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Two Legal Battle Threats for Trump Coming Up; Jake Sullivan to Meet with Yoav Gallant in Washington; Israel Blocks Aid for Northern Gaza; Captured Terror Suspects in Moscow Appear in Court; Kaduna Governor: At Least 137 Children Rescued; Sources: House Dems Would Save GOP Speaker For Ukraine Aid; Baseball Star Shohei Ohtani To Address Media On Monday. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired March 25, 2024 - 02:00   ET

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

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ROSESMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States, around the world and streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead. Time's up. It's deadline day for Donald Trump to post a whopping bond of nearly half a billion dollars in the civil fraud judgment against him.

Four men appear in court to face charges in the terror attack on a Russian concert hall. We will discuss what motivated this deadly attack and the intelligence that may have prevented it.

And more than 300 Nigerian school children were kidnapped by armed gunmen earlier this month. Now, dozens of them have finally been released, but the fate of the rest remains unclear. The details ahead in a live report.

Good to have you with us. In the coming hours, Donald Trump will have two major legal threats colliding in New York. First, the former president is facing a critical deadline to post nearly half a billion dollars in bond money for the civil fraud judgment against him. That's cash, his lawyer says, he does not have on hand.

If Trump fails to secure this bond, the state attorney general could begin seizing assets like his properties. But experts say his bank accounts should be handled first as they would be much easier to take.

Meanwhile, Trump could also learn the new trial date for his delayed criminal hush money case. There will be a hearing where Trump's lawyers can argue for a longer postponement or to have the charges dismissed. The earliest the trial could begin is April 15th. And we get the latest now on Trump's legal troubles from CNN's Zachary Cohen.

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: If Donald Trump cannot secure a bond in his multimillion-dollar civil fraud judgment against him by Monday's deadline, he could see the New York attorney general start the process of seizing his assets. That's things like his bank accounts, things like his properties, all things that Donald Trump does not want to see prosecutors take away from him.

But look, Trump personally owes over $450 million as a result of this judgment. He has indicated and claimed that he has enough cash to pay that to support a bond. In that case, his lawyers have corrected him saying no, he does not have that amount of cash on hand. But ultimately, if he cannot put up the money to postpone by Monday's deadline, that is when you could see the attorney general start to eye other things to make up for that cost.

And look, experts say that prosecutors have already taken some steps to potentially signal that they are going to move to seize some of Trump's assets and properties in New York should he be unable to post that bond on Monday. Those are things like one of his golf courses in New York and another private estate that he has there.

And at the same time, Donald Trump is also expected in court as proceedings continue as part of his New York criminal case. Now this case deals with the hush money payments that were allegedly made to porn star Stormy Daniels. These were payments allegedly made to cover up an affair between Daniels and Trump prior to the 2016 election.

This trial -- this case was supposed to go to trial. The trial was supposed to start on Monday, but instead we're gonna have another pre- trial hearing. This is where Trump's attorneys will try to postpone a trial for as long as possible. They will argue that discovery issues require further delay. The district attorney's office in New York has argued that no further delay is needed.

So ultimately, we're gonna have to see if a judge in this case could give more insight and more detail about a possible trial start date. It's already been delayed through at least mid-April, but it's possible the judge sides with the DA's office and gives us a trial date in New York before the 2024 election. Zachary Cohen, CNN, Washington.

CHURCH: Nikos Passas is a professor of criminology and criminal justice and co-director of the Institute for Security and Public Policy at Northeastern University. He joins us now from Boston. Good to have you with us.

NIKOS PASSAS, PROFESSOR OF CRIMINOLOGY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE, NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY: Thank you for having me.

CHURCH: So, in the hours ahead, Donald Trump faces two major legal threats. First, a deadline for the posting of that $464 million bond in his New York fraud case and also a possible hush money trial date. So, let's consider the first.

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What happens if Trump is unable or perhaps unwilling to secure that bond? And what decision might the appeals court make about whether Trump has to post this bond or perhaps a smaller amount? PASSAS: So, the court has a discretion as to whether to stay in

enforcement, reduce the amount of the bond or change the terms of the bond or keep things the way they are. And in making that decision, it will consider things such as the likelihood of success in the appeal by the defendant, the defendant's financial resources, the potential harm to the plaintiff or the defendant and the public interest.

