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Israeli Airstrikes Hit the Suburbs of Beirut; More than 300,000 Cast their Votes in a Record-Breaking First Day of Early Voting in Georgia; CNN's Stephanie Elam Chats with Two of her Friends who Battled Breast Cancer; CNN Gets Rare Access to China's Panda Conservation as Washington Prepares for a Red Carpet Welcome for Two Giant Panda. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired October 16, 2024 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: Hello and warm welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and everyone streaming us on CNN Max too. I'm Max Foster.
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: And I'm Christina Macfarlane. Just ahead, the U.S. is making new demands on Israel. Improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza or risk military aid.
FOSTER: Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris talks to a popular radio host, but there's a message aimed directly at black men getting through.
MACFARLANE: And a very personal story in the fight against breast cancer. CNN anchor talks about her struggle with the disease to give hope to other women.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from London, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Max Foster and Christina Macfarlane.
MACFARLANE: And we begin this hour in Beirut where Israeli airstrikes have hit the Lebanese capital for the first time since last week. The IDF says it was targeting a Hezbollah weapon stockpile in the city's southern suburbs. The strike follows criticism from the U.S. State Department about civilian casualties in Beirut.
FOSTER: Meanwhile, the U.S. is demanding that Israel help improve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza in the next 30 days, all face potential restrictions on military aid. Video from the latest Israeli strikes on Gaza is graphic.
Emergency and civil defense officials say at least 40 people have been killed. One strike near Khan Younis reportedly hit a residential building. Others affected areas around a refugee camp in central Gaza.
MACFARLANE: Well, Israel is getting help from the U.S. as it weighs its response to Iran's missile barrage earlier this month. The first components of an air advance -- advanced air defense system along with soldiers to operate it -- have arrived in Israel and a source tells CNN Israel has assured the U.S. it will not strike Iranian oil or nuclear facilities but only hit military targets.
Well, let's bring in Nada Bashir who's got the latest on the developments here in London. Nada, let's begin with those strikes in Beirut because they come I believe just 24 hours after the Lebanese prime minister was said He was assured by the U.S. that Israel would step back from striking the capital. So --
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, we have seen somewhat of a pause in strikes on Beirut in particular, and there had been this understanding that there had been dialogue and communication between Israeli authorities, Israeli government and the United States to try and mitigate any further strikes targeting Beirut. But as you've mentioned, we've seen yet again, strikes targeting Beirut, southern suburbs and Haret Hreik and Dahiyeh.
These are areas that Hezbollah strongholds, but they are also areas that are densely populated still with civilians and of course we have seen those evacuation orders put in place. The Israeli military has once again said that it issued evacuation orders for families living in these southern suburbs but so many now across Lebanon are internally displaced. This is a very packed, densely populated city and so efforts to mitigate civilian risk can only go so far as you can imagine in such a tightly packed city.
And of course we've heard from Prime Minister Netanyahu who despite dialogue between the United States and Israel has once again reiterated that Israel will target Hezbollah wherever they are located in Lebanon, regardless of whether it is the capital or not.
And of course, we have seen Hezbollah continue to target Israeli territory as well. The Israeli military says some 90 rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel on Tuesday. But again, we're hearing really staggering figures. I mean, Lebanese authorities say that the number of attacks on Lebanon by Israel has now surpassed 10,000.
The death toll continues to rise. So this is a deeply concerning situation, particularly if we are not seeing, once again, Israel heeding those warnings and discussions with one of their closest allies, the U.S.
FOSTER: In terms of that letter from the U.S. government, it's pretty profound, isn't it, the suggestion that they could withhold military aid to Israel if more isn't done to get humanitarian aid into Gaza. Does that suggest to you that patience is running out in Washington?
BASHIR: Absolutely. I mean, this is a very stark and firm statement from the Biden administration. We've been hearing warnings and condemnation and various statements from the Biden administration throughout this war, but we haven't really seen any substantial action.
And what many organizations -- humanitarian organizations have been asking for is for the U.S. to take that substantial action to limit military aid in order to give Israel an incentive ready to allow more humanitarian aid, to put a pause in fighting.
The U.S. has been very specific in what they're looking for. They want to see at least 350 trucks entering Gaza across all four major crossings, as well as potentially opening another fifth crossing. They want to see humanitarian pauses being implemented.
[03:05:05]
They want to see people who have been evacuated to the humanitarian zone on the coastal area to be allowed to move inland before winter.
And of course, we've been hearing from the State Department spokesperson, Matt Miller, who has said that this is, in his words, a rhetorical statement. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MMATHEW MILLER, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: This isn't about making a rhetorical statement. It's not about making any kind of threats. It's about seeing the situation reversed. And so the civilians in Gaza who are not getting adequate access to food and medicine and other humanitarian goods today actually see as a result of our efforts a change in their daily lives. And that's what we're focused on achieving, and that's what we are trying to achieve through this letter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: You know, now that I'm watching that, it has to be said that Israel have flagrantly disregarded every warning, every red line up to this point. So, I mean, what is the hope that they will even pay attention to, you know, a 30-day warning like this?
