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Serial Explosions At Iran-Backed Militia Base In Iraq; New Calls For De-escalation Between Israel Opening And Iran; U.S. House Could Vote On, Pass Foreign Aid Bills Today; Hush Money Trial Statements Set For Monday; Voters Speak About Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi; Pakistan Floods Kill 69 This Week. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired April 20, 2024 - 04:00   ET

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

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to all you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

Tension may be easing in the Middle East for now, what we know about the response by Iran and Israel to the latest volley of military firepower.

Ukraine may finally be getting much needed aid as the U.S. House prepares to vote on a series of spending measures, we will break down the bill and speak with a Ukrainian lawmaker about why the need right now is so great.

Plus opening statements are set to begin on Monday in former president Donald Trump's first criminal trial. What we know about the jury and Trump's latest push for a delay.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: With nerves already on edge in the Middle East one day after strikes in Iran, there are questions about a series of explosions at an Iran-backed militia base in Iraq. An Israeli official tells CNN that Israel didn't play a role in the blast.

And U.S. Central Command says neither it nor coalition members conducted the strikes in Iraq. Now the explosions happened at a base south of Baghdad but there's no indication so far of what caused them.

A local security official tells CNN there were five explosions, including at least three militia members. But now there are signs that Israel-Iran tensions could be easing on Friday.

Iran's president didn't mention the strike on his homeland. He did though, praise Iran's attack on Israel last weekend. Also on Friday, one regional intelligence source told CNN that Iran wasn't expected to respond further.

Satellite images obtained by CNN show that there doesn't appear to be extensive damage at the airbase targeted by the strike. In fact, Iran's Fars news agency says the only damage was broken windows in several buildings. CNN's Nada Bashir joins us live from London with the latest.

So Nada, with everyone calling for day-escalation, does it seem as though that's where things are headed right now?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that is suddenly the hoping that has in mounting international pressure on both Iran and Israel to diffuse the tensions between the two regional powerhouses.

That has certainly been the indication perhaps from Iranian officials over the past 24 hours, as you mentioned. There has been somewhat of an effort to downplay the impact of Israel's attack on Iran.

We've heard from Iranian officials describing Israel's using tiny drones, that there was limited damage to the airbase. And, of course, we heard yesterday from the Iranian president, as you mentioned, Ebrahim Raisi, he made no mention of the attack.

But of course, lauded Iran's retaliate Russian against the consular attack over the weekend in Israel and continues to focus on the Iranian military attack on Israel. So that continues to be a key focus.

There had been, of course, mounting fears of this could spark and provoke a broader escalation in the region, particularly amongst Iran's proxies. That was certainly a fear but there seems to be some sort of regional considerations at play here.

Of course, as well, we know, of course, that Iran may be considering its regional nascent friendships with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, again, both of them key U.S. allies. And the Biden administration has been clear in not wanting to see broader escalation.

In fact, we did hear also from the U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, he spoke with his Israeli counterpart on Friday. And while we did receive a readout from the Pentagon, that was no mentioned of Israel's attack on Iran.

In fact, the Biden administration has remained largely tight-lipped around that. So there clearly is an effort by many in the international community to diffuse those tensions. But it's certainly been the message from those in the European Union.

We heard from the E.U.'s foreign policy chief speaking ahead of the G7 foreign ministers' meeting, warning that the region could be the on the brink of an all-out war and that European leaders stand in a united front, calling against that.

What is clear is both sides have attempted, put an effort out to show their strengths to assert their power in what has been the most dangerous direct escalation between Israel and Iran.

But clearly there appears to be an effort not to drag either party or either members of the region into an all-out war at this stage, a war, which many believe neither side would be prepared for at this current time.

BRUNHUBER: Appreciate the update, Nada Bashir in London.

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More U.S. aid to Ukraine is now one major step closer to reality. Three aid bills for Ukraine, Israel and Indo-Pacific allies are headed for final vote in the House today. And if passed, will head to the Senate and then to the president's desk.

On Friday, House Democrats helped House Speaker Mike Johnson get the aid measure passed, a key procedural vote.

The Ukraine aid bill contains around $61 billion in funding, including $23 billion to replenish U.S. weapons stockpiles, another $11 billion to fund operations in the region and nearly $14 billion to help Ukraine buy advanced weapons and other defense equipment.

So as U.S. lawmakers prepare for that vote, Russia has launched a barrage of new strikes across southern Ukraine. Officials say the Zaporizhzhya region was hit almost 300 times over the past 24 hours. But there are no reports of casualties.

While the city of Odessa took a missile hit this morning, which damaged an infrastructure facility, meanwhile, Ukraine has reportedly lined up commitments for more air defenses from NATO.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed a virtual meeting of defense ministers on Friday, saying Ukraine needs at least seven more advanced air defense systems like U.S. made Patriots.

