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One World with Zain Asher
President Joe Biden Speaks With Netanyahu After The Deadly Israeli Strike Killing Seven World Central Kitchen Aid Workers; CNN U.S. Security Correspondent Kylie Atwood Breaks Reports On The Chaotic Moments After The Fall Of Kabul To The Taliban; NATO Members Mark The 75th Anniversary Of The Alliance; Anticipation Builds Across the U.S., Mexico And Canada For Monday's Full Solar Eclipse. Aired 12-1p ET
Aired April 04, 2024 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, President Joe Biden is speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as tensions between the two
allies continue to grow.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: ONE WORLD starts right now. That highly anticipated call between the leaders comes after an Israeli strike killed
seven aid workers in Gaza this week. We'll discuss how this could affect the relationship between these two countries.
ASHER: And also ahead on the program, the U.N. is calling the situation in Haiti a humanitarian catastrophe. We're going to take you live to the
country's capital to learn more about just how dire the situation is there.
GOLODRYGA: And here we go. Eclipse mania has taken over the United States.
ASHER: You're always making me laugh, whatever you talk about.
GOLODRYGA: It's going to happen come Tuesday. I need an eclipse to talk about. It's not just viewers who are excited about this. What are
scientists hoping to learn from the solar event? We'll tell you up next.
ASHER: All right, coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher.
GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. You are watching ONE WORLD. A tense relationship between the two leaders could get increasingly sour as both
face pressure at home and abroad. U.S. President Joe Biden is speaking right now with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This will mark
their first conversation since the deadly Israeli strike that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza on Monday.
ASHER: The White House says that Mr. Biden is heartbroken, that he is angry, he is outraged over the attack. But officials add Washington's
support for Israel's current military operations remain unchanged. And CNN has learned that before that Israeli strike, the Biden administration
recently authorized the transfer of thousands of bombs to Israel.
White House Correspondent Priscilla Alvarez joins us live now from Washington, D.C. So, Priscilla, as I understand it, this call is literally
happening right now. So, I don't expect you to know what's come out of the call or what the two leaders are exactly discussing.
But the fact remains that Biden continues to stand by Israel militarily, just in terms of transferring over a thousand bombs to Israel, also
approving about $18 billion worth of military aid in terms of F-15 fighter jets to Israel, as well, getting Congress to approve that.
But the fact remains that it's one thing to sort of say that you oppose the way Israel is handling the situation in Gaza from a humanitarian
perspective and that you are outraged by the deaths of these WCK workers. It's another thing to actually get Netanyahu to change course. How does
Biden actually do that? What tools are at his disposal?
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, that has been the on-going challenge from the beginning. I mean, the Biden administration and
the Israeli government have been regularly in touch since those October 7th terrorist attacks. And as Israel has waged its war against Hamas, the two
have continued to be in touch.
But the U.S. continues to stand behind Israel and its right to defend itself. As you mentioned there, the U.S. has expressed frustration over the
deaths of those World Central Kitchen employees, including this week in a statement where President Biden said that he was, quote, "outraged".
That was one of the strongest terms that we've heard from the President over the course of this war. But even as the White House was getting
questioned about what would happen in the aftermath of those deaths, they still maintained that they would defend or they would stand behind Israel.
Now, we should note that oftentimes when there is going to be a call between President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it's
one that's on the books. It's one that has been prepared for and that we know is on the horizon. But in this case, this was a call that was
scheduled after those deaths, which goes to show how top of mind this was for President Biden to get on the phone with the Israeli Prime Minister
over this incident.
But of course, this is not the only thing that they're going to be talking about. We also have learned from sources that they're going to be talking
about ramping up humanitarian aid into Gaza. This has been a pressing concern for the Biden administration, where they've repeatedly said that
they need to flood the zone given the catastrophe unfolding in the region.
Also, on-going hostage and ceasefire deal talks and U.S. concerns about a potential ground incursion into Rafah. That, of course, is an area where
there are more than a million displaced Palestinians. And also changing the way that information is shared to avoid any incidents like what happened
with World Central Kitchen this week and those that happened prior, where humanitarian aid workers have died as they are executing their work.
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So, all of this is what the President is currently talking to the Israeli Prime Minister about. And of course, there's also an Israeli delegation
that's expected to come to Washington next week for an in-person meeting. Earlier this week, the U.S. delegation and Israeli delegation had spoken in
a virtual meeting. Top of mind there was that potential ground incursion of Rafah.
Those conversations are expected to continue next week, but in person. But all of this to show that while there is frustration and anger, the U.S.
continues to stand by Israel. But as we have documented, there has been a growing rift between the two leaders. So, how that is expressed in the call
today remains to be seen. And whether there's any changes on the Israeli end, also a big question coming off of this call.