BASHIR: Well, that's right. We've had warnings from the US, do not invade Rafah, do not bomb Beirut, allow more humanitarian aid. None of these warnings have been heeded. We haven't seen any real consequences except perhaps a pause in some military shipments to Israel. But again, no substantial action taken by the U.S. They've been given 30 days to do this. That deadline takes us beyond, of course, the U.S. election.
It's important to note that. Whether Israel actually heeds these warnings from the U.S., that remains to be seen. Of course, this does come with risks in terms of law in the US, meaning that they would have to halt support in some ways for the Israeli military operation. But again, we've seen the prime minister himself and Israel vocally publicly contradicting U.S. statements. So whether this carries any weight remains to be seen.
MACFARLANE: All right, Nada Bashir, thank you.
FOSTER: We're getting an update. A close look at the Israeli ground operation in southern Lebanon meanwhile. CNN reported from Lebanon under Israel Defense Forces escort at all times.
MACFARLANE: Well CNN retained editorial control over the final report and did not submit any footage to the IDF for review. Here's the piece. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has this.
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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the ruins of this southern Lebanese village, amid flattened buildings, crumpled cars and mounds of rubble, there are also Israeli soldiers. Two weeks into their ground operation, they now control multiple villages like this one. But for how long and how much deeper into Lebanon will they go?
Israeli Humvees now slice straight through the border into the rocky terrain of southern Lebanon.
DIAMOND: Nearly two weeks ago, Israeli ground troops came in here in the first major Israeli ground operation in nearly two decades. And they're now taking us to see one of their positions inside Lebanon.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Arriving on the ground, it's immediately clear this village is now firmly in Israeli hands. Supplies are being brought in, tanks are parked in a courtyard, and troops have settled into homes where Lebanese civilians once lived.
DIAMOND: So we're about two miles inside of southern Lebanon and you can see the destruction around us that's been robbed by this ground operation also by Israeli strikes over the course of the last year. What we're also seeing is that this is a clear Israeli position that has been established with artillery fire now firing off in the distance and it's interesting because the Israeli military of course is describing all of this as limited targeted raids but we are also seeing of course that they have established positions inside of southern Lebanon for an offensive that they insist is not going to go much deeper.
This is an established Israeli military position inside of southern Lebanon. How is this a raid?
COL. ROY RUSSO, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: Well, as you can see and as you walk by, those outposts that we're right now holding are temporary. There's no outpost designed, built and operated by the IDF. These are tactical, temporary, time limited.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Colonel Roy Russo, the chief of staff of the 91st Division, says his orders are to clear the area closest to the border and nothing more.
RUSSO: There's no objective that was designed to us to go into Beirut or Dahiyeh or something like that. No, we need to eliminate the threat at the tactical range that enables Hezbollah to pose a threat on the communities.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Deeper inside this former Hezbollah stronghold, Colonel Rousseau and his troops show us what they say that threat looks like.
RUSSO: You can see here anti-tank missiles. You can see rockets. You can see the brand new AK-47. DIAMOND (voice-over): Multiple stashes of weapons, which the Israeli
military says Hezbollah planned to use in attacks on northern Israeli communities, a claim CNN cannot independently verify.
Israeli troops are now fighting to clear other villages like this one to remove what they say is a key part of the Hezbollah threat that has displaced some 60,000 residents of northern Israel. Soldiers here say Hezbollah has shown itself to be a tough, well-trained enemy carrying out tactical ambushes that have already killed 10 Israeli troops.
[03:10:02]
Israel's war in Lebanon already stretches far beyond the battlefield of these border communities. More than 2,300 people have been killed in Israeli strikes across Lebanon, including several hundred women and children, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. And more than a million people have fled their homes as Israel intensifies its attacks ordering residents of a quarter of Lebanon's territory to evacuate.
DIAMOND: That is an enormous cost for this kind of ground operation, the kind of strikes that you guys are conducting.
RUSSO: Right, I think the responsibility is on Hezbollah. I think if they haven't launched an attack on October 8th, we wouldn't be here.
DIAMOND (voice-over): As the cost continues to mount for Lebanon's civilians, Colonel Russo says he believes the Israeli ground operation will be counted in weeks, not months. But a smoke rises beyond the tree line, a reminder that this war is far from over.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, inside southern Lebanon with the Israeli military.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Now just 20 days to go until the U.S. presidential election and early voting is already off to a record start in the state of Georgia. People in the critical battleground state began lining up to cast their ballots Tuesday before the sun was even up.
FOSTER: Good sign, good turnout. By the time the polls close, more than 328,000 people had cast their votes. That's more than double the first day early voting record from 2020. Voters seem intent on making sure their voices are heard.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. IYABO WEBZELL, GEORGIA VOTER AND PEDIATRICIAN: When I hear on the news all the talk about immigrants doing this and that and all of the negative talk, it breaks my heart because I have two daughters and I have two step-sons and you know we contribute a lot to America. I pay a lot of taxes, I've created jobs for so many people, so it breaks my heart when all of that negative goes around. So I just wanted to represent.
(END VIDEO CLIP) FOSTER: Meanwhile, a Georgia judge has paused a new rule that would require hand counting ballots at each polling station to make sure they match the number tallied by voting machines. The judge criticized election officials for approving the measure so close to election day.
