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One World with Zain Asher
Israel Bracing For Potential Attacks By Iran And Hezbollah; Putin Tells Russian Military To Squeeze Out Invaders; Harris Gains In Polls As Trump Struggles To Halter Her Momentum; U.S. Appeals Decision Stripping Gymnast Chiles Of Bronze Medal; U.S. Defense Secretary Orders Guided- Missile Submarine To Region; Researchers Predict Sharp Rise In Cancer Deaths Among Men; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired August 12, 2024 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:00:39]
ZAIN ASHER, CNN HOST: An appropriate deterrent response. Iran says it has every right to strike Israel back.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: ONE WORLD starts right now.
A region on edge, sources sell CNN, Israel believes Iranian forces could be planning an attack within days.
ASHER: And running for their lives. Putin speaks out as nearly 11,000 Russians flee to safety.
GOLODRYGA: Damage control. The Trump campaign just dropped $37 million to air new ads. It's the most the campaign has ever spent.
ASHER: All right. Coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher.
GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. You are watching ONE WORLD.
The U.S. is strengthening its military posture amid heightened tensions and growing concerns of a wider war in the Middle East.
Pentagon is now moving a nuclear powered submarine into the Eastern Mediterranean in what's being viewed as a clear message of deterrence to
Iran.
ASHER: It comes as Israel is bracing for retaliatory strikes from Tehran and its proxies, following the assassination of senior Hezbollah and Hamas
leaders.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SIREN)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: As the threat of a large-scale attack looms, Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets towards Northern Israel on Sunday night, only adding to
the growing unease.
U.S. President Joe Biden offered up a short but certainly very direct message to Iran over the weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's your message to Iran? Mr. President, what's your message to Iran?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any thoughts on former President?
(ON SCREEN: JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: DON'T)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Ceasefire talks, meanwhile, are set to resume on Thursday. And we're learning newly appointed Hamas political leader, Yahya Sinwar,
reportedly wants a deal.
CNN's Oren Liebermann is at the Pentagon with more.
So, Oren, very pivotal week here, as we're awaiting a response from Iran, or either one of its proxies, any day now.
Also, a lot of anticipation going into what many called perhaps the last hope for a ceasefire and hostage deal. And those talks happening -- or set
to happen on Thursday.
Walk us through what we can expect this week.
OREN LIBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, the first question is, when do we anticipate that this planned Iranian retaliation or attack will
happen? And that's what the U.S. and Israel are watching very closely and bracing for what may well be a potential large-scale attack, perhaps even
much larger in scale and scope than the April 13th launch of Iranian ballistic missiles and drones.
And that's because this may include that, as well as Iran's proxies in the region, Hezbollah to the north, in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, as well
as some sort of coordinated attack with Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria that potentially target U.S. forces.
The U.S. is preparing for the possibility of all of that. And here now we have gotten a look into some of that preparation.
In a call with Israeli counterpart, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says he has ordered the USS Georgia, a guided missile submarine into the Middle
East waters.
It was already in the Mediterranean Sea, so it's very close. But it's worth noting that the movement of U.S. submarines is a very closely kept secret.
So when it's announced publicly, that means it's significant. In this case, it is a message of deterrence to Iran and its proxies. There was a similar
movement of a submarine announced way back in the beginning of the war.
It is very noteworthy when the U.S. publicly states where its submarines are and what they're doing.
At the same time, the U.S. has also accelerated the movement of a carrier strike group. The USS Abraham Lincoln carriers strike group to the region.
That's coming over from the Pacific Ocean, so it still has some time until it gets there.
But it will add to what is already a significant force in the region. The USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group is there. There's an amphibious
ready group in the Mediterranean Sea.
This sort of buildup of U.S. forces is essentially massive to put it in a word. And it's very much like what we saw at the buildup of the beginning
of the war.
Now, though, it's a brace for this Iranian attack that everyone, including the U.S. and Israel, are anticipating.
What does that look like? And crucially, of course, when does it come? That's what everyone is watching closely here, as well as the effect it has
on diplomacy in the region. As the U.S., Qatar, and Egypt try to get negotiations back on track with those talks set to resume later on this
week. Could this derail that? What effect does it have on that? That's also very much a part of this.
[12:05:09]
I'll also point out one more bit, Bianna and Zain. And that's that the Pentagon has said until this point that its movements of U.S. forces to the
region are defensive in nature to try to send a message of deterrence.
But when you're publicly announcing a guided missile submarine, that's not a defensive weapon. That has land attack cruise missiles, that has anti-
ship missiles. That is preparing for the possibility that you need to carry out offensive operations, of course, depending on how all this plays out.
ASHER: Yes. The fact that it's being publicly announced ahead of time is certainly signals that this is a region that is on edge.
