Blinken leaves Middle East without cease-fire deal; Search for missing after yacht sinks off Sicily; UPS driver passes out and crashes in heat; CBS

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ANNE-MARIE GREEN: It's Wednesday, August 21st, 2024. This is CBS News Mornings. Firing up the Democrats, the Obamas return to their hometown to make the case for Kamala Harris as president while also roasting her Republican rival.

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BARACK OBAMA (Former President of the United States): There's the childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories, this weird obsession with crowd sizes.

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ANNE-MARIE GREEN: Their message and roadmap to winning the White House. Well, good morning and good to be with you. I'm Anne-Marie Green.

Night two of the Democratic National Convention featured star power and fiery speeches from Barack and Michelle Obama as the two try to reignite a movement. The former President returned to the convention stage 20 years after his first appearance propelled him into the national spotlight. The former First Lady also took the stage saying hope is making a comeback.

And while that was happening in Chicago, Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate, Tim Walz attended a rally in Battleground Wisconsin. CBS's Caroline Cummings is in Chicago with the details. Caroline?

CAROLINE CUMMINGS: Good morning, Anne-Marie. So tonight, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz will formally accept the vice presidential nomination here at the Democratic National Convention. And we'll also hear from former President Bill Clinton tonight as day three kicks off with the theme, a fight for freedoms. But last night, it was the Obamas that stole the show.

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BARACK OBAMA: Yes, she can.

CAROLINE CUMMINGS (voice-over): Former President Barack Obama closed out night two of the Democratic National Convention to roaring applause, making his case for Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Donald Trump this November.

BARACK OBAMA: We do not need four more years of bluster, and bumbling, and chaos. America is ready for a better story. We are ready for a President Kamala Harris.

CAROLINE CUMMINGS (voice-over): Former First Lady Michelle Obama took the stage before him. She delivered a few zingers when criticizing the former President.

MICHELLE OBAMA (Former First Lady of the United States): Who's going to tell him that the job he's currently seeking might just be one of those black jobs?

ANNE-MARIE GREEN: Earlier, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff shared his decade plus love story with Harris.

DOUG EMHOFF (Second Gentleman of the United States): This Thursday will be our 10th wedding anniversary. That same night, I'll be hearing my wife, Kamala Harris, accept your nomination for president of the United States.

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CAROLINE CUMMINGS: Harris and her running mate, Governor Tim Walz, were more than 90 miles away campaigning in Milwaukee last night. But Harris briefly addressed the convention by livestream.

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KAMALA HARRIS (Vice President of the United States (D) and U.S. Presidential Candidate): Together, we will chart a new way forward.

CAROLINE CUMMINGS (voice-over): Her campaign said more than 15,000 people were at the Wisconsin rally held in the same venue as the Republican National Convention last month.

DOUG EMHOFF: A hell of a lot can change in four weeks.

CAROLINE CUMMINGS (voice-over): Day two also featured an energetic, star studded ceremonial roll call vote to give Harris her party's nomination with a surprise performance from hip hop artist, Lil Jon.

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CAROLINE CUMMINGS: So you heard there that Second Gentleman, Doug Emhoff, he shared more about their love story. And tomorrow, Anne-Marie, is actually their anniversary. He said it will be 10 years. And that is the very day she will accept the presidential nomination from Democrats here at the convention.

ANNE-MARIE GREEN: Quite an anniversary celebration. Caroline Cummings in Chicago, thank you.

So coming up on CBS Mornings, Tony Dokoupil speaks exclusively with acclaimed singer, John Legend, who's in Chicago for the DNC, why he is publicly supporting Kamala Harris. And of course a reminder, our coverage of the Democratic National Convention continues throughout the day on our streaming channel CBS News 24/7 and in primetime starting at 10:00 p.m. eastern on CBS.

Donald Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance, are continuing their battleground state blitz, visiting North Carolina today to talk about national security. The former President traveled to Michigan yesterday. He wasted no time blaming his rival, Kamala Harris, for what he called out of control crime nationwide while vowing to deliver law and order.

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DONALD TRUMP (Former President of the United States (R) and current U.S. Presidential Candidate): It's just insane. But you can't walk across the street to get a loaf of bread. You get shot, you get mugged, you get raped, you get whatever it may be.

