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IDF Spokesperson States Israel Will Respond to Iran "At the Time and Manner of Our Choosing"; Former President Trump Criticizes Judge for Allegedly Rushing Trial Process; New Sanctions Target Iran's Missile and Drone Programs After Attacks on Israel; Centuries of Cultural Heritage Wiped Out in Copenhagen Fire; A Year's Worth of Rain Falls on Dubai; Antisemitic Incidents Hit Record High in U.S. Aired 12-12:45a ET
Aired April 17, 2024 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Next up here on CNN.
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REAR ADM. DANIEL HAGARI, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES SPOKESPERSON: We will respond the way that we will choose at the time that we will choose.
VAUSE: Israel's Goldilocks dilemma, how to strike Iran and send a message of deterrence without starting a major war.
DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Highly conflicted judge, he shouldn't be on the case and he's rushing this trial.
VAUSE (voiceover): With seven of 12 jurors selected in two days, the defendant in a New York criminal trial complains the judge is moving too quickly.
UNKNOWN: The big thing is I want to vote on Ukraine. More to the point, I want Ukraine to get the aid.
VAUSE: Better late than never, with the Republican-controlled lower house of Congress likely to vote on a long-stalled funding bill for Ukraine.
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VAUSE: Israel's war cabinet is set to meet again in the coming hours to try and decide on how best to respond to Iran's missile barrage last weekend. On Tuesday, the only official word on Israel's plan came from the head of the Israeli military, who warned Iran will face consequences for its actions. Iran is now facing consequences from the U.S. and the European Union, both announcing plans to impose a raft of new sanctions on Tehran. According to the U.S. National Security Advisor, President Joe Biden is working with allies and partners, including the G7, for a comprehensive response. That includes sanctions targeting Iran's missile and drone programs, as well as groups supporting Iran's Revolutionary Guard. More now on those sanctions from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
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JANET YELLEN; U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: The attack by Iran and its proxies underscores the importance of Treasury's work to use our economic tools to counter Iran's malign activity.
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VAUSE: Iran, though, has defended the weekend attack on Israel, firing more than 300 drones and missiles. The Israeli military has also said it will continue to use the missiles, claiming it was proportionate, and retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic complex in Syria earlier this month. Meantime, sources tell CNN the U.S. is expecting a limited response by Israel's military to the Iran strike, with U.S. intelligence suggesting a small-scale attack inside Iran is most likely. But Israel has given no official word on its plans or when a strike would occur. On Tuesday, the Israeli military displayed what it says is part of an Iranian ballistic missile pulled from the Dead Sea. The IDF again confirming its retaliation is only a matter of time.
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HAGARI: We will respond the way that we will choose at the time that we will choose. We don't just have defensive capabilities that were proven on Saturday night. We have offensive capabilities, and we will know what to do and when to do and how to do that.
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VAUSE: Retired U.S. General Wesley Clark is a CNN military analyst and former NATO Supreme Allied Commander. He joins us this hour from Little Rock, Arkansas. General Clark, it's good to see you, sir.
GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Thank you.
VAUSE: One of the big factors here for Israel in deciding the best response to Iran is reaction and capability of Iran's allies and proxies. I want you to listen to IDF spokesperson Colonel Peter Lerner. Here he is.
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LT COL. PETER LERNER, IDF SPOKESPERSON: Iran, throughout the course of the years, has been very, very active in our region. But they've been behind the scenes and backstage. On Saturday night, they came to the front stage, together with their proxies, with Hezbollah, with the Houthis, with Hamas. And operating from Iraq. They have encircled Israel in a ring of fire. That's unacceptable.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: There's long been an expectation that a decades-long proxy war between Israel and Iran would sooner or later become a hot war. Are we at that moment? It doesn't seem quite that it's there yet. But at the same time, it also seems to be just, what, one miscalculation away.
CLARK: I don't think we're there yet. I think where we are is that Israel will respond in some way. I think it's unlikely that Israel is going to go inside Iran at this point with a kinetic attack. It may use some kind of cyber-attack in there. It may hit Iranian outposts in Iraq or elsewhere. It's under tremendous pressure from the United States not to respond in kind to Iraq. But there's something else here, too. And that is the fact that Iran either has or is very close to having nuclear capabilities. Israel knows it can't take that out, even if they were to strike Iran without U.S. assistance. And the U.S. has said it won't help.
