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Battle Brewing Between House Democrats and A.G. Barr; Political Unrest in Venezuela Continues; Julian Assange Faces Court for Multiple Charges; Juan Guaido Calls For Third Day Of Anti-Maduro Protest; WikiLeaks Founder Assange Sentenced To 50 Weeks; U.S. Attorney General Defends Handling Of Mueller Report; U.K. Defense Secretary Sacked Over Huawei Leak; Huawei Sales Rising, While Apple And Samsung Slump; Landmark Decision May End Olympic Champ's Run; India On Alert For Cyclone Fani; Climate Change Report; Tourist On The DMZ; Holocaust Eva's Diary; Picture Perfect Of Princess Charlotte; Royal Wedding In Thailand. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired May 02, 2019 - 03:00   ET

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


[03:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. attorney general is refusing to testify before a House committee today after being grilled by senators Wednesday over his handling of the Mueller report.

Plus, Venezuela on edge, as demonstrators on both sides show their support and their anger.

And the diary of a Holocaust victim is turning into a social media campaign. It's part education, part remembrance. But it's created equal parts of criticism.

Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church, and this is CNN Newsroom.

Well, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives will not get their chance to question the U.S. attorney general about Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report. William Barr is refusing to appear as scheduled in the coming day. But there was no shortage of fireworks at his Senate hearing on Wednesday.

CNN's Manu Raju reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM BARR, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL: It was my decision how and when to make it public, not Bob Mueller's.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Attorney General Bill Barr defiant while under fire for his handling of Robert Mueller's report. Hours after new relations with the special counsel sent a letter to Barr, expressing concerns about how he summarized the findings of the probe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARR: His work concluded when he sent his report to the attorney general. At that point, it was my baby.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Barr said he spoke to the special counsel about Mueller's frustration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARR: I said, Bob, what's with the letter? You know, why don't you just pick up the phone and call me if there is an issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: And contended that Mueller was complaining about the media's portrayal of the findings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARR: He said that they were concerned about the way the media was playing this. And he felt that it was important to get out the summaries which they felt would put their work in proper context. And avoid some of the confusion that was emerging. And I asked him if he felt that my letter was misleading or inaccurate. And he said no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: But Mueller does not mention the media coverage in his letter. Expressing instead that Barr did not fully capture the content, nature and substance of this office's work and conclusions. Democrats, pounced on that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): This letter was an extraordinary act of career prosecutor rebuking the attorney general of the United States memorializing in writing, right?

BARR: You know, the letter is a bit snitty I think it's probably written by one of his staff people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Democrats argue the revelations contradicted Barr's previous sworn testimony and accused him of lying when he said this on April 10th.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD): Did Bob Mueller support your conclusion?

BARR: I don't know whether Bob Mueller supported my conclusion.

(END VIDEO CLIP) RAJU: Today, Barr evaded explaining the discrepancy, instead bringing

up a different answer from a different hearing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARR: The question was relating to unidentified members who were expressing frustration over the accuracy relating to findings. I don't know what that refers to at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Democrats did not buy his answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D-VT): Mr. Barr, I feel your answer was purposely misleading. And I think others do too.

SEN. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE (D-RI): That's a masterful hair splitting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: The senators sharply question why Barr chose not to prosecute Trump on obstruction of justice, despite 10 episodes cited in the report detailing Trump's effort to undercut the probe, including asking then White House counsel Don McGahn to remove Mueller, the special counsel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARR: There is a distinction between saying to someone go fire him, go fire Mueller and saying have him removed based on conflict. They have different results.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: But in his report, Mueller wrote that in seeking to fire the special counsel the president sought to exclude his and his campaign's conduct from the investigation scope. In a tense line of questioning, Senator Mazie Hirono lashed out at Barr.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MAZIE HIRONO (D-HI): You lied to Congress. But now, we know more about your deep involvement in trying to cover up for Donald Trump. I am done. Thank you very much.

(CROSSTALK)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): And you slandered this man from top to bottom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:04:57] RAJU: Republicans meanwhile didn't focus as much on the Mueller report, instead criticizing the Justice Department's handling of the Clinton e-mail probe and pointing to touch from former FBI agent Peter Strzok.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAHAM: We know that the person in charge of investigating hated Trump's guts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: And questioning why the Russia probe even began.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOSH HAWLEY (R-MO): It open blatant prejudice. Or try to use that in order to overturn a Democratic election. And to my mind, that's the real crisis here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Now after the hearing the Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham said, quote, "it's over." He's not planning to bring in Bob Mueller for any questioning because he wants to move on to other issues.

