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Amanpour
Interview with Former U.S. House Republican Charlie Dent; Interview with Representative Brendan Boyle (D-PA); Interview with Gender Apartheid Recognition Activist and Afghan Women's Rights Activist Metra Mehran; Interview with Actor and Musician Jeff Goldblum. Aired 1-2p ET
Aired August 30, 2024 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:00:00]
PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, and welcome to "Amanpour." Here's what's coming up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE: I believe that I am the best person to do this job at this
moment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Vice President Kamala Harris sits down for her first interview as presidential nominee. But did she impress? I discuss with Democratic
Congressman Brendan Boyle and former Republican Representative Charlie Dent.
Then, from bad to somehow even worse. The life of Afghan women is dealt another blow by a new Taliban edict. What this means for them, with Afghan
women's rights activist Mitra Mehran.
Also ahead, as Jurassic Park gets another reboot, and Jeff Goldblum takes on the role of Zeus, we look back to Christiane's conversation with the
actor, where he's playing a very different part, jazz musician.
And welcome to the program, everyone. I'm Paula Newton in New York, sitting in for Christiane Amanpour.
It's been well more than a month since Joe Biden stepped down and one week on since that jubilant Democratic National Convention. Presidential nominee
Kamala Harris finally sat down for her first interview in a CNN exclusive on Thursday evening.
Now, so far, reaction to the interview has been a little subdued. Few are saying she set the world alight, but many believe she did, in fact, rise to
the occasion enough as not to damage her hard won momentum, which was seen -- which has seen the Democrats chances of retaking the White House
absolutely surge.
There are 67, just 67 days until the election and only weeks until early voting begins in key swing states like Pennsylvania, which just so happens
to be where Former President Trump is campaigning at this hour. We want to dig a little deeper here and dig into the state of Pennsylvania. Joining me
now to discuss the state of the race in general and the impact of that interview, Democratic Congressman Brendan Boyle is in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania and former Republican Congressman Charlie Dent comes to us from Avalon, New Jersey.
Charlie, your state will forgive you for being on the Jersey Shore, but we do want to have a look at the --
CHARLIE DENT, FORMER U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: They're all here.
NEWTON: OK. Such a good point. It is just Labor Day weekend here and still politics on the mind of so many. You know, this interview, Charlie, much
anticipated, right? Perhaps built up a little bit too much in terms of the Harris campaign. In fact, the Trump campaign has been accusing the Harris-
Walz campaign of avoiding this kind of interviews. Of course, you're going to have the analysts that claim it went very well, but others noted it was
a bit underwhelming, and specifically on policy.
So, tell me, Charlie, does this have any hope of moving the needle in places like Pennsylvania?
DENT: Yes, I thought the interview yesterday, look, she accomplished her objective, Harris, which was to make no errors. Trump called the interview
boring, which means that she didn't screw up. And so, that's a victory of sorts for Harris. She really made no errors. And that's a win for her.
I thought she effectively batted down the ethnic smear question, you know, when Trump was, you know, questioning her race, you know, black or Indian,
and she just said, you know, next question. Good answer. I thought she missed an opportunity on fracking. You know, she said she's now against the
ban, but I thought she could have really done a better job on that question if she just simply said that we need, you know, reliable American natural
gas to you -- you know to make this green energy transition, and that's why I am where I am and it's not because of Vladimir Putin's, you know,
blackmail tactics. She could have done better on that one. That sounded a little bit like political opportunism. She just changed because of the
election.
But overall, I thought she came across well. She handled the border question well, too. All she had to do is say that she supported the border
deal that Trump torpedoed. And so, I thought that she came across overall very well, no errors and that's a win for her.
NEWTON: Interesting, because Congressman Boyle, you're in the thick of it right there in Pennsylvania. The latest polls show a dead heat
statistically. The Wall Street Journal most recent national poll gave Harris a very narrow lead. I mean, so narrow, it is well within the
statistical error there.
[13:05:00]
How do you think this performance was perceived by voters in your state and beyond? And really, we want a truthful assessment here because she does
need to move the needle in battleground states.
REP. BRENDAN BOYLE (D-PA): Well, first, let me defend, Charlie, about half of my constituents are on the Jersey Shore this weekend. So, he gets more
than a pass. But I'm here in the district, Pennsylvania, 2nd International District, working some community events this weekend. And I have to say,
even when I've been out and about this week, absolutely no one, not one person asked me the question, when would Kamala Harris sit down for a
formal media interview?
This is the sort of thing that sometimes Washington, D.C. insiders obsess about and no actual real voter really cares one way or the other. What they
care about is which candidate will do a better job for them and their families. And I think one advantage that Kamala Harris has, and it might be
a bit of an oddity given she's serving currently as vice president, but Kamala Harris is the one candidate out of the two major party nominees who
keeps talking about the next four years and the future. Whereas Donald Trump, it's the same tired, old, stale act time and time again. It's the
same routine that we saw almost a decade ago when he first descended down the golden escalator.
