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CNN International: Netanyahu Says Date Set For Rafah Ground Operation; CIA Chief Presents New Proposal For Ceasefire-Hostage Deal; Protesters In Israel Demand Early Elections, Hostage Deal; International Court Rules Switzerland Violated Human Rights; Biden To Welcome Japan's PM To White House; Judge Rejects Trump's Petition To Delay Hush Money Trial; Ireland Gets Its Youngest Leader In Simon Harris; Trump Preparing For First Criminal Trial To Begin Next Week; House Speaker Johnson Trying To Get Ukraine Aid To A Vote; Soon: Parents Of School Shooter To Be Sentenced; Aid Delivery Turned Deadly In Gaza On February 29; Animals React As Totality Passes Over Some U.S. States. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired April 09, 2024 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DONOVAN CLINGAN, UCONN HUSKIES CENTER: You know, I played on a, you know, very small AU team. You know, I worked hard and, you know, I tried to make it to a level, a very high level and, you know, I was able to make history. You know, I know she's smiling down on me. I know, you know, she's happy for me.
You know, and, you know, I wish she could be, you know, part of it. But, you know, like I said, I know she's proud of me.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: I'm sure she would be so, so --
AMARA WALKER, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Amara Walker. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
Just ahead, officials in Gaza say hundreds of bodies have been recovered from around the Al-Shifa Hospital. This says -- Israel's prime minister says a date has been set for a ground operation in Rafah. We'll have a live report from Jerusalem.
Then a landmark ruling from a top European court finds Switzerland guilty of violating human rights by failing to take sufficient action against climate change. Why this decision could have a ripple effect across the globe?
Plus, the young Americans getting their first chance to choose a president this year. Many are saying they don't want Joe Biden or Donald Trump. We'll tell you their reasons.
Human Rights Watch says Children in Gaza have been dying from starvation-related complications. The report released today accuses Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war. Israel denies that accusation. This as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says a date has been set for a ground operation in Rafah despite strong international opposition to such an offensive.
More than 1 million displaced Palestinians are seeking shelter in that Gaza City -- in southern Gaza City.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: 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)
WALKER: Meanwhile, a source says CIA Director Bill Burns presented a new ceasefire and hostage exchange proposal during weekend talks in Cairo. CNN's Jeremy Diamond is joining us now live from Jerusalem with the very latest. Hi there, Jeremy. So what is the latest? It sounds like Hamas is not happy with the latest proposal.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. I mean, over the last several weeks, we have watched as sometimes we've seen two steps taken forward and then three steps taken backwards. And the latest is that Hamas is once again rejecting the latest Israeli counter proposal, one of a series of Israeli proposals that have sought to increase the number of Palestinian prisoners who would be released in exchange for some of those -- of some 40 Israeli hostages.
And we've also seen some shifts in the Israeli position as it relates to the return of Palestinians who are in southern Gaza and who want to return to their homes in northern Gaza. Hamas in its latest statement says that the latest Israeli proposal does not respond to any of their demands.
And that seems to be because Hamas is really taking quite a hard line as it relates to that first issue of the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza, demanding totally unfettered access to northern Gaza, whereas, the Israelis Have sought to impose some kind of a cap on the number of people who could return. And also, trying to maintain a security presence at that line separating northern from southern Gaza.
And then there is the issue of the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza as well. Nonetheless, Hamas says that it will study this latest proposal, that it appreciates the efforts of the mediators to try and reach an agreement. And I'm also told that tonight the Israeli security cabinet is set to me to discuss these hostage negotiation, ceasefire negotiations.
So, there is still the possibility of an agreement. But for now, these two sides still seem very far apart. Those gaps unable to be bridged as of yet.
WALKER: And, of course, while these talks are happening, the Israeli public is obviously getting increasingly frustrated with the fact that there is no deal. We have seen anti-government protests. Tell us more about the pressure that Prime Minister Netanyahu is facing at home.
DIAMOND: Well, the Israeli prime minister has been facing a wave of growing protests over the course of the last several weeks, and he is also facing pressure from within his own right wing governing coalition. In particular, after yesterday, the Israeli military withdrew from Khan Younis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIAMOND (voice-over): Israeli tanks and troops just returned from southern Gaza, signs of a major withdrawal and another political headache for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His right-wing governing partners outraged with National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir warning Netanyahu will not have a mandate to continue serving as Prime Minister if he ends the war without invading Rafah.