VAUSE: Yeah. And it seems Israel, on that note, may have been convinced of the need for restraint. U.S. officials are saying the Israeli war cabinet is planning a narrow and limited military response. That's at least at the moment. But here's the chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee describing what he sees will be Israel's response.
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YULI EDEISTEIN, KNESSET FOREIGN AFFAIRS & DEFENSE COMMITTEE CHAIR: Different options are on the table. They've been presented. They've been presented to the war cabinet. They've been discussed. And as I've said the moment -- the moment the retaliation will come it will be quite clear to the Iranians and the rest of the world that Israel will continue defending itself whenever necessary from whatever aggressor will be facing.
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VAUSE: So he's talking essentially about a message of deterrence as well as strength and resolve. Can that message be delivered in a narrow response and a limited one as well.
CLARK: Well, that's a big question. Israel wants to say that and the United States wants Israel to say it. The question is what Iran thinks about it. What does Russia think about it and what do the Arab allies and friends think about it. And the answer is they see a seismic change in the region because Iran has now struck into Israel proper, and Israel is probably not going to have a major strike inside Iran. So, the balance has changed. I hope Israel doesn't lose its deterrence but it's certainly going to be more dependent on the United States and Arab friends than it has been in the past.
VAUSE: And U.S. as you say has made it known that it's playing no role in whatever Israel decides to do opting instead to impose sanctions on Iran targeting its missile and drone program. Here's part of a statement from the National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. It reads, these new sanctions and other measures will continue a steady drumbeat of pressure to contain and degrade Iran's military effectiveness and confront the full range of its problematic behaviors. The U.S already has an arms ban on Iran as well as an almost total economic embargo. Companies doing business with Iran face sanctions. All inputs from around a banned. There are heavy sanctions on Iranian financial institutions. Almost a total ban on selling aircraft or repair parts to Iran. It's already one of the most heavily sanctioned countries in the world but yet it's still firing missiles and drones and supplying arms to proxies like the Houthis. So, what will these extra sanctions actually achieve at this point?
CLARK: Not clear for one thing the United States really doesn't want to seal off Iran's oil exports. We know where they're coming out through, through Dubai and Oman and they're being doctored up with chemicals and sometimes you can't tell where it's coming from but the United States doesn't want to face steeply rising oil prices. You cut off a million, a million and a half barrels of oil a day from the global market, you're going to have an impact on prices, and this is what the Americans don't want. The other sanctions, unless you're willing to sanction third-country parties who are dealing with Iran, are not going to be much more effective than you've been thus far.
And as we know, looking at Ukraine and the drones and missiles that have been captured in Ukraine, there's American technology leaking all over former Russia, and some of it's coming through Iran, some of it is going to Iran. So, I don't hold much hope for sanctions, but it's a diplomatic measure. The real question is, will the United States really extend its nuclear guarantee to Israel, and will that be sufficient to keep Iran back from this ring of fire? That's the question. And then, can Israel finish off Hamas in Rafah?
VAUSE: Yeah, it's dangerous times right now, so it's good to have you with us. We appreciate your time and your insights, General Clark, thank you.
CLARK: John.
VAUSE: At least 13 people were killed after a strike on al - Maghazi refugee camp in Central Gaza Tuesday. Al-Aqsa Hospital officials say the death toll includes seven children. The images obtained by Reuters show emotional scenes in and around the hospital morgue as families mourn the loss of loved ones.
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UNKNOWN (through translator): My brothers were sitting by the door, my brother was wounded, and his cousin too, and I lost my son. I do not have a house, nor a husband, nor anything anymore.
UNKNOWN (through translator): Oh, people of the world, what is happening is wrong. Have mercy on us, stop the war, stop the war. Children are dying in the streets.
VAUSE: According to the Gaza Health Ministry more than 14,000 Palestinian children have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7. CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment on this strike in particular, but we are yet to receive a response.
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VAUSE: Well, displaced and desperate, thousands of Gazans are yearning to return home, and CNN's Jomana Karadsheh us some of them are undertaking a dangerous journey to get there. Warning, some of the images you're about to see are graphic and may be disturbing.
