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CNN International: IDF Pressing Ahead With Assault On Al-Shifa Hospital; WHO: Growing Number Of Infants On "Brink Of Death" In Gaza; Texas Immigration Law Put On Hold By Appeals Court; Report: Hospital Staffer Tried To View Kate's Private Records; RSF Forcibly Recruits Men And Children In Sudan Conflict; Argentina's Pres. Vows Reforms Amid Economic Uncertainty; Trump: Rejecting Claim Of Presidential Immunity Would Be The End Of Presidency As We Know It; Irish Prime Minister Stepping Down; Gene Therapy Treatment For Rare & Fatal Disease Costs $4.25M; U.N. Report: Every Heat Record Smashed In 2023; Winter Warming Damaging U.S. Crops. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired March 20, 2024 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:00]
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: I'm Kate Bolduan with John Berman. Sara is out today. This is CNN News Central.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: This morning, how will Jack Smith respond? Donald Trump's legal team has laid out its full argument for absolute --
AMARA WALKER, CNN HOST: Hi, everyone, and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Amara Walker. This is CNN Newsroom.
Just ahead, inside Al-Shifa Hospital. It has been surrounded by Israeli forces for days. We will have the latest details on the thousands of people still trapped there.
Plus, the U.S. Supreme Court says, yes, but an appeals court says no to a controversial Texas immigration bill. What this means for Border States and those trying to get into the United States.
And royal controversy, why a U.K. watchdog is investigating a possible breach of private medical records.
Israel is pressing on with an operation against Hamas at Gaza's largest hospital for a third day. Some 3,000 Palestinians are taking shelter in the Al-Shifa Hospital complex. The IDF accuses Hamas of using it as cover and says it has killed 90 terrorists so far and has questioned over 300 suspects at the compound.
Officials in Gaza are describing a dire situation inside the complex saying water and other necessities have run out. A doctor trapped inside is calling for urgent intervention saying the hospital could turn into a mass grave. Civilians in Gaza are also facing starvation.
A U.N.-backed report says northern Gaza could descend into famine imminently. While the U.N.'s Human Rights chief is warning Israel that continuing to restrict the entry of aid supplies may amount to a war crime.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLKER TURK, U.N. HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: The extent of Israel's continued restrictions on the entry of aid into Gaza, together with the manner in which it continues to conduct hostilities, may amount to the use of starvation as a method of war, which is a war crime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: All right, CNN's Nada Bashir is joining us now live from London with the very latest. Nada, let's start with Al-Shifa Hospital and what is happening there now.
NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, look, Amara, in the Al-Shifa Hospital complex has been under siege for days. Now, the Israeli military confirming earlier this morning, they are continuing to carry out what they have described as a precise military operation targeting in their statement.
Hamas operatives they believe to have been operating within the large hospital complex in central Gaza. But, of course, there is mounting concern over the safety of civilians and medical staff, as well as patients, of course, still in the medical complex. We know, of course, that there are believed to be some 3,000 people in and around the complex, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Many of them are civilians who have been sheltering in the complex. And what we have seen over the last few days is quite distressing and troubling footage coming from central Gaza in the areas surrounding the hospital, showing the scenes after Israeli airstrikes have been carried out in the region, but also, of course, the sound of what is clearly artillery shelling and video showing Israeli military vehicles edging closer into the medical complex and also, of course, destroying the perimeters of the hospital building.
Now, we have heard from eyewitnesses on the ground, multiple eyewitnesses as well as medical officials who have told CNN that they are in a desperate situation. One doctor as well as another medical student saying that the hospital is running out of food, of running water, that they are unable to move in and around the hospital for fear of being targeted by sniper fire that some civilians individuals who had been sheltering in the hospital attempted to flee but were targeted and killed. That's according to eyewitnesses inside the hospital who have been speaking to CNN.
Now, the Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari has released several statements, has spoken around the situation in Saeed Al-Shifa saying that the IDF is targeting Hamas militants that they have, in their words, killed already at least 90 Hamas militants and also have apprehended many more for questioning.
We have been hearing from as well Hamas's military wing saying that they have their fighters have been engaged in fierce clashes as they have described it with Israeli troops in and around the area of the hospital. But, of course, the Israeli military has also claimed that they are focusing on what they have described as, again, a Hamas command center in the hospital.
This is, of course, the very same claim that we heard from the Israeli military back in November during the first raid on Al-Shifa Hospital. At this stage, no further evidence has been provided by the Israeli military to suggest the presence or prove the presence of a command center that they have shown video demonstrating the presence of a safe sort of cache and a series of weapons.