MACFARLANE: And the same judge also ruled that county officials must certify results in the days after the election and they cannot exclude votes from this certification even if they suspect error or fraud.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRAD RAFFENSPERGER, GEORGIA SECRETARY OF STATE: Our reaction is that we've always believed that everyone should follow the law and follow the Constitution. That's an American value. And so I think that's very important that is affirmed, you know, in the judicial system. And we'll make sure that we follow the law and follow the Constitution in everything we do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: It does suggest, doesn't it, that if it's really tight in these swing states, that the result might not even happen on election night. It could take days.
MACFARLANE: Well, that's the expectation, I think, isn't it, at this point? Georgia is actually a handful of battleground states that will likely decide the winners of this year's election. And that's why Kamala Harris is and her running mate Tim Walz will campaign there together for the first time on Wednesday.
FOSTER: It's part of a wider effort to court black male voters who are critical to the democratic campaign.
CNN's Eva McKend has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EVA MCKEND, CNN U.S. NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: In perhaps the most wide-ranging conversation so far of the campaign, the Vice President addressing building wealth in black communities, answering a question on reparations, saying it was an issue that needed to be studied, and saying that she understood that there are disparities in certain communities while pledging to be a president for all of America. She also pushed back against this sense of complacency coming from some corners. Take a listen.
VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS (D), U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We should never sit back and say okay I'm not going to vote because everything hasn't been solved. I share desire that everything should be solved by the way. I think it is it what we should all want but that doesn't that shouldn't stand in the way of us also know we can participate in a process that's about improving things and by voting in this election you have two choices or you don't vote.
But you have two choices if you do. And it's two very different visions for our nation. One mind that is about taking us forward and progress and investing in the American people, investing in their ambitions, dealing with their challenges. And the other Donald Trump is about taking us backward.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD, "THE BREAKFAST CLUB" HOST: The other is about fascism. Why can't we just say it?
HARRIS: Yes, we can say that.
MCKEND: When asked if she was essentially pandering to black men by focusing specifically on their issues in a new policy platform, she said that these were part of her long-standing commitments, that even prior to running for vice president, these have always been policy views that she has espoused. The campaign, working hard here in Michigan, she's also going to make her case to voters this week, though, in Wisconsin and in Georgia.
Eva McKend, CNN, Detroit, Michigan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[03:15:10]
MACFARLANE: Well, Kamala Harris isn't the only one. Donald Trump is also focusing some of his attention on black voters.
FOSTER: Yeah, at a rally in Atlanta on Tuesday, the Republican nominee said any voters of color who would vote for Kamala Harris would, or quote, "ought to have their head examined." CNN's Kristen Holmes has more on the Trump campaign effort as the race enters its final stages.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump hoping to capitalize on voters' concerns over the economy in the final sprint to the White House.
DONALD TRUMP (R), U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariff.
HOLMES (voice-over): Sitting down with Bloomberg's editor-in-chief at the Chicago Economic Club for an at-times contentious interview over his economic proposals.
JOHN MICKLETHWAIT, BLOOMBERG EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: The markets are looking at the fact you are making all these promises. People like the "Wall Street Journal", who's hardly a communist organization, they have criticized you on this as well. You are running up enormous debts.
TRUMP: What is the "Wall Street Journal" now? I'm meeting with them tomorrow. What is the "Wall Street Journal"? They've been wrong about everything. So have you.
HOLMES (voice-over): The former president again refusing to commit to accepting the 2024 election results while continuing to falsely claim there was a peaceful transfer of power after his 2020 defeat.
TRUMP: And it was love and peace.
HOLMES (voice-over): Trump also would not say whether he'd spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin since leaving office.
MICKLETHWAIT: Can you say yes or no whether you have talked to Vladimir Putin since? You stopped being president.
TRUMP: Well, I don't comment on that, but I will tell you that. If I did, it's a smart thing.
HOLMES (voice-over): With just three weeks to go, Trump also seeking to broaden his appeal among women voters, with polls showing a wide gender gap in his matchup against Vice President Kamala Harris.
TRUMP: Women love my policy, but they don't like me.
HOLMES (voice-over): The former president participating in a Fox News town hall with an all-female audience in Battleground Georgia, before holding a rally with supporters in Atlanta as early voting begins in the Peach State.
TRUMP: Let's not do any more questions.
HOLMES (voice-over): This comes after Trump cut questions short at a town hall in Pennsylvania, instead swaying to music on stage for nearly 40 minutes.
Shortly after, Kamala Harris taunting Trump, the Vice President writing, quote, "hope he's OK." It's just the latest in the back-and- forth between the two candidates as Trump faces public calls from his Democratic rival to release his medical records after the White House released a letter summarizing Harris medical history over the weekend.
HARRIS: He's not being transparent, so check this out. He refuses to release his medical records. I've done it. Every other presidential camp, every other presidential candidate in modern era has done it.
HOLMES (voice-over): In an overnight post on social media, Trump baselessly attacking Harris' medical history, saying the vice president is quote, "dying to see his cholesterol", while claiming to have quote, "put out more medical exams than any president in history", despite not releasing basic information that presidential candidates traditionally make public.
Kristen Holmes, CNN, Atlanta, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Still to come, the fallout from Donald Trump's remarks about the enemy from within, why his own former defense secretary says Trump must be taken seriously when he talks about using the military against civilians.