ASHER: All right, Priscilla Alvarez, live for us there. Let us know what comes out of this call when you find out. Priscilla, thank you.
GOLODRYGA: So, let's dig deeper into the tensions between the two leaders and the situation as the Israel-Gaza war reaches the six-month mark this
weekend. Aaron David Miller is a former U.S. State Department Middle East negotiator. He's a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment and joins us now
from Washington, D.C. Aaron, good to see you. I feel like this is Groundhog Day. We continue to have these types of conversations as the tension
continues to grow between these two leaders.
Specifically, you are in a unique position of not only knowing these two leaders, but also knowing what goes on behind the scenes as these phone
calls are set up, as information is purposely leaked out about how certain prime ministers and leaders are feeling and what they're saying behind
closed doors. Talk to us about what you think is being said right now, what needs to be said, and what, if anything, we can expect coming out of this
call.
AARON DAVID MILLER, SENIOR FELLOW CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT: Well, one phone call is neither going to upgrade or break the U.S.-Israeli relationship, Bianna.
The reality is, if the past is prologue, then I would argue the administration's -- I've described it as its passive-aggressive policy
toward Israel -- is likely to continue.
This phone call may be strained. The President is clearly and understandably upset as a consequence of the Israeli strike. There may be
some disaffection and anger as well about the Israeli strike against the Iranian IRGC team in Damascus, which occurred on the same day as the strike
against the World Central Kitchen humanitarian convoy of these three cars.
But again, my own conclusion has been a lot of words, a lot of anger, a lot of deep frustration, but no willingness yet, and a great reluctance, I
would argue, to impose any serious cost or consequence on Israeli policies for policies the administration may fundamentally disagree with.
The levers are there. The President could have pulled any one of the three or four that have been available to him for the last six months. But until
now, until this very day, this very phone call, no indication in my judgment that the administration is going to match its anger and
frustration with actual actions that you and I would consider significant pressure.
But does that mean then that Netanyahu gets a free pass here? You've got to remember that this isn't the first time, when you think about what's
happened with the WCK aid workers, that's not the first time that an aid worker has been killed in Gaza.
It's almost about 200 aid workers have been killed since the war began on October 7th. And I think that one of the things that people found very
tricky was that in the aftermath of these workers being killed, the statement that Netanyahu issued had the words, and I'm paraphrasing, had
the words, this happens in war, which triggered a lot of people.
It triggered especially Jose Andres himself, who said, look, aid workers are not collateral damage. What does Netanyahu actually need to say to
President Biden here? What should he be saying to the U.S. President to continue to count on America's support?
MILLER: Well, again, words on the part of the Israelis, particularly in the aftermath of this strike against these three vehicles, and the deaths
of seven extraordinarily talented and committed aid workers. Words really aren't the point here. The Israelis have been operating in Gaza for six
months, very difficult circumstances. I'm sure there's great frustration on the ground.
Seems to me after six months, either they have the protocols correct on avoiding things like this or they don't. And I think that there's a
tendency, maybe it's force protection, maybe it's nervousness, who knows. But there's a tendency to shoot first and ask and dispose of questions
later.
So, I think, on this particular strike, and let's be clear, it's a pretty tragic and sad commentary, frankly, after the deaths of so many
Palestinians, that this is the issue and I understand why.
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This is the issue in which the administration has expressed its outrage. So, the reality is, I think the Israelis have to come up with an
explanation that's plausible, that's actually true, and then take the kinds of steps, corrective measures to make sure it does not happen again.
But let's be clear, as long as the Israelis are operating militarily in Gaza, and the prospects of surging humanitarian assistance are so complex,
I'm concerned that the deaths of innocents are going to continue. Again, words will not do this anymore, I think.
As far as the administration is concerned, and don't shoot me here, I'm just reporting, I think the same two factors that have driven the President
to be reluctant to pressure Israel continue to apply. One is the president's deep emotional bond with Israel and his reluctance to use
military assistance as a lever.
And second is the reality, if Joe Biden is going to change the pictures in Gaza, if he's going to find a way to de-escalate Israeli military activity,
surge humanitarian support, not dribble it into Gaza, I don't think he has much of a choice other than to figure out a way to work with the Israelis,
because you cannot do this without the support of this government.
And one final point. This is not Joe Biden squaring off against Benjamin Netanyahu. He's not a sole actor here. Benny Gantz still sits in the War
Cabinet. The Israeli public is still tethered, not to Mr. Netanyahu, but to the objectives he has set with respect to eradicating Hamas as an organized
military force, ending its sovereignty in Gaza, and freeing hostages. So, that makes it even more complicated for the administration.