[08:05:10]
But again, CNN is unable to independently verify that evidence. But mounting concern for the civilians there. We've already seen civilians being told to flee southwards from leaflets being sent out by the Israeli military. And we've heard from some of those civilians on the ground who have described the scene being met by tanks being ordered to undress and being interrogated.
We are, of course, still trying to get more information from civilians on the ground. But again, the situation in central and northern Gaza proving extremely difficult.
WALKER: Yes, it sounds terrifying, just simply horrifying around the hospital. But just in general in Gaza, it's a dire situation. I feel like, you know, I'm sure you sometimes feel like you run out of words to describe the situation as well as do the civilians.
We're talking about the World Health Organization, not a warning about babies inside Gaza. The number is staggering when it comes to the malnutrition and starvation they are facing.
BASHIR: Absolutely. It really does seem to be growing more desperate with each passing day and we are hearing those warnings from the World Health Organization as well as medical officials on the ground saying that they are seeing an increasing number of newborn babies who are being born severely underweight.
A number of children, the increasing number of children now severely malnourished. And, of course, we are hearing warnings that many pregnant mothers are also severely underweight. But this is all coming, of course, at the back of that troubling and startling U.N.- backed report showing that much of the population in northern Gaza is now facing catastrophic levels of hunger.
Much of the population in southern Gaza now categorized in phase 4, just below that catastrophic level, emergency level. But, of course, the projections right now suggest that Gaza could be declared to be facing an outright famine in the coming weeks if not in the coming days.
And we are hearing those repeated warnings from aid agencies from the U.N. that more needs to be done to prevent what they have described as a manmade catastrophe in Gaza, namely pressure is being put on the Israeli government to allow more aid in. Now we have seen those airdrops taking place. We have seen the declaration, the establishment of a maritime corridor and now to allow more humanitarian supplies into Gaza. But this simply isn't enough. And the message that we keep hearing is that more needs to be done to allow aid in through land crossings.
This is the most important, most effective way of getting aid into Gaza. But at this stage, aid agencies are still facing obstructions in getting aid across the Rafah border crossing, which separates Gaza from Egypt and the Kerem Shalom crossing, which separates Gaza from Israel.
And, of course, we are hearing as well from some of Israel's closest allies, including the United States calling on the Israeli leadership to allow more aid in. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel is in favor of allowing more aid and that their policy is one of ensuring that enough aid is getting into Gaza.
But that stands in contrast with what we've been seeing on the ground. Israel continues to accuse Hamas of looting aid, but again, that claim, as made by the Prime Minister of Israel speaking to CNN on Sunday, has been denied and rejected by many aid groups also speaking to CNN. So there clearly is mounting international pressure on the Israeli leadership to ensure that more aid is getting into Gaza to prevent a famine from being declared there.
But we're also at the same time hearing continued warnings of a ground offensive now in the Rafah area in the south, which is not only a crucial gateway for aid, but of course, an area where some 1.5 million people are now displaced and sheltering. Amara?
WALKER: Yes. The dire situation just keeps getting compounded.
Nada Bashir, thank you very much for your reporting.
Turning now to a high stakes political battle between the U.S. government and the state of Texas. It's volleying back and forth between the Supreme Court and an appeals court at issue is a new Texas law that would allow state police to arrest and even deport illegal immigrants, a power that's ordinarily reserved for the federal government.
The Supreme Court allowed the law to go into effect on Tuesday, but then that situation lasted only a few hours when an appeals court put it on hold again. So that court will have a hearing on the law in the next few hours. Critics of that law say it will lead to racial profiling and chaos in law enforcement at the border.
U.S. President Joe Biden will be in Arizona and Texas today. He is sure to address this controversial effort by Texas to police the border.
Let's go now to CNN's Priscilla Alvarez at the White House for the latest. I mean, it has been a bit chaotic trying to keep up with this legal back and forth, really a whiplash. How is the Biden administration reacting to all of this?
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And whiplash seems to put it lightly given what has happened over the last 12 hours. But the White House has fired back at the Supreme Court ruling saying in a statement yesterday, they fundamentally disagree with it.
[08:10:05]
What they said, S.B. 4 will not only make communities in Texas less safe, it will also burden law enforcement and sow chaos and confusion at our southern border. Now, of course, this was before the federal appeals court put the law on hold again, but all the same, this is a significant development in this ongoing feud between President Biden and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who has repeatedly slammed the Biden administration over its border policies.
And the White House has similarly pushed back, saying that the Texas governor is politicizing the issue and previously calling this Texas immigration law, quote, "extreme." Now, of course, this is a governor who has bussed thousands of migrants, two democratic-led cities, blocked federal law enforcement from their duties in certain parts of the Texas-Mexico border, and also put up those controversial floating barriers that were also the subject of litigation.
