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CNN International: UNICEF: Vehicle Waiting to Enter Gaza Hit by Live Fire; Embattled House Speaker Threatened with Vote of Removal; Biden Defends Handling of Economy After Poor Inflation Data; CNN Rides Along on 33-Hour B-52 Bomber International Mission; Caitlin Clark Honored. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired April 11, 2024 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00]
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Just into CNN, we are getting word from UNICEF that one of its vehicles was hit with gunfire as it was waiting to enter northern Gaza. The agency says the incident has been raised with Israeli authorities. CNN has also asked the IDF for comment, but we're still awaiting a response.
For now, let's speak to Tess Ingram in Rafah, a communications specialist with UNICEF. Tess, tell us what you heard.
TESS INGRAM, UNICEF COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST: Well, it's what I heard, Max, but it's also what I saw. I was in the car that was hit. I was on that convoy. It was a joint UNICEF-UNRWA mission, and we were trying to bring fuel and lifesaving nutrition and medical supplies to the north of Gaza.
We had made the departure from Rafah and were heading to the checkpoint when we were asked to wait in a designated holding area where U.N. vehicles wait before being pulled to the checkpoint. While we were waiting there, gunfire broke out in the vicinity, and shots were fired from the direction of the crossing towards civilians who then ran in the other direction away from the crossing. We were caught in that line of fire.
Three bullets hit the car that I was in. A U.N. colleague dropped to the ground outside and lay on the floor. We thought he was injured, but thankfully he was OK, and so was everybody else with us.
But this incident is just another example of how dangerous it is for us and for the people that we're trying to serve in Gaza.
FOSTER: Yes, thankfully you're OK, so that's great to see. But you're saying this was crossfire, you weren't targeted?
INGRAM: Look, I don't think that we were targeted. It seemed like the shooting was coming from the checkpoint towards civilians. But either way, this is meant to be a safe place. This is why the holding area exists, so that we aren't caught up in these sorts of incidents.
And it was a coordinated mission, so we were meant to be safe on this mission. We had received assurances that we would be, and we were in a place where we were authorized to stay.
FOSTER: Have you any idea of the threat that the IDF felt in order to respond like this?
INGRAM: I don't, but I can tell you that I saw a small group of civilians running away from the checkpoint when the fighting broke out. They didn't appear to be armed.
FOSTER: So they were being targeted, you feel?
INGRAM: I feel like the shooting was directed at them, yes.
FOSTER: And what did the IDF say when you approached them about this?
INGRAM: We're yet to receive a response.
FOSTER: What about the people on the ground?
INGRAM: The people on the ground fled. There were some other people that came and approached us after the incident, but they were mostly children, Max.
FOSTER: I mean, we've obviously had, you know, this recent attack on a convoy, which Israel have accepted. They say it was a big mistake. That's the context you're working in right now, isn't it? So what went through your mind as you saw this gunfire?
INGRAM: To be honest, it was shocking that this was happening to us on a coordinated mission in a designated holding area. We had colleagues outside the vehicle who very easily could have been injured or killed. So we were incredibly lucky.
And as you say, this comes in the context of just eight days before colleagues at World Central Kitchen tragically being killed while trying to do their jobs. So I think this underscores that it really remains unsafe for humanitarian workers.
And also, it prevents us from doing our jobs because that mission didn't go ahead. We weren't able to deliver the nutrition supplies to Kamal Adwan Hospital, where we know that children are dying.
FOSTER: We're hearing from the Israelis they're going to ramp up significantly aid going into Gaza. How does your experience speak to that, do you think?
INGRAM: We haven't seen it yet. I hope that it's true. I hope that we can really flood the Gaza Strip with aid in the coming days and weeks.
But the news of areas crossing, opening in the north of Gaza is yet to eventuate. And that's so important. We really need to push for that. Because if we can get directly into the north of Gaza, it would prevent us from having incidents like this, unsafe moments at checkpoints or restrictions on our access to the north. And it would also allow us to get aid in quickly to those children who are dying from malnutrition. FOSTER: You'll be aware that the Israeli agency that actually handles
the inspection delivery of aid into Gaza is blaming the U.N. for failing to distribute it. It's not an issue of aid getting in. It's the fact that you're not getting it out to the people that need it.
INGRAM: That's just wrong. There is still not enough aid coming into the Gaza Strip. We've seen a very marginal increase in the last few days, but nothing significant. We're still well below the number of trucks that we used to get in before the war.