[08:05:11]
It's the latest layer of political pressure confronting Netanyahu, who is already facing a growing swell of protests calling for early elections and the hostage deal.
DIAMOND: In the early days of the war, you really didn't see these kinds of mass demonstrations against the current government. There was a sense of wartime unity that it wasn't appropriate to protest. But now, we're seeing more and more Israelis coming out to protest, raising their voices against the current government and against Benjamin Netanyahu.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: None of us wanted to protest. We just wanted to survive, basically. You can't protest when you're afraid for your life. But I think we're not afraid for our life at this moment, and this is the time to replace the government.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says Netanyahu should resign, accusing him of putting the survival of his government above the interests of the country.
EHUD OLMERT, FORMER ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: You can't run the national interest on the basis of personal interests of the prime minister. That's what he was doing, and therefore he's not fit. More than 50 percent of the Israelis think the same. They don't trust him. They think that he is running the war on the basis of his personal interests.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Aviv Bushinsky, a former Netanyahu adviser, says his former boss learned decades ago to always prioritize those who will keep him in power.
AVIV BUSHINSKY, FORMER ADVISER TO ISRAELI PM BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: Never betray your natural allies. They are his allies, his buddies. He has to adhere to their will, pay a heavy price, political price, but this how his coalition is so crystal strong and solid.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Despite the rhetoric from Ben-Gvir, Netanyahu's right wing partners don't seem inclined to pull the rug out from under him just yet. Calls for new elections from his chief rival, War Cabinet member Benny Gantz --
BENNY GANTZ, ISRAEL WAR CABINET MEMBER: The Israeli society needs to renew its contract with its leadership.
DIAMOND (voice-over): And increasingly vocal criticism from the White House are drawing little more than signature defiance from the Israeli Prime Minister.
NETANYAHU (through translator): Hamas hopes that the pressure from outside and inside will make Israel surrender to these extreme demands. The pressure of the international community should be directed against Hamas.
DIAMOND (voice-over): For now, Netanyahu is staving off early elections, which polls show he would likely lose to Benny Gantz, who is still mulling a potential exit from the wartime unity government.
DIAMOND: What kind of impact do you think it would have for him to leave this unity government?
OLMERT: I think it will probably trigger the public reaction, the volcano of the public bitterness and disappointment and rage with Bibi's government. And that will force early elections.
DIAMOND: Because right now we've seen more and more people taking to the streets, but it's still not enough, is what you're saying.
OLMERT: Yes. It's moving in the right direction, but we need more.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DIAMOND: And those protests certainly do represent a problem for the Israeli Prime Minister, but perhaps not yet in the immediate term because they haven't reached the kind of size and scope that the former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was just talking about there. What is a more immediate problem for the Israeli prime minister is the criticism that he faced from his right-wing governing partners over that withdrawal from southern Gaza.
And so, last night, we saw the Israeli prime minister say Rafah will happen. He even claims that a date has been set, although he didn't actually provide any details.
WALKER: Jeremy Diamond, really extraordinary reporting. Thank you so much for that.
Linking human rights to the climate crisis. Three separate cases before the European Court of Human Rights have tried to do just that, and one of them just succeeded. The International Court found in favor of more than 2,000 Swiss women, you can hear the cheering there, who argued heat waves fueled by climate change had undermined their health. It is seen as a landmark climate judgment that could have a ripple effect across the globe.
CNN's Clare Sebastian is tracking these developments. I mean, this is hugely significant. It sets a historic precedent. What does this mean for governments -- the European governments and how they will have to now protect its citizens from climate change. CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Amara, this really expands on what we've seen in a couple of instances in national courts and national legal systems to a sort of regional level. It's the first time the European court of human rights has ruled on climate change.
As you say, it explicitly links human rights and the duty of states to protect their citizens' human rights with their duty to fulfill their climate obligations to act adequately to mitigate climate change. Now, this was not a resounding victory for climate activists. Obviously, there were two cases in addition to this that were dismissed really on technical reasons before even considering their merits.