So, we either keep things as they are or he has to post a bond. If he has to post a bond and does not, then the question is what -- so the collection process may then get started and it is immediately enforceable. Steps have already been taken by the attorney general in New York to place a lien and start a collection process.

So, there will be immediate consequences and impact on his finances, the former president's finances, brand and in effect also on his credit rating. The course of action on the part of Letitia James, the attorney general, would be to move against as liquid assets as possible. That is the lowest hanging fruit, such as financial accounts, bank or other financial assets. And then, as we have read in various sources, she may move to seize some of his real estate properties.

CHURCH: Right. And so, what if Trump turns to a foreign source for help to post his bond? What's the potential conflict of interest or even national security threat in doing that?

PASSAS: If somebody else, as you asked, steps in, the question is who that entity or person is and what kind of debt, personal debt Trump will be owing to that person. And that may clash with a national interest, that may clash with the priorities for the United States. So, it is certainly a potential conflict of interest.

And the question, of course, is why would a person or entity step in to do such -- to take such a risk. For some entities and some people, it's not a big deal, but it could mean a debt that then creates the conflict of interest for someone who is making key decisions in the White House if he gets elected.

CHURCH: Right. And Trump is also expected to attend his New York hush money hearing today with the judge possibly setting a new trial date for his case after a delay, potentially his only pre-election trial. What are your expectations?

PASSAS: Well, my guess is that we are going to get that trial started within the next month or so, because the delay was for several thousand documents that were disclosed at a later -- at a subsequent date, both to the prosecution and then to the defense. The issue, however, is that the overwhelming majority of those documents are not relevant to the case.

Only 200 -- to 300 documents are relevant to it. And it doesn't take that long to go through them. We already had a delay of about a month. And therefore, my expectation is that that trial is going to get started pretty soon.

CHURCH: Nikos Passas, thank you so much for joining us and for your analysis. Appreciate it.

PASSAS: You're welcome. Thank you so much.

CHURCH: U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is expected to meet Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant at the White House in the coming hours. An official says they will discuss the urgent need for more humanitarian aid to reach desperate civilians in Gaza and efforts to get the remaining hostages held in the enclave released.

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Meantime, CNN analyst Barak Ravid says Israel has agreed to a proposal from the U.S. that would release around 700 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of 40 Israeli hostages. But he says a response from Hamas could take a few days. CNN's Paula Hancocks is in Doha with the details.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have seen a concerted diplomatic push from the United States over the last few days trying to push these indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel forward. Now, we've heard from our CNN affiliate, Channel 11, citing a senior Israeli government official that Israel has agreed to a U.S. proposal that would see some 700 Palestinian prisoners released as part of this this deal.

One hundred of them, we understand, would be those serving life sentences for having killed Israeli nationals. Now, in return, there would be 40 Israeli hostages that would be released. Now, this is Israel agreeing to a U.S. proposal. We obviously have to wait to see what Hamas thinks of this particular deal. We know that there are technical teams here in Doha still based here and trying to work out the details.

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BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: What happens now is that Israel and the U.S. and the Qatari and Egyptian mediators are waiting to get the response from Hamas. And what I hear from Israeli officials that this could take between, I don't know, a day to three days because those details need to go from Hamas's representatives in Doha who are negotiating to the person who really calls the shots. And this is Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza, who is in a bunker some 100 feet under the ground.

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HANCOCKS: Now, we know that Hamas just 10 days ago had proposed that there was between 700 to 1000 Palestinian prisoners released as part of this deal. And in recent weeks, if not months, there have been quite significant gaps between the two sides, not only when it comes to the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released, but also which prisoners would be released.

Meanwhile, we have heard from the chief of UNRWA. This is Philippe Lazzarini saying in a tweet that Israel has informed the U.N. group, the main U.N. body within Gaza, that they would no longer be able to facilitate their aid distributions in northern Gaza. Now, Lazzarini has called this outrageous at a time when a U.N.-backed report has just said that there could be famine in northern Gaza between now and mid-May.

Now, Israel has accused these 12 members of UNRWA of being part of the October 7th attacks. Now, those 12 have been released from their duties. We know that there is an independent investigation that's ongoing within UNRWA. Lazzarini calling on countries not to stop funding at a crucial time, he says, when those in Gaza so desperately need it. Paula Hancock's CNN Doha Qatar.