MACFARLANE: Plus, trapped in the nightmare that is Gaza, over a hundred hostages and huge numbers of civilians, many fear time is running out. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: U.S. President Joe Biden plans to convene a meeting of the so- called European Quad to discuss future support for Ukraine as its war against Russia moves closer to the three-year mark. President Biden and the leaders of France, Germany and Britain have been scheduled to meet with Ukraine's president last week, but it was postponed due to Hurricane Milton.
MACFARLANE: And now we're told the Quad meeting is expected to be held this week in Berlin. The four Western allies are the top arms suppliers to Ukraine, delivering about $90 billion in direct military aid to Kiev since the war began. And Ukraine's president will meet with E.U. leaders in Brussels this week.
The European Council president says he's invited Volodymyr Zelenskyy to present his victory plan and to discuss the latest developments in the war. Mr. Zelenskyy has been traveling throughout Europe seeking more military and aid from Western allies.
FOSTER: Ukraine is facing its third winter at war with Russia, and the country is pleading for more help. As Russian forces continue to make gains in the East, and Moscow targets Ukraine's power grid.
Donald Trump has a history of praising President Vladimir Putin and criticizing support for Ukraine. He stuck to that stance during an interview at the Chicago Economic Club on Tuesday, whilst dodging a very specific question about President Putin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICKLETHWAIT: Can you say yes or no whether you have talked to Vladimir Putin since you stopped being president?
TRUMP: Well, I don't comment on that, but I will tell you that if I did, it's a smart thing. If I'm friendly with people, if I have a relationship with people, that's a good thing, not a bad thing in terms of a country.
(END VIDEO CLIP0
MACFARLANE: I don't think he answered the question. Trump had previously denied having multiple phone calls with the Russian president after journalist Bob Woodward wrote about it in his new book. Here's how Woodward reacted to Trump's comment during a CNN interview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB WOODWARD, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, "THE WASHINGTON POST": I make it of a kind of affirmation to say it's a smart thing. How is this a smart thing? Who is Vladimir Putin? Look, Putin is the 20th century's Adolf Hitler. What Putin is doing in Ukraine is not just territorial assault, it is him saying, and if you read what he said and written about this, oh, Russia's entitled to Ukraine. So we are just going to take it. And that's precisely what he's working on. It's the biggest war that's going on in the world right now.
And what's the battlefield status now? That the Ukrainians who have been supported by the United States and other democratic-loving allies, they actually, last I heard about this, Ukraine occupied 96, 93 villages in Russia. So this is not going very well at this moment for Russia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Donald Trump is defending his recent comments suggesting using the military against what he calls the enemy from within.
MACFARLANE: Well, in an interview on Tuesday, he named the enemy as his opponent, Kamala Harris and Democrats in Congress. But Harris has pushed back, telling her supporters Trump was getting more unstable and unhinged. CNN's Brian Todd has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The vice president pouncing on the latest incendiary comments by her opponent, even playing them on the Jumbotron at a rally.
HARRIS: He considers anyone who doesn't support him or who will not bend to his will an enemy of our country. He is saying that he would use the military to go after them. Donald Trump is increasingly unstable and unhinged.
TODD (voice-over): Kamala Harris' running mate Tim Walz said this.
GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), U.S. VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The idea of sending US military personnel against American citizens makes me sick to my stomach.
TODD (voice-over): Walz called the former president a fascist for saying this to Fox News when asked about potential unrest on election day.
TRUMP: I think the bigger problem is the enemy from within. We have some very bad people, we have some sick people, radical left lunatics. And I think they're the, and it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard or if really necessary by the military.
[03:25:04]
TODD (voice-over): Trump's running mate, J.D. Vance, defended the former president's remarks.
SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), U.S. VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Is it a justifiable use of those assets if they're rioting and looting and burning cities down to the ground? Of course it is. TODD (voice-over): Trump's former defense secretary, Mark Esper, says
we should take Trump seriously when he talks about using the U.S. military against American civilians.
MARK ESPER, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY FOR TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: Concerns me on many levels. Not least of which is, you know, the impact it could have on, on American citizens. It's the impact on the institution of the military.
TODD (voice-over): Esper was defense secretary in 2020 when then president Trump pushed to use the military to crush black lives matter protests, which the military resisted. Esper wrote in his book, "A Sacred Oath" that at that time, Trump asked of a possible military response to the protesters, quote, "can't you just shoot them, just shoot them in the legs or something?" Esper also wrote that in 2020, Trump asked him about launching U.S. missiles to attack Mexican drug cartels.
General Mark Milley, who served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Trump, told journalist Bob Woodward that Trump is, quote, "a fascist to the core."
MEREDITH MCGRAW, NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, "POLITICO": We saw how Donald Trump tested the limits of what the military could do in his first term, but now as he's looking at potentially a second term, he and his allies are raising questions about how they might be able to deploy the military on everything from the border to go after those perceived political enemies.