[08:10:04]
But the fact that one of these cases was successful will potentially open the floodgates to further cases both in Europe and beyond. Take a listen to Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate activist, who felt that this was a big enough deal to turn up in Strasbourg in person.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRETA THUNBERG, CLIMATE CHANGE ACTIVIST: This is only the beginning of climate litigation all over the world. The more and more people are taking their government to court, holding them responsible for their actions. And this -- the result of this can mean in no way that we lean back. This means that we have to fight even more, since this is only the beginning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN: Well, this was controversial, using the existing human rights legal framework to enforce climate targets. Governments have said that it stretches it too far, that it turns judges into legislators essentially, but it is a binding decision. The Swiss government has come out and said that they are analyzing the judgment and the measures which Switzerland has to take in the future will be examined.
So this is a landmark moment in a growing trend of climate litigation as a tool to force action around the world. Amara?
WALKER: I mean, activist around the world have been pushing for governments to do more to, you know, mitigate the impacts of global warming on its citizens. And experts are saying that this could -- this ruling could have a ripple effect across the world. Is that correct?
SEBASTIAN: Yes, so we'd already seen climate litigation growing in various forms and specifically in this respect, using the human rights issue to link that to state's responsibilities to tackle climate change. This may well spur further action. It should be noted though that in the case of the Swiss women, the court did rule that four individual claimants who had said that they had suffered harm as a result of climate change.
They were not deemed to have established their own victim status, but the organization, the Swiss senior women as a whole was deemed to have a right to bring forward this claim. So that could feed into the precedent as well. It is not easy to bring forward these claims, but it is possible. And, you know, international courts around the world are going to face this kind of challenge.
Pacific Islanders, for example, are bringing trying to get the International Court of Justice to rule on a similar issue when it comes to the impact of climate change on their lives and wellbeing. So this will be a very closely watched precedent and one that climate activists broadly are celebrating today. Amara?
WALKER: They sure are.
Clare Sebastian, good to see you. Thanks so much.
New data from the European Union shows the world has chalked up another unwanted first. Last month was the hottest March on record. The E.U.'s climate monitoring service, Copernicus, says there have been 10 consecutive months that have set records capping off the hottest 12-month period in recorded history. Ocean temperatures also experiencing off the chart highs last month with an average of more than 21 degrees Celsius.
For the next few days, Joe Biden's attention will be on Asia. Later today, he will welcome Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the White House. On Wednesday, the two leaders will hold a summit where they are expected to discuss defense and economic issues, especially China's growing influence on the world stage.
Later this week, the president of the Philippines will arrive and all three leaders will sit down for talks.
Let's go now to the White House and our Priscilla Alvarez. Hi there, Priscilla. What are we expecting to hear about in terms of the two leaders discussions today?
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, they have multiple issues to discuss on the economic and political fronts, but this is a visit that certainly emphasizes the importance of this alliance amid aggression from -- or at least to counterbalance China's influence and also China's aggression in the South China Sea.
Now the two are expected to talk about a major update to the military alliance as well as greater defense industrial cooperation. All of this as they also announced new steps on artificial intelligence as well as cyber security work and deepening semiconductor production. But even though they share a lot of similarities, there are points of tension here.
And one of the primary ones is the president's opposition to the sale of U.S. Steel to Japan. That is something that has come up before, an area of concern. The two are expected to discuss during these meetings. But the visit does not begin in earnest really until tomorrow when the two leaders are going to have a bilateral meeting as well as a joint press conference. All to be wrapped up with a state dinner. Now, when the White House announced this visit, they said in their advisory that it would be to address evolving challenges and advance our shared vision for a free, open, secure, and prosperous Indo- Pacific region and the world. So, all of this going to be front and center when the two leaders meet today, briefly, and then tomorrow as the visit begins in earnest.
[08:15:10]
WALKER: All right, Priscilla Alvarez at the White House, thank you so much.
And just ahead, we'll take you to Capitol Hill, where all eyes are on returning lawmakers and what they could decide about aid for Ukraine.
Plus, the show must go on. That is a ruling from a judge in one of Donald Trump's illegal cases. Find out why he wanted but could not get the case put on hold.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: Ukrainian officials are likely watching Capitol Hill very closely as lawmakers at the U.S. House of Representatives return from a two-week recess. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson is under a lot of pressure from Democrats, the White House, and Ukraine itself to pass a bill approving billions of dollars in U.S. aid. But he is facing pressure from his own party to pass Ignore it.
Ukraine's president says his country will lose the war if the U.S. does not deliver more aid. On the ground in Ukraine, officials say there are at least six civilians who've been killed and dozens injured in Russian airstrikes from the northeast of the country all the way south to Kherson.
