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CNN International: IDF Strike Kills Three Sons Of Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh; Israel Defense Minister: Plans To "Flood Gaza With Aid"; Iran's Threat To Retaliate Against Israel Stokes Tensions. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired April 11, 2024 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": And welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, and this is a CNN Newsroom.

Just ahead, Israel says it's working to facilitate humanitarian aid reaching Gaza, while concerns are growing over a possible Iranian attack on Israeli targets. We'll have the very latest developments. Plus, Russia attacks Ukraine's infrastructure, destroying the largest power plant in the Kyiv region, and leaving hundreds of thousands of people without electricity. And then, CNN is on the ground in the United States, in Louisiana and Georgia, where massive storms brought extensive damage and delayed one of the biggest golf tournaments.

All right. We begin with an Israeli airstrike in Gaza that killed close family members of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh. The attack could complicate ongoing ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas. Three of Haniyeh's sons were killed in Wednesday's strike. Israel confirms it carried out the attack, and says the men were Hamas military operatives. CNN cannot independently confirm that. At least three of Haniyeh's grandchildren were also killed when their vehicle was struck in northern Gaza. Haniyeh, who lives in Qatar, released a statement saying, Hamas will not surrender and will not compromise, no matter how great the sacrifice.

Meantime, the IDF says it is working to construct a new land crossing between Israel and northern Gaza to enable aid to flow directly to those areas.

Let's bring in CNN's Nic Robertson, now who joins us from Jerusalem. Nic, could the killing of the sons of the Hamas leader have an impact on the ceasefire-hostage release negotiations?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: They could do. But, what Hamas is saying at the moment is that the loss of these three men is essentially nothing different to the loss of every other Palestinian person in Gaza. They are the same. So, they're saying this will make them more steadfast. But, they continue to stick to, as far as we know, stick to their demands that appear to be the holdup in the hostage-ceasefire negotiations at the moment, which is the return of displaced Palestinians from the south of Gaza to the north of Gaza. Now, if Hamas was to show more flexibility on that issue, then perhaps

a deal could get closer. But, the killing of Ismail Haniyeh's three sons and three or four of his grandchildren, it now appears, certainly that's what Hamas is saying, something that is potentially quite explosive in the current environment. However, I think there are several ways of looking at this as well, because look, and some people in Gaza criticize Hamas for hiding in their tunnels, for not bearing the brunt of the strikes coming from Israel. More than 33,000 people dead. And some Palestinians in Gaza say, look, Hamas is hiding in its tunnels.

Also, there are those critics of Ismail Haniyeh who say, look, you're the Hamas leader. You're the political bureau leader, but you're outside of Gaza. You don't feel the war the same way that we do. Early on in the war, people talked about tensions between that political operation of Hamas outside and those on the inside. So, when Ismail Haniyeh's three sons get killed in an Israeli airstrike, that almost lends him more credibility and more legitimacy inside of Gaza. But, I think that's moot because it does, as you say, come down to the negotiations, and in essence, he has paid a high personal price. But, his point and the Hamas' point is it shows (ph) everyone else in Gaza.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's focus in on the humanitarian crisis now, because Israel is saying it's planning to facilitate aid reaching Gaza. Bring us up to date on that.

ROBERTSON: Yeah. They're saying they're going to flood. This is what we heard from the Defense Secretary Yoav Gallant yesterday, briefing journalists, saying that Israel is going to flood Gaza with humanitarian aid. There is a huge amount of scrutiny and pressure from the United States that they do.

We've seen a ramp-up, according to COGAT, the Israeli body that oversees humanitarian supplies going into Gaza, over 300 trucks yesterday. A couple of days before, that 400 trucks. They said the State Department has said that they've seen that significant ramp-up, but the key is connecting it to people who need it on the ground, and there has been a situation in Gaza today. The UNICEF said that one of their convoys was trying to get from the south of Gaza to the north of Gaza. Israel, the IDF, has a checkpoint separating the north and the south, and they were wedding at that checkpoint. Gunfire erupted and they -- UNICEF said this was a coordinated convoy. They were in a designated sort of safe spot, pausing, waiting to get permission, waiting to get authorization to cross into the north.

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Ultimately, the aid that they were trying to get to a hospital in northern Gaza, they couldn't get it there. And they say they know and are aware that children are dying in the north of Gaza. They had the aid to help deliver that. So, the scrutiny is, is it getting through on the ground? And it appears the day, a certain instance, where it's not getting through.

So, the IDF is saying that they're working on a new border crossing from the north of Gaza that would go direct from Israel into northern Gaza. That's where the humanitarian situation is worse. That's where the most people were close to starvation. That's work in progress. It doesn't appear as if it's going to be the Erez Crossing, which was initially stated by Israel as a new crossing. They're working on another one. The location of that is still, it seems, TBD.

WHITFIELD: OK. Nic Robertson, keep us posted. Thanks so much.

