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Israeli PM Sets Rafah Invasion Date; Millions Witnessed the Great Total Eclipse in North America Since 2017; New Vatican Document Reveals Grave Violations of Human Dignity; ICJ Resumes Arguments on Nicaragua vs. Germany for Gaza Genocide; New York Appeals Court Junk Trump's Petition to Delay Hush Money Trial; Report Says Chechnya will Ban Music that Are Too Fast or Too Slow; German Chancellor Joins TikTok, But With Special Conditions. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired April 09, 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)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead, Benjamin Netanyahu says a date for the invasion of Rafah is set after the IDF pullout from Khan Younis reveals a city in ruin.
Deadly Russian strikes reported across Ukraine as the Kremlin and Kyiv trade blame over a strike on Europe's largest nuclear power plant.
And a spectacular show from Mexico to Maine how people across North America watch Monday's total solar eclipse.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: Thanks for joining us. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says a date has been set for a ground operation into the southern Gaza city of Rafah despite strong international opposition to such an offensive.
More than one million displaced Palestinians are seeking shelter there and the U.S. State Department says Israel has not presented a credible plan for dealing with those civilians or provided a date for an invasion of Rafah.
A source says CIA Director Bill Burns has presented a new proposal to try and bridge the gaps in the ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas during weekend talks in Cairo. Hamas says its leaders will review the latest proposal from Israel even though it doesn't meet their demands. Here's Mr. Netanyahu's reaction to that news.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Today I received a detailed report on the talks in Cairo. We are constantly working to achieve our goals, primarily the release of all our hostages and achieving a complete victory over Hamas. This victory requires entry into Rafah and the elimination of the terrorist battalions there. It will happen. There is a date.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: These developments come just days after the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Khan Younis. Palestinians are slowly returning to the southern Gaza city to find stunning scenes of devastation. And many say they're finding their homes and neighborhoods reduced to a pile of rubble.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN (through translator): No water, no electricity, no columns, no walls and no doors. There's nothing. Gaza is not Gaza anymore. It's a ruined place that even dogs, cats and animals won't live in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Meantime, Israel said Monday marked the largest single-day truck delivery of humanitarian aid since the conflict began more than six months ago. The Israel Defense Forces says 419 aid trucks entered Gaza through two border crossings and hundreds of food packages were airdropped.
The World Food Program has sounded the alarm over the food insecurity facing most of Gaza's population and the imminent threat of famine in the north.
CNN's Scott McLean is following developments. He joins me now live from Istanbul. Good to see you, Scott. So what more are you learning about Prime Minister Netanyahu insisting he has set a date for an incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah and what is the latest on that humanitarian aid now arriving in Gaza?
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey Rosemary. Yeah. It looks like some of the outside pressure from Israel's allies and the United States is getting through at least when it comes to aid. As you mentioned, more than 400 trucks got into Gaza yesterday. That is approaching what you would normally see pre-war where around 500 or so trucks were getting into Gaza per day.
But the message apparently is still not getting through when it comes to Rafah. That is the so-called red line that President Biden has drawn for the Israelis. The Americans do not want them to go into Rafah, a place where well over a million Palestinians remain sheltering. They say it would be a disaster.
As you mentioned, the State Department says that it has not seen a credible plan from the Israelis. And it's not even about a credible plan at this point because the Americans insist there are better ways for Israel to achieve its goals and take out the remaining Hamas militants there without displacing that many people and without the humanitarian disaster that would surely ensue. And the Israelis are also feeling pressure from other places. A
renewed call came in the form of a "Washington Post" op-ed from the presidents of Egypt and France and the king of Jordan calling for a permanent ceasefire.
[03:05:08]
And when it comes to the invasion of Rafah, these three leaders wrote this, quote, "it would only bring more death and suffering, heighten the risks and consequences of mass displacement of the people of Gaza, and threaten regional escalation". They also went on to write about the aid situation, saying, quote, "consistent with international law, Israel is under an obligation to ensure the flow of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian population, a responsibility it has not fulfilled".
Now, of course, all of this would become somewhat moot if there was a ceasefire agreement. But that's not looking imminent at this stage of the game.
You mentioned there's an Israeli or an American proposal, excuse me, that the sides are reviewing, but there is no indications, at least publicly, that it would meet the requirements that Hamas has set, which are for a permanent ceasefire, not a temporary one of the full withdrawal of Israeli troops. The Israelis can continue to insist that troops will stay on even after a ceasefire agreement and the free movement of displaced Gazans from the south to the north. The Israelis have so far continued to insist on security checks or at least limitations on the numbers moving northward per day.
That last one is also something that the Americans would like to see. But again, so far, no movement at this stage. This doesn't sound real optimistic, but the Qatari foreign minister, of course, Qatar is one of the countries that's facilitating these talks, said yesterday that he is more optimistic now than he was a few days ago. So let's see, Rosemary.
