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Israeli War Cabinet Resumes Meeting on Responding to Iran's Assault; The Jury for Donald Trump's Hush Money Trial is Now Set at Seven; Flights Diverted as Dubai Experiences Worst Flooding Due to Rains; Underwater Drone Capable to Study Coral Reefs Using Artificial Intelligence; Famous Danish Old Stock Exchange Building Engulfed in Flames. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired April 17, 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]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead. All eyes are on Israel waiting to see how and when it will respond to Iran's unprecedented aerial attack over the weekend.
Seven children are said to be among the dead in a strike on a refugee camp in central Gaza, but no word yet from the Israeli military on whether it was responsible.
And from zero to seven, the second day of jury selection in Donald Trump's criminal trial produces some unexpectedly quick results.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: Thanks for joining us. And we begin in the Middle East where Israel's war cabinet is set to meet again in the coming hours to try and decide how to respond to Iran's aerial assault last weekend without sparking a broader conflict.
Sources tell CNN the U.S. is expecting a limited response by Israel's military, 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. The IDF, though, is again confirming its retaliation is only a matter of time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REAR ADM. DANIEL HAGARI, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES SPOKESPERSON: We will respond the way that we will choose at the time that we will choose. We don't just have defensive capabilities. We were proven on Saturday night. We have offensive capabilities and we will know what to do and when to do and how to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Iran fired more than 300 drones and missiles toward Israel in its overnight assault in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic complex in Syria earlier this month.
CNN's Nada Bashir joins me now from London with more on all of this. Good morning to you, Nada. So, as Iran braces for this retaliation from Israel after its weekend attack, what more are you learning about the options Israel may be considering and the rising concerns across the region?
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are certainly concerns mounting both in the region and internationally around what this could mean in terms of perhaps broadening the conflict more regionally. That has long been a concern for members of the international community.
We did hear yesterday from the Egyptian foreign minister, of course, Egypt, a key mediator in ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas. Sameh Shoukry, the foreign minister, spoke to CNN yesterday saying that he had spoken to both the Israeli and Iranian foreign ministers conveying the need to maintain and restore peace in the region, that this tit-for-tat reciprocal targeting between Iran and Israel would be in no way conducive to long-standing issues in the region, that there needs to be more of a focus on those diplomatic efforts.
And, of course, internationally, including some of Israel's closest allies, there has been mounting pressure for Israel not to respond, to not launch an attack against Iran. There are serious fears that this could certainly broaden out the conflict within the region. The U.S., of course, has called on Israel to maintain restraint.
We know, of course, that the U.S. has taken a firm stance against Iran, according to the national security adviser Jake Sullivan. The U.S. is planning to expand sanctions on Iran, focusing on its drone missile program, as well as officials within the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Defense Ministry.
But overall, the Biden administration is urging for restraint. Now as you mentioned, Rosemary, it is understood, according to U.S. officials and intelligence officials familiar with ongoing discussions and matters around this, that Israel is potentially planning a limited- scope response against Iran.
At this stage, no clear details around the timing, perhaps location, of this attack, but certainly concern around what this could mean in terms of a potential retaliation from Iran. We know, of course, that the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has spoken to his Israeli counterpart, calling for calm while maintaining support for Israel.
But, of course, there is a continued push for all parties to focus on the diplomatic front, to return to the diplomatic table. We know, of course, that that is something that Egypt has been pushing for. We heard from the foreign ministers saying that negotiations are still ongoing around a potential ceasefire agreement.
[03:05:06]
There are no breakthroughs over weeks and weeks of discussions and they appear to be stalling at this point. So, serious concern there. But again, calls for calm from all members of the international community.
CHURCH: Alright. Our thanks to Nada Bashir for that live report, joining us from London.
At least 13 people were killed after a strike on al-Maghaz refugee camp in central Gaza on Tuesday. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital officials say the death toll includes seven children. This video obtained by Reuters shows emotional scenes in and around the hospital morgue as families mourn the loss of their loved ones.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: The Gaza health ministry reports that more than 14,000 Palestinian children have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7th. CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment on this strike, but has not yet received a response.
Displaced and desperate, thousands of Palestinians in Gaza are yearning to return to their homes. And as CNN's Jomana Karadsheh tells us, some of them are undertaking a dangerous journey to get there. A warning, some of the images you're about to see are graphic and may be disturbing.
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JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN 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. 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 everywhere. 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.
11-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. 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.
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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.