CHURCH: A week after the Israel Defence Forces began an operation at Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza, the Palestinian Red Crescent says the Israeli military has surrounded two hospitals in southern Gaza and their, quote, "teams are in extreme danger and unable to move at all."

The IDF released this video, stating that it's conducting what it called an operation in the Al-Amal neighborhood, but denies it's inside Al-Amal and Nasser hospitals. Israel says it launched strikes on about 40 targets in the area, claiming it's continuing to dismantle, quote, "terrorist infrastructure." CNN cannot independently verify these claims.

Four men accused of the deadly terror attack in Russia have appeared in court. The latest on the shootings and fire that killed more than 130 people at a concert hall. That's next.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. The four men accused of killing more than 130 people at a concert hall outside Moscow have gone before a judge. Each had a number of visible injuries. One was in a wheelchair and appeared non-responsive. Three of the men entered guilty pleas. All are being held in pretrial detention. Investigators say the men are from Tajikistan and have been in Russia on either temporary or expired visas.

Outside the concert hall, thousands of people gathered in the rain on Sunday to remember the victims. The death toll from the terror attack now stands at 137. More than a hundred others are injured. Inside what's left of the venue, crews are searching debris from the devastating fire the gunmen are accused of setting. They're using robots and dogs trying to find any more bodies still in the rubble.

And CNN chief global affairs correspondent Matthew Chance was at Sunday's makeshift memorial and has more on how people are reacting to the terror attack.

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MATHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, you join me outside the Crocus City Hall near Moscow, where on Friday night, gunmen killed at least 130 people inside that prominent concert hall. You can see thousands of people have now turned out from around Russia to pay their respects, to lay flowers, cuddly toys as well, add respect for the children who are affected. It really is a major event that has affected this country, and it has fed feelings of instability amongst ordinary people.

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ALEKSANDRA RUDENKO, MOURNER: I feel terrible about all the violence that exists in our world.

CHANCE: Yeah, in our world, and in Russia as well. Do you feel safe in Russia, do you think?

RUDENKO: Yes, I think so. Not today because of this --

CHANCE: Attack.

RUDENKO: Attack. Can be in every country, and I think that it is a problem of all world.

CHANCE: Do you feel safe in Russia now? Do you still feel safe, or is there so many things happening you feel a bit more insecure?

MAXIM TKACHEV, MOURNER: You know, I don't know how to answer that question properly, but all I can say is that terrorist attacks, they are a worldwide problem. So, this topic, well, it's not safe to feel when there are terrorists in the whole world, so I should say, well, this is --

CHANCE: This is part of a broader, broader problem.

TKACHEV: Yes, yes.

CHANCE: You can see Orthodox priests have come out to deliver prayers at this memorial as well. This as investigators inside the burned-out rubble of the concert hall are still going through the debris and are still saying that they're finding bodies, and so the death toll could rise.

In terms of the investigations, well, the authorities say at least 11 people have been taken into custody, including the four suspects who they believe carried out the actual shootings inside the Crocus City Hall.

Of course, ISIS said they carried out this attack, but the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, who is vowing revenge, calling it a barbaric act, has said that it could be linked with Ukraine, something the Ukrainian government has categorically denied. Matthew Chance, CNN, at the Crocus City Hall near Moscow.

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CHURCH: Matthew Schmidt is an associate professor of national security at the University of New Haven. He's also a former professor of strategic and operational planning at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. He joins us now from New Haven in Connecticut. Appreciate you being with us. MATTHEW SCHMIDT, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF NATIONAL SECURITY, UNIVERSITY

OF NEW HAVEN: My pleasure with Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, Russia observed a national day of mourning Sunday for the victims of that terror attack on a Russian concert hall. ISIS-K is claiming responsibility for that attack. It's not the first time an Islamic militant group has attacked Russia. But why would ISIS attack at this time? And for what reason?

SCHMIDT: ISIS-K most recently attacked the Russian embassy in Kabul last fall. And it's been trying to push Russia out of Afghanistan because Russia has been supporting the Taliban, which has been fighting against ISIS-K. And ISIS-K's basic strategy is to try to put Russia out of Afghanistan and out of greater Central Asia.

CHURCH: So, Putin was apparently warned by U.S. intelligence of the possibility of an attack like this, but dismissed it as an attempt to destabilize Russia. However, the Russian embassy in the U.S. is saying it did not get notice of an impending attack. What do you make of this chatter?

