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U.S. House Could Vote On, Pass Foreign Aid Bills Today; U.S. House Speaker Under Fire From His Party's Right Wing; Israel Says 276 Aid Trucks Entered Gaza On Friday; Voters Speak About Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi; Dubai Floods; U.S. Sports. Aired 5-6a ET
Aired April 20, 2024 - 05:00 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.
We're hours away from U.S. House votes on a series of crucial foreign aid bills. Even bringing it this far could cost the speaker his job. We will look at what to expect.
Plus opening statements now set for Monday in former president Trump's hush money trial. We'll look at what led some potential jurors to say they just weren't up for the job.
And explosions at an Iran-backed militia base in Iraq, this as the region is on edge after retaliatory strikes between Iran and Israel. What each side as well as the U.S. are saying in a live report.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: We begin this hour with the possibility that Ukraine may soon get much needed military aid from the United States. Three funding bills for Ukraine, Israel and Indo-Pacific allies are expected to get a final vote in the House in the coming hours.
A fourth bill will require U.S. TikTok to divest from Chinese owned ByteDance or face a ban in the U.S. If passed, they will head to the Senate and if passed there, to President Biden's desk.
Now on Friday, House Democrats helped House Speaker Mike Johnson get the measures 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.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is making it clear the help can't come soon enough. Here's what he said in his address to NATO defense ministers in Brussels on Friday.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Ukraine is holding the front line on their wall, receiving military resistance. But now that assistance is still very limited and, in particular, we are still waiting for news of support packages from the United States.
American support has been in question for too long. Everything that is questioned for the defense of freedom is a precise answer for Putin. He's tempted to act when the West slows down.
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BRUNHUBER: But for one Republican leader, even getting the bills this far could come at a high cost. CNN's Melanie Zanona has more from Capitol Hill.
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MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Speaker Mike Johnson's job is in real jeopardy and that is because he has had to rely on Democrats throughout every step of the process to pass a critical package of foreign aid bills, including on some key procedural votes, which historically are almost always done along party lines.
So that has really sparked a revolt on the Right and it has fueled new calls to oust him from the Speakership. On Friday, a third Republican -- that's Arizona Republican Paul Gosar -- announced that he was officially signing on to sponsor the motion to vacate the Speakership.
Now other hardliners, not quite ready to go that route. But they are making their anger with the Speaker known. Take a listen.
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REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): What has Mike Johnson made a deal to do?
What has he promised he will give them in the future?
And this is why we have to remove Mike Johnson from the Speakership.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's tough to defend him, right now, you know and that's -- that's hard to say. But it's just a reality.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For five months, we've done nothing but advance things with more Democrat votes than Republican votes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't defend the performance of the Speaker. I don't defend the actions that have been taken, including today. I think this is a terrible mistake.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZANONA: Now at this point, the earliest that Marjorie Taylor Greene can force a floor vote on a motion to vacate is on Saturday. That is the same day that the House is expected to vote on and pass this package of foreign aid bills before they send it over to the Senate.
But given the math and given the tight margins, that means that, if that were to come to the floor, that motion to vacate, Johnson would need to rely on Democrats to bail him out and save him his speakership.
Now Democrats have not yet said that they are committed to saving Johnson and throwing him a lifeline. But many of them are signaling a willingness to helping him out.
And that is because they appreciate the fact that he defied his right flank and did what they believe is the right thing by delivering aid to Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine.
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But in this Congress, nothing is guaranteed.
So certainly something we'll be watching out for in the coming days -- Melanie Zanona, CNN, Capitol Hill.
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BRUNHUBER: Donald Trump's historic hush money trial is moving forward quickly 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.
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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.
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: Natasha Lindstaedt is a professor of government at the University of Essex and she joins us now from Berlin.
All right, so I want to start there with the trial, Natasha.
What stood out to you about what you've seen so far from this trial?
NATASHA LINDSTAEDT, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX: I think what stood, out to me was just how difficult it has been to, to pick a jury. I think that's something that maybe we hadn't thought about how, how difficult to process it would be just to pick one out but just also to be a jury member, to find someone who is considered to be unbiased.
And they're taking huge risks because they feel that their lives could be threatened. They could be influenced by family members and friends if they were to talk about the trial. So I think this whole process has been very, very onerous.