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ANNE-MARIE GREEN: During the event, Trump also deflected criticism over his choice to talk about crime and public safety in Howell, Michigan, a city with Ku Klux Klan history and where white supremacists demonstrated as recently as last month.

An intense heat wave is bringing record breaking temperatures to parts of the south. Highs today are expected to reach 108 degrees in Austin, Texas with other parts of the Lone Star state getting up to 111. The sweltering heat will continue tomorrow with temperatures as high as 109 in San Angelo in Abilene. Best advice, drink plenty of water and avoid strenuous activities.

And now to the Middle East where there are growing concerns. The latest push for ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza could collapse. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is on his way back to the U.S. right now without securing any major breakthroughs. CBS's Jarred Hill joins us now with the latest developments. Jarred, good morning.

JARRED HILL: Good morning, Anne-Marie. So the U.S. hasn't put out a lot of details about this bridging proposal that Blinken went over to try and strike a deal on. But this morning, we are getting some clues about some of the specific struggles to reach an agreement.

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JARRED HILL (voice-over): Overnight, Secretary of State Antony Blinken left the Middle East with no ceasefire hostage deal in hand, but carrying a warning.

ANTONY BLINKEN (United States Secretary of State): Time is of the essence.

JARRED HILL (voice-over): Israeli airstrikes hit an empty hotel in Gaza Tuesday as Blinken pushed for a ceasefire. Scores killed in Gaza that day alone, including about a dozen at a school-turned shelter behind a false wall. Israeli soldiers recover the bodies of six hostages abducted 10 and a half months ago. The country believes of the more than 100 hostages who remain in Gaza, 34 have been confirmed dead.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, getting them back alive is a goal, but the priority is to, quote, "preserve our strategic security." That's not enough for Noam Perry, the daughter of 80-year-old, Haim Perry, one of the six hostages found dead this week.

Noam Perry (Daughter of Haim Perry): The only priority is hostages.

JARRED HILL (voice-over): Her heartbreak comes amid an apparent breakdown in negotiations. Hamas criticizing a so called bridging proposal put forward by the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar to get Israel and Hamas leaders closer to a long-term deal.

In Qatar, Blinken was asked about the terms of Israeli troop withdrawals from the corridor between Gaza and Egypt, which Israel says Hamas uses to smuggle in weapons.

ANTONY BLINKEN: The agreement is very clear on the schedule and the locations of IDF withdrawals from Gaza. And Israel has agreed to that.

JARRED HILL (voice-over): Back in the states, the struggle for peace spilled over into clashes outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, with protesters pushing the White House to continue working toward an end to the war.

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JARRED HILL: So the negotiations are still expected to continue this week. Anne-Marie there has been an added bit of urgency with all these talks after Iran vowed to retaliate against Israel for killing Hamas and Hezbollah leaders. Again, the concern here is that this conflict could become a broader regional war.

ANNE-MARIE GREEN: Yeah, no one wants to see that happen. Jarred Hill in New York, thank you.

JARRED HILL: Thanks.

ANNE-MARIE GREEN: We are learning more now about the six people, including a high-powered New York lawyer and his wife who are missing after a mega yacht sank in a powerful storm off Sicily. The search is proving to be more difficult because of the depth of the ship and the debris blocking access to the cabins. CBS's Chris Livesey is in Rome with the latest developments.

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CHRIS LIVESEY (voice-over): The search is on for the missing and for answers as to how this 184-foot super yacht anchored off the coast of Sicily could capsize and sink within a minute. Surveillance footage captured its illuminated 246-foot mass right before it swallowed in a severe thunderstorm.

Weather data show the moment the storm hit Sicily's coastline at 04:00 a.m. local time. This was the ship's last known position, anchored off Porticello. It's thought to have gone down at around 05:00 a.m. Rushing to the rescue is Captain Karsten Borner of a ship anchored nearby.

Karsten Borner (Captain of boat that helped rescue passengers): And then we saw a red flare. So my first mate (sp?) and I went to the position.

CHRIS LIVESEY (voice-over): They found 15 survivors on a life raft, including a one-year-old girl seen here being carried by her father. The body of Chef Ricardo Thomas was recovered. Six people remain unaccounted for, including software magnate Mike lynch, once described as Britain's Bill Gates acquitted earlier this year of fraud charges in America. His 18- year-old daughter, Hannah, is also among the missing, along with Lynch's American lawyer, Chris Morvillo, and his wife and banker, Jonathan Bloomer, Chairman of Morgan Stanley International.