Iran's threat to retaliate against Israel for an attack on its embassy compound in Damascus, Syria, last week is stoking further tensions in the region. Iran's Foreign Minister has held calls with his counterparts from Turkey, Saudi Arabia and other nations to talk about consequences of that attack. On Wednesday, President Joe Biden said the U.S. remains ironclad in its vow to protect Israel from threats from Iran and its proxies. Security concerns are also prompting German airline Lufthansa to suspend flights to Tehran temporarily.

Let's bring in now CNN's Scott McLean, who is joining us live from Istanbul, Turkey. Scott, concerns of a possible Iranian attack on Israel targets. I mean, those concerns are growing. What's the latest from your vantage point?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fredricka. Yeah. Not just Israeli targets, but also American outposts in this region, something we've seen before at least via Iranian proxy groups. The United States, from the outset of the conflict in Gaza, has said that one of its primary goals is to prevent this conflict from spreading throughout the region. And objectively, they haven't done a very good job of doing that. You have the Houthis in Yemen who continue to strike commercial shipping. You have the Hezbollah in Lebanon that continues to trade fire with the Israelis on Israel's northern border. And now, you have this strike on this diplomatic compound in Damascus that the Israelis have not taken direct responsibility for, but they have defended nonetheless, and sort of implied that they're responsible for it anyways.

And now, the U.S., after we heard from the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, is expecting that any kind of attack is inevitable. This could come, they believe, by some of their proxy forces in the region that could strike American targets or Israeli targets.

And as you mentioned, you had the Iranian Foreign Minister working the phones with the Saudis, the Iraqis, the Turks, the Emiratis, and the Qataris is to try to send a message to the United States, and the United States has been on the phone with many of those same people. And the message from either side has been pretty clear. Iran wants the United States to quit enabling the Israelis. They believe that they're causing problems in the region, and the United States wants Iran to turn down the temperature with its conflict with Israel. But, obviously, they're expecting that there will be some kind of retaliation, just when and where, they don't know.

WHITFIELD: Scott, the U.S. says it's ready and committed to protect Israel. What could potentially happen?

MCLEAN: Yeah. I mean, look, Fredricka, we've seen this kind of thing before. You'll remember back in January, three U.S. service members were killed by a strike on a compound or a U.S. base in Jordan by an Iran-backed militant group. And so, there are so many possibilities. The Iranians could work through proxies, which is what the United States is expecting them to do. But, these strikes could happen in Syria. They could happen in Iraq. They could be against Israeli target inside Israel, somewhere else. The possibilities are really endless. And that is why there were so much preparation work happening in the background.

The President, as you mentioned, said that the security commitment is ironclad. And what I think is also worth noting is the difference in how the United States has responded to this strike on this diplomatic compound in Damascus, compared to how it responded to the raid of the Mexican embassy in Ecuador, which it very clearly said was out of bounds of international law. Diplomatic outpost should be protected.

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The Americans have said that applies in Damascus as well, but they have also said that they're not 100 percent certain the use that this building was actually -- what this building was actually being used for, which is essentially parroting the Israeli line that they believe that this was not an embassy. This was not a consulate or a diplomatic building. They believe that this was used for military purposes, which is how they've justified this strike in the first place. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll leave it there for now. Thanks so much, Scott McLean.

And we've just learned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned his nation that it is preparing for scenarios in locations other than Gaza. Speaking at an airbase south of Tel Aviv, Netanyahu said Israel had developed a strategy in face of potential attacks.

All right. More than 200,000 people in Ukraine are now without power, after Russia pounded the country's energy infrastructure with more missile strikes. Officials say Kharkiv is the hardest hit with more than 10 missile strikes on that city alone. In Kyiv, people took shelter in the capital's metro system, as the missiles fell earlier there. Officials also say the Russian attack destroyed the largest power plant in the Kyiv region. This comes as parliament moved to overhaul Ukraine's rules governing how civilians are mobilized to fight.

And looming over all of this are pleas from Ukraine's President, urging allies, especially the U.S., to continue their support. The top U.S. commander in Europe says Ukraine could lose the war against Russia without it.

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GEN. CHRIS CAVOLI, COMMANDER, U.S. EUROPEAN COMMAND: The severity of this moment cannot be overstated. If we do not continue to support Ukraine, Ukraine could lose. They are now being out shot by the Russian side five to one. So, Russians fire five times as many artillery shells at the Ukrainians than the Ukrainians are able to fire back. That will immediately go to 10 to one in a matter of weeks. We're not talking about months. We're not talking hypothetically.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Let's talk further now with CNN's Clare Sebastian about all this. So, Clare, what are you hearing about these strikes?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. These overnight strikes on Ukraine's power grid, Fred, this was a very widespread big attack involving multiple types of missiles and drones, many of which, at least a third of which Ukraine was not able to shoot down. So, like, this is now a trend. We've seen several other attacks like this at the end of March, and they are very targeted, specifically targeting things like power generation facilities, gas storage facilities. And so, we saw today, and we can show you some video of this that we have geo located this attack, which apparently has completely destroyed, wiped out the generating capability of the largest power generating facility in the Kyiv region.