NATO's secretary general Jens Stoltenberg later said several countries made specific commitments to provide them. So this is how Zelenskyy made his case to NATO.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Putin must be brought down to Earth. And our sky must become safe again.

And it is real. And it depends fully on your choice; choice, whether life is indeed equally everywhere; choice, whether you have equal attitude to all partners; choice, whether we indeed are allies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: And, for more we're joined by Inna Sovsun, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament and she's speaking to us from Kyiv.

Thank you so much for being here with us. So this vote on the Ukraine aid package. I mean, many there in Ukraine must be watching this very nervously.

How closely are Ukrainians following us?

INNA SOVSUN, UKRAINIAN MP: Very closely. I think the sitting of the Congress say is now much more on the newsstand. And what is happening in the Ukrainian parliament. And the reason for that is because for us it is literally the question of life and death.

Now I'm speaking to you from Kyiv. There is an air raid alert over here in Kyiv as well as in half of the regions of Ukraine with the risk of ballistic missiles hitting any city as of this moment.

And we hardly have any missiles to fight back. So for us, it is literally the most important vote. And then, of course, we are following it literally very, very closely, with hourly updates on the news.

BRUNHUBER: I mean, there is a good chance it will pass. But the fact that it's taken so long, it's been such a political struggle, what does that say about Ukraine's ability to rely on the U.S. for help?

SOVSUN: Well, it has been painful. Two nights ago, there was a hit in the city of Dnipro and a six-year-old boy lost his mother, his grandmother and his sister and his brother. And I keep on thinking about that boy for the whole day.

And I think that he could have had his family if only Ukraine had the missiles to fight back. And the thing that people don't understand it, that it has been taken over by the political debates in other countries, where lives could have been saved but unfortunately were lost.

It is something I do not fully understand but I really hope that the decision will come through and then the following up on that decision, that the weapons will be delivered as soon as possible, because literally there are some moments in history where politics should step aside.

And we should think about the bigger things in life and then protecting each other is the most important thing here.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, that Russian airstrike on Dnipro that you talked about, it reportedly killed eight people, including two children, one you referenced.

You tweeted this. I want to read the last part of this.

"Can the West protect the Ukrainian sky?

"The case of Israel says, yes.

"Do they want?

"Good question."

So obviously that's a question that has been asked a lot in recent days.

But is that realistic, do you think, given the obvious fear of it spiraling into a wider conflict with Russia?

SOVSUN: We have been hearing this idea of it spiraling into a big conflict with Russia for over two years. And I think that this narrative of, we don't want to spiral it out, wouldn't have been used.

And if Ukraine were given the weapons to protect itself and the right time, we could have won the war as of right now. But unfortunately, because everybody is so scared to help us protect ourselves, that it actually gives Putin time to prepare for more attacks and to prepare for killing more Ukrainians.

So I think that at this point everybody should understand.

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Putin is strong, his army is still second biggest in the world. But it is not nearly big enough to fight against NATO armies. And I think that that is something that Putin doesn't want himself.

So we should stop being scared of him because he's using this fear on the West to intimidate you but also to continue killing Ukrainians.

So I think the West should understand, Putin does not want war with NATO. He cannot handle it. What he -- so that is why the West should be ready to help us and then we can fight back and then stop this disaster from happening.

BRUNHUBER: In the meantime, you're there in Kyiv, as you cope with attacks on your power grid. Presumably many are feeling that you've been abandoned by the West.

What is the mood there?

SOVSUN: This is a big feeling over here, have been abandoned. You didn't mention attacks on the power grid, the biggest thermal power plant in the north area was destroyed a week ago.

We already have power shortages and people are getting desperate, people like get exhausted. People are getting tired. But worst of all, people, it's very difficult for people to understand while, for us the situation is so black and white. We are being killed here and then we need help to protect ourselves, to save ourselves and our children.

And then there are completely out of discussions which are completely out of this, of this reality about, about politics in other countries. So there is this feeling of abandonment. I hope it will be gone because it's very difficult to fight back with this feeling of the nation.

But we do hope that this will, that we will get the aid that is being debated now and that will surely help with the general mood here.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, certainly. So many people watching that vote later today in Ukraine, as you said. Thank you so much for speaking with us, really appreciate it.

SOVSUN: Thank you.

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BRUNHUBER: Donald Trump's historic hush money trial in New York is quickly moving forward with opening statements set for Monday morning. It's the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president. Trump faces 34 felony counts for his alleged role in the scheme to conceal an affair with adult film star, Stormy Daniels.

It could have damaged his 2016 election campaign. A full jury panel is now in place after the last alternates were seated on Friday. An appeals court has denied the presidential candidate's latest attempt to delay his criminal trial.