So, Oren, just in terms of what's happening behind the scenes, how much pressure is the U.S. putting on Netanyahu to agree to some sort of
ceasefire?
And the question is, I think does Netanyahu actually want a deal?
LIEBERMANN: The short answer is, the U.S. is putting as much pressure as it can on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to get to a ceasefire.
The question is, what other levers does it have? And is it having any effect? Netanyahu has been, as publicly stated that he's willing to go to a
ceasefire, and yet some of his other statements have indicated he wants the war to continue.
Certainly, a continuation of the war with his far-right coalition members is not a threat to him in power.
In fact, those coalition members on the far-right have threatened to take down the government if he agrees to a ceasefire. But that, of course, is
only part of the equation.
You need Hamas to agree to a ceasefire as well. And if they're not coming to the negotiations that are set for later this week, it's unclear that
they can make any sort of dramatic breakthrough.
You know, Hamas also wants to go back to previous iterations of the negotiations, that in and of itself may be difficult.
So as you pointed out, Zain and Bianna, this is a very sensitive and delicate time, both on the military front and on the diplomatic front.
ASHER: All right. Oren Liebermann live for us there. Thank you so much.
All right. Russian President Vladimir Putin is ordering his forces to drive the Ukrainian military out of Russian territory. He's telling them to quote
squeeze out the invaders. These are some of his first major public remarks since Kyiv surprise cross border attack into Russia a week ago.
GOLODRYGA: You're not saying things. So these are Ukrainian flags that you're seeing on Russian territory in this video, geo located by CNN. And
shows how Ukraine appears to be making gains on the battlefield.
It also shows a Ukrainian armored vehicle passing through a Russian village in the Belovsky district, heading north to Belitsa in Russia's Kursk
Region.
Listen, as Ukrainian president praises his troops.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I received several reports from Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi regarding the frontlines
and our actions to push the war onto the aggressor's territory.
I'm grateful to every unit of defense forces ensuring that. Ukraine is proving that it can indeed restore justice and ensure the necessary
pressure on the aggressor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: CNN's Frederik Pleitgen has covered the war extensively for CNN. He joins us live now from Berlin.
So, how much of a game-changer, Fred, is Ukraine's ground incursion into Russia? Just walk us through what the end goal is, what Russia's strategy
is.
And in terms of Ukraine's goal, is it much more about diverting Russia's resources elsewhere? Just walk us through that.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I think a lot of it is about diverting. But I do also think that it is a really
significant incursion that's taking place.
And I just want to run some of the numbers past you because they certainly seem significant to us. That general, the chief of the general staff that
Volodymyr Zelenskyy was just talking about, Oleksandr Syrskyi, he came out earlier with a statement and said that Ukraine now controlled some 1,000
square kilometers of Russian territory. That is significant for an operation that's gone on for less than a week.
The Russians themselves are acknowledging that 28 towns and villages on the Russian side of the border, and that's in the Kursk Region alone, are under
Ukrainian control.
They've also said that 120,000 people on the Russian side have already had to evacuate their homes and 180,000 are under evacuation orders.
So that alone shows how much territory the Ukrainians have been able to gain in a very short period of time with not a very large force, but one
that moves very quickly and also has a significant amount of armor as well.
The big question then, of course, as you pointed out, Zain, is, what is the end game here? Are the Ukrainians going to be able to hold that territory?
Do they want to hold that territory?
That really, at this point, is unclear. But some of it could indeed be about diversion because, of course, we know that the Russians have really
been pressing an offensive in the eastern part of Ukraine where they've been inching forward all by taking massive losses.
And the Ukrainians certainly would like to see the Russians divert some of those units that are trying to press there into those regions of Russia,
into Kursk and into Belgorod to try and obviously come to terms with the situation there.
And the other thing, of course, Zain, is that this is also going to be a big morale boost to the Ukrainians simply seeing their soldiers marching
through Russian territory in Russian towns and cities without a Russian soldier in sight, Zain.
[12:10:12]
GOLODRYGA: Yes. Fred, I mean, just to get a sense of how significant this development was, it seems to have caught the U.S. off guard as well.
I don't think a heads up was given to the United States, but also this is the first invasion of Russia since World War II.
So now we'll be following how long this can last and what the longer-term strategy is for the Ukrainians.
Fred Pleitgen, thank you so much.
ASHER: Thank you, Fred.
All right. The Democratic presidential ticket seems to be gaining momentum in the days leading up to next week's Democratic Convention.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. Both campaigns are hitting the battleground states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
And new polling shows no clear leader now between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump in those three crucial states. That is an improvement from when Joe
Biden was the Democratic candidate.
That momentum seems to have Trump and his campaign very nervous. It just dropped the largest amount it has ever spent on campaign advertising some
$37 million.
ASHER: Meantime, Trump is now accusing the Harris campaign of faking this picture of the crowd at a stop in Detroit, Michigan.