I'd be stunned, frankly, if this phone call ended in some sort of dramatic rupture, or that the United States is on the cusp of exercising real
leverage, real pressure on Israel, conditioning U.S. military assistance, ending it. At any rate, I think that's what we see.
GOLODRYGA: Right. This is, one could call it, an own goal on Israel's part, not only because of this terrible mistake that the IDF made in killing
these seven aid workers, but the more incidents like this we see, the less attention and focus and pressure on Hamas for actually helping, you know,
to stop the war and releasing these hostages, as well, and get some sort of ceasefire on the table.
You mentioned Benny Gantz. It is notable that just yesterday, I believe, he said for the first time that there should be early elections as soon as
September. That created a lot of buzz, as well. And Israel will continue to follow this phone call, see what comes out of it. Aaron David Miller, thank
you.
MILLER: Bianna, thanks so much. Zain, thank you, as well.
ASHER: You're very welcome.
GOLODRYGA: Well, the founder of the World Central Kitchen is accusing Israel of systematically targeting the seven aid workers killed Monday.
ASHER: Israel's prime minister says forces unintentionally struck innocent people. Chef Jose Andres is calling for an independent third-party
investigation. Take a look here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSE ANDRES, CHEF, WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN FOUNDER: What I know is that we were targeted deliberately, non-stop, until everybody was dead in this
convoy. That cannot be the role of an army. That cannot be the role of an army that has hundreds of drones above Gaza.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Australia's prime minister is among world leaders criticizing the Israeli strikes, saying that Israel's explanation is, quote, "not good
enough". One Australian was among those killed.
ASHER: All right, in the chaotic moments after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, the U.S. had no working emergency plan in place to evacuate
Americans and their allies from Afghanistan.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, that is the exclusive story CNN has gotten from a congressional investigation into what went wrong during the U.S.
withdrawal. Now, according to testimony given by State Department officials, the evacuation plan was thrown together largely from scratch and
at the last minute. The officials said they were flown into Kabul just hours after the Taliban overran the city in August of 2021 and that they
had to come up with an evacuation plan on the fly.
ASHER: U.S. Security Correspondent Kylie Atwood helped break this story. She joins us live now from Washington. Kylie, nobody can forget the chaotic
scenes that we saw on our televisions out of Kabul, on the tarmac, in the aftermath, in the immediate aftermath of the U.S.' withdrawal from
Afghanistan. Just walk us through, just explain this to us. Why weren't there plans in place? There should have been plans in place. Why weren't
there?
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KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U. S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's right. And what we're learning here are additional details that really tell us the
story of what the chaos looked behind the scenes in these conversations, in these efforts that State Department officials were trying to pull off while
this violent, this chaotic, this deadly evacuation from Afghanistan was happening.
So, these State Department officials who provided testimony to congressional lawmakers who are investigating the Biden's withdrawal from
Afghanistan, what they said is that they were really plucked from their positions. They were working on things that had nothing to do with
Afghanistan at the time. One of them working on the Arctic.
Another one was in a posting in Turkey at the time. Another one, as you guys said, flew over eight to ten hours after being asked to go to Kabul.
And what they said is that when they got on the ground, there was no effective plan in place that they were following.
And other State Department officials talked about the fact that there was a non-combatant evacuation plan that every embassy needs to have in the case
of emergency that they had reviewed during the springtime. But essentially, when these diplomats got there, in the heart of this chaos, there was no
plan for them to follow. They were making up the plan as they went along.
I want to read to you a portion of the transcript from one of those State Department officials, James DeHart. He was essentially the deputy on the
ground there leading these operations. And he was asked, quote, "Were you executing off a specific plan?"
And he said, "I would say not really. We had to, I would say, create from scratch tactical operations that would get our priority people into the
airport." And, of course, he went on to add that he believed they "were roughly as effective as we could have been under the circumstances".
But this testimony also provides insights into just how in control the Taliban were of the circumference surrounding that Kabul airport and how
challenging it was for these State Department diplomats who had worked in Afghanistan during their careers to then be telling people that they have
to trust the Taliban in order to get through to the gates and get out of the flight --get out of the country.
ASHER: Kylie Atwood, thank you so much for this very important reporting. Great job. Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: Well, NATO members are marking the 75th anniversary of the alliance today, but there hasn't been much time for nostalgia with Russia's
war in Ukraine pressing ahead. At the meeting, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated that Ukraine will one day become a NATO member.
