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CNN International: Dubai Floods After a Year's Worth of Rain Falls in 12 Hours; Diplomats Urge Caution as Israel Mulls Iran Response; Seven Jurors Seated in Historic Criminal Trial; Capitol Chaos as the Senate's Mayorkas Trial Gets Underway; Dozens Killed Amid Heavy Rain in Pakistan, Afghanistan; Zelenskyy Slams Congressional Stalemate Over Aid; House Republicans Blast Speaker for Backing Off Border Security Measures in Aid Package; Trump Media Stock Fell 14 percent Tuesday, After Nosediving Monday. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired April 17, 2024 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:00]
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: images of aircraft unable to take off and land effectively. We spoke to one woman that was basically dropped off on the side of this highway with her six-year- old daughter, unable to get to the hotel. She had bags. She basically had to go through this floodwater to find refuge. She said that her flight was not only delayed, but also I had to go circles until they eventually were diverted to Abu Dhabi which is around an hour from hour, then impossible to come.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM": Hello and welcome to our viewers around the world. I'm Erica Hill. This is "CNN Newsroom" Just ahead, urging caution. Diplomats push for a tempered response for Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu's war cabinet considers its response after Iran's weekend attack. We are live in Jerusalem and Beirut. Also, a major international airport underwater, motorists stranded in floodwaters. We will take you live to Dubai for the latest in this history-making downpour. Plus, Donald Trump's Truth Social says it is getting into the streaming biz. So, what do investors think? We'll take a look.
Iran's president is once again warning that any attack by Israel would be dealt with fiercely and severely. Speaking at an annual army parade in Tehran, Ebrahim Raisi called his country's weekend strikes on Israel limited and punitive. Iran fired more than 300 drones and missiles toward Israel in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic complex in Syria earlier this month. Israel's war cabinet is weighing its options as the IDF again confirmed, retaliation is simply a matter of time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REAR ADM. DANIEL HAGARI, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES SPOKESPERSON: We will respond the way that we would choose at the time that we would choose. We don't just have defensive capabilities, we have proven on Saturday night we have offensive capabilities. We will know what to do and when to do and how to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: World powers meantime, are trying to prevent a wider conflict in the region. The U.S. promising to hit Iran with new sanctions, while British Foreign Secretary David Cameron is in Israel (inaudible) caution.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: It's clear the Israelis are making a decision to act. We hope they do so in a way that does as little to escalate this as possible. And in a way that, as I said yesterday, is smart as well as tough. But the real need --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Nic Robertson is live in Jerusalem at this hour. Nic, are there any further clues this morning as to how Israel is leaning in terms of this response, and whether these diplomatic efforts are impacting that decision?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah. You have the British Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron here today. You have the German Foreign Secretary as well, Annalena Baerbock. They had met with president of Israel and with the foreign minister, and the message to them both was thank you very much. We really appreciate the support and help over the weekend. We need your diplomatic support now, particularly at the G7 meetings for foreign ministers coming up in the next few days and at the U.N. as well, to kind of really give some shape, an impetus to the diplomacy, and Israel wants to see the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran designated on the international stage as a terrorist organization, that is once that they want to see that was what was told so the visiting foreign ministers today.
So, their message is don't escalate the situation and I think that resonates. It appears to resonate at least with the Israeli public. In a poll today by a university in Israel, they say about three quarters of people, Israel -- don't want Israel to we have a strong military response against Iran if it costs that international support, that defense alliance, which protected Israel from that massive onslaught so effectively at the weekend. That's the concern there and I was speaking last night to a former head of one of Israel's intelligence agencies, who by the way was the bomber -- the fighter jet bomber who dropped a bomb on Iraq's nuclear reactor in that daring raid in 1981 and was the intelligence chief who came up with the plan to take out Syria's nuclear reactor in 2007.
And he said, look, the reason Iran has decided after all this time to strike back at Israel and this gets for the understanding here of what people are concerned about, he believes that Iran reads Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu's support from the United States as being weakened because of the tension between President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu, and that is something that Iran thinks it can exploit. And of course, Israel now on the dilemma, do they go maximalist and then potentially lose and widen that support? And Iran sees them in an even weaker position.