So, I think Kamala did well last night. I think, frankly, most voters weren't paying attention, won't go back and watch this, but they will pay
attention to the debate that happens in my district of the National Constitution Center here in Philadelphia in about a week and a half. That
will be a major moment when people tune in and pay attention, including those important casual voters who really don't start to pay attention until
after Labor Day.
NEWTON: Yes, casual or what the Trump campaign calls low propensity, right? We're not sure if they're going to vote at all. Now, I do want to
say, if we delve into the policy here, that Dana Bash confronted Harris with her numerous, we have to say, flip flops on policy over the years. We
discussed the fracking. But she was also asked about immigration, which, as the two of you know, is a concern right around the country right now.
And this is where Harris once expressed support for decriminalizing the southern border. Let's roll that answer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: I believe there should be consequence. We have laws that have to be followed and enforced. that address and deal with people who cross our
border illegally, and there should be consequence. And let's be clear, in this race, I'm the only person who has prosecuted transnational criminal
organizations who trafficking guns, drugs and human beings. I'm the only person in this race who actually served a border state as attorney general
to enforce our laws, and I would enforce our laws as president going forward. I recognize the problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: I recognize the problem. Charlie, was that a convincing explanation as far as you're concerned, especially when you look at those
words, right, there should be a consequence?
DENT: Yes, she's clearly centering herself on this issue. Hell, she almost sounds Republican with the way she presented that answer. No. I think she's
-- look, she's got -- she has some explaining to do, and by the way with respect to flip-flopping, you know, she certainly has on this and on
fracking and some other issues but so is Donald Trump on abortion. You know, I'm getting whiplash from all Donald Trump's positions on abortion
right now.
But I thought that overall, the border question was -- that was a good response. She also went into the fact that she supported the bipartisan
border deal that was actually negotiated by James Lankford, a very conservative Republican with Democrats, and had a lot of good provisions in
there on asylum and adding border patrol agents and so forth. So, I thought she did well on that question.
Now, whether or not the public, you know, believes her in terms of, you know, the sincerity of her new position is another matter. But overall, I
thought that came across quite well.
NEWTON: And Congressman Boyle, if you take us into the voter in Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and in Philadelphia, who
have seen the issue of immigration come front and center on their doorstep. You know, Kamala Harris is in a unique position here. She's basically an
incumbent. She is trying to be an agent of change. Where do you see her making inroads specifically?
BOYLE: Well, first, I mean, I've always believed, and I think Kamala Harris has said something almost verbatim, we're a nation of laws, and
we're a nation of immigrants. I'm the son of an immigrant. All four of my grandparents were born in Ireland. Very proud of our heritage as a nation
of immigrants. At the same time, I can tell you the idea of people coming here illegally, jumping the line happens to anger a lot of people, not just
native-born citizens, but those who actually went through it the proper way.
[13:10:00]
Having an administration that negotiated in good faith with James Lankford, one of the most conservative Republicans in the Senate, reaching a deal
that was a true compromise that had some things in there that actually upset some progressives on my side of the aisle and then Donald Trump --
and it's amazing, he always says the quiet part out loud. He openly said he was killing this for political reasons because it would be bad for him, for
his campaign.
She will be able to prosecute that case, I think very effectively throughout the campaign, but especially at the debate. Just one final point
specific to Pennsylvania and let's say the Philadelphia area, for whatever reasons, the City of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia area has not seen
the big influx in terms of immigration and people being bussed from the border from red states the way you saw in New York and in Chicago and in
Boston.
So, I actually think that issue has not played here to say the same extent it did just 90 miles up 95 in New York City.
NEWTON: So, Charlie, what will play here? I mean, we're teeing up the debate as well, but in terms of what is such a tight race in Pennsylvania
and each party is saying it is a must wait -- must win state for them. If you are looking at the state of the race right now, which issue do you
believe Kamala Harris and Donald Trump should best prepare for in the debate upcoming?
DENT: Well, if I were Kamala Harris I would focus my messaging efforts in the Philadelphia media market, probably on women's health issues. I think
it resonates quite well there in other parts of the state, but particularly there. If I were in Western Pennsylvania and I'll say Northeastern
Pennsylvania, areas where they're more traditionally Republican, I would probably be focusing quite a bit more on the economy, jobs, and take the
fracking question on a little bit better than she did yesterday and talk about why it's important for America, and I think that would help her.
So, she needs to speak to industrial and agricultural Pennsylvania a bit better. She was smart along with Tim Walz to go to Beaver County just to
show up there. They're going to lose that county, but they're showing that, you know, we're going to try to cut the margins down and that we're
interested. So, I would do that.
Trump on the other hand, he's going to pound away on inflation, the economy, and the border. That's what he's going to do. And that would
probably be an effective message for him. We know, we don't know how voters are going to react, you know, which set of issues matter the most, but
right now, it's pretty tight. And I think -- you know, frankly, I think Harris, you know, I thought she should have selected Josh Shapiro as her
running mate. I thought he might've brought a little bit more value.