ASHER: Yeah, NATO wants to ensure long-term support for Ukraine and could create a $100 billion fund over five years. There are concerns that should
Donald Trump win November's U.S. elections, funds for Ukraine could actually fall quite significantly. The Kremlin has warned NATO that NATO is
in direct confrontation with Russia.
GOLODRYGA: Let's go to our State Department reporter, Jennifer Hansler, in Washington, D.C. So, Jennifer, Congress returns next week. It appears that
the Speaker is set at this point to have a vote that would get more funding -- that urgently needed funding, to Ukraine. How significant are these next
few days going to be on that front?
JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: Well, Bianna, these are hugely significant days because this is sort of a linchpin to all of the
U.S. efforts. They are continuing to push Congress and push their fellow allies to do all that they can to support Ukraine as it continues to fight
Russia.
But it's hard for them to do that when its own Congress has not voted to approve those billions of extra dollars that are needed to fund this
defense for Ukraine. Now, in the conversations in Brussels over the past two days, that was expected to be the focus of the conversation, how to
well up support, how to ensure that support continues.
And the unspoken, you know, elephant in the room there is the potential of another Trump presidency. We have heard the former president say he would
not support continued funding for Ukraine. His allies on the Hill have been the ones opposing this continued funding for Ukraine. So, there is a lot of
conversation on how to sort of Trump-proof the alliance if he is elected again.
We heard from the NATO secretary general just a few minutes ago, and he said there was an agreement among the allies to move forward on planning
for how to have NATO take on a more coordinating role on security support for Ukraine.
So, all of this is pushing forward to this meeting in July of the alliance where they hope to have these plans in place to ensure that Ukraine will be
fully supported despite or regardless of how the elections go here in the United States. And now the secretary will speak to this a little later
today, and we expect him to continue to call for Congress to have that vote next week and to pass that funding. Bianna, Zain.
GOLODRYGA: That NATO meeting in July happening in Washington, D.C. This time, Jennifer Hansler, thank you.
ASHER: All right, still to come. It is one of Donald Trump's most difficult and certainly thorny issues. Where exactly does the former
president fall when it comes to abortion in America? We'll take a peek at what he may decide when we come back.
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GOLODRYGA: You notice how I always get these teases. The Solar Eclipse.
ASHER: The producers know that you love it.
GOLODRYGA: Exactly. They know me. It's just a few days away now. We'll take a closer look at the path it will take.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right, as the 2024 race for the White House heats up, more and more attention is being focused on the so-called persuadable people
undecided between Biden and Trump.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, CNN recently went to the key swing state of Pennsylvania, where one prominent local voice believes the Hispanic vote could be key. It
is estimated that Pennsylvania has more than 600,000 Hispanic voters, and some suggest they are not as solidly Democratic as in past elections. The
Biden campaign recently announced a $30 million advertising campaign in swing states like Pennsylvania that will feature ads in Spanish.
ASHER: And CNN spoke to Hispanic radio personality who said you will find Latinos who are not all in with Biden and they're keeping their options
open for a possible vote for Donald Trump.
GOLODRYGA: One of the key issues for undecided voters could be abortion. Democrats have been campaigning hard on that issue since the Supreme Court
overturned Roe v. Wade.
ASHER: And earlier this week, Donald Trump made a surprising announcement, saying his campaign would have a statement about his position on abortion
restrictions next week. Trump has been struggling with the issue throughout his campaign, recognizing clearly how politically divisive it is. Our
Alayna Treene has been following this story. She joins us live now from Washington.
Alayna, this is, I don't know what the announcement is, but whatever it is, it is certainly risky for Donald Trump. He spent so much time hiding and
dodging and not being forthright with his views on this. But you could only really play that game for so long. And by the way, whatever he comes out
and declares next week, there is a real risk he's going to alienate certain groups here, no matter what he says. Walk us through it.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, that's exactly right. And you're spot on with that analysis, because he has been toeing the line on abortion for
throughout his campaign, really. And part of that is he's trying to have it both ways. He, in some conversations with his advisers and close friends,
he'll take credit for the overturning of Roe versus Wade because he had stacked the Supreme Court with three conservative justices. But at other
times, he also will try to avoid the issue. He's vague on it, and he calls it a political loser.
[12:25:00]
He recognizes that this is an issue that Republicans, but also him specifically, is very vulnerable on heading into November. And it's
interesting because throughout the primary with Republicans, he had actually been pressured increasingly by his own team, but of course outside
allies and anti-abortion groups as well, to really clarify his position. And he refused.
He essentially thought that it wasn't good politics and that he could continue carrying on being vague. However, once he became the Republican
nominee, his team actually started to think, you know what? This being vague on this, you know, not coming out and backing an abortion ban or
national abortion ban, I should say, might be the right policy. And then at the same time, Trump started to change his tune, started to float a 15-week
ban, a 16-week ban.