He does plan to send Mueller a letter asking if there's anything he disagrees with from what he heard from Bill Barr's testimony. Much different on the House side run Democrats. They do plan to bring in Bob Mueller and they want to bring in Barr to be questioned not just by members but also staff attorneys.

And that has Barr objecting it and threatening not to appear at a Thursday hearing. Democrats have threatened if Barr doesn't show they plan to subpoena him to compel his appearance.

Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.

CHURCH: Joining me now to discuss all of this is Siraj Hashmi, a commentary writer and editor for the Washington Examiner. Thank you so much for being with us.

SIRAJ HASHMI, COMMENTARY WRITER AND EDITOR, WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Thank you for having me.

CHURCH: So, let's start by looking at the politics at play in the wake of the Senate hearings Wednesday. Attorney General Bill Barr is now refusing to appear before the House judiciary committee on Thursday.

But Chairman Jerry Nadler says he will issue a subpoena to compel Barr to appear. What are the politics and optics of Barr's decision?

HASHMI: The interesting part about Barr's decision here is that, I mean, it's all politics for one. I mean, the House judiciary chairman Jerry Nadler he's been about subpoenaing the Trump administration for basically everything, financial document, whatever -- everything that went into the Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report, as well as Attorney General William Barr's letter to Congress. And a lot of Democrats are very furious with Barr because of how he handled the Mueller probe with respect to disagree -- disagreement that we've seen that Mueller's letter that he sent to Barr showed that he disagreed with him on the issue of obstruction of justice.

And that's just given Democrats more fodder to basically go after the Trump administration. And right now, you're kind of seeing the fallout from that in which many Democrats are calling on Bill Barr to resign.

CHURCH: Right. All right. So, you mention that letter. We know Tuesday Robert Mueller sent Barr that letter in late March criticizing his four-page memo saying it doesn't capture the context, nature, and substance of Mueller's findings.

But when Barr was asked on April 10th whether supported his conclusion, he said he didn't know. Democrats seized on this. Senator Mazie Hirono going so far as accusing Barr of lying to Congress. And she said he should resign. What does this tell us about the way Barr conducts himself? And should he resign as the senator suggest?

HASHMI: That's a good question. I mean, if they're actually able to prove that he perjured himself or he lied to Congress which is a punishable offense. That's why Michael Cohen who is President Trump's former personal attorney was -- he was actually roped into the Mueller probe and he's going to be serving jail time actually in the month of May, starting his prison sentence in the month of May for lying to Congress.

So, yes, there could be charges that could be brought up against Barr whether they actually go through in terms of, you know, the Justice Department prosecuting Bill Barr. I mean, that's probably that's highly unlikely. Whether he resigns that's tough to say.

I mean, there are many attorney general -- or attorneys general who have actually, you know, served as the somewhat de facto defense attorney or defense lawyer for the president. Eric Holder being one of them, Bill Barr being another.

(CROSSTALK)

CHURCH: OK.

HASHMI: It's very tough to say that --

CHURCH: I want to ask you that --

(CROSSTALK)

HASHMI: It's very tough to say that he should resign.

CHURCH: Right. I mean, Democrats say that Barr is representing the president and not the people of America. And he doesn't help his cause by referring to himself and the president as we on numerous occasions throughout the Senate hearing. But you are saying that that's not unusual. But where does that leave Barr's credibility.

(CROSSTALK)

HASHMI: It's not unusual. Well, that's the thing. So, we've seen it'd be taking an issue with him now because I think there are many people who are very prone to react to this president in a way that they do. As oppose to presidents of the past to, you know, there has been that blurring of the lines between the Justice Department and the White House. And there hasn't been as much of an uproar.

[03:09:55] So yes, you know, with respect to Eric Holder who was President Obama's attorney general. He was held in contempt of Congress for basically stifling an investigation into a gun running scandal or arm -- basically running guns to Mexico as part of the Fast and Furious program.

So, yes, with respect to the Mueller probe, it's all in Congress's account that they should absolutely investigate as much as they can because definitely there's a lot of fishy stuff going on here.

CHURCH: So, who won the day here? And how do you expect the House judiciary committee hearings to play out given Barr won't even be there?

HASHMI: Senate Republicans probably won the day here because Bill Barr reassured them that he is going to see multiple investigations into unauthorized leak to the media about the Mueller probe. And he is going into the origin of the Trump Mueller probe.

Specifically looking at the FISA court, as well as who issued the, you know, the surveillance -- the surveillance warrants against the Trump campaign. And that's going to be probably a way to impugn the Obama administration as a result.

So, you could say, bigger picture here the Trump administration won. But all in all, just looking at this going to continue on and there won't be an end of it unless of course Trump is voted out of office or if the House moves towards impeachment and they are successful.

