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Diplomatic Efforts for a Ceasefire and Hostage Deal Continues as United States to Send a Resolution to the U.N. Security Council; Ukraine Now Experiencing Power Outages as Power Plants were Attacked by Russian Strikes; U.S. Envoy to Sudan - RSF Methods Deplorable After a CNN Report. Trump Needs to Bond Or Seize His Properties; DOJ, Other States Sues Apple for Illegally Controlling the Smartphone Market; CNN Grants Rare Access to the World's Largest Semiconductor Chipmaker. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired March 22, 2024 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom".

Talks to stop the fighting in Gaza are ongoing in the Middle East as the U.S. prepares to bring up its ceasefire resolution at the United Nations.

Thousands of civilians trapped at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza as an Israeli military operation entered its fourth day will have the story of their ordeal.

And the U.N. is describing the gang violence in Haiti as human suffering at an alarming scale. We'll have a report from our correspondent on the ground.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: It's 10:00 a.m. in Doha right now where high-level talks are expected to resume today in hopes of reaching a ceasefire in Gaza and the return of hostages held by Hamas.

Diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting are underway across the Middle East. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is now on his way to Tel Aviv to meet with Israel's prime minister and war cabinet. Earlier, he met with Arab leaders in Cairo. America's top diplomat gave this assessment of where things stand now. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Negotiators continue to work. The gaps are narrowing. And we're continuing to push for an agreement in Doha. There's still difficult work to get there, but I continue to believe it's possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: The U.S. says it will bring its U.N. Security Council resolution on Gaza up for a vote this morning after vetoing multiple prior resolutions. The U.S. resolution will express support for the ongoing diplomatic efforts while also calling for a, quote, "immediate and sustained ceasefire in connection with the release of all remaining hostages".

Meanwhile, European leaders voiced support for a humanitarian pause in Gaza, but fell short of calling for an immediate ceasefire. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is live this hour in London. So, Jomana, bring us up to speed on the latest on those talks.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kim, as you know, for weeks now, if not months, these talks in Doha, indirect talks between Hamas and Israel have stalled, of course. But now we are seeing what appears to be a lot more movement, a lot more cautious optimism that we are hearing from U.S. officials, from mediators, that they might be inching closer to a deal.

You know, and if you look at what we're hearing from the U.S., you heard there from Secretary of State Anthony Blinken saying that the gaps are narrowing, that he remains optimistic that a deal could be reached. But we're also hearing from the Qataris, Kim, saying that while there is progress being made, they're not saying that there is an imminent deal.

And that was pretty clear earlier this week, where you had these high- level talks resuming in Doha, where you had the head of the Israeli Mossad, David Barnea, traveling to Qatar. But these talks only lasted a day, after which he left. But what we're seeing right now is he will be returning to Doha today.

He will be meeting with the CIA director, who will be also traveling to Qatar. He will also have meetings with the Egyptian intelligence head, as well as the Qatari prime minister. Now, the way these talks have worked, Kim, they are indirect talks. You have both sides, Israel and Hamas, putting forward their proposals. Then you would get a counterproposal through Qatari and Egyptian mediation. And right now, we are at a point where a counterproposal will be sent to Hamas.

Differences remain, as we are hearing from diplomats close to these talks. And it's not clear what these differences are. But what we understand here is what Hamas has proposed is that, you know, over this six-week proposed ceasefire, that you will have an implementation of the agreement for the release of the hostages over phases. In that first phase, you would see the release of women hostages. We believe that's around 40, according to that proposal. That will include female IDF soldiers, the sick, the elderly, and the wounded, in exchange for the release of 700 to 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.

[03:05:02]

Now, it gets trickier as you move to the next phases of this proposal, where Hamas is suggesting the release of all remaining hostages in exchange for all Palestinian prisoners, including 100 who are serving life sentences. Now, what we believe to be, according to sources that CNN's been

speaking to, the real sticking points here from what we've seen from these Hamas proposals is the demand for a permanent ceasefire for the withdrawal of the Israeli military from Gaza, which is an unstarter really for Israel that has said that it is determined to dismantle Hamas. So we'll have to wait and see what happens right now.

A lot of cautious optimism, and of course, just so much at stake right now for the families of the hostages who, after nearly a six-month ordeal, just want their loved ones back home, and for the people of Gaza, Kim, who continue to go through this unimaginable suffering now nearly six months on.

BRUNHUBER: Absolutely. So much at stake. Jomana Karadsheh in London, thank you so much.

Now, on the ground in northern Gaza, an Israeli military operation at al-Shifa Hospital stretched into its fourth day. As CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports, thousands of civilians are trapped on the premises.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A crowded stairwell at Al-Shifa Hospital. Dozens of women and children await Israeli military instructions. For four days, thousands of civilians have been trapped here as the Israeli military raids the hospital, targeting Palestinian militants allegedly operating inside the medical complex.