Now, by some miracle, this has not led to any power outages in the regions served by this power plant, likely in part, because we're not now in the depths of winter. But, this is going to be difficult to repair. This means that the company that runs this plant now has no generating power left. One of their three facilities was occupied by Russia, the other destroyed at the end of March. So, this is part of a pattern. The Russian Ministry of Defense came out today and said that this is a response, it said, to Ukraine's attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure. We have, of course, seen an uptick this year in Ukrainian long-range drone attacks on Russian refineries and other energy facilities. But, this also fits a pattern, attrition, attempts to exhaust the Ukrainian population.

And so, that is, in part, I think what we're seeing today. And of course, it has led to another round of appeals from Ukrainian officials, including President Zelenskyy, for more weapons, specifically air defense. Zelenskyy saying in a statement earlier, we need air defense support and not a blind eye and long discussions.

WHITFIELD: And Clare, in terms of the mobilization law passed in parliament today, what does it say in terms of Ukraine having trouble holding territory?

SEBASTIAN: So, the manpower problem is something that Ukrainian military officials and in particular the now ex-head of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, have been very vocal about. There has been discussion on how it's one thing to ask for foreign military aid, but then not having enough men to fire it, is another issue. So, this bill, this has been months in the making. Ukraine made an attempt to pass it in January but then had to scrap it and rewrite it. It has now passed through parliament. It needs President Zelenskyy's decision.

But, it is very controversial. There have been protests today in Kyiv from the wives of servicemen because there was expected to be a clause in there that would allow servicemen who had been serving in this war for more than 36 months or in the armed forces, would be able to be demobilized. That clause was taken out. We are hearing on pressure from the top military officials in the country. They are expected to try to do something along those lines separately.

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But, that is making this intensely controversial, because we know that many men on the frontlines have been serving for a very long time now in this more than two-year-old war. And you see here, the families coming out and protesting. They had been expecting for them to be able to get that sort of chink of light in this long service.

WHITFIELD: All right. Clare Sebastian, thank you so much.

All right. To Washington now where Japan's Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, will be on Capitol Hill in the coming hours to address the U.S. Congress. And later today, U.S. President Joe Biden will host Mr. Kishida and his counterpart from the Philippines, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., in the first ever trilateral leaders' summit between the three nations.

Let's get across to the White House now where that meeting will be taking place. Arlette Saenz is there. Arlette, a historic summit today. What's expected?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, President Biden and the leaders of Japan and the Philippines are hoping to project a show of unity, as they are facing this aggression from China, especially in the South China Sea. Now, the President will be meeting one-on-one with Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos, and then they will bring in the Japanese Prime Minister Kishida for that first ever trilateral summit between the three leaders. Maritime security is expected to be at the top of the agenda, heading into this summit. Senior administration officials said that they were very concerned about China's actions in the South China Sea, particularly as they relate to the Philippines. There have been Chinese Coast Guard ships who have rammed Filipino ships, firing water cannons on cruise there.

And one of the key announcements that they will discuss today will be that the Coast Guards of each country will hold a joint patrol in the Indo-Pacific region in the coming year. A senior administration official says that this will include the U.S. Coast Guard bringing members of the Japanese and Filipino Coast Guard onto their ships for training. And it comes at a time where it's heading into this summit. We also saw these joint military exercises between the U.S., Japan, Philippines and Australia, really highlighting this show of unity among these countries amid China's aggression in the region.

Now, in addition to maritime security, there is also expected to be some new announcements when it comes to infrastructure projects in the region as well as new cellular technology investments. Now, this all comes as President Biden has really tried to showcase the strength of the Japanese and U.S. relationship. You saw that on hand yesterday with the official state visit of the Japanese Prime Minister, full pomp and circumstance, including a very lavish state dinner in the evening. Japan has really been a quite a willing partner. The Biden administration believes in the administration's Indo-Pacific policy at a time when Japan has increased their defense posture, and also has offered support to Ukraine amid Russia's invasion there. Now, President Biden has also gone to great lengths to draw in the Philippines as well, fostering this relationship with President Marcos after the previous leader, Rodrigo Duterte, had really tried to align the country more closely with China than with the U.S. So, we will see more of the President's push to really bolster the alliances in the Indo-Pacific region, which has been central to his strategy, keeping his eye on trying to reinvigorate those alliances, even as he has dealt with these conflicts between Israel and Hamas, and Ukraine and Russia, over the past few years.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. It's a lot on the plate. All right. Thank you so much, Arlette Saenz at the White House.