CHURCH: And how much patience do you think the American public have for all of this? Today even cared this point?

HASHMI: That's a good question. Because in, I would say in Washington, D.C. and then some coastal cities on the East and West Coast they do care about this. But in Middle America in real America, you know, most people don't care about what's happening in Washington whatsoever.

I would be hard-pressed to find, you find 10 people who know -- out of 10 people, probably nine of them probably don't know who Bill Barr actually is. So, there's a good chance that you will not find many people who, actually will be learning from it for the first time about this.

But it really speaks to the matter about government transparency and government corruption. And basically, this is a fight for power. And Democrats and Republicans are, you know, doing everything that they can to get that. CHURCH: Right. We're watching closely. We're until all of the detail

whether the public are really into it that's another point have -- as you have raised.

Siraj Hasmi, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

HASHMI: Thank you. I appreciate you having me on.

CHURCH: All right. We turn to Venezuela now. And the head of the secret police has publicly broken ranks with President Nicolas Maduro. In an open letter, he accuses the government of widespread corruption. He was fired by Mr. Maduro a short time after that.

He is the highest-ranking security official to break from the Maduro administration since the opposition leader and National Assembly president Juan Guaido called for a popular uprising. Guaido is now urging supporters to fill the streets for a third straight day.

Details now from CNN's Nick Paton Walsh in Caracas.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The battle for control playing out in the streets of Caracas and across Venezuela as supporters and opponents of President Nicolas Maduro hold competing demonstrations. Now, it's day two for the violent clashes which have left one person dead more than 100 injured.

The embattled president hoping to quell the uprising and taking to the airwaves overnight. Stating, "with the truth as a sword, as a shield, we face so many attacks. We have emerged victorious in every situation. And we will continue to emerge victorious."

The government has been impeding at times Venezuelans access to social media and news platforms. Opposition leader Juan Guaido, the president of the National Assembly here addressing the crowd. He admitted; he hadn't gathered enough military defectors yesterday. Yet still declare this as, quote, "the final phase to oust Maduro."

Encouraging his supporters, he calls for daily protests. The uprising is being closely monitored by the U.S. government. And though the top military brass has said they don't personally see a role for American Armed Forces in the conflict, the joint chiefs chairman cautions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH DUNFORD, CHAIRMAN, UNITED STATES JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: We're doing what we can now to collect intelligence, to make sure we have good visibility on what's happening down in Venezuela, and also be prepared to support the president should he require more from the U.S. military.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:15:57] WALSH: But just a day after the U.S. claimed it was only Moscow that mange to convince Nicolas Maduro not to flee his country on a jet to Cuba. Tonight, the Russian foreign minister is warning of grave consequences

if the U.S. continues, quote, "aggressive steps in Venezuela." The rhetoric between the U.S. and Russia now escalating, as the Trump administration believes the walls are closing in on Maduro.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BOLTON, UNITED STATES NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: I think Maduro is now surrounded by scorpions in the bottle. And it's only a matter of time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Well, Jennifer McCoy is a distinguished professor of political science at Georgia State University. She joins us now from Budapest. Thank you so much for being with us.

JENNIFER MCCOY, PROFESSOR, GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY: Thank you.

CHURCH: So anti-Maduro protest continue on the streets of Venezuela battling it out with pro Maduro demonstrators and now the head of the secret police has been fired for breaking ranks with the president.

Could this be the beginning of the end for Maduro or do you think that's still a very long way off?

MCCOY: I think this stalemate will continue for some time but what we've seen are sort of steps forward and back, and t each time since January at least Guaido has been gaining support in various areas, first internationally then nationally with support in the streets. And now we see one more high-ranking defection.

But Maduro also has his card to play and has been able to stop the apparent plan of other high level defections on April 30th. And he's clearly resorting again to force.

CHURCH: Yes. And that is what we are seeing, top military brass still standing firmly behind President Maduro. So how long can Juan Guaido and his supporters to sustain this fight in the hope that some of those military leaders will join them as you've mentioned. I mean, this could take some time. So, realistically, how sustainable is this? We're watching there on the screen.

MCCOY: It's not sustainable to keep people in the streets for months. We did see that happen in 2017, four months of daily protests are increasing repression detentions and deaths. And the people were exhausted after that.

So many will be remembering that and not much (AUDIO GAP) repeated. Of course, there is some that will continue to go out. I think the key now, though, is to look at this for both sides to recognize this is a stalemate. It's like in a civil conflict or war. When both sides realized that neither can eliminate or defeat completely vanquished the other through this continued combat.

And that's the kind of situation when both sides recognize that peace negotiations start. So, there did appeared to be secret negotiations going on if the reports coming out about those are accurate. And that's the key, there got to be talks whether they're secret, whether they're facilitated by an outside mediator.