Soldiers are everywhere. The voice on the loudspeaker warns, if you leave the premises, the soldiers will shoot you. We have warned you. We have come here in order to get the Israeli hostages. Then we will let you go.

Soon, word of evacuations begins to spread.

Now they are forcing out the women, the voice behind the camera says. We don't know where they're going to take us.

The Israeli military says they have killed more than 140 militants in and around the hospital, and detained these five men described as senior terror operatives. Among more than 600 suspects, the Israeli military says they've detained. Eyewitnesses say medical personnel and other civilians have also been rounded up.

Outside the hospital, the fighting continues, as seen through the lens of Hamas militants, who have been targeting Israeli tanks and troops around the hospital complex.

Israeli airstrikes reducing parts of the surrounding al-Ramal neighborhood to rubble, sending thousands fleeing south. It's a journey marked by the sights and smells of death.

We walked over the martyrs who are dead in the street. People are reduced to body parts, this woman cries. Where is the humanity? The newly displaced arrive on foot in central Gaza, carrying only

backpacks and plastic bags, children clutching dolls and stuffed animals. Others, like this mother and her triplets, arrive with nothing at all.

Tanks and artillery were firing at the buildings around al-Shifa, and forcing people to leave the buildings, she says. They make them leave with nothing on them, nothing, no pillow, no blanket, not even water.

Nuzha isn't just fleeing the fighting, but the starvation that has left her eight-month-old babies thin and frail.

You can see them, she says, each of them is not even two kilos, eight months old and not even two kilos. Anyone who sees them would think they are only two months old, and they are eight months. It's a catastrophe, no water, no food, and siege and gunfire.

But her journey is not over yet. She is heading further south in search of food and shelter, no longer taken for granted in Gaza.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: And joining me now from Jerusalem is Gershon Baskin. He's a former hostage negotiator and now Middle East director for the International Communities Organization. Thank you so much for being here with us. So I want to start with U.S. Secretary of State Blinken on his sixth trip to the region now since the Hamas attacks. Any reason to expect it to be any different in terms of outcomes than the other five?

[03:09:50]

GERSHON BASKIN, FORMER HOSTAGE NEGOTIATOR: Well, I think we have a mixture of American pressure being lifted and put on both the Qataris, the Egyptians, and the Israelis, the U.N. resolution being put forward by the United States, a pressure on Israel by the State Department and the White House to come up with a political endgame, which Israel has refused to put on the table.

We heard last week for the first time the Qataris threatening the Hamas leadership that if they don't produce a deal for the hostages, Hamas leadership would have to find another home.

So I think we see a growing impatience of the United States with the continuation of the war and the threat of an Israeli invasion on the last 20 percent of Gaza into Rafah.

And I think we also see a growing rift between Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Biden here, with Netanyahu clearly coming out on the side of Trump. And this is certainly going to put up the pressure from the current administration on Israel.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, I want to ask you about that a little later, but just you've mentioned the word pressure a couple of times. Blinken has said that the Biden administration doesn't support a major military operation in Rafah. We had the top U.S. general in the Middle East say he isn't aware of an Israeli plan to mitigate civilian harm in Rafah. Obviously there's a huge disconnect between the two countries on this. How much influence do you think the Biden administration will have on this?

BASKIN: Well, I think it has an enormous amount of influence. The United States could end this war within a week by simply notifying Israel that the last plane load of bombs has just arrived.

Now Israel will have to recalculate how they're using their weapons and need to save a large reserve in case a war breaks out, a major war breaks out with Hezbollah in the north. That would put a swift end to this war. But I don't think the Americans want to use the doomsday weapon to do that.

They would much rather use political pressure on Netanyahu and on the other people in the region, including Hamas and Qatar and Egypt and everyone to find a political end to this war that would bring the hostages home and ensure that Hamas will not continue to govern Gaza.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, you say they don't have the will to use the doomsday device. So I guess they've been sort of trying to use political pressure, but on aid, mixed results. Right? Another key issue there, sustained pressure from the U.S. has failed to push the Israeli government to do much beyond opening one additional land crossing. Do you expect any movement there?

BASKIN: There has to be. The human suffering in Gaza is so horrendous that there has to be a way to get more aid into Gaza and more important than getting the trucks into Gaza, there has to be a way of distributing the aid into Gaza because Israel has created through its war a political vacuum inside of Gaza.

And we see warlords taking over and other people who are armed and maybe working for Hamas, maybe not working for Hamas. There needs to be an acceptable Palestinian leadership that comes out of the Palestinian authority that will be handed the keys by Hamas to Gaza.