I think that's where the prime minister finds himself at the moment, trying to balance that and that's why you hear the words from David Cameron saying, we know you're going to strike, but strike in a way that's not going to escalate.
HILL: We'll be watching and waiting for that. Nic, really appreciate the reporting. Thank you. And as we wait for that, Israeli operations are continuing in Gaza.
[08:05:00]
HILL: 56 people have been killed over the past 24 hours according to Gaza's health ministry. In Gaza city, officials say nine people were killed when a six-storey building was hit early today. CNN is seeking comment from Israel's military about the strike.
On Tuesday night, seven Palestinians, including four children, were killed in a strike on a cab in southern Gaza, according to Gaza's civil defense directorate. An earlier attack at a camp in the central part of the area killed 13 people according to hospital officials who say seven children are among the dead. CNN's Ben Wedeman is live in Beirut for us now.
So with so much of the focus here, as we just discussed with Nic, on Israel's anticipated response to Iran, bring us up to speed on what is still happening in Gaza, Ben.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Erica, the situation in Gaza remains grave. This is day 194 of this war. And if you look at just the basic facts, the situation is grim and getting grimmer. The death toll is almost 34,000 and by all accounts, about 70 percent of the dead, if not more, are women and children. Hunger, malnutrition and disease are stalking the Gaza strip. We've heard multiple officials saying that the situation is only getting worse. The northern part of Gaza is pulverized and it's important to keep in mind what does pulverize mean, it means turned into dust. Hospitals, schools are barely -- schools aren't functioning at all. Most of Gaza's hospitals have been destroyed. Those that are left are barely functioning.
Now, it's worth noting that, for instance, after Iran's weekend strikes on Israel, the West in particular has flocked to Israel's side expressing support. But on this side of the conflict, it's notable that the same countries have not flocked to the aid of the people of Gaza after 194 days, that the situation reeks of hypocrisy for many people on this side of the conflict. The West seems far more concerned over what happened in Israel over the weekend compared to what's been happening for the last 194 days in Gaza. Of course, we have the looming possibility of an Israeli offensive in the southern part of the Gaza strip focused on Rafah, where more than a million people have taken refuge. They don't know where to go. They've tried to go north and as Jomana Karadsheh package showed us today, going north is dangerous as well. So, the situation is dire and it doesn't appear that there is a great rush to bring this war to an end. Erica? HILL: Ben Wedeman for us in Beirut, appreciate it. Thank you. And as Ben just mentioned, some of the reporting from our colleague Jomana Karadsheh, we want to share some of that with you now. The displaced desperate thousands of Palestinians in Gaza trying to return to their homes, some of them undertaking a very dangerous journey to get there. I do want to warn you, some of the images you're about to see are graphic and may be disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, 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.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): They said, we can go back home to Gaza city today, Iman (ph) says. With her son and cats, she took to the road.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): 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 (ph) holds his tiny brother's hand and carries a bag of flour.
Our house is gone. I live in a tent, Omar (ph) says.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I just want to go home. If I die, so be it.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): 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. They were in 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 (ph).
[08:10:00]
KARADSHEH (voice-over): She was in her mother's arms when she was shot in the head.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Two young men tried to cross with us, her mother Sabreen (ph) 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.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): The Israeli military has not commented on Sally's (ph) injury. They said the north remains a war zone and return is not permitted. Sally (ph) 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 Nimir (ph) 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.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): 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 boots. 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 Nimir's (ph) 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 Nimir (ph) says. I wish I had died.
Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, London.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Jury selection in New York City moving a little faster than anticipated. Court is not in session today in Donald Trump's historic criminal hush money trial. Things though well pick back up on Thursday morning. Seven New Yorkers were selected as jurors on Tuesday. Reminder here, 12 jurors and six alternates are needed in total. On Tuesday, lawyers from both sides question prospective jurors searching for any potential bias. CNN's Kara Scannell has those details.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARA MCGEE, DISMISSED AS POTENTIAL JUROR: It's this like 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 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 IT business, and two male attorneys.
The jury selection strategy for both parties taking shape. Trump attorney spending the afternoon digging in to the social media post of some potential jurors. Two were struck for cause, one for a social media post referencing Trump and "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 "spreading the honking cheer around election day 2020." She said it was a New York celebratory moment. Trump's lawyers 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, "It's extraordinarily important to President Trump that we know we are going to get a fair shake." One juror said he finds Trump fascinating because "he 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 (inaudible) reports.
Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[08:15:00]
HILL: Also with this now, CNN's Zachary Cohen. He has been following the story as well. So, we are two days in, seven jurors seated. This is pretty impressive. We were told one to two weeks. Is there any way to know whether that pace will continue?
ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yeah. Erica, considering the fact that we had zero jurors sworn in as of like noon yesterday, and then in rapid succession, we had seven, it (inaudible) to be seen if that pace will continue. But the prosecutors, defense attorneys for Donald Trump, and the judge seem to be moving this along. The only person who seems to be upset with the pace is Donald Trump. He, after court yesterday, accused the judge of rushing this trial. Of course, Donald Trump has criticized the judge repeatedly in this case, but the process moving in the way that it normally does for any other criminal defendant.
Donald Trump in the room, of course, watching as these jurors are questioned by the judge, by his attorneys, by prosecutors. You heard from Kara there that the judge did admonish Donald Trump at one point when he was physically reacting to what one of the jurors was saying when they were questioned about their social media posts. But the end of the day, it's clear that all parties, both parties are laying the foundation for a fair trial, and both sides are really stressing and emphasizing the need for jurors to be impartial, to be able to render a fair verdict in this case, which really was the biggest challenge people speculated leading up to jury selection that how can you find 12 jurors plus about six alternates who can render a fair verdict in a case dealing with somebody as polarizing as Donald Trump. So far, they've found seven that they believe that can do it, remains to be seen how they'll fill out the rest of the jury. That process will pick back up on Thursday, but the judge was optimistic, maybe suggesting that he thinks this trial can start to move forward on Monday. Of course, he did suggest that timeline, then shrugged afterwards according to (inaudible) reports. So, remains to be seen if he sticks to that timing or not. But the case moving forward and jury -- the jury is beginning to take shape here.
HILL: So as this moves forward, we have another group of jurors that I believe they were sworned in yesterday actually, correct? So they're ready to go on Thursday morning. So it's another 96 people for them to pick from and ideally find those 11 that are needed.
COHEN: Absolutely. And we'll see the process play out similarly to the first wave of jurors where you remember that about 50 of them immediately raised their hand and said they could not be impartial or fair in this case and were dismissed outright, narrowed it down to a pool of about 18 or so, and those 18 were questioned by attorneys on both sides, eventually resulting in a few of them getting dismissed and we ended up with seven. So, we'll see that play out again on -- starting on Thursday and ultimately, we'll see if we have a full jury plus alternates by Monday morning.
HILL: All right. Zach Cohen, appreciate it. Thank you.
While a guilty verdict for Donald Trump likely won't help his campaign, in some parts of the U.S. though, it's clear, it's not going to hurt his chances either.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: If Donald Trump is found guilty of one of these crimes whether it's in this trial happening right now or one of the trials that happen in the future, do you think he's fit to be president of the United States?
KAY SWART, ROBERTS COUNTY, TEXAS RESIDENT: I don't think he's fit but I'm voting for him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Just ahead, more, we will take you to one town that overwhelmingly voted for Donald Trump in the last election. You'll hear more about how people are feeling today.
Plus, President Joe Biden is set for a second day of campaigning in Pennsylvania. Today's target Pittsburgh known, of course, as the heart of America's steel industry. He's expected to call for tariffs on Chinese steel to be tripled in that event. While Biden has made manufacturing a key plank (ph) to his economic policy, polls show he's still getting low marks on his handling of the economy. CNN's Arlette Saenz is traveling with the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROWD CHEERING)
ARLETTE SAENZ IS A CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Joe Biden tonight, leaning on his Scranton, Pennsylvania roots to make his economic case against Donald Trump.
JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Folks, where we come from matters. When I look at the economy, I don't see it through the eyes of Mar-a-Lago, I see through the eyes of Scranton.
SAENZ (voice-over): While Trump spends another day in a New York City courtroom, Biden embarked on a three-day swing through battleground Pennsylvania with a pitch on tax fairness.
BIDEN: No billionaire should pay a lower tax rate than a teacher or a nurse, a sanitation worker.