SCHMIDT: Well, it's pure hubris on Russia's part. It's standard operating procedure for U.S. intelligence agencies to pass on information of impending attacks. For instance, we just did it in Iran a few months ago where ISIS-K attacked the target that we were warning would be attacked. So, this is pretty normal. And for Putin to just dismiss it out of hand, in fact, he said he wouldn't accept it because it was an American sort of disinformation plot. It just shows the weakness of his leadership.

CHURCH: And Putin is trying to unite Russia behind the Ukraine war by blaming Ukraine for this attack instead of ISIS. Will that strategy work for him?

SCHMIDT: Absolutely. When you don't have a free press, when you control what goes out on radio and TV and in print and the majority of your population is getting the news that way, that's exactly what he's going to get. He's going to get a rally around the flag effect, although there is, I would note, significant discontent in the immediate aftermath here of the attack.

There are a lot of citizen journalists who are posting things on Telegram critiquing the security services and Putin himself sort of lightly. What they do in Russia is they critique the people around Putin and they say if only those people had given Putin the right information, then he, the czar, would have acted correctly. And so, any failure is kept one level below Putin himself. But that criticism is pretty strong right now.

CHURCH: Yeah, I mean, Putin has control of television and print coverage, but has not tried to control the Internet in the same way.

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Why is that given it offers a threat to his regime, doesn't it, by leaving open a loophole, allowing for anti-Russian chatter, which is what we are seeing right now in the wake of this attack?

SCHMIDT: Yeah, it's probably his biggest strategic mistake. Back in the early 2000s he simply didn't understand it. And so, he never built the kind of firewall for domestic information that China did, for instance. And so, there's really -- it's leaky.

Overtime, he's tried to build a propaganda machine. He's trying to control what's going on. But he didn't build the fundamental infrastructure. And so, he can't fundamentally stop people from using VPNs or other anonymizing things like Tor servers and things like that to get information in. But he has significantly slowed it.

CHURCH: Matthew Schmidt, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.

SCHMIDT: My pleasure always.

CHURCH: Still to come, after a military rescue, the parents of dozens of children kidnapped in Nigeria are breathing a sigh of relief while others are still being held in captivity. We'll have a live report.

And thousands gathered in Argentina to remember the victims of a former military dictatorship which was in power decades ago. The details when we return.

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Officials in Nigeria say at least 137 school children kidnapped from Kaduna earlier this month have been rescued. They were reportedly rescued by the military early Sunday morning, but it's not clear if some students are still missing since nearly 300 were initially reported as being held captive. The state's governor says he met with families of the children and the students will be hosted at an official dinner on Monday, added that one teacher had died after developing complications while in captivity.

Joining us now is CNN's David McKenzie in Johannesburg.

Good to see you, David.

So what's the latest on these kidnapped at school children in Nigeria and the number that were rescued and those that perhaps remain in captivity?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, these are often murky circumstances and certainly the parents of these children in Kaduna state will breathing a huge sigh of relief more than two weeks after they were taken from their school in Kuriga. Both primary and secondary school, the gunman came in on motorcycles according to witnesses, the terror that must have been felt by that students who already living in circumstances of insecurity in that part of northwest Nigeria, they were pulled away from their school after assembly taken into a remote area. Now, according to the governor, he says that in fact, only 137

children were taken, 137 children were in the words of them rescued in a search and rescue operation. Parents of the total and that we spoke to a few days ago, said that the bandits, as they call the Nigeria, asked for more than $600,000 in ransom. It's unclear if ransom was paid. Certainly, the government is not admitting that.

And you have these new images coming out of the children being paraded as it were in front of a governor who is claiming credit along with the members of the military and the Nigerian government for getting these children back home safely -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: And, David, how bad kidnappings like this in Nigeria, nearly ten years after the Chibok girls were taken?

MCKENZIE: It's a crisis in Nigeria at least 1,400 people. Students, in fact, had been taken under various circumstances according to now, over the last several years since the checkbook case where more than 200 girls were taken, nearly ten years ago, the cause, an international outcry. But there have been many, many more children and students who have been kidnapped who haven't caused as big of an outcry, didn't cause a social media campaign in the whereas then gets still there have been taken from their parents.