This is the end game that we need to see happen. And that's linked to the Israeli commitment of a genuine peace process leading to a Palestinian state.

And here again, the American pressure could be significant by simply recognizing the state of Palestine.

BRUNHUBER: Obviously, you know, you've referenced this, the tensions between the Biden administration and Prime Minister Netanyahu are huge. They've grown recently with Democratic Senate Majority Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's calling for an Israeli election. With your experience in this, how much tougher do you think it'll make these talks? Does it make a big difference?

BASKIN: I think that seeing the head of the CIA going to Doha today has brought about a decision by Netanyahu to resend the head of the Mossad there. That's very important because these talks must be held at the highest level.

I'm quite clear that the head of the Mossad is returning simply because the head of the CIA is going there. They'll be the head of the Egyptian intelligence and the Qatari prime minister. There's a Hamas delegation there already.

So I think this is quite significant. I think that there's reason for optimism on these talks. I see the Israeli tactic as raising the importance of the movement of Palestinians from the south of Gaza to the north of Gaza as an issue, which is not that important to them in order to get concessions from Hamas on the issue of the release of prisoners.

That's how I'm reading the negotiations right now.

BRUNHUBER: All right. We shall see. Gershon Baskin in Jerusalem, thank you so much for speaking with us. I really appreciate it.

BASKIN: Very welcome.

Ukraine's capital comes under Russian missile fire for the first time in more than a month. Now we're learning the Kremlin was reportedly going after a specific target in Kyiv. That's ahead.

Plus, the U.N. says the situation in Haiti's capital is extremely alarming and millions there need food and security from gang violence. We'll have a report from our correspondent on the ground in Port-au- Prince, that's coming up. Stay with us.

[03:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: European Union leaders are about to start meeting for a second day of a summit in Brussels. Officials said they were set to consider an outside-the-box approach to arming Ukraine on Thursday. Now, the idea is to use windfall profits from Russian assets frozen in Europe to help Kyiv buy more weapons.

A move could generate more than $3 billion a year. But reaching a consensus of the European Council could be a tall order. And Russia is threatening to put up a legal fight if the E.U. goes down that route.

Now, Ukraine is reporting power outages across the country after a new barrage of Russian strikes. Friday morning, Ukraine's energy minister calls it the largest attack on the power system in recent times. Officials say the second largest city, Kharkiv, is virtually without power and is having trouble with its water supply. That's because at least some water pumping stations have long lost electricity. Ukraine also says one of the power lines at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is now offline. But Russian officials who control the facility say a separate transmission wire is still working.

All right. For more, we're joined by Sebastian Shukla from Berlin. So, Seb, these airstrikes on Ukraine, what makes them unusual is how widespread they are, right? SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN PRODUCER: Yeah, I think they're unusual in more

recent times, Kim, because we haven't seen this sort of widespread attack across Ukraine for quite some time.

And actually yesterday we saw for the first time in 44 days an attack on the capital city in Kyiv, where we learned yesterday that the Ukrainian intelligence services believe the Russians were trying to attack the main defense intelligence ministry, which is the unit which is involved in the sabotage attacks in the Black Sea, but is also believed to be behind the drone attacks which go deep behind enemy lines into Russian territory, targeting those critical infrastructure, Russia's critical infrastructure assets as well. The thing that we've seen this morning from the Russians is that these targets have been much more widespread.

They've targeted Kharkiv, they've targeted Zaporizhzhia, as you say, and have gone through other places further west into Ukraine as well. All of those have been targeting energy infrastructure projects, which is not something we've seen recently from the Russian side. It is something that we saw late in 2022 as Russia or as Ukraine was going into the depths of its winter, which is so crucial to be able to go to keep people warm.

President Zelenskyy has been able to tweet this morning his anger at the situation because he still believes that congressional aid needs to be unleashed, needs to be released.

And so he has tweeted, Russian missiles do not have delays, as do our aid packages to our country. The Shahed has no indecision. Like some politicians, it is important to understand the cost of these delays and postponed decisions. Kim.

[03:20:09]

BRUNHUBER: All right. Seb, E.U. leaders gathering in Brussels for day two of their summit, obviously Ukraine top of the agenda again. So take us through where things stand and what we're expecting today.

SHUKLA: Yeah, I mean, we saw President Zelenskyy address the European Council yesterday where he had some very strong criticism about the agricultural corridors that are still -- that are still allowed to operate from Russia and particularly Belarus.

But top of the agenda is still this proposal which will be submitted by the European Commission about using the windfall profits of these frozen Russian assets to be able to fund and help Ukraine in its war effort, whether that is a reconstruction or, as you say, the delivery of weapons. I think that we're very unlikely to get a resolution on that today, just given the legal complexities, the tax complexities and the political decision and will that there needs to be there, because some countries in the E.U. have a neutrality status like Ireland and Malta.