(CROWN CHEERING)
SAENZ (voice-over): The president took aim at Trump's plans to extend Republican's 2017 tax cuts, which expire next year. Biden is vowing to raise taxes on the wealthy and corporations, while promising no tax hikes for those making less than $400,000.
BIDEN: Trickle-down economics failed the middle-class, it failed America. And the truth is Donald Trump embodies that failure. He wants to double down on trickle-down.
SAENZ (voice-over): Meanwhile, Trump issued his own warning against Biden.
DONALD TRUMP, (R) FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But if Joe Biden gets his way, you will soon be facing colossal tax hikes, the likes of which no one has ever seen before.
SAENZ (voice-over): At times, Biden openly we mocked his predecessor.
BIDEN: Just the other day, (inaudible) looking guy came up to me and asked if I could help. He was drowning in debt. I said, I'm sorry, Donald, but I can't help you.
(LAUGH)
[08:20:00]
SAENZ (voice-over): And jabbed at Trump's stock market stumbles.
BIDEN: If Trump's stock in the Truth Social, his company, drops any lower, he might do better under my tax plan than his.
(LAUGH)
(APPLAUSE)
SAENZ (voice-over): The president made his case near his childhood home in Scranton while the campaign used a new digital video to play up his local ties. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Grant (ph) is a set of values we pride ourselves on the importance of family and honesty and hard work.
SAENZ (voice-over): The president also is facing a close contest against Trump in Pennsylvania where 19 electoral votes are up for grabs in a state critical to maintaining the democrat's so-called blue wall. Biden this week is trying to shore up support in key areas he won, like here in Lackawanna County, home to Scranton, but surrounded by counties that went for Trump in 2020. And with his eye on November, Biden warned voters of what could come in a second Trump term.
BIDEN: He is coming for your money, your health care, and your social security, and we are not going to let it happen.
(APPLAUSE)
SAENZ (voice-over): Ahead of his trip here to Scranton, President Biden sought to draw another contrast with Trump by releasing his 2023 tax returns, something Trump has not done voluntarily himself. Now, the president will continue his economic pitch through Pennsylvania on Wednesday, when he travels to Pittsburgh and speaks at the headquarters for the United Steel Workers and he'll end the campaign swing in Philadelphia on Thursday.
Arlette Saenz, CNN, traveling with the president in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Well, back in Washington, it is a showdown for Alejandro Mayorkas in Capitol Hill today. The U.S. Homeland Security Secretary facing a Senate impeachment trial in the coming hours over what Republicans call his mishandling of the U.S. southern border. The Republican-dominated House voted to impeach Mayorkas in February. As for the secretary, he has said he has no plans to resign and will fight for his job.
Just ahead, as Israel's war cabinet weighs a response to Iran's weekend attack, we will ask the former NATO supreme allied commander for his take on the potential options.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: It is a tense waiting game in the Middle East as Israel's government weighs its response to Iran's attack and Iran's president steps up the war-like rhetoric. Speaking at an army parade in Tehran, Ebrahim Raisi again warning that any attack by Israel will be dealt with, in his words, fiercely and severely. Israel for its part is vowing to respond, but has not indicated just when or how. Israel's foreign minister is asking his British and German counterparts to declare Iran's Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization.
[08:25:00]
HILL: Britain's top diplomat is in Israel today, ramping up the pressure on the government to not escalate hostilities. On Tuesday, the Israeli military displayed what it says is part of an Iranian ballistic missile picked up out of the Dead Sea. CNN's Jeremy Diamond filed this report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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 that 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 re-establish deterrence. They say this attack cannot go unanswered. The only question now is how the Israeli military will respond and when.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DIAMOND (on camera): 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 system, 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.
HILL: For more insight on the options Israel might be considering and the possible ramifications, I want to bring in Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander and the Founder of Renew America Together, General Wesley Clark. Sir, always good to see you.
I was curious. I was struck. My colleague Nic Robertson just at the top of the hour mentioned an Israeli University poll just out today that found three quarters of people said that they didn't want a strong response if it would mean -- from the Israeli government, if it would mean a loss of international support. Did those numbers surprise you?
GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET.), FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: A little surprising because they indicate that the public doesn't really understand the strategic situation Israel finds itself in. Israel has to re-establish its escalation dominance. And those kinds of statements by the leadership in Iran make an Israeli response more imperative. HILL: A response more imperative, I was also struck by some comments from Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert today and speaking with army radio, he basically said, he said this is one of Israel's most astonishing military achievements yet, but warned against further action saying if the response is very minor, attempting to avoid further confrontation with the Iranians, I think we'll achieve the opposite of our intention.
Instead of deterring the Iranians, we'd prove them that we are actually afraid of a major response. And if we launch a painful response, we'll just get another round of their strikes and our counter strikes, which is exactly what we want to prevent. It sounds like he's saying here, take the win. Does that -- I mean --
CLARK: There's logic in there. There's logic in it. But, the problem is that it does still appear as though Israel would be afraid to strike back. I'm sure that's what the debate in the Israeli cabinet must be about. They cannot strike hard enough at Iran to take out Iran's nuclear capacity. They need the United States' help for that. So if they want to show that they can strike back, they're going to have to strike inside Iran with kinetic missiles or aircraft and take out something, and the problem is that they're getting diplomatic support now for not striking. So it's a real dilemma. They're going to have to make a choice.
HILL: How quickly do you think we could see that decision made?
CLARK: I think they won't make the decision and actually, do something or decide to do nothing until they've exhausted the diplomacy. They're still getting positive feedback. So let them play it out.
HIL:L If Israel, depending on that decision that is made and the response from Israel, if Israel desk strike back, what do you expect the response would be from the U.S., from some of this western support that they're seeing, many of whom are urging them to be cautious.
CLARK: I think there'll be an understanding from western governments and from the people in the region if Israel does strike back in some modest way. I think if Israel were to launch and all-out attack, yes, there would be problems. But the United States committed to the defense of Israel and so in a way, it's just sort of get out of jail free card for Israel.
[08:30:00]
CLARK: So they could launch a major strike. But as they say, they've got problems in Gaza. They've got problems with other terrorist groups and in the north, why do they want a major war with Iran right now?
HILL: Yeah, all the things that are being weighed. The comments I found interesting from David Cameron just a short time ago, urging them to be smart and tough but not escalate. And he went on to say, you need to refocus here and turn that focus to getting the hostages back, getting aid into Gaza, and to formalizing some sort of a pause in the conflict there. How much are those things at risk given the possibility of the response? CLARK: I don't think those issues are actually at risk directly, but they may be at risk with U.S. displeasure -- U.S. -- efforts to cut off supplies or limit what Israel can do in Gaza. The problem in Gaza is entirely driven by Iran and so the diplomatic pressure that is coming on Iran now is helpful to Israel. But, Hamas is a very entrenched organization. They're not going to easily give up. They're not going to surrender those hostages. They want to come out of this as a winner.
So that's why military action has always been imperative in Gaza. If there were some way to get the civilian population out of the way and let the Israeli military finish it, well, that would be the ideal outcome.
HILL: General, what are you watching for in the coming days?
CLARK: I'm watching to see what the indicators are of Iranian nuclear capacity. And these statements from Ayatollahs indicate to me that Iran is getting very, very close or already has nuclear support, nuclear capacity or support from Russia that gives them a sense of immunity to Israel. This is a big change for Iran and it's a big change in the region. And it's going to have to evoke eventually a stronger U.S. commitment to deter Iran and through Iran, Russia and the Middle East. And that's a distraction from Europe, NATO, and Ukraine.
HILL: General Wesley Clark, always good to have your insight and your expertise. Thank you.
CLARK: Thank you.
HILL: Still to come here, historic rainfall has left the United Arab Emirates underwater, the latest just ahead.
Plus, shares of the company that owns Donald Trump's Truth Social Network taking another big hit on Tuesday. Former president has lost a fair amount of money in just a few days, so what could it mean moving forward? That story, also ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:35:43]
HILL: Extreme deadly rain across Pakistan and Afghanistan has killed more than 100 people. (Inaudible) in Pakistan say at least 40 were killed due to flooding in the western part of the country, thousands of homes also damaged or destroyed, and there is more rain in the forecast for the coming days. Across the border in Afghanistan, officials there say at least 66 people and hundreds of animals have perished in the flooding.