[04:35:00]
And look, I'm not going to lie, distribution is difficult. We're doing our absolute best. But we are operating in these conditions, which are arguably some of the worst in the world. And those conditions can also be remedied. These two things go hand in hand.
We need to get more aid in still. And then we need to make sure that the operating conditions on the ground are conducive to distribution, so that we aren't put in harm's way and that we're able to operate efficiently. And same with the people that we're here to serve.
FOSTER: The Israelis currently saying hundreds of trucks are waiting to be picked up by U.N. agencies. Is that true?
INGRAM: So it's semantics, Max. It depends on where you count them coming in. My understanding is that COGAT counts trucks when they enter screening. We don't count them as delivered until they cross to our warehouses at the Rafah crossing.
So we haven't received all of those trucks yet. And sometimes it's very difficult for us, even if they are cleared from the screening process, to go and get them because we don't have access to that sterile area, if you like, where the boxes wait for us 24-7.
FOSTER: What's it like working for an agency which is independent, isn't it? Politically neutral. But there's a lot of tension between Israel and the U.N. And one of the concerns going forward is you've got to work together if aid is going to be distributed properly. But is that difficult because of the political background here?
INGRAM: Look, it's been difficult since the beginning of this war. We have been trying to advocate using all of the channels possible to resolve these issues. We want to make it work. We're not here for the tension. We're here for the kids. So we really need to resolve this in order to be able to do our jobs.
FOSTER: Just one question on, you know, your ability to distribute aid. Obviously, there must be a lot of people in your organization and the people you work with who are just living in fear of distributing aid in Gaza right now because what happened to you, what happened to the Kitchen as well. Are you struggling to get people, enough staff to just get into Gaza and help with this?
INGRAM: Interestingly, no. I think that this is what the U.N. does. We work on the front lines of dangerous locations all around the world, from Haiti to Sudan to Afghanistan. So we have a brave and selfless team willing to continue to come in and do this work. We just have to be allowed to do our jobs.
FOSTER: OK, Tess Ingram, thank you for coming on and discussing what seems like a very lucky escape. Glad you're all OK.
CNN has reached out, as I say, to the Israeli military for comment on the incident. We're waiting to hear back.
U.S. House Speaker, Mike Johnson, announcing he'll be holding a joint news conference on Friday with Donald Trump to talk about election integrity. It comes as he faces backlash from his fellow Republicans, with some threatening to vote him out of leadership.
CNN's Manu Raju has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The frustration within the House GOP is palpable.
REP. GARRET GRAVES (R-LA): We don't truly have a majority at this point. You have a loosely aligned coalition government right now and it's an incredible challenge.
RAJU (voice-over): Bitter GOP infighting derailing the GOP agenda and now threatening Speaker Mike Johnson's job, delays major decisions over the FBI spying power, and providing billions in aid to Ukraine, all as the threat to oust him continues to loom as Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene escalates her attacks.
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): The motion to vacate is real. We can't continue to be led by our elected Speaker of the House that's passing the Democrat agenda. Our voters will not tolerate that.
RAJU (voice-over): All of it enraging fellow Republicans.
REP. MAX MILLER (R-OH): This is incredibly reckless. This is nothing more than just, look at me, no one else is paying attention, so here is my motion to vacate. Now, it's my time.
REP. MARC MOLINARO (R-NY): I think it's an absurdity that's unnecessary. And frankly, it was a mistake when this Congress allowed it to happen to Kevin McCarthy.
REP. TROY NEHLS (R-TX): It's an impossible job. The Lord Jesus himself could not manage his conference, with this Congress -- you just can't do it.
RAJU (voice-over): Johnson will soon see his razor-thin majority shrink, giving him just one vote to spare. But the right wing continues to give Johnson fits, furious over his deal-making with Democrats, and warning him about his moves ahead.
Greene outlined her anger in a scathing five-page letter attacking Johnson over his handling of a funding package to keep the government open. And in a 70-minute meeting with Johnson today, warning him not to move ahead with any more aid to Ukraine or a bill to renew the FBI's warrantless surveillance authority, something Former President Donald Trump successfully urged Republicans to kill earlier today.
GREENE: Most of the members I've talked to support the letter that I sent and they completely agree with it, and that's the only feedback that I've heard.
RAJU (voice-over): But Johnson offering this warning, if Greene moves ahead.
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), U.S. SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: It would be chaos in the House.
RAJU (voice-over): Yet several hardliners are open to Greene's call for his ouster.
