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U.S. President: 'Dissent Must Never Lead to Disorder'; Police Arrest 200+ at UCLA; U.N. Report: Rebuilding Gaza Could Take Decades; Stormy Daniels' Ex-Lawyer Offers Key Testimony; War Taking Toll on Journalists in Gaza. Aired 12-12:45a ET
Aired May 03, 2024 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM.
[00:00:48]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's the right to protest, but not the right to cause chaos.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Another day of arrests and clashes on university campuses as President Biden calls for an end to the disorder and violence, while defending the right to peaceful protest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABDALLAH AL DARDARI, UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME: This is unprecedented.
We haven't seen anything like this since 1945.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Seven months of war, 80 years to rebuild. The U.N.'s latest assessment on the extent of devastation Israel's military has inflicted on Gaza.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. KATIE HOBBS (D-AZ): I will do everything in my power to protect our reproductive freedoms.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Arizona's Civil War-era law banning almost all abortions has been repealed, replaced by another ban almost as harsh.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.
VAUSE: Well, with police again sent into disperse anti-war protesters on college campuses Thursday, the total number of arrests has now passed 2,000 in two weeks.
And with an increasing number of violent clashes, President Joe Biden has dismissed calls from Republicans to send in the National Guard. In his first extensive remarks about the student-led protests, Biden urged demonstrators to remain peaceful while condemning the violence which has been seen on some university campuses.
Republicans, though, have condemned his relative silence over the growing encampments. Police have now made arrests on at least 40 college campuses across at least 24 states.
Biden acknowledged the right to free speech and peaceful protest, but stressed, "We are not a lawless country, and order must prevail." He added that there is no place in the United States for antisemitism or Islamophobia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, forcing the cancelation of classes and graduation, none of this is a peaceful protest.
Dissent is essential to democracy, but dissent must never lead to disorder.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have the protests forced you to reconsider the policies with regard to the region?
BIDEN: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The latest flashpoint seems to be the University of Pennsylvania, where tensions have been simmering. Administrators at the Ivy League institution say protest activity has been escalating at their protest encampment.
Officials have now asked for a stronger police presence. So far, no arrests.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EYAL YAKOBY, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA STUDENT: I know I speak for myself and every other student and faculty, as well, that we really just want to return to the classroom without fear and without having to worry about protesters storming in, like we saw at Columbia. And really just wrapping up the semester and then working on building back our community.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And the protest encampment at the University of California in Los Angeles has now been dismantled. Cleanup was underway Thursday, bulldozers used to fill Dumpsters and trash bins.
That's after police launched a pre-dawn operation to clear the area, which authorities had deemed an unlawful assembly. All up, 210 people were arrested.
On Thursday, the Los Angeles mayor said harassment, vandalism, and violence have no place at UCLA or anywhere in the city.
CNN's Camila Bernal shows us how the police action unfolded.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAMILA BERNAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Violent, tense and chaotic scenes at UCLA.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get back.
BERNAL (voice-over): More than 200 arrested as hundreds of law enforcement officers using flash bangs --
(FLASH BANG EXPLODING)
BERNAL (voice-over): -- batons --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Move back!
BERNAL (voice-over): -- and what appeared to be rubber bullets to disperse more than 200 pro-Palestinian protesters from a university encampment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had fire extinguishers thrown at us, smoke thrown at us, water bottles and other various items.
BERNAL (voice-over): Officers moved in at around 3 in the morning.
Police gained ground, breaking makeshift barriers, clearing tents and belongings, and detaining protesters one by one.
The mostly peaceful encampment was set up a week ago, but violence erupted during counterprotests on Sunday. And even more tense moments overnight Tuesday, leaving at least 15 injured.
[00:05:04]
Last night, protestors attempted to stand their ground, linking arms, using flashlights on officers' faces, shouting, and even throwing items at officers. The encampment was cleared, and the protesters that were walked out in zip ties were put on buses and taken to a detention facility to be processed.
Across the country, similar scenes as officials cracked down on encampments. Police in Oregon cleared out the Portland State University library.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any do we have any of those zip ties?
BERNAL (voice-over): Where students had barricaded themselves inside with furniture.