Dubai is also reeling from historic flooding. The United Arab Emirates experiencing the heaviest rainfall it has seen in 75 years. Look at that water there, leaving the country submerged, Dubai submerged and floodwaters after a year's worth of rain fell in just 12 hours on Tuesday, turning roads as you can see here into rivers, forcing some drivers to just abandon their cars as the water rose up around them. And take a look at the tarmac at Dubai International Airport, also underwater there. It looks like they're landing in a lake. Some flights were understandably delayed or diverted. Keep in mind, this is of course the world's second busiest airport. CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam joining us now for a closer look at the Gulf region. I mean, that amount of rain in such a short period of time, it is scary, Derek.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, astounding video that we are seeing on our screens as well. It only took 12 hours to surpass their entire yearly average rainfall in Dubai. I mean, that is really saying something. There it is as the storm system swept across the UAE. In a 24-hour period, Dubai actually received 159 millimeters of rain, far surpassing a year's worth of rain, nearly doubling the amount of rain that they would normally experience in an entire year. Of course, leading to scenes like this.
We've seen them on our TV screens, on social media. It is a dire situation for that area as they try to clean up the water. But moving the story forward, that block of rainfall moved across portions of southern Iran and into Pakistan as well, unfortunately, leaving over 30 people dead in the wake of this heavy rain and flooding event across Pakistan. You can see roads here flooded as well, the torrents of mud and debris sliding down the hillsides within this region. On the past 24 hours, some of these locations experiencing over 100 millimeters of rainfall and I find this incredibly interesting. The record rainfall in the 75-year history of the UAE and the National Center of Meteorology, this record goes back to 1949. We are talking about 254 millimeters.
And by the way, this actually pre-dates the time that oil was discovered in the UAE in the late '50s and that's really saying something considering what the state of the planet is in consideration with the climate crisis. We've warmed about 1.2-degrees Celsius on average since the pre-industrial time. That is because of our burning of fossil fuels that we extract from the ground and this is causing an increase in water vapor, making heavy rain events just like what we experienced in the UAE, more likely and more extreme. Erica?
HILL: Really important context, Derek, thank you. Right now, a bill that would provide additional aid to Ukraine is languishing in the U.S. House of Representatives. One person who is ready for those lawmakers there to get to work understandably is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who spoke with PBS News and repeated his earlier warnings that without U.S. aid, Ukraine risks losing this war.
Zelenskyy pointing out the U.S. and others jumped in to shoot down Iranian drones and missiles fired toward Israel just days ago, after choosing not to step in and defend Ukraine. Here's more.
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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 academia, 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.
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HILL: Well, in Washington, Republican lawmakers and the party's right wing are blasting House Speaker Mike Johnson's plan to advance several foreign aid bills without tying them to border security, including aid for Ukraine. Some are beginning to discuss now who could actually replace this latest speaker. CNN's Manu Raju has the latest on that front from Capitol Hill.
[08:40:00]
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REP. THOMAS MASSIE, (R-KY): I asked him to resign.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Republican Congressman Thomas Massie announcing today, he would support Congressman Marjorie Taylor Greene's resolution to oust Speaker Mike Johnson, accusing him of betrayal the conservative cause. Johnson firing back.
REP. MIKE JOHNSON, (R) SPEAKER OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: I am not resigning. It has not helped the House Republicans advance our agenda.
RAJU (voice-over): All in the aftermath of a series of deals Johnson cut wood 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.
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): There are others behind Massie as well.
RAJU (voice-over): Johnson's defenders warning Greene and Massie.
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 be horrible for our conference. I think it is 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 them. REP. ADAM SMITH, (D-WA): I think it is 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. Well, I like the individual votes, I'm not a big fan of putting them all back together.
RAJU: Does it make sense to split all these up and (inaudible) it altogether?
REP. GARRET GRAVES, (R-LA): 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 wholly unacceptable. Just it is not acceptable.
RAJU (voice-over): Yet despite these words from Donald Trump last week at Mar-a-Lago --
TRUMP: I stand with the Speaker.
RAJU (voice-over): Greene says, she's still wants Johnson out.
RAJU: His comments on Friday didn't change your approach?