There has to be talks to begin to break the stalemate, reassurances about what will happen in the future. And even the United States has offered to lift the individual sanctions on individuals who do defect from Maduro. That kind of incentive needs to continue.

CHURCH: While that's playing out though, just how dangerous it is right now for Guaido and his supporters.

MCCOY: It is dangerous. But, again, one of those steps forward that we see so far is that Maduro has not felt that he could or that it would be wise to order the detention of Guaido or even Leopoldo Lopez who was from house arrest by the intelligence chief.

So that may indicate that Maduro doesn't have confidence that his orders would be complied with or that it could spur further defections if he ordered it. So, I think that's an interesting signal. If they -- if Guaido and Lopez continue to be free, that will indicate a shift in the playing field.

But it's going to take time, it's going to take talks, and of course, meanwhile, the country falls further and further into misery as sanctions continued to hurt and bite and the resources of the country continue to diminish.

CHURCH: And as the U.S. is watching by the sidelines how likely do you think it is that we will see American Armed Forces in Venezuela, and if that happens, how might Russia respond?

MCCOY: Well, there are -- there Washington Post has reported that there are debates within the administration. Pro and con or those who are more in favor of military intervention and those who are not.

[03:20:02] The military itself, does not favor military intervention. I think that that would be a fairly drastic step that would risk support, political support for the administration and public opinion support.

With various forms of smaller military help such as helping on the border with humanitarian aid providing more staff and more visible presence in that might help put pressure on.

But military intervention unless there were direct threats to U.S. citizens. Or as President Trump has said, they're warned not to have direct threats against the person that Guaido. So.

CHURCH: We will continue to watch the story, and we certainly appreciate your perspective and insight as we try to work through and analyze the situation. Jennifer McCoy joining us there via Skype. I appreciate it.

MCCOY: Thank you. CHURCH: A lengthy legal battle is set to begin in London. Coming up,

the founder of WikiLeaks fights extradition to the United States. The charge against Julian Assange. We'll take a look.

And then later this hour, why Britain's prime minister abruptly sacked her defense secretary. Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

Well, Julian Assange now faces nearly a year in prison for violating his bail conditions. The WikiLeaks founder appeared in court in London Wednesday. He was wanted in Sweden on sexual assault and rape allegations when he took refuge in Ecuador's embassy in 2012.

Police finally hold him out last month. In a letter to the judge Assange apologized to those who thought he disrespected them. The judge was unmoved saying he chose to commit an offense.

Well, the next legal challenge for Assange is about an hour and a half away.

Nina Dos Santos is outside the court and joins us now live from London. So, Nina, what's expected to happen to Assange when his U.S. extradition battle gets underway very soon?

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, this will be the start of a very long and essentially protracted battle to decide whether or not he should be sent to the United States to answer to charges of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion with his co- conspirator Chelsea Manning.

[03:24:56] Now these allegations date back to events that happened many, many years ago. But what essentially WikiLeaks seems to infer is that further charges could be loaded on from here, and that basically this particular charge that was unveiled when he was extricated from the embassy, Ecuadorian embassy, so dramatically two weeks ago.

It's really just a pretext to get him over to the United States where more serious charges could be loaded upon there, in particular, a 19 -- a breach of the 1970s Espionage Act which could mean years in jail maybe even more serious punishment than that according to WikiLeaks co-founder Kristinn Hrafnsson spoke to yesterday.

Essentially, the strength of WikiLeaks its defense team will probably hinge upon whether or not they conclude that Julian Assange will not be awarded a fair trial in United States, whether they can also approve that perhaps he has medical reasons to not be sent over to the United States.

And whether or not they can continue to argue the line that he was a publisher and had the rights to first amendment protection. So, he was acting under the duty of free speech, if you like, as a publisher rather than a hacker and a whistleblower per se, or hacker at least, certainly acting as a whistleblower. Those will be the types of arguments that you'd likely to hear in the

court here. But I must say having spoken to both his defense lawyer Jennifer Robinson yesterday after the hearing during which he was sentenced on almost maximum 50 weeks in jail for skipping bail all those years ago when he sought asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy.

And also, WikiLeaks co-founder Hrafnsson. Both of them said, they felt that yesterday's decision show that the U.K. court were unlikely to be favorable to Julian Assange. So, they felt they had a big fight on their hands but it's one that he feels and his supporters they will fight to the very end. Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. So, as you mentioned, this will likely be a very long battle. If he is extradited to the U.S., what's the process then? What happens?

DOS SANTOS: Well, first of all, what we know is that the United States still has quite a bit of time to get ready all of that paperwork to formally request his extradition and make clear to the British government exactly why they want to extradite him.