(CHANTING) BERNAL (voice-over): At Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, a standoff with police before more than 90 people were arrested on campus, including some who were not students.
That mirrored the mass arrests in New York City the night before, where an NYPD official tells CNN roughly half of the nearly 300 people arrested at Columbia and City College were not affiliated with either school.
BERNAL: And take a look behind me. Cleanup efforts are underway. It's hard to believe that just hours ago, the space here behind me was covered in trash, tents, blankets, food. You name it.
We were here. And we also found a number of the casings for the flashbangs and also the rubber bullets that were used to disperse the crowd.
UCLA releasing a statement saying that they ultimately decided to clear this encampment because of the violent clashes that we saw earlier this weekend, because this was unlawful. They also said this is one of the most painful periods for the university.
Camila Bernal, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Joining us now, CNN senior national security analyst, Juliette Kayyem. Welcome back, Juliette. Good to see you.
JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Thank you for having me.
VAUSE: OK, so university administrators have faced a very difficult decision during these protests. And that is when to call in the police.
KAYYEM: Yes.
VAUSE: It's an issue which President Biden spoke about on Thursday. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: We've all seen images, and they put to the test two fundamental American principles -- excuse me. The first is the right to free speech and for people to peacefully assemble and make their voices heard.
The second is the rule of law. Both must be upheld.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: We talked about this very question when police were clearing students from Hamilton Hall at Columbia University.
So again, the question at UCLA: was this the right decision to send in the police and disperse the protesters?
KAYYEM: And so -- so it's such a difficult thing to answer because of the balance that -- that President Biden spoke about.
What happened at UCLA, I guess I'll put it this way, was avoidable. In another words, what -- what happened was it was the vulnerability that -- the attacks that had happened the night before against the protesters that, at least the chancellor of UCLA said was the reason for the police coming in, that essentially, the whole system had -- had broken down.
Before that, there were incidents of violence and -- and fears amongst the Jewish population there because of the protesters. But the protesters themselves, at least described by the chancellor, were peaceful.
And that's the challenge right now as everyone's looking at different images and saying, well, they weren't really peaceful, or they were peaceful.
So the most important thing at the end of this is -- is two-fold. One is, are there outlets for students to protest? I think we've seen a dozen instances now that, when schools tried to completely shut down a certain viewpoint, it only escalates the tensions.
The second is if the police come in, they do so in a manner which gives students an ability to walk away. That's what happened at UCLA. About a couple hundred students understood what was going on and didn't want to get arrested. Or arrest them in a fashion that is nonviolent.
And I think we are seeing that so far to a certain extent, although we've seen a couple images of police, I think, overuse of force, and those will be examined, I think, across the country.
VAUSE: We said this before, but in the past two weeks, we look at the numbers since April 18, at least 2,000 arrests have been made on campuses, at least 40 campuses in at least 25 states.
So if history is that guide, arresting student protesters is a sure way to encourage more student protests, leading to more arrests. It's wash, rinse, repeat.
So calling in the police may solve a problem in the short term, but at the same time, fueling further unrest and protests. Is that being considered here before police are being sent in?
KAYYEM: I hope so. To law (ph) school, let's just put -- put this in perspective. A lot of the schools are not bringing in the police, are able to de-escalate or, as importantly, just isolate the protesters, give them -- give them an opportunity to protest, and then just move on with your life, right?
I mean, in other words, protests is just a normal part of colleges and universities.
[00:10:03]
But John, you pick up on what exactly is happening. These colleges and universities need to get through graduation. Then they need to get these kids off -- the students off the campuses.
So they are very focused on this two-to-three-week period here in the United States when most of these graduations will take place. And you're seeing them try to clear out these spaces.
The problem is, is what about the fall? And that's what we need to consider right now, is what are we doing to rebuild these communities, allow for the kind of dissent and protest that is simply reflecting the debates within our own country and throughout the world?
I keep saying these aren't -- these protesters don't have outlier beliefs. There's a -- there's a global protest against what Israel is doing in Gaza. And we have to be able to let students reflect that protest in ways is that are safe but meaningful.
Otherwise, as you said, and we've seen throughout, it escalates.
VAUSE: It's a good point about the protestors just essentially reflecting society. Students doing what students have always done for generations.