GREENE: No. No. And as a matter of fact, there is 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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HILL: Still to come here, shares of Donald Trump's media company sliding and that's eating into the former president's net worth. So, what's causing that slide? The details straight ahead, stay with us.
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[08:45:00]
HILL: Right now, shares of Trump Media and Technology are steady in pre-market trading but it's been a little bit of a rough start to the week. The stock fell 14 percent on Tuesday after the Truth Social platform said it was expanding into streaming. Now, keep in mind the share price had already been on the slide. It's actually down more than 70 percent from its record-high last month. President Biden taking a swipe at the falling stock price during a campaign stop on Tuesday in Scranton, Pennsylvania, his hometown.
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BIDEN: You know, I have to say if Trump's stock in the Truth Social, his company, drops any lower, he might do better under my tax plan than his.
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HILL: CNN's Hadas Gold now with more about what that Truth Social streaming service might look like and how it is also impacting Donald Trump's net worth.
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HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump's social media company Truth Social announcing that they are getting into the streaming game, saying that they are going to launch a streaming service. It's been a bit light on the details of what exactly will be on this streaming service, what you'll be able to actually watch. But according to the company, they say the streaming service will focus on content that is otherwise, they say being suppressed or husband canceled, or is at risk of being canceled. This will span everything they say, from news to religious shows, to family-friendly content, including films and documentaries.
We still haven't heard any sort of personalities or more specifics about who will be on this streaming service, only that they're going to be launching it in three different phases, starting from an app in your phone, all the way until you can watch it on a streaming service on your TV. Now, the big question of course, is how they will be able to run this and will it make any money because it costs a lot of money and it is a lot of work to run a successful streaming service. Keep in mind, a company, even like Disney, that has so much content that is well-suited to have a streaming service, even their streaming service, Disney Plus is struggling to turn a profit that we've seen from other streamers like a Netflix.
And there is competition in this space. The Trump audience, the people who will be wanting to watch this sort of content, it is a smaller slice of the broader audience pie and they're already being served by services like Newsmax, like OAN. So, there is a big question about whether they will be able to capture that audience. Now, Trump obviously has a very loyal fan base. Will they be willing to pay and will this be a successful streaming service?
The announcement though of the streaming service did not help the stock of the company. It's been in a free fall since a high in March on March 26, it has lost something like 70 percent of its value since then. And even after the announcement of the streaming service, the stock tumbled something like 14 percent, if not more, even after this announcement. There are sort of questions about whether this is just a meme stock. They've erased something like $5 in market capitalization as a result of this drop.
And keep in mind that Former President Donald Trump himself, he is the largest shareholder in this company, he owns something like 60 percent stake in the company. So, this drop in valuation, that is directly affecting his net worth.
Hadas Gold, CNN, New York.
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HILL: CNN's Gary Tuchman traveled to Roberts County, Texas, where Donald Trump won more than 96 percent of the vote in 2020. So, when it comes to these royal -- not royal, loyal voters, have they changed their mind at all given that there is now historic criminal trial, the first that he could face is underway in New York? Here is what Gary found.
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TUCHMAN (voice-over): Kay and Ron Swart settled in along with us in their living room to watch coverage of the Trump trial jury selection.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One group went through the effort to make a large parade-style banner (ph) reading. No one is above the law.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): They've both voted for Trump twice.
TUCHMAN: What is your feeling today about Donald Trump's moral character?
K. SWART: It is terrible. It can't get much lower than it is.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): They live on a hilltop ranch in Roberts County in the Texas Panhandle, where 96 percent of the voters chose Trump over Joe Biden in 2020, the highest Trump percentage of any county in America.
K. SWART: He continues to make crazy comments about being a dictator's first day and repercussions against people who he feels have wronged him.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): We met this couple during a visit to Roberts County last year. They told us then they like Mike Pence and Ron DeSantis. But with Trump the only Republican left standing, things have gotten complicated.
TUCHMAN: If Donald Trump is found guilty in one of these trials, whether it is in this trial happening right now or one of the trials happening in the future, do you think he is fit to be president of the United States?
K. SWART: I don't think he's fit but I am voting for him.
RON SWART, ROBERTS COUNTY, TEXAS RESIDENT: I feel like that we are not going to be able to survive now for years over the Democrats in charge.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Rick McDowell is someone else we met last year in Roberts County. He told us then he liked Ron DeSantis.