(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: After two days of screening dozens of New Yorkers, seven people have been selected so far to be jurors in the historic hush money trial of Donald Trump. The former U.S. president, the first to ever face a criminal trial, is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records. Lawyers for both sides questioned prospective jurors on Tuesday as they looked for potential bias.
CNN's Kara Scannell has details from New York.
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KARA MCGEE, DISMISSED POTENTIAL JUROR: It's this massive sense of gravitas and importance because you know that this is history in the making.
KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The perspective from one dismissed potential juror as dozens more filed into a Manhattan courtroom Tuesday. Seven jurors have now been seated. The seated jurors include an Irishman in sales, a female oncology nurse, a female English teacher at a charter school, a female software engineer, a male owner of an I.T. business, and two male attorneys.
The jury selection strategy for both parties taking shape. Trump attorneys spending the afternoon digging into the social media posts of some potential jurors.
Two were struck for cause. One for a social media post referencing Trump and quote, "lock him up". When a prosecutor asked the juror if he still believes Trump should be locked up, the juror answered no. Trump was seen craning his neck toward him and flashing a smirk.
Judge Juan Merchan issued a stern warning to Trump after he visibly reacted to a juror's answers about a video she posted on social media. He warned Trump's lawyer, your client was audibly uttering. I will not have any jurors intimidated in the courtroom.
That juror was questioned outside the presence of the others about a video she posted on social media showing an outdoor celebration, quote, "spreading the honking cheer around election day 2020". She said it was a New York celebratory moment. Trump's lawyer suggested she was biased.
The judge said he believed the juror could be fair and didn't excuse her. Trump's attorney, Todd Blanche, telling those in the jury pool, quote, "it's extraordinarily important to President Trump that we know we're going to get a fair shake".
One juror said he finds Trump fascinating because he quote, "walks into a room and he sets people off one way or the other". Blanche seemed amused with the response. Another juror said she learned for the first time Tuesday that Trump has been charged in three other cases.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass addressed prospective jurors, asking them to set aside any strong feelings. He asked each to consider if they would be able to look defendant Trump in the eye and return a guilty verdict if the case is proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Trump appeared to look at the jurors, tilting his head once or twice as they were answering yes, according to pool reports.
Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: The U.S. Supreme Court appeared divided on Tuesday over whether a federal obstruction law can be used to prosecute some of the rioters involved in the January 6th, 2021 attack on the Capitol. The court's ruling in the coming months could have serious ramifications for some 350 people charged for their part in the insurrection.
CNN's Paula Reid has details from Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS 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 6th 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 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 6th 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: 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.
[03:15:05]
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 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: 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 pushed 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: 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.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: U.S. Senators are expected to be sworn in on Wednesday afternoon as jurors in the historic impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. House Republicans delivered two articles of impeachment to the Democrat-controlled Senate on Tuesday. The upper chamber is expected to either quickly dismiss the charges or hold a speedy trial, but either way it ends without conviction.
Mayorkas is the first Cabinet Secretary to be impeached in nearly 150 years. He and the Democrats say the case is politically motivated and meritless. House Republicans voted to impeach him in February over the flow of undocumented migrants across the southern border. Most constitutional experts say the evidence does not reach the bar of high crimes and misdemeanors.
Coming up, billions of dollars' worth of critical aid for Ukraine is languishing in the U.S. House of Representatives, the latest on the battle between Republican lawmakers. That's next.
Plus Ukraine's president wants what Israel had over the weekend, full air defense support from the U.S. and NATO in the face of a massive aerial assault. Were back with that in just a moment,
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[03:20:09]
CHURCH: In the U.S., far-right Republican lawmakers are blasting House Speaker Mike Johnson's plan to advance several foreign aid bills without tying them to border security. And some are beginning to discuss who could potentially replace him. And at least one hardline conservative is threatening to oust the speaker if he brings military aid for Ukraine up for a vote.
CNN's Manu Raju has the latest from Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): 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.
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: 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 Congressman Greene is on the attack.
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR-GREENE (R-GA): There are others behind Massie as well.
RAJU (voice-over): Johnson's defenders warning Greene and Massey.
REP. DERRICK VAN ORDEN (R-WI): It would be a very bad idea.
REP. MARCUS MOLINARO (R-NY): The concept of another motion to vacate is an utter waste of time.
REP. CARLOS GIMENEZ (R-FL): I think it would be horrible. I think it'd be horrible, 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.
REP. ADAM SMITH (D-WA): 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.
REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): I'm not a big fan of this. You know, well, I like the individual votes. 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?
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.