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JOMANA KARADSEH. CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Their day started with rare excitement and joy after months of hell. They thought they were returning to the homes they were forced out of months ago. On foot and in carts, thousands of displaced Palestinians on the move again, some with their most valuable possessions. They said we can go back home to Gaza City today, Iman says. With her son and cats, she took to the road. No one knows where the news came from; there was no official announcement from the Israeli military that civilians would be allowed back into northern Gaza
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But a rumor enough for those left homeless, shattered by war, now facing a looming Israeli offensive on Rafah, where the majority of Gazans have been pushed into. People here say they don't even know if they have homes to go back to. Little Omar holds his tiny brother's hand and carries a bag of flour. Our house is gone. I'll live in a tent, Omar says. I just want to go home. If I die, so be it. Death has become a reality the youngest here have been forced to accept. And on this day, they've had to accept that there will be no going home.
The crowds were turned away. Fear and panic as people run back. They say Israeli soldiers opened fire as young men tried crossing the checkpoint with women and children. Several were injured, among them five-year-old Sally. She was in her mother's arms when she was shot in the head. Two young men tried to cross with us, her mother Sabrine says. Soldiers started shooting and firing. They shot her in the head. My daughter was so scared. I was holding her. Then I put her on the ground to walk. She wasn't responding. Then I saw all the blood on my hands.
The Israeli military has not commented on Sally's injury. They said the north remains a war zone and returns not permitted. Sally clings on to life, unconscious on the hospital floor, with the muffled cries of another injured child next to her. And at a hospital nearby, another young boy, back from a different nightmare, one no child should ever endure. Eleven-year-old Nimr was out getting aid for his family when he says he was shot and detained for two weeks, taken to Israel where he underwent surgery. Still in pain and shock, he shows the camera his horrific scars.
The day they took me, the soldier kicked me with his boot, he tells his mother over the phone.
NIMR (ph) (through translator): My head still hurts. He kicked me with the metal tip of his boot. I was shot in the stomach, lying on the floor. He hit me with no mercy. I'm waiting for the day to grow up, to be a resistance fighter, and hit him like he hit me.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): The Israeli military has not responded to CNN's specific questions on Nimr's account. This is the first time in 15 days he's hearing his mother's voice. I've missed you so much, he cries. They didn't let me see you. I wish I hadn't come back, Nimr says. I wish I had died. Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, London.
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VAUSE: On the second day of Donald Trump's historic hush money payment to a porn star trial, seven jurors were selected. The former U.S. president, the first to ever face a criminal trial, has been charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records. Lawyers for both sides questioned prospective jurors on Tuesday as they looked for a potential bias. The judge at one point admonished the defendant for audibly speaking and gesturing in the direction of a juror. Afterwards, Trump was asked his opinion about the jury.
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UNKNOWN: What kind of juror, in your mind, is an ideal juror in this trial?
TRUMP: Anybody that's fair.
UNKNOWN: Do you believe that the jury, the jurors seated today can be fair?
TRUMP: I'll let you know after the trial, depending on -- .
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VAUSE: This is some of what we know about the four men and three women seated for this trial. Juror number one, a man originally from Ireland, will be the foreperson for the jury. Juror number two, an oncology nurse and a native New Yorker. Juror number three, corporate lawyer, originally from Oregon. Juror number four is an older -- Puerto Rican man. He told the court, Trump, quote, makes things interesting. Juror number five, a young black woman with a master's degree in education, teaches English. Says she's not a political person. Juror number six, a software engineer, who recently graduated college. And juror number seven is a civil litigator, who has, quote, political views as to the Trump presidency. But does not, quote, have opinions about him personally. Eleven jury spots remain.
The judge hopes to fill those this week and begin opening statements by next Monday. The US Supreme Court's conservative majority has indicated it's poised to throw out the obstruction charge on hundreds of criminal cases related to the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.
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The court's ruling in the coming months could have serious ramifications for about 350 people who are charged for their part of the Capitol attack, and that includes Donald Trump. CNN's Paula Reid has details now reporting in from Washington.
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PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Supreme Court's conservative majority appears likely to toss a criminal charge that hundreds of Capitol rioters and former President Donald Trump have faced, a decision that could deal a significant blow to the Justice Department. Today's case centers on Joseph Fisher, a former Pennsylvania police officer who was charged with multiple federal crimes for his role in the January 6 attack. According to court documents, even texting, take Democratic Congress to the gallows and can't vote if they can't breathe, lol.