So they cannot just suddenly decide that they're going to use these profits without having the political capital behind them. But the message coming from E.U. leaders and indeed E.U. diplomats who we have spoken to is that if the resolution and the suggestion isn't kyboshed completely at the end of the council today, that is by and large a sign that things are trending in the direction that those profits may become useful. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Alright. We will be monitoring that throughout the day. Sebastian Shukla in Berlin. Thank you so much.

And we're also learning a possible reason behind Russia's first attack on Kyiv in weeks. Ukrainian defense source tell CNN Moscow was targeting Ukraine's defense intelligence agency, which carried out a string of recent high profile strikes and cross-border raids into Russia. Now, the conclusion is reached by looking into the trajectory of missiles that were launched at the Ukrainian capital on Thursday.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After more than a month of relative calm, Ukraine's capital once again under sustained Russian missile fire. More than a dozen injured, mostly from falling debris as the Ukrainians shot the missiles down.

This is a ruthless extermination of the Ukrainians and an attack on the civilian population that was just sleeping, this man says. We feel hatred, terrible hatred, he says. This is not fear, this is hatred towards Russia generally and everyone in particular.

Russia's new missile blitz on Ukraine's capital, coming just as Vladimir Putin, was officially announced as the winner of the Russian presidential election, which was never in doubt.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The elections have shown that Russia today is one big friendly family. We walk together on the historical path chosen by us, confident in ourselves, in our strengths and in our future. Thank you.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): But some Russians fear their path after Putin's victory could lead them straight into military service and the battlefields in Ukraine.

As Russia burns through soldiers while achieving only minor gains. And the Russian defense ministry says they will drastically increase the size of the Russian military by tens of thousands of troops.

SERGEI SHOIGU, RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): The plan is to form by the end of the year two combined arms armies and 30 units including 14 divisions and 16 brigades.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): All this as the Ukrainians are already drastically outmanned and outgunned. Ammunition stocks running dangerously low, Kyiv says.

The E.U. now wants to step up and use profits from Russian assets frozen in Europe to pay for arming Ukraine. While the Kremlin is threatening to retaliate, the Ukrainians say they'd welcome the measure. With the U.S. funding still held up by House Republican leadership, even though National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on a visit to Ukraine said he remains hopeful.

JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: From our perspective, we are confident we will get this done. We will get this aid to Ukraine.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Just hours after Sullivan's remarks, Putin's missiles came raining down on Kyiv, a reminder that when it comes to getting weapons stocks replenished, the Ukrainians don't have a moment to lose.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Now to the continuing civil unrest and humanitarian crisis in Haiti, CNN has learned that one of the Haitian gang leaders was killed in a gunfight with police in Popeye's Thursday night. The U.N. is describing the ongoing gang violence, growing hunger and rising fear as, quote, "human suffering at an alarming scale". The humanitarian corridor for Haiti says more than 25,000 people have been killed, injured or kidnapped over just the past couple of months.

[03:25:05]

The U.N. says more than five million Haitians need assistance, more than three million of them children. Here's more from the U.N. coordinator.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ULRIKA RICHARDSON, U.N. HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR FOR HAITI: The situation here in Haiti and Port-au-Prince in particular has really gone from a very worrying to extremely alarming. We now have a situation of actually 5.5 million of the 11.4 population is in need of some type of humanitarian assistance. And that is, as you can imagine, is a significant number.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The U.S. State Department says it was able to get more than 90 Americans out of Haiti Thursday. About 60 of them were taken to Miami, Florida.

Meanwhile, talks are dragging on to form a transition government and provide some semblance of political stability in Haiti. And the gangs have advanced into new areas of the capital in the past few days. CNN's David Culver is embedded with the national police in Port-au- Prince.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Here in Port-au-Prince, there are no front lines, the boundaries, they are blurred and they are constantly shifting. And when you're with Haiti's national police force, one that is facing struggle and setback and diminishing resources, you realize just what they're up against.

And that is constant gang activity. We're driving through areas that are highly contested between different gangs and the police, and they're trying to hold them back time after time. And yet these attacks are constant and they come at all hours.

The police often, especially with armored vehicles like this, are able to push them back. The issue comes in holding that space and keeping it secure. They don't have enough resources to do that.

Many of them have told us that's where an international mission would help. As of now, though, they have to go in, push back and then move on to other areas where gang activity has broken out. It's incredible to be inside this tank of sorts and to realize just how much it has seen.

Evidence of that is along the windows, the glass bulletproof in theory, but certainly has taken a lot of beatings.