It's also stood out to me, of course, how Trump has had to face and hear people saying terrible things about him and has really not been in control. And you've had Judge Merchan who is completely in control of the court, of course.
So I think this is one of the first times you see Trump not in control of his surroundings, like he would like it to be and, finally, facing the music a little bit.
BRUNHUBER: More broadly from a political point of view, sort of looking at this through the election lens.
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A recent poll found only a third of Americans think Donald Trump did something illegal in this case, compared to about half who say he acted illegally in the other three criminal cases against him.
But if he's convicted in this case, about half of Americans would consider him unfit to serve as president. So even though this might be the weakest case against him in terms of severity, signaling a lot politically anyway, is still riding on the outcome here.
LINDSTAEDT: Right. It's really interesting to see the way these court cases have played out politically with his base. He seems to be able to use the court cases to generate more funds for his campaign. I mean, that seems to be the only thing he talks about, how he is the world's biggest victim.
And there's some horrible witch hunt against him and that Joe Biden has been weaponizing the justice system against him. But when we look at how this is going to play out in the election, if he is convicted, this is not going to play well for him.
I mean, at the very least he could actually even see prison time. But like you mentioned, the polls reveal that they would not want to vote for a president who is convicted of a crime. Of course, this is all uncharted territory for us. We've never really had this kind of situation in U.S. politics.
And you would think that just the criminal counts in itself would be enough to deter people from voting for him. But I think that Trump, it seems to be, relying on this idea that his base is going to come out to vote for him no matter what. It doesn't matter what he does and he's above the law.
But I think he's about to face a lot more friction as he may get a result. And particularly in this case that doesn't go well for him. You have to remember Michael Cohen, who was his underling, did go to prison.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. Exactly right.
So listen, I want to go back to the -- one of the other big political stories, the foreign aid bills.
Quickly on that, do you expect it to pass today?
LINDSTAEDT: Yes, I would expect it to pass and this was a big risk taken by Mike Johnson, of course, because he is, I guess, really angry Republicans on the far right that have signaled that they could want to oust him.
You have Marjorie Taylor Greene, who's made it clear that she's putting -- she could put a resolution to vote. And there were three Republicans in total on, that is enough that, if they decide to put it to vote and all of the Democrats agreed to vote him out, Mike Johnson would be ousted from speakership.
But that would create huge chaos and I actually don't think that would be good for the Republicans six months before a national election, to show how unable they are to just even manage this slim majority that they can't keep a speaker in the House.
So there may be some Republicans that will try to push against Marjorie Taylor Greene and the far right's move to oust him because it would play out horribly for the Republicans in November.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. I mean, it's just incredible bipartisanship reaching across the aisle used to be seen as a good thing. Now it may indeed cost the speaker his job.
Do think Democrats will save him if Republicans do vote to oust him?
LINDSTAEDT: So I think the issue is that you would have to have all of the Republicans vote to oust him. And the other -- I'm sorry -- all of the Democrats vote to oust him.
So though the Democrats are more united, certainly than the Republicans are, there might be some that decided that they don't want to save him. So hard to predict and you haven't heard any signals from Hakeem Jeffries, of course, the House minority leader, of what they're going to do. I think ultimately this would fail, that they're not going to be able
to oust Mike Johnson. I think it would be, as I mentioned, just absolutely catastrophic for them in the House.
But it's so hard to predict these days what is going to happen in the U.S. Congress, particularly in the U.S. House. And that's why we have unbelievably low approval ratings for the House and Senate as well.
It's only at 15 percent of the American public approves. And that's because, as you mentioned, there's just a complete lack of bipartisanship. And you get only here and there, after much great effort, some attempt to put a bill together that will actually pass.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, certainly be an interesting day. We'll be following along. Natasha Lindstaedt, thank you so much for being here with us. Appreciate it.
LINDSTAEDT: Thanks for having me.
BRUNHUBER: Of course, you can watch CNN's special coverage of the Trump hush money trial, Monday at 9:00 am in New York, 2:00 pm in London.
A series of explosions at a military base in Iraq is raising new questions about tensions in the Middle East. Ahead, what Israel and the U.S. are saying about this incident.