He is challenging the Supreme Court's ruling in the coming months. He's challenging a federal law that makes it a crime for anyone who otherwise obstructs, influences or impedes any official proceeding. Arguing the law passed in 2002 in the wake of the Enron accounting scandal is not meant to apply to January 6 rioters. Justice Samuel Alito pressed Fisher's lawyer on the meaning of otherwise in that statute.
SAMUEL ALITO, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES (voice-over): You may be biting off more than you can chew by suggesting, if you are indeed suggesting, that the otherwise clause can only be read the way you read it.
REID (voice-over): Chief Justice John Roberts also took issue with prosecutors broadly interpreting a law that's geared toward prohibiting the destruction of records.
JOHN ROBERTS, CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE UNITED STATES: You can't just tack it on and say, look at it as if it's standing alone because it's not.
REID (voice-over): The three liberal justices appearing to favor the government's position with Justice Sonia Sotomayor suggesting the court adopt a plain reading of the law.
SONIA SOTOMAYOR, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES (voice-over): There is a sign on the theater. You will be kicked out of the theater if you photograph or record the actors or otherwise disrupt the performance. If you start yelling, I think no one would question that you can be expected to be kicked out under this policy.
REID (voice-over): And push back on the argument that the statute hasn't been used in response to violent protests in the past, pointing out January 6th is unprecedented.
SOTOMAYOR (voice-over): We've never had a situation before where there's been a situation like this with people attempting to stop a proceeding violently. So, I'm not sure what a lack of history proves.
REID (voice-over): Former President Trump has also been charged under the same law, though for different conduct. It's unclear what impact this case could have on his prosecution. REID: It's unclear how the outcome of this case may impact Trump's
federal election subversion prosecution. But next week, the justices will directly take up the issue of whether Trump has presidential immunity to shield him from those charges. Now, decisions in both of these matters are expected in mid to late June. Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.
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VAUSE: When we come back, could the U.S. House Speaker be on borrowed time? Far-right mega-Republicans are threatening to oust Mike Johnson over his support for a funding bill for Ukraine. Also ahead, the desert metropolis of Dubai. Severe storms flooding the streets. A rare sight indeed. Details on the deluge in a moment.
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VAUSE: U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson may go the way of the previous House Speaker, soon kicked out of a job by far-right mega-Republicans who threatened to oust him over his plan to advance several foreign aid bills, including one for Ukraine, without tying them to border security. CNN's Manu Raju has the latest from Capitol Hill.
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UNKNOWN: I asked him to resign.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Republican Congressman Thomas Massey announcing today he would support Congressman Marjorie Taylor Greene's resolution to oust Speaker Mike Johnson, accusing him of betraying the conservative cause. Johnson firing back.
MIKE JOHNSON, U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: I am not resigning. It does not help the House Republicans advance our agenda.
RAJU (voice-over): All in the aftermath of a series of deals Johnson cut with Democrats, including to keep the government open, reauthorize a key surveillance law, and now brushing aside warnings from his right flank as he seeks to advance billions in aid to Ukraine. And now Congresswoman Greene is on the attack.
MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): There are others behind Massey as well.
RAJU (voice-over): Johnson's defenders warning Greene and Massey.
MARCUS MOLINARO, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: It would be a very bad idea.
CARLOS GIMENEZ, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: The concept of another motion to vacate is an utter waste of time.
UNKNOWN: I think it would be horrible. I think it would be horrible for our conference. I think it's horrible for the country, too. RAJU (voice-over): Johnson soon can only afford to lose one GOP vote along party lines, meaning he would almost certainly need Democrats to save him.
ADAM SMITH, U.S. DEMOCRAT: I think it's unlikely I would support vacating it. We'll see. I mean, the big thing is I want to vote on Ukraine.
RAJU (voice-over): The GOP revolt comes as Johnson announced his long- awaited plan to advance a foreign aid package after sidelining the Senate's $95 billion plan for more than two months. Johnson's new plan split up Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel aid into separate bills and add to it other policy measures, such as a potential ban on TikTok. But through an arcane procedural move the House could end up sending those bills to the Senate in one big package, angering hardliners who don't want to spend a dime more on aid to Ukraine.
JIM JORDAN, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: I'm not a big fan of this, you know. Well, I like the individual votes. I'm not a big fan of putting them all back together.
RAJU: Does it make sense to you to split all these up and cobble it all together?