REP. ERIC BURLISON (R-MO): I think she has some valid concerns. I'm not closing the door.
[04:40:00]
RAJU: Are you ready to vote to vacate the Speaker?
REP. ANNA PAULINA LUNA (R-FL): No, we are not going to go down that path right now. I think that the Republican Conference as a whole needs to really figure out what we are about.
RAJU: If he does move forward with any Ukraine package, could that cost him his job?
REP. WARREN DAVIDSON (R-OH): Yeah. I think it will be a real risk for the speaker to move a giant package.
RAJU (voice-over): But Johnson, who is holding a Florida a press conference with Trump on Friday, could also be saved by Democrats, especially if he moves on Ukraine aid.
REP. TOM SUOZZI (D-NY): I'm going to support him because he's trying to do the right thing.
RAJU: Now this all comes as there are still questions about whether or not Donald Trump will support this effort to oust Mike Johnson from the speakership. Johnson is going down to Mar-a-Lago on Friday to hold a joint press conference with him. The idea is to talk about the issues of elections.
Donald Trump, of course, has been making false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. We'll see what they ultimately have to say. And we'll see if Donald Trump offers any support for Mike Johnson.
We do know a lot of Johnson allies have been lobbying Trump to get behind him. But also Marjorie Taylor Greene has spoken to Donald Trump just yesterday. But Marjorie Taylor Greene would not comment about her conversations with Trump, and neither would Mike Johnson when I asked him if he's asking for the former president's support to stay in the job.
Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: U.S. markets taking a tumble over concerns the fight against inflation may have stalled. Consumer prices jumped in pretty much every major category last month, rising to a 3.5 percent increase for the 12 months ending in March. Gas and housing costs comprising more than half of that monthly increase.
Ultimately, the Dow closed lower by more than 400 points, so 1.1 percent, and the S&P 500 lost 1 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite fell by less than 1 percent.
U.S. President Joe Biden defended his handling of the economy on Wednesday as those economic numbers were coming in. CNN's Brian Todd has the latest from Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A seemingly endless headache for American consumers at the cash register and for President Biden at the ballot box.
New numbers show that annual inflation ticked up higher than expected last month, consumer prices rising to a 3.5 percent increase in the 12 months ending in March, fueled in part by higher mortgage prices and rising gas prices.
JOSEPH GAGNON, PETERSON INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS: Inflation is still a threat, but I think it's receding. Not likely to continue, but it is not good news.
TODD (voice-over): The president defending his record combatting inflation,
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have dramatically reduced inflation from 9 percent down to close to 3 percent. We're in a situation where we're better situated than we were when we took office, where we -- inflation was skyrocketing.
TODD (voice-over): But this comes as Biden's former White House chief of staff, Ron Klain, known as a loyalist, slams the presidents messaging on the economy.
In comments obtained by "Politico," Klain said his former boss spends too much time talking about infrastructure.
Quote: I think the president is out there too much talking about bridges. If you go into the grocery store, you know, eggs and milk are expensive. The fact that there's an effing bridge.
Klain goes on to say: Like it's a bridge, and how interesting is the bridge? It's a little interesting, but it's not a lot interesting. Klain did concede that Biden is effective at showing compassion for families who are struggling financially and talking about how to bring down costs. But Donald Trump was quick to pounce on the latest numbers.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Biden has totally lost control of inflation. It's back, it's raging back.
TODD (voice-over): In a recent poll, only 37 percent approve of President Biden's handling of the economy, while 62 percent disapprove.
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Joe Biden certainly has a lot of work to do. I think that we're hearing it from his advisers quietly, that they certainly want to talk more about the economy.
TODD (voice-over): For example, unemployment hasn't been this low this long since Richard Nixon was president.
GAGNON: Many people have gotten bigger wage increases than they've seen in inflation, especially the lower income workers have seen big wage gains, more than inflation.
TODD (voice-over): Still, with Wednesday's numbers, the Fed is now likely to postpone the interest rate cuts expected this year, which would boost the economy and make homes more affordable.
CATHERINE RAMPELL, CNN ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: We don't know what's going to happen to long-term rates. We don't know what's going to happen to the fiscal situation. We don't know what's going to happen with oil and energy prices, which also affect, or can push through to other forms of inflation.
TODD (voice-over): So how much of a threat will inflation pose to President Biden as election day approaches?
GAGNON: I'm pretty sure inflation will be better by election time, but it's not coming down as fast as many of us would like.