CNN's Annie Grayer is joining us now live from Capitol Hill. Hi, Annie. Ukraine is in critical need of military aid, as we all know. Speaker Johnson said that the House would soon take the necessary steps. What does he mean by that?
ANNIE GRAYER, CNN REPORTER: Well he means he can put a bill on the floor and see what kind of support it gets. We are not expecting the majority of Republicans to support it, but we know a number of Democrats will. Now, you might say that's great to see a bipartisan vote in Washington, but this vote could mean the end for Mike Johnson in his role as speaker because Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has threatened to put a bill on the floor to oust Johnson from his job if he moves forward on Ukraine aid. So, this is a critical time for Johnson as he tries to navigate these dynamics without much time to do it.
WALKER: All right. Yes, time is running out fast.
Annie Grayer, thank you so much. Live for us there on Capitol Hill.
Well, Donald Trump's hush money trial is set to begin on Monday, just a few days from now. That is after an appeals court judge denied the former president's request to postpone it and consider changing the venue of the trial. Trump's lawyers say he can't get a fair trial in New York.
Prosecutors accuse him of falsifying financial records to cover up hush money payments to Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about their alleged affair. Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty.
Katelyn Polantz joining us now from Washington. Hi there, Katelyn. So this is obviously a setback for Trump.
[08:20:03]
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Amara, it is, but really what we are on is the path to trial. There's going to be a flurry of activity over these next couple of days. Donald Trump's lawyers are going to try and pull out all of the stops, make every request that they can to the courts or to the -- even to the appeals courts to try and delay this trial from taking place or have it changed in some way.
And it is on the path to trial with jury selection set to start next Monday. Not only did the appeals court deny Trump's request to move the case out of New York, or rather to put it on hold so there could be a consideration of moving the case out of New York. We also have seen what the jury questionnaire is going to look like.
That would be the initial 42 questions that potential jurors will be asked in New York County when they come into court on Monday, and that is going to set up the process to choose those 12 jurors plus some alternates who would hear this case. Those questions, they aren't questions that ask people if they've heard of Donald Trump or if they voted for him in the past.
They're questions more geared toward weeding out people who might have a strong bias for or against Donald Trump and can't be impartial. One of the questions explicitly asks, do you have any strong opinions or firmly held beliefs about former President Donald Trump, or the fact that he is a current candidate for president that would interfere with your ability to be a fair and impartial juror?
If someone says yes, they have a strong opinion that interferes with their ability to be a fair and impartial juror, that person will not be serving on the jury. The judge has made that quite clear. There are other questions about the news they consume if people have ever supported fringe political groups in the United States like the Proud Boys or Antifa or even the QAnon movement. Those are going to open people up to further questions.
And all of this taken together is going to come going to take place in court to see if there can be a jury seated that is believed to be fair and impartial for the former president in his first criminal trial.
WALKER: I mean, that'll be so fascinating to watch the jury selection only -- just because we're talking about a former president. Everyone in America knows who the former president is. And, of course, his legal issues have been so very much publicized. Katelyn, what about what we'll see in court because Trump will be required to be there every day?
POLANTZ: He is required and expected to be there every day. This trial is going to sit for four days a week. It may not sit during the beginning days of Passover, the following week after jury selection begins, but as a criminal defendant, he has a right to be there for every day. He is expected to be there at the very beginning, especially to face the potential jurors, who would weigh his innocence or guilt.
And then on top of that, we expect Donald Trump to be there from the beginning to end every day throughout the course of the trial because he has wanted to draw attention to the fact that he is on trial. He's used it as much as for campaign speech, walking in and out of court, as he has to be able to comment on the case itself.
And there is a lot of expectation that he wants to be showing how much he's not on the campaign trail so that he can make the case in other courts where he's facing other criminal charges that his time is being taken away and he is so busy. He shouldn't ever have to sit for another criminal trial while he's running for president in addition to this one, which looks quite clearly like it's going to start on Monday.
WALKER: Yes.
Katelyn Polantz, appreciate your reporting as always. Thanks so much.
And the prosecutor in Donald Trump's election interference case in Georgia is pushing back against efforts to get her kicked off the trial. Fani Willis responded on Monday to an appeal by Trump and other defendants who say she should be disqualified from prosecuting him.
Willis pointed out that the trial judge declined to remove her despite days of testimony and arguments about whether she had a conflict of interest in the case by hiring the lead prosecutor and having a romantic relationship with him. Sources close to Willis say she still hopes to get the case tried before the November election.