And now we're starting to really see all of that come together. And I think there has been an acknowledgment within his team that he can no longer
avoid this. And I do just want you to listen to how he has phrased this. There's an interview that he gave with Fox News last month, and then he
also teased at this announcement on Tuesday. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Pretty soon, I'm going to be making a decision. And I would like to see if we could do that at all,
Howie. I would like to see if we could make both sides happy.
UNKNOWN: Mr. President, do you support the six-week abortion ban that the Florida Supreme Court just upheld?
TRUMP: We'll be making a statement next week on abortion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TREENE: Now, Zain and Bianna, that last statement there where he said we're going to be making this statement next week, I can tell you from my
conversations with Donald Trump's team, that caught a lot of his advisers off guard, especially because earlier in the day, just hours before that
event, one of Donald Trump's top advisers had said -- essentially sent a statement on behalf of the President saying that Donald Trump, while he,
you know, supports preserving life, believes it should be a state's decision on how they move forward on this.
And so, it's something that they're definitely kind of scrambling behind the scenes to put together. However, I can also tell you that I know his
policy aides have been working behind the scenes for some time now on language around this, but they were not anticipating to roll it out and
have this big policy proposal come out any time soon.
ASHER: Yeah, I mean, it's just impossible to make everybody happy. I mean, I'm sure that's what they're going to try to do, but I just don't know.
GOLODRYGA: Which is why I'm not holding my breath that this is going to happen next week, at least something specific on this issue. But we'll see.
ASHER: Alayna Treene, live for us there. Thank you so much. All right, still to come, aid workers warn of growing hunger in Haiti as gang violence
threatens to bring the country to the point of humanitarian disaster. We'll be speaking to Doctors Without Borders next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: All right, welcome back to ONE WORLD. I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: And I'm Zain Asher.
GOLODRYGA: We want to turn now more to our top story. U.S. President Joe Biden is spending time and speaking now, actually, with Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
ASHER: This might be their first conversation since the U.S. President expressed his outrage over the deadly Israeli strike that killed seven
World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza on Monday. President Biden said that he is heartbroken over the attack, but White House officials say U.S.
support for Israel's current military operation remains unchanged.
Let's go now to CNN's Jeremy Diamond, who joins us live from Tel Aviv. Jeremy, it appears they began speaking about 45 minutes ago, and we'll wait
for the readout of that call. President Biden has really been able to distinguish and separate his contentious relationship with the Prime
Minister, with his ardent support for the state of Israel.
But with this aid worker strike that killed seven of these very, very brave workers who are just humanitarians trying to feed Palestinians there, this
is a personal issue for President Biden because Jose Andres is a very well- beloved figure in Washington, around the world, and specifically in Washington, and a friend of the President's. Now, what can we expect out of
this call?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's right. And I also think beyond that personal connection, obviously the fact that these aid workers
were all, six out of seven of them were foreign nationals, including one dual American-Canadian citizen certainly adds another kind of layer to the
severity of this Israeli military strike, and obviously to the criticism that President Biden and his administration have been leveling at the way
that the Israeli military has been carrying out its campaign in Gaza over the course of the last several months.
Now, I think as we understand it, President Biden is set to voice his frustrations with the Israeli prime minister, his outrage, as he said
earlier this week, at this latest strike, but putting it obviously in the context of the way that the Israeli military at the direction of The Prime
Minister is carrying out this military campaign.
We know that earlier this week, there were also discussions. The U.S. trying to dissuade Israel from carrying out this all-out ground offensive
in Rafah, arguments that don't seem to have been persuasive with the Israeli leadership. In fact, even before those conversations took place, we
heard the Israeli prime minister say that while he was willing to listen out American officials on their alternatives, he viewed it as kind of a
non-starter, that Israel was going to eventually move forward with this offensive in Rafah.
So, today will certainly be an opportunity for both men to air out their various grievances and also for the Israeli prime minister to kind of
convey the seriousness with which he takes this incident, this strike on this World Central Kitchen convoy.
We have watched Israeli military and political officials over the course of the last several days really try and convey the gravity of the situation,
taking responsibility, publicly apologizing, something that we have not seen from them in other instances of civilian casualties or in the
instances, as we know, of 190 other humanitarian aid workers who have been killed since the beginning of this conflict in Gaza, the highest number of
aid workers who have been killed in any conflict annually over the course of the last 20 years. But certainly as far as it relates to U.S.-Israel
relations, this will be a significant moment.