Will it be just on that one charge which came about when of course the United States decided to unseal an indictment from 2018. As I said, that indictment charge on Assange of conspiracy to commit computer r hacking, basically essentially alleging that he urged Private Chelsea Manning to try and hack into the Pentagon's computer system.

Will that be the only charge or will there be others? We know the home secretary on the day that Assange was taking out of the Ecuadorian embassy. Just parliament have said from about two weeks ago, the U.S. had 65 days to file that full case.

So, what you often hear if you speak to Assange his legal team, is that they still don't know the full elements of the type of case that the U.S. is going to present against Assange. We'll have to wait a couple of months for those kinds of details to come from here.

As I was saying before, these types of extradition battle can take months. They can take up to three to four years. And they don't always end up in an extradition over to the United States who had a couple of high-profile cases of British hackers who have managed to successfully fight extradition to the United States for rather similar charges for all sorts of reasons included mental health reasons as well. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Right. We'll watch to see what happens there at less than 90 minutes away. Nina Dos Santos, many thanks to you for bringing us that preview. I appreciate it.

Well, the White House was watching Attorney General William Barr's testimony very closely. What the president and his top aides have to say about the hearing.

Plus, tear gas, water cannon, and rock throwing in Paris. The violence breaks out at May Day march. We'll take a look at that.

[03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back everyone, I'm Rosemary

Church. I want to update you now on the main stories we had been following this hour. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has fired the head of the secret police after the official public leader announced the Maduro government as corrupt. He is one of the highest ranking official's to defect. A surprise move comes as the country braces for a third straight day of anti-government protest.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been sentenced to 15 weeks in prison for jumping bail when he took refuge in Ecuador's London embassy. At the time, he was wanted in Sweden on sexual assault and rape allegations. In about an hour and a half, he faces a U.S. extradition hearing on conspiracy charges.

A growing number of Democrats calling for U.S. Attorney General William Barr to resign. They say he misled Congress and the American people about Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian election interference. Barr defended his decision Wednesday, at a Senate hearing.

Well, the U.S. Attorney General will not appear before the House Judiciary Committee in the coming days. Saying he objects to being questioned by staff lawyers. And he is getting plenty of support from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. CNN's Abby Phillip has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLYANNE CONWAY, WHITE HOUSE COUNSELOR: I think people should start showing him some respect.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: The White House today rushing to defend Attorney General Bill Barr, who's coming under fire for his decision to release a four-page summary that Special Counsel Robert Mueller said did not adequately represent the investigations findings.

CONWAY: To impugn the integrity reputation character and competence of Bill Barr and coming from certain people who are doing that is really rich.

PHILLIP: Some of those people, Senate Democrats, now calling for Mueller to clarify his concerns by testifying before Congress.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we should hear from Special Counsel Mueller.

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN), U.S. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We must hear from Director Mueller.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Should he be allowed to testify before this?

WILLIAM BARR, ATTORNEY GENERAL: I've already said publicly, I have no objection to him.

PHILLIP: But the White House seemingly disagrees, claiming the case is closed.

CONWAY: We heard it all, but (inaudible).

PHILLIP: Aides tells CNN that regardless of Barr's summary, Trump was likely to latch onto the positive elements of the report anyway. But even with the rose colored view of Mueller's findings, Trump today is still on the attack. Criticizing the Russia investigation and retweeting criticism nearly 60 times of a firefighter union's decision to endorse former Vice President Joe Biden. As Trump swept Biden in private and on social media, his agent says, he is not worried.

CONWAY: I don't think were worried about Joe Biden. People were worried about different union endorses, so much as a little bit beneath and certainly not frustrated, but a little bit the news.

PHILLIP: And White House aides spent the day watching Bill Barr's testimony on Capitol Hill and they seem to be pretty happy with his performance before Congress. He did give credence to a lot of things President Trump has been calling for many, many months. Including, investigating the origins of the FISA warrants used to authorize surveillance into the Trump campaign. As well as investigating the Steele dossier.

And President Trump also gave a radio interview where he said this about Barr's performance. I heard that the Attorney General was really, really solid and did a great job today. Abby Phillip, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Well, nearly 400 people are under arrest after a mayday demonstration in Paris turned violent. There was a huge police presence as dozens of masked anarchist mixed in with so-called Yellow Vest protestors. Riot police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd. Ben Wedeman has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[03:35:00] BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Were in (inaudible) Italy, where the march commemorating international workers day May Day ended up. It began in Montparnasse and what we saw there at the very beginning was a lot of tear gas being fired, clashes between protestors and the security -- the police and the security and of course according to the French interior minister as many as 7,400 policemen and security forces were deployed in the capital that compared to only 1,500 the year before.

