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Blinken in Egypt for Talks on Ceasefire-Hostage Deal; Biden Wrapping Up Campaign Tour of Key States; U.S. Justice Departments Sues Apple; Kenya's Haiti Plan Hits Snags; Haiti Plan on Hold; Russia Launches Heaviest Missile Attack on Kyiv; U.S. Lawmakers Unveil Funding Deal; Ohtani Interpreter Fired. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired March 21, 2024 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning or good evening, depending on where you're watching. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York.

Right now, in Cairo, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to meet with representatives of numerous Arab countries. We're going to have a live report on the status of ceasefire talks straight ahead.

Also, President Biden is wrapping up a major campaign tour of key western states today. We are live in Texas, and we'll take you there.

Plus, the U.S. Department of Justice has just filed a lawsuit against Apple, accusing the tech giant of breaking antitrust laws. Attorney General Merrick Garland about to speak any moment now, and when that happens, we will bring it to you live.

And while we continue to watch, the DOJ press are happening right now, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Egypt for high-level talks to try to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages. Blinken is meeting with representatives from a number of countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as well as the Palestinian Authority.

He's been traveling across the Middle East this week and says that negotiations are "getting closer to a ceasefire and hostage deal," along with more aid for civilians in Gaza. Earlier, he discussed those issues with top Egyptian officials. He's also scheduled to make a stop in Israel tomorrow.

Now, if Secretary Blinken speaks in Cairo, we will also bring you those remarks live just as soon as they happen.

But for now, let's bring in CNN's Kiley Atwood. She is at the U.S. State Department. So, Kiley, give us a sense of sort of what the objectives here are and what we can expect from his trip to Israel tomorrow.

KILEY ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, listen, the Secretary, as you said, is in Egypt right now going to meet with his counterparts from a number of Arab countries to discuss essentially what happens the day after this conflict concludes, how to secure, how to govern Gaza. And those conversations are happening as the backdrop is the fact that all parties are trying to work on this agreement to secure the release of those hostages that are held by Hamas and also to put into place a ceasefire.

As you said, the secretary of state said yesterday when he was in Saudi Arabia that those talks are getting closer. He said that the gaps have narrowed. But what he wasn't specific on is exactly how those gaps have narrowed. And we'll have to watch and see what happens over the course of the next few days if there are follow-up meetings that come to the fore.

We do know that those negotiations that were ongoing in Doha, with Egypt, with Qatar, with Israel and Hamas and the United States, those concluded this week. So, we're watching to see what the follow-on is.

Now, when the secretary is in Israel tomorrow, of course, he has been there a number of times throughout this conflict. He's going to be talking about the humanitarian aid that needs to get into Gaza, going to be pushing the Israelis to open more places for that humanitarian aid to actually enter into Gaza. He's also going to be talking to them about a possible operation in Rafah, that southernmost area of Gaza, where the Prime Minister Netanyahu has said there needs to be a ground operation in order to eliminate Hamas.

We know that the U.S. has said that they do not believe a ground operation would be a good thing there because of the 1.5 million civilians that are there. And so, they're going to be discussing, you know, how to move ahead with that challenge, with the two sides, really on opposite ends of the spectrum here. And of course, there's going to be further talks on that topic here in Washington next week, when Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Biden, discussed earlier this week, a delegation from Israel is going to be coming to Washington specifically to discuss Rafah.

The United States is going to be presenting some options for how an operation could be carried out that could, of course, keep those civilians safe.

SOLOMON: And, Kiley, any sense just in terms of the conversations tomorrow of what the tone of those conversations might be? Like, as you said, Lincoln said yesterday that negotiations, they seem to be getting closer to a deal, but they also come as the U.S. and Israel seem to be sort of growing further and further apart, at least if you just sort of base it on some of the public comments we've gotten.

ATWOOD: It's certainly a tense moment between the U.S. and Israel. The fact, however, that President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu got on the phone earlier this week is a good signal because when you talk to U.S. officials, you talk to officials from the region, they say that direct conversations between the two is really key here to try and moving the ball forward.

But even if the two sides don't actually agree --

[11:05:00] SOLOMON: All right. Kiley, let me jump in here.

ATWOOD: Yes.

SOLOMON: Kiley, thanks so much. We want to actually turn to Attorney General Merrick Garland, who is now speaking about that antitrust lawsuit. Let's listen together.

MERRICK GARLAND, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Earlier today, the Department of Justice, joined by 15 states and the District of Columbia, sued Apple in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey for violating Section 2, the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Over the last two decades, Apple has become one of the most valuable public companies in the world. Today, its net income exceeds the individual gross domestic product of more than 100 countries. That is in large part due to the success of the iPhone, Apple's signature smartphone product.