But for now, President Biden, while he is ratcheting up the rhetoric, he is ratcheting up his criticisms of the Israeli government's handling of this
war.
[12:35:00]
He has yet to actually tie that to any kind of actual U.S. government policy, in particular as it relates to arms shipments to Israel, as we have
watched, the United States, even as that rhetoric has been ratcheted up in recent weeks, continue to send those weapons shipments and approve those
shipments to Israel.
GOLODRYGA: All right, Jeremy Diamond reporting live from Tel Aviv for us. Thank you.
ASHER: All right, what is happening in Haiti is simply dire. We're seeing violence on a level that is quite simply unprecedented in the country's
modern history. That is how the turmoil in that country is being described by the U.N.'s High Commissioner for Human Rights.
GOLODRYGA: Gang violence, political deadlock, and growing hunger are hurtling the population towards humanitarian catastrophe. The U.N. says the
priority needs to be restoring calm before anything else can be addressed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLKER TURK, U.S. HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS (through translator): The scale of human rights abuses is unprecedented in modern Haitian
history, inflicting a humanitarian catastrophe on an already exhausted people. First and foremost, the immediate priority must be restoring a
degree of public order to prevent further harm to the population from violence and to ensure access to life-saving humanitarian assistance.
ASHER: All right, time now for The Exchange and to bring in someone who is really on the front lines of addressing this crisis here. Joining me live
now is Sophie Mealier, head of mission in Haiti at Medecins Sans Frontieres, or translation, Doctors Without Borders.
Sophie, thank you so much for being with us. You know, the situation in Haiti absolutely breaks our hearts here at CNN. When you see just some of
the images coming out of Port-au-Prince especially, that city has basically been completely cut off, right?
The airports have been shuttered. The ports have been shuttered. Roads going to and from the capital have been basically blocked off by gangs. So,
what does that mean in terms of getting humanitarian aid and assistance to people who are trapped there, especially the children?
SOPHIE MEALIER, HEAD OF MISSION IN HAITI, MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES: Thank you very much for the invitation. Indeed, it's complicated, as you
mentioned. We are cut off of everything from outside, from air, from water, from road. In a humanitarian setting, you already plan in advance usually
when you work in those kind of countries.
So, we still have some capacity, and lucky us, we have some capacity to respond because we have something inside the country and inside Port-au-
Prince. But indeed, we have limitation and an organization will have limitation. And if it continues like that and it doesn't come, the access
in and out will not happen soon.
We will definitely face an issue in terms of many things like fuel, medicine, staff, H.R. issue, electricity, water, everything that can come
from outside. Food also, of course. Everything that can come from outside, we will miss it. We already started to miss it. We have seen it after now
maybe five weeks, six weeks of a crisis, and then it will get worse if it continues for sure.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, the country has essentially been cut off for the rest of the world. Some 15 people that we know of have already been killed, died.
Five million people are suffering from acute food insecurity. One U.S. missionary said that they've spoken to people that haven't eaten in nearly
a week And yet you're right to point out the limitations that you face. And when you hear U.N. officials who are saying that the first priority is
restoring calm before real aid can be brought in, I mean, that's completely out of your hands. So, walk us through realistically the timeframe. You
think it really sadly could be before these people get the deserved help that they desperately need.
MEALIER: The timeframe, I don't know. What we can see is the last five weeks that we had the clashes, it's going up and down. So, the first two
weeks, it was very, very hard and intense and brutal. And then we had a lot of patients coming and a lot of population displaced trying to find a safer
place than where they were living. Then since the last two weeks, we have seen that it's going up and down, the situation.
So, we have some few days where people can move around. So, when they can move around, they can go in and out, trying as much as they can, safely
they can, get something, walk a little bit, go back to their room and take something that they need in the displacement place. If they need health
services, they can come in our clinic. We have seen the first two weeks, it was complicated for sure to have patients coming to our clinics.
[12:40:00]
And the last two weeks, we have seen that some people can move, but it's clearly according to the situation, according to the place where you have
the clashes, it can be in the south of Port-Prince, north of Port-Prince, east, west. Depending on where is it, people can start to move around a
little bit if you compare with the first two weeks.
But the problem is, yes, indeed, it cannot work like that. You cannot just stay blocked in one place for a few days, one week, waiting for food,
waiting for water. So, we are trying our best with the government, with the DINEPA, the public water system company that we have in Port-Prince.
So, we are trying with them to work on how to distribute water in different areas, quarters, or IDPs camp. We are trying to see if we can get medicine
that we have in stock in the port. And also organizations are trying to get the stock that they have.