Now, over the course of these legal proceedings, the Justice Department has said in its filings that this law, is unconstitutional and interferes with federal law enforcement, which is charged with enforcing immigration law. The Department of Homeland Security saying yesterday that this law also creates confusion among federal law enforcement and the duties that they have to execute along the Texas Mexico border.
So there is no doubt that this is going to continue to feed into this feud between the White House and Texas, and notably, the president is going to be in Texas today. It was already scheduled that he would partake in two campaign events. So really, this has become the ground zero of the politics around this difficult issue of immigration. Amara?
WALKER: All right. Priscilla Alvarez, thank you for following this for us in Washington.
Rosa Flores is at the U.S.-Mexico border. She's joining us now live with more on the perspective from there. Rosa, good morning to you. Tell us more the latest on this Texas law, because as it stands right now, you know, it's -- it is allowed to, I guess, you know, it's being put on hold. What would it mean for Border States like the one you're in, in terms of policing the border?
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Amara, the concern right now in the state of Texas is from local communities and county governments. And here's why. Because this crime is a misdemeanor, which means that it would be adjudicated in county courts.
And I can't tell you how many leaders around the state of Texas have complained about this because they say that this is an unfunded mandate by the Texas Legislature, and they say that this is going to clog jails. It's going to clog the courts. In fact, the Texas Conference of Urban Counties which represents Democratic and Republican counties from across the state of Texas, representing about 78 percent of the state's population.
They say that there's about 6,000 to 7,000 jail beds in the state of Texas and that those would be filled up in days if this measure actually goes into effect. Now, it did go into effect for a few hours yesterday. We have no knowledge that this -- that anyone was arrested under S.B. 4 before yesterday for that specific period of time.
And we reached out to the Texas governor's office asking if the governor was going to push for immediate enforcement. We didn't get a response about that. But that is what local county governments are very concerned about because they say they don't have the jail space, they don't have enough prosecutors, they don't have enough judges and that they don't have enough jail space and it would cost them millions upon millions of dollars.
Now let's talk about the actual language of the law because this law says that it's a crime for someone to enter the state of Texas illegally and that somebody's illegal presence in the state is also a crime, which has created a lot of controversy. That's why civil rights groups and human rights groups are very concerned about racial profiling because how do you define -- and this law does not explain it. There's -- the language is very vague.
How do you define somebody's illegal presence and how do you tell police officers that somebody has an illegal presence? It's very confusing. Now, the other part of this law is that it gives judges the power to deport migrants back to Mexico, which would require cooperation from Mexico.
And Mexico's foreign ministry fired back yesterday during this short period of time when S.B. 4 was actually in effect, saying that they condemn the law, Mexico rejects the law, and that they do not plan to participate. In fact, they issued a statement saying, in part, quote, "In this regard, Mexico will not accept, under any circumstances, repatriations by the state of Texas."
Mexico maintains that it has a bilateral relationship with the United States of America, not with the state of Texas, and that it plans to maintain that relationship with the White House. And, Amara, as you mentioned moments ago, there's another hearing today in the Fifth Circuit, and what we could see from that hearing, the outcome could be that this law is on hold again, or that it could go into effect, which means we could go right back to the whiplash, right back to the U.S. Supreme Court.
WALKER: Yes.
FLORES: Amara?
[08:15:13]
WALKER: Yes. What a mess. That's all I have to say. Rosa Flores, I really appreciate you following this for us there. Thank you very much, Rosa.
Let's turn now to a new PR nightmare for Britain's royal family, again, involving the Princess of Wales. The Daily Mirror newspaper is reporting a claim that a hospital employee was caught trying to access Catherine's private medical records. It happened at the London Clinic, where the princess spent almost two weeks after abdominal surgery in January.
The U.K.'s data watchdog says it is assessing the reported breach of confidentiality. The London Clinic has not yet responded to CNN. Now, the timing of this is, of course, far from ideal for the royals.
Let's bring in Max Foster from London. Good morning to you, Max. Tell us more about this medical records controversy. We're hearing of an investigation into this in the U.K. What would that involve?
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, it is difficult timing, isn't it? But, you know, I think it creates more sympathy for the princess because it was a pretty horrible breach. If the Daily Mirror's investigation is correct, this brings people inside the hospital, a member of staff tried to access an area of the system, which they don't have access to trying to reach the princess's medical records while she was hospital for surgery. So a real breach on many levels.
The British health minister has been out today saying -- describing how serious this is. And the information commissioner who's the watchdog for data privacy in the U.K. has confirmed that they are assessing this report. It will be the police to prosecute. They say they haven't had it referred to them yet. Although the government says they have referred it to the police, but, you know, we're trying to tie up some of these loose ends as we have done all week.