NEWTON: Of course, you did.
DENT: Because she needs to win. Yes. That's because -- I thought that, I really did just because I thought she has to win Pennsylvania, particularly
that Philadelphia mini (ph) market hugely and he could have helped. Walz is a good guy. I know him, I like him, but he's -- but I didn't think he
brought as much value as he did.
NEWTON: OK. So, speaking of the VP candidate there, Tim Walz, he was confronted with his false claims about a DUI arrest, misleading statements
about his family's fertility treatments. I want you to listen to the answers he gave to Dana Bash specifically about his misstatements about his
military service. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), DEMOCRATIC VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: First of all, I'm incredibly proud. I've done 24 years of wearing the uniform of this
country. Equally proud of my service in a public-school classroom, whether it's Congress or the governor. My record speaks for itself. And the one
thing I'll never do is I'll never demean another member's service in any way. I never have and I never will.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Congressman Boyle, it's a little unsettling. Do you think that was a strong enough response?
BOYLE: Tim Walz has served 24 years in the United States military. That is approximately 24 years longer than Corporal Bone Spurs Trump ever served in
our military. Tim Walz is an authentic, genuine, and likable person. He was a colleague of Charlie and mine for a number of years, has a lot of
friendships across the aisle.
And I think that there's a reason why, literally, every single poll that has asked the favorable unfavorable rating on both VP nominees has shown
Tim Walz with a significantly higher favorability rating rather than unfavorability. Meanwhile, every single poll has shown the exact opposite
for J. D. Vance.
The reason why is because the American people get that Tim Walz is the real deal. And I think he has been an enormous help to the ticket. And I'm
looking forward to campaigning with him at Friday night high school football games in and around the Philadelphia area to western PA and
throughout other parts of the country.
NEWTON: Yes, if anyone needed a reminder, it is football season in America, and many are excited about that. There'll be a lot of politics
during those events as well. I do want to ask the two of you where this campaign pivots away from mainstream media, to both of you, but first to
Charlie.
[13:15:00]
I mean, look, this interview, will it be seen by the people who need to see it in Pennsylvania and beyond, right? Is the traditional way of thinking of
a campaign, one that the candidates should have left behind a long time ago? What do you see as more effective?
DENT: Well, look, this interview would happen, what, the day before Labor Day weekend. I don't think a whole lot of people were paying attention, to
be quite honest. You know, this campaign is -- most voters, it seems to me, particularly younger voters are getting their information and messages not
from traditional media. Guys like me and probably Brendan, you know, we spend a lot more time looking at traditional mainstream sources, but I
think a lot of the voters out there are getting it -- getting this information on their phones, at various sites that I probably never go to.
So, right now, I think both campaigns are going to have to spend a lot of time in nontraditional media sources driving their messages, because there
aren't as many guys like me around there who, you know, are kind of old school. So, they need to drive this to this new generation of people who
consume information differently than we do.
NEWTON: Now, to be clear, to your point, it is before a holiday weekend. The ratings were impressive, around 6 million so far, and counting, and
that was just on the traditional platforms. I think, more to the point, Congressman Boyle, you know, what is the look here that this campaign needs
to go forward with?
I mean, Donald Trump made the point that in this specific interview, he didn't think that Kamala Harris looked like a leader. Do you think more of
the memes that we've seen online, and to be clear, they are seen not just by the youngest of voters, but also those who are about the age of 45 and
below? It's according to pollsters.
BOYLE: Yes. I mean, Donald Trump is the same person who looks in a mirror and thinks he's a -- looks like a TV model. So, I wouldn't exactly take his
opinion on what a leader looks like. I'll say this. You know, it is -- and I was thinking this when Charlie was answering, it's actually more complex
running for office today than it was when I first started just a decade and a half ago.
You have, you know, some constituents or voters, particularly older voters, who we reach by traditional newsletter, arrived in the mail. They look
forward to getting it. That's how they get their information. Will show up at one of my events holding the newsletter in their hand. And then, there
are other constituents who will never even take a look at it. You can't reach that way. You can't even reach through broadcast or, I'm sorry to
say, cable TV. But you have to reach through social media and specific types of social media, maybe more some platforms and not others.
NEWTON: Right.
BOYLE: So, compare that to the era in which I was born and raised in which there were only three major broadcast networks. This is actually a much
more difficult time, whether it's as an elected official or as a candidate.
NEWTON: For sure. And on that note, we will wish both of you a good holiday weekend, although, we know there is a lot of work to do in this
campaign. Thanks so much, both of you.
BOYLE: Thank you.
DENT: Thank you.
NEWTON: Now, coming up after the break, while the U.S. considers electing its first woman president, in Afghanistan, the situation for women and
girls is dire. The latest terrifying restrictions imposed by the Taliban when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:20:00]
NEWTON: And welcome back. Now, imagine a place, and we wish you didn't, where women are not allowed to even speak in public. That place is now
Afghanistan under the Taliban. They recently imposed the most serious restrictions yet on women and girls who must now also fully cover their
face and bodies, cannot read or sing out loud and must have a male chaperone outside the home, and cannot even look at men who are unrelated
to them. A true dystopia.