All right. A crucial piece of legislation that allows U.S. intelligence agencies to carry out surveillance of foreign nationals failed to pass a procedural test in Congress on Wednesday because Donald Trump opposes the measure. Reauthorization of the FISA legislation was blocked when 19 far-right Republicans defied the party's leaders and tanked a rules vote. Trump had urged Republicans to vote against the reauthorization. It's yet another blow to the leadership of House Speaker Mike Johnson, who plans to meet, in fact, with Trump on Friday in Mar-a-Lago. The entire affair has some Republicans frustrated, that there are rebels within their party who seem willing to do whatever Trump tells them to do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TROY NEHLS (R-TX): We've got seven more months to the presidential election. Let's try to not completely burn the (BEEP) place down. We're dysfunctional. We are. It's kind of somewhat embarrassing and may bite us in the butt a little bit November. But, my focus is Donald J. Trump now because we can't -- nobody can manage this conference.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's go now to Capitol Hill and CNN's Lauren Fox. I mean, wow, what an admission there, right, that in concert with Johnson's future now hanging in the balance. What's going on?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. I mean, Congress has been back for just a matter of days, and already this chaos unfurling on the floor yesterday in the House of Representatives.

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This was just a procedural vote. This was not a vote on the underlying legislation. And over the course of the last several decades on Capitol Hill, it was extremely rare. And under Nancy Pelosi, Paul Ryan, John Boehner, it actually never happened that they lost one of these procedural votes. In this Congress, there has already been seven failed rules votes, that seventh happening yesterday on Capitol Hill when it came to moving forward with this bill to reauthorize the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act, specifically the controversial piece of the Section 702 which allows the U.S. government to pick up without a warrant the communications of foreigners, and in the past, that has sometimes included some American citizens.

This is really an issue that doesn't just divide the Republican Party. It really divides between people who are pro-intelligence, and people who are really worried about the civil liberties impacts on this. So, yes, Donald Trump, a clear factor here. But, this is an issue that has been simmering on Capitol Hill for months. Back in December, leadership had to pull this bill because of discontentment among their ranks. Then again, in February, they tried to move forward, struggled once again. Now, they are here in this moment.

And this was supposed to be an issue that they could clear the deck with this week so they could move on to potentially doing something for Ukraine next week. Obviously, that looks like it's in peril now, given the fact that they are still trying to find a path forward on this FISA legislation. Yesterday, House Republicans had not just one but two private conference meeting, the second called as an emergency after this vote failed. Again, yes, it is a margin that is so slim for Mike Johnson, the new Speaker. But, this wasn't a vote that failed by one or two votes. This was a vote that went down with 19 hardliners voting against it. There is immense frustration from people who just believe that they should have voted for this rule so they could move on to having a broader debate.

Leadership was promising several amendments, and that is something that some Republicans who don't even like the underlying bill say, this was just too much. This just shows Republicans are struggling to govern, and Troy Nehls saying earlier in that clip that we didn't err, that when you have these failed rules votes, you're essentially turning the floor over to Democrats. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: OK. And now, who knows what's going to happen tomorrow between the House Speaker meeting with the former President at Mar-a- Lago. All right. Keeping us posted on Capitol Hill, thanks so much, Lauren Fox.

All right. Still to come, it's a legendary piece of military hardware, the B-52 bomber. CNN takes you inside one of these powerful aircraft that's a mission -- that's on a mission, rather, with a message. And later, we'll fill you in on Donald Trump's latest efforts to delay his criminal trial in New York on Monday. Stay with us.

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WHITFIELD: All right. The U.S. military is making a statement in the sky. The legendary B-52 bomber is not only a key military asset, it's also sending a message to friends and foe alike. That message, the U.S. is ready to act quickly when needed.

CNN's Oren Liebermann was one of the first journalists to ride along in a B-52 during one of its marathon missions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Under the shroud of pre-dawn darkness, Flight MILER11 roars out of Louisiana's Barksdale Air Force Base. It's the start of one of the longest military missions in the world, a non-stop 33 hour flight by this B-52 strategic bomber group to the other side of the world, flying near Russia, China, North Korea and back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As you can see, it's dark outside. The cockpit has red light once again for the night vision here.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): CNN is the first news crew ever allowed on one of these extensive B-52 missions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not only are we one of the most visible and flexible legs of the nuclear triad, we can have a B-52 where you need it, when you need it, within 48 hours.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): These flights are intentionally high-profile. Two years into the war in Ukraine, as Russia challenges the U.S. and NATO, the Kremlin is meant to know about our bomber flight. So is China with Beijing pressuring Taiwan, Chinese coast guard vessels harassing ships of the Philippines, a U.S. ally.

MAJ. GEN. JASON ARMAGOST, COMMANDER, EIGHTH AIR FORCE: Both the national leadership of Russia and the national leadership of China, what do they react to? We see that they publicly comment about our bomber task force missions, particularly when it involves others in very joint and public ways.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tanker 1, contact. Bomber 1, contact.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Five hours into the flight, we hit our first of four aerial refueling off Alaska's coast, taking on as much gas as we can.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep track of your own fuel state. I'd like for you guys to be with us all the way to the Yankee Zulu Papa.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): After an hour of formation flying during this refuel, we arc out over the Pacific and towards Japan.