For over a decade, iPhone sales have made up a majority of Apple's annual revenue. Today, Apple's share of the U.S. performance smartphone market exceeds 70 percent, and its share of the entire U.S. smartphone market exceeds 65 percent. Apple charges as much as nearly $1,600 for an iPhone.

But as our complaint alleges, Apple has maintained monopoly power in the smartphone market, not simply by staying ahead of the competition on the merits, but by violating federal antitrust law. Consumers should not have to pay higher prices because companies break the law.

We allege that Apple has employed a strategy that relies on exclusionary, anti-competitive conduct that hurts both consumers and developers. For consumers, that has meant fewer choices, higher prices and fees, lower quality smartphones, apps and accessories, and less innovation from Apple and its competitors. For developers, that has meant being forced to play by rules that insulate Apple from competition.

And as outlined in our complaint, we allege that Apple has consolidated its monopoly power not by making its own product better but by making other products worse.

Apple carries out its exclusionary anti-competitive conduct in two principal ways. First, Apple imposes contractual restrictions and fees that limit the features and functionality that developers can offer iPhone users. Second, Apple selectively restricts access to the points of connection between third-party apps and the iPhone's operating system, degrading the functionality of non-Apple apps and accessories.

As a result, for most of the past 15 years, Apple has collected a tax in the form of a 30 percent commission on the price of any app downloaded from the App Store, as well as on in-app purchases. Apple is able to command these fees from companies of all sizes. Apple has also suppressed the emergence of programs like cloud streaming apps, including gaming apps, as well as super apps that could reduce user dependence on Apple's own operating system and expensive hardware. And as any iPhone user who has ever seen a green text message or received a tiny, grainy video can attest, Apple's anti-competitive conduct also includes making it more difficult for iPhone users to message with users of non-Apple products. It does this by diminishing the functionality of its own messaging app and by diminishing the functionality of third-party messaging apps. By doing so, Apple knowingly and deliberately degrades quality, privacy, and security for its users.

For example, if an iPhone user messages a non-iPhone user in Apple messages, the text appears not only as a green bubble, but incorporates limited functionality. The conversation is not encrypted, videos are pixelated and grainy, and users cannot edit messages or see typing indicators.

As a result, iPhone users perceive rival smartphones as being lower quality because the experience of messaging friends and family who do not own iPhones is worse, even though Apple is the one responsible for breaking cross-platform messaging. And it does so intentionally.

For example, in 2013, a senior executive at Apple explained that supporting cross-platform messaging in Apple messages "would simply serve to remove an obstacle to iPhone families giving their kids Android phones."

In 2022, Apple's CEO was asked whether Apple would fix iPhone to Android messaging. The questionnaire added "not to make it personal, but I can't send my mom certain videos." Apple CEO responded, buy your mom an iPhone.

[11:10:00]

In addition to selectively controlling app distribution and creation, we alleged that Apple is violating the law by conditionally restricting developers access to the interface, which is needed to make an app functional on the Apple operating system.

For a product like a smartwatch or a digital wallet to be useful to an iPhone user, it must be able to communicate with the iPhone's operating system. But Apple creates barriers that make it extremely difficult and expensive for both users and developers to venture outside the Apple ecosystem.

When it comes to smartwatches, Apple not only drives users to purchase an Apple Watch, which is only compatible with an iPhone, it also uses its technical and contractual controls to make harder for someone with iPhone to use a non-Apple smartwatch.

And when it comes to digital wallets, Apple's exclusionary conduct goes a step further. Digital wallets allow users to store and use passes and credentials in a single app, including credit cards, personal identification, movie tickets, and car keys. Apple Wallet is Apple's proprietary digital wallet on the iPhone. Apple actively encourages banks, merchants, and other parties to participate in Apple Wallet but it simultaneously exerts its monopoly power to block these same partners from developing alternative payment products and services for iPhone users.

For example, Apple has blocked third-party developers from creating competing digital wallets on the iPhone. They use what is known as tap-to-pay functionality. That is the function that makes a digital wallet, well, a wallet. Instead, Apple forces those who want to use the wallet function to share personal information with Apple, even if they would prefer to share that information solely with their bank, medical provider, or other trusted third-party.

When an iPhone user puts a credit or debit card in Apple Wallet, Apple inserts itself into the process that would otherwise occur directly between the user and the card issuer. This introduces an additional potential point of failure for the privacy and security of Apple users. And that is just one way in which Apple is willing to make the iPhone less secure and less private in order to maintain its monopoly power.

The Supreme Court defines monopoly power as "the power to control prices or exclude competition." As set out in our complaint, Apple has that power in the smartphone market.

Now, having monopoly power does not itself violate the antitrust laws, but it does when a firm acquires or maintains monopoly power not because it has a superior product or superior business acumen but by engaging in exclusionary conduct.

As set out in our complaint, Apple has maintained its power, not because of its superiority, because of its unlawful exclusionary behavior. Monopolies like Apple's threaten the free and fair markets upon which our economy is based. They stifle innovation. They hurt producers and workers. And they increase costs for consumers.