Meanwhile, despite this anti-Israel demonstration in Iran, there are signs that the conflict involving the countries may be deescalating.
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We will explain ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.
Plus, U.S. House lawmakers are set to vote on a long-delayed military aid package for Ukraine. We will talk to a Ukrainian parliament member in Kyiv about the mood in the country ahead of that crucial vote. Stay with us.
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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 strikes in Iraq. The Iraqi military says there were no drones or planes in the air at the time of the blast.
Now the explosions happened at the Kalsu Military Base south of Baghdad. The Iraqi army says one militia member was killed and eight others were injured. But there's no indication so far of what caused them.
But now there are signs that Israel-Iran tensions could be easing. Satellite images obtained by CNN show that there doesn't appear to be extensive damage at the airbase targeted by the strike.
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In fact, Iran's Fars news agency says the only damage was broken windows in several buildings.
Meanwhile, a top White House aide says he thinks neither side wants to take things further.
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BRETT MCGURK, PRESIDENTIAL ENVOY FOR THE GLOBAL COALITION TO COUNTER ISIL: I mean, we are not look -- nobody's looking for an escalation with Iran and nobody is looking for a -- I know what happened in last two weeks.
I think when historians look at it, I'm not going to mention anything about last night. I think when historians look at the last two weeks, it is about managing a crisis in a way that I think very much restore deterrence. I think Israel has come out of this actually significantly stronger because the defense -- defenses it has are extraordinary.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): So despite this demonstration in Tehran on Friday slamming Israel, Iran hasn't officially said much about the strike. On Friday Iran's president didn't mention it but did praise the attack on Israel last weekend.
As G7 foreign ministers wrap their meetings on Friday, secretary of state Antony Blinken said, the U.S., quote, "committed to deescalating, to bring this tension to a close."
CNN's Nada Bashir joins us live from London with the latest.
It does seem as though things are progressing down the path of deescalation.
Is that right?
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It certainly seems that way for now, both sides seemingly not wanting to be dragged into a deeper regional war. And again, both sides domestically, at least, taking this as a window.
On the Iranian side, what we have seen is an effort to downplay Israel's attack on Isfahan. What we have seen is a real disregarding of the attack actually by Iranian officials, who have described Israel as using tiny drones, the damage being limited. In fact, we heard from the Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, speaking
yesterday, there was no mention of Israel's attack on Iran, though the focus was very much still on Iran's retaliatory attack on Israel, following Israel's consular strikes.
So clearly an effort on the, on the Iranian side to downplay the incident and they may well also, of course, be regional considerations at hand. There had been significant concern around the potential for this provocation to lead to a broader regional war, particularly with regards to Iran's regional proxies.
And of course, important to remember that Iran has recently reestablished relations with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both of whom are key allies to the United States in the region.
And we know that the Biden administration has been very clear in trying to avert a broader escalation of tensions in the region.
Now on the Israeli side, again, this has been a limited response from the ground. Scheme of things but there is a clear message, a clear signal being sent here, of course, the province of Isfahan known to house a key nuclear base, a key airbase, as well.
This is an industrial hub known to have produced drones and missiles. So this is a strategic location in Iran. Clearly the intelligence is on the side of the Israeli officials, who launched this attack on Iran.
But again, the scope of the attack in itself was limited. Perhaps the importance of significance there was in the message being sent by Israel. But of course, there has been mounting pressure on both sides to avert a broader regional war.
That was certainly the case for the European Union. We heard from the E.U.'s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, saying that E.U. leaders need to stand together in trying to pressure both sides to avert a regional war. Of course, as we know, the U.S. it has been very vocal in dissuading any sort of border escalation or provocations.
BRUNHUBER: And meanwhile, in Gaza, the situation is still desperate for so many.
What's the latest on the delivery of much-needed food and medicine and the U.S. plan to bring in aid via the sea route?
BASHIR: The situation is still deeply desperate. Many people in need. Thousands of people in dire need in Gaza. Getting aid is still not proven to becoming in fast enough. It is still proven to be difficult.
We're still hearing from U.N. agencies accusing Israeli authorities of placing obstacles in the way of getting aid in. Now of course, we know that the U.S. government has laid plans of preparation to establish a temporary pier off the coast of Gaza.