David Culver, CNN, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The U.S. special envoy for Sudan is calling methods used by Sudanese paramilitary group deplorable and wants accountability. And the reaction came after a CNN investigation found that the RSF, or the Rapid Support Forces, used intimidation, torture and execution to recruit men and children in Sudan. The individuals were also denied food and medical aid. Rival factions have been fighting for control of the country since civil war broke out nearly a year ago.

Authorities in El Paso, Texas, say the situation is under control after a large group of migrants breached a barricade on the border with Mexico. Now, it's not clear what caused the rush, but officials describe it as an isolated incident. Between 400 and 600 people were arrested for illegally crossing the border between ports of entry.

Additional personnel have been deployed to the area and patrols have been increased. A government official says there hasn't been any significant rise in the number of migrants crossing into El Paso, which has averaged about a thousand a day for the past few months.

Well, in a few days, Donald Trump could start losing some of his real estate. Ahead, the prized properties that appear most vulnerable and what Trump has to do to keep them.

Plus, a prominent Indian politician could be facing corruption charges just weeks before the country's general election. Why his supporters are crying foul, after the break. Please stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom".

The New York attorney general has taken the first step towards possibly seizing the assets of Donald Trump, unless an appeals court intervenes or unless he comes up with nearly half a billion dollars bond by Monday, an amount Trump said he can't pay.

Now, the attorney general's office has made suggestions about how Trump can pay the bond, but his legal team doesn't seem to like any of them, calling a proposal that he offer real estate impractical and unjust, and saying that selling properties at a fire sale would cause irreparable damage if he were to later win an appeal. CNN's Kristen Holmes has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With just four days to pay the at least $464 million bond, former President Donald Trump's panic mode does not appear to be easing up.

Posting to Truth Social that the amount ordered by the judge was too high for bonding companies, adding that, quote, "putting up money before an appeal is very expensive".

With New York Attorney General Letitia James already taking the first steps to seize Trump's assets if he's unable to post bond, Trump has been publicly defiant.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: We're fighting it out with them. We have a lot of cash and we have a great company, but they want to take it away or at least take the cash element away. Billions of dollars in value, billions of dollars in properties, but they'd like to take the cash away so I can't use it on the campaign.

HOLMES (voice-over): As Trump seeks solutions, his campaign also facing a cash crunch.

Struggling to chip away at President Joe Biden's significant financial edge, Trump's campaign and joint fundraising committee raised a combined $20.3 million in February, ending the month with $41.9 million in the bank. While an increase from January, the numbers lag behind Biden's, whose political operation raised $53 million last month and ended February with $155 million cash on hand.

Meanwhile, with Trump's legal fees still looming over him, his leadership pack spending more on legal expenses than it took in last month. Biden not only outpacing Trump at the bank, but also on the campaign trail, making an appeal to key voting blocs.

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: I need you. I need you badly. I need the help. Kamala and I desperately need your help.

HOLMES (voice-over): While former President Trump has largely stayed behind closed doors since clinching the Republican nomination, swapping rallies for donor meetings and the golf course,

Trump has only visited one battleground state since Super Tuesday.

TRUMP: Hello, Georgia. I'm thrilled to be back.

HOLMES (voice-over): And held a campaign event for his handpicked Senate candidate in Ohio before the primary in that state. In the same stretch of time, Biden has visited every top battleground state but one.

BIDEN: You're going to be building the future here in Arizona, and Arizona is building the future.

HOLMES: And sources tell me that Donald Trump is expected back on the campaign trail within the next two weeks, likely to head to some of those battleground states. But make no mistake, Donald Trump right now is not focused on the campaign trail. Instead, he is fixated on how he is going to post bond. One thing that we are told he will not do is he has indicated to people around him that any sort of path to filing for bankruptcy is out of the question.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: One of India's top politicians and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's staunchest critics was arrested on Thursday in an alleged corruption case. Protests erupted after Delhi's chief minister was taken into custody just weeks before the country's general election. Local media reports say he'll appear in court Friday where the charges against him will be made public.

CNN's Vedika Sud joins me now from New Delhi. So, Vedika, take us through what these accusations could mean for the election.

[03:35:00]

VEDIKA SUD, CNN REPORTER: Kim, as you just mentioned, there are protests on the streets of Delhi, especially outside Arvind Kejriwal, the sitting Delhi chief minister's political office, the Aam Aadmi Party office in the national capital, where many of these leaders and members of the party have been detained.

They have been protesting against the arrest of Kejriwal.

Now, this comes at a time when the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government have been facing flak for the alleged clampdown and crackdown on political opponents and critics who have been taking on the government, especially ahead of the elections, the national elections, which is about three weeks out.

Now, what we're seeing are very serious charges being leveled by the enforcement directorate, which is the Federal Financial Crimes Agency, an investigating agency that also comes under the Modi government.