However, in this video and many other sources, you can actually see the crowd was indeed that big, vice presidential hopeful, Tim Walz, laughed it
off.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM WALZ, U.S. DEMOCRATIC VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: On Wednesday, the largest crowd of the campaign showed up in Detroit, Michigan.
It's not as if anybody cares about crowd sizes or anything, so.
(CROWD CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Yes. A knock on Trump there who clearly values crowd sizes and has since the first day of his presidency, really.
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has weighed in earlier about this. And he says Trump should keep focused on what he calls the real issues.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): Stop questioning the size of her crowds and start questioning her position when it comes to what did she do as Attorney
General on crime. Question what did she do when she was supposed to take care of the border as a czar. Question that they brought inflation.
And she was the tie-breaking vote when it came to inflation, when it came to IRS agents. This is a perfect person to run against.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Alayna Treene joins us now from Washington with the very latest.
And it does seem that the announcement of Kamala Harris now at the top of this ticket has really stumped Trump and his campaign and knocked him off
kilter.
It's interesting. I forgot that I followed Trump on Twitter, but today, because I get alerts. And I got an alert all of a sudden a few minutes ago
that he's back on Twitter.
So here we go. And this is an anticipation of an interview between him and Elon Musk later today.
Walk us through what's happening now inside this campaign.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, actually, I think what Kevin McCarthy said this morning is spot on in what I'm hearing from a lot of Republicans
on the outside that was close to Donald Trump, those who are supporting Donald Trump.
However, of course, McCarthy is able to say this because he's not currently in Congress anymore. He doesn't have, you know, the political
survivability, you know, needs as many other people who are saying this privately and not publicly like him.
But what he said is exactly what I am hearing, which is that stop with the rhetoric that you are using, stop with the personal attacks, the nasty
attacks, focus on the policy.
And that's because a lot of people in the Republican Party actually believe they have a good case to make against Kamala Harris. They do believe that
her policies are too far left for the American people, that many people, like the policies that Donald Trump had in office and is pushing,
especially when it comes to issues like crime, immigration, and inflation, the ones that we have seen time and again, Republicans pull better on.
But Trump is not doing that. I know that his team has been pushing this messaging for him for several months now. And it's no secret that he is not
a disciplined messenger, but that's even less so now, I think, in the aftermath of the enthusiasm that he is seeing continue to support Kamala
Harris' campaign.
And this idea about the crowd size, I mean, it completely gets under Donald Trump's skin. We all know that Donald Trump is obsessed with crowd -- with
the crowd side. He has been since he first ran in the lead up to 2016.
And the thing here is that, you know, he often embellishes crowd size, but for the most part, he has been able to draw thousands of people to his
events. His events often are described, and when I go to them, you know, they're kind of like rock concerts. You have a ton of people there. There's
a lot of enthusiasm.
And until recently, Democrats have not been able to deliver that, particularly when you look at what Joe Biden had at his events compared to
what Harris is pulling off now.
I think the idea, though, that he is buying into these far-right conspiracies undercuts the point that, you know, he is worried about her.
And he's worried about the enthusiasm that she has. And that's why it's frustrating him so much.
And I do want to be clear that this isn't just Donald Trump making this up in a vacuum. He is seeing these far-right kind of wild, to be frank,
conspiracies play out online, and he's buying into them. And also amplifying them.
[12:15:10]
And it's really fascinating to watch as someone who has covered Donald Trump for several years, because the last time we kind of saw him play into
this in such a way was in the aftermath of the 2020 election and the conspiracies around January 6. And we're seeing that happen now.
And the similarities between then and this point in his campaign is that there's a level of desperation, I think, that's happening with him, you
know, being clearly exasperated by how well Harris is doing, at least when it comes to enthusiasm.
Now, as for that Elon Musk interview later today, we'll see how that goes. It is going to be on X. I asked his campaign, Trump's campaign, about, you
know, Donald Trump just posted again for the first time. Should we expect more of this? We'll see.
I mean, he does have an obligation to continue sharing posts on Truth Social before he does on X, but I do think that he has clearly been more
enamored with Elon Musk of late. He talks about him often on the campaign trail, especially ever since Musk endorsed him following that attempted
assassination of him last month.
And so I wouldn't be surprised if we see Donald Trump, you know, pushing out more content on X as well, in part, to please Musk, but also he wants
to reach as many people as he can as his campaign keeps telling him that this race is going to be even closer now than what they were anticipating
before.
ASHER: So, all right, Alayna Treene live for us there. Thank you so much.
All right. Let's bring in Larry Sabato, Director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. Larry, good to see you.
So I'm just going to dig deeper on the question that Bianna asked Alayna and that is, you know, a lot of people thought after the debate between
Biden and Trump and also the assassination attempt that the election was effectively over.