Metra Mehran is an Afghan human rights activist now with the Atlantic Council who's campaigned for international recognition of gender apartheid
in Afghanistan and beyond. And she joins us now from Washington. A warm welcome to the program. Thanks for being with us.
METRA MEHRAN, GENDER APARTHEID RECOGNITION ACTIVIST AND AFGHAN WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Thank you for having me.
NEWTON: You know, when we talk about erasing women from public life, that seems to be what these edicts are designed to be. It's -- now, we have to
remind everyone more than three years since the Taliban took over, it was, in fact, a chaotic evacuation that led to the U.S., its allies, ending its
20-year occupation. And now, women are completely isolated.
Can you give us a sense of just how dehumanizing the situation is for women and girls right now under the Taliban?
MEHRAN: Thank you. Before coming here, I went over the stories of some of the women that I usually talk to in the campaign ahead of the third
anniversary of the Taliban. We collected some stories on how these draconian decrees impact their lives on daily basis.
I came across this story of high school students who haven't been able to go to school for the past three years. And she wrote to us that she has --
tried to commit suicide two times so far, and then she doesn't know what others think, but she think she will go insane.
And then, I was talking to another group of women in the -- inside Afghanistan. They were saying, yes, the law that the Taliban just published
says women can go out for basic needs, survival things like food or medicine. But they were like, we cannot speak, we cannot show our faces,
and we have to have a man to chaperone as outside. So, when you see that in context of Afghanistan, that's actually de facto denial of having access to
these basic needs that's there.
And this is -- when you -- when we speak about this, it's not just any act, but it's the Taliban laws that just got expanded and intensified when they
published their 114 pages of minister of -- their minister of vice in virtual law, that in 35 articles actually criminalize the face in the very
voice of woman.
And this is not something new. It's a continuation of a series of decrees that they have issued since they came to power.
NEWTON: It isn't new, but it certainly seems far more draconian than even was the case a few years ago. You know, you are so right to mention the
mental health, and there is a mental health crisis on the ground right now, and many can imagine why.
I want you to listen now to a story that we did recently regarding the suffering of these women and girls. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Huddled on the floor over school books, 16-year-old Arzo meticulously copies the English sentences.
Her neat, cursive writing, a display of devotion to furthering her education.
Learning new words makes me happy, she explains.
But this scene was unthinkable just eight months ago when we first met Arzo in the same room on the outskirts of Karachi in Pakistan.
Don't worry. You'll be fine, says her brother, kissing her hand. We are with you always.
Arzo was bedridden, her skeletal frame wasting away. Every breath she took and movement she made causing unbearable pain.
[13:25:00]
Arzo is from neighboring Afghanistan. And it's there in her home in July of last year she tried to kill herself.
COREN: Can you talk to us about --
COREN (voice-over): This is the first time the teenager, whose identity is hidden due to security concerns, is able to speak to us about what led her
to that point.
On that day, I felt like everything was over. I glanced at pictures of my classmates and felt a deep sense of longing. I was overwhelmed by
hopelessness, and that's why I drank battery acid, convinced it would end my life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: The situation is so overwhelming. We do -- we're happy to report that Arzo is now making a remarkable recovery, because she's receiving
lifesaving treatment.
If I hear you correctly, you hear a lot of stories of desperation. What are your worries as these new edicts take hold in Afghanistan?
MEHRAN: So, as the time passes so the Taliban system get more established and the institutionalized and systematic nature of their regime get more
draconian and harsh on women. My main concern is the trajectory, it sits on the life of women and girls in Afghanistan. We won't be able to reverse it
for decades to come.
So, that's why inside Afghanistan, gender apartheid campaign and gender apartheid today, we are calling for International Community to respond and
act and criminalize what's happening in Afghanistan. Why, for a girl going to school, when it's banned, it's not a crime yet?
And I think seeing especially this new law that is, as I told before, continuation of many other draconian laws that basically has imprisoned
women inside their houses should shake the conscience of humanity. And then, I think as a global community, we are -- we should be responsible and
act to respond to it, because we have international law that we -- that tell us that this shouldn't be acceptable in anywhere else around the
world.
I call on everyone who hear me that see it as a global responsibility and doesn't allow such an action to be normalized in anywhere else in the
world. And women inside --
NEWTON: But why do you believe it has been normalized perhaps in Afghanistan? Do you believe that there's western complicity here,
especially with the withdrawal three years ago, but also, in the way that they have negotiated and dealt with the Taliban since?
MEHRAN: Exactly. Unfortunately, women of Afghanistan has been taking risk going to street to protest Taliban, accepting gunshots, pepper sprays,
lashes, imprisonment, torture, and even death. But then -- so, when the world's approach toward the Taliban is so conciliatory and appeasing, the
future they see -- they look forward to look very grim.