What the enforcement directorate is saying is that there are charges that they will be leveling against Arvind Kejriwal, along with others.

These are corruption charges, serious charges, and they've also alleged that Kejriwal, along with others, have taken kickbacks from an alcohol licensing policy.

All these charges have been denied by Kejriwal and his party.

Now, coming to the larger picture here, why Kejriwal, why the arrest, and why is the opposition claiming or crying foul over it right now?

It's simply because, like I said, the elections is about three weeks out. He was about to start his campaigning, and he's going to go on his campaign trail. Kejriwal is one of the few politicians and political outfits that is still politically relevant here in India, and he does have the might in many ways to take on the Modi government, if not nationally, at least regionally. His party is small. It's also relatively new. But he has been the chief minister of Delhi for two consecutive terms. The power center of Delhi is what I'm, of the country is what I'm talking about, which is New Delhi.

And he's also had his party win the elections in the state of Punjab.

Like you said, he has been a vocal critic of Modi. So observers and analysts claim that this is political vendetta. This is an opportunity that the BJP, which is Modi's political party, has seen at the moment and is seizing the moment by trying to put him in jail.

Now, there are a lot of political opposition parties and leaders who have come out in support of Arvind Kejriwal. One of them is a very prominent opposition leader. His name is Rahul Gandhi. And he has come out and said, and I quote him here, "a scared dictator wants to create a dead democracy". He's, of course, referring to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi here. Meanwhile, Modi's political party has come out after the arrest and stated that law is taking its own course and corruption charges should be probed.

In a few hours from now, if not in moments, we will be hearing from the court. We are expecting to hear more on the custody of Arvind Kejriwal.

And this could be challenged in the Delhi High Court later today by Arvind Kejriwal's party. But for now, we're seeing protests that could continue through the day. And Arvind Kejriwal, according to his party leaders, will continue to be the chief minister of Delhi. And this party will govern Delhi even if he's behind bars. His lieutenants say they will be out on the streets demanding that he is released and will be demanding justice for Arvind Kejriwal at the moment. But serious charges being leveled against him. Back to you, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Interesting. All right. Well, we'll continue following the developments and repercussions there. Vedika Sud in New Delhi. Thank you so much.

A landmark lawsuit against Apple. Coming up, why the U.S. Justice Department says the tech giant has too much power in the marketplace?

Plus, why fewer women are choosing to have children and how that's already changing global demographics. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: The U.S. Justice Department and more than a dozen states are suing Apple in a massive antitrust lawsuit. The tech giant is being accused of illegally controlling the smartphone market. CNN's Brian Todd has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's one of the most iconic, powerful brands in the world. Now worth more than $2.5 trillion. It's sold more than a billion iPhones worldwide.

And Apple's ability to maintain that hold on the marketplace has put it squarely in the crosshairs of the U.S. Justice Department. On Thursday, justice filing a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Apple, accusing the tech giant of illegally monopolizing the smartphone market.

MERRICK GARLAND, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: 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.

TODD (voice-over): At the heart of the antitrust suit, the allegation that Apple has set up its own closed ecosystem that limits Apple users to only using Apple products. That's also known as the walled garden. At the center of the walled garden, the iPhone.

TRIPP MICKLE, TECHNOLOGY REPORTER, NEW YORK TIMES: And that's really, you know, the centerpiece of Apple's empire. It's what has made it such a dominant company for so long.

TODD (voice-over): One example of unfair practices alleged by the Justice Department, that Apple degrades the text that iPhones receive from Android phones. Those green texts iPhones get from non-iPhones.

BRIAN FUNG, CNN TECHNOLOGY REPORTER: The Justice Department says that messages that are sent between iPhones are more secure because they're encrypted. But when you're messaging with a non-iPhone user, that those messages are not encrypted and thus less secure.

TODD: Also a difference in picture quality. A picture sent from an Android to an iPhone could be of lesser quality.

FUNG: Yeah, according to the Justice Department, when those messages or images get exchanged, the quality is less, you know, images might look grainier, videos might look grainier.

TODD (voice-over): Another example of what the Justice Department calls Apple's, quote, "exclusionary conduct". These days, good luck trying to use anything but Apple Pay if you're using your phone at the checkout counter.

GARLAND: Apple has blocked third-party developers from creating competing digital wallets on the iPhone. They use what is known as tap-to-pay functionality.

TODD (voice-over): And Justice says Apple watches only work well with iPhones, forcing owners to buy nothing but Apple phones. The Justice Department says unlocking more competition for Apple products will lead to more innovation and lower prices for consumers.

FUNG: On the other hand, Apple says, look, if the Justice Department gets its way, then that effectively makes Apple devices much more like Android devices, and consumers don't want that.