CHURCH: Indeed. And Scott, what more can you tell us about Israel rejecting Turkey's request to drop aid into Gaza?
MCLEAN: Yeah, so Turkey is one of the biggest providers of aid to Gaza. It says that it has now sent eight shiploads full of aid to Egypt to then cross into Gaza by land. But the Turks had also requested to get in on the airdrops being done primarily by the Jordanians with their own cargo planes, something that the Turkish foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, says that the Israelis have now rejected. And Fidan said yesterday in a press conference that there is no excuse for Israel to block our attempt to airlift aid to starving Gazans. And he said that Turkey will now take action.
And just this morning, we have seen confirmation from the Turkish trade ministry that exports to Israel in more than 50 categories have been blocked or have been barred until there is a ceasefire agreement reached. That includes things like cement, aluminum, steel, electrical components, ceramics, the list goes on and on. We know, of course, that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has
been one of perhaps the most outspoken critic of Israel since this war began. But his critics inside the country have long complained that his words or that his actions didn't necessarily match his words.
Now, that seems to be changing. Back in December, I spoke, I interviewed his chief advisor, who said that there were no talks of sanctions on Israel. At the time, he said that this was not a state- to-state issue, but rather an issue for private businesses to sort out.
And perhaps part of it is because Turks sent the message at the ballot box in this last round of local elections where smaller parties to the right of President Erdogan's own AK Party siphoned off some of his votes. And those parties wanted to see a harder line when it comes to Israel. And now we are seeing it.
Turkey also is well known, of course, as a host of Hamas officials right here in Istanbul. In fact, the leader of Hamas may have actually been here on the date that those October 7th attacks carried out. Whether or not that played into Israel's decision to reject Turkey's participation in airdrops, we don't know. But we have reached out to the Israelis for comment. Rosemary.
CHURCH: Scott McLean joining us live from Istanbul. Many thanks for that report.
In a significant step, the U.N. Security Council's president has referred the Palestinian Authority's application to become a full member of the world body to its membership committee.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANESSA FRAZIER, MALTA'S AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: Accordingly, unless I hear a proposal to the contrary, I shall refer to the committee of admissions of new members the request that renewed consideration be given to the application of the observer state of Palestine during the month of April 2024.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: The Palestinian mission first put in a request in 2011, but was granted only a non-member observer state status in 2012. Meantime, Israel's ambassador to the U.N. criticized the move, saying the U.N. would be establishing a quote, "Palestinian terror state".
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The U.S. and Israel remain on high alert for a possible Iranian attack as early as this week. Iran has vowed retaliation against Israel for a strike on its consulate in Damascus, Syria last week. U.S. intelligence sources now believe any such attack would likely be carried out by Iran's proxy forces in the region. But those sources say Iran is wary of a dramatic escalation in fighting and will not launch any sort of strike itself because it does not want the U.S. and its allies to have an excuse to attack Iran directly. The Kremlin is accusing Ukrainian forces of attacking the Zaporizhzhya
nuclear power plant with self-exploding drones. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed the plant's main reactor took three direct hits on Sunday. Ukraine adamantly denies the allegations, saying they take nuclear safety very seriously. They accuse Russian- installed officials at the plant of creating incidents themselves as a form of nuclear blackmail. Here's what Russian officials are saying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YURI CHERNICHUK, RUSSIAN-INSTALLED DIRECTOR OF THE ZAPORIZHZHYA NUCLEAR POWER PLANT (through translator): The danger of what happens now around Zaporizhzhya plant does not need any commentary. It is dangerous, dangerous for the station, dangerous for the surrounding territory and potentially dangerous for the whole world, all of humanity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Russian forces took over the plant in 2022. Both Moscow and Kyiv have accused each other of using the plant and the threat of nuclear disaster as a weapon of war.
Ukrainian officials say at least six civilians were killed and dozens injured in Russian airstrikes from north-eastern Ukraine all the way south to Kherson. Guided aerial bombs caused this damage in the northern Sumy region, according to Ukraine's interior ministry. Yet another deadly instance of Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure. On Sunday, Ukraine's president warned that his country will lose the war completely if the U.S. does not send aid.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): It is quite obvious that the air defense capabilities available to us in Ukraine are not enough. And this is obvious to all our partners as well. And the world must finally hear the pain the Russian terrorists are inflicting on Kharkiv, on Kupyansk, on cities in Donetsk, Zaporizhia, Sumy regions and many other Ukrainian communities. There are air defense systems in the world that can help. The only thing needed is the political will to transfer these systems to Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: On Tuesday, lawmakers of the U.S. House of Representatives go back to work. Speaker Mike Johnson is under pressure from Democrats, the White House and Ukraine itself to pass the aid bill. He is also facing pressure from his own party to ignore it.