The Republic of Ireland has just elected its youngest ever head of government. Moments ago, 37-year-old Simon Harris was elected by the Parliament and he still has to be sworn in. His appointment follows Leo Varadkar's official resignation. Harris was the only candidate to seek the party's leadership after Varadkar said he was stepping down in March.
All right, still to come, the latest from the campaign trail, how the battle for young people's votes could determine the winner of the White House.
[08:25:00]
And the parents of a convicted school shooter will soon learn their fate. James and Jennifer Crumbley await their sentencing. We will have the details. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: Joe Biden unveiled a new attempt to cancel billions of dollars of student debt on Monday. The plan would give at least some debt relief to 70 percent of Americans with federal student loans. His last attempt to forgive student debt was squashed by the Supreme Court.
Canceling student debt is one of the ways Mr. Biden is reaching out to younger voters this election. It is a key demographic that helped him to victory four years ago. But many younger voters have soured on the president since then. Some saying his support for the war in Gaza is more than they can take.
CNN's Renee Marsh has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RENEE MARSH, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This November will be the first time Lonnie White and Rokiya 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, VOTING THIRD PARTY: Ideally, I would like to vote third party.
LOONIE WHITE, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE JUNIOR: I vote for an independent candidate.
MALIK POOLE, VOTING THIRD PARTY: UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm considering either voting for Claudia de La Cruz or Cornell 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 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: You know, I'll do you one better actually. I think that just means that's why the Democrats should listen.
WHITE: Exactly.
MARSH (voice-over): Radical and more tapped in than their peers is how the group describes themselves. Rokia (ph) even helping to organize this demonstration in Atlanta last October, calling for peace and aid for the Palestinian people.
[08:30:05]
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 6 percent of voters in Georgia in 2020. That group voted for Joe Biden by more than 50 points.
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 equal.
WHITE: Yes, yes.
GARBO: 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, right? I work at Goodwill now for $12 an hour and cost of living keeps increasing, especially here.
MARSH (voice-over): 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 on him.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARSH (on-camera): 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.
WALKER: As they should be concerned.
Let's talk more about the young voters and of course, all the other issues, political issues of the day with CNN Politics Senior Writer, Stephen Collinson. Hi there, Stephen. Gosh, that was a really eye opening piece by our Renee Marsh.
And just from hearing from these young black voters, they're extremely disenchanted by Biden, they're not happy with Trump as well, obviously. And if they do vote for a third party candidate or they write somebody in, it seems like they do understand that Biden could lose this election then.
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: That's right, and I think that is a great danger for the president. There are a lot of people arguing in the Democratic Party that especially to those voters who are disenchanted with his support for Israel, that a vote for Trump or simply not showing up at the polls will allow Trump, who they say will be a far worse president for Arab-Americans, for Palestinians and who will be far more pro-Israel than Biden that will enable him to win back the presidency.
But that's not really an argument that gets through. I think the issue of what has happened in Gaza, the humanitarian crisis is something that is a very deep moral problem for a lot of these voters. And it is the kind of issue that on its own can stop somebody voting for the president.
I think in recent weeks, you've seen prominent Democrats from Chuck Schumer, the Senate Majority Leader, Chris Coons, the Delaware Senator, who's very close to Biden, calling for limits on how Israel can use weapons that it's bought from the United States in the conflict.
That is, first of all, a moral and humanitarian position, but it's also intended as a warning to the White House about the very corrosive impact this conflict is having on the president. He really needs it to end very soon. It doesn't look like, with Israel poised to go in through Rafah in Gaza that it will do.
WALKER: And on the flip side, ironically, you have Trump who's facing a slew of moral and legal issues. His hush money trial looks to be on track to start on April 15th, next Monday. Yes, it's going to be obviously this unprecedented, extraordinary moment to see a former president sitting in court facing his first criminal trial.
But does the fact that, you know, this hush money case is one of the weaker, less consequential ones than the other three. Do you see this, I guess, positively influencing his campaign?
[08:35:06]
COLLINSON: Well, so far, he's been able to weaponize his four indictments during the Republican primary race to his political advantage. He's used it to create this narrative of being persecuted, almost as though he's a political prisoner. That's worked very well with Republican voters. It crowded out a lot of his Republican rivals in the primary race.