UNKNOWN: In a word, no. What are Republicans getting out of this?
RAJU (voice-over): Plus, anger on the right since the plan won't include border security measures, the speaker previously demanded.
CHIP ROY, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: The fact is, not having the border in this plan is wholly unacceptable. It's just, it's not acceptable.
RAJU (voice-over): Yet despite these words from Donald Trump last week in Mar-a-Lago.
TRUMP: I stand with the speaker.
RAJU (voice-over): Green says she still wants Johnson out.
RAJU: His comments on Friday didn't change our approach.
GREENE: No, no. And as a matter of fact, there's more people that are probably going to be angry from whatever happens this week.
RAJU (voice-over): Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
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VAUSE: David Sanger is a CNN political and national security analyst, as well as White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times. His latest book has just been released, New Cold Wars, China's Rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend the West. Now available where all good books are sold. So, David, welcome back and congratulations on the book.
DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Thank you, John. Great to be with you.
VAUSE: Okay, so it seems on Ukraine, the US House speaker, Republican Mike Johnson, has had an epiphany. Here he is.
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JOHNSON: We have terrorists and tyrants and terrible leaders around the world. We have terrorists and tyrants and terrible leaders around the world. We have terrorists and tyrants and terrible leaders around the world, like Putin and Xi and then Iran, and they're watching to see if America will stand up for its allies and our own interests around the globe, and we will.
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VAUSE: Republicans have stalled this funding bill for Ukraine for, you know, almost seven long months. And there are myriad reasons why, maybe a Trump-inspired love for Russia and Vladimir Putin, isolationism. Whatever the reason, though, the cost to Ukraine has been staggering. And there's also been reputational damage for the US, once again proving to be less than reliable as an ally. So, from your point of view, what's been the biggest cost here for this delayed package of funding for Ukraine?
SANGER: Well, I think there are sort of three, John, and I deal with some of them at the end of the new Cold War. So the first is we entered this fight, the United States did, backing Ukraine, even though they are not a member of NATO, and saying we are there as long as it takes. And now the praise for the United States has changed. It is now we are there as long as it takes. We are there as long as we can. And that's a big difference.
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And the difference is that we've now seen a section of the Republican Party and some Democrats, particularly on the left, who are really not sure they want to be spending the money to go pushing back on Russia. Now, you've got to make a fundamental decision here. And I think that's what you've been hearing the speaker have a hard time with. Either you believe that if Russia takes all of Ukraine, it won't stop there and we'll move on into the rest of Europe and you'll be sucked in later because as a member of NATO, we would be required to come to the defense of a NATO country. Or you believe that Vladimir Putin would just stop at Ukraine's borders and it would be ugly, but we'd sort of all learn how to live with it. And that's the fundamental choice that we have to make. And that's the fundamental choice that we have to make. And they're not making it.
VAUSE: Well, Democrat support for this funding package, excuse me, is pretty much a given. So only a few Republicans are needed if there is a vote to get it through. Here's Democrat Congressman Adam Smith.
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SMITH: I want Ukraine to get the aid. You know, we've waited months longer than we should have for highly questionable reasons. Now we're down to the last minute. Ukraine's hanging on by their fingernails.
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VAUSE: And one of the most questionable or questionable reasons to oppose funding for Ukraine is Ukraine. Here's a breakdown of this $63 billion for Ukraine and where it goes. $20 billion to restock weapons and munitions for the U.S. military. $14 billion is for Ukraine to purchase U.S.-made weapons. Another $15 billion for support services like military training and intelligence sharing. That leaves just $8 billion for direct assistance to the Ukrainian government. You know, more than half of this $63 billion is being spent on U.S. weapons. The war in Ukraine has paid for an upgrade of materiel for the U.S. military. It's been, a goldmine as well for U.S. weapon makers?
SANGER: You could look at it two ways. One is you could look at it as we're spending $63 billion. And to some of the Republicans, we should be spending that money on the border. And certainly we have more money to spend on the border. I'm not doubting that. The other way you could look at it, John, is to say, if I could have told you two years ago that for under 10 percent of the Pentagon's budget, you could test out in real life situations the strengths and weaknesses of Russia's vaunted military, figure out what we need to do, what we don't need to do, what works and what doesn't work, you'd probably say that was a bargain.