Global Affairs Analyst Michael Bociurkiw joins me now from Odessa in Ukraine. He is a former spokesperson for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. Appreciate you being with us.
MICHAEL BOCIURKIW, FORMER SPOKESPERSON FOR THE ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE AND SR. FELLOW AT THE ATLANTIC COUNCIL: Good to be with you, thank you.
CHURCH: I do want to get to the future of military aid for Ukraine in just a moment. But first, let's look at what's happening on the ground right now with deadly Russian strikes in the Zaporizhzhya region, relentless bombings in Kharkiv, explosions in Odessa, where you are, with so many attacks on cities and towns across the country. What is life like for most people trying to live their lives in the midst of this conflict?
BOCIURKIW: Sure. Well, it's in some places like Kharkiv. It's hell on earth, to put it bluntly. The feeling now is that the Russians are out to turn Kharkiv into another Mariupol, another gray zone where they flatten everything and people are forced out. Now, the mayor there insists that people are going to stay, 300,000 or whatever that remaining. But life has become very, very tough, as it has here in Odessa.
I can't remember a time when we've had so many air raid sirens alarms, including overnight and including one just a few minutes ago.
This causes a lot of fear, a lot of disruption. And let's remind everyone as well that where I sit right now in Odessa, the port here is a key component of the global food supply chain. If the Russians continue to strike at electrical plants, the port ceases to function. That will ripple down to consumers all over the world. It's a very sad state of affairs at the moment.
CHURCH: Right. And of course, Ukraine's President Zelenskyy says that without the $60 billion of U.S. aid package, Ukraine will lose this war to Russia.
[03:14:51]
But that aid looks increasingly unlikely, doesn't it? With many Republicans opposed to the aid for Ukraine and far-right politician Marjorie Taylor Greene threatening to oust Speaker Mike Johnson if he supports any aid for Ukraine. So how likely is it that the speaker would go ahead and pass any aid for the war-torn nation?
BOCIURKIW: Sure. Well, it doesn't look very good at the moment. He has a very slim majority and there's talk of forcing a House vote on the floor of Congress to get this through.
There's also talk of amending the bill so that the 60 billion goes to Ukraine as a loan, which would add to its already mountainous debt.
You know, the stakes couldn't be higher. And it's really felt here in Europe. Lord Cameron, the British foreign secretary, was actually in Florida talking to Mr. Trump, trying to talk some sense into him to, you know, take away his opposition to this bill. And then Lord Cameron will go to -- to Washington to lobby there as well.
Both Lord Cameron and the French foreign secretary wrote a very, very strong op-ed saying that not only could Ukraine lose if this funding doesn't come through, but the West will feel this. Putin will continue his relentless advance further into Europe. It would trigger NATO action boots on the ground here. It would disrupt supply chains. Very, very disastrous for the West. So, again, the stakes could not be higher.
CHURCH: Yeah, and of course, Republican resistance to any aid for Ukraine appears due to a Russian disinformation campaign with the Republican chairman of the Intelligence Committee, Mike Turner, warning that Russian propaganda is infecting members of the GOP and influencing their views on funding for Ukraine. So how does that even happen, for starters, and how does Ukraine counter that Russian influence in the United States within the Conservative Party?
BOCIURKIW: I know it's very difficult. Just before coming on air, I went through the Twitter feed for hashtag Ukraine. And you can see all of the disinformation bots at work there calling Zelenskyy corrupt, Marjorie Taylor Greene saying apparently that the Ukrainians are striking at churches and Christianity and things like that. Just ridiculous stuff. Look, the bottom line here is that the Russians have had a major, major advantage pumping millions and millions of dollars into disinformation campaigns for years now. The Ukrainians are very far behind.
Rosemary, one of the concepts in talks right now among Ukrainians is there are so many, for example, Ukrainian journalists who have been forced out of Ukraine that maybe it's time to get them motivated and hired to create high quality content to go around the world to counter this Russian propaganda. That's the kind of stuff going on. But I have to tell you, it's very overwhelming, the amount of disinformation on all of the social media platforms and people, sadly, seem to be lapping it up.
CHURCH: Yes. So we all need to learn how to source our information. It is critical. People are forgetting how to do that. Michael Bociurkiw, thank you so much for joining us. I Appreciate it.
BOCIURKIW: My pleasure.
CHURCH: Monday's total solar eclipse was a spectacle that won't be seen again in the U.S. for more than two decades. We'll show you what it was like as millions of people shared a moment in history.
Plus, the Vatican issues a new declaration on what it considers threats to human dignity. What the Catholic Church has to say on the topics of gender theory, surrogacy and gender affirming surgery. That's after the break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:20:00]
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CHURCH: A rare total solar eclipse swept across the sky in parts of the US, Mexico and Canada on Monday. Millions of people were in the path of totality, with large crowds gathering to take in the special moment. Mazatlan on Mexico's Pacific coast was the first city to experience the total eclipse. It then moved across more than a dozen states from Texas to Maine, ending in Canada.