But I think, you know, there will be sympathy for the princess on this one because in terms of privacy, you know, they're very tight laws in this country and I think there'll be a big investigation off the back of it.
WALKER: The fallout continues and Max is on top of it. Max Foster, great to have you. Thanks so much.
All right, still to come, the struggle to contain the surge of migrants at the U.S. border. I'm going to talk to an immigration advocate about how a controversial Texas law could change things and continue to create confusion.
Also in Sudan, paramilitary forces give a deadly ultimatum to recruits -- join us or starve. Coming up, a CNN investigation looks into how the militia is using food as a weapon.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: All right, breaking news into CNN, the Irish Prime Minister is stepping down. Leo Varadkar was just at the White House for St. Patrick's Day celebration last week. He has been in offense since 2017. Of course, we'll get you more details to the circumstances surrounding his resignation as we get them in.
[08:20:04]
Ukraine says its forces have hit a key airbase inside of Russia that houses strategic bombers. The town of Engels in the Saratov region is about 850 kilometers away from the Ukrainian border. Now, Russia's defense ministry says it thwarted the overnight drone attacks.
The Ukrainian president, meanwhile, says his country is coming under heavy attack and is once again appealing for Western military aid. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says this month alone, Russia launched nearly 900 guided aerial bombs at Ukraine.
A new CNN investigation found Sudan's paramilitary rapid support forces have forcibly drafted hundreds of men and boys into their war against the Sudanese Armed Forces. Now, in this exclusive report, Nima Elbagir shows us how the RSF has weaponized food amid a looming famine and given civilians a deadly ultimatum.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The heroes are everywhere in Al Jazira.
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Propaganda video from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, the RSF.
For much of the last year, they have slashed and burned their way through the country. This video shows them triumphant and entrenched in the very heart of Sudan, Al-Jazira State.
And they are recruiting local men in the hundreds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I declare joining the RSF.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I declare joining the RSF.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I declare joining the RSF.
ELBAGIR (voice-over): But it's impossible to tell who here is a willing soldier and who has been forcibly conscripted. Eyewitnesses have told CNN that RSF soldiers are giving civilians an ultimatum, enlist or starve.
Our investigation shows how almost 700 men and 65 children have been forcibly recruited to swell RSF ranks. And that's just what we've been able to verify in Jazira.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): A lion cub.
ELBAGIR (voice-over): Across Sudan, reports and images like this one are emerging. Children in RSF uniform. As across Sudan, millions forced from their homes by violence now face famine. CNN spoke to three dozen eyewitnesses, survivors and the families of victims. The RSF, they say, is weaponizing hunger, denying food to those who won't join.
Aid groups say almost 4 million children in Sudan are already malnourished as the country faces mass starvation. If aid agencies can't get food to those in need, almost a quarter of a million children could die.
Jazira is Sudan's breadbasket. It's heartland. To control this part of Sudan is to exert control over who lives and who dies. The RSF deny they are responsible for the hunger gripping the country, yet they control every aspect of farming this land.
They control the warehouses of food and aid meant to support the most vulnerable. They control the seed supplies, fertilizer, pesticides, agricultural machinery and irrigation channels.
And it's not just the infrastructure. Farmers are being targeted, brutalized, degraded and even killed. Not just to control food, but to force allegiance.
You hear shots off camera as six of the men are executed, according to survivors who spoke to CNN. Those who were spared say the RSF threatened to starve their families if they didn't join.
The RSF sit in the heart of Sudan, hoarding food meant for millions. From here, they can wait out, starve out Sudan's people and its army. Fear, uncertainty, despair cascade as the months of war drag on and the world looks away.
ELBAGIR: The RSF did not respond to CNN's request for comment. We shared our findings with the U.N. Special Rapporteur for Contemporary Slavery who says that the evidence we uncovered, the evidence you saw there of forced enlistment is tantamount to contemporary slavery.
Nima Elbagir, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: Remarkable reporting there. Nima Elbagir, thank you.
Argentina's new president has been in office for just over 100 days now. Javier Milei was elected on a promise to forge a new political era. But a new report shows that for the third month in a row, the Argentinian economy suffered the highest inflation rate in the world. People across the country are struggling to make ends meet.
CNN's Stefano Pozzebon reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[08:25:04]
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN JOURNALIST (voice-over): It's still the afternoon when the soup kitchen in Buenos Aires opens for dinner. And for many, including children, this is their only meal of the day.
Walter Torres (ph) is a regular. He comes here every night, he says, since he lost his unemployment benefit last year.