In some cases, those children have been returned after a ransom is paid and it really speaks to the inability of the Nigerian government to secure those zones of the country particularly in the north west, central, north and the northeast, where it has become this epidemic of kidnappings for ransom, not just of students but just businesspeople, private citizens. This is a massive business by bandits in those areas of the northwest and also by Islamic terror groups in the northeast. This will be a happy day though for these parents and the children that have gotten home safely. I'm sure more details will emerge as they reunited with their families -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. David McKenzie joining us live from Johannesburg, many thanks for that report.

Well, thousands gathered on the anniversary of Argentina's 1976 military coup to, on a victims of that former hey, the ship, human rights organizations estimate about 30,000 people were kidnapped, tortured, and killed during the military dictatorship, nearly 50 years ago many of those who suffered under the regime were opposition members, union members, or students. This year's demonstration is the first under controversial new President Javier Milei who has disputed the number of victims.

Ireland is once again poised to get its youngest ever prime minister. The ruling Fine Gail Party has named higher education minister Simon Harris as its new leader. The 37-year-old Harris would succeed Leo Varadkar, who surprisingly resigned last week citing personal and political reasons. But Varadkar had also been Ireland's youngest ever leader when he was elected in 2017 at the age of 38. He guided the country through some difficult times, including Brexit and the COVID, pandemic.

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In his acceptance speech, Sunday, Harris pledged, quote, hard work blood, sweat and tears as the next prime minister.

Well, still to come, on your mark, get set, go. Observers or -- servers, I should say, in Paris, compete in an historic waiters' race, that's back after more than a decade, the action and the details after the break.

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CHURCH: Thousands of people is celebrating the festival of colors in India and Pakistan, known as holy, it marks the beginning of spring and celebrates the victory of good over evil. Some communities begin the festivities the night before by lighting bonfires, followed by drenching each other and colored powder and buckets of water and singing religious song so on the day of holy.

Hundreds of waiters in Paris served up their A game this weekend for a century old race that's come roaring back to life and the city of lights. They took to the streets to show who could move the fastest, and with the best balance.

CNN's Michael Holmes reports.

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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Waiting tables in Paris isn't just a job. It's a profession and a good server needs a lot of hustle to get through the day. But just who is the fastest waiter in town? Some 200 servers in Paris suited up to put this skills to the test.

CLAUDE ISAMBERT, WAITER (through translator): Black pants, black socks, well-polished shoes and a tie or bow tie with a jacket. That's traditional and Parisian.

HOLMES: Holding trays containing a typical French breakfast, the participants navigated a two kilometer course through the Marais District in the revival of Paris's classic cafe waiter race last held in 2011.

The rules are simple, no running that would just be gauche and no spilling anything on the tray, which must be held in one hand.

LOUANE MOREL, WAITRESS (through translator): I've been doing this job since I was 16. I don't necessarily expect to be the first because I don't necessarily have the best cardio, but I hope to at least arrive with a train good condition at the finish line.

HOLMES: The race began in 1914 with servers balancing a bottle on a tray in the earlier days, but 13 years ago, organizers couldn't find any sponsors. So the race was put on the backburner until the Paris city hall and Waiter Authority fired up the event again this year. ANNE-SOPHIE BLANCHET, SPECTATOR: I find it wonderful that were

reviving this race, which highlights a very beautiful profession and which above all is very difficult I think on a daily basis. So congratulations to them, and may the best win.

HOLMES: So while this might not look like a typical day at the cafe, the men's and women's winners who completed the circuit in 13 minutes, 30 seconds, and 14 minutes, 12 seconds respectively, say, its an expedited version what they do every day.

With a healthy serving of stamina getting them across the finish line, bon appetit.

Michael Holmes, CNN.

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CHURCH: And thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church.

For our international viewers, "WORLD SPORT" is up next.

And for our viewers here in the United States and in Canada, I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment. Do stay with us.

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CHURCH: Welcome back to our viewers in North America. I'm Rosemary Church.

Assistance for Ukraine has been blocked in the U.S. Congress for weeks, but it may become a bargaining chip for House Democrats. On Friday, Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene filed a motion to oust fellow Republican Mike Johnson from his role as House speaker. Democrats now say they might come to his rescue if he helps pass Ukraine aid.

CNN's Manu Raju has more.