Obviously, the introduction of Kamala Harris has been a major game changer. And you look at Donald Trump's strategy here, nothing is working. Nothing
is sticking. He's questioned how black she is, whether she's black enough. He said that she hates Jews. He's called her dumb. I mean, the list goes
on.
Why is it that the strategy that worked in 2016 just simply is not working anymore? Why?
LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Because Democrats were so grateful to Joe Biden for stepping aside and so
relieved that he did step aside because they knew they were headed for defeat.
And that really is supported by polling, including private polling, that basically, at this point, Kamala Harris can do no wrong.
Now, we all know that's going to end at some point, but it's already gone on for a couple of weeks. And the fact Democratic National Convention is
being held next week, except for the protests that may interrupt it, that suggests the convention will extend the good period for Kamala Harris.
What is Donald Trump's reaction? As one of your correspondent said, it's the same old Donald Trump. He pouts. He pouts. And he pouts when things
don't go the way they were predicted to do and the way he thought they were going to go.
So good luck to his staff in trying to get him redirected because, as he always says, if you were so smart, how come I became president and you
didn't?
GOLODRYGA: I guess this was right before our eyes the whole time, Larry, because we sensed from polling and what you'd hear from Americans and
voters across the country was they really did not want to see a repeat of 2020.
They did not want to see a match -- a matchup between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. And now we see a change, at least on the top of the democratic
ticket.
I'm wondering how much you think, listen, this may still be a honeymoon period. We still have a ways to go before Election Day. But how much are
you reading into these polls, specifically in the Blue Wall states, right? Of Pennsylvania, of Wisconsin, Michigan, where you're seeing Kamala Harris
close the gap without really introducing her own specific policies, so this is still effectively the Biden-Harris policy on issues like the border,
security, the economy.
How do you make sense of that?
SABATO: Well, first of all, on the polling, for the first half of an election year, I take polls with a large grain of salt.
For the second half of the election year, I take it with a smaller grain of salt because they can change overnight and we all have seen that a million
times.
So focus less on that, than on what's really happening, which is clearly that people are relieved and pleased that they have another candidate to
consider.
And the contrast with Biden is what has really turned Democrats on. She's vigorous. She's younger, in case you haven't noticed, a whole lot younger.
And they can see her governing well. In fact, she has put a fascinating spin on Donald Trump himself. He's the one who now appears to be older and
we're starting to evaluate whether there's deterioration there.
[12:20:10]
As far as her issues are concerned, she is wise to resist the siren sound from critic because the more she tells, the more she'll be criticized, you
know.
The press is going to say, tell us more, give us more, give us details. She'll do some of that at the convention. But less is more. Less is more.
Keep it broad strokes.
ASHER: Larry, walk us through how important white female voters are going to be in terms of the outcome of the election.
I mean, you've got the fact that Donald Trump has been found liable in terms of sexual assault. You've got the childless cat lady comments by J.D.
Vance that nobody is in a hurry to forget anytime soon. This idea that women without children are so miserable in their own lives that they're
desperate to make the rest of the country miserable too. And then you have, obviously, the three Supreme Court justices and Roe v. Wade and abortion.
You know, does Kamala, obviously, does have a real opportunity here? But just walk us through how exactly she goes about closing the deal do you
think.
SABATO: Well, she needs to bring up the things you've just mentioned, and she will. That's what advertising is for. That's what speeches are for.
She'll have plenty of opportunities.
Again, the convention gives you that week long positive T.V. commercial. And all the news channels are carrying it to one degree or another. So if
you're interested in news, you can't avoid it. So that's going to help her.
The Republicans are in a tough place here because they have alienated women of all varieties, of all stripes. We've seen black women consistently with
the democratic candidate, but Latina women were not. And they are now coming back on board.
Young women had been defecting not to Trump but either to non-voting or to one of the independent candidates. They're coming back to the democratic
standard with Kamala Harris. So you're left, again, as you noted with white female voters.
And I've gone through the recent cross tabs for several of the polls and I'm noting that it's support for common hairs is going up a point or two or
three with that critical and incredibly large group. And one point means hundreds of thousands of additional votes. They're so big. It's such a big
group, such an important group.
So it's happening. She has to sustain it. That's the challenge she faces.
ASHER: Yes. Less than a hundred. I've lost count, though, how many actual days. He was saying let's -- 85. OK. I knew I can rely on you.
SABATO: Eighty-five days to go. I'm counting of all (INAUDIBLE).
ASHER: Thank you. Thank you so much.
GOLODRYGA: We always count on you, Larry.
SABATO: Thank you very much.
ASHER: Thank you, Larry.
GOLODRYGA: Well, from the governor's mansion to the White House, you'll meet the power couple that hope to be the vice president and second lady
come November. That's coming up.