TODD: While the former president spoke about the threat from what he called the radical left, he downplayed any possible threat from his own voters around election day. Asked if he was expecting chaos, Trump said, quote, "not from the side that votes for Trump", even though it was, of course, his supporters who stormed the Capitol on January 6th.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Now the U.S. Defense Department has taken a major step to rectify decades of injustice against LGBTQ plus military service members. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Tuesday that the records of more than 800 service members who have been kicked out of the military under the federal Don't Ask Don't Tell policy have been upgraded to honorable discharge.
FOSTER: In 2011, Congress repealed the policy that banned openly gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals from serving in the military. Under that policy, the U.S. Deputy Secretary says thousands of troops had been quote, "given discharges that may have denied them access to veterans benefits, like home loans, healthcare, G.I. Bill, tuition assistance, and even some government jobs."
MACFARLANE: Well, over the past year, the US Defense Department has proactively reviewed hundreds of cases to offer relief to those service members, and this is the result. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SABRINA SINGH, U.S. DEPUTY PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: What this means is that of the nearly 13,500 individuals who were administratively separated under Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, and served long enough to receive a merit-based characterization of service, 96 percent now have an honorable discharge.
(END VIDEO CLIP0
MACFARLANE: Now, improve the situation in Gaza. That message from the U.S. to Israel, what the Biden administration is asking and how the Israeli government might respond.
FOSTER: And later, it's a red carpet arrival for two giant pandas from China. This is the story Chrissy engaged with yesterday. We'll explain why they're an important symbol of international partnership.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:30:00]
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MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: The U.S. is demanding Israel take action to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza within the next 30 days or future military aid could be in jeopardy. The Biden administration wants more aid shipments, another border crossing opened and humanitarian pauses for aid deliveries and vaccinations.
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: Meanwhile, Lebanese state media are reporting the first Israeli airstrikes on Beirut since last week. The Israeli military says it targeted a Hezbollah weapons stockpile in the southern suburbs of the capital. And one in five Lebanese residents, around a million people, have now fled their homes, according to the U.N. And about a quarter of the country is under military evacuation orders.
And a closer look now at the U.S.' demand for Israel to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Here's CNN's Oren Liebermann.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Over the course of the past year, we have seen many times the U.S. express its concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza to Israel, calling on the Israelis to do more, that is, let in more humanitarian aid, allow for the free movement of Palestinians from northern Gaza to southern Gaza, allow humanitarian zones to be true safe areas. But we've never seen quite something like this. This is a first and it marks a significant step in terms of the U.S. demanding that Israel do more when it comes to humanitarian aid going into Gaza.
In a letter from Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, the two write to senior Israeli officials that more needs to be done, that aid since the spring has dropped by some 50 percent, and that September had, quote, "the lowest of any month during the past year." In light of that, and because of the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, Blinken and Austin call on Israel to carry out an, quote, "urgent and sustained actions by your government this month to reverse this trajectory."
Now, the U.S. gives Israel 30 days to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza. They point out that this review is effectively necessary by U.S. law because you have to make sure that countries that get U.S. foreign military assistance are following U.S. law and international humanitarian law. So that, they say is the reason for this litter, but there is clear concern about the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, and that's the driving force here.
The real question, does this lead to meaningful change when it comes to the U.S. providing military assistance to Israel? Over the course of the past year, the only thing we have seen consistently held was a single shipment of 2,000-pound bombs that remains held to this point.
But in theory, at least, that's what this warning is about a threat that if Israel doesn't take stress steps to address the humanitarian concerns, you might see that play out and affect U.S. military assistance to Israel. At the same time, the U.S. making it absolutely clear that it will do and provide everything it can for Israel's defensive needs.
And on that note, the first parts and the first service members from an advanced U.S. anti-ballistic missile system have already arrived in Israel. The THAAD system, Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense. The U.S. and the Pentagon said that would arrive in the coming days. Now the first components of that are beginning to arrive along with some of the advanced troops that will help set that up. It's not the full system, but that is clearly on the way.
The U.S. very much concerned about first, Israel's promise to respond to an Iranian ballistic missile barrage from earlier this month, and second, Iran's vow to retaliate to any attack. And that's what the THAAD is there for, to make sure Israel has not only high-quality defenses against Iranian attacks, but also a great quantity of defenses because we have seen very clearly how large those Iranian barrages can be.
Oren Liebermann, CNN at the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: In Gaza, countless civilians and incidents are suffering horrific injuries from Israeli strikes. They're facing a severe lack of aid, have no safe place to turn.
MACFARLANE: There's also suffering in Israel, where entire families are torn apart after the Hamas terror attacks. And it's believed more than 100 hostages are still in captivity.
FOSTER: Jomana Karadsheh examines the human cost of the conflict. A warning, her report contains disturbing video. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Trapped in the nightmare that is Gaza are the innocent who did not choose this war and time is running out to save their lives.
[03:34:57]
Oded Lifshitz turn 84 in Hamas captivity. The great grandfather was shot and injured on October 7th by militants who stormed his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, the site of one of the worst massacres of that day. He was separated from his wife of more than 60 years. 86-year-old Yokaved was also abducted, thrown onto the back of a motorbike in her nightgown before being released days later by Hamas. For more than a year, Sharone hasn't stopped fighting for the release of her father and the other hostages.