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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: House Democrats are considering saving mike Johnson from a threat from his speakership after Marjorie Taylor Greene announced on Friday that she would try to make Mike Johnson the second speaker ever to be ousted by his own colleagues. Our first speaker happened last fall, Kevin McCarthy was booted in the aftermath of a right-wing revolt.

There was a little bit different at that time. Democrats all voted to oust him along with eight Republicans, Kevin McCarthy is pushed out of the speakership. There were 22 days of chaos. Johnson came in. Now, he's facing the similar threat after he agreed with Democrats on a bill to keep the government open through September.

Now, the question will be, how Democrats handle this? Because many of them are indicating that they are willing to save them.

Why? Because of Ukraine aid being stalled in the House made them say, if Johnson were to outline a path to getting Ukraine aid approved, then that would change their calculus and perhaps they would vote to save him.

ABIGAIL SPANBERGER, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: If he does the responsible thing which is allowing members of Congress to vote on a bill that will pass and that is in our national security interests. And then subsequent to that, a non-serious actor who doesn't want to govern brings a motion to vacate -- yes, I would motion to table in that circumstance.

JAMIE RASKIN, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: I will make common cause with anybody who will stand up for the people of Ukraine, anybody who will get desperately needed humanitarian assistance to Gaza, and anybody who will work for a two-state solution.

RAJU: Now the timing of this is all a bit unclear because Marjorie Taylor Greene because actually call it that vote whenever the House that she's recognized on the House floor. Now, the House is in recess for the next two weeks she told me that she is not certain about her timing yet, but when she comes back, she could that could change. You could move to the floor, start the process, which would be two days before they would actually cast that critical vote.

The first vote is expected to be a motion to table. Or kill this resolution on a procedural matter, procedural grounds. That is one of the Democrats are considering doing essentially voting to kill the resolution from going forward.

But their demands are pretty clear. Move on. Ukraine aid and if there's a path, they believe Ukraine aid can become law, perhaps Johnson can stay in the job.

Manu Raju, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Millions across the U.S. are under winter weather alerts as a significant winter storm is currently impacting much of the central plains with several states under blizzard and winter storm warnings, that could last until early Tuesday. The center of the storm will move into the Midwest on Monday, where much of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas could see up to a foot of snow and cities like Minneapolis could see as much or even more snow than they did all winter.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is stepping up its oversight of United Airlines after a series of troubling incidents. Over the past month, 11 incidents made headlines including hydraulic system issues on several planes, a plane sliding off the runway, and a tire falling off a plane during take-off. The airlines and employees and memo on Friday to let them know the FAA will be present to take a closer look at multiple areas of their operation and evaluate safety.

One expert weighed in on this development. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER GOELZ, FORMER MANAGING DIRECTOR, NTSB: I think it shows that the whole industry has been under the microscope over the past couple of months. And United has been at the forefront, unfortunately. And the FAA -- United has, you know, 950 aircraft. The third largest carrier in the world and they've had a number of troubling incidents.

I think some of them the importance has been magnified because of just the general scrutiny of the industry. But the FAA is taking no chances and they've instructed their certificate management offices that oversees United to step up the oversight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The FAA is also warning United that some of its future projects may be delayed based on the findings of the agency's oversight. The U.S. men's NCAA tournaments sweet 16 is set. On Sunday, Marquette advanced by beating Colorado 81-77. Marquette's Tyler Kolek had 21 points and 11 assists.

Meanwhile, Purdue powered past Utah State. The Boilermakers seven- foot-four center Zach Edey had 23 points and 14 rebounds in the win.

By the way, the Cinderella story of this year's tournament has come to an end. The scrappy Yale Bulldogs lost to San Diego state 57 to 85.

American ice skating prodigy Ilia Malinin lived up to his Quad God nickname on Saturday when the 19-year-old climb from third to first place, landing his first ever world figure skating during title by way of a dazzling, not to mention historic performance. Malinin opened his routine with a quadruple axel before landing not one not two, but five more quad jumps, resulting in the highest ever score given in this competition. The Quad God is still the only man to land quadruple axel.

And baseball star Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter is being investigated for gambling. Ohtani's lawyers accuse him of stealing millions of dollars from the star. Now the Japanese player who signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the offseason is planning to speak to the media.

CNN's Camila Bernal has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's the day a lot of Dodger fans were waiting for watching Shohei Ohtani play here at home, but it comes with but so much controversy. We're talking theft, millions of dollars, gambling, and now an IRS and an MLB investigation.