LT. REBECCA "VULCAN" MOORE, ELECTRONIC WARFARE OFFICER: It's important that we communicate to our partners that we mean what we say when we say that we're committed to our alliances. That's an example of what the B-52 does. We show up when we're asked.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): This 63-year-old Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, decades older than its crew, shows its age, but it remains the Air Force's primary bomber, taking part in every U.S. war since Vietnam, with planned upgrades to its antiquated systems, it'll see nearly a century of service. This year, the U.S. began producing its next- generation B-21 bomber. China is close behind, promising their H-20s strategic stealth bomber will be unveiled soon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Twenty seconds to the turn. Zero five zero. Thank you.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): LIEBERMANN: Onboard MILER11, we passed by Russia's east coast, closer, meeting up with U.S. and allied fighter jets. Our flight is unarmed. The mission is not to attack but to prevent attack, to deter. But this is a bomber, of course. If we were carrying nuclear weapons, the Air Force would monitor the flight from the joint nuclear operation center back in Louisiana, seen here on news camera for the first time. It's a 24/7 operation, tracking all ballistic missile silos and airborne nuclear weapons.

On the ground, crews trained to turn the aircraft into an offensive platform. Munitions teams or muns, as they're known on base, assemble weapons. Outside, loading teams married bombs to bomber. The B-52 can carry up to 70,000 pounds of bombs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You ready to fly?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ready to fly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Alright, your jet.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): It is a marathon of marathons to put the B-52 and its crew virtually anywhere in the world.

LIEBERMANN: At this point we've passed the halfway point of the flight. We've been in the air more than 16 hours. It's the middle of the day here in Japan where were overflowing at the moment en route to the mission area where we'll meet up with fighters from several other countries here and carry out an exercise.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Here on the edge of the East China Sea, fighter jets from Japan and South Korea take up formation, four wings. Hours earlier during our flight, North Korea test-fired a mid-range ballistic missile, a reminder of the threats in the Pacific.

LIEBERMANN: You want to be seen by both allies and adversaries.

COL. MICHAEL MAGINNESS, COMMANDER, 2ND BOMB WING: We want to be seen by allies and adversaries.

LIEBERMANN: It is still a head turner --

MAGINNESS: It is.

LIEBERMANN: -- which has taken around the world.

MAGINNESS: It is.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): But it's China that the U.S. is watching most closely. In October, a Chinese fighter jet intercepted a B-52 flying over the South Chinas Sea at night, coming within 10 feet of the bomber. By number of ships, China has the world's largest navy, and soon have the world's largest air force, according to the commander of U.S. Indo- Pacific Command. Beijing is rapidly modernizing its military, including its strategic forces, and they're not part of any non-proliferation treaty, obscuring their nuclear assets. [08:30:00]

After 19 hours of flying and 14 more to go, a warning light signals trouble with one of the plane's main engines. The crew runs through the checklists.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Throttles, number five.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Confirmed, five.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Confirmed.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): They make the decision to shut down the engine. There is no panic, just a management of risks. Nearing the 30- hour mark of the flight, we see our second sunrise over Washington State's Mount Rainier.

LIEBERMANN: And although the crew is tired, they all know there's still a critical task ahead and that is getting the B-52 back on the ground. And that is one of those difficult parts of the mission.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): On final approach, the B-52, which has been in the air nearly 15 hours longer than the longest commercial flight in the world, has one final surprise.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One gear not down?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Affirm. Right main gear is not down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go head, and emergency extend it.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Flight MILER11 touches down at three in the afternoon after 33 hours in the air, a mission that showed the abilities and the age of a jet that remains critical to the Air Force.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Despite how many years the B-52 has been running, she is a tough girl.

LIEBERMANN: Officers we spoke with in Air Force Global Strike Command say countries like Japan are requesting more B-52 flights. They want to see the bomber in their skies. It is not just a measure of assurance between the U.S. and its allies. It's also a message to adversaries like China, who are very much aware of those B-52 missions, especially the long-range ones. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a meeting on Wednesday in which they said there will be increased defense security cooperation, more integration on things like command and control between the militaries, and making sure these militaries can continue to move together. Biden said it is the most significant upgrade to the alliance since it began.

Oren Liebermann, CNN, in the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. And still to come, tornadoes wallop parts of the southern U.S. A live report from one of the hardest hit areas, straight ahead. And in the face of those storms, the Masters golf tournament kicks off in just a few minutes actually from now, if the weather cooperates. We're live right after the break.

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WHITFIELD: All right. For the third time in three days, a New York appeals court has slapped down Donald Trump's attempt to delay his hush money trial scheduled for next week. Lawyers for the former President argue the trial should be delayed to give him more time to appeal the rulings that were rejected in each of the past two days. It took the Appeals Court judge only minutes to reject that argument. Jury selection and the criminal trial is set to begin on Monday.