VAUSE: It's a good point. Over the weekend, an international coalition, the U.S., Britain, France and others helped defend Israel from an Iranian missile barrage. The Ukrainian president saw that and he saw double standards writ large. Here he is.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Is Israel part of NATO or not? Here is the answer. Israel is not a NATO country. The NATO allies, including NATO countries, have been defending Israel. They showed the Iranian forces that Israel was not alone. And this is a lesson.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Does he make a good point?
SANGER: He makes an excellent point. So, Israel is not a -- NATO member. So, the question that he's essentially saying is, why did you have your missiles, your aircraft up in the air to defend them, but have set rules about not intercepting directly with American troops and arms, Russian attacks on Ukraine? And the answer at the end of the day is Russia is a nuclear power that we fear might use those nuclear weapons against the West and against NATO. And that's why President Biden made the decision that the US would help Ukraine, but not fight for Ukraine.
VAUSE: David, we'll leave it there. Thank you so much. David Sanger, CNN political and national security analyst, as well as White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times and recently published author. Thank you.
SANGER: Thank you.
VAUSE: Four hundred years of history up in flames. When we come back, details on the devastating fire at one of Denmark's most famous landmarks.
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VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
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More than 400 years of Denmark's heritage, its history is gone, gone in an instant after a massive fire burnt the stock exchange building in Copenhagen to the ground.
CNN's Isa Soares has our report.
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ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Huge fumes of smoke billows into the sky as a piece of Danish history goes up in flames.
On Tuesday, rescue services tackled the raging fire engulfing Copenhagen's old stock exchange. The fire was seen swirling around one of Denmark's most famous landmarks moments before its historic 56- meter spire collapsed.
Emergency services said the fire started in the morning, and just a few hours later, nearly half the building had been destroyed.
JAKOB VEDSTED ANDERSEN, DIRECTOR, GREATER COPENHAGEN FIRE DEPARTMENT: It's a very historic building, built back in 1620 by King Christian IV. So it's a very historic building in Copenhagen and a big part of the Danish inheritance.
SOARES (voice-over): Although there have been no reported injuries, about 400 years of Danish cultural heritage had been destroyed. But this didn't stop employees, rescue workers, and members of the public from trying to rescue its artwork.
According to CNN affiliate BT Denmark, Brian Mikkensen, a chamber of commerce director, was one of the people who helped rescue some of its historical paintings.
BRIAN MIKKELSEN, CEO, DANISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (through translator): Some of the most important things that matter in history. For example, Christian IV, and Kroyer's paintings.
But it is the building itself which is an institution. And it itself is a signature of Danish business life for over 400 years.
SOARES (voice-over): Danish government owned Channel TV 2 said valuables were being rescued by 40 firefighters inside the building.
But is still stunned onlookers who watched the flames burn, with some comparing the tragedy to Paris's Notre Dame fire in 2019.
ELISABETH MOELTKE, COPENHAGEN RESIDENT: This is our Notre Dame. This is our national treasure. I've been in there several times, and it's a magnificent building. So it makes me feel very, very emotional.
SOARES (voice-over): That emotion over the historic building will still be felt for weeks to come as the cause of the fire is yet to be determined.
But with Copenhagen's mayor saying they will do everything they can to replace its damaged heritage, the long road to restoration won't be easy.
Isa Soares, CNN, London.
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VAUSE: The desert city of Dubai has recorded a year's worth of rain in just 12 hours Tuesday. That's about 100 millimeters, or nearly four inches, enough to turn roads into rivers.
The downpour forced some drivers to abandon their vehicles and wade or run to safety. Or just stand there like that person.
Here's CNN meteorologist Chad Myers.
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CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It was just round after round of thunderstorms here in Dubai, four separate rounds. It would come, and it would go and then come back again. And then it would go again.
And look at the wind here. Not just heavy rainfall, but 99 millimeters in 12 hours created this. Not only here on the roadways, but also at the airport. The world's second busiest airport with 87 million passengers every year.
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So there's the cloud cover, thunderstorm, another thunderstorm rolling on by. And now this weather is actually into parts of Southern Iran and even into parts of Southern Iran and even into Pakistan.
But here's -- here are the numbers as we go. Ninety-nine millimeters in 12 hours. The annual average is less than that, which means for the entire year, they should have picked only up about 94 millimeters. And we got this in 12 hours. So just a tremendous amount of rainfall for anywhere in the world.