Let's sort of recap where we are right now. Shohei Ohtani's longtime interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was fired after Ohtani's attorneys accuse him of massive theft, millions of dollars, and placing bets with a bookmaker that's currently under a federal investigation. That's according to ESPN and "The L.A. Times" who first reported on this, and CNN did speak to a spokesperson with the IRS that confirmed that Ippei Mizuhara and a man by the name of Mathew Bowyer are both being investigated by the IRS. We spoke to Bowyer's attorney and here's what she said

DIANE BASS, MATHEW BOWYER'S ATTORNEY: We've learned during the course of the investigation is that Ohtani's name was on one of the wire transfers to Mr. Bowyer's organization to cover a bet. But as far as Mr. Bowyer understood, the bet was from Ippei or it was being covered by Mr. Ohtani for Ippei.

BERNAL: And the problem that a lot of the fans people following this controversy have, is the changing statements from Ohtani and Mizuhara. Ohtani's reps first telling ESPN that he was aware of the gambling debt, then later saying he had no knowledge of any of this, and Mizuhara's speaking to ESPN initially said that he'd asked Ohtani to pay his debts and the he had agreed to do so. But later, walking everything back, saying that he lied and that Ohtani had no knowledge of any of this.

So again, a lot of questions and major implications when it comes to these investigations because of the fact that Ohtani is a worldwide baseball star. And because of the fact that he did sign that massive $700 year deal with the Dodgers. We are being told that Ohtani will likely speak to the media on Monday. That's according to a number of media outlets. So, of course, a lot of people having questions for Ohtani about this entire situation.

Camila Bernal, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Most of us can't imagine our lives without electronic devices and not just screens. We also rely on larger items like refrigerators and air conditioners.

According to him new joint report from the United Nations Institute for Training and Research and the International Telecommunications Union, the world is now producing a record amount of e-waste and its putting lives at risk.

Kim Brunhuber has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These men in Ghana are rummaging through discarded electronics using screwdrivers and pliers, they break down computers and cell phones for any parts they can and salvage.

But this is just one electronic wasteland. An alarming new U.N. report says that since 2010, the amount of global e-waste has grown in five times faster than it can be collected and recycled. According to the study, a record 62 million metric tons of e-waste was produced in 2022. That's an increase of 82 percent from 2010. And the world is on track to generate a whopping 82 million tons of e-waste in 2030.

[02:55:04]

One U.N. researcher says that we're losing the battle against e-waste and the wealthy are mostly the blame.

KEES BALDE, SENIOR SCIENTIFIC SPECIALIST, U.N. INSTITUTATION FOR TRAINING & RESEARCH: Well, the richer you are, the more you consume, and the more produce you consume, the more products you are buying on the battery and the blog, and the more e-waste you are generating.

BRUNHUBER: What's more, e-waste recycling only produces 1 percent of the rare earth elements needed to meet the current demand, which leaves the world highly dependent on just a few countries where rare earths or mined, including countries in Africa. The continent generates the lowest lets amount of e-waste, recycling rates. There are below 1 percent. A high level official with the international telecommunication union says it's up to the manufacturers to make a difference by giving devices are longer life cycle.

COSMAS LUCKYSON ZAVAZAVA, DIRECTOR, ITU TELECOMMUNICATION DEVELOPMENT BUREAU: They, too, will be benefitting, they take measures to make sure that there is a responsibility (INAUDIBLE), that there's a responsible consumerism.

BRUNHUBER: While some countries have implemented environmental regulations to tackle the problem, some were working on a more grassroots level. Places like the fixing, factoring in London or teaching consumers to make more sustainable choices.

DERMOT JONES, PROJECT MANAGER, CAMDEN FIXING FACTORY: We buy these sayings. And the first time they fail, we don't get them fixed and we're trying to change that mindset. So when it fails, just think that's just a part of its lifecycle. It's not the end of it, how can we get that going? How can get it going a few more years?

BRUNHUBER: But such efforts won't do enough to address the rapidly growing mountains of e-waste especially a society rose more dependent on tech devices which are linked to the internet.

Despite the dire forecast, the report says there's still time to introduce infrastructure to process e-waste more efficiently, driving up demand for recycled materials, and increasing recycling rates overall.

Kim Brunhuber, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And thanks for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM after short break. Do stay with us.

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