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Let's bring in CNN's Katelyn Polantz. She has been tracking all the legal developments surrounding Donald Trump. So, what will his next move potentially be as Monday nears?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, Fred, there are very likely to be more court filings, of course, because that is what happens in the lead up to a trial like this. The trial is set to begin with jury selection on Monday. This is the hush money case in Manhattan against Donald Trump, many, many charges against him for falsifying business records related to those payments to Stormy Daniels in 2016, that he funneled through his Attorney Michael Cohen at the time.

But, right now, his team is doing everything they can to try and kick up appeals or get any sort of delay, if possible. It has always seemed unlikely. And the appeals courts right now are affirming that there are not going to be any pauses to this trial. The District Attorney's Office in New York has argued quite clearly there is a powerful public interest for this trial to start on Monday, and the arguments that Donald Trump is bringing forth right now just are not enough to put a pause on the case. Monday, his team scrambled to the appeals court to try and get things paused because of the trial being set in Manhattan instead of moved elsewhere. That didn't work Tuesday, it was about the gag order on him in the case. They said it was unfair to him. That didn't work. The appeals court said, no, we're not pausing because of that.

And then yesterday, this appeal, it was about a bunch of different things. They wanted to try and get the judge tossed off the case. They wanted to talk about presidential immunity about how they're going to be able to file things while the trial is going on. And the Appeals Court said that's not enough either. There isn't enough basis here to stop the train. We are going to trial on Monday. It's quite clear.

At the same time, Fred, remember, there are other criminal cases out there against Donald Trump even when he is going to be sitting before a jury beginning on Monday as jury selection commences. Tomorrow, his co-defendants are in court in Florida in the classified documents case, talking about the law around obstruction of justice and the conspiracy charges they face alongside the former President. WHITFIELD: Yes. It's a lot at once. Katelyn Polantz, thank you so much.

All right. An update now on that controversial state Supreme Court ruling in Arizona that reset the state's rules on abortion, reinstating a ban originally passed in 1864. Donald Trump was asked about it on Wednesday and was confident the near total abortion ban in the state would be lifted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does Arizona go too far? Does Arizona go too far?

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yeah, they did, and that'll be straightened out. AS you know, it's all about state's rights. That will be straightened out. And I'm sure that the governor and everybody else are going to bring it back into reason and that'll be taken care of, I think very quickly.

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WHITFIELD: But, when the time came for the Arizona legislature to vote on a repeal, Republicans barked and abruptly voted to a recess instead. Democrats screaming at the Republicans as they fled the State House chambers yesterday. Watch.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- on you. Shame on you. Shame on you. Shame on you.

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WHITFIELD: Representatives trying to get the abortion ban overturned, say they plan to bring it up for vote again next week.

All right. More than 65 million people from Florida to New York are under severe storm threats in the United States today. On Wednesday, the storm system ripped through the southern U.S., killing at least one person in Mississippi, where dozens of homes were damaged by high winds and flooding. Parts of Louisiana were also hit hard. New Orleans saw a month's worth of rain in just seven hours, causing widespread flooding there. And in the neighboring city of Slidell, a tornado carved a path of destruction there, injuring at least 10 people, according to police. The storm knocked down trees and damaged homes, as you see right there.

CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam joining us now from Louisiana with more on the destruction, Derek. My goodness. I mean, devastating scene behind you. You see people trying to remove some of the wood or clean up, but this is going to be a very tough process.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah. The big cleanup begins right now, Fredricka. And to be honest, it is a miracle that no one was killed here in Slidell, Louisiana. There were some injuries and we'll talk about that in just a moment. But, just setting the scene, you can see the destruction from what has now been a confirmed tornado, an EF- 1, that's winds of 86 to 110 miles per hour. And you can see some of the local business owners here starting the tedious, long process of cleaning up the debris that is left over from this incredible force of nature.

I want to take you to the skies and show you what was some of the, and what is the most catastrophic damage within this small community of Slidell, Louisiana.

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You're looking at Courtney Heights Apartment complex, where over 50 rescues occurred after this tornado struck this region at about 10 o'clock on Wednesday morning. You can see the top of that roof has been peeled back, almost as if a tin can opener was peeling back the metal of a tin can, exposing the people inside to the elements of wind, rain, and of course, a tornado with winds perhaps over 100 miles per hour. That is why I said it is a miracle that no one was killed. There were injuries. Some of them went to the local hospitals here, none of them life-threatening. But, we did manage to speak to a couple about a block away from this apartment complex that rode out the storm. They have a remarkable story. Take a listen.

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JIMMY BENNETT, SLIDELL RESIDENT: We got out and walked up to the door, which is what 50 feet, and grabbed the door handle. And the winds, really, really changed, seriously, seriously. I mean, like things have blown around. Trash cans are flying. And the door, I mean, it wouldn't open -- I mean it wanted to pull me out away from the door.