Now, it's unclear exactly how a state of the art superyacht could sink in a storm like this. But climate experts say warmer sea temperatures three degrees higher in the Mediterranean are making deadly storms like this one more common.

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ANNE-MARIE GREEN: Well, coming up, missed opportunities, a new report shedding light on how a mass shooting might have been prevented. And more trouble for Boeing. The latest setbacks for the beleaguered aviation company.

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ANNE-MARIE GREEN: The pilot and a passenger on board a small plane were killed after it crashed in west Texas. The private plane slammed into a mobile home park and other nearby buildings yesterday, sparking a fire and at least two explosions. An injured woman was rescued from a mobile home.

The former police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd is moved to another prison. And new information on the Maine mass shooting. Those are some of the headlines on the Morning Newsstand.

The Associated Press says an independent commission issued a report saying there were missed opportunities to intervene and possibly prevent the deadliest shooting in Maine's history. An army reservist killed 18 people at a bowling alley and bar in Lewiston last year before taking his own life. The commission said, the army reserve failed to maintain proper psychiatric care for the gunmen. It also said local law enforcement had the authority to seize his guns and put him in protective custody weeks before the shootings.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune says Derek Chauvin, the former police officer convicted of killing George Floyd, was transferred to a low security federal prison in Texas. It comes almost nine months after Chauvin was stabbed 22 times by an inmate at an Arizona prison. Chauvin is serving a 21-year sentence for violating Floyd's civil rights and a 22-year sentence for second degree murder.

And another former Minneapolis officer convicted in Floyd's death, Thomas Lane, was released from prison yesterday. And the New York Post says, a Neo-Nazi has been charged with making bomb threats to Jewish hospitals and care centers in and around New York City.

Federal prosecutors say, the 31-year-old Oregon man live streamed calls to at least six Jewish hospitals and made anonymous bomb threats starting in May of 2021. One threat caused the partial evacuation and lockdown of a hospital on Long island.

Still ahead now, feeling the heat? Well, UPS is under fire after a driver passes out and crashes. What the Teamsters union is calling for.

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ANNE-MARIE GREEN: Here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. The Teamsters union is calling for change after a UPS driver in Texas was hospitalized after passing out and crashing due to what the union says was heat exhaustion. A driver filmed this cellphone video of a UPS truck careening into oncoming traffic and then slamming into trees Friday. The Teamsters say the driver was instructed to drive back on his own after reporting he felt ill. UPS says that it's working with authorities to investigate what happened.

Disney has an about face and double trouble for Boeing. Here's now call with today's Money Watch.

SHANELLE KAUL: Stocks dipped Tuesday, with both the S&P and Nasdaq snapping an eight day win streak. The Dow lost 61 points, the Nasdaq was down 59, and the S&P 500 lost 11 points. Federal safety officials will now require cockpit seats on Boeing 787 Dreamliners to be inspected in the next 30 days. This after a midair dive injured more than 50 people back in March. The cause of that mishap, the captain's seat lurched forward without warning and disconnected the plane's autopilot system.

And another setback for Boeing. The airplane manufacturer is now grounding its new 777-9 test planes. These planes were designed for long flights and had already been delayed by years. Boeing has stopped flights, discovering a damaged structural part between the engine and the rest of the plane.

And Disney is backing away from its bid to ask a Florida court to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit on the grounds that the victim's family had signed up for its streaming service Disney plus. The company filed a notice to withdraw the motion on Tuesday. The move comes after Disney drew Swift backlash when its court challenge became public.

That's your CBS Money Watch report for this Wednesday morning. I'm Shanelle Kaul, CBS news, New York.

ANNE-MARIE GREEN: Well, up next, behind the scenes with Taylor Swift, how fans can get an inside look at the pop star's record breaking Eras Tour.

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ANNE-MARIE GREEN: Here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. Taylor Swift wrapped up the European leg of her Eras Tour in London by dropping a new music video of her song, I can do it with a broken heart. And it gives fans a behind the scenes look at the tour, her rehearsals and her iconic underwater dive.