So, definitely, we know that we will not be able to continue like that. What we know is, for the time being, we are trying our best. Many ways we
can do to have things to respond to the needs. But it cannot continue like that. And as you mentioned before, and as it was mentioned before with the
U.N., it needs to calm down. The population needs to have access to basic care.
ASHER: Sophie, can I just ask you, I'm up against the clock, and we're pretty much out of time, but you're doing so much to help other people.
What are you doing to keep yourself safe right now in Port-Prince?
MEALIER: So to keep us safe, we need to take care of the staff access. We need to make sure that we are visible. We need to make sure that people
know who we are and what we are doing. The population needs us. We all know that. And we know that we can do something for them. So, we are trying our
best to show that we are here for them. We need to support them, and we need to work with them.
It's clearly difficult because we go in different areas. We go in different quarters where sometimes clashes happen. But after checking, after making
sure that we can have access, we try to go as much as we can close to the population.
ASHER: I mean, what a noble cause to dedicate your life to, helping other people and risking your own life every single day. That sort of heroism is
certainly not lost on either of us. Sophie, we have to leave it there. Thank you so much, and thank you for the work that you continue to do.
We'll be right back with more.
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[12:45:00]
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GOLODRYGA: All right, we have some breaking news right now to bring you about Donald Trump's legal battles. A Fulton County judge has just denied
Trump's motion to dismiss the case against him. Now, Trump's lawyers had argued that the case violates their client's freedom of speech rights.
ASHER: Yeah, CNN's Zach Cohen joins us live now with more. We had suspected that this whole argument of free speech wasn't going to work, and
that's because Donald Trump's co-defendants had tried to make the same argument, and it didn't work for them. So, it was likely that it wasn't
going to work for Trump either.
ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: That's exactly right. And today's ruling is not a surprise, but it is another indication that the
judge in Fulton County, Georgia, continues to move through these pretrial motions, really working through a stack of pretrial motions that are
necessary to address before this case can go to trial.
Again, Judge Scott McAfee denying Trump's attempt to get this entire case thrown out based on First Amendment claims. You'll remember we watched that
entire hearing where Trump's lawyer was arguing that all the false claims that he was making about election fraud and the 2020 election being stolen
in Georgia were protected under the First Amendment as political speech.
The judge in this case not buying that argument and saying, look, now is not the time to make that argument. You can do so after a trial takes
place. Again, we do not have a trial date set for this case in Georgia. The Fulton County District Attorney, Fani Willis, has asked for an August 5th
start date. We're going to have to wait and see if the judge ultimately puts something on the calendar.
But for now, continuing to work through these pretrial motions, even as that question of disqualification for Fani Willis, the D.A., still hangs
out there. We're also waiting for an Appeals Court to rule on whether or not it's going to take up the disqualification matter. So, a lot of moving
pieces here, but again, a pretty serious box being checked here by the judge in Fulton County denying this motion by Trump and keeping the
indictment against Trump intact.
ASHER: All right, Zach Cohen, live for us there. Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: Okay, thanks for giving me this teasing. You're such a good friend. Coming up, what mysteries of the solar system scientists could
solve during -- what? Monday's Total Eclipse.
ASHER: In case you hadn't heard.
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[12:50:00]
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ASHER: All right. Anticipation -- don't laugh. Just don't laugh. Anticipation is building across the U.S., Mexico and Canada for Monday's
full solar eclipse. I'm actually going to be taking my son out of school like an hour earlier. We're going to watch it together.
GOLODRYGA: I love this idea.
ASHER: It's going to be a whole thing. Tens of millions of people will be in the so-called path of totality, and many more will be traveling to see
it.
GOLODRYGA: So, why the excitement? Well, a total solar eclipse isn't expected to be visible from North America for another 20 years. Tom Foreman
has been taking a closer look at the path of the eclipse.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Zain. Hey, Bianna. This is going to be quite a show for about 32 million Americans who live in the main path
here, plus, honestly, probably about 20 million more, maybe more than that. That's how many traveled to the zone last time we had a big eclipse like
this, big total eclipse. We expect more because the zone is actually a little wider.
All of this to see something that's going to last for three and a half to four minutes. What does the path look like? Well, it's cutting right
through the middle of the country, starting down here from Mexico, in through Texas, all the way up to Vermont, and then on into Canada. This is
the area everyone's going to be trying to get to.
Some weather questions about storms along the way, clouds up here. It's going to change hour by hour. People will sort it out, but there's concern
also about people coming and going on crowded roads in case you get big storms.
What are the do's about this? The do's are always wear eye protection. This is something that can really mess your eyes up because you get lured into
thinking, well, the sun's mostly covered. Not the case. The only time you can view it without eye protection is in those few moments of totality. You
have to be very careful there.