I don't think that is going to have a similar impact in the general election but we really don't know. As you say, we've never had a present or a former president or a presumptive Republican or Democratic nominee go on trial. I think most people believe that of the four cases, this money -- this one related to business irregularities to cover up allegedly a hush money payment to adult film star, this is the least damaging to Trump if he's convicted.
It doesn't look like right now that the other cases, including the federal election interference cases from 2020 are going to go to trial before the election. This could end up being the only one.
So I think there'll be a lot of Americans especially given that this relates to a personal matter. It dates back to the 2016 campaign who will struggle to see the relevancy, even if prosecutors are billing it in itself as an attempt to pull the wool over the voters' eyes in 2016.
So, we don't know how it's going to play out if Trump is convicted or conversely what the political impact would be if he's acquitted in this case. But, you know, he's going to use it to further this narrative that he's being unfairly treated.
WALKER: Absolutely, he will. And one of the most damaging, potentially damaging cases to Trump could be this election subversion case brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith. Of course, there's been a lot of legal back and forth and he is now going on the offensive to derail Trump's delay tactics. Walk us through that and how consequential this case could be to Trump. COLLINSON: So Trump, this is a case relating to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Trump has made a sweeping claim of presidential immunity, basically arguing that a president cannot be held liable after he leaves office for actions that took place when he was the president.
Smith has argued against this. The case is due to be heard by the Supreme Court on April the 25th. We don't expect to get a result of that case until July, which means the -- even if the Supreme Court turns down Trump, the window for a trial to take place before the election is quite narrow. It could still happen, but Trump will try again to delay it.
What Smith is now trying to doing is to cut off another delaying tactic in this very case because Trump is telling the Supreme Court, even if you decide there is no way massive claim of presidential immunity. You may decide that in some circumstances a president could be immune from prosecution. And then that has to go all the way back down to the lower courts for arguments about where this current case fits into that legal determination.
That would delay it for months, probably take it back, not just past the November election, but into next year. And if Trump is present, he believes he will have the power through the attorney general that he would appoint to end this prosecution completely. So this is a vital argument that Smith is making a vital moment in this case as it appears that the hopes of many Democrats that this trial could take place before the election are beginning to fade.
WALKER: Yes, you're right on that. Obviously, that is heightening a lot of concerns regarding democracy in America. Before we let you go, Stephen, let's talk about Ukraine aid because you have Congress back from its two week recess. All eyes are on the House Speaker, Mike Johnson. He's facing enormous political and international pressure to get this bill through. How do you -- what will you be watching for in terms of how this plays out?
COLLINSON: Well, the bill can pass the House, $60 billion of Ukraine aid. It would get about probably half the Republican majority voting for it. All of the Democrats would vote for it. But the problem is if Johnson, the Speaker, tries to pass it, he could well lose his job. He only has a one vote majority going forward in the House among Republicans.
All it would take would be one Republican lawmaker to call a vote to replace him if he puts this Ukraine aid, which is opposed by Donald Trump and pro-Trump lawmakers on the House floor. So he faces a great moment of -- a great dilemma here.
What I will be watching for, I think is whether Democrats will agree to keep Johnson speaker in any vote to oust him, basically voting for a Republican to be speaker in return for the passage of that Ukraine aid.
[08:40:10] This is a very interesting tactical moment for the Democrats as well. Do they want to keep Johnson as speaker in order to get that vitally needed aid to Ukraine without which President Zelenskyy says he will start losing, you know, battles against the Russian forces? And which would, you know, the failure of the United States to continue supporting Ukraine would send an extraordinary message around the world about the reward that Vladimir Putin could expect for his initial aggression.
WALKER: It really is a stark warning from Zelenskyy saying that Ukraine will lose the war without U.S. aid.
Stephen Collinson, good to have you as always. Thank you.
COLLINSON: Thank you.
In the coming hours, both Jennifer and James Crumbley will find out how much time they will spend in prison. They are the parents of the teen who killed four students in a school shooting in Oxford, Michigan in 2021. The parents were convicted separately of involuntary manslaughter and each faces up to 15 years in prison. Ethan Crumbley is serving life in prison without parole for the killings.
Jean Casarez has been following this story from the very beginning. She's joining us now from New York. Jean, so what do we -- what are we looking for in terms of what could happen the next hour?
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So many things, Amara. You know, such an important day because this is the culmination of years, right? And these parents, first parents in the country to be prosecuted and convicted of homicide when their son is the one that actually pulled the trigger at the high school and killed four of his fellow students.