NASA says those lucky enough to be in the middle of the path of totality saw an eclipse that lasted between three and a half to four minutes. CNN's Kristin Fisher was in Indianapolis to see the phenomenon firsthand.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNKNOWN: This is an extraordinary cosmic coincidence.
KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Millions of Americans catching a once in a generation total solar eclipse, turning day into night for everyone along the path of totality, people coming from all over the world to see this rare event in the sky.
In Indianapolis, at the largest watch party in the world, thousands cheering the eclipse from the iconic motor speedway.
FISHER: Dad, what did you think?
UNKNOWN: Amazing. I have no words. It was much more dramatic than I thought it would be.
FISHER: Mom, what did you think about it? First time seeing a total solar?
UNKNOWN: I'm crying.
FISHER (voice-over): And in Arkansas, more than 350 couples tied the knot in a "Total Eclipse of the Heart" event.
On a mountaintop in Vermont, love was also in the air as this couple got engaged right before the eclipse ended.
It was a rare and breathtaking celestial event for millions.
UNKNOWN: Seeing it for the first time was shocking. I like down my spine.
FISHER (voice-over): Even for the animals at the Dallas Zoo who were clearly aware of something happening.
UNKNOWN: Tobago has gone over by his pen where he normally would go right before he puts himself to bed. An absolutely captivating moment.
FISHER: It will be 20 years, the year 2044, before the next time a total solar eclipse touches parts of the United States. But here in Indianapolis, it will be 129 years before the next total solar eclipse. So everyone here just feeling lucky and grateful that the weather cooperated and they got to see it this time.
Kristin Fisher, CNN, Indianapolis.
(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: Sarah Treadwell, better known as "Space Case Sarah", is a NASA solar system ambassador and professional science communicator. And she joins me now from Paris, Illinois. Great to have you with us.
SARAH TREADWELL, NASA SOLAR SYSTEM AMBASSADOR AND PROFESSIONAL SCIENCE COMMUNICATOR: Thank you for having me.
CHURCH: So let's start with the awe and wonder of this rare and breathtaking event, not only for the 32 million people in the path of totality, but also for everyone else watching on television as the eclipse passed from Mexico across the US and into Canada. What were your thoughts and feelings as you watched this celestial show? And what method did you use to view it?
TREADWELL: Oh, my gosh. Well, I'll answer the second question first. I just used my own eyes. I do own a bunch of big telescopes, but I decided I've never seen a total solar eclipse before and I really wanted to just, you know, experience it for myself.
And so other than my solar glasses, which were important when it wasn't in full totality, I just looked at it with my own eyes. And I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it was -- it was absolutely incredible. I mean, awe is the exact perfect word to describe it.
CHURCH: That is amazing. And what scientific breakthroughs were realized during this total solar eclipse? What did we learn from this?
TREADWELL: Well, I mean, historically, we've -- we've discovered helium from solar eclipses and Einstein's theory of relativity was also proven. Today, I don't know yet what has been discovered. NASA did have quite a lot of projects set up to study different things during the solar eclipse. I personally just realized it was infinitely more beautiful than I was expecting it. And I know that sounds very silly, but it was it's just this deep, dark black hole that you're, it feels like you're looking into space. And it just took my breath away.
[03:25:04]
CHURCH: Yeah, absolutely. And of all the many images generated by this total solar eclipse and, of course, the extraordinary moments of birds returning to their nests, other animals clustering together, trying to make sense of days suddenly turning to night and, of course, that rapid drop in temperature. What images and moments stood out to you and how would you explain this cosmic experience to your many students? Because you talk, you're a communicator in this area. So -- so what would you say?
TREADWELL: Yeah, great point. The temperature change was one of the first things you really start to notice because it was actually pretty warm today and almost uncomfortable in the direct sun. And then eventually you're like, it's actually really comfortable out now.
And visually, you know, the moon, you can't you can't tell the moon is passing really in front of it without your glasses until it's completely covered. And then it's just this -- these glorious rays from, you know, coming from the sun's corona shining out from, like I said, that dark hole.
And that was just so beautiful. And also, you have this 360 sunset around you. So it's just this eerie kind of twilight feeling.
And -- and then I mean, just the coolest part for me was right when it ends, there's that diamond ring and it was so, so pretty. So I you know, I'm still kind of trying to formulate all the right words to describe it all because I'm still kind of in that like, wow, that was incredible.
CHURCH: I love it. So how life changing can an event like this be for many people and -- and for yourself? Clearly, it really made an impact.