WALTER TORRES (through translator): Look how many we are. These people had a job or some plan, and now they're queuing for food. Our salary is worth nothing.
POZZEBON (voice-over): This charity was born as a shelter for the homeless, with a capacity for 50 people. But most of the over 200 meals handed out today are taken away and eaten at home. Volunteers are asking for IDs to make sure nobody hoards on food, which is scarce for everyone.
Inside, the kitchen is in full motion.
Some of the guests are our own neighbors, who would have never imagined they would need a charity, says this volunteer. And next to the kitchen, a clothing bank.
POZZEBON: This is another aspect of the new poverty crisis here in Argentina. When this service was started, it was mostly for homeless people, adults, when instead here you see the sizes of four years old, four, five, six, seven, eight years old, meaning that the families can no longer afford to buy the clothes for the little ones.
POZZEBON (voice-over): Argentina's poverty rate was already rising before President Javier Milei took office in December.
JAVIER MILEI, ARGENTINA PRESIDENT (through translator): There is no money.
POZZEBON (voice-over): Since then, his focus has been on an austerity drive to bring inflation down. His reforms, like devaluing the Argentinian peso over 50 percent, were applauded abroad, but punished many in Argentina, who have seen their salaries collapse and can no longer afford to pay for food.
Getting today's fare at the supermarket out of the question for this worker. While the analyst's verdict is still open --
MACARENA MICHIENZI, LEAD SPECIALIST, CEFEIDAS GROUP: I think we have to see how much the people is willing to, like, give him the benefit of the doubt and to -- and maybe adjust their budgets.
POZZEBON (voice-over): Milei's interior minister pleading for patience in an interview with CNN.
GUILLERMO FRANCOS, ARGENTINE INTERIOR MINISTER (through translator): What we want is for people to receive their benefits themselves and stop relying on food kitchens, but changing the system takes time.
POZZEBON (voice-over): Who doesn't have time is Torres (ph), who was able to eat today, but is not sure about tomorrow. For him, change couldn't come soon enough.
Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, Buenos Aires.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: Still to come, who polices the U.S. southern border? An appeals court is weighing that question in the coming hours. We will discuss that with an immigration expert when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:30:53]
WALKER: We want to dig deeper now into one of our top stories and that is the legal battle over who should police America's southern border. The state of Texas and the federal government will be in a U.S. appeals court in the next few hours arguing over that very issue. Texas wants the power to arrest and even deport migrants, which is a job ordinarily reserved for the federal system, U.S. Border Patrol agents.
Now critics say that if the courts side with Texas, it will lead to racial profiling and of course would terrorize many of the migrants who live in Texas currently.
Joining me now is Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, she is the president and CEO of Global Refuge, an organization that helps migrants build a life in the United States. Welcome to the program, Krish. I really appreciate your time.
Look, I know you've been following this very closely. And your organization, as we said, works to empower and to welcome immigrants into this country. And, of course, Texas recently passed a law that does exactly the opposite. I'm curious just to know what it's been like for you following this legal back and forth, really a whiplash of rulings on this Texas law.
KRISH O'MARA VIGNARAJAH, PRESIDENT & CEO OF GLOBAL REFUGE: I think legal whiplash is a great way to describe the past 48 hours. The law was in effect for a brief moment before, obviously, the Supreme Court weighed in and then the 5th Circuit got involved to pause the policy. It's unfortunate because we think that it is crystal clear that this law is not just illegal but unconstitutional.
And it's difficult when you understand the human toll of how it impacts immigrants because we know the chilling effect it will have. We had seen similar laws under the Trump administration and we've also seen similar laws like in Arizona struck down. So we hope the law -- the legal system will intervene to put an end to S.B. 4.
WALKER: OK, so just to be clear, because of course, I'm sure there are people at home who are confused about what is happening. So, an appeals court right now has prevented from enforcing -- allowing Texas to enforce this strict new immigration law that gives local police agencies the power to arrest migrants, and of course, deport them as well.
You, Krish, mentioned the human toll. Let's talk more about that, because the arguments are going to take place again in the federal appeals court system. It is very likely that this will go, be kicked back to the Supreme Court. What are your concerns if this law were allowed to go into effect in Texas?
VIGNARAJAH: Our fear is that it will spark an incredible amount of worry, people who are hesitating to even access basic human services within immigrant communities. And as a provider serving those communities, as you mentioned, we at Global Refuge are very concerned about the fallout.
You know, remember that S.B. 4 allows authorities to arrest anyone suspected of illegal entry, and that dynamic certainly opens the door to racial profiling, particularly since this law is enforceable anywhere in Texas's 254 counties, not just at the border itself. And so that's poised to create a chilling effect that will discourage people from cooperating with law enforcement, which jeopardizes the cohesion of communities as a whole.