TODD: Part of President Biden's messaging after those inflation numbers came out was to try to deflect some of the blame to the Republicans, who he said have no plan to combat inflation, and to corporate greed. The president saying he's calling on corporations, including grocery retailers, to use their record profits to reduce prices.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Demonstrators met with water cannon in Buenos Aires as they protested against President Javier Milei's economic reforms.
[04:45:00] President Milei has fired more than 15,000 public workers and has cut numerous government programs. Critics say the reforms have caused Argentina's poverty rate and consumer prices to skyrocket. Mr. Milei says Argentina does not have a plan B and he will continue economic reforms to restore the nation's golden age.
Catastrophic flooding forced more than 96,000 people to evacuate their homes in Kazakhstan on Wednesday. Authorities report at least two people were killed in the flooding that started when warm temperatures rapidly melted snow. And the situation got worse after a dam broke. Over 7,600 people are staying in temporary shelters.
Officials say severe flooding has affected northwestern Kazakhstan and neighboring southwestern Russia since the beginning of the month.
Up next, CNN gains exclusive access to one of the longest U.S. military missions in the world, a 33-hour flight of a B-52 bomber meant to send a clear message to both allies and adversaries.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Well, no matter the adversary the U.S. wants the world to know, it's always watching and ready to respond to any threat. CNN's Oren Lieberman gained exclusive access to a long-range U.S. Air Force mission meant to send a clear message to friends and foes alike. But that mission on an aging B-52 bomber also comes with its challenges.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 113, runway 33, wind 330.
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Under the shroud of predawn darkness, flight MYLAR11 roars out of Louisiana's Barksdale Air Force Base. It's the start of one of the longest military missions in the world, a nonstop 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.
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 out of the visible and flexible legs on 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 and 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 one, contact.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bomber one, 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 Yankee Zulu Papa.
[04:50:00]
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): After an hour of formation flying during this refuel, we arc out over the Pacific and towards Japan.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 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-20 strategic stealth bomber will be unveiled soon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Twenty seconds to the turn. Zero five zero.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Onboard MYLAR11, we pass by Russia's East Coast, closer to meeting up with U.S. and ally 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 operations 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 mons as they're known on base assemble weapons. Outside, loading teams marry bombs to bomber.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And install the bindings.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): 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: All right. Your jet.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): It is a marathon of marathons to put the B-52 in its crew virtually anywhere in the world.
LIEBERMANN: At this point, we've passed the halfway point on the flight. We've been in the air more than 16 hours. It's the middle of the day here in Japan where we're over flying 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 off our 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.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want to be seen by allies and adversaries.
LIEBERMANN: It is still a head-turner --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is.
LIEBERMANN: -- when you take it around the world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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 China Sea at night, coming within 10 feet of the bomber.
By number of ships, China has the world's largest navy, 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.
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 risk. Nearing the 30- hour mark of the flight, we see our second sunrise over Washington States Mount Rainier.
LIEBERMANN: And though the crew is tried, 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 the most 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 won final surprise.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One year, not down.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Affirm. Right main gear is not down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go ahead and emergency extend it.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Flight MYLAR11 touches down at 3:00 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 would 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)
FOSTER: Just ahead, she's been the talk of college basketball for months. Now, Caitlin Clark's remarkable season with the University of Iowa is culminating with a special honor.
[04:55:32]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: The highest scoring player in U.S. college basketball history, men or women, is now getting a well-deserved honor from her school. University of Iowa sensation, Caitlin Clark, will have her number 22 jersey retired. Clark and the Hawkeyes had another memorable season. They played in the women's championship game this past weekend where they lost to South Carolina.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAITLIN CLARK, IOWA HAWKEYES GUARD: It's super incredible. Something I'm very thankful for and obviously I've had some amazing teammates over the course of my four years here and there's been a lot of really good 22s that come before me and play for this program, whether it's Kathleen Doyle or Sam Logic.
So that number holds a lot of weight. Far beyond my name and I guess I'm just really grateful and it'll be a special day when that happens, for sure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Thanks for joining me here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster in London. I'll leave you now with the sounds of Paul Simon performing his song, Graceland, at the White House state dinner last night. CNN "THIS MORNING" is up next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL SIMON, SINGER, SONGWRITER: Was shining like a national guitar I am following the river Down the highway Through the cradle of the Civil War I'm going to Graceland, Graceland Memphis, Tennessee I'm going to Graceland Poor boys and pilgrims with families And we are going to Graceland
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[05:00:00]