TUCHMAN: If Donald Trump is found guilty of a criminal charge, do you think he is fit to be president of the United States?
[08:50:00]
RICK MCDOWELL, ROBERTS COUNTY, TEXAS RESIDENT: He is as fit as the current president.
TUCHMAN: Why is that?
MCDOWELL: Because nobody investigates Joe Biden, nobody is going investigate Joe Biden.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): In Roberts County, the current president is often prominently mentioned when you ask questions about the former president.
TUCHMAN: Do you think Donald Trump is of low character, and poor morals and poor ethics?
R. SWART: Oh, definitely, most definitely he is.
TUCHMAN: You don't think he is fit to be president if he is found guilty, yet you are going to vote for him. How do you address that conflict? How do you vote for a man who you feel so poorly about?
R. SWART: I feel like as wrong as it is going to be to have him for president, he still going to be a lot better president for the United States than what we are going with Joe Biden and Democrats.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Here in Roberts County, in the 2016 election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, Clinton received a grand total of 20 votes. Four years later, Joe Biden received 17 votes.
TUCHMAN: This is a 1929 nine model.
SUSAN BOWERS, CURATOR OF THE ROBERTS COUNTY MUSEUM: Probably.
TUCHMAN: And is this actually used in Roberts County?
BOWERS: Here in Roberts County.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Susan Bowers is the curator of the Roberts County Museum and the county seat of Miami.
TUCHMAN: In 2020, here in Roberts County, only 17 people in the entire county voted for Joe Biden. Were you one of them?
BOWERS: Yes, I was.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): She says she has quibbles with some of what President Biden has done and not done. But unlike almost all of our fellow county voters, Susan Bowers is not giving Donald Trump any benefit of the doubt when it comes to this trial or the ones still to come.
BOWERS: He is a -- he unethical. He is a criminal. He belongs on reality TV, if that.
TUCHMAN: There are certainly many people here on Roberts County who don't think any Trump trials at all should be happening. That being said, nearly everyone I've talked to is aware that the proceedings have begun. The awareness level would be much higher here though, as well as elsewhere, if the proceedings were allowed to be televised, which they are not.
Gary Tuchman, CNN, in Miami, Texas.
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HILL: Still to come here, one huge leap for this feline has earned him the nickname, the Michael Jordan of Cats. That viral moment you won't want to miss, just ahead.
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HILL: Strange sight on the streets of a western Montana town and an elephant going for a stroll after getting loose from the circus. It appears the elephant was being prepared for a show, but then a vehicle apparently alarmed the elephant, wandered out into the road, ambling down the block, seen eating grass behind a nearby business when its handlers found it. The event organizer says the elephant was not harmed.
Meantime, a scared cat is going viral for his flying skills, racking up more than 43 million hits on TikTok. Jeanne Moos has the story.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We've done stories on an enormous cat and on a slap happy cat slapping a judge at a cat show. But, this boy (ph) across your screen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the flying cat.
MOOS (voice-over): Meet Remi, a Chicago area Bengal cat. Two-year-old Remi went behind some hanging coats. His housemate, Lucy the cat decided to come play. But when Lucy knocked a coat off the hook, Remi went bonkers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What the fuck just happened?
[08:55:00]
MOOS (voice-over): Those immortal words escaped the lips of cat owner Julia Amade's (ph) boyfriend Nick. The cat was fine.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He landed on this.
MOOS (voice-over): An interactive cat toy. Commenters were awestruck saying --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My cat has wings.
MOOS (voice-over): They called him the Michael Jordan of Cats.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But I've never seen him get air like that in my life.
MOOS (voice-over): The dog of the house, Maggie (ph) was singled out online for her chill reaction.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And just looks at my boyfriend like, there they go again.
MOOS (voice-over): This stratospheric leap went explosively viral. And many labeled Remi the very definition of a scaredy cat. But Remi took being jumpy to a whole new level. Like Rocky, he is going to fly.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
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HILL: It is an impressive air. The dog looked rather unfazed.
Thanks so much for joining me here on "CNN Newsroom." I am Erica Hill. "Connect The World" with Becky Anderson is up next.
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