If left unchallenged, Apple will only continue to strengthen its smartphone monopoly. But there's a law for that. The Justice Department will vigorously enforce antitrust law. Enforcing the law protects consumers from higher prices and fewer choices. That is the Justice Department's legal obligation. That is what the American people expect. That is what they deserve.

I am grateful to the attorneys and staff of the Department's Antitrust Division for their tireless work on this case on behalf of the American people. I'll now turn the podium over to the Deputy Attorney General.

LISA MONACO, U.S. DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: Thank you very much, Mr. Attorney General, and good morning, everyone.

In our fight against corporate misconduct, the Department's approach is straightforward and relentless. We identify the most serious wrong doors, whether individuals or companies, and then we focus our full energy and devote all necessary resources to holding them accountable. Accountability promotes fairness, it drives deterrence, and it advances the rule of law.

[11:15:00] By holding all companies to the same standards, our approach to corporate enforcement benefits all Americans, Americans who deserve and who demand a justice system that holds accountable those who break the law.

For over a century, our federal antitrust laws have been a critical tool for protecting competition, the competition that fuels and drives --

SOLOMON: All right. You've just been listening to officials at the Department of Justice, including the deputy attorney general there and, of course, the attorney general, Merrick Garland, who you see standing behind her, announcing this really blockbuster lawsuit against Apple, saying that over the last two decades, as Apple, the company has grown market power and market share, they've done this not by staying on top of competition by merit, but by breaking the law, antitrust laws, according to Merrick Garland.

Let me bring in now CNN technology reporter, Brian Fung, who is tracking this from Washington. Brian, you cover the company very closely. Walk me through some of your takeaways from what we've just heard from the Department of Justice.

BRIAN FUNG, CNN TECHNOLOGY REPORTER: Yes, this was a really big announcement. You saw the Biden administration coming out swinging against one of the largest, wealthiest companies in the world, taking aim at some of the, you know, most basic frustrations that consumers have when it comes to using an iPhone and communicating with others who don't use iPhones.

You know, you saw Merrick Garland, you know, calling out how when you try to message an Android user from an iPhone, those Android messages show up as green text bubbles or that, you know, they have degraded quality with images that come across. You saw him take aim at, you know, how smartwatches from rival manufacturers don't work as well with iPhones, or that when you try to use tap-to-pay digital wallets, you can only use Apple's digital wallet on an iPhone and you can't use those that maybe -- you know, other software developers would want to bring to the iPhone.

And so, all of these go into a bigger, broader lawsuit against Apple that really threatens its business model, its entire walled garden ecosystem that has been the basis for more than a decade of economic success, turning it into a more than $2 trillion company.

And so, this is really just an enormous blockbuster lawsuit that could really undercut Apple's business and position as the most dominant tech player on the planet. Rahel.

SOLOMON: Brian, has Apple responded to this?

FUNG: Yes, Apple released a statement basically saying that it threatens who we are. The company said, at Apple, we innovate every day to make technology. People love designing products that work seamlessly together, protect people's privacy and security, and create a magical experience for our users. This lawsuit threatens who we are and the principles that set Apple products apart in fiercely competitive markets. If successful, it would hinder our ability to create the kind of technology people expect from Apple, where hardware, software, and services intersect.

So, you see Apple here really pushing back hard on what they see as an unwarranted attack on its successful business model, and that has really benefited consumers by making a seamless, secure product that everyone really likes. And now, we're going to see how the courts handle these competing claims.

SOLOMON: Yes. OK. Brian Fung, live for us there. Brian, thanks so much.

As we just saw in Brian's report there, shares of Apple are lower, but the broader market is not. It is green across the board as the Dow Jones approaches a milestone of 40,000 points. Let's bring in now -- as we can see, trading at 39,837, trading up about eight-tenths percent of 1 percent. Matt Egan following all of this for us.

Matt, walk us through some of the contributors here. Is this all the Fed yesterday? What's happening?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Rahel, this would be a big moment if it happens, right? The Dow, about 160 points, 165 points away from 40,000, a level that it has never hit in the 128-year history of the Dow.

And, you know, I think it's also pretty telling that we're even at this point, right? A lot of people didn't think we'd be here. There are a lot of predictions for a recession. When you go back a year or two ago, obviously the economy is not in recession.

Investors are feeling pretty good about the direction of the economy, the potential of a soft landing. Yes, they're feeling good about interest rate cuts. As you mentioned, the Fed just yesterday saying that they are still planning -- or signaling that they're still planning to cut interest rates three times this year. A lot of optimism. Rahel, as you know about artificial intelligence, so that has boosted all those tech stocks like Nvidia.