TODD: Apple responded to this antitrust suit by saying that it, quote, "threatens who we are and the principles that set Apple products apart in fiercely competitive markets". Apple says if the lawsuit is successful, it would hinder Apple's ability to create the kind of technology people expect from it. And the company says the lawsuit is wrong on the facts of the law. Last fall, Apple did introduce plans to make texting from Android phones just as good as texting from iPhones.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: New research from the University of Washington finds fewer women are having children and global fertility rates are going to plummet. The fertility rate is the average number of children born to a woman in her lifetime. It was almost five in 1950. By 2021, it had fallen to just over two, and by the year 2100, it will be about 1.5. Now, some of the reasons include better education and opportunities for women, improved access to birth control and the rising costs of child rearing.

The study also predicts that by 2100, half of all children will be born in sub-Saharan Africa, and nearly all countries will have a falling fertility rate, which will cause a huge demographic shift.

[03:44:49]

One of the study's co-authors comes to us now from Seattle. Austin Schumacher is an assistant professor of health metrics sciences at the University of Washington. Thank you so much for joining us.

So we've laid out the basics there. So just to start, I mean, this has been part of a long-term trend. Why are the rates dropping so much, not everywhere, but in many places across the world?

AUSTIN SCHUMACHER, ASST. PROF. OF HEALTH METRICS SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON: Great. Yeah. Thank you for having me.

So the fertility rates in higher fertility countries are mainly driven by the factors that you mentioned of better access to female education and better access to contraceptives. And this leads to delaying pregnancies and dropping fertility rates, fewer children per woman. And then in higher income countries, there are a lot lower fertility

rates as a whole, and these have remained to drop and have not been rebounding to higher levels, which has been seen previously in the past. And the reasons for that are a lot more varied and debated, and there's not as much good evidence on that.

BRUNHUBER: So in many ways, you know, as we're laying this out, this is a success story, women having more choices and more opportunities in many countries. So why are so many experts worried about the declining fertility? What are the implications of a baby bust?

SCHUMACHER: Yeah, so with declining fertility rates, you have a shift in the average age of the population, so the population gets older on average, and so you have a lot more older people and fewer younger people to support them.

So this leads to issues in economics and the sustainability of different aspects of society that could really lead to a dramatic shift in how we have to how we have to live day to day life.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah. So, I mean, what are those shifts? What do we need to do in order to prepare for that future?

SCHUMACHER: Yeah, so this will lead to a lot of a lot of potential problems where I think migration will be one issue that comes to the forefront, as a lot of countries, like you mentioned, Sub-Saharan Africa will have over half the or are projected to have over half the babies born in 2100.

A lot of these lower income countries will have continually growing populations. And so there will be shifting of people across countries and across borders and being able to deal with this in an ethical way and having a cooperative approach will be really key.

BRUNHUBER: Interesting. You know, we're wondering what the -- what the solutions there are in those areas, you know, thinking of Sub-Saharan Africa, where the political and economic situation make it so fraught to intervene.

SCHUMACHER: Yeah, I think that the -- a lot of these lower income countries are also places that have some of the poorer health outcomes. And so a lot more focus on -- on development of health care systems is going to be crucial.

They're also -- they are also countries that are at a high risk of climate crisis. And so dealing addressing that will be another -- another solution that we'll have to come up with as well.

And then in higher income countries that have -- have these low rates, some policies to support parents will be really important as well. But so far, the data has shown that this has only led to some modest increases in fertility rates. So more innovation on that front will also be necessary.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, I was just going to ask you about that, because, you know, we've seen countries like -- like South Korea, for instance, sort of try and encourage people to have more children. You're saying basically that those measures don't necessarily work without a broader way to tackle some of the underlying issues. Is that -- is that right?

SCHUMACHER: Yes, so far, a lot of the -- a lot of the policies that have been implemented by countries across the globe have shown some success, but not to the level of increasing fertility rates back to replacement levels.

BRUNHUBER: Interesting. Well, listen, we'll have to leave it there. We really appreciate getting your expertise on this, Professor Austin Schumacher in Seattle. Thank you so much.

SCHUMACHER: Great, thank you.

BRUNHUBER: CNN gets rare access to the world's largest chipmaker, the Taiwanese giant TSMC. We'll have details from the global expansion plans after the break. Stay with us.

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[03:50:00]

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BRUNHUBER: A mission to the International Space Station is now on hold. The launch of the Soyuz rocket from a cosmodrome in Kazakhstan was aborted just 20 seconds before liftoff.

NASA says one of the service towers next to the rocket failed to initiate an engine sequence start, triggering an automatic abort. A NASA astronaut and two other crew members are safe and engineers are trying to figure out what went wrong. The voyage from Earth to the space station takes about three hours. The next opportunity to launch is on Saturday.