Well, this is going to be focused on the sentencing of those two, how much time they should get in prison, but also the family members of those four students that were gunned down by Ethan Crumbley. They will be able to take to the podium and talk to the court, talk to the parents, to say what their son did because of them.
Now, the prosecution is asking for the maximum 15 years in prison, 10 to 15 years. Also, they believe could be fair. The defense is asking for far less than that. Really, two and a half to maybe five years. Now, the two of them, James and Jennifer Crumbley have been in the local jail 23 hours a day every day since 2021 when they were arrested.
So they're going to ask for time served. But a very novel argument from Jennifer, you see her right there. Her attorney is saying, I have a guest house on my property. We would like her to have time served. If not, serve the remainder of her prison sentence. In my guest house with a GPS monitor on because then she can start to get her life back.
She can do some remote work from home to get her on track for when she is finally released. We'll see what the judge says.
WALKER: Wow, that is a notable argument. CASAREZ: Yes.
WALKER: Jean Casarez, I know you will be watching this very closely as we will here at CNN following the sentencing throughout the day. Jean, great to have you. Thank you so much.
CASAREZ: Thank you.
WALKER: All right. Still to come, CNN takes a new look at an aid delivery in Gaza that went horribly wrong. Dozens of Palestinians were killed. A CNN investigation into the tragedy when we come back.
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[08:45:31]
WALKER: All right, now to an update on a story we brought to you earlier. More than 100 Palestinians were killed and hundreds injured when an aid delivery turned deadly in Gaza. That was in late February. The Israeli military claimed its tanks fired warning shots to disperse a crowd after seeing people were being trampled.
But a CNN analysis of the videos, interviews and eyewitness testimonies casts doubt on Israel's version of events. Katie Polglase has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATIE POLGLASE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE PRODUCER (voice-over): It's early morning on February 29th on Al-Rasheed Road in northern Gaza, thousands of starving people have gathered here to receive food.
But as the aid trucks arrive, this happens. The night would become known as the Flour Massacre.
By morning, over a hundred would be dead, in one of the single biggest mass casualty events of this conflict. CNN investigated this incident, obtaining never-seen-before videos of that night, collecting evidence from 22 eyewitnesses and tracing the aid itself all the way to a Muslim charity in the U.K.
It was the IDF that was then responsible for safely delivering these vital supplies, but we found they opened fire on unarmed starving Palestinians at close range as the aid arrived. Their explanation for the tragedy using this drone video was a stampede that called soldiers to fire warning shots in the air. They later admitted to firing some shots directly at so-called suspects who approached them.
But the IDF footage is incomplete. It cuts between crowds surrounding the trucks and bodies lying on the ground. Even this reveals they were firing in a densely packed area, likely to cause severe bloodshed. CNN requested the full footage from the IDF, but it was denied.
Jihad Abou Watfa was amongst the starving Palestinians and started filming as the trucks crossed into Northern Gaza. JIHAD ABOU WATFA, EYEWITNESS (through translator): We decided to face the danger, to risk our lives to obtain any piece of bread for our families.
POLGLASE (voice-over): Videos from Jihad and another key eyewitness, Belal, indicate the gunfire started earlier than the IDF claimed. The IDF published this timeline, saying the trucks arrived at the checkpoint at 4:00 a.m. They then crossed at 4:29 and only after that did the IDF fire shots at the crowd.
But in Belal's video filmed seven minutes earlier at 4:22 a.m., gunshots ring out. He warns there is a tank. The IDF claim the convoy was still stationary at the checkpoint at this time. Next Jihad begins filming. It's now 4:28 a.m. and there's a barrage of gunfire and the shots are close.
Analysis by weapons experts of the bursts indicate it is heavy automatic gunfire at 600 rounds per minute. Jihad keeps filming. A tank is beside me. We're now under siege, he says. Moments later you see a truck driving along the road. We spotted traces from the gunfire here. One could be seen ricocheting up here, according to weapons experts.
WATFA (through translator): The feeling was totally indescribable, fear, confusion. You fear, God forbid, going back to your family as a martyr.
POLGLASE (voice-over): As day broke, the number of dead and injured that emerged was staggering. Interviews with survivors at hospitals afterwards found some people had been shot in the upper body.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Where were you injured?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): In my chest, and it went through my back.
POLGLASE (voice-over): Amidst the devastation, CNN found a clue as to who had delivered this aid, this box with the writing Ummah Welfare Trust.