And you know what's interesting is the Dow had actually already be above 40,000, if not for the DOJ and what just happened, right? Apple shares are down, at last check, around 2 percent on this, starting out 3, 3.5 percent, around session lows. This is on the blockbuster antitrust lawsuit allegations that the company has monopolized smartphone markets. So, if not for that, actually, we'd order to be above 40,000.

[11:20:00]

I also think that, Rahel, it's interesting to take a look at where the market has been. Because, you know, not that long ago, four years ago during the worst of the COVID market crash, we had the Dow go below 20,000, it was actually below 19,000. So, it's really been a remarkable comeback, more than doubling since that point. And again, a lot of it is on the strength of the economy.

SOLOMON: Yes. No, that's a really fascinating point, especially -- I certainly remember the crash of COVID and sort of everything that happened after. It was really a remarkably time to watch the markets. Matt, make it plain for me in terms of what we heard yesterday and what investors are taking from this, essentially that, you know, maybe they've slayed the inflation dragon, maybe they're going to get this quite right. Make it plain for us.

EGAN: Well, I think that Fed officials are signaling that they feel pretty good about where inflation is, right? They're not so worried that their taking interest rate cuts off the table. So, that is, I think, really good news. It's good for everyone who's worried about inflation, who has got to pay for groceries and gasoline and housing and everything like that. It's also good for borrowers because interest rates are very, very high, right, 23-year high for interest rate.

So, when you think about anyone who has credit card debt, mortgages, they're trying to get a car loan, we all are hoping for an interest- rate cuts. But as you know, Rahel, inflation has not been completely tamed yet, right? I mean, there's been a lot of progress, but Jerome Powell says that he wants to see a bit more progress or at least get more confidence about inflation before they're ready to finally lower interest rates, but just the fact that they are still penciling in those three rate cuts, that was enough to send U.S. stocks surging yesterday and higher again today. And now, on the cusp of this milestone of 40,000.

SOLOMON: Yes, it almost sort of seems like yesterday, the no new news is good news, right? We're still sort keeping the outlook for rate- cuts, and that is great news. At least that's how investors saw it. Matt Egan. Good to have you. Thank you.

EGAN: Thanks, Rahal.

SOLOMON: All right. Coming up, a race to the finish line to avoid a U.S. government shutdown. There is a deal, but now it's all about timing. We're going to have a live report from Capitol Hill.

Plus, Kenya is hitting a rough patch over its plan to help in Haiti. We're going to take a closer look at the president's efforts just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLOMON: Welcome back. U.S. President Joe Biden has unveiled a major investment to upgrade production of semiconductors. Biden is awarding Intel nearly $20 billion in grants and loans under the Chips and Science Act. Now, this announcement comes as Biden wraps up a critical campaign swing out West.

On Wednesday, Biden took aim at his predecessor while visiting the key battleground state of Arizona.

[11:25:00] JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: The bottom line, I want to build a future in America. My predecessor can let the future be built in China and other countries, not in America because it may be cheaper for those investing.

On his watch, companies send American jobs overseas for cheaper labor and imported products. We're creating jobs in America and export it --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: All right. Let's discuss all of this with our panel. Rina Shah is a Republican strategist and Chris Kofinis is a Democratic strategist and former top aide to Senator Joe Manchin. Good to have you both.

Rina, let me start with you. The Dows looks set to hit 40,000. It could. It's pretty close. Right now, it's up about seven-tenths of a percent, trading at 39,817 points. If President Trump was in office, he would be touting these numbers. This is great. The stock market is doing great. what now? Is this good news for Biden?

RINA SHAH, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, on one hand, it is certainly a testament to how Biden and his administration have done a great job with the stock market, which is booming. But the pockets of everyday Americans and their bank accounts are certainly not moving. And that is a challenge here.

I think what makes the story so very interesting is that you've got young people and folks who are also close to retirement feeling the same kind of way. And they're almost stuck in this economic station for one simple reason, the cost of daily living has not gone down drastically. When you're looking at the prices of daily commodities and how everyday Americans are, again, feeling about their daily tabulations, going out and getting eggs and milk and produce, they are not looking at the stock market and saying, this is making sense to me.

Now, of course, many Americans are invested in there and they have their 401(k)s in there too for tax perks. But the reality is this, is that this is the place where the Biden administration has just not been able to tackle these inflation problems. And that is -- again, the challenge. as we grow closer to November and the president has to continue to answer for why, again, you've got a booming economy stock market yet the price and the cost of daily living to Americans does not feel good.

SOLOMON: Chris your thoughts on this?

CHRIS KOFINIS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST AND FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF FOR SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: Well, it's kind of a mixed bag. I mean, listen, the stock market hitting almost 40,000 that's an incredible positive. Anytime voters look at the economy it's based on perception, you have a major milestone that helps, kind of, feed positive perceptions. You got 60 percent roughly of the American people that are investing the stock market, they're going to feel better about their 401(k)s, about their future, that's all positive. On the flip side, and this is, I think, the challenge, right, you know, the average person is going to be very focused on price and inflation. And so, it's going to be a battle between this kind of two dynamics over the coming months. If people start feeling better about the economy and they feel better about their retirement and they feel better about how much money they're earning, you know, maybe the inflationary concerns or the concerns about price will start to diminish. If it doesn't, you know, that's a bigger political problem for Biden.