So with that in mind, the Republican presidential nominee, well-known for an uneasy relationship with the truth, said this on Thursday.
KAYYEM: Yes.
VAUSE: Here he is.
I think.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The FBI director said that he worries about the right. Don't worry about the right. The right's fine. Worry about the left. Because this is a movement from the left. These are radical left lunatics. And they've got to be stopped now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Look, there have been moments of antisemitism as well as Islamophobia. And that's ever acceptable. But for the most part, there's nothing surprising or unique about these protests. Are there?
KAYYEM: Nothing. I mean, this is the most important thing to remember at this stage, which is while we, of course, focus on the colleges and universities where there are disruptions, and they are serious.
We focus -- as media, we focus on the antisemitism and the fears, in particular of the Jewish community when these protests get out of hand and condemn them as President Biden did. But overall, this is -- the peacefulness is sometimes forgotten about a lot of these protests, as well as the ability of some of these colleges and universities to simply de-escalate, or work with, or reach out to these groups.
There's a couple dozen examples now of -- of colleges and universities allowing the protests, working with the protesters to listen, giving them a seat at the table. They have -- as I said, these are not outlier issues.
And I think this idea by President Trump that you you simply can shut it down is -- is not only a recipe for disaster, but it's very un- American. Student protests is part of -- part of our history, as well.
And -- and -- but I think it's a hint of, if he were president again, his relationship with the First Amendment by those who disagree with him. I think -- I think we can anticipate, as many of us have been predicting, if he were president again, the notion of dissent would be met with violence or the threat of violence.
And that -- that's much scarier, in my opinion, than any student protests I've seen so far.
VAUSE: Absolutely.
We should note that at Northwestern and Brown University, administrative officials and students have struck a deal. They're all peaceful. It's all going to get escalated. So that is happening across the U.S., alongside these moments of arrests and clashes.
KAYYEM: Yes.
VAUSE: Juliette, great to have you with us. Thank you.
KAYYEM: Thank you.
VAUSE: Well, a senior Hamas leader says the latest hostage and ceasefire proposal from Israel is being considered with positive spirit. Ismail Haniyeh spoke with Egyptian and Qatari officials on Thursday.
The militant group is planning to send a delegation to Egypt to continue ceasefire talks. Just no word on when.
Meantime, the Israeli prime minister met with Holocaust survivors in Jerusalem, telling them he welcomes, but does not expel -- expect non- Jewish support.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone. If it is possible to recruit the gentiles, that's good. But if we don't protect ourselves, no one will protect us.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: Benjamin Netanyahu is facing international pressure -- opposition, rather, to the war in Gaza. He's also under pressure from the families of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
In Tel Aviv, they blocked a major highway, demanding more be done by the government to bring their loved ones home.
With ceasefire and hostage negotiation stalled once again, hopes are fading for a diplomatic end to this war anytime soon, which means the death toll will continue to rise, more destruction to what's left of Gaza's infrastructure. More homes lost, more heartbreaking moments like this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): This is my home or what remains of it. Only a small part of my home. I can't reach it. My dream was destroyed.
[00:15:01]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Our dream was gone in a single moment. Our hard work is gone. Everything was gone in a single moment. Destruction.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Our house is gone. My whole house is gone. Our hard work is gone. Where should people go?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And the estimated cost of post-war reconstruction seems to be growing exponentially each day.
In January, the U.N. estimated $20 billion. Five months on, and under the best-case scenario, the cost has more than doubled to between $40 and 50 billion, and reconstruction will take at least 16 years.
And this latest assessment only applies to the almost half a million homes which had been either destroyed or badly damaged since October 7. Under a worst-case scenario, which is modeled on the pace of reconstruction after previous conflicts, the timeline then blows out from 2040 to 2104, after the turn of the century, 80 years from now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL DARDARI: This is unprecedented. We haven't seen anything like this since 1945, since the Second World War. That intensity in such a short time and the massive scale of destruction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Balakrishnan Rajagopal is the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to adequate housing. He's also a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, better known as MIT.
And it's good to have you with us, sir. Thank you for your time. BALAKRISHNAN RAJAGOPAL, U.N. SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE RIGHT TO
ADEQUATE HOUSING: Thanks for having me.