REP. CHIP ROY (R-TX): The fact is not having the border in this plan is a wholly unacceptable. It's just not acceptable.
RAJU (voice-over): Yet despite these words from Donald Trump last week in Mar-a-Lago --
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I stand with the speaker.
RAJU (voice-over): Greene says she still wants Johnson out.
RAJU: His comments on Friday didn't change her approach.
TAYLOR-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.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: One person who's ready for U.S. lawmakers to get to work, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He spoke with PBS News about the stalled military aid in Congress. He told the American network that the political stalemate proves nobody cares how many people are dying in Ukraine right now.
Mr. Zelenskyy repeated his earlier warnings that without U.S. aid, Ukraine risks losing the war. He says Russia is targeting Ukraine's critical systems and a lack of air defenses meant Ukraine was powerless, as Russian missiles destroyed the biggest power plant in the Kyiv region last week. Mr. Zelenskyy pointing out that the U.S. and others jumped in to shoot down hundreds of Iranian missiles against Israel just days ago while leaving Ukraine out to dry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): When someone says that our allies cannot provide us with this or that weapon or they cannot be in Ukraine with this or that force because that would be perceived as if Ukraine is engaging NATO in the war. Well, after yesterday's attack, I want to ask you a question. 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. This is a response to anyone on any continent who says you need to assist Ukraine very carefully so you don't engage NATO countries in the war.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Malcolm Davis is a Senior Analyst for Defense Strategy and Capability at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, and he joins us now from Canberra. Good to have you with us.
MALCOLM DAVIS, SR. ANALYST FOR DEFENSE STRATEGY AND CAPABILITY, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE: Well thank you for having me.
CHURCH: So let's start with Iran bracing for retaliation from Israel after Tehran's weekend attack, and Iran now vowing to strike back at any imminent Israeli response.
[03:25:08]
But most of those Iranian missiles and drones heading for Israel were shot down with the help of the U.S., the U.K., France and Jordan, all scrambling to help Israel. Ukraine does not receive the same reaction. Why the difference in response and support?
DAVIS: Look, I think the obvious answer to that is that Iran does not, or at least not yet, have nuclear weapons. Russia does. And I think it's a concern on the part of the United States in particular that Russia is making nuclear threats on a regular basis. They are, as I put it, rattling nuclear sabers.
And the concern is that if the U.S. and its allies directly intervene in the conflict in Ukraine, then Russia could choose to escalate and we end up in an escalatory cycle that leads to a nuclear exchange.
So I think Russian nuclear deterrence is working in that sense. There's also a degree of self-deterrence on the part of the U.S. that they don't want to risk that escalation. They don't want to risk things getting out of control.
And thirdly, I think that there is real opposition on one side of the political fence in the U.S., the GOP-MAGA group, to assisting Ukraine in any case.
CHURCH: Yeah, let's look at that, because $60 billion in U.S. aid for Ukraine remains stalled in Congress while Republicans squabble amongst themselves over how to aid Israel after Saturday's attack from Iran, which is now fueling renewed pressure to do the same for Ukraine.
But if Speaker Mike Johnson does that, he risks being ousted from his post. He's getting some threats from the right. An extraordinary mix, of course, of politics and military considerations here. Where does all this leave Ukraine, though, militarily and what happens if it doesn't receive that aid soon?
DAVIS: It leaves Ukraine in a very difficult place. This morning, there was a Russian drone attack, which saw Ukraine run out of air defense missiles to defeat the attack.
And so some of the missiles got through. That sort of situation is going to be replicated right across the country eventually, as Ukrainian forces continue to run low on weapons, because the military aid is not being provided by the United States.
If indeed, the GOP-MAGA groups in Congress refuse to pass the Ukraine aid bill, then what will happen is eventually, it's not just about defending against drones, Ukraine will run out of a wide variety of military munitions and ammunition and missiles, to the point whereby they can't defeat Russian attacks.
So Russia would then have the advantage, they could launch attacks, break through the Ukrainian lines and capture more territory. And that would place Ukraine in a very difficult situation.
CHURCH: And Iran's attack on Israel Saturday was similar to what we've seen in the Ukraine war, those waves of drones and missiles heading to a target, often with deadly consequences in Ukraine's case. And we know Iran is supplying Russia with some of the weapons it's using in Ukraine. What are those similarities tell us about the growing relationship between Moscow and Tehran?
DAVIS: Look, I think you have to see what's happening in the Middle East and what's happening in Ukraine as theaters of a wider war or a wider confrontation that is being waged by an axis of authoritarian states: Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, essentially against Western liberal democracies. They see an opportunity to challenge liberal democracies and to challenge the existing rules-based international order to revise it.