ASHER: Plus, the new study finds that global cancer deaths among men are projected to rise. What is behind that increase?
GOLODRYGA: And the Paris summer games are now officially in the books. We'll look back at some of the best moments including Coy Wire's many gold
medal interviews.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: This right here is one of the most powerful right arms on the planet. And I just want to do a little
arm wrestling. Ready? On mark, set. No. Never mind. I like my arm.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:25:17]
ASHER: All right. The Summer Olympics are over, but not without some controversy.
The U.S. is appealing a decision to strip gymnast, Jordan Chiles, of her bronze medal in the individual floor routine.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. The IOC reinstated Romania's Ana Barbosu as a bronze medal winner. She had been demoted to fourth when Team USA filed a score inquiry
on Chiles' behalf.
Now, the court of arbitration for sport ruled on Saturday that the inquiry was actually filed too late.
The Team USA is pushing back. It says that it has submitted evidence to the court that shows the inquiry was submitted before the one minute appeal
deadline expired.
Well, let's try and sort all of this out with our Don Riddell.
So, Don, a scoring error. And, by the way, we should say within four seconds, I think, is what the judges say that the U.S. was delayed upon.
Why is she stripped of her bronze medal because of that?
DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Well, because the rules are that you have to appeal within 60 seconds. And the court of arbitration for sport ruled
that the Americans didn't, as you say, they missed it by four seconds.
So this seems so incredibly unfair for Jordan Chiles because if the score she ended up with was correct, then why does the four seconds really
matter?
But that was the Romanian appeal and the court of arbitration for sport agreed that they had basically missed the deadline, albeit a very, very
narrow window to get this appeal in.
But as you are now saying, the Americans are now doubting or denying or appealing or contesting that and saying, well, actually, we did get it in
within the 60-second window and we now have evidence to prove it, which we didn't have at the time because the appeal of the appeal was so rushed that
they didn't have all their ducks in their row, but now they do.
And so, I mean, we are now in an absolutely bizarre situation. And the whole thing is an absolute fiasco where the Americans are appealing the
appeal of the appeal.
And they are confident that they will work out ultimately in favor of their athlete, Jordan Chiles. But I mean, this is not good for anybody and it's
certainly not a good look for the sport.
ASHER: I mean, yes, you think back to that moment. I think it was just last week where you had this iconic moment of three black gymnasts after the
floor routine. You had Rebeca Andrade from Brazil in the middle. You had Jordan Chiles and Simone Biles. And, obviously, this is devastating for, I
think, both athletes, as you point out.
I mean, obviously, mental health has been a big thing, especially since Tokyo. And this is going to weigh heavily on both of them regardless of
which way it goes, Don.
RIDDELL: Yes. I mean, Nadia Comaneci, who is a gymnast legend, has said that she is worried about the mental health of the athlete. She accused the
judges of playing with their emotions and with their mental health.
And I mean, you can see that. I mean, you could see on the day when Ana Barbosu thought that she had won. She was stood there with a Romanian flag.
Of course, she was all happy. She'd taken the bronze and then she just kind of dropped the flag and looked absolutely crestfallen.
Jordan Chiles then gets the bronze. She's on the podium. We see this iconic scene and now Jordan Chiles doesn't have it. So she's removed herself from
social media as she tries to navigate with this and cope with this crushing disappointment.
And is there any fair way to resolve this? I mean, one idea is that they just hand both of them the bronze medal.
But then you have a situation where there's a third athlete involved because if Chiles takes the medal, she's in third. If she doesn't, she's in
fifth. So there's actually the athlete that finished in fourth place who would say, well, hang on a minute. How is it that someone behind me is also
getting a bronze medal?
So they might have to give out three bronze medals. I mean, that might be how they have to navigate this in a satisfactory way.
[12:30:09]
But I mean, it is such a shame and it is such a mess. And the games are now over. So whatever the correct podium is, they can't redo that. And the
gymnasts must just hope they can -- they can sort this out quickly.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. It's so unfair because the gymnast did their job, right? Performing
ASHER: Yes.
GOLODRYGA: -- brilliantly. And now you really do see the darker, uglier side of the political angle in this sport. And I don't know how this can be
worked out.
ASHER: I will say it is a smart decision for Jordan to remove herself from social media.
Riddell: Yes.
GOLODRYGA: That may be a general blanket statement for anybody at this point.
ASHER: I actually deleted it from my phone. So I'm going through you.
GOLODRYGA: Good for you. Good for you.
ASHER: All right. Don Riddell live for us there. Thank you so much.
We'll be right back with more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. Nearly 40,000 people have lost their lives in Gaza since the October 7th attacks on Israel. That's according to the Palestinian run
Gaza Health Ministry.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. This weekend, we saw more carnage when an Israeli strike on a school killed nearly 100 people, according to Gaza officials, who said
the school was housing displaced Palestinians.