TREADWELL: Yeah, I think -- I think one of the things that it can really do, and this is something I always try to emphasize to people when I'm talking to them about space, is that we're a part of space, we're on spaceship Earth. And we are part of this grand cosmic universe, you know, adventure story.
And to see it in motion like this firsthand, I think really puts you in a humbling place in a really hope that it can inspire other people to want to put themselves in the path of something like this themselves. It doesn't necessarily have to be a solar eclipse. But these incredible moments that connect us to Earth and to where we are in the cosmos, I think is something that this kind of event can do like none other.
CHURCH: Oh, I love that. Sarah Treadwell, thank you so much. And I love the way you brought all of that energy to our viewers. Just fantastic. What a great experience and great to talk with you.
TREADWELL: Yes, thank you.
CHURCH: The Vatican names what it considers, quote, "grave violations of human dignity" in a new declaration issued on Monday. The Dignitas Infinita, which means infinite dignity, lays out the Catholic Church's stance on inherent and unalienable worth and rights afforded to every person. Things that would violate that dignity include issues like sexual abuse, surrogacy, abortion and gender affirming surgery.
The document says, in part, quote, "any sex change intervention as a rule risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception". CNN Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb has more details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Gender theory, surrogacy and gender affirming health care are all violations of human dignity, according to a new Vatican document.
The declaration, which was signed off and approved by Pope Francis, lists the gender theory alongside other violations of human dignity, such as abortion and euthanasia. The document also includes, however, social issues such as the plight
of migrants, the violence against women and the death penalty, saying that these issues are also important and the Catholics should not simply focus on abortion and euthanasia.
Whilst the document is critical of gender theory, it does include a strong condemnation of the criminalization of homosexuality in certain countries around the world, something that Pope Francis spoke about in 2023 ahead of a trip to Africa.
Cardinal Fernandez presenting the document said he was shocked that some Catholics were supportive of these laws criminalizing homosexuality.
The document appears to be a balancing of both Pope Francis' desire to maintain Catholic teaching and doctrine, but also his pastoral welcome to same-sex Catholics and LGBTQ-plus believers.
This document comes in the months after the Vatican issued a groundbreaking text offering blessings to same-sex couples, something that sent shockwaves through the church, and allowing for trans Catholics to act as godparents at baptisms.
So with this document we see a reaffirmation of Catholic teaching and doctrine, but at the same time a desire to apply that in a pastoral --
[03:30:00]
So with this document we see a reaffirmation of Catholic teaching and doctrine, but at the same time a desire to apply that in a pastoral and compassionate way.
Christopher Lamb, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Still to come as Israel gears up for the next phase of the war, the situation continues to be desperate inside Gaza. Just ahead, the spiraling humanitarian crisis as the war marks six months.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that a date has been set for a ground operation into Rafah, the southern Gaza city that's home to almost one and a half million displaced Palestinians. But according to the State Department, Israel has provided the U.S. with no details about the date or any credible plan for evacuating civilians to relative safety. Netanyahu said on Monday that a complete victory over Hamas requires entry into Rafah and the elimination of its battalions there.
His comments come after the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Khan Younis in southern Gaza. Palestinians are slowly returning to the city that has been devastated by months of war.
Well the ongoing war has unleashed a devastating humanitarian crisis and widespread destruction in Gaza, and now aid organizations say there's a threat of catastrophic levels of hunger. CNN's Nada Bashir has more on the devastating impact of six months of the war in Gaza, but a warning her story contains some disturbing video.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Celebrating a graduation full of hope for the future. This was life in Gaza for Um Ihab's family before the war.
Now, Um Ihab is one of almost two million Palestinians that have been displaced.
We never needed anything from anyone before the war, Um Ihab says. But now we are in a situation where I'm forced to beg for a loaf of bread just to feed the children.
In this makeshift shelter, without access to adequate food supplies or medical care, Um Ihab's husband became severely malnourished and later died.
The hardest thing was losing my husband, the way in which he died, she says. We're all going to die one day, but every death has a reason. He died from hunger, from oppression. He had no food and no water for 55 days. It's very difficult for me to accept this.
[03:35:00]
Satellite images show the scale of the destruction in central Gaza. Buildings, roads, completely destroyed by Israel's relentless bombing campaign.
Israel says it is targeting Hamas, but six months on and the death toll has now surpassed 33,000, the vast majority civilians.
Each week has brought with it yet more horror, more bodies pulled from beneath the rubble of destroyed homes, more funerals.
Survivors forced to flee from one battleground to another and now more children left emaciated by a hunger crisis which is threatening to push Gaza deeper towards famine.
U.N. experts have accused Israel of intentionally starving the Palestinian people by restricting access to aid, with dire shortages leading to deadly desperation.
What few hospitals remain in Gaza are overrun and desperately lacking in essential supplies. Gaza's largest medical facility, al-Shifa, now turned into a graveyard by Israel's bloody 14-day siege on the complex.