And in that sense, we're seeing a very similar situation now to what happened in the 1930s emerge.
So, I think that you are seeing real coordination on the part of Iran with Moscow. Iran is selling drone technology to the Russians and allowing the Russians to manufacture these Shahed drones in Russia to use against the Ukrainians. Russians are also getting assistance from North Korea and they're getting assistance from China to sustain their military capabilities and to sustain the war.
So, this is clear, opportunistic and deliberate coordination to confront and ultimately to challenge Western democracies.
CHURCH: And back to Israel, we know U.S.-European allies and Jordan stepped in to intercept most of Iran's drones and missiles. But President Biden is making it clear the U.S. will not participate in any retaliatory action against Iran.
[03:30:00]
What could that ultimately mean for Israel if it retaliates and Iran then decides to strike back in response?
MALCOLM DAVIS, SR. ANALYST FOR DEFENSE STRATEGY AND CAPABILITY, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE: The first thing it does is it constrains Israel's military options. One of their targets of choice, I'm sure, would be an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities at Natanz and Fordow.
If the U.S. is not prepared to assist the Israelis in this regard, then it does limit Israel's ability to attack those targets because they are hardened and deeply buried targets and it may not be possible for the Israelis to attack those targets in a safe and effective way.
It also constrains Israel's ability to go after other varieties of targets simply because of the range at which the targets are from Israel.
So, it is a real challenge and it depends really on how far the Americans go in terms of refusing to assist.
If they refuse to give intelligence surveillance reconnaissance information, if they refuse to support the strike with airborne refueling, then it really does limit Israel's options and it will only embolden Iran to strike back harder to try and deter the United States from even further assisting Israel.
CHURCH: Malcolm Davis, always a pleasure to have you with us and to hear your military analysis. I appreciate it.
DAVIS: Thank you very much.
CHURCH: Ukraine's mobilization rules are now changing. On Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed into law a new piece of legislation. It requires all men between 18 and 60 to register with the military and to carry their registration documents with them at all times.
Ukrainian men living abroad will not be able to renew their passports without showing up-to-date registration paperwork. The law does not address demobilization for soldiers who have already spent a long time on the front lines. The country is facing a serious shortage of fighters, with Ukraine's commander on the Eastern Front warning that Russian troops outnumber theirs by up to 10 times.
Still to come, Israel displays what it says are the remains of a ballistic missile used in Iran's attack over the weekend. What we know about the projectile. That's just ahead.
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CHURCH: Returning to our top story this hour, as Israel weighs a response to Iran's unprecedented aerial attacks this past weekend, the U.S. and the European Union say they plan to impose new sanctions on Tehran as a result of those strikes.
[03:35:04]
The U.S. National Security Adviser says President Joe Biden is coordinating a comprehensive response with allies and partners, including the G7. The sanctions would target Iran's missile and drone programs, as well as groups supporting Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps. Here's what the head of the U.S. Treasury had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: On Tuesday, the Israeli military displayed what it says is part of an Iranian ballistic missile pulled from the Dead Sea after the weekend assault.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond was there and has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is just one piece of an Iranian ballistic missile that the Israeli military says Iran fired towards Israel over the weekend. At 36 feet long, this is just the fuel tank for that missile. The Israeli military says more than 120 ballistic missiles were fired at Israel in this attack, only a handful of them actually making it through Israel's air defense systems.
And the Israeli military believes this missile was likely intercepted. You can see the holes in the sides of this fuel tank. This missile was actually found in the Dead Sea. It was recovered and it was taken to this base in southern Israel.
But now Israel says it must respond. It must reestablish deterrence. They say this attack cannot go unanswered. The only question now is how the Israeli military will respond and when.
And so when you see that video, you can really just get a sense of the size and the scale of these missiles and the destructive power that they could potentially deliver. I'm told that the warhead on top of that missile would typically weigh about a half a ton, a half a ton of explosives of destructive power.