Many there say they were given no warning of the attack.
Now, Israel disputes the reported civilian toll and says that it targeted and killed more than a dozen Hamas and Islamic jihad terrorists.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[12:35:00]
AHMAD ABU HASIRA, COUSIN KILLED IN ISRAELI STRIKE (through translator): What happened was we heard the sound of an airstrike. We came to see what
had happened and we found that they had hit the building. Of course the building has civilians in it.
Of course, he's my cousin, him and his wife and his child.
Unfortunately, we found them in pieces. And until now, we are still looking for the child's head.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Global condemnation came very swiftly as news of the attack spread.
GOLODRYGA: Well, returning to our top story, the U.S. is strengthening its military posture amid heightened tensions and growing concerns of a wider
war in the Middle East, with Israel bracing for a potential attack from Iran or its proxies.
Time now for The Exchange. And joining us is Ronen Bergman, staff writer for "The New York Times Magazine" and author of "Rise and Kill First: The
Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations."
Ronen, it's good to see you again. So in the readout of the call between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant,
there appeared to be one thing missing that "Axios" Barak Ravid had reported overnight, and that is that Gallant specifically told Lloyd Austin
that they believe, with their intelligence, that Iran is planning for a large-scale attack.
Now, we hear that the U.S. is sending a guided missile submarine. I'm wondering from what you're hearing from your sources. How is Iran
calculating what that attack may look like given the reinforcements being sent to the region and the fact that Israel itself said that a large-scale
attack will be responded with a disproportionate attack as well?
RONEN BERGMAN, STAFF WRITER, THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE: Thank you, Bianna. Happy to be with you again.
I think we need to separate between what is known to Israeli intelligence or what Israeli intelligence -- the Israeli-U.S. intelligence, believe they
know and assess about the coming Hezbollah-Iranian attack.
And maybe some calls or some alerts from possible developments after the attack that are aimed for maybe American base to any Iranians to make sure
that both the enemies of Israel and the friends of Israel will understand the risk of the deterioration to an all-out war, regional war.
So about the first, the assessment is, according to the latest assessment, is that the attack will happen from tomorrow until the weekend. It will be
a Hezbollah attack followed by an Iranian attack and it will aim at few. There is small number of military targets like air force bases or
intelligence bases with the aim of making something significant, hitting something significant but not too significant with the possibility of
Israel containing the result of the -- of this attack.
Now, the -- I think what the Minister of Defense Gallant was trying to say is that the possible outcome of such an attack is that maybe the Iranians
or Hezbollah will miss, civilians are killed. Some of the missiles, as we saw in the previous attack on the 13th, 14th of April, some of the missiles
will cross Israeli defense, air defense that are very strong but not totally in (INAUDIBLE) the country from being hit. And this will force
Israel to retaliate.
I don't think that the Israeli intelligence believe that the Iranians are going to initial few strikes, one Hezbollah, one Iran and that's it, but
that they maybe are willing or are thinking that it could prolong if Israel will retaliate, that the Iranians will retaliate to retaliation. There is a
name for this exchange of blow, it calls war.
ASHER: So there would be, based on your intelligence, some kind of sort of coordinated attack between Iran and Hezbollah.
I mean, we already saw over the weekend Hezbollah essentially firing 30 rockets into northern Israel.
What does Hezbollah itself risk by engaging in some kind of wider war with Israel do you think, Ronen?
BERGMAN: I think that both three sides of Hezbollah, Iran, and Israel, as much as, Bianna, it sounds absurd, are aiming at the escalation.
And again, I know it maybe sounds the opposite of what I just said, but I think both Iran and Hezbollah, at least in the way that their mindset is
perceived by Israeli and U.S. intelligence, is that they believe they need to punish Israel for those two assassinations in Beirut and Tehran. But
they're also not aim at a miscalculation or deterioration to an all-out war and regional war in the Middle East.
And look, the fact that both sides of Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged massive blows and sustained massive significance, sometimes lethal damages
and casualties during the last 10 months, but yet, they don't deteriorate into an all-out war.
[12:40:24]
I think this is the -- maybe the best signal that both sides, and Iran as well, are not aiming at full deterioration.
Now, it could happen. And I think this regard was trying to warn from that, but I am not sure that this is what they are aiming at. Well, maybe it's
just a wishful thinking that we will have something that Israel can contain. And it will not cause Israel or oblige Israel for -- to go for
another round.
GOLODRYGA: Well, what Minister Gallant has been insistent upon, in all of the readouts that I've noticed from his counterparts and conversations with
Lloyd Austin and other international allies, is highlighting the significance of a hostage deal.
Even in this readout over the weekend, Gallant highlighted the urgency of achieving an agreement for the release of hostages and thanked the U.S.
administration for its leadership and commitment to this issue.