Now according to a U.S. official speaking to CNN, the U.S. is planning to be coordinating with a key U.N. agency, the World Food Programme, in order to ensure distribution of aid. And that had been a key point of concern because it's one thing to establish that pier.
But of course, the Biden administration has been clear. There will be no U.S. boots on the ground.
So the question remains, how exactly would those aid supplies be delivered and distributed within Gaza?
Now the U.N. World Food Programme is said to be onboard in terms of facilitating the distribution of that aid. That would be aid coming through the maritime corridor.
But the continued message that we are hearing from aid agencies is that we need to see more land crossings. We've seen the opening of the Erez crossing but, again, they want to see more land distributions being established.
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And they want more security guarantees. And of course, the logistical challenges at hand in central and northern Gaza are proving huge for these aid agencies desperately trying to get enough food and medical supplies as well as sanitary kits to those most in need in Gaza.
BRUNHUBER: Nada Bashir in London, thanks so much.
Ukraine says its air defenses scored some hits they've never accomplished before. Among the targets a Russian strategic bomber, which ended up on the receiving end of Ukraine's anti-aircraft fire. That's ahead.
Plus, 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: Welcome back to all you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
Want to get back to one of our top stories. The White House says it's ready to sign a package of foreign aid bills as soon as they pass both houses of Congress. The House is expected to take them up in the coming hours.
Now the measures contain billions of dollars in security aid for Ukraine, Israel and Indo-Pacific allies, as well as a possible ban on TikTok and sanctions on Iran. The bill has passed a key procedural vote, 316-94, with more Democrats than Republicans voting to advance the bills to the floor and to a final vote. But Friday's bipartisan showing could cost the speaker dearly. Several
members of his own party threatened to call for a motion to vacate that would oust the speaker from his job. Now last hour, I spoke with a Ukrainian parliament member and I asked her how closely Ukrainians are following those developments in Washington.
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Here she is.
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INNA SOVSUN, UKRAINIAN MP: 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.
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BRUNHUBER: 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 is claiming two major firsts in its aerial war with Russia.
On Friday, Kyiv said it shot down a Russian strategic bomber after it fired missiles on Ukraine. The plane was reportedly hit from more than 180 miles or 300 kilometers away, causing it to crash into a field in southern Russia.
But Moscow blames a technical malfunction, then says three of the four crew members have been rescued. Ukraine says it also struck two Kh-22 hypersonic missiles, which can fly it up to 4,000 kilometers an hour.
Ukraine has reportedly lined up commitments for more air defenses after President Zelenskyy appealed directly to NATO. He addressed a virtual meeting of defense ministers on Friday, saying Ukraine needs at least seven more advanced air defense systems.
NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg later said several countries made specific commitments to provide them. Here's 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: The first waves 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 with turnout estimated around 60 percent.
Nearly 1 billion people are eligible to vote this year with around 26 million new voters since the last election 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.
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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.
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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: Warming oceans are damaging coral reefs like Australia's Great Barrier Reef. But underwater drones are helping scientists study these fragile ecosystems and finding ways to help save them. That's ahead.
Plus temperatures are cooling across the northern U.S. while there's a risk of flooding in the South.
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BRUNHUBER: More than 15 million people across the central U.S. and Great Lakes are under freeze alerts this weekend as temperatures dip up to 20 degrees below average and parts of Texas and Louisiana could see heavy rainfall.
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BRUNHUBER: Indonesian officials say the Ruang volcano is still erupting days after it began spewing ash and lava on Tuesday. The column of ash was reported to reach 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 this level.
Scientists fear the volcano could collapse into the sea and trigger a massive tsunami as it did in 1871.
And authorities are assessing the damage in the United Arab Emirates after a severe storm dumped a year's worth of rain in one day on Dubai. The water flooded homes, businesses and roads this week, causing traffic chaos 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 crisis leading to more extreme weather events like this storm around the world.
[05:45:04]
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BRUNHUBER: 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.
Meanwhile, scientists are now using artificial intelligence and a new kind of drone to monitor the health of coral reefs. Rosemary Church has the story.
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Deep under the ocean's surface, a little robot wanders through Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
It's an AI powered drone called Hydrus.
And it's doing important work for the environment, examining the coral reefs. 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 had 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 ensure.