We saw that the International Community had a U.N. lead format event in Doha this year, which I was participating in the second Doha, and the third
Doha, just to make sure the Taliban are present there and to make them happy, they didn't allow any civil society or women to be part of that
meeting. And also, they didn't include any women's issues or women's rights and human rights issues on their agenda.
And we have been seeing that they are speaking about opening their missions inside the Taliban. And we see that there is travel bans for the Taliban
members are not being implemented. They are traveling to the western countries and the regional countries. So, the women of Afghanistan have
been left alone in the past three years, and that's why inside they are calling for it -- for gender apartheid to be codified within international
law, because it brings accountability both to the Taliban, but also, for the states and other countries that are in terms of their engagement and
responsibility towards Afghanistan.
NEWTON: Metra, we don't have a lot of time left, but I do want to ask you, some will say that, look, the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan remains
grave, that the west must engage on some level in order to deal with basic human needs. To put a fine point on it, would you like them to impose more
sanctions? Would you like them to withdraw from having any discussions with the Taliban? What do you think would work?
MEHRAN: For me, it's important that anything that happens towards Afghanistan should be principled, should be considerate of women's rights
and women's voices in the process. Human -- I'm not against humanitarian aid, but the way that's now -- they're sending it to Afghanistan, the way
it's getting distributed inside Afghanistan, it's not gender sensitive, it's not monitored properly.
We need to make sure the humanitarian we send to Afghanistan, people of Afghanistan who deserve it, including women, receive it, and that doesn't
embolden the Taliban regime. So, that's why we are calling for codification of the gender apartheid, to make sure all these processes, the engagements,
everything that happens towards Afghanistan be principled and within the context and framework of international law and human rights values that we
all admire.
[13:30:00]
NEWTON: Metra Mehran, it is a story, obviously, that we will continue to follow here on Amanpour. And we thank you for your time today.
MEHRAN: Thank you.
NEWTON: Still to come for us tonight, Israel's raid in the occupied West Bank is now in its third day. We'll bring you a report from on the ground.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: And welcome back. In the occupied West Bank, Israel's military says it has killed three Hamas members, and that includes a commander.
Israel's large-scale operation there is now in its third day. In the City of Jenin, the local governor has told CNN that he is demanding a
humanitarian pause. Some of the aftermath is already visible there, as you can see. CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bursts of gunfire cut through the City of Jenin the occupied West Bank. Israeli
soldiers and border police are raiding the northern West Bank in one of the largest operations in years, triggering clashes with Palestinian militants
who are deeply embedded here.
Israeli forces have killed at least 16 people in 48 hours, according to health officials. Israel says 16 were militants, Palestinian militant
groups said just eight of their fighters had been killed.
In Jenin, Israeli forces have surrounded several hospitals. Ambulances must stop and be inspected before taking patients in for treatment. Markets and
bustling downtown streets have been turned into a ghost town. One where streets, water, and electrical lines will need to be repaired.
DIAMOND: This is the aftermath of an Israeli military operation in the City of Jenin, streets torn up by those D9 bulldozers. And we've seen
scenes like this across this city. Those bulldozers, as well as armored Israeli military vehicles, came rolling down this street. Clashes with
gunmen, we're told, ensued.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Suzanne Jalad (ph) and her grandchildren were woken by the sound of bulldozers and gunfire at 7:00 in the morning.
It was loud, very loud. Everybody was terrified. She says this Israeli operation is different from the regular raids this city has grown used to.
They want to take revenge, she says. From who, I ask? From the resistance. We stand with the resistance and hopefully we will stay standing and
steadfast.
Israel says it is targeting militant groups who have mounted dozens of attacks against its soldiers and civilians.
[13:35:00]
In the Palestinian city of Tulkarm, Israel killed one man, it says, was behind those attacks. Mohammed Jabber, an Islamic Jihad commander.
But at Al-Razi Hospital in Jenin, the victims of Israel's raids are also children, like 15-year-old Osama (ph) who tried to leave his home to buy
bread.
I took two steps and they started firing at me. Osama (ph) says, two rounds of gunfire. One bullet came here and one bullet came here.
DIAMOND: And did you see any soldiers before you got shot?
DIAMOND (voice-over): No, he says. Sniper. He now faces a long recovery, and a life trapped in this seemingly endless cycle of violence.
DIAMOND: In a statement, the Israeli military confirmed that they shot Osama (ph), claiming that he posed a serious threat to security forces.
They also said that they coordinated his evacuation to a hospital with the local Palestinian ambulance service. Despite making such a serious
allegation against him, Israeli authorities have not arrested him.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Now, since Jeremy filed that report, Palestinian health officials have updated the number of people killed during those military operations.
It now stands at 19.
Meanwhile, in Ukraine, it is the end of a week marked by massive Russian aerial attacks. Local authorities report seven people killed and dozens
more injured in strikes around Sumy and in Kharkiv. That's after Russia's air assault on Monday targeted energy infrastructure and caused power
outages in several cities.