WALKER: Yes, and of course, it begs the question, well, if you can arrest anyone on based on suspicions of being in Texas illegally or in the country illegally, what will you base your suspicions on? Will it be based on just how somebody looks?
In terms of precedent because again, this -- regarding this legal back and forth, after the law was signed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, there was a federal judge at the district level who blocked the government from implementing the law, and he said that it could open the door to each state passing its own version of immigration laws.
And it seems like that's what we're seeing, because Iowa, I mean, the timing is uncanny, but this Midwestern state also passed a similar bill just yesterday on Tuesday.
[08:35:03]
So, again, there's also this concern of a patchwork of immigration laws that could be passed by various states, potentially Republican ones.
VIGNARAJAH: It is political season. And so this is where it isn't surprising that you do see more states that are going to try to enact similar provisions. As before and those types of provisions are deeply troubling because it isn't a transparent attempt to trigger a constitutional crisis.
The U.S. Constitution and hundreds of years of precedent are crystal clear, immigration authority, unambiguous, belongs to the federal government. And so, if each state were allowed to implement their own immigration laws, we would have complete and utter chaos.
And I think that's where it's important to understand that previous attempts like show, you know, us your papers laws. They failed. The Supreme Court ultimately struck that down in 2012. So we know this law is going to be litigated for some time, and we're hopeful that the courts will ultimately recognize it for what it is, which is a blatantly unconstitutional effort that plays politics with the lives of desperate people.
WALKER: Krish O'Mara, Vignarajah, I really hope we can have you back as this is continually playing out over the next weeks and months with Global Refuge. Thank you so much for your time.
VIGNARAJAH: Thank you for having me.
WALKER: Donald Trump had a message for the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday. His lawyer said if the court rejects his claim of immunity from prosecution in the election interference case, he would, quote, "incapacitate every future president."
They went on to say, "If immunity is not recognized, every future president will be forced to grapple with the prospect of possibly being criminally prosecuted after leaving office every time he or she makes a politically controversial decision." It's part of his defense against Special Counsel Jack Smith's charges of election subversion.
CNN's Katelyn Polantz is following all of this from Washington, D.C. for us. Hi there, Kaitlan. Do tell us more about this new brief that was filed yesterday.
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Amara, Donald Trump's team is using very stark language to paint a scary portrait of an America where presidents would fear being prosecuted at every turn, especially after they leave the presidency. This is their argument to the Supreme Court of the United States as they prepare for oral arguments.
So they've written this all in a court filing submitted to the Supreme Court. It is a filing that asks the Supreme Court justices to dismiss the criminal case against Donald Trump related to the 2020 election, the obstruction conspiracy charge he is accused of violating the law around.
In this filing, they write, "Once our nation crosses this Rubicon," of a president being prosecuted, "every future president will face de facto blackmail and extortion while in office, and will be harassed by politically motivated prosecution after leaving office, over his most sensitive and controversial decisions. That bleak scenario would result in a weak and hollow president and would thus be ruinous for the American political system as a whole."
They say that this would be the end of the presidency as we know it if there is not a bubble of immunity around the U.S. presidency. That even if you commit a crime to stay in office as president, you should not be able to be charged with a crime after you leave office for what happened when you were the president.
Now, the appeals courts have already said no to this. The U.S. Supreme Court will look at it on their own. But previously, the courts have said quite clearly the reason that there are laws in the country, even for someone serving in the presidency, is that it discourages people from breaking the law. And past presidents knew that, that's why they weren't operating in this lawless, powerful mode of the presidency and they were following the law. Donald Trump is an anomaly. We'll see exactly what the special counsel's office has to say in response to this court filing from Trump's team in the coming weeks, and then oral arguments are at the end of April. Amara?
WALKER: And Donald Trump is an anomaly in so many ways. Katelyn Polantz, great to see you. Thank you.
We want to update some breaking news we have. The Irish Prime Minister is stepping down. Leo Varadkar was in Washington last week for St. Patrick's Day celebrations and he announced his resignation just moments ago in Dublin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEO VARADKAR, IRISH PRIME MINISTER: As a surprise to many people and a disappointment to some, and I hope at least you will understand my decision. I know that others will, how shall I put it, cope with the news just fine. That is the great thing about living in a democracy. There's never a right time to resign in high office. However, this is as good a time as any.
[08:40:02]
Budget 2024 is done. Negotiations have not yet commenced on the next one. The institutions of the Good Friday Agreement are working again on our trading relationship with the U.K. and the post-Brexit area is settled and stable.