MOHAMMAD AHMED, UMMAH WELFARE TRUST: This was the first time that the aid had reached Northern Gaza and we were very, very excited and happy that finally we had gone through.
POLGLASE (voice-over): They received the terrible news as to what had happened via WhatsApp.
AHMED: I woke up to some photos with cardboard boxes of our logo, Ummah Welfare Trust, with blood stains on them and it came as a shock. This is the first time in 20 years where I've actually seen blood being mixed with aid.
[08:50:07]
POLGLASE (voice-over): In all, at least 118 died that day. With the U.N. struggling to access Northern Gaza, the IDF are responsible for ensuring aid arrives safely. Despite this, the U.N. has documented two dozen attacks on Palestinians awaiting aid in the last three months alone.
For those like Jihad living on the verge of famine, it has led to a desperate fight for survival.
WATFA (through translator): The living take precedence over the dead. I must get food for myself and my children.
POLGLASE (voice-over): And now, that fight becomes more challenging than ever.
Katie Polglase, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: And the IDF has not yet responded to CNN questions on these findings. We'll be right back after a short break.
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WALKER: A rare total solar eclipse swept across North America on Monday, plunging parts of Mexico, the U.S. and Canada into darkness in the middle of the day. Millions of people were treated to just spectacular views as the moon blocked the sun. But it wasn't just humans who were affected. Animals could be seen behaving in unusual ways as well.
CNN's Ed Lavandera has the details.
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ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was like momentarily walking into the classic comedy "Night at the Museum," a glimpse into the secret lives of animals at the Dallas Zoo when humans aren't around to watch.
LAVANDERA: Zebra started chasing him and then the ostriches got into the mix as well.
LAVANDERA (voice over): Just as the zoo slipped into total darkness, a jolt of, well, animal energy seemed to shoot through the grounds. The moment mesmerized Lisa Van Slett, a curator of mammals at the Dallas Zoo.
LAVANDERA: So did the total eclipse today meet your expectations?
LISA VAN SLETT, ASSOCIATE CURATOR, DALLAS ZOO: It exceeded my expectations today. There was a lot more activity than I expected to see out of the animals.
LAVANDERA (voice over): Just before total darkness, an ostrich laid an egg and hovered over it for a time, protecting it. Zoo officials say it's not clear if the moment was caused by the eclipse, but that the timing was certainly curious, they said. Guinea fowl suddenly crowed wildly. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can hear the birds are starting, yes.
LAVANDERA: The birds are getting louder.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
LAVANDERA (voice over): Just before the moon covered the sun for almost four minutes, a young giraffe and its mother galloped around the enclosure. The zebras joined in the chase as well. Here and around the country, elephants grouped together and appeared to head back to the area where they sleep. Flamingos packed together in the middle of a pond in their habitat. Primates apparently also thought it was bedtime.
Animal experts say the sudden darkness triggered a natural reaction among many of the animals.
VAN SLETT: At nighttime, predators go out a lot more, and so they have to kind of huddle together to be safety in numbers and in case something's coming, so they went into that instinct pretty quickly.
LAVANDERA (voice over): At this doggy daycare in the Dallas area, this group of dogs seemed to stop, confused by the sudden darkness. When the sun returned, the dogs started playing around again.
Another video captured a cat wanting to come inside its home when darkness struck. At the Toledo Zoo, a polar bear didn't seem to care about all the fuss, nonchalantly dove into the water before the sun disappeared.
Texas Parks and Wildlife officials teamed up with NASA to set up these acoustic recording devices to monitor the sounds of animals in the wild.
[08:55:04]
But not all animals were flustered or impressed by the total eclipse. Tobogo (ph) the giraffe mostly walked around, unfazed, ready to start chewing on the lettuce the humans feed him when the sun came back.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA (on-camera): Because the total eclipse is so rare, there's very little documentation, very few studies that have been done on animal behavior during a total eclipse. Because of that, zoo officials say they plan on sharing their observations and the data they gather, not just with other zoos that were in the path of this eclipse, but as well as with other zoos across the country.
Ed Lavandera CNN, Dallas.
WALKER: Yes. We didn't get full totality here in Atlanta, but I have to say we did get a little bit of it and it did remind me just how small we are in this universe. It was a powerful moment.
Thank you so much for joining me here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Amara Walker. "Connect the World" with Becky Anderson is next.
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