SOLOMON: Rina, what are your thoughts? I mean, Trump seems to be thinking a lot about money these days as he has days now to try to figure out how to come up with half a billion dollars for this New York judgment. I'm curious how you think Republican viewers are -- for Republican voters are seeing this in the past. His legal liabilities have done nothing with his base. They've sort of energized his base. Is this different? I mean, how are they viewing this?

SHAH: Well, the base is really -- it depends on who you ask anymore. What states we're talking about, how hard MAGA are you talking about. That faction of the party is dwindling in size. And we still have results that just came out of Ohio that show us that, results out of Florida showed us that. The exit polling and these results are not good for Trump, because again, you have a large swath of this Republican electorate that doesn't seem to want him. And that's just looking at the hard numbers.

But when you look at the fundraising, my gosh, this is where the GOP really opened their eyes in 2016 and said Trump is good for fundraising. He was bringing in small dollar donors, right? And he was maintaining them, and for years on end. And now what do we see? People see what has happened, that the RNC's coffers have been drained.

I mean, what they've got on hand right now is what Nikki Haley had basically at the end of February, and her campaign isn't even open anymore. So, this is a situation where, I think, why would donors give to this to Trump or to the RNC anymore? Why would they? They know that it's a black hole of sorts. And I just don't see it changing for the former president.

So, he's got a really big problem, not just in needing to pay up the money he owes in certain jurisdictions, New York. But the real big problem is how do you bring in the universe of donors that he was once so good with when they all can see it plain as day? His legal problems have complicated what the RNC can put together to help other Republicans besides Trump win.

[11:30:00]

SOLOMON: And, Chris, to Rina's point, Biden is the sort of opposite. He has twice as much on hand as Trump. And some of his aides were sort of trolling Trump in a statement saying that essentially that Trump would fire himself. And I think we can pull it up here, but that Trump would essentially fire himself if he were a candidate or a contestant on "The Apprentice." I'm curious, though, with both candidates knowing each other -- with viewers and voters knowing both candidates so well, Chris, how critical is fundraising at this point? How much can Biden use this extra cash to try to reach voters?

KOFINIS: Yes. I mean, obviously, it matters. You need to have money to run national campaigns. But national campaigns kind of comes in quotation marks. There's only about five or seven battleground states where this election is going to be really decided.

You know, at some point, it's kind of, you know, diminishing returns. You can only spend so many millions of dollars or tens of millions of dollars in Arizona or Nevada or Michigan or so on. So, I mean, yes, it matters.

But -- and this is the part that, you know, as much as I like to, you know, highlight the negatives of Trump's weaknesses, you know, in 2016, he got outspent by the Hillary campaign by an enormous amount.

And so, when you're talking about at the presidential level, does money matter? Yes. Is it a deciding factor? No. Now, it's because it's not a governor's race or a congressional race where you're trying to define the candidate. These candidates are well known. So, I'm not sure the money is going to be the deciding factor. But from a bragging perspective, just from an ego perspective, it clearly is going to irk Trump that he is so far behind. He doesn't seem to be gaining any moment even though he's running again.

SOLOMON: All right. Well, we'll leave it here. Rina Shah, Chris Kofinis, good to have you both. Thank you.

KOFINIS: Thank you.

SHAH: Thank you.

SOLOMON: Coming up, a plan to restore order in Haiti is on hold. We're going to have a live report from Nairobi, as Kenya's president talks with world leaders on how to handle the crisis. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLOMON: Welcome back. You are watching "CNN Newsroom." I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. And here are some of the international headlines we're watching for you today.

A source says that the U.S. Justice Department has discussed a plea deal with attorneys for Julian Assange. However, a deal is not said to be close, and his attorneys tell us that they've had no sign the government wants to "resolve the case." Justice Department is not commenting.

The WikiLeaks founder is wanted on charges of mishandling classified materials and is fighting extradition to the U.S. from the U.K.

The U.S. on Wednesday imposed new sanctions relating to Iran. They target a series of networks allegedly supporting Iran's ballistic missile defense and nuclear programs. The networks are based in Iran, Turkey, Oman, and Germany.

[11:35:00]

And the Dominican Republic says it has helped nearly 300 people leave neighboring Haiti to escape the worsening gang violence there. Evacuees include personnel from the E.U., the U.N. and the Canadian and Cuban embassies. They're also working with the U.S. to try to help get Americans out.

Meanwhile, the president of Kenya is speaking with world leaders this week about the crisis.