Now, in terms of numbers, by mid-afternoon, the authorities were saying that around 16,000 people have participated in the demonstrations in Paris. More than 150,000 around the country. Now, these marches take place every year and they do underscore the strength of the French labor movement.

Now this also coincides with what is coming up on the 25th consecutive Saturday of demonstrations by the so-called Gilets Jaunes, the Yellow Vests. Who started as a protest over an increase in petrol taxes, but is now broadened into such much something much larger. The President Emmanuel Macron hold what he called a great national debate in which he tried to listen to and respond to some of their demands. I'm ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Well, British Prime Minister Theresa May has sack her defense secretary over a security leak. Her decision came after an investigation blame Gavin Williamson for telling the Daily Telegraph that U.K. would allow tech giant Huawei to supply some of the equipment for the country's 5g mobile network.

Downing Street says the leak cause the Prime Minister to lose confidence in Williamson's ability to serve. He denies any wrongdoing saying, he is confident that a thorough and formal inquiry would have vindicated his position. But all this put London at odds with Washington.

The U.S. has been pressuring allies like the U.K. to restrict or ban the use of Huawei equipment. It alleges Beijing could use the company's products for espionage, but Huawei denies it poses a security risk. Here's Samuel Burke with our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAMUEL BURKE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yet another issue entangling Huawei shows just how powerful this Chinese telecoms company is. On the one hand, the United States has put incredible pressure on the U.K. and other countries to take Huawei out of their 5g systems, but so many of the British companies that have already paid for this equipment wanted to stay. And that's why this issue is so sensitive with Theresa May and her government.

Now, even though there are so many negative headlines around Huawei, new numbers just out, show how powerful the company is with consumers and how popular they are with consumers. Even though the smartphone market is in decline around the world. Samsung you see there in this numbers is losing volume, they're down to about 8 percent year on year. Apple is now in third place they are down 30 percent. But look at those incredible numbers from Huawei. Up 50 percent.

One of the reasons is, they've done very well in China. With the trade war, the Chinese have stop buying as many Apple products and they are starting to buy more Huawei products. But it also shows their incredible innovation, because there are so many negative headlines. Many have forgot that Huawei has definitively moved ahead of Apple when it comes to smartphones innovation. They have the 5g smartphone before Apple will. And of course, they'll have a folding phone out before Apple will.

So, it's classic China in a sense that Huawei looks at the big picture and it always says, they will come around. People will use our products. That may not be true in the United States for now, but in the rest of the world, Huawei is searching ahead. Samuel Burke, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: A decision from the supreme ruling body and international sports it may upend the athletic career of an Olympic champion. She has a certain medical conditions and she says, she was just born that way.

Plus India's northeast coast prepares for the arrival of a powerful cyclone. We'll have the latest forecast for you, still to come.

[03:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: A ruling by the institution known as the Supreme Court of international sport is threatening to upend the career of a world class runner. At issue is the gender identity of a double Olympic champion. Our CNN's Eleni Giokos reports, the 28 year-old South African has been given only one controversial option if she wants to compete in her preferred women's events.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A gold medalist returns home to a hero's welcome. Three years later, for Caster Semenya to compete against women internationally. She must take common therapy to reduce his testosterone levels, a ruling upheld by the court of arbitration for sport. The 20-year-old South African is hyperandrogenous, meaning she has elevated level of testosterone which increases strength and stamina, but she remains beloved in her South African homes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nothing around what's going on Caster Semenya is fair. I think they're just intimidated.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She didn't ask to be born with such, you know, high testosterone levels. See, it came with her, so they should allow her.

GIOKOS: Most here will tell you there is no controversy surrounding Caster Semenya. They say a ruling by sport's governing body over her body is wrong as it is a necessary.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think it's fair, she was born that way. When you start tampering with genetics and how someone is born we are now crossing a line that's inside unethical to cross.

GIOKOS: Semenya has 30 days to appeal, her team released a statement. Caster Semenya is pleased that the unanimous cast panel of three arbitrators confirmed that the IAAF's DSD Regulations are in fact discriminatory against certain women. The team statement goes on to quote Semenya who said, I know that the IAAF's Regulations have always targeted me specifically for a decade the IAAF have tried to slow me down, but this has actually made me stronger.

Semenya's biggest statement, I have always seem to be on the track. Even when she is home, she is seldom in the public eye. At a rare event in (inaudible) last year, Semenya agreed to wear a microphone.

CASTER SEMENYA, OLYMPIC CHAMPION: I do not care about what people say about me, they have to accept me, you know, for who I am. Those thing are always there, part of life.