The new Taoiseach will have a full two months to prepare for the local European elections on up to a year before the next general election. My reasons for stepping down are both personal and political. I believe this government can be reelected and I believe my party, Fianna Fail, can gain seats in the next Dail.
Most of all, I believe the re-election of this three-party government would be the right thing for the future of our country, continuing to take us forward, protecting all that's been achieved and building on it. But after careful consideration and some soul searching, I believe that a new Taoiseach and a new leader will be better placed than me to achieve that to renew and strengthen --
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WALKER: And, of course, it comes as a surprise to many people watching around the world. And, of course, when we get more information about why Varadkar is resigning, we'll get that to you. He does say he plans to remain in office until his successor is named.
Still to come, they say you can't put a price on good health, but if you could, it might cost more than $4 million. We'll explain.
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WALKER: A new gene therapy for a rare genetic disorder that mainly affects young children was just approved by the U.S. FDA. Trials indicate it can significantly lower the risk of death. Now, if that sounds like good news, it is, of course, but there's one more. The one-time treatment comes with a price tag of more than $4 million, making it the world's most expensive drug.
CNN Health Reporter Jacqueline Howard joining me now. 4 million?
JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Amara, I know that number is shocking. And the therapy that we're talking about here, it's called Lenmeldy, and it's a treatment for a rare disease called MLD. That stands for metachromatic leukodystrophy. And this is a debilitating disease. It affects mostly children.
So having a therapy like this is game changing. But this morning, the company behind the drug, Orchard Therapeutics, did announce it comes with the wholesale cost of $4.25 million. And the reason why they say they set the price at that number, Amara is because they say that it's reflective of the value of the therapy.
It provides life opportunities for patients. It is a one-time treatment. There are other expensive drugs that you may need to take multiple doses or take multiple times that over time may add up to more than 4 million. There's a blood disorder treatment out there that costs about $3.5 million. There's a muscular dystrophy treatment that costs about $3.2 million.
[08:45:07]
But for Lenmeldy, $4.25, that does put it at the most expensive drug we've seen to date, Amara.
WALKER: I mean, it's outrageous. Sure, it could be a game changer if you can afford it. Who can afford this kind of treatment? So how does this treatment work then?
HOWARD: The way it works, it's a one-time infusion involving the patient's own stem cells. So the patient's stem cells are genetically modified and then transplanted back into the patient as a therapy. And this disease, MLD, it's so rare, it affects about one in 40,000 people.
But like you said, Amara, for those patients, this treatment is a game changer if they can afford it. So it's an interesting discussion around cost and the price tag that we really put on medicine today. Amara?
WALKER: Yes. Wow. That's all I can say.
Jacqueline Howard, great to have you. Thank you very much.
Finland has been deemed the happiest country on Earth for the seventh year in a row. The World Happiness Report is based on data from some 140 countries and coincides with the U.N.'s International Day of Happiness, which is today. So the report factors in GDP per capita, freedom, social support, and generosity.
Neighboring Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden snagged the other top spots. And then Israel came in fifth. The report uses data from the previous three years and is a partnership of Gallup, the U.N., and the Oxford Wellbeing Research Center. For the first time ever, the U.S. did not crack the top 20. It made 23. But the U.K. made the list at number 20. Very interesting.
All right, still to come, the world breaks new heat records, but farmers in the southern U.S. are fighting what could be a devastating freeze. We will explain ahead.
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WALKER: The U.N. State of the Global Climate Report is painting what seems like the bleakest picture yet about the climate crisis. The World Meteorological Organization says every major global climate record was broken in 2023. Aerage temperatures have reached the highest level in 174 years.
And the WMO's climate monitoring chief says it's likely 2024 will set even more records. And the U.N. Secretary General is demanding the world's attention.
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ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: Fossil fuel pollution is sending climate chaos off the charts. Sirens are blaring across all major indicators last year. So record heat, record sea levels and record ocean surface temperatures.
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Glaciers likely lost more ice than ever before. Some records are just chart topping, they are chart busting, and changes are speeding up.
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WALKER: The World Meteorological Organization chief says one of the scariest indicators of change is rising ocean temperatures. 90 percent of seas are experiencing heatwave conditions. In the meantime, these changing and unstable weather patterns are causing fruit and trees in parts of the U.S. to bloom earlier, with potentially devastating consequences for the health of the crops.
CNN's Elisa Raffa has more on how farmers are fighting the freeze.
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ELISA RAFFA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fans cranking. Blanketed fields. Georgia farmers are scrambling on this first day of spring to protect their crops from freezing after a record warm winter.