Demand for A.I. powered technology is booming and one of the tech's biggest players is riding the wave. TSMC, the world's largest chipmaker, is expanding its global operations while managing competitive technological and geopolitical risks along the way. Will Ripley was granted rare access to the company's headquarters in Taipei.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is Taiwan's epicenter of technological revolution, where precision meets innovation and tiny chips power big dreams.

This is TSMC, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, commanding more than 50 percent of the global market, producing more than 90 percent of the world's most advanced chips.

RIPLEY: To say it's difficult to gain access to Taiwan's Semiconductor Manufacturing Company would be the understatement of the year or maybe two years, because that's about how long it's taken my team and I to get permission to come here. Behind these walls, some of the world's most advanced, highly

secretive technology. It's so secret you have to check your phone, your laptop, anything that emits a signal just to walk through the door.

RIPLEY (voice-over): As demand for A.I. driven technologies soars, TSMC is the go to global manufacturer, sending stocks skyrocketing.

The company's workforce, 77,000 strong and growing, a far cry from its humble beginnings in 1987, says the senior vice president of human resources, Laura Ho.

What is it like to run H.R. for what is arguably the most important company in the world right now?

LAURA HO, SR. VICE PRESIDENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES, TSMC: I think now H.R. is very different than the H.R. then, because we are fast expanding our global footprint.

RIPLEY (voice-over): TSMC says it needs to hire thousands of new employees over the next few years to fill chip factories or fabs under construction right now across Taiwan and around the world.

Last month, TSMC opened its first fab in Kumamoto, Japan, with the help of billions of dollars in government subsidies. They're also building new fabs in Dresden, Germany and Phoenix, Arizona.

RIPLEY: What's the most challenging location where you're trying to build a factory right now?

HO: I think Arizona is more difficult. Regulations and the culture is different. We have to adjust to local culture and different employees.

RIPLEY: Why the decision to do the more advanced technology in Arizona?

HO: Our leading edge customers are mostly American companies. So to serve their need in their home country, that's the objective.

RIPLEY (voice-over): That Arizona fab is facing chronic delays. The price tag skyrocketing. Making chips outside of Taiwan and making them profitable will likely require huge government subsidies.

KRISTY HSU, DIRECTOR, TAIWAN ASEAN STUDIES CENTER, CHUNG HUA INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC RESEARCH: They estimated the cost in the U.S. compared with Taiwan is about 40 percent more expensive. But right now, because of the inflation, all these kind of issues right now, they think it's probably two times or three times more expensive.

RIPLEY (voice-over): TSMC's overseas expansion must overcome massive hurdles. An expansion world leaders say is necessary to protect the global chip supply chain from potentially disastrous disruptions. We got a taste of that during the pandemic. Months long waits for new phones, laptops and other tech. Any major disruption could mean waiting years for cutting edge tech.

[03:55:07]

Taiwan is a volcanic island prone to earthquakes, typhoons and other natural disasters.

HO: This earthquake, for example, earthquake, I think all our engineers need to go back to the company soon. Doesn't matter what time it is. If it's midnight, they will come back.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Perhaps the biggest threat to TSMC's supply chain, also one of its biggest customers, rising tensions with China. The company's stock is surging anyway, as other nations scramble to catch up with Taiwan.

HO: I don't think it would take away the strength. Because we are still very highly concentrated in Taiwan and the most leading technology with absolutely starting from Taiwan.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Beyond its core semiconductor business, TSMC is exploring new frontiers in advanced packaging, paving the way for enhanced processing power and energy efficiency, pushing the boundaries of what's possible in today's fast moving world of tech.

Will Ripley, CNN, Taichung, Taiwan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Well, it happens only twice a year in Equinox when the sun crosses directly above the equator. Well, visitors at the Mexican Pyramid of the Sun celebrated the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere on Thursday, many dressed in white, as you can see, stretching up their arms, dancing and singing.

A Mexican university says the ritual dates back to a new age wave in the 1970s and to refresh energies as the seasons change from winter to spring. Although NASA says the spring equinox actually happened on Tuesday, the annual event is also a way to welcome the first day of spring.

Well, at least 60 real life Paddington bears are sparking hope for a species that experts say is vulnerable to extinction.

A Bolivian based conservation program says it's identified dozens of this type of Andean bear, the only one native to South America and the inspiration behind the beloved fictional bear with an appetite for marmalade. They're in forested areas where they hadn't been spotted before. Now trap cameras installed in 2017 captured various members of the thriving bear community, as you can see, playing or walking along the trees.

And thank you so much for joining me. I'm Kim Brunhuber, in Atlanta. "CNN Newsroom" continues with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo, next.

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