Why do I bring this up? We don't hear this type of language from the Prime Minister himself. And as you know, and we've been reporting over the past
few days, the friction behind closed doors has now come public between the defense establishment and this prime minister, the defense establishment
saying now it is the time for a deal. It may be the only opportunity. And things are getting very testy now and personal between the Prime Minister
and the Defense Minister.
Walk us through what is happening.
BERGMAN: The defense establishment is totally aligned with Minister Gallant. He is aligned with them. Saying that this is the time, maybe the
last opportunity to get a deal for live hostages, that many of the still living hostages, many already died from the war or the conditions.
But the still living hostages are in dire condition. And many of them will not hold for too long. And this is really the last opportunity to get some
of them back alive. But this is the duty, this is the obligation, this is the (INAUDIBLE) unwritten contract between the state of the Jews and its
citizens, that it will be safer for the Jews.
Now, the consensus today, among Israeli leaders of the defense establishment, people that are in the know-how of the negotiation team,
people around Minister Gallant all saying the same, not just it's the right time to sign a deal, not just that the Israeli armed forces are ready to
take the risk in such a deal, including a ceasefire, but it is the blame of the prime minister, Mr. Netanyahu, for sabotaging the deal and making it
impossible because of (INAUDIBLE) to have a deal signed.
So there, it's like a consensus against the prime minister, not just in favor of the deal. And the prime minister stays and said, we will prefer to
continue fighting for the upmost victory where the prime minister is basically being held to the world by members of his coalition, who says if
you sign a deal for a ceasefire or exchange of hostages for the ceasefire, we will disassemble the government. And he has his priorities.
GOLODRYGA: It is quite a stunning thing then to hear from Netanyahu's own office issuing a statement, accusing the Defense Minister of adopting an
anti-Israel narrative.
Ronen Bergman, a very pivotal and crucial week for Israel in the region itself. We'll be covering it very closely. Thank you so much for joining
us.
BERGMAN: Thank you.
ASHER: All right. Still to come, we're following a new study which finds the number of men who die -- who died from cancer as expected to rise
significantly in the years to come while a medical team is here to explain the findings.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:45:57]
GOLODRYGA: Well, some concerning medical news to bring you now. A new study finds that cancer cases and deaths among men are expected to surge by the
year 2050. Researchers from Australia analyze cases in 185 countries and territories to make this projection.
CNN medical correspondent, Meg Tirrell, joins us to explain the findings behind this study.
And this really is quite alarming. Do we know why we're seeing this increase?
MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what the researchers did to make these projections was to take the current rates of cancer incidents,
so cases and also deaths based on 2022 numbers and to use population estimates going out to 2050.
Based on that, you have these really staggering increases in both cases and deaths projected for men around the globe.
For cancer cases, in 2022, they were at 10.3 million. That's expected to grow to 19 million by 2050. That's an 84 percent increase.
For cancer deaths, they were at 5.4 million in 2022. And that's projected to grow to 10.5 million by 2050. A 93 percent increase.
Deaths are expected to grow particularly quickly among men over the age of 65. They're projected to double in that age group.
You're also seeing disparities in these numbers. In lower income countries, you're seeing a much faster rate increase in terms of cancer deaths among
men. And so these disparities already exist and they're only expected to get bigger.
Now, we already knew that men die from cancer at higher rates than women. They have greater exposure to risk factors like smoking and drinking
alcohol, as well as exposures through their workplace to things that cause cancers.
Now, in these data, the researchers find that the top cause of death is expected to still be lung cancer in 2050. That is currently the top cause
right now.
The largest increases in cases is expected to come from a cancer called mesothelioma, which is most associated with asbestos exposure. And the
largest increase in deaths is expected to be seen in prostate cancer, guys.
GOLODRYGA: Now, what are researchers say can be done to address these alarming numbers?
TIRRELL: Well, they really focus on things that need to happen from a systemic level, things like improving healthcare, infrastructure, and
systems, including in beefing up the healthcare workforce. Also making healthcare more accessible and moving toward universal healthcare coverage
around the globe so that people can get access to treatment for cancer.
They also point out that men are less likely to participate in screening programs for cancer on a personal level, a reminder to do that as much as
you can. Men, they say, participate less in colonoscopies, for example, than women do.
There are also fewer specific screening programs for male specific cancers, like prostate and testicular cancer than there are for female associated
cancers, like breast and cervical cancers, for example.
But on a personal level, of course, things we can all do is to not smoke, limit alcohol, eat your fruits and veggies, go out and get exercise and use
sun protection against UV rays. Those are all things we can do ourselves.
[12:50:02]
GOLODRYGA: Very important things we can do as well.
Meg Tirrell, thank you so much.