RENEE BENNETT, SLIDELL RESIDENT: And I am on the other side.

DAM: Why are you on the other side?

R. BENNETT: Because -- I mean, I see him trying -- coming in. So, I thought I would unlock it for him. So, I'm trying to open it and it wouldn't open, and I didn't know he was --

J. BENNETT: Because the wind is pulling me back, sucking me back. And all of a sudden, I hear a noise and that's when the tree fell on my truck that I just got out of.

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DAM: Well, Fredricka, think about that split second decision that that man made to get out of his car, get to the front door, and then the tree fell. Wow. Just a matter of seconds which could have changed the trajectory of his life. I'm glad that that he wasn't injured. But, that same storm system now is marching up the East Coast. We've got a severe weather threat right now.

And I want to pay attention into what's happening in Florida, in particular, Jacksonville all the way to Tampa and Savannah. That area has a slight risk of severe storms and across the Ohio River Valley. But, focusing in on the more immediate threat right now across the Florida Panhandle, some stronger thunderstorms, and they have just issued -- the Storm Prediction Center has just issued a new tornado watch that you could see highlighted in red, some stronger storms moving through Jacksonville into Tampa and Orlando here within the next one to three hours.

And then, I want to focus in on Charleston, because they currently have a flash flood warning with a considerable tag attached to that as well. They have had around two to three inches of rain here overnight, with some of the heaviest precipitation moving in, as we speak. You can see the radar, very, very active across the coastal areas of the Carolinas. That's where we anticipate the flooding today as the storm system continues to move to the northeast, heads up across Ohio. That region had tornadoes a couple of weeks ago. So, they're still cleaning up from the damage from that. It is April, statistically one of the most active tornado months of the year here in the U.S. Fredricka

WHITFIELD: Thank you for that reminder. That's right. All right. Treacherous conditions and they continue. Derek Van Dam in Louisiana, thank you so much.

All right. Bad weather is also causing problems at the first major golf tournament of the year. Organizers at Augusta National have delayed the first round until later this morning.

Our Andy Scholes is in Augusta, joining us right now. So, how does that look? You think there is going to be a tee off today?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah. Oh yeah, Fredricka. Yesterday, we were really concerned that those thunderstorms were just going to wreak havoc on the first round today. But, as you can see, it looks pretty good. We just got a little bit of a stray shower. But, we got really lucky here, that massive storm cell that Derek was just talking about, it just skirted where we are here in Augusta, and it looks like the majority of it is going to miss where we are here. And it looks like we're going to be in a clear now. And play ended up only having to be delayed about two and a half hours.

Now, the weather, the rest of this weekend is going to be just awesome here in Augusta, and that's something that Tiger Woods is certainly looking forward to. He had to withdraw before the third round last year when it was going to be really cold and rainy. And Tiger said this week, he still thinks that he can get a win, but it's certainly not going to be easy.

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TIGER WOODS, 15-TIME MAJOR CHAMPION: I ache every day. And I prefer it warm and humid and hot. And I know we're getting some thunderstorms. At least, it'll be hot. It won't be like last year. Every shot that's not on the tee box is a challenge. So, yeah, once we start the hole, it's a bit of a challenge.

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SCHOLES: So, because of the delay, Tiger is not going to tee off at 3:54 Eastern. So, he is not going to be able to finish his first round today.

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He is trying to make a record 24th straight cut this year at the Masters.

Now, the favorite in this year's tournament is world number one Scottie Scheffler, and the odds makers actually have Scheffler as one of the biggest favorites ever. He is the biggest favorite we've seen since Tiger Woods back in 2013. And Scheffler, he won the Masters here two years ago, and he has been playing just fabulous, heading into this year's tournament.

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SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER, 2022 MASTERS CHAMPION: I've excited about how I've been playing to begin this year. I had two nice wins, which was obviously a bunch of fun. And then I was close in my last start as well. I'm an extremely competitive person. And I like competing out here, and hopefully I'll be out here competing for a long, long time. But, in life, there is crazy stuff here sometimes. So, we'll see how long it happens, but hopefully it's going to be a long time.

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SCHOLES: Yeah. Now, Scheffler is paired in a star-studded trio for rounds one and two with Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele. They now go off at 1:12 Eastern this afternoon. Now, Fredricka, yesterday, we had the annual par three competition here in Augusta and it was cuteness overload, all of the players with their families and kiddos wearing the Masters, white caddy jumpsuits, and no kid shined quiet like Bubba Watson's nine-year-old daughter Dakota.

WHITFIELD: Just stop.

SCHOLES: She made, not one, not two, but three long putts in front of the --

WHITFIELD: Oh my God.

SCHOLES: -- crowd of more than -- thousands of people, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so confident.