And so you can just think if these missiles had indeed made it through Israel's air defense systems, the kind of destruction that they could have caused. We also spoke with the Israeli military's top spokesman, Daniel Hagari. He told us that the timing and the mode of this Israeli response to this Iranian attack would be decided by them at a time of their choosing. But he did say that it would come.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says his country is closing its embassy and consulates in Ecuador following a controversial Ecuadorian police raid on Mexico's embassy in Quito. Police stormed the embassy earlier this month to arrest Ecuador's former vice president, who had been convicted of corruption. During a summit of Latin American and Caribbean countries, President Maduro said Ecuador's president should take responsibility for the raid and apologize publicly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICOLAS MADURO, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT (through translator): President Daniel Noboa should have had to appear today in front of the whole Latin America and the Caribbean and take responsibility in front of Ecuador, in front of Latin America, in front of the Caribbean and in front of the world. But he hasn't faced the consequences. I can say from Venezuela, President Daniel Noboa has hidden and the people of Ecuador must know why President Daniel Noboa hasn't faced the consequences and he's not taking responsibility for his actions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CNN has reached out to the Ecuadorian government for comment but has not heard back yet. Ecuador's president defended the raid earlier, saying there was a risk that the former vice president could escape.
Just ahead, why poor indigenous and minority women worldwide are not getting access to advances in reproductive health. We will talk about a new report from the U.N. Population Fund.
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[03:40:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: A new U.N. State of World Population report says there has been tremendous progress in sexual and reproductive health and rights for women over the last 30 years, but not so for millions of women and girls who are poor or belong to marginalized communities. They have been shut out of the progress because of racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination.
Well joining us now from Geneva, Switzerland is Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of the U.N. Population Fund. Thank you so much for being with us.
DR. NATALIA KANEM, U.N. POPULATION FUND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: I'm delighted. Thank you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: So this new U.N. report finds that 30 years of progress in sexual and reproductive health has benefited many women and girls, but has ignored and left out some of the most marginalized communities. Who are the millions of women and girls who haven't benefited from this progress?
KANEM: Well, you know, the report by UNFPA is highlighting that yes, there's progress, but who exactly is marginalized is easy to discern.
In the past 30 years, the huge progress was kind of made with the easy to reach. If you were more affluent, if you were more urbanized, if you were part of a majority population as a woman, as an adolescent girl, you have done well. What the report highlights in terms of inequalities is how about
people who are so-called hard to reach geographically, rural areas, for example, and marginalization because of deep discrimination.
This means that we've got to try harder when it comes to make the health system willing to be welcoming.
This is true of young people. It's true of indigenous women. African- American and women of African descent generally die up to six times more in childbirth and pregnancy than the majority population.
So what we're saying is let's use the data that we have and let's accept that these promises that were made were supposed to reach everybody. So let's make life equitable for all women, all adolescent girls.
CHURCH: Indeed. And how does racism, sexism, and of course, other forms of discrimination continue to play a part in preventing gains in sexual and reproductive health for women and girls?
KANEM: What the report really does that I hope will be appreciated is it highlights how attitudes, how society can either reinforce equality or they can make it difficult for people who are deemed different.
If you have a disability, for example, your risk of gender-based violence goes up and the ability to make sure that we predict and help a teenage girl with any type of difference to understand her human rights and her values makes a big difference.
We are using strategies, for example, of youth-friendly clinics, trying to tell the truth to young people who, for example, may go online for information about sexuality and fertility. This is part of human life, human reproduction, human intimacy.
We want to make sure that when they go on that social media site that there is good information, reliable information, and that the aspect of being prejudged because you're young, because you're Black, because you're disabled, whatever the isms may be, for people of different gender diversities as well.
The attitude should be welcoming and it should be emphasized that information is life-saving. No one should die while giving birth because of ignorance, right?
The tragedy, and the report brings this out, is that teen pregnancy is a part of ignorance and we've got to face up to that and give good facts to young people all over the world.
[03:45:07]
CHURCH: Indeed, and of course you did touch on this a little earlier, but those numbers in the report are horrifying. 800 women die every day giving birth, a quarter of women can't say no to sex with their partner, and nearly one in 10 women can't make their own decisions about contraception. In 40 percent of countries with data, women's bodily autonomy is diminishing. How surprised were you by those numbers and of course the lack of progress specifically in that area?
KANEM: Well, you know, it is shocking. It is absolutely shocking to me and I really believe that the pushback against women's rights is affecting family's writ large.
When you have a situation where agreements that were made are not being delivered on, where is the prenatal care, where is the sensitivity on people's jobs, where is the school girl who needs menstrual supplies going to get these things if law and policy don't provide?
It is not controversial that women go through biological systems of reproduction and in fact the report also highlights that for men it is better to have gender equality, for example, in a workplace where everyone can take their parental leave without guilt, without being pointed at.