In just six months, this war has become the deadliest conflict for children, aid workers and journalists. Fouad al-Maani has worked through multiple wars in Gaza, but he says he has never seen anything like this before. His son, a fellow paramedic, was killed by an Israeli airstrike while responding to an emergency call. Others have lost tens of family members, Fouad says, but losing my son
feels like I've lost the entire world.
Desperate to escape Israel's near constant air assault on Gaza, more than a million people have sought refuge in the southern border city of Rafah, where Israel says it is preparing for a ground incursion, a move the U.N. warns would lead to unimaginable disaster.
Israel's actions in Gaza have triggered a genocide hearing at the International Court of Justice, allegations Israel denies, and a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire. But hopes for peace remain elusive.
The beach makes me forget our pain, our sadness, our martyrs, Um Ihab says. Every time I come, I complain to the sea, hoping that God will respond and finally take us away from this pain.
Nada Bashir, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Just minutes from now, the International Court of Justice will resume public arguments in Nicaragua's case against Germany, which it accuses of facilitating genocide in Gaza. Nicaragua says Germany has violated the Genocide Convention through its sustained support of Israel and by providing weapons that could be used against Palestinians.
Nicaragua also cited Germany's decision to suspend funding for the U.N. agency that provides aid to Palestinians.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARLOS JOSE ARGUELLO GOMEZ, NICARAGUAN AMBASSADOR TO NETHERLANDS: Germany is failing to honor its own obligation to prevent genocide or to ensure respect of international humanitarian law. In the present case, Nicaragua is also requesting the court to order that Germany should cease providing support to Israel in its campaign of destruction of the Palestinian people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Israel is not a party to the case. Germany will present its arguments to the court in the coming day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TANIA VON USLAR-GLEICHEN, LEGAL ADVISER FOR GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTRY: Germany rejects the allegations made by Nicaragua today. Germany does not and never did violate the Genocide Convention nor international humanitarian law, neither directly nor indirectly. On the contrary, Germany is committed to uphold of international law and this is what we work for internationally.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: These proceedings are separate from South Africa's genocide case against Israel, which is being considered by the same court.
In the coming hours, the Organization of American States will meet to discuss the ongoing tensions between Mexico and Ecuador. Mexico broke diplomatic ties with Ecuador over the weekend after Ecuadorian police stormed its embassy to arrest a former Ecuadorian vice president. As journalist Stefano Pozzebon reports, Ecuador's president is defending his country's decision.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: Ecuador's president, Daniel Noboa, said that he ordered an operation last week to detain Jorge Glas, the former vice president, from the Mexican embassy in Quito because his country, and I quote, "could not allow sentenced criminals to be granted asylum". Ecuador's police forced their entrance into the embassy to arrest Glas, who has been convicted of corruption twice and is now facing new charges of embezzlement.
[03:40:07]
Many countries in the region have criticized the action, accusing Ecuador of crossing a diplomatic red line.
Mexico has severe diplomatic ties with Ecuador and its government is preparing a case against Ecuador at the International Court of Justice.
But in an open letter published on social media on Monday, Noboa said he hoped to resolve any difference with Mexico after the incident and that bringing Glas to justice was non-negotiable.
Glas himself was taken to hospital on Monday after he fell ill after refusing to eat, according to the prison agency of Ecuador. He denies the charges and says that they are politically motivated.
For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon. Bogota.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Still to come, levered up to the states, Donald Trump manages to anger the left and the right with his latest stance on abortion. We'll explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: A New York appeals court judge has rejected Donald Trump's petition to delay his hush money trial. The former president wanted a change of venue, claiming he can't get a fair trial in Manhattan.
Jury selection is set to begin next week and we're getting our first look at the juror questionnaire. It includes questions about where prospective jurors get their news and whether they've ever been to a Trump rally, but not what political party they belong to.
The trial centers on claims that Trump failed to properly disclose a payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about their alleged affair.
Trump is angering both liberals and conservatives with his latest comments on abortion rights. The Republican presidential hopeful says the issue should be left up to the states. He refused to say how many weeks into a pregnancy abortion should be banned, but he supports exceptions in the cases of rape, incest and danger to the life of the mother.
He also says he's proudly responsible for getting Roe versus Wade overturned.
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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both and whatever they decide must be the law of the land. In this case, the law of the state.
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CHURCH: Trump's stance on abortion has shifted so many times over the years, it's hard to keep up. CNN's Randi Kaye has a look at Trump's track record.
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RANDI KAYE, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump staked out his first public position on abortion in April of 1989 when he co-sponsored a dinner at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan for the president of a national group that advocates for abortion rights.
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Then, more than a decade later, in 1999 on NBC's "Meet the Press", Trump defended his position, doubling down on it.