But certainly in places that don't see that much rainfall at any one time. In fact, after 24 hours, we were at 159 millimeters of rainfall before it finally stopped. And now that weather has finally moved into parts of Southern Iran and
also even into parts of Pakistan. Some of that could be piling up quite deep. We could see at least another 100 millimeters of rainfall to the East of there into these slightly more mountainous areas of Southern Iran and into Pakistan.
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VAUSE: Chad Myers, thank you for that report.
We'll take a short break. When we come back, antisemitism has hit new record highs in the United States. We'll tell you why and how the war in Gaza is playing into all of this.
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VAUSE: Russian President Vladimir Putin is not on the guest list of world leaders invited to the 80th anniversary commemoration of D-Day this June.
His war of choice in Ukraine has made him persona non grata. There's also that small matter of an international arrest warrant, which is out for him.
A French government spokesperson said Russia is allowed to send a different representative.
Putin did attend the 70th anniversary in Normandy in 2014, given the Soviet Union's major role in the defeat of Germany in World War II. But, you know, there you go.
The United States is seeing a dramatic rise in attacks on Jews and also complaints from Muslims about anti-bias on Muslims, which much of the increase is happening in the months since the Israel-Hamas war began.
CNN's Brian Todd has our report.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Outside a D.C. synagogue, a man is arrested for allegedly attacking one congregant and menacing others.
RABBI HYIM SHAFNER, KESHER ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE: He was yelling, "Gas the Jews," and spraying this bad-smelling gas. You know, it's a spray.
TODD (voice-over): That incident in December, part of an alarming spike in antisemitic incidents in the U.S. last year, documented in a new audit released by the Anti-Defamation League.
The ADL tracked 8,873 antisemitic incidents in 2023, more than double the previous year's record of nearly 3,700.
[00:40:06] JONATHAN GREENBLATT, CEO, ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: We have never, ever seen anything like this. Keeping in mind that, in four out of the past five years, the numbers have reached record highs. And yet in 2023, we blew away all previous tallies.
TODD (voice-over): And the numbers jumped dramatically in October, which is when the war between Hamas and Israel began.
During the same general period, America has seen a disturbing spike in Islamophobic incidents, as well. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, CAIR, telling us how attacks and harassment against Muslims in the U.S. have skyrocketed since the Israel-Hamas war started.
HUSSAM AYLOUSH, COUNCIL ON AMERICAN-ISLAMIC RELATIONS, L.A.: Since October 7, I can tell you at every CAIR office, including our own here in Los Angeles area. We've seen a spike of almost four times, three to four times the number of incidents, hate incidents.
TODD (voice-over): The tension often festering on college campuses. CAIR's Los Angeles branch is condemning a decision by the University of Southern California to cancel the graduation speech of undergraduate valedictorian Asna Tabassum, who's Muslim and holds pro- Palestinian views.
USC's provost says the decision was related to security risks, which he didn't specify.
Tabassum had come under criticism over a link she posted in her Instagram bio to a website about Palestine that says, quote, "Zionism is a racist settler colonial ideology."
CAIR says what Tabassum did was not antisemitic. And in an interview with CNN, she said the university taught her to stand up for her beliefs.
ASNA TABASSUM, VALEDICTORIAN, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: I personally don't think it's inflammatory, and I stand by human rights. And I continue to. That's not something I'm going to apologize for.
TODD (voice-over): In recent months, several of America's top universities have come under intense scrutiny, often accused of allowing free speech to cross over into hate speech.
It's led to the resignations of school presidents at places like Harvard and Penn.
JACOB WARE, CO-AUTHOR, "GOD, GUNS AND SEDITION": We're that divided. We're that polarized. We have that hard of a time coming to any kind of middle ground on any issue.
I think a lot of this issue comes from people believing that only their side has a righteous cause. Only their side has anything to offer as a victim in any way.
TODD: College campuses will again be under scrutiny on Wednesday, when the president of Columbia University and other school officials will testify before a House committee that's looking into antisemitism on campus.
That committee had previously heard from a student at Columbia who described attacks on Jewish students there. The school issued a statement to CNN, saying that antisemitism is antithetical to the school's values, and that it's committed to combating it.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
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VAUSE: Thank you for watching. I'm John Vause, back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. But in the meantime, WORLD SPORT starts after a short break. You can see it back here in about 17 minutes.
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