The former president's lawyers had asked, again, to put the trial on pause until a ruling is made over his request to switch venues.

Meanwhile, law enforcement says the man who lit himself on fire outside the courthouse where Trump's trial is being held has died. CNN's Kara Scannell was in the courtroom for Friday's proceedings and has this report.

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KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "We have our full panel." That announcement from Judge Juan Merchan after jury selection concluded. Eighteen Manhattanites: 12 jurors and six alternates now seated.

TRUMP: I'm sitting in a courthouse all day long. This is going much for the week and this will go on for another four or five weeks and it's very unfair.

SCANNELL (voice-over): Trump appeared bored much of the trial day four as attorneys on both sides probed potential jurors until they filled the remaining five alternate seats.

Moments after the full jury was picked, a bizarre and tragic moment outside court as a man set himself on fire.

Authorities say he was previously known to the police and while they are searching for any domestic terror connections, that is not believed to have been the motivation. In court, a handful of prospective jurors became emotional.

One was excused after she told the judge she had anxiety and was worried as the trial goes on, more people could know she's part of the jury, saying, "I might not be able to be completely fair and not emotional, so that concerns me."

Another was dismissed after she began crying, saying, "I'm sorry. I thought I could do this. I wouldn't want someone who feels this way to judge my case either. I don't want you to feel I've wasted anyone's time. This is so much more stressful than I thought." A third was sent home after noting she was feeling anxiety and self- doubt as she listen to a line of questioning about the credibility of witnesses. At the defense table, Trump sat flipping through papers with charts, photos and graphics. He whispered in past notes with his lawyers and at some points was hunched over with his elbows on the desk.

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger started off questioning potential jurors, telling them, "This is not about Mr. Trump being a former president. It's not about his being a candidate for the presidency. It's only about whether the evidence proves he's guilty."

During her presentation, Trump leaned back in his chair. At one point, his eyes closed.

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Trump's attorney, Susan Necheles, focused on bias against the former president.

She told those in the jury box, "You all bring biases and you particularly bring biases about someone who is as publicly and outspoken as President Trump. There's nobody that doesn't know him in this room."

In the afternoon, the court moved to a routine hearing to determine how much of Trump's legal history the prosecution will be allowed to ask him about if he testifies, which he said he plans to.

Prosecutors argued they should be allowed to question Trump about the findings in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case, among others, despite Trump's attorney's strong objections. The former president shook his head as the prosecution spoke about how he defamed Carroll -- Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.

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BRUNHUBER: Earlier, CNN spoke with our senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein on the impact this trial could have on Trump's election ambitions.

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RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. I mean, look, you know, Trump's strategy has been, from the beginning, to portray every case against them as a conspiracy so vast as Joe McCarthy.

The language he used back in the '50s, that all of these different prosecutors and all of these judges and all of the witnesses, as people testify against him, are all part of an effort to silence him.

He's had tremendous success with that within the Republican base. Now we see the test of what impact all of this is going to have on the broader electorate.

I was really struck in the past week by a poll by our Associated Press and the National (INAUDIBLE) Research Center at the University of Chicago.

Which found, not surprisingly, that fewer people, fewer Americans think that Trump broke the law in this case than in the other cases against him on classified documents and trying to overturn the 2020 election.

But strikingly, the share of people who said that he would be unfit to be president if he was convicted in this case was about the same as in the other cases, where -- which they adjudge to be more serious. And I think that gets to this kind of threshold issue, which we may confront in a few weeks, which is whatever the charges.

Whichever of these cases are involved, if he is convicted of a felony, are a majority Americans willing to return to the White House someone who has been so convicted?

People have not really had to grapple with this in practice obviously. And it is now, we are now on the track that's going to see whether they are going to have that opportunity or requirement to do so in a few months.

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BRUNHUBER: All right. It's the world's largest exercise in democracy. India finishes phase one of voting in what's considered the most consequential general election in decades. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: The first days of voting in the world's largest election has wrapped up in India. Voters endured heat wave conditions and long lines in some areas to cast their ballots; 21 of India's 28 states and eight union territories participated in this first phase.

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With turnout estimated at around 60 percent, nearly 1 billion people are eligible to vote this year with around 26 million new voters since the last election back in 2019. Voters will decide all 543 seats in the lower house of parliament over seven phases of voting.

The second phase will take place this upcoming Friday, April 26th. The election concludes on June 1st. Results are expected on June 4th.

India's nationwide vote is considered to be the most consequential in decades. Prime minister Narendra Modi is running for a rare third consecutive term and his right-wing party is hoping for an outright majority in parliament and a mandate to expand the Hindu nationalist policies.

But some voters are concerned about Mr. Modi's efforts to move India away from its secular roots. CNN's Will Ripley reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems virtually unstoppable as India heads to the polls. Modi

is widely expected to win a commanding majority of India's nearly one billion eligible voters, the biggest democratic election in the history of

mankind.