TRUMP: I'm very pro-choice. I hate the concept of abortion. I hate it. I hate everything it stands for. I cringe when I listen to people debating the subject, but you still, I just believe in choice.
TIM RUSSERT, THEN MEET THE PRESS HOST: But you would not ban it?
TRUMP: No.
KAYE (voice-over): As the years passed and Trump grew more serious about running for president, his position on abortion flipped. This was him at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference, in 2011.
TRUMP: I'm pro-life. I'm against gun control.
KAYE (voice-over): By then, Trump was opposed to abortion rights. In a CNN interview in June 2015, even Trump himself seemed momentarily confused about where he stood on the issue.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: I know you're opposed to abortion.
TRUMP: Right. I'm pro-choice.
TAPPER: You're pro-choice or pro-life?
TRUMP: I'm pro-life. I'm sorry.
TAPPER: Pro-life.
KAYE (voice-over): Later in 2015, at a GOP presidential primary debate, Trump was asked why his position on the issue changed since 1999. He explained he'd, quote, "evolved".
TRUMP: What happened is friends of mine years ago were going to have a child and it was going to be aborted and it wasn't aborted and that child today is a total superstar, a great, great child. And I saw that and I saw other instances.
KAYE (voice-over): The following year, in 2016.
TRUMP: I'm going to, I'm pro-life. The judges will be pro-life.
KAYE (voice-over): As recently as May last year, Trump was still noncommittal about what exactly a national abortion ban might look like if he were elected again.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: -- abortion ban. You did not say yes or no to that.
TRUMP: It depends what the deal is. And I'll make the right decision.
KAYE (voice-over): In February, Trump signaling he was open to a 15- week federal ban with exceptions for cases of rape, incest and when the life of the mother is in danger.
TRUMP (on the phone): Now people are agreeing on 15 and I'm thinking in terms of that, I'll make that announcement at the appropriate time.
KAYE (voice-over): That announcement, when it came today, marked Trump's latest attempt to thread this political needle.
Randi Kaye, CNN, Palm Beach, Florida.
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CHURCH: Despite President Joe Biden's many progressive policies, like his unprecedented forgiveness of student loan debt, he may have a problem winning over some college students in the upcoming election. CNN's Renee Marsh explains.
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RENEE MARSH, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This November will be the first time Lonnie White and Rukia Garbo will be old enough to vote in the presidential election. And just the second time Malik Poole and Mozn Shora will cast a presidential ballot. None are planning to vote for Joe Biden or Donald Trump.
ROKIYA GARBO, NOT VOTING IN U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: If I were to vote tomorrow, I wouldn't vote, period.
MOZN SHORA, SPELMAN COLLEGE SENIOR: Ideally, I would like to vote third party.
LOONIE WHITE, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE JUNIOR: I will vote for an independent candidate.
MALIK POOLE, VOTING THIRD PARTY: I'm considering either voting for Claudia de la Cruz or Cornel West at this point. If there is no substantive policy change when it comes to the genocide in Gaza, then there's not really a discussion for me.
MARSH (voice-over): When we met at this barbecue restaurant in Atlanta, all four told me they were raised and originally registered as Democrats. But this year, the president's handling of the Israel- Gaza war has turned them away.
SHORA: I think what Biden has done in aiding and abetting a genocide is just something I cannot stand for.
MARSH: You're willing to withhold your vote in the presidential election unless there is a ceasefire.
GARBO: Yes.
MARSH: And it's implemented.
GARBO: Yes.
MARSH: Not voting could mean Donald Trump gets into office. Do you think he'll be better on Gaza?
SHORA: Trump would probably say flatten Gaza and make it into a golf course. I have absolutely no faith in him.
MARSH: Would you not say that also the people who are not voting for one of the two people who are the likely people to really be in this race have a role to play in kind of giving the race to Donald Trump in a state like Georgia, where it's going to be like razor-thin?
POOLE: Yeah, no, I'll do you one better, actually. I think that just means that's why the Democrats should listen.
Exactly.
MARSH (voice-over): Radical and more tapped in than their peers is how the group describes themselves. Rokia even helping to organize this demonstration in Atlanta last October, calling for peace and aid for the Palestinian people. While they don't speak for the majority of black voters, their dissent poses a real concern for Democrats in battleground states like Georgia, where Biden won by fewer than 12,000 votes. Black voters under age 30 made up only about six percent of voters in Georgia in 2020. That group voted for Joe Biden by more than 50 points.
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POOLE: We are holding their election in the palm of our hands and they're not listening.
GARBO: We're tired of just hearing him say these things, these empty promises. We have no trust in Joe Biden.
MARSH (voice-over): The Republican Party isn't earning their vote either.
GARBO: Both sides are just all nothing is being done for us.
SHORA: If enough people vote third party, we can win. That's my thoughts.