Let's go now to CNN's Larry Madowo, who joins us live from Nairobi, Kenya, with the details. Larry, you know, Kenya first agreed to lead this international police force back in October. Then it was put on hold. What's the latest now?

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The latest is that it's still on hold. But this time, because Kenya is waiting for a new administration in Haiti to send a reconnaissance team there and then to put these 1,000 police officers there.

In fact, recently, President William Ruto has spoken to the Canadian prime minister, to the Bahamian leader, as well as the former prime minister of Haiti, Ariel Henry, and he told them that Kenya will remain committed to this mission and Kenya will not abandon Haiti in its time of need.

But here at home, there is some significant resistance to sending Kenyan police to the Caribbean nation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MADOWO (voice-over): Kenyan President William Ruto marching ahead with a plan to send 1,000 police officers to Haiti, despite strong opposition to the deployment at home.

Elite units of the Kenyan police are expected to lead the U.N.-backed multinational force to crush Haiti's gangs and restore order once a viable government is in place. Opposition lawmakers like Edwin Sifuna tried to block it.

EDWIN SIFUNA, NAIROBI SENATOR: Our police officers are going to harm's way in Haiti. So, this is not a situation that our regular police officers are used to. They have never encountered something like that. Their training does not extend to, you know, operations in fields of war.

MADOWO (voice-over): Kenyan police have been involved in peacekeeping missions for the past 35 years, including in Cambodia, the former Yugoslavia, Kosovo, Croatia, East Timor, and Sierra Leone. Kenya currently has police serving in Somalia, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo according to a parliamentary report.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In all those missions, Kenya has not lost a single police officer on any combat.

MADOWO (voice-over): They're ready for Haiti, this senior policeman believes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kenya has well trained paramilitary officers from the general service unit. They have well trained officers from administration police, special operations group. These are officers who have both local and international training, some of the best institutions in Israel, in U.S.

MADOWO (voice-over): Haiti would be the most challenging deployment yet for Kenyan police, with criminal gangs and militias controlling the capital Port-au-Prince and holding the nation hostage.

WILLIAM RUTO, KENYAN PRESIDENT: It is a historic duty, because peace in Haiti is good for peace in the world as a whole.

MADOWO (voice-over): President Ruto should push for a well-armed military contingent to take over, says this security analyst.

FRANCIS MAINA, SECURITY ANALYST: Our police officers cannot and can never be able to contain the threat of the criminality in Haiti. You need to send thousands of military personnel to come and disarm.

MADOWO (voice-over): The Kenyan parliament approved the planned police deployment to Haiti after an acrimonious debate in November.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When Haiti is not safe, we are not safe.

OPIYO WANDAYI, KENYAN OPPOSITION MP: You cannot use our police women and men as guinea pigs at the altar of rent-seeking.

MADOWO: Civil society and the opposition groups here in Kenya maintain that President Ruto's plan to send 1,000 police officers to Haiti remains illegal and unconstitutional even after his government signed a reciprocal arrangement with the former prime minister of Haiti.

MADOWO (voice-over): The unelected Ariel Henry witnessed the signing of the legal requirement in Nairobi, but he never made it back to Haiti and resigned a few days later.

SIFUNA: That agreement does not hold any water because you signed an agreement with an entity that does not have the mandate to call itself a government. Some of us think that it is because of the monetary incentive.

MADOWO: So, you think President Ruto is doing this for the money?

SIFUNA: Absolutely.

MADOWO (voice-over): Kenya says the police are in the pre-deployment phase as it awaits a new Haitian administration.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MADOWO (on camera): One opposition politician has told CNN that if President Ruto goes ahead with this plan, he will go back to court to contest it, and he believes he will convince a judge to block this because President Ruto does not have the constitutional mandate to send police officers outside the country.

But there's some other criticism from here in the country, within Africa, and the wider black diaspora. They're calling this Kenyan deployment an occupation force, and they say there's been other foreign interventions, military interventions with Canadians and the and the Americans and others that have failed there, and they don't understand why another black nation like Kenya is doing this.

[11:40:00]

In fact, one Kenyan author, Mukoma Ngugi, has said it went back to the Haitian revolution that ended in 1804, which made Haiti the first black independent nation and said it's an irony that now an African nation is going to try and occupy Haiti again.

Obviously, President Ruto does not see it like that. He sees it as his moral duty to bring peace to Haiti. Rahel.

SOLOMON: Yes. That's a fascinating point, Larry, because there are clearly very different opinions about the involvement of Kenya in something like this. OK. We'll see. Larry Madowo, live for us there in Kenya. Thank you.

While Ukraine's capital faced a missile barrage from Russia overnight, the heaviest such attack in six weeks, officials say that Russia fired two ballistic missiles and 29 cruise missiles at the Kyiv region. They say that all of those were shut down. Authorities say that there were no fatalities, but about a dozen people were injured from falling debris.