GIOKOS: Giving wisdom to an aspiring young athletes. Knowing her message could go to a much bigger audience.

SEMENYA: The situation will not define you. And will not make you. It's just a temporary feeling that you can, you know, overcome it.

GIOKOS: Eleni Giokos, CNN, Johannesburg.

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CHURCH: India's navy is on standby and emergency crews are deployed as the country gets ready for tropical cyclone Fani. Meteorologist Derek Van Dam joins us now from the International Weather Center, having look into this very closely. So, when will Fani make landfall?

[03:45:12] DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Rosemary, we are expecting another 24 hours before the strongest part of the storm reaches the coastline of India, specifically near the border of Andhra Pradesh, 205 kilometer per hour sustain winds. That's right along the center of the circulation. You can see the eye starting to pop up in the last few images of our satellite radar.

This by the way give us about 24 hours for final preparations, but we are already seeing some of the outer rain bands reach the northeastern sections of Andhra Pradesh at the moment. So conditions will deteriorate. Will continue to deteriorate over the coming hours. But we do expect landfall right around mid-day on Friday, local time. That brings in about lunchtime.

By the way, this is the strongest cyclone this far north and this early in the calendar year to reach lands, we have to go back 11 years to see an equivalents, magnitude and severity of the storm, but if you recall back in 2008 tropical cyclone Nargis was one of the deadliest natural disasters of all-time, killing over 130,000 people in Myanmar, particularly powerful storm, hitting that vulnerable area with a densely populated area.

Now, when we look at the population density across northeastern India, we have roughly 100,000 people in the direct path of the storm system. So, it is an imminent landfall again within the next 24 hours, impacting over 100,000 people. This has the potential for a catastrophic consequences.

And you better believe that the government is taking all measures in preparation for this. We have the highest possible warnings for both -- Odisha and Andhra Pradesh region according to the India meteorological department. Schools are canceled right through the rest of the work week and into early next week.

And military personnel, as you mentioned is on standby for this impending natural disaster. 205 kilometers per hour sustained winds, it is moving in general northerly direction. We do have water temperatures that are fueling the strength of the storm. Roughly about 30 degrees Celsius. It is slightly cooler as it reaches the coastline of northeast India. So, that maybe our only saving grace. Maybe slightly weakening the storm before landfall.

Nonetheless, we will have coastal storm surge. We will have flooding and we will have damaging winds with this powerful storm systems. Look at the rainfall estimates, we have potential for over 400 to 500 millimeters rain. Keep in mind, this area is a mountainous part of the world. So that only exacerbates the problem allowing the water to rush down into the valleys and the populated areas below.

Again, the winds will weaken quickly as it interacts with land, and this storm system will make its mark last storm system of this equivalent to reach the area was Hadhad (ph) back in 2014. That was also an equivalent of a category three Atlantic hurricane. Here's a look at the radar going forward over the next few days. It's going to be a tough couple of days for northeast India and in the Bangladesh as well, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Most definitely and we appreciate you giving us a heads up on the situation there. Many thanks Derek.

Lawmakers in the U.K. have declared an environmental and climate emergency. It comes after the climate action group Extinction Rebellion locked London landmarks. The motion was called by Labour Party Leader, Jeremy Corbyn.

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JEREMY CORBYN, BRITISH LABOUR PARTY LEADER: This House must declare an environment and climate emergency. We have no time to waste. We are living in a climate crisis that will spiral dangerously out of control, unless we take rapid and dramatic action now. This is no longer about a distant future. We are talking about nothing less than an irreversible destruction of the environment within are lifetime of members of this House. Young people know this, they have the most to lose.

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CHURCH: A climate change report recommends Britain aim for near zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and suggest phasing out certain cars over 20 years.

Well, tourists are once again visiting the Joint Security Area on the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Tourers of the Truce Village were suspended last October, but now, visitors, are even strolling over the bridge, the Korean leaders cross during the summit. CNN's Paula Hancocks explains.

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PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tourists were allowed back into the heart of the DMZ on Wednesday to the Truce Village of Panmunjom. The first time in seven months and also the first time since North and South Korea signed a military agreement to demilitarize the most heavily militarized border on earth. The United Nation's command which secures the area greeted tourist, saying what was once survive of tension is now a vibe of peace.

[03:50:00] Helmets had been exchange for berets, soldiers standing guard and no longer armed, weapons had been taken out of the guard post and the area demined. There were also tourist on the northern side escorted by North Korean soldiers, tourists or even waiting across the border at one another. An action that has been strictly forbidden for years. For fear it could be misinterpreted.