Ukraine says one of its top pilots was killed while repelling that attack. That was when a U.S.-made F-16 fighter jet crashed. An investigation is now
underway, but as Fred Pleitgen reports, the loss of that particular pilot is a major blow for the entire country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ukraine called it the largest Russian aerial barrage to date. Moscow's
troops launching hundreds of drones and missiles on Monday.
Ukraine using U.S.-made F-16 jets to help repel the attack. Now, Kyiv acknowledging one of the F-16s crashed, killing one of Ukraine's top
fighter aces. Oleksiy Mes, known by his call sign Moonfish. Ukraine's general command, saying, quote, during the approach to the next target,
communication with one of the aircraft was lost. As it turned out later, the plane crashed, the pilot died.
Few Ukrainian fighter pilots were more instrumental in lobbying partners to give Ukraine the F-16s than Moonfish.
OLEKSIY MES "MOONFISH," UKRAINIAN AIR FORCE PILOT: This war does not appear to end soon, if west will provide us with some additional jets with
some additional Sam's (ph) and we're really looking forward to it. We -- I think we will be able to control our sky for a while.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Moonfish was one of the first Ukrainian pilots instructed on the F-16 around six months of training that normally take
years.
MES: It is really super fun jet to fly. I'm not saying that MiG that I flew before is super boring, but the F-16 is definitely more agile. It's
easily moves. The moment you think of something, it turns.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had been asking western allies for the F-16 since the start of Russia's full-scale
invasion, warning that Ukraine's air force was becoming more and more depleted, and that its old Soviet era planes couldn't match up against
Russia's newer aircraft.
Finally, last year, several European countries agreed to donate the jets, with the green light from the U.S. as the manufacturing country. Moonfish
and another pilot known by the call sign Juice became the faces of the campaign to get the F-16s to Ukraine's skies. Juice was killed in a plane
crash just over a year ago before ever flying the jets.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian Air Force used the F-16 to destroy missiles and drones launched by Russia on
Monday, the first time any Ukrainian official confirmed the jets were being used in combat.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: We destroyed already some missiles and drones using F-16. I will not share how many, but we did it.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): One of the few pilots trained to fly the jets, Moonfish death is a major blow for Ukraine, as Kyiv throws everything it
has trying to turn the tide in this war.
MES: We are comparative with small air force and we know each other by names. And of course, we know well all our fallen friends.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Przemysl, Poland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: And we'll be right back with more after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:40:00]
NEWTON: And welcome back. We're going to round out this week with a little jazz. And from an unexpected source to boot, the charismatic and cool Jeff
Goldblum back in the news, as "Jurassic Park" teases another reboot, and he ascends to Mount Olympus to take on the role of Zeus, Chris John spoke with
the actor back in 2018 at the legendary London jazz spot Ronnie Scott's, and they discussed an unexpected pivot into music, how he almost missed out
on that role in "Jurassic Park," can you believe it? And his progressive politics.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Jeff Goldblum, welcome to the program.
JEFF GOLDBLUM, ACTOR AND MUSICIAN: Thank you very, very much. It's thrilling to be here.
AMANPOUR: It's great to see you here because I see you on the silver screen and I had no idea -- actually, my ignorance did not know that you
were a jazz impresionaro (ph), patsionara (ph). Tell me what brought you to jazz? How long have you been doing jazz music?
GOLDBLUM: I will tell you, Christiane, I grew up in Pittsburgh, I bet you've been there. You've been to Pittsburgh?
AMANPOUR: I have.
GOLDBLUM: So, my parents -- my dad was a doctor and our parents gave us music lessons, us four kids. Me the piano around 10 years old. And that was
the story, you know. Around the same time, he would get -- he would bring home, my dad, Erroll Garner records, who is also from Pittsburgh. Some
people know wonderful jazz pianists and he kind of like jazz, my dad.
So, I -- it was -- I was exposed to it. Then I had lessons and I was kind of a poor student and wouldn't really -- I had a facility for it, you know.
AMANPOUR: I could you want to do something here.
GOLDBLUM: Well, no. I want to touch the piano.
AMANPOUR: You're itching to play. OK.
GOLDBLUM: Well, this is the first time -- you know, we're going to play here, like I was telling you.
AMANPOUR: It's Ronnie Scott's, the legendary.
GOLDBLUM: And this is the first time I'm sitting at this piano. I've never been at this piano before except down the last three minutes since we have
been setting up and we're going to play here in about a week. And -- yes. How about that?
AMANPOUR: Does it -- is it always all inspiring? I mean, is it slightly intimidating?
GOLDBLUM: Well, I'm too stupid to be intimidated. And piano and music never had -- I never had -- like acting was. I want to be an actor in the
worst way when I was a kid and I had this sort of I knew I had to make my way and make a living and -- but it was a passionate odyssey, romantic
adventure, wild adventure to me.
