. I mean, everybody has canceled every aspect of their life if they have any connection or tie to this area, and part of the

efforts to try to get and save as many lives as possible.

You mentioned, Zain, that golden 72 hours. The doctor was choking up a bit when he and I were talking because I said, time wise, do you feel that

there that there's still opportunity, there's still chance? And he said yes, but he believes that they're exiting that last 24 hours or so right

now, where they feel that there's genuine hope.

[11:45:00]

He said after that, you combine. We'll step over here. They're moving some more rubble out of here, David. So, step over. I don't want you to get

caught up in that. They say after that, the chances are obviously far slimmer that they're going to find survivors. And he said it's not only

because of obviously what is just an immense physical pressure of this building to collapse, but then you talk about the conditions of the heat

that we've been discussing over the past couple of days.

That's also playing into this. So, this is one apartment building, but this is a complex that has multiple buildings within Cali as a whole. There are

-- in this area more than 40 residential buildings we've been told that are either totally or significantly collapsed. One other thing that was pointed

out to me is even if you see a building that's still standing.

They believe in the next couple of days there's going to be further collapses taking place, and so they're preparing for even more injuries and

potentially more death as a part of that, but the reality is, you have people. We were seeing some public parks that people have set up tents.

Encampments have essentially become where people are relocating just to stay away from structures. And they've been displaced, obviously, but also

not wanting to go anywhere near potential danger with their family and loved ones. There's just a few very, I think, poignant reminders of life

that you look at just a living room.

There's a couch that we saw over there. You see some clothes of other individuals, and it gives you it just sits with you in a very, I think,

striking way that they're going after and really trying to make this effort to save lives, but again, Zain, as you point out, it's all hands that are

involved in this.

ASHER: Right, David Culver there in Cali, witnessing some really emotional things, and one of the things that he shared that I found so touching was

the story of a man named Harold (ph) who flew in because his father may indeed be trapped in the second floor of that apartment building.

We were witnessing a live, what appeared to be a live attempted rescue. We will check in with David Culver there in Cali. This is one of the places

that was hardest hit by this earthquake, the death toll in Cali specifically stands at around 95, but across Colombia, it is about 200.

David Culver live for us there. Thank you so much. We'll be right back with more after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:50:00]

ASHER: All right, voters made their voices heard in several key U.S. primary races on Tuesday in Wisconsin. Moderate David Crowley narrowly won

the Democratic nomination for governor, while progressive Peggy Flanagan won Minnesota's Democratic Senate primary.

Democrats are also facing ideological questions over the party's future direction. Let's bring in Sabrina Siddiqui. She is a National Politics

Reporter at "The Wall Street Journal". Joins us live now. It's a very interesting twist because obviously last week I can't remember which day,

but we had Michigan, right, with you know the sort of socialist and the sort of progressives winning there now it's a very different story, with an

establishment candidate winning.

Despite what polls said, by the way, polls gave a very, very different picture. Just walk us through what this means for the party's direction.

SABRINA SIDDIQUI, NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER AT "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": Well, I do think that this debate between the establishment and

progressives has really been the story of Democratic primaries this year. But I think Wisconsin is a little bit of an interesting case, because,

first of all, the centrist establishment-backed candidate Crowley had actually dropped out of the race.

And only re-entered when the establishment was very concerned about Francesca Hong, the socialist progressive candidate, potentially running

away with it. And I think what separated Hong from some of the other progressives like Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan is that she really seemed to

struggle with respect to communicating on the national stage.

I think that it was more that the party felt like she was just generally a weak candidate, and that this wasn't as much of a concerted effort to beat

back one of the socialists. I think that the sentiment still very much appears to be, and Peggy Flanagan, who you mentioned in Minnesota, is

another example that the kind of anti-establishment change candidates still have the upper hand as long as they look like they can clearly communicate

the policy goals of the progressive movement.

ASHER: Live for us there. Thank you so much. We'll be right back with more after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: All right. It's not just solar eclipse taking place this week. Earth will also experience a dazzling meteor shower starting today. In a rare

celestial alignment, the Perseid meteor shower will be visible tonight, reaching its peak on Thursday.

[11:55:00]

NASA says it's best viewed from the northern hemisphere. The American Meteor Society says that the sides are known for their exceptionally bright

fireballs, and that a meteor shower and solar eclipse occurring so closely is extremely rare. And just in terms of what we can expect later on today.

Before we go, CNN's extensive coverage of the total solar eclipse gets underway today at 1 o'clock Eastern Time, 6 o'clock, if you are watching

from London, stay with CNN. I'll have much more "One World" after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END