Tens of thousands of people, meantime, sheltered in the city's metro stations during the attack, which came just hours after a visit to Kyiv by U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.

All right. Still ahead for us and coming up, a race to the finish line to avoid a U.S. government shutdown. There is a deal, but now it's all about timing. We're going to have a live report from Capitol Hill.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. There is a $1.2 trillion funding bill and a high stakes back and forth to avert a U.S. government shutdown. The package includes more money for U.S. border security and defense spending. But now, it's a race for House and Senate approval by the March 22nd deadline. That's just about 36 hours to get the deal done, which some lawmakers say may be impossible.

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SEN. MIKE ROUNDS (R-SD): Here we are on Thursday. This expires tomorrow night at midnight. But the Senate may not even get the bill until tomorrow or Saturday.

And so, there may be a shutdown over the weekend. I don't like that idea. I think this is a terrible way to run a government. This is a terrible thing to do to the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: All right. Let's bring in CNN's Sunlen Serfaty joining us from Capitol Hill. So, Sunlen, what are you hearing on Capitol Hill? I mean, can they get this on Biden's desk in time?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Rahel, this certainly will be a scramble. This is a major time crunch, even by Capitol Hill standards.

As you said, that bill was released -- 1,012 pages of that bill released at 3:00 a.m. Eastern time this morning, not so long ago. So, lawmakers are waking up here in Washington and admitting that they are just sitting down and reading the bill. And there's literally no way that they can read that bill before they potentially have to vote on it before that midnight deadline on Friday.

So, right now on Capitol Hill, lawmakers and the leaders are trying to figure out the mechanics of exactly how that happens. And one of the big hurdles that they get -- have to get through is this rule that legislation needs 72 hours -- that lawmakers needs 72 hours to review a bill.

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Now, that just won't happen. They have to navigate around that, potentially, waive that rule to make the deadline on Friday night. But, as you heard Senator Rounds there saying on our air earlier today, maybe this does spill into the weekend. Maybe Saturday or Sunday there is a brief government shutdown that potentially won't let a lot of spending lapse in that brief amount of time. But, of course, everyone up here on Capitol Hill wants to avoid that, wants to push towards a vote, waive that 72-hour rule, and potentially get this done before tomorrow at midnight.

SOLOMON: Yes. And, Sunlen, what would you say the atmosphere is like on Capitol Hill? We heard in that clip from Senator Rounds, which sounded like a bit of frustration. I mean, how are things feeling there?

SERFATY: Yes, definitely tapping into a lot of frustration already. As lawmakers arrived up here today, they kind of sounded off the fact that this bill landed in their inboxes, landed at their office overnight, and that they're now starting to ingest it.

We heard one senator say this is a dysfunctional process, another senator saying this is a disappointing process, and many admitting that they won't have time to read this bill. I think everyone up here admits that the system right now of passing these piecemeal appropriations bills are not working. And maybe they need to pass this to get up the last hurdle as they have passed a series of these recently. This would fund these parts of the government to the end of the fiscal year.

So, a lot of lawmakers shaking their heads up here, Rahel, saying this is the reality of the situation on Capitol Hill, that they're forced in many instances to take these last-minute votes often on very needy pieces of legislation in order to keep the government running.

SOLOMON: OK. Sunlen Serfaty, live for us there on Capitol. Sunlen, thank you.

SERFATY: Thanks.

SOLOMON: Well, coming up next, the strange saga of the now former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers superstar, superstar Shohei Ohtani, who got fired by the team just as the season started. We'll be right back.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. Brackets are filled, and play is underway for March Madness here in the U.S.

Billions of dollars in bets are expected to be placed in the annual college basketball tournament for both the men's and women's competition. The American Gaming Association estimates that more people will place wagers on the women's tournament than in previous years.

Joining us now is Nathaniel Meyersohn. So, Nathaniel, just talk to us a little bit about how much money we can expect to be wagered on the NCAA tournament.

NATHANIEL MEYERSOHN, CNN CONSUMER REPORTER: So, Rahel, $2.2 billion is expected to be legally wagered on the tournament. That's more than was bet on the Super Bowl this year. And we're seeing this rise because more states have legalized sports gambling. Sports gambling is legal in about 38 states right now, and that number has boomed since the Supreme Court paved the way for legalized sports gambling in 2018.

And, Rahel, this isn't just office pool bets on the tournament. This is -- you're using your phone to place wagers on apps like DraftKings and FanDuel, and you can bet on just about everything, every play, the final score, even what color Gatorade will the winning coach be dumped on.

SOLOMON: OK. What's the NCAA is saying about how it's handling gambling?

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MEYERSOHN: So, Rahel, the NCAA is prohibiting sports gambling companies like FanDuel and DraftKings from advertising during the game. So, you won't see the gambling commercials.