And, specifically, they have to be at an ISO of this level, according to NASA, because you want to make sure that you have real protection. Any
damage to this lens, crinkling, scratching, throw it away, start all over. And among the other do's, don't look through camera lenses, telescopes,
binoculars, or sunglasses unless those are independently filtered.
Why? Because those are going to focus that sun, and it could damage your eye just as well. For all of this, though, what people are hoping is that
many people are going to come into this area and really enjoy the kind of show that you may only get once in a lifetime. Zain, Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: Okay, I'm convinced. You sold that very well. Thank you, Tom Foreman. And the eclipse will also provide scientists with a rare chance to
investigate the mysteries of our solar system. NASA will launch high- altitude planes to study aspects of the sun and Earth only possible during a solar eclipse.
ASHER: Our chief climate correspondent, Bill Weir, joins us live now from New York. This is an important point, Bill, because for most of us, you
know, we're going to be stargazing. It's just, you know, a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity to look up and see something that you don't see very often, right? The next one's going to be in 20 years. But for scientists
and for NASA especially, this is important research. Just explain to us why eclipses are so important to us in terms of understanding the universe.
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is an astronomer's dream, Zain, especially going back to Einstein. The theory of relativity
was proven three years after Einstein floated it by an eclipse. That was the first time astronomers could see that maybe the fabric of the universe
does bend and shift our perception of stars. And, wow, what a breakthrough that was.
Now, the biggest mysteries of our biggest star in the solar system is the corona around the sun. This is the outer atmosphere of the sun, which is
millions of degrees hotter than the actual surface of the sun. And nobody knows why for sure.
And because the corona is harder to see because the sun is so blinding, during the eclipse, they can study it. And that's why they're going to fly
these WD-58 or 57, WB-57 aircraft. They can go very high, twice as high as a commercial flight, go for six hours, and stay in the eclipse path
measuring the corona in different forms and fashions. Just one of many experiments going on.
GOLODRYGA: And when are we expected to hear what, if anything, they learn from these three sounding rockets that they're launching?
WEIR: Well, yes, this is the other experiment is they're using rockets to try to measure the ionosphere. The ionosphere is this layer of the
atmosphere between deep space and Earth, and it's filled with charged electrons that come from the sun, the activity of the sun. And so, these
rockets will see how that fluctuates as the darkness moves around the Earth, as it does, you know, naturally with sunsets.
This kind of activity really affects terrestrial communication, our cell phones, satellite communication that we're increasingly relying on for GPS
and weather and financial transactions, all of those things. So, there's practical uses of the knowledge that will come from this eclipse and also
some big theoretical ones about the mysteries of our solar system.
[12:55:00]
ASHER: And how does this eclipse compare just in terms of what we're going to see when we look up? How does it compare to what we saw in 2017, Bill?
WEIR: That's a good question. Hopefully the clouds go away.
ASHER: That's -- I mean, everybody's nervous about that, right?
GOLODRYGA: Yeah.
WEIR: Exactly. But it's -- everyone provides something else. It was a 2021 eclipse that first enlightened scientists to realize that the corona
maintains a steady temperature, despite the fact that the surface of the sun fluctuates. It goes through these 11 years cycles of activity. And
right now, we happen to be at what is called solar maximum. It's the most active with all kinds of plasma erupting up there, as well.
That was the first time we understood that the temperature stayed the same there. This may provide more clues to even more understanding of what's
happening there, as well. I don't know how as far as how long the data could take. It's an ongoing process.
GOLODRYGA: And most important for everyone that's going to be participating and watching this, be careful. Protect your eyes.
ASHER: Stay safe.
GOLODRYGA: Let the scientists and experts be experimenting.
ASHER: Sunscreen, as well.
GOLODRYGA: I just think of Donald Trump, remember, in 2017.
ASHER: I won't forget that.
GOLODRYGA: So, let's avoid moments like that. Bill Weir, thank you so much.
ASHER: It's going to be a busy day for you --
GOLODRYGA: Yes.
ASHER: -- on Monday, Bill, so get some rest on Sunday.
GOLODRYGA: I think he's even more excited than I am about this.
WEIR: I'm nerding out on this. Yeah.
GOLODRYGA: A programming note for you all. Join us on Monday for the total solar eclipse as it travels from Mexico across the United States and into
Canada. Experience the total eclipse from numerous locations with plenty of science and so much excitement along the way. Bill Weir will be part of
that. Our special coverage starts at 12 P.M. Eastern.
ASHER: All right. That does it for this hour of ONE WORLD. I am Zain Asher.
GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. Thanks so much for watching. "AMANPOUR" is next.
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