SHARONE LIFSHITZ, DAUGHTER OF HOSTAGE: We are so exhausted and so heartbroken again and again. We don't have the luxury of giving up.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Their hopes for a ceasefire deal that would secure the release of the hostages shattered over and over again by failed negotiations. And now with Israel's new war in Lebanon, the world's attention appears to be shifting. It is, for all involved, a race against time.
LIFSHITZ: We are losing this race. Anybody who's interested in history see people that are caught in the tide of time, in political, military fanatical regimes that are putting their own survival or their own agenda above human lives and I feel that we now know what it feels.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Human lives turned into political pawns with no escape in this hell on Earth where life has become a slow death for those who survive the devastating bombardment.
An Israeli strike left 14-year-old Mohammed with severe burns all over his body. An Israel siege left doctors with very little to save lives, with not enough supplies to sterilize wounds. When we filmed with him, his wounds were infested with maggots that fell to the floor every time his dressings were changed.
A week after filming, Hamed died. It was too late for him, but thousands of others in urgent need of medical evacuation could be saved. Yet only a fraction of them have been allowed out by Israeli authorities in recent months.
Baby Shehad can barely breathe and feed. The growing tumor is compressing his tiny heart. His mother Tamada struggles to hold it together as she tries to comfort her boy. Today, he's going into surgery to try and save his life because he can't be evacuated, she says. I just want my son to get better.
There are no specialists available in Gaza, and they don't have the medical equipment they need. The doctors say they have no choice but to operate to try and keep him alive. These are children. They're not carrying weapons, Tamada says. Why can't he be evacuated? Against all odds, the four-month-old made it through the surgery, but now lives on borrowed time. More than a month later, he's still suffering from weight loss, diarrhea, vomiting and fever. His mother is pleading the international community for treatment abroad. Palestinian and Israeli lives that could be saved with a deal, if only there were the political will.
More than a hundred hostages are still being held in Gaza. The Israeli military's admitted mistakenly killing three of them. It's also said it is most likely responsible for the death of at least three others. And in recent weeks, Hamas executed six hostages as Israeli forces closed in.
LIFSHITZ: These were young people that had every chance of survival and had survived almost a year. It's heartbreaking. It's a failure. We have been in the burning house since the 7th of October and we have been screaming that the flames are rising and that they're going to consume more and more people. We have been saying that a military pressure is killing the hostages.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Oded Lifshitz is a man who's long believed in peace that now seems like a more distant dream than ever.
LIFSHITZ: My father used to drive Palestinians regularly from the border in Gaza to hospitals in Israel and the West Bank. And I think that there is a lesson in it, and the lesson is in how do we share in humanity.
KARADSHEH: If your father could hear you now, what would you say to him?
LIFSHITZ: Forgive us. We have tried so hard. We hear your voice in our hands and that we try what we can. We try the way he tried all his life. He tried for many years to avert this disaster, and it's befalling us. I hear him now saying, work for peace, work for the possibility of humans in this region to live together.
[03:40:08]
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Now October is breast cancer awareness month and we're wearing it.
MACFARLANE: We are. CNN correspondent Stephanie Elam sits down for an intimate conversation with two of her best friends both battling breast cancer and one of them happens to be our colleague Sarah Sidner.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: We are coordinated today.
MACFARLANE: And there's a reason. FOSTER: It is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and it's a disease that
touches millions of lives. It's the second leading cause of cancer death amongst women in the U.S. According to the American Cancer Society, black women have the lowest survival rate for every known stage of breast cancer. It also finds that one in eight women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer.
MACFARLANE: Well, CNN correspondent Stephanie Elam recently sat down with two of her best friends battle breast cancer. One of them is our colleague Sarah Sidner. Take a watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANANDA LEWIS, CONTENT CREATOR AND FORMER 90'S MTV VJ: I'm sorry, yours was your left, right?
SARAH SIDNER, CNN SR. U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah.
LEWIS: Mine was a right.
SIDNER: Okay.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Little bit different.
LEWIS: You guys make a, we can mirror each other.
ELAM: It's crazy that we're joking about it.
LEWIS: I have left. It's so nice.
SIDNER: Me too.
ELAM: So what about mammograms? I'll start with you, Ananda. Were you good about getting your mammograms?
LEWIS: You know I wasn't.
ELAM (voice-over): This is Ananda Lewis, and she has breast cancer. She's a content creator who is known for her time hosting BET's "Teen Summit" in the 90s, being a V.J. for MTV and hosting her own talk show in the early 2000s.
She's one of my best friends, as is CNN anchor Sarah Sidner. She too has breast cancer, stage three. Both of them found their lumps on their own. Sarah's discovery was just months after a mammogram.
SIDNER: The American Cancer Society does not recommend self-exams anymore, but to me, if you can tell, you know your body. You have to advocate for yourself so much. And I am terrible at advocating for myself. I will advocate for you.
ELAM: You're actually happy to do it for everybody else.
SIDNER: I will, I will fight someone. Like I am a ride or die bee. So this has been a real lesson for me to self-advocate. ELAM (voice-over): Sarah had a double mastectomy. Ananda took a
different approach. By the time she found a lump in her breast, her cancer had progressed to stage three and doctors recommended a double mastectomy as she went against the recommendation.