But that is kind of -- that will not make that much of a difference, especially as sports leagues have completely embraced sports gambling. Pro sports leagues like the NBA, the NFL, they've gone all in on gambling. And we're starting to see the consequences of that decision.

We have the Shohei Ohtani incident going on right now. So, these sports leagues are playing with fire as they legalize sports gambling and jump all in on it. And states are saying that calls to their gambling hotlines have increased since 2018 when the Supreme Court legalized sports gambling.

SOLOMON: Yes, and how would you describe, Nathaniel, the sort of market right now? It sort of seems like a new burgeoning industry.

MEYERSOHN: There's a -- Rahel, there's gold rush. DraftKings, FanDuel, you know, you turn on the game, it's basically like you're at a casino. And the leagues, they -- for a long time, the sports leagues, they were completely against legalized gambling.

Just a few years ago, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said that sports gambling would be really bad for the NFL. But the leagues have completely reversed this. You'll turn on the television, you'll see professional athletes in commercials for these sports gambling ads, you'll turn on the TV, and during a game, the leagues will be pushing kind of what the different bets are and the gambling lines.

So, it's a booming market, but there's a lot of scrutiny around it and we don't know yet how it's going to impact addictive gambling behavior.

SOLOMON: Yes, what a difference a few years makes clearly. Nathaniel Meyersohn, thank you.

Well, as Nathaniel was just mentioning, the Major League Baseball season is underway with a big scandal surrounding one of the sport's biggest stars, the interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, whose Los Angeles Dodgers opened the season this week in South Korea. Well, that interpreter has been fired. He's accused by Ohtani's lawyers of massive theft, reportedly tied to an alleged illegal gambling operation.

The interpreter told ESPN that Ohtani had no involvement in betting. He also said that he did not know that his betting was illegal and also promised to never do it again.

Let's bring in CNN's Coy Wire. Coy. You know, this isn't just a professional relationship, this just wasn't his interpreter. They were supposed to be apparently really good friends, long-time friends.

COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes. And went many places together, from workouts to -- he caught for him at the home run derby. So, this is a very tightly knit duo, who now are going to be forced to spend time apart with the firing.

The explanation, Rahel, of how things all went down changed so quickly. Shohei Ohtani's spokesman originally telling an investigative reporter at ESPN that Ohtani was covering the gambling debts of his longtime interpreter and friend Ippei Mizuhara. But then Ohtani's lawyers contradicted that on Wednesday, saying Ohtani was the victim of massive theft. This all came to light because federal investigators are looking into an illegal California gambling operation as first reported by the L.A. Times. According to ESPN, Ohtani sent millions of dollars in wire transfers from his bank account to an alleged bookmaking operation with Mizuhara, originally telling ESPN on Tuesday that the transfers were to cover his losses, but that Ohtani had "zero involvement in the betting."

And Mizuhara said he didn't know gambling was illegal in California. ESPN says he also said that Ohtani wasn't happy about his debts but decided to pay it off for him. Well, as ESPN was getting ready to publish their story, Rahel, on Wednesday, Ohtani's lawyers sent out this statement saying, in the course of responding to recent media inquiries, we discovered that Ohtani has been the victim of a massive theft and we are turning the matter over to the authorities.

Now, on Wednesday, Mizuhara walked back much of what he originally told ESPN, saying that Ohtani had no knowledge of his gambling activities, his debts, or any efforts to repay them. CNN is attempting to contact Mizuhara. We've reached out to local authorities and Major League Baseball who will not comment at the moment.

Mizuhara was in the dugout for Wednesday's MLB season opener against the Padres. He was seen smiling and talking to Ohtani, but Mizuhara was fired by the Dodgers after that story came out.

So, this is a very, obviously, quickly moving and changing situation that will continue to monitor with one of the biggest stars in all of American sports, if not the world in Shohei Ohtani.

SOLOMON: And, Coy, really quickly, I mean, does this have the potential to impact negatively Ohtani at all? I mean, obviously his interpreter said that he had nothing to do with it, but the relationship was quite close. And he sensed that this might sort of affect him at all.

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WIRE: Yes. So, he's already, as I said, one of the biggest draws in all of sports. And he's on the L.A. Dodgers after signing this richest deal ever in American sports, 10 years, $700 million. Now, he's going to have to move forward without Mizuhara, who has been with him ever since he stepped foot in America.

Mizuhara was much more than his interpreter. He was Ohtani at his workouts, at promotions. And so, losing a guy like that, who's been your confidant, your constant, since moving to the U.S. is certainly not going to be an easy adjustment for Ohtani moving forward.

SOLOMON: Yes. OK. Coy Wire, thanks for putting it in perspective for us, live in Atlanta.

All right. Speaking of money, we know your time is money. So, thank you for spending some time with me today. I'm Rahel Solomon, live in New York.

Stick with CNN. "One World" is coming up next.

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