VAUSE: It seems one big complicating factor here in estimating the cost of post-war reconstruction for Gaza is that right now, we're still in that war stage, and the post-war phase could be a long time coming.
So are these numbers, the $50 billion, the 16 and 80 years, are they essentially an educated guess?
RAJAGOPAL: Well, there are two issues with the numbers.
The first is that the cost estimates that you mentioned -- $18.5 billion from the World Bank report -- they're only an estimate of the damages.
But the actual estimate of what it takes to rebuild is actually usually about two to three times that.
So for example, in the 2014 Gaza war, the estimate was about 1.4 billion initially of the damages. But the actual estimate, which they put before donors was actually three times that.
So the first thing to note is that it's going to be way more than what is being actually discussed right now.
And then the second issue, which is the more important issue with rebuilding under whether the numbers are simply a good guess is that the numbers really kind of -- they -- they are based on an assumption that Israel actually would allow construction to go on. That to me is actually the big "if."
The war has to end. And construction materials and other things have to start flowing into -- into Gaza. But, you know, as long as occupation continues, there is no guarantee of that.
VAUSE: So in some ways, are they releasing these numbers now, simply so to start a conversation about reconstruction, have a plan in place, or some kind of plan? So when the conflict actually winds down, they can actually begin as soon as possible?
RAJAGOPAL: Yes. It's definitely to lay the groundwork for bringing the donors together and also to begin the process for emergency immediate relief in terms of providing housing, water, and sanitation, food, and other supplies. They've all been destroyed in Gaza.
So unless we start talking about numbers, at least in a tentative way, we wouldn't know where to begin.
VAUSE: The overall cost to Palestinian society is also staggering. Listen to Abdallah Al Dardari from the UNDP. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL DARDARI: We are back in the '80s, almost, for Gaza. So all the investments in human development in the Palestinian territories in the last 20 years, and in Gaza in the last 40 years, have been wiped out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: As bad as that is, it also has implications not just for the Palestinians and the Israelis but for every donor country which has ever contributed to a project in Gaza and will most likely be called on again after this war, it seems.
RAJAGOPAL: Yes, that's absolutely true. It's the responsibility of all the countries that are -- particularly those rich countries in the West that are actually supporting Israel in its actions.
The other thing to note is that Israel also controls financial transactions in Palestine. And recently, the finance minister of Israel actually threatened to cut off access to all Palestinian transactions which are handled by two Israeli-based banks.
If they go through with that, it's going to be even a bigger catastrophe.
And then there is the other issue, which is that only about 41 percent of tax revenue from Palestine, which is collected by Israel, has actually been handed over so far in early 2024, for example.
So a lot depends on more -- Palestine having the ability to rebuild their economy in a more -- under more normal circumstances.
[00:20:05]
VAUSE: There's also the human toll, the human cost. The U.N. has found 5 percent of the population either dead or wounded. And that's in just seven months.
And so, much like the extent of the devastation, the number of dead and wounded is unprecedented in such a short period of time.
How do you count the cost of a young child losing a limb or being left an orphan, which seems something which can't be measured by dollars?
RAJAGOPAL: Yes, it certainly cannot be measured by dollars, not only for the child, but also for the family.
In fact, the number of kids who required pediatric amputations from Gaza is, by all accounts, the largest of any conflict in modern history.
The -- the -- most of the amputations and the impact on children of actually happened when they were at home, and the home got blown up by bombs. Or they were actually demolished.
So unfortunately, housing destruction is part of the reason why kids have been affected in a very disproportionate way. But I don't think that is actually a price that we can actually put on how they can be ever compensated.
VAUSE: Yes, it's -- it's tragic on so many different levels, and it just seems to keep going.
Balakrishna Rajagopal there from the U.N. Thank you, sir, for your time. Very much appreciated.
RAJAGOPAL: Thank you.
VAUSE: Lebanon is the latest country to receive financial assistance from the European Union: $1 billion to improve border security and reduce illegal immigration.
E.U. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made the announcement after meeting in Beirut on Thursday with the leaders of Lebanon and Cyprus.