SCHOLES: I'm 40-years-old. Yeah. I never hit a putt like that in my life. And here she was out there --

WHITFIELD: Right.

SCHOLES: -- just dominating. She was so excited. It was certainly fun to watch.

WHITFIELD: That was fine. I mean, a crowd favorite. I mean -- and just -- she is speaking to the crowd with their arms saying like, yeah, I got this. No problem. Very impressive.

SCHOLES: The confidence is unreal. Yeah.

WHITFIELD: Unbelievable. I think she has got a future. What do you say? All right.

SCHOLES: Yeah. It daily looks like it.

WHITFIELD: Andy Scholes, thank you so much. We'll be watching all the excitement there from Augusta with you.

All right. Still to come, U.S. wholesale prices are up. How might that affect your bottom line? The latest inflation report coming up.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Just minutes ago, the U.S. government released its second report of the week on inflation. The Producer's Price Index shows wholesale inflation rose 2.1 percent in March, compared to last year. That's the highest level since last April. The PPI measures price changes in products before they reach the consumer. Wednesday's Consumer Price Index had inflation hitting 3.5 percent. That's higher than many experts expected.

Our Matt Egan is following the story for us and brings us more on all this. So, what are you learning, and should people be concerned?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Fredricka, I would sum it up this way, better than feared, which is a big relief after yesterday's hot inflation report.

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As you mentioned, today, we're talking about PPI. This measures wholesale inflation before it comes to all of us, as consumers. And this report showed that producer prices were up by 0.2 percent month- over-month. That is cooler than economists had anticipated. And that is a slowdown from 0.6 percent the month before. Now, on an annual basis, prices were up by 2.1 percent. That was also cool and expected. But, as you mentioned, this is an 11-month high. Now, context is key. We are nowhere near where we were two years ago when this index, you can see it on the chart, two years ago, it nearly hit 12 percent on an annual basis. So, we're miles away from that, thankfully.

But, I also think that chart shows that some of the progress has sort of stalled out here. It's gotten a little bit bumpy. Now, the reaction on Wall Street today was very different from the one yesterday. As soon as yesterday's report came out, we saw stock futures plunged, bond yields go up. Today, the opposite. We're seeing stock futures move around significantly. So, the Dow was looking at almost 200 point loss. Now, it's basically unchanged. NASDAQ, S&P 500, set to open slightly higher. So, I think investors are breathing a sigh of relief. I think officials in the White House and in the Federal Reserve are breathing a sigh of relief.

But, still, there is a lot of uncertainty over what happens next. Inflation is proving to be far more stubborn, far stickier than people anticipated. And Fredricka, this is raising a lot of questions about borrowing costs. Right? I mean, a lot of people who were trying to get a mortgage, they're hoping mortgage rates go down from seven percent, where they are now. People are hoping for lower credit card rates, lower car loan rates, and these inflation numbers, because it's been so choppy because inflation has proven to be pretty stubborn here, suggests that the Fed may not be able to cut interest rates anytime soon, and that is, of course, a disappointment for borrowers. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Big time it is. All right. Matt Egan, thanks so much.

EGAN: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll be right back.

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WHITFIELD: About nine million people living in and around Bogota, Colombia, will face water restrictions and rationing starting today. The region is struggling through a lot of drought, fueled by the El Nino climate pattern, which causes high temperatures and reduced rainfall.

Stefano Pozzebon has more from a dried up reservoir near the Colombian capital.

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STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: We are in the reservoir of San Rafael. It is one of the few that provide fresh waters to the city of Bogota. But, as you can see, this reservoir is mostly dry. In fact, less than a year ago, the ground I'm standing on was covered in water. And right now, I don't even need to wear rain boots for walking here because of how dry the ground is. The situation is so troublesome that Colombian authorities have called for water rationing measures in the city of Bogota, which is about 10 kilometers that way, starting today.

Now, Bogota's mayor has urged his fellow citizens to save as much water as possible, at least until the rains come back. In fact, much of the supply of water to the city comes from surface water, like this one, which are highly dependent on precipitation. These year, however, rain has been scarce, in part because of a linear climate pattern that originates in the Pacific Ocean, which is hundreds of miles from here. And then, you can have different effects at different latitudes. But, in Colombia, it largely means less water.

[08:55:00]

And the Colombian government has issued a natural disaster decree as early as in January to mobilize resources to prevent the effects of El Nino.

SUSANA MUHAMAD, COLOMBIAN ENVIRONMENT MINISTER (Interpreted): We must have a deep thought about the type of development we want. We can't keep handling emergencies. It's not sustainable to break through the water cycle, ignoring the time nature needs to recover and then expect the water to keep flowing as if anything is happening. POZZEBON: Colombian authorities as well as scientists say that it's incredibly hard to predict how long this drought would last. But, what is most worrying is if droughts like these become a yearly thing, and this becomes the new normal.

For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Bogota.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much for joining me here in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Connect the World with Becky Anderson is up next.

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