They could also retraced the footsteps of Kim Jong-un and President Moon Jae-in in their April 28th summit along the blue footbridge. But the spot where they sat and talked, at lengths was still off limits. As was the leaders historic step over the military demarcation line. Tourist who wanted to replicate that were disappointed. The two sides do remain separate, the UNC says they asked talks with the North Koreans to allow more freedom of movement.

LT. COL. SEAN MORROW, COMMANDER, UNC SECURITY BATTALION: That will include having North Korean soldiers serving alongside our UNC soldiers and having some of our soldiers serving alongside the North.

HANCOCKS: Don't hold your breath though, communication with the North Koreans, at least from the South Koreans side, a peace to have stalled completely since the failure of U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, to come to any kind of agreement after their Hanoi summit in February. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.

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CHURCH: And coming up next on CNN Newsroom. An Instagram story of the holocaust, how the creators of this controversial project want to make a new generation remember the past.

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CHURCH: Israel is commemorating holocaust Remembrance Day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended this replaying ceremony just a short time ago. At Jerusalem's Yad Vashem holocaust memorial moral. And other events are taking place across the country to honor the 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis.

Well now to a controversy over an Instagram story about the holocaust, the father-daughter team created the project say, it's an effort to make young people understand the horror and never forget, but some say it's trivializing a tragedy. Here's Oren Liebermann.

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OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORESPONDENT: More than 70 years after the holocaust, there are a dwindling few survivors to pass on their memories. Their stories commemorated and documentaries and museums amidst a fear their lessons are fading.

EVA HEYMAN, HUNGARIAN JEW DURING THE HOLOCAUST: Hi, my name is Eva. That is me!

LIEBERMANN: Eva Heyman is the new face of those lessons. The 13- year-old Hungarian Jew kept a diary in the last months before she was deported to Auschwitz in May 1944, where she would die.

HEYMAN: We are surrounded by war, but I'm always seeing the sun. LIEBERMANN: Her story was all, but forgotten, until Instagram brought

it back to life.

MATI KOCHAVI, EVA'S STORY CREATOR: We were looking for a way to deal with this memory, imagine this memory in a way that is going to be relevant for younger generation today.

LIEBERMANN: Eva's diary was reimagine on social media. On March 31st, 1944 she wrote, today an order was issued that from now on, Jews have to wear a yellow star shaped patch. The order tells exactly how big the star patch must be, and that it must be sewn on every outer garment, jacket or coat. When grandma heard this, she started acting up again and we called the doctor.

The idea to bring the diary to life on Instagram was the brain child of Mati and Maya Kochavi, who wanted the holocaust to reach a younger generation.

[03:55:07] KOCHAVI: The diary and the journal is very short. It starts on February 12th, when it's her birthday. On March, the Germans invade into Hungary. In May 30th, she is already on the train to Auschwitz, so it's a journal of 108 days. That's all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think we will see --

LIEBERMANN: Eva's story was released on the eve of holocaust memorial day in Israel. By that time, it had hundreds of thousands of followers.

Not everyone has been thrilled with the Instagram story, advertise in billboards like this here, behind you, all around Tel Aviv. Critics have said it dumbs down the holocaust and is a P.R. campaign in bad taste. Others have said it's a very short distance from a social media campaign like this to selfies at Auschwitz.

That was never the intent behind Eva Heyman's story, of course.

MAYA KOCHAVI, EVA'S STORY CREATOR: Social media, especially Instagram is shallow if you are looking for content that is shallow. And if you're looking for content that is powerful and has magnitude and can cause revolutions, even, you will very easily find it there.

LIEBERMANN: In her final diary entry written three days before she was deported from Hungary, she wrote, dear diary, I don't want to die. I want to live, even if it means that I will be the only person here allowed to stay. I would wait for the end of the war in some cellar, just as long as they didn't kill me. Only that they should let me live.

This was a way of humanizing the holocaust for a modern audience, making it more relevant to millennials. It's the same message of never again, its creators insist. Just reimagine for a new generation to learn. Oren Liebermann, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: Tough story to tell, but it has to be told. So, let's turn

now to the United Kingdom. On a lighter note, Princess Charlotte is turning four years old. Take a look at these new photos of the princess. Her mom the Duchess of Cambridge snapped the pictures recently. Charlotte is shown playing and posing at home in England. Very cute indeed.

And Thailand's king has a new queen. The 66-year-old monarch married his royal consort in Bangkok on Wednesday. She is 40 years old and the Deputy Commander of the King's royal guard command. King Ram X assumed the throne after his father's death in 2016, but his official coronation is set for Saturday. The celebration is scheduled throughout the weekend.

And thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Remember to connect with me anytime on Twitter. The news continues now with Isa Soares in London. You're watching CNN, have yourselves a great day.

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