Israel to Hold New Elections; Climber Describes Struggle at Mount Everest
BERMAN: A stunning development out of Israel. New elections after the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to build a coalition government. CNN's Oren Liebermann is live in Jerusalem with the very latest. Oren, they just had elections.</s>OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're going back to elections for the first time in Israel's history. John, this has never happened before. In the 71-year history of the country, it has never been the case that there has not been a government after elections. And it's even more stunning because the person who failed to put together that government was Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been in this position before, he has won elections, he has put together governments, he's brokered tough negotiations between parties, but not this time. After six weeks to put together a government between a number of smaller parties, he wasn't able to do it. He wasn't able to break a deadlock. There was an alternative here, of course. He could have gone back to the country's president and said, look, I don't have a government and then the president could have decided to give the job to somebody else. Israel could have had a different prime minister. Well, Netanyahu prevented the possibility of that happening. Instead of risking somebody else being given the chance of being prime minister, Netanyahu called these fresh elections for September 17th. That means he remains in charge of his own political party, he remains in charge of the Knesset and he remains the country's prime minister. This goes well beyond simple internal Israeli politics. This, of course, affects the U.S./Israel relationship, especially because President Donald Trump basically openly campaigned for Netanyahu during the April elections. Alisyn, we may very well see much more of that as we're three and a half months away from Israel's next election.</s>CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh, it never ends. Oren Liebermann, thank you very much for that update. Now to Nepal. It has been a particularly deadly climbing season on Mount Everest. Eleven people have already died already compared to five or six on average years. CNN's Arwa Damon spoke with one climber who described why he is lucky to be alive today.</s>ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This is the moment Ian Stewart says he trained ten years for, making the treacherous trek to the top of Mount Everest. Stewart planned an eight-hour journey to the summit. Instead, it took him 12.</s>DAMON (on camera): At what point were you at when you realized and said to yourself, I think I'm going to die?</s>IAN STEWART, AMERICAN CLIMBER: So the first point the panic really hit was, was at the summit. So I was up there with -- with our guide. And he looked at me and was like, hey, we're both really low on oxygen. We've got to go. I was very lucky that one of our Sherpas in our group decided to make the decision to bring an extra bottle of oxygen up from the balcony.</s>DAMON (voice over): He says he never expected this climb could have been his last. He had promised his wife Katie that he'd prioritize coming home over reaching the summit.</s>STEWART: And that's what caused me to break down a bit on the descent was I feel like I looked my wife right in the eyes and told her that. And then I almost didn't follow through.</s>DAMON: Stewart scaled Everest the day this photo was taken, showing an hour's long backup in its death zone, where breathing becomes most difficult. Veteran mountaineers are suggesting the slow down and inexperienced climbers could all be factors in the 11 deaths on this world's tallest peak this season.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A bit of an interesting climb</s>DAMON: Among them, British climber Robin Fischer (ph), who was part of Stewart's initial group, summiting two days after him. Fischer had posted his concerns about the congestion on Instagram, writing, delays caused by overcrowding could prove fatal. Nepal is now facing pressure after one of the deadliest seasons on record and is considering new requirements for a Mount Everest permit. Right now, despite a price tag of around $11,000, there's no proof of climbing experience required.</s>DAMON: All of the climbers that we have been speaking to over the last few days say that anyone who has that burning desire to try to summit should be able to do so. But it's about doing it wisely and safely. And as one expert climber put it perhaps best, you can get to the mountain, think you're prepared, think you're invincible, but then nature can have other plans.</s>BERMAN: Oh, my God, imagine having to make these choices and with no air or oxygen at the same time. So harrowing. Arwa, thank you very much. All right, some really scary moments at a Cubs/Astros game. A line drive by the Cub's Albert Almora Junior hit a young girl in the stands last night. Witnesses say the park went quiet as Almora, you can see, dropped to one knee. Houston Astros say the young fan was taken to the hospital. She was in tears as she left the ballpark. Her condition has not been released. Almora was clearly shaken by the incident and was consoled by one of the security guards before walking away in tears. He spoke about it with reporters after the game.</s>ALBERT ALMORA JUNIOR, CHICAGO CUBS PLAYER: With God willing, I'll be able to have a relationship with this little girl for the rest of my life. But just prayers right now. And that's all I really can control.</s>BERMAN: Just such compassion there. Almora is the father of two boys. And despite being visibly shaken by all of this, he stayed in the game. Baseball is so concerned about this. I mean they've actually taken measures in the last few years to net more of the field. But this is horrible.</s>CAMEROTA: Oh, it's horrible. I mean we're praying for the girl also. I hope that while NEW DAY is on, we can get some sort of update from the hospital. All right, here is good news. This is the best answer "Jeopardy!" fans can hope for. We have an update on Alex Trebek's battle against cancer and what he calls his mind-boggling progress. That's next. .