DREW ECHOLS, CO-OWNER, JAEMOR FARMS: We have 18 acres of strawberries and they're tucked in up under some pretty heavy blankets and then what that does is it keeps the frost off the top of the plants and keeps the blooms from freezing but it also traps that ground heat.
RAFFA (voice-over): Drew Echols is a fifth generation farmer. His family has been farming since 1912 with nearly 600 acres full of peaches, strawberries and pumpkins. But in the last 100 years, climate change has been shifting seasons.
ECHOLS: Biggest thing is it seems more erratic. It's kind of all over the place and then you get four or five days of warm weather in February. There's nothing consistent about it.
RAFFA (voice-over): Jaemor Farms now grows about 30 different types of peaches to hedge their bets against the uncertain weather.
ECHOLS: It's all about the varieties. It's like we're trying to find these varieties that are going to be sustainable long term.
PAM KNOX, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA WEATHER NETWORK: There are a number of crops like peaches and blueberries that require a certain amount of cold weather to really bloom effectively.
RAFFA (voice-over): Pam Knox is an agricultural climatologist at the University of Georgia who works closely with farmers like Echols.
KNOX: If you don't get enough chill hours, the plants don't really know when to come out of dormancy. And they kind of bloom sporadically.
RAFFA (voice-over): As winters warm in the peach state, pitted fruits have been losing chilling hours below 45 degrees since 1970, a key ingredient for a healthy bloom. Warmer winters like this past year means spring is springing sooner. Much of the lower 48 has spring fever of 2 degrees warmer since 1970.
This adds two to four weeks to the growing season, putting budding crops at risk to seasonal freezes. Last year, Echols lost 70 percent of his peach crop to a warm winter.
ECHOLS: We've had a 10 percent crop in '21, we've had a 60 percent crop in '22, and then a 30 percent crop last year. So, fingers crossed, hoping for a good one this season.
RAFFA (voice-over): And shoppers hear it ringing up at the register.
ECHOLS: It absolutely trickles down to the consumer. And again, weather, that big factor, is the big factor when, you know, that determines the size of the crop, but it's all those supplies. It can affect the consumer's wallet in a hurry.
RAFFA (voice-over): Reacting just as fast was Echols attack on this latest cold snap.
ECHOLS: Farmers are the first true environmentalists. We've got to take care of this land. We've got to take care of this air and we've got to take care of the water. That's kind of my priority here on my farm to do a little part.
RAFFA (voice-over): In Alto, Georgia, Elisa Raffa, CNN
(END VIDEOTAPE) WALKER: China is making strides in its lunar exploration program. A rocket carrying a relay satellite bound for the far side of the moon was successfully launched earlier on Wednesday. That is according to the China National Space Administration. Not only is China the first country to successfully land on the mysterious far side of the moon, but it's also the next unmanned mission, which is expected to bring back the first samples ever collected from the moon's far side.
Police forces in some parts of the world are looking for a different -- looking a little different these days. Take a look at these new hires. In Spain, police took a robot dog for a test walk through the busy city center. It's designed to help spot traffic violations with remote image analysis and will soon use artificial intelligence to sniff out danger. It looks like even the dogs are curious about those robot dogs.
Also in Tokyo, the top brass are hoping this new police chief's reputation makes criminals think twice. Godzilla himself was made -- has made Tokyo police chief -- was made Tokyo police chief, I should say, for a day last week as part of an event to promote traffic safety, but we're guessing it isn't long until he returns to the big screen.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I admire your luck, Mr. --
SEAN CONNERY, ACTOR: Bond. James Bond.
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WALKER: Oh, yes. The legendary Sean Connery in the 1962 film "Doctor No", the first of seven actors to play the British super spy on the silver screen.
[08:55:05]
And now, there is rampant speculation over who the next 007 will be. British tabloid, The Sun, citing an unnamed source, says the role has been offered to Aaron Taylor-Johnson. The 33-year-old is known for films like "Savages" and "Nocturnal Animals."
Other reports say there's no truth to the Bond rumors. Well, CNN has reached out to EON Productions and Taylor-Johnson's team for comment. Other names being floated include former Superman, Henry Cavill, and Oscar winner, Cillian Murphy. Who will it be?
And Beyonce's latest album is due out next week, but it won't be the R&B sound you're used to hearing. The new album is called "Cowboy Carter," and with it, the superstar hopes to erase stigmas regarding race in country music.
Beyonce is no stranger to the genre, having a country inspired track on a previous album. But she's also been the target of racist attacks after performing on the Country Music Awards years ago. The album could be a hit regardless, with this first single, "Texas Hold'em," hitting number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Good for her.
All right, thank you so much for joining me here on CNN Newsroom. I'm Amara Walker. Connect the World with Erica Hill is up next.
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