I'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: An extremely dangerous situation is unfolding in Greece, as emergency crews struggle to contain a wildfire north of Athens. The blaze
has already torn through neighborhoods near the Greek capital, forcing mass evacuations.
GOLODRYGA: Nearly 700 firefighters are currently battling the fire. And Greece is now calling on the European Union for help.
France says that it is sending firefighters and fire trucks to assist. And hospitals are being placed on high alert as well as fire services say the
wildfire is showing no signs of slowing down.
Well, the Paris Olympics are now in the history books. And boy, did they go out with a bang?
ASHER: Statement.
GOLODRYGA: Yes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(FIREWORKS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Now, the summer games heads to Los Angeles in 2028.
Coy Wire has been -- he has had literally --
GOLODRYGA: I know.
ASHER: -- the best time. He's been on mount on the ground. He's had some amazing interviews. And here he is giving us a look back at some of his
best conversations in Paris.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: What would you say your spirit animal is? Or your spirit character, that switch that flips when you have to go out there and dominate?
SIMONE BILES, AMERICAN GYMNAST: OK.
WIRE: And that thing has allowed you --
BILES: Yes.
WIRE: -- to win 11 Olympic medals.
BILES: OK, so I think mine would actually be a honey badger. Like, honey badger in the gym. Sloth outside.
WIRE: Oh, yes.
I've always wanted to be Superman. Can I get the special -- can you like -- act like you're knighting me right now.
Oh, my God.
STEPHEN NEDOROSCIK, AMERICAN GYMNAST: So I'm the blind man.
WIRE: I can't see.
NEDOROSCIK: It's not that bad, right?
WIRE: I can't see, but you told me I don't need to see.
NEDOROSCIK: Exactly.
WIRE: Yes.
NEDOROSCIK: Feel it.
WIRE: I just feel. I just feel. I'm going to take these off. I feel like funny things happening to me right now. Like I have --
NEDOROSCIK: Superpowers, man.
WIRE: Superpowers.
Are there any sort of foods or things that you missed from home? That it's difficult to get here.
GABBY THOMAS, AMERICAN TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETE: Oh, that's difficult to get here?
WIRE: What would that be?
THOMAS: I think iced coffee.
WIRE: Iced coffee.
THOMAS: Yes. I --
WIRE: Very interesting.
THOMAS: Yes.
WIRE: Because producing, we have an iced coffee or a Frappuccino something around there.
THOMAS: No way.
WIRE: You take her too.
Well, we got a little macaron-ish type of dessert for you.
SYDNEY MCLAUGHLIN-LEVRONE, AMERICAN HURDLER: What's going on?
WIRE: And we wanted to wish you a very happy birthday at these Parisian Olympics.
MCLAUGHLIN-LEVRONE: Thank you.
WIRE: Today's the opening day of breaking. The breaking competition.
GRANT HOLLOWAY, AMERICAN HURDLER AND SPRINTER: Oh, yes.
[12:55:00]
WIRE: Come on. What you got?
HOLLOWAY: I got.
WIRE: Give us that. Oh, oh, oh.
(LAUGHS)
WIRE: Yay.
FLAVOR FLAV, AMERICAN RAPPER: Ooh and ahh, when I jumped with my car, now we're with Coy Wire and we at the bar. Hey, you.
WIRE: You're out there on the sport's biggest stage. Any sort of nervousness or anxiety creeping in?
TARA DAVIS-WOODHALL, AMERICAN TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETE: Definitely before.
WIRE: Yes.
DAVIS-WOODHALL: But I think all of my nervousness and anxiety came from the Uber driver not dropping me off in the right spot.
WIRE: What?
DAVIS-WOODHALL: I know, right? Before the competition, I wanted to go to the Olympic Village to take the bus and the Uber driver was going all
around Paris, not to the Olympic Village. And so I think all of my nervousness came out then.
WIRE: Well, this right here is one of the most powerful right arms on the planet, and I just want to do a little arm wrestling. Ready? On Mark, set.
No, never mind. Never mind. I like my arm. Cut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Coy.
ASHER: I like my arm. He want to keep it. He has the best assignment.
GOLODRYGA: I know. I can't -- but I'm so sad that its' over.
ASHER: Oh, I can't believe it. Just two and a half weeks and it was done. We -- I wish he'd gotten Noah Lyles. I didn't see Noah Lyles there at all,
but I'm a major fan of Noah Lyles.
GOLODRYGA: Hand to our booking. All right.
ASHER: Sad that it ended with COVID for him, but he'll be back.
GOLODRYGA: He'll be back.
ASHER: Yes.
GOLODRYGA: 2028, baby. Los Angeles.
That does it for this hour of ONE WORLD. Thanks so much for watching. I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: And I'm Zain Asher.
"AMANPOUR" is up next. You're watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:00:00]
END