At the same time piano was this thing I was doing but I just loved doing. And it's remained kind of that. So, I'm a little -- I'm still a humble
student of it and it -- but it's all fun. And this record that we did just kind of happened accidentally through the great people of Decca, and I'll
tell you all about that, but, you know, like that.
AMANPOUR: Give me a little riff.
GOLDBLUM: Oh, what would you like to hear?
AMANPOUR: Sing to yourself.
GOLDBLUM: I'll sing to you. I fall in love too easily, Christiane. I fall in love too fast, I do. I fall -- et cetera, et cetera. That's a little
riff.
AMANPOUR: That's a little riff. So, I just -- you said you want to be an actor.
GOLDBLUM: Yes.
AMANPOUR: But you, from what I read --
GOLDBLUM: Yes.
AMANPOUR: -- were afraid of that ambition. You thought perhaps your parents or people wouldn't approve of it. I read that you wrote, "Dear
God." Where did you write it?
[13:45:00]
GOLDBLUM: On my shower door. Well, I kept it as a secret. Not that I thought they'd be disapproving, although my dad was a doctor, but he had
flirted with the idea of being an actor himself. But no, it was so -- he had said to us that if you find something you love doing that may be a
lighthouse or the compass for your vocational choice.
Around 10 years old, I also, not only did I start piano, but I did this part in a camp thing, went to camp and they were there and they said, did
you like doing that? I said, yes. I did. And I got the seed of an idea but kept it secret because I was thinking I was kind of embarrassed about it,
nobody I knew was an actor and on and on and on. And then it sort of developed into this obsession by the time this shower business started
around 9th, 10th grade. I went to Carnegie Mellon University.
And around that time I was -- I really was, I must be an actor. And every morning, I would take a shower and the door would steam up and I'd say,
please, God, let me be an actor. But then I wipe it off because I still hadn't told them.
AMANPOUR: You didn't want anybody to read it?
GOLDBLUM: No, I did not.
AMANPOUR: So, in the meantime, music, you were -- I mean, as you said, you started getting lessons at eight. And then, didn't you make your own bank
when you about 15 or something?
GOLDBLUM: Well, here's what happened. I didn't make my own band. I -- because it was this -- well, it was -- you know, I was playing at home. I'd
gotten on to jazz a little bit and could play a thing or two. Misty was something. But I learned it was my dad's favorite song. And I started to --
I got the idea that I wanted to call cocktail lounges around Pittsburgh.
And I did and I got a couple of gigs. So, it really wasn't a band. No, it was just me going to some cocktail lounge when I was 15. My parents drove
me and there would be a piano in a kind of a cheesy place in Pittsburgh. There are other good places in Pittsburgh, I think. But this is a cheesy
place. And there was a bar built around the thing and there would be patrons. They'd say, you know, suggest things, you know, they'd request
things.
Anyway, I played and I met a couple of lady singers around that time and they drove me to a gig or two. So, I played. It's kind of like the seeds of
what doing now --
AMANPOUR: And --
GOLDBLUM: -- just kind of happened into it.
AMANPOUR: Because you actually now do have a band and it's called the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra.
GOLDBLUM: Mildred Snitzer Orchestra.
AMANPOUR: How -- I mean, it's a strange name for a band.
GOLDBLUM: It's strange, it's a funny name. My -- we have started to play. So, I played, I started my acting career in New York. I kept a piano
around. Kept playing all the time, every day, snuck it at a movie or two.
And then about 30 years ago, I started to play out and about with some real great musicians. And whenever I wasn't working, started to do that. Oh, and
then -- but we did under the radar. I was just doing it for fun and I've showed up and I play and, you know.
And then a few years after that, we were invited to be part of the Playboy Jazz Festival at Hollywood Bowl, believe it or not. And they said, you
know, we go put your -- a name in the program. And I said, Well, there was this lady in Pittsburgh, a friend of the family, Mildred Snitzer, who is a
wonderful woman. Lived to be 103 or something. And I said, It's a funny name. I like that name. And I said, maybe we're the Mildred Snitzer
Orchestra, and we're not really an orchestra. And it's stuck, that's our name.
AMANPOUR: And we found a clip from 2001, in fact, of Mildred talking about it. And we're going to play it.
GOLDBLUM: Oh, really? Oh, that's so funny. Here's Mildred Snitzer. Oh, that's so funny.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MILDRED SNITZER, MUSICIAN: I know when him when he was 12. In those days, he played the piano and even had a small orchestra going. That's another
person, you know, Jeff would never think of me. Well, then, there was a little blurb in the Mercury News about it, it was Mildred Snitzer and she
had lived in Pittsburgh. I said my, you know, that must be me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLDBLUM: That's so funny.
AMANPOUR: So, that must have given her a huge amount of pleasure.
GOLDBLUM: I wonder. I was not in touch with her through -- you know, I left Pittsburgh when I was 17. Until I did see her, we were playing at
different places around Los Angeles. We were playing a place one night. And they said, hey, guess who's here. Mildred Snitzer is here. I said, you've
got to be kidding. Because she had since moved from Pittsburgh to like Northern California, found out where we're playing and showed up and came.