All three leaders say they're deeply concerned about security in Southern Lebanon, as well, where there have been regular cross-border fire between Israel and the Iran-backed militants Hezbollah since October 7.
We'll take a short break. When we come back, the lawyer behind Donald Trump's hush money payment to a porn star deal takes the stand. Ten day -- day ten, rather, of the former president's criminal trial.
Also, we have the current U.S. president's response following Trump's latest controversial comments on violence and the 2024 election. That's next.
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VAUSE: On day ten of Donald Trump's hush money trial, the man who helped broker the hush money payment returned to the stand.
Trump's defense tried to paint the former lawyer of Stormy Daniels as someone who's untrustworthy.
CNN's Kara Scannell was in the courtroom.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New details from a key witness, the ex-attorney of an adult film star and "Playboy" model, who brokered hush money deals at the center of former President Donald Trump's criminal case.
TRUMP: Getting ready to spend another day in the courthouse, which is bogus trial.
SCANNELL (voice-over): Keith Davidson back on the stand on day ten of Trump's trial, cross-examined by Trump's attorney, who attempted to discredit Davidson by painting him as a shady lawyer.
Meanwhile, prosecutors tried to show how Davidson's arrangement with a tabloid and Trump's ex lawyer, Michael Cohen, to kill two bombshell stories about Trump's alleged affairs, directly impacted the 2016 election.
[00:25:07]
Trump denies both affairs.
In his testimony, Davidson recalled texting "National Enquirer" editor Dylan Howard on election night in 2016, as results came in, in favor of Trump.
Davidson said he texted Howard "What have we done?"
"Oh, my God," Howard replied.
Davidson testified, "There was an understanding that our efforts may have in some way -- strike that -- our activities may have in some way assisted the presidential campaign of Donald Trump."
Prosecutors played an audio recording of Cohen saying, Trump hates that they paid off adult film star Stormy Daniels. Cohen was heard saying, "I can't even tell you how many times he said to me, I hate the fact that we did it. And my comment to him was 'But every person that you've spoken to tells you it was the right move.'"
The payment and conspiracy of Trump's involvement in Daniels's hush money deal is the crux of the prosecution's case.
Prosecutors also questioned Davidson about Daniels sitting down with Jimmy Kimmel in January 2018. Before the interview, Daniels and her attorney released a statement denying an alleged affair with Trump, but hours later, she told Kimmel it didn't look like her signature.
JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, ABC'S "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!": Did you sign this letter that was released today?
STORMY DANIELS, ADULT FILM ACTRESS: I don't know. Did I?
KIMMEL: Wait a minute. That you can say, right?
DANIELS: But that does not look like my signature, does it?
SCANNELL (voice-over): After Davidson said Cohen threatened to "rain legal hell" down upon her, and threatened to sue Daniels multiple times and saying, "Don't 'F' with us. You don't know who you're 'F'- ing with."
Later that year, Daniels says she felt she had to sign the letter denying an affair, which she said was a lie.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: If it was untruthful, why did you sign it?
DANIELS: Because they made it sound like I had no choice.
SCANNELL (voice-over): Throughout the sometimes testy cross- examination, Trump's attorney, Emil Bove, sought to paint Davidson as untrustworthy.
He zeroed in on a 2012 FBI investigation into possible extortion, involving the selling a former wrestler Hulk Hogan's sex tape.
Davidson said he was not charged in connection to the case.
Bove attempted to tie Davidson's involvement with Hogan's alleged extortion plot to his hush money deals for Daniels and former "Playboy" model Karen McDougal.
Bove asked Davidson if he goes right up to the line without committing extortion. Davidson responded, "I don't understand the question."
After court, Trump said he's pleased with how his team is doing.
TRUMP: We had a long day in court, as always. Very happy about the way things are going.
SCANNELL (voice-over): Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.
TRUMP: The fact is that --
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: U.S. President Joe Biden has briefly addressed the latest controversial remarks from his Republican rival.
In North Carolina Thursday, Biden was asked if he was concerned after Donald Trump's remarks that he would refuse to unconditionally accept this year's election results.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you worried that Trump says he won't accept the election results:
BIDEN: Listen to what he says.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Listen to what he says?
BIDEN: Listen to what he says.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Kind of cryptic.