Modi's own path from poverty to politics is part of his appeal for a lot of people here in India. His official biography says he's the middle son of a

chaiwala, a tea seller, a humble upbringing that he says helps him understand the problems plaguing everyday people.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Modi says his programs put more food on their tables and his economic reforms have attracted billions in foreign investment,

raising India's global profile.

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: I've been doing this a long time but I don't ever remember anybody getting a warmer welcome than this man right here.

RIPLEY (voice-over): From the White House to the Kremlin, world leaders can't seem to get enough of Modi. Back at home, he's blurring the line

between religion and politics. Ram is the faith of India.

NARENDRA MODI, INDIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Ram is the foundation of India.

RIPLEY (voice-over): That's Modi presiding over the dedication of a temple dedicated to Hinduism's Lord Ram, built on the site of a demolished Muslim

mosque. That demolition triggered deadly religious riots more than three decades ago. Modi projects himself as head priest, protector and creator

of a Hindu first nation, a nation some say marginalizes Muslims.

SABA NAQVI, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: He willfully creates a cult of his own personality.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Many worship Modi himself, almost like a living god. That devotion runs deep in the ancient city of Varanasi, where religion is

woven into the fabric of life, like the rickshaws weaving in and out of traffic. I met this local shopkeeper who says he loves Modi like family.

RIPLEY: What makes him different from others?

UNKNOWN: What he says, he has done.

RIPLEY: When you hear him speak, do you feel like he's speaking to you in your life?

UNKNOWN: Yes, yes. Because he speaks with heart.

RIPLEY (voice-over): The heart of a very smart politician. Modi was not born here. He chose to represent this Hindu spiritual center. But not

everyone is a believer.

RIPLEY: Have you ever seen this city so divided, so polarized?

VISHWAMBHAR NATH MISHRA, HEAD PRIEST, SANKAT MOCHAN TEMPLE: This is what we call it is not the religious center. It is basically a spiritual center.

So this unique fabric has a strained condition now. And we have a fear that this fabric may break.

RIPLEY (voice-over): That's what happened back in 2002, when Modi was chief minister of the western state of Gujarat. Religious riots there

killed more than 1000 people, mostly Muslims. Modi was accused of not doing enough to stop the violence. The U.S. effectively banned Modi from stepping

foot on U.S. soil, a ban lifted when he became prime minister in 2014. India's Supreme Court also cleared Modi of responsibility. Now many say

Modi is stoking the fires of religious tensions.

SANA SABAJ, CELEBRATING END OF RAMADAN WITH FAMILY: The first term that came to my mind was scary.

RIPLEY: Scared?

SABAJ: Yes, it's scary.

RIPLEY (voice-over): I sat down with Sana Sabaj. She was celebrating the end of Ramadan with her family.

SABAJ: Where is the freedom of somebody just wearing a skullcap, minding his own business, buying mutton, whatever he wants to and then heading

home and then dying on the way.

RIPLEY (voice-over): A fear shared by many Muslims in Modi's India, wondering if this is the end of a secular Indian government and will it

mean the end of their religious and civil rights?

Will Ripley, CNN, Varanasi, India.

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BRUNHUBER: Days of heavy rainstorms have washed away buildings and killed dozens of people in Pakistan. And it's going to rain for several more days. Details after the break.

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BRUNHUBER: Forecasters say more heavy rain, strong winds, thunderstorms and hailstorms are expected to hit parts of Pakistan this weekend.

Here's what one resident had to say about the weather.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Yes. This bridge broke from the ran. It rained very heavily. It never rained like this before. It rains so heavily, the water spread all over. All the roads got blocked.

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BRUNHUBER: Severe flooding killed at least 69 people in the past week, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.

And local authorities report dozens of people who've been injured by lightning strikes, building collapsing and other weather-related incidents.

Authorities are assessing the damage in the United Arab Emirates after a severe storm dumped a year's worth of rain in one day in Dubai. The water flooded homes, businesses and roads this week, causing traffic hails that lasted for hours.

At least one person was killed in the Emirates and 20 others in Oman, where the storm first hit. Climate experts say rising temperatures caused by the human led climate change -- climate crisis are leading to more extreme weather events like this storm around the world.

Indonesian officials say the Mt. Ruang volcano is still erupting days after it began spewing ash and lava. On Tuesday, the column of ash, those reports reached 1,200 meters above the summit, some 1,900 meters above sea level. Hundreds have been evacuated as the volcano alert has been raised to

the highest level. Scientists fear of the volcano could collapse into the sea and trigger a massive tsunami as it did in 1871.

That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. "INSIDE AFRICA" is up next. I'll be back with more news at the top of the hour.