LEWIS: My plan at first was to get out excessive toxins in my body. I felt like my body is intelligent. I know that to be true. Our bodies are brilliantly made. I decided to keep my tumor and tried to work it out of my body a different way. Looking back on it --
ELAM: I go.
LEWIS: -- you know what? Maybe I should have.
ELAM (voice-over): Ananda completely overhauled her diet, improved her sleep, pursued aggressive homeopathic therapies along with traditional medicine and radiation. She improved for a long time.
[03:45:06]
She says removing the toxins, physical and emotional, from her body has been beneficial. But last year, she found out her cancer had metastasized into stage four which means the cancer spread to other areas.
LEWIS: My lymph system really flared up. And so all through my abdomen, all those lymphs were very flared up, my collarbone. And it was the first time I ever had a conversation with death because I felt like this is how it ends. You know, I was like, okay, so I don't get afraid of things. I was just like, fudge, man, I really thought I had this.
You know, I was frustrated. I was a little angry at myself. I was, and I said, man, listen, I know you're coming for me at some point. But I don't want it to be now. And if you could just wait. I promise when you do come, I'm going to make it fun for you. We're going to have fun and we got, I literally had that conversation laying in my bed. I couldn't get out of bed for like eight weeks.
ELAM: What's interesting to me is that you both are saying, is it to appreciate life more now that you're going through this? Or is it joy?
SIDNER: Mine is joy. And I didn't realize how little joy I had in my life. Like I didn't realize that was not a priority in my life.
LEWIS: My quality of life was very important to me. We've had that conversation before. Like I, there's certain things I know I'm not going to be okay with and I know myself. I want to want to be here. And so I had to do it a certain way for me.
SIDNER: The fact that you like I want to want to be here. I've had times when I didn't want to be here --
ELAM: And so you mean in life.
SIDNER: -- in life. ELAM: Yeah.
SIDNER: I didn't want to be here. I didn't want to go through all this.
LEWIS: Because of this during this --
SIDNER: -- before this. And then this journey came along and it's so weird that it was cancer that was like, I want to be here. I insist on being here and I insist on thriving, not just being alive, not just existing. I want to thrive in a way that I have never felt before.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: You know Max, this kind of real talk among women is something that I so value because for so long, you know, breast cancer, we just didn't talk about it and we don't talk about it as women enough between ourselves and so that's what we need to do. We need to open up.
We need to talk about how you test, you know, the rates, the figures related to breast cancer so that people are more aware of what they can do and how they should act actually and also women who are younger too, because there are figures that indicate that breast cancer is rising among younger women as well as older women as well, sadly. So let's have a dialogue about it.
FOSTER: And it's catching it early, isn't it? It's so important.
MACFARLANE: Yeah, absolutely. Anyway, love that on Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Now still to come. Panda Watch is officially over as two giant pandas on loan from China arrive in Washington. The details just ahead.
FOSTER: Just starting, isn't it?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: Now, multiple extreme weather events in the U.S. have wiped out funding to a disaster relief program for small businesses. The Small Business Administration says it received 37,000 applications from those impacted by Hurricane Helene and has made $48 million worth of loans, loan offers so far. And now the agency has received more than 12,000 applications due to Hurricane Milton as well.
[03:50:04]
FOSTER: U.S. President Joe Biden says the fund will be replenished when Congress meets again in loans in the meantime. The Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA has its own disaster relief fund but it's already spent more than 11 billion dollars from that fund in the last two weeks alone.
The U.S. Climate Prediction Center forecasts a 60 percent chance La Nina could emerge through November. MACFARLANE: Gosh, it could make this winter in the northern hemisphere
feel much different than last year's which was dominated by El Nino. Meteorologist Chad Myers breaks it down for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It was big switch in the pattern already with 64 million people with frost and freeze advisories. Now this is not La Nina just yet. It hasn't really developed, but temperatures are significantly colder 10 to 15 degrees colder than you should be for the morning low temperatures.
So a couple of rain showers across the Ohio Valley right now. And if you get into the upper elevations of West Virginia, there could be a snow flurry or two.
Let's get to La Nina. This is when there is a cold pool of water in the Pacific Ocean that bumps up against South America. What it does is reflect the jet stream a little bit and it affects the weather.
So rather than having weather coming in from the west like El Nino, now all of a sudden it's coming in from the northwest keeping things cool but as it makes a turn here in the Midwest and the Great Lakes it gets fairly wet.
There could be some tornado activity here in the spring as we get closer to that warm cold clash. And I don't really see that with El Nino, but it's certainly possible with La Nina. So this is where we bend warm, dry across the upper Midwest, cool across the deep south. And that's all about to change.
Here's the forecast now that will officially come out on Thursday, but I'll give you a peek of what it's going to look like. Above average temperatures in the winter and then below average in the Pacific Northwest. Depending on where you are with the storm here in the Great Lakes, that's where the above-normal precip will actually be. If it's 28, it's a snowstorm. If it's 34, 35, 36, it'll be a cold rain event.
Now, it affects the United States and Canada more than it affects the rest of the world, but La Nina still has some global impacts, depending on where you are, from wet across parts of Indonesia, Micronesia, also into parts of Africa to dry into parts of China.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Now, giant Chinese pandas, Qing Bao and Bao Li, can officially call the United States home, but you can't get to see them just yet. They arrived in Washington early Tuesday and will be in quarantine for at least 30 days. Limited, oh, I'm talking over you, Max, limited viewing of the bears begins in January of next year.