Earlier, during a visit to Charlotte, North Carolina, Biden met with the families of police officers who were killed and others who were wounded during a horrific shootout.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: I spent some time with some of the families of the eight police officers who were shot in the line of duty on Monday. Four of them were killed.
We pray for the loved ones and those left behind. I met their children and their husbands, wives -- their wives, and their mothers and fathers. And we pray for the recovery of the brave wounded, as well. (END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Four officers, including a deputy U.S. marshal, were killed Monday while trying to serve a warrant for illegal firearm possessions by a convicted felon.
Well, a victory of sorts for abortion rights activists in the U.S. state of Arizona. After a contentious and hours-long debate Wednesday, state lawmakers narrowly passed a measure repealing a 160-year-old near-total ban on abortion.
Governor Katie Hobbs signed the bill Thursday, setting the stage for a 15-week restriction to remain law of the land, which was the law before the 1860 rule came into place.
However, the repeal measure will not take effect for 90 days. It means the 160-year-old ben remains in place until the state legislature adjourns later this year.
Well, journalists in Gaza have experienced the trauma of war while also risking their lives to bring the truth about this war. After the break, we'll meet some of them, find out their stories and what they've been doing.
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[00:31:56]
VAUSE: Friday is World Press Freedom Day. For decades, it's been the one day to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press around the world.
This year, it's dedicated to the importance of journalism amid the current global environmental crisis. In a statement released Thursday, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights said journalists are the ultimate allies in human rights, daring to challenge power, risking their lives to document atrocities, corruption, and crime.
The Israel-Hamas war has taken a heavy toll on journalists who are covering the conflict. Ninety-seven journalists and media workers have been confirmed killed since the war began last October.
Another 45 have been reported injured, missing, or arrested.
CNN's Nada Bashir introduces us to some of the journalists putting their lives on the line in Gaza.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What should be a moment of reflection reduced to a hurried memory, recorded on an iPhone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE) BASHIR (voice-over): A young girl, now an orphan, pays her last respects. A drop in a sea of tragedy, marking its witnesses and victims alike.
But this is the story of the person behind the camera, one of many risking their lives for the truth.
KHADER AL-ZANOUN, JOURNALIST IN GAZA (through translator): One scene I'll always remember was in al-Shifa Hospital in November last year. It was during a siege.
BASHIR (voice-over): Khader AL-Zanoun has been documenting the assault on Gaza since the war began, sending material to CNN. Our gateway into a war zone sealed off by Israeli authorities.
AL-ZANOUN (through translator): They were taking this woman to be buried in a mass grave. and I saw this little girl following the crowd. She told me her mother was a victim, and she wanted to say goodbye to her.
She really affected me a lot. Tears were falling when I saw her running after her mother.
BASHIR (voice-over): Living with his wife and children in Gaza city in the North, one of Gaza's worst affected regions. He shows us his home, largely destroyed in the onslaught. Part residents, part ruin.
Everything is a challenge: from the search for signal to transmit the day's footage to the search for food.
AL-ZANOUN (through translator): There have been days when we've eaten donkey and a horse food, corn and fodder, as well as barley, just to stay alive.
BASHIR (voice-over): For journalists in Gaza, the biggest challenges are the most basic ones.
Sami Shehadah is a photojournalist for Turkish-based broadcaster TRT. He was filming at a refugee camp in central Gaza.
SAMI SHEHADAH, TRT JOURNALIST (through translator): We went to cover the movement of displaced people, and as soon as we arrived at the place, we were targeted.
BASHIR (voice-over): Sami had to have his leg amputated above the knee and is now awaiting medical evacuation to Turkey.
[00:35:05]
At least 97 members of the press have been killed in what the Committee to Protect Journalists has turned the deadliest period for media workers since its records began.
But that figure, according to the CPJ, is likely to be much higher.
And yet, despite the risks, Palestinian journalists in Gaza keep doing their jobs, working in groups for protection, covering stories, even if it means getting there on a donkey and cart.
AL-ZANOUN (through translator): Every day we wake up, we thank God that we are still alive and that we are still able to continue documenting the events in the Gaza Strip.
BASHIR (voice-over): In the belief that one day, his work and the work of Palestinian journalists like him won't have been in vain.