So it is very shocking that nearly half of women today are not able to exercise autonomy over their own body and this goes all the way from gender-based violence and femicide, you know, death at the hands of an intimate partner, to things like female genital mutilation. We need to roll back the attitudes that say someone else will decide for a woman or a girl. Women and girls are perfectly capable and they want to exercise their autonomy over their own body and well-being.
CHURCH: Let's hope we see more progress in this area. Dr. Natalia Kanem, thank you so much for joining us. I appreciate it.
KANEM: Thank you, too. Thank you.
CHURCH: The airline Emirates has suspended check-ins for passengers trying to leave Dubai due to severe flooding and rain. About 100 millimeters or nearly four inches fell on Tuesday, forcing flights to be diverted from the Dubai International Airport, the world's second busiest.
Planes looked more like boats on Tuesday as they glided over the flooded tarmac. Emirates says passengers already in transit to the airport can continue but warned customers to expect delays. On Dubai's roads, the heavy downpour forced some drivers to abandon their vehicles and run to safety.
Dubai, like the rest of the UAE, does not have the infrastructure to handle so much water. More now from 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 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.
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 Pakistan. But here are the numbers as we go. 99 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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CHURCH: The Great Barrier Reef has suffered its highest heat stress on record according to Australia's Reef Authority. Experts are calling it one of the most serious and extensive coral bleaching events in recorded history but it's too soon to tell the full impact.
In the meantime, scientists are using a new type of drone and artificial intelligence to determine the extent of reef damage caused by climate change.
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CHURCH (voice-over): Deep under the ocean's surface, a little robot wanders through Australia's Great Barrier Reef. It's an A.I.-powered drone called Hydrus and it's doing important work for the environment examining the coral reefs.
[03:50:02]
The diverse ecosystems protect coastlines from erosion and storms as well as providing jobs and food for local communities. The effects of climate change are threatening the coral causing it to expel algae and lose its color sometimes permanently.
MELANIE OLSEN, AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCE: Since 2016, there have been four major coral bleaching activities due to just the heat stress on coral reefs in the Great Barrier Reef. We're in the midst of another mass coral bleaching event right now.
CHURCH (voice-over): Cooler waters can return the coral to its natural color but some are not able to recover and they eventually die. That's where this new technology comes into play.
According to its maker, Advanced Navigation, Hydrus is less expensive than most other underwater vessels. While it can't bring back what's been lost, the underwater drone can make a difference in understanding what future coral reefs might endure.
PETER BAKER, ADVANCED NAVIGATION: Well we're working on coral mapping with the Australian Institute of Marine Science and what they're trying to do is map areas of coral to detect change within those areas. So they want to get very fine areas of detail of this coral but they want to come back time and time again to track that change.
CHURCH (voice-over): Hydrus dives further into the deep blue sea to navigate and study parts of the ecosystem human divers can't quite reach. It takes 3D photos by stacking 2D images of an area or structure and this data can one day build a digital twin reef.
BAKER: One of the benefits of having a robotic system is that it goes back to that same location every single time and it takes the same photo from the same orientation every single time which is really, really difficult to achieve with a human diver.
CHURCH (voice-over): Once the drone has finished its mapping it's brought on board so scientists can view the captured A.I. navigation and positioning data. They can then monitor the changes over time to see how the climate is impacting the coral reefs. Scientists hope this data can lead to better decisions about how to save the coral reefs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Still to come, people in Copenhagen watched in horror as hundreds of years of history was wiped out in a matter of hours. We'll have the latest on the damage to one of Denmark's most famous landmarks.
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CHURCH: The first findings from an investigation into the deadliest U.S. wildfires in more than a century will soon be released. Later today the Hawaiian Attorney General who is leading a review of the state's response to the fires will address the report at a news conference. It's expected to include a timeline of how the catastrophic wildfires spread during the first few days. The death toll from the August tragedy grew to at least 100 after crews spent days digging through rubble for remains. No official cause has been revealed yet.
More than four centuries worth of Denmark's cultural heritage gone in an instant after a massive fire engulfed a historic landmark in Copenhagen early Tuesday. CNN's Isa Soares reports.
[03:54:59]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR AND 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:
And this is 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 heritage.
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 from trying to rescue its artwork.
According to CNN affiliate B.T. Denmark, Brian Mikkelsen, 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 mattered in history, for example Christian IV and Croyer's paintings, but it is the building itself which is an institution and in itself a signature of Danish business life for over 400 years.
SOARES (voice-over): Danish government owned channel TV2 said valuables were being rescued by 40 firefighters inside the building. But it 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.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'm Rosemary Church. "CNN Newsroom" continues next, with Max Foster.
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