PETER BAKER, ADVANCED NAVIGATION: 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 onboard so scientists can view the captured AI 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 -- Rosemary Church, CNN.
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BRUNHUBER: So ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, it was win or go home.
"CNN SPORT's" Carolyn Manno joins me next to look at who survived the NBA play-in games and preview the playoff clashes that are about to start. Please stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: A look at sports. Now the NBA playoffs tip off today, the field of 16 is officially set after a pair of impressive play wins by the Miami Heat and New Orleans Pelicans, each playing without their biggest stars. "CNN SPORT's" correspondent Carolyn Manno joins me now. So Carolyn, so much going on, this might be the most exciting weekend
of the year for NBA fans.
CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: They're spoiled this weekend.
Kim, good morning. Both Miami and New Orleans though, are going to need herculean efforts if they want to make a run this postseason. But they have taken the first step, which is getting in and that's important.
Zion Williamson out for the Pelicans, nursing a hamstring injury but the rest of the team rising to the occasion in this win or go home situation against the Kings. Six players scored in double figures. They were led by Brandon Ingram, the former all-star, who had a team high 24 points to go with six assists.
And a big block as well in the third, swatting Harrison Barnes. He led the break past Herb Jones for three. So New Orleans running away with it. Jose Alvarado put them up by 20 halfway through the fourth as they end up winning by eight, clinching the eighth seed and setting up a series with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
In the meantime, no Jimmy Butler, no problem for Miami, the Heat flat- out stomping the Bulls. And after starting the game down by five, the Heat got hot, they got blistering. Actually going on at 26-2 run and they never looked back.
Tyler Hero, just one assist shy of his second career triple double 24 points, seven rebounds, nine assists, including an incredible behind the back pass to Caleb Martin for three as Miami cruises, 112-91 and will now turn their attention to the NBAs best team this season.
The Boston Celtics head coach Erik Spoelstra from Miami, just happy to have a chance.
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ERIK SPOELSTRA, BOSTON CELTICS HEAD COACH: These are the games you think about and you reflect on, you know, later on, where you are you like, oh, that was a lot of fun. These games are fun. The planned games are fun. I'd rather not be in a planned game but they're fun.
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MANNO: And even more fun to be had today with four games beginning at 1 Eastern here in the U.S. All lies on the nightcap as LeBron James and the Lakers take on the Nikola Jokic and the defending champion Denver Nuggets.
Lastly for you this morning, Kim, an incredibly emotional moment for Red Sox pitcher Cam Booser. He was forced to walk away from the game five years ago because of a slew of injuries that even included a broken back after a bicycle accident.
So he had been working as a carpenter when he started giving lessons to Little Leaguers and then got the itch to play again. And now, at 31 years old, he made his Major League debut for the Red Sox last night, struck out one batter in the 9th inning of Boston's win over the Pirates.
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CAM BOOSER, RED SOX PITCHER: Surreal moment. I mean, I try not to look up and just kind of try to stay in the moment. And then afterwards start to take it all in. But yes, as one of the -- it's by far the best point in my career.
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[05:55:00]
MANNO: I just loved that story so much, Kim, and it's one of a couple like that that we've seen, particularly in Major League Baseball here stateside, where you have these players who, for whatever reason, are forced to step away from the major leagues and to be able to work your way back and to be working as a carpenter and then end up on the now, this is so special.
BRUNHUBER: Absolutely and inspiring for so many people. Carolyn Manno in New York. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
Before we go on, I'll leave you with this.
Breaking records, Taylor's Version, the superstar released her much anticipated 11th studio album, "The Tortured Poets Department". And just hours ago, she treated her fans to the "Fortnight" music video, starring Post Malone. Have a look.
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BRUNHUBER: Swift is amending her status as the stream queen with her latest album, breaking multiple Spotify records in less than 24 hours. "The Tortured Poets Department" is now the most streamed album in a single day on the platform, making her the most streamed artist in a single day on Spotify.
And Swift was already breaking records prior to the album's release when it became the most pre-saved album in the streaming giant's history.
I'm Kim Brunhuber. For viewers in North America, "CNN THIS MORNING" is next. For the rest of the world, it's "AFRICAN VOICES: CHANGEMAKERS."