MARSH (voice-over): President Biden's campaign has touted his success on key issues affecting young voters, including student loan forgiveness, lowering unemployment and tackling inflation. Still, though --
SHORA: I don't feel it. People may be employed, but can they survive off of it?
WHITE: The federal minimum wage has stayed the same since 2009. I was five in 2009. I'm 20 years old now. I work at Goodwill now for $12 an hour and cost of living keeps increasing, especially here.
MARSH: What could President Biden do to change your mind as far as how you'll vote in November?
SHORA: Call for a permanent ceasefire and actually implement it. I would like us to stop giving aid to Israel.
WHITE: If he doesn't get elected, that is his fault. That's not our fault. That's not the black voters here. That's not X, Y, and Z. No, it's -- it's on him.
MARSH: Omega Inc., the super PAC supporting Trump, has spent more than a half a million dollars for ads on black radio hoping to woo unhappy Biden voters. We asked the Biden campaign about the dissent that we're seeing among some young black voters, and they frame this as a race between a president that actually cares about making life better, even if all Americans haven't felt the full impact just yet, and another candidate, Donald Trump, who they say cares only about his rich friends and helping himself. All of that said, the Biden campaign is aware of this dissent among some of these young voters, and they are concerned.
Renee Marsh, CNN, Washington.
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CHURCH: And we'll be right back.
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CHURCH: NASA launched rockets Monday to learn more about Monday's total solar eclipse in parts of the US, Mexico and Canada. An estimated 32 million people in the US were able to see the eclipse in the path of totality across more than a dozen states. CNN's Brian Todd has more on what we might learn from it.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you blinked, you really could have missed it. In a matter of seconds, a so-called sounding rocket blasts off, then disappears from view at NASA's Wallops Island facility on the Virginia coast.
Traveling at about 6,000 miles an hour, three of these rockets carried special payloads tailored to this solar eclipse. Launched just before, during and just after the peak of the eclipse, each rocket traveled about 260 miles above the Earth to the ionosphere, the uppermost layer of Earth's atmosphere that borders space.
TRAVIS PAUL, SOUNDING ROCKET ENGINEER; Once the motors are done burning, we will deploy booms that take measurements, and then we'll also deploy these swarm modules that shoot out away from the body of the payload.
TODD (voice-over): The swarm canisters, each about the size of a two- liter soda bottle, and the booms, are equipped with instruments to measure the disturbances in the ionosphere during the solar eclipse. NASA officials say they need to figure out how those disturbances impact things like satellite communications.
DANA WRIGHT, LEAD EDUCATOR, NASA WALLOPS VISITORS CENTER: The layer of the atmosphere that scientists are studying for this mission is also where our satellites are at, and we know we use our satellites for communications, we rely on them daily.
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TODD (voice-over): The swarm canisters floated around the ionosphere during the eclipse, took data, transmitted it back to NASA, then were programmed to drop back to Earth.
Hundreds of people flocked to a special viewing area on Monday to watch the rockets lift off, people like David Quam, who came from the D.C. area.
DAVID QUAM, ROCKET LAUNCH SPECTATOR: This is the combination of all the wonders that we ever talk about, right? From science, so the wonder of an eclipse, the magic of what humankind can do to go observe it, and bringing all those together, this is just a really exciting day.
TODD (voice-over): Between the rocket launches, the total eclipse, and the science of it all, it made for an exciting day in the marshes of southern Virginia. REBECCA YAMAKAWA, ROCKET LAUNCH SPECTATOR: I've always wanted to see a
rocket launch up close. I've always wanted to go into space because I just think it's really cool.
UNKNOWN: This is my ideal job. I want to be in that building working on rockets like these.
WRIGHT: Seeing them get excited and amped about anything related to science, we're all about, of course.
TODD: One NASA official told us that while they receive the data from these instruments within minutes, it will actually take months to analyze the data and really determine how the disturbance in the ionosphere from this eclipse might have affected our satellites.
Brian Todd, CNN, Wallops Island, Virginia.
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CHURCH: There's going to be a lot less music to play in Chechnya after a ban on all songs faster than 116 beats per minute. That's according to Russian state news.
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Songs like Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams", which has a BPM of 120 or anything faster can no longer be played. But the new ruling also applies to music slower than 80 beats per minute. Chechnya's culture minister says the move ensures music and dance align with, quote, "the Chechen mentality and musical rhythm". Chechnya's current leader has history of cracking down on dissent and the country faces allegations of anti-LGBTQ persecution.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is trying to reach a younger audience online by joining TikTok, but he's already promised he won't be dancing.
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This is the first TikTok debuted by Scholz's team, a little over 10 seconds long showing the chancellor working in his office. Until now, the German government avoided the Chinese platform due to security concerns, but the team will post all videos from a special independent cell phone to ensure data security.
And thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. "CNN Newsroom" continues next, with Max Foster.
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