AL-ZANOUN (through translator): Our hope is that this war will end, God willing, and that we will be able to save and protect our children after these targeted attacks in this continuing war because they want to live like the rest of the world's children: in security and peace.
BASHIR (voice-over): Nada Bashir, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Stranded, submerged and struggling with weeks of heavy rain and severe flooding. Coming up, why the worst maybe yet to come for parts of Kenya.
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[00:38:31]
VAUSE: In Southern Brazil, days of torrential rains have left at least 29 people dead. Streets and homes have been flooded.
Much or the Rio Grande do Sul state is now under the highest level warning level issued by meteorologists. Ten thousand people are displaced as 60 remain unaccounted for.
Power is out at some parts, and that means no access to clean water to drink.
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SILVIA MARIA DE AZEVEDO PEREIRA, DISPLACED BY FLOODING (through translator): I wanted to be in my house, and I didn't want to leave. But with this weather, I can't risk it to stay.
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VAUSE: There is major flooding and landslides in some parts after they received a month's worth of rain in just one day.
Authorities are closely monitoring dams that are not designed to handle such a high volume of water in such a short period of time.
Kenya's main electricity provider says power has been restored in Nairobi and the Western part of the country after a system disturbance caused widespread outages.
The country is grappling with weeks of heavy rain and catastrophic flooding, which is nearly 200. Did now, the government is warning people in flood prone areas to evacuate or be moved out by force. Details now from CNN's Larry Madowo.
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LARRY MADOWO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The March, April, and may months in Kenya are called the long rain season. But this time, the extent of the rainfall and the flooding has been unprecedented.
MADOWO (voice-over): And now another warning. The (UNINTELLIGIBLE) department predicting that even more rainfall is expected in the next two days. And that's already coming through as we speak.
It's raining here in Nairobi. There's already been some reports of flooding on some major highways and some residential neighborhoods. And that is why --
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MADOWO: -- the Kenyan government now warning that people that live within 178 different filled up or nearly filled up dams or water reservoirs needs to vacate within 24 hours.
And if they do not do so, the government is warning that they will be forcibly evacuated for their own safety.
MADOWO: That is this latest warning as the country grapples with the extent of the damage from --
MADOWO (voice-over): The heavy rainfall that Kenya has been receiving since the beginning of March. More than 180 people have died in this flash flooding. There's been almost 20,000 people affected in what the Kenya Med (ph) department considers enhanced rainfall due to the El Nino weather phenomenon.
And President William Ruto has called, they are victims of climate change.
But in reality, for so many people, having to move from their homes at a moment's notice --
MADOWO: -- it is a true tragedy. Because in some cases, they have escaped with nothing but the clothes on their back. And they're the lucky ones, because there's so many families having to bury loved ones over these past few weeks.
Larry Madowo, CNN, Nairobi.
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VAUSE: Well, what's been described as a remarkable discovery. Scientists in Indonesia say they've discover -- observed, rather, an orangutan intentionally treating a wound with a medicinal plant. The first time this apparent behavior has ever been documented.
Rakus treated a wound on his face by chewing leaves from a plant, extracting its juice, then repeatedly applying that to the wound, which is on his face there. You can see it.
He then covered the wound with chewed up leaves, which are typically used by people in traditional medicine, according to a scientific paper published Thursday.
Scientists say the observation, quote, "provides new insights into the existence of self-medication in our closest relatives."
They concede it could have just been accidental. And they're now studying whether other orangutans do the same.
If you're looking for a chance to go au naturale aboard a cruise ship, well, here we go. The travel company, Bare Necessities, has you covered.
It's so-called bare -- Baret, what? Baradise. Get it? Baradise, Paradise?
Baradise adventure is an 11-day nudist voyage. Takes forever. Is this real?
Destinations for the cruise ship the Norwegian pearl include the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and St. Martin. The company promises a once-in- a-lifetime experience. If you want to go starkers.
There are rules. Clothes are required in dining rooms or in view of other ships. Also while in port.
Get your gear off, love. We're all board.
Thanks for watching us. CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. WORLD SPORT is up next. Michael Holmes at the top of the hour. See you next week.
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