We were in the middle of a song and she came kind of dancing. She's probably in her 90s around this point wearing some sequins you kind of
dress and she just say, hey, you know, this is my band. You know, how about that.
And now, we took our face. We were making some band merchandise recently, designing it and they said, hey, what if we put a picture of Mildred
Snitzer, a drawing that we do on the front of it? So, we have some charts that says Mildred Snitzer Orchestra on the back and then it's her face the
front.
AMANPOUR: It sounds completely mad but it works.
GOLDBLUM: Yes. It's mad, yes.
AMANPOUR: So, let's go back just a little to the main thing that you're known, which, obviously, is film. It's 25 years since Jurassic Park.
GOLDBLUM: Yes, ma'am.
AMANPOUR: What does that mean for you?
[13:50:00]
GOLDBLUM: Well, I'm -- about my whole acting endeavor, I'm wildly grateful. It's uncommon that a guy like me can work over the -- a course of
time like this. And I'm trying to get better. I had a great teacher, Sandy Meisner, and I'm a kind of a late bloomer and a humble student, I like to
say, which is true. And I feel like I'm on the brink of my better stuff but I'm thrilled. You know, I wanted to do it in the worst way, like I said,
and I was thrilled to break quickly.
Slowly get things that I could get better at and then worked with great people over the years and was in some things that were -- you know, that
pleased people like the movie like --
AMANPOUR: And Steven Spielberg, obviously, was the creator.
GOLDBLUM: Steven Spielberg.
AMANPOUR: You had to persuade him not to cut your part, right?
GOLDBLUM: There is that story. I met him when -- I met him for the meeting, they had said, hey, wants to meet you for this part in the book
that they're making into a movie. I read the Michael Crichton book, read that character, he and Malcolm. And by the time we met, he said, you know,
I didn't want to cancel this meeting because I like you in this. And I said, let me read it to you. He said, but there's a move afoot to excise
that part out of the screenplay. Kind of make it part of this other character, Alan Grant.
And I, you know, remember, if I think I did, I said to him, Mr. Steven, I don't know. I think. Don't you like that? That could be a good character.
I'm sure I didn't persuade him. But anyway, it came around. So, I got back into the movie.
Life finds a way.
AMANPOUR: How do you feel about the political climate we live in right now? And it's not just in America, it's here in Brexit, Britain, it's
across Europe. It's in many parts of the world. I wonder whether it preys upon you and whether perhaps your art, your music particularly is a bomb,
is a way out of what some people feel is a pretty dog moment in history right now. Not everybody by the way, some people are thrilled about what's
going on.
GOLDBLUM: Not me. Although, are you familiar with -- you know, here again, what do I know? But I was exposed to a book whereby over the long arc,
things are getting better in many ways on the planet. But certainly, we're in a period now where it's no secret where I stand, I campaigned fully as I
could for Hillary Clinton.
I would be excited about progress and the progressive way and sensibility, it's in my bones really, toward global family connection and the success of
all in the human race and all creatures on the planet. And I abhor ugliness, bigotry, stupidity coarseness of all kinds, especially othering
all manner of underdogs.
Beyond that, there's much to say in detail and I'd love to talk to you about it particularly but I'm engaged. What did you say VAX (ph) store?
AMANPOUR: Yes.
GOLDBLUM: Yes. And that was two children becoming the world that we're leaving them and you know, it interests me greatly. And some of the big
questions that we can only tackle as a global family, climate change, there are no borders to the challenges that the planet faces. And also, nuclear
weapons and nuclear war, we must tackle those altogether and with the openness of hearts and smartest of approaches.
And music, yes, does ease me here and there when I get too overly stimulated and disturbed. But also, not that it's anything I claim as
anything important, but I do -- my life has been devoted to musical stories, human stories that may provide some kind of mysterious tonic. And
there you go.
AMANPOUR: Give us a little tonic. Play us out.
GOLDBLUM: Well, I will. I will. Let me see. What can I -- oh, what can I play? Oh, here.
[13:55:00]
Et cetera, et cetera.
AMANPOUR: Wonderful.
GOLDBLUM: Thank you so much.
AMANPOUR: Jeff Goldblum, thank you so much.
GOLDBLUM: I can't tell you what a privilege it is to talk to you. Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Tonic that still resonates today. And finally, for us, a rare moment of celebration in the race against climate change.
South Korea's constitutional court has ruled that the country's climate law does not protect basic rights and has asked for it to be revised. Now, the
case was brought by more than 200 plaintiffs, including youth activists, as they argued that their government was not doing enough to protect their
future.
Outside the courthouse in Seoul, activists chanted the verdict is not the end, but the beginning. And legal experts are indeed calling it a landmark
ruling, which could set a precedent in Asia as we see more and more cases just like it right around the world.
All right. That's it for us. You can always catch us online, on our podcast, and across social media. I want to thank you for watching, and
goodbye from New York.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:00:00]
END