And now, her final show at Wembley Stadium was full of surprises, including this moment when Florence Welch joined Swift on stage to perform their song, Florida. And then Swift then invited Jack Antonoff on stage for a mashup of their song. Swift will now take a two-month break before continuing her tour in the U.S.

Jennifer Lopez has filed for divorce from Ben Affleck after two years of marriage. Court records indicate Lopez filed a petition yesterday in Los Angeles Superior Court. It reportedly listed the date of separation as April 26th, 2024. The couple rekindled their romance in 2021, nearly 20 years after they were initially engaged. This would be Affleck's second divorce and Lopez's fourth.

Top ranked tennis player, Jannik Sinner, will not be suspended after twice testing positive in March for banned substance. The International Tennis Integrity Agency says, the anabolic steroid entered his system unintentionally through a massage with his physiotherapist.

Sinner won the Cincinnati Open on Monday and will be among the favorites at the U.S. Open, which starts in New York next week.

Coming up on CBS Mornings, James Bond in motion inside a new museum exhibition featuring some of the original cars from the Bond movies.

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ANNE-MARIE GREEN: Our top stories this morning. Night two of the Democratic National Convention featured star power and fiery speeches from Barack and Michelle Obama. The Obamas made their case for Kamala Harris while delivering sharp attacks against Donald Trump.

And tonight, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz will formally accept the nomination for vice president. Former President Bill Clinton is also set to take the stage. And Donald Trump and running mate J.D. Vance are continuing their Battleground state blitz, visiting North Carolina today, rather, to talk about national security.

Yesterday, the former President traveled to Michigan. He blamed Vice President Harris for what he called out of control crime nationwide while vowing to deliver law and order.

The FDA cleared the way for a new gel designed to stop severe bleeding in just seconds.t It's called trauma gel. And it's actually derived from algae. CBS's Bradley Blackburn introduces us to the inventor who expects his technology could transform trauma care.

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JOE LANDOLINA (Cresilon CEO and Co-founder): And this line is sized to produce about a quarter million syringes on a monthly basis.

BRADLEY BLACKBURN (voice-over): What's happening here at this biomanufacturing facility in Brooklyn could be a matter of life and death. Inside these syringes, a new potentially life-saving gel that can stop severe bleeding in seconds, called trauma gel.

JOE LANDOLINA: One syringe will be enough to treat just about the largest bleed that you can imagine, gunshot wounds, stabbings, motor vehicle accidents.

BRADLEY BLACKBURN (voice-over): Cresilon CEO and co-founder, Joe Landolina launched the company out of his NYU dorm room in 2010 when the young scientist stumbled upon a gel that stuck to his skin.

JOE LANDOLINA: I had this idea that what if you took that gel and put it into a bleeding bullet wound to get a patient from point A to point B without them bleeding out?

BRADLEY BLACKBURN (voice-over): The gel is made from algae and has the consistency of hummus. Once it comes into contact with a wound, it forms a mechanical barrier against bleeding, and no manual pressure is required. Blood loss and traumatic wounds is responsible for more than 35% of all pre-hospital deaths.

JOE LANDOLINA: A product like this that's able to stop bleeding quickly and effectively can save countless lives.

BRADLEY BLACKBURN (voice-over): Trauma Gel is the company's second FDA clearance. It already has a hemostatic gel to treat minor cuts and scrapes, and a veterinary gel for pets.

This product for animals is being used a lot already. And people don't -- may not even be aware of it?

JOE LANDOLINA: Exactly.

BRADLEY BLACKBURN (voice-over): Federal go ahead for this new product is based on preclinical data. Landolina expects to roll out trauma gel to hospitals and EMS teams later this year and hopefully start saving lives.

Bradley Blackburn, CBS News Brooklyn.

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ANNE-MARIE GREEN: The company expects the product to be used on the battlefield and is also working with the Department of Defense to determine if it can help with traumatic brain injury.

Well, coming up on CBS Mornings, how a beloved neighborhood figure is helping to close a diversity gap by offering swimming classes in his backyard.

Plus, James Bond in Motion inside a new museum exhibit featuring some of the original cars from the Bond movies. And musician and actor FKA twigs joins us to talk about the love story at the center of her new movie, the Crow.

That's CBS News Mornings for this Wednesday. You can catch me on CBS 24/7 streaming throughout the morning for all your latest news. Thanks for watching. I'm Anne-Marie Green. Have a great day.

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