CNN's David Culver details the process of getting the pair to the U.S. and just how popular the pandas are at home.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID CULVER, CNN SR. U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They're saying Bao Li, Qing Bao, Have a safe trip.
You are getting a very rare look at the panda send-off here in China. I've never been this close to a panda, but there she is.
A few hours earlier, a private farewell for the three-year-old panda pair and a ceremonial transfer of care from China to the U.S.
We got here a few days ahead of the send-off.
We made it. It's a long journey.
Traveling to Chengdu and meeting up with panda keepers from the Smithsonian's National Zoo.
Thanks for making time. I know you guys are busy, Mariel, Trish.
We catch them just outside the panda quarantine zone.
TRISH JARVIS, SMITHSONIAN'S NATIONAL ZOO PANDA KEEPER: This was what I worked for, and it feels so surreal.
CULVER: The majestic mountains of Sichuan province are the natural habitat for these beloved creatures.
Chances of us actually seeing one out here we're told are quite slim.
We're granted access to a reserve that tourists aren't allowed, joining researchers from the Smithsonian who specialize in panda rewilding, or efforts to reintroduce them to their natural habitat.
MELISSA SONGER, CONSERVATION BIOLOGIST, SMITHSONIAN'S NATIONAL ZOO: Part of the reason for putting them in an area like this and keeping them away from people is so that they're not acclimatized to people. You wouldn't want to release a panda and have them approach a village, for example.
CULVER: We're told we can meet some of the forest panda trackers, but first we need to suit up.
UNKNOWN: I think that one should fit you.
CULVER: Alright, let's try it.
A panda suit, just in case we stumble across a panda cub.
They don't want humans to become part of their everyday routine, so it's for that reason that we're suiting up to look like them.
Does it look like a panda?
UNKNOWN: You're not only putting on just the suit by itself, you're also going to put Panda's urine and poop on, so you have the scent.
CULVER: Has that been on this suit before?
UNKNOWN: This is clean, it's been cleaned. So if they sense on the signal that a cub is nearby, they're going to
put on a hood and just end up going to hiding.
[03:55:02]
CULVER: Conservation efforts like these are funded in part by the Panda Exchange program.
UNKNOWN: There are two guys that came over 20 years ago.
CULVER: Zoos like the Smithsonian's pay a million dollars a year to host a pair of giant pandas, adding to the pressure.
BRANDIE SMITH, DIRECTOR, SMITHSONIAN'S NATIONAL ZOO: We just imagine everything we do, the entire world is watching, and there's no margin for error.
CULVER: Especially given how beloved pandas are in places like Chengdu. The creatures are larger than life here. And their most loyal fans stand hours in line to catch a glimpse of their favorite ones.
You can see, look, everybody gets super excited. They've already got their positions.
And there are even panda influencers like A'Qiu, who post content from his bedroom.
So you're into pandas. I should --
UNKNOWN: Sorry, before we start, can we just move one big panda to that one there?
CULVER: Which doubles as a studio.
Why do you love them so much?
A'QIU, PANDA INFLUENCER: Cute. So cute.
CULVER: The pandas that go part of the exchange program from here in China to the US. What do you make of that?
A'QIU (through translator): This is an agreement between China and the U.S. And because I love my country and I love pandas, I support it.
CULVER: The Panda Exchange, or Panda Diplomacy, dates back to 1972, President Nixon's historic visit sparking China to send pandas to the U.S. and now to many other countries.
Months of planning to pull off this transfer. And in Washington, renovations to make sure Bao Li and Qing Bao's new home is just right.
UNKNOWN: We've done some tree trimming here also. People know they're going to climb. They love to climb.
CULVER: The zoo's been advertising, pandas are coming. And now? They've arrived. David Culver CNN, Chengdu, China.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: An Aircraft.
FOSTER: They had a FedEx Panda team, didn't they? The Team Panda, Panda Squad.
MACFARLANE: Oh, did they?
FOSTER: Yeah.
MACFARLANE: Got his own aircraft, love it. Now, in other news, the reigning pumpkin king of the U.S. will keep his title for a fourth straight year.
FOSTER: Yeah, Minnesota native Travis Ganger. Took her first prize for the Safeway World Championship pumpkin weigh-off with a gourd weighing in at 2,500 pounds. That's more than 1,100 kilograms.
MACFARLANE: I mean, I am quite impressed. Look at that. I didn't expect to see it that large. But did you know, it doesn't even come close to his world record showing from last year when his massive pumpkin weighed nearly 2,800 pounds. Ganger gets $9 per pound and left with more than $22,000 in prize money.
FOSTER: Business these days.
MACFARLANE: I know. It's certainly worth the gamble, isn't it?
FOSTER: I think we should have a pumpkin story every day after an inflatable pumpkin yesterday.
MACFARLANE: Well we are. It is pumpkin season, isn't it? Thank you so much for joining us here on "CNN Newsroom." I'm Christina MacFarlane.
FOSTER: I'm Max Foster. Back in a moment with more "CNN Newsroom."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
