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U.S. Senate Passes $95 Billion Aid Package For Ukraine And Israel; Israeli Leaders And Military Criticize Reported U.S. Plans To Sanction IDF Unit; 5 Migrants Die While Crossing English Channel; Judge To Rule Whether Trump Violated Gag Order. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired April 24, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm John Vause. Ahead here on CNN.
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SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): We tell our allies, we stand with you. We tell our adversaries, don't mess with us.
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VAUSE: Eventually, better late than never the U.S. Senate quickly passes a multibillion dollar funding package for Ukraine. Long delayed weapons and ammunition should arrive within days.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The risk of famine throughout Gaza is very high
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VAUSE: Or made worse by a renewed Israeli military offensive hampering aid distribution especially in Gaza's north.
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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I'm not allowed to talk but people are allowed to talk about me.
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VAUSE: That's why it's called a gag order. Donald Trump struggles to understand why he may soon be held in contempt at his criminal trial in New York.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: Urgently needed supplies of ammunition artillery rounds as well as air defense systems and long range missiles are expected to be airlifted to Ukraine within days after Congress finally approved a military aid package, which have been stalled for months by Republican lawmakers.
Ukraine will receive nearly $61 billion of the $95 billion foreign aid bill which was approved by the U.S. Senate just a few hours ago. The rest will go to Israel and Taiwan. The President says he will sign the bill into law later Wednesday, clearing the way for the flow of U.S. military assistance to resume to Ukraine.
And in a post on social media, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy express gratitude to the U.S. Senate for approving the bill. Ukraine has been losing territory to Russia since December when U.S. military assistance straight up after the vote Senate Majority Leader Democrat Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Republican Mitch McConnell addressed the chamber.
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SCHUMER: We tell our allies, we stand with you. We tell our adversaries, don't mess with us. We tell the world the United States will do everything to safeguard democracy and our way of life.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): It's trying to reaffirm some basic truths. Alliances, matter. Foreign nations respect for American interests depends on our willingness to defend.
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VAUSE: The passage of this funding bill through the Republican controlled lower House to the Democrat controlled Senate was a difficult and complicated process. The House of Representatives held a rest Saturday session to vote on four separate bills which make up the overall funding package.
Also included in the bill was tougher sanctions on Russian assets, but also a provision which enforces TikTok's Chinese owners to sell their interests in the platform. If they don't, the app could be banned in the US. CNN's Manu Raju follow all these developments from Capitol Hill.
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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Now a saga coming to an end that had divided the Republican Party for months what to do about aid to Ukraine because of divisions within the ranks, because of the outspoken voices on the far right of the Republican conference, because of the fact that the former President Donald Trump has been skeptical about more aid to Ukraine. This has changed how a lot of Republicans view whether or not the United States should have a more robust presence in the world whether it should pull back from its support of foreign wars.
This debate between the so called National Security hawks and the isolations wings of the Republican Party had played out for months and months and months and really stymied action on all of this.
Now, one person who has been in the forefront on pushing this aid has been Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, he of course shepherded through a $95 billion aid package along with Democratic leaders, a couple of months ago, two months ago. In fact, that plan included aid to Ukraine, Taiwan and to Israel, then it essentially went nowhere in the Republican led house for more than two months, until speaker Mike Johnson decided to make a move and try to move on a similar plan what some modifications with some changes and send that back to the Senate on Saturday, ultimately leading to senators final action on early this week.
Now, McConnell as he was discussing all of this, pin the blame on the former Fox News hosts, Tucker Carlson for stoking that anti-Ukraine sentiment within the GOP.
MCCONNELL: I thank demonization of Ukraine began by Tucker Carlson, who in my opinion, ended up where he should have been all along which is interviewing Vladimir Putin.
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And so he had an enormous audience, which convinced a lot of rank and file Republicans. It may be this was a mistake.
RAJU: This all comes as Mike Johnson making the decision to move ahead on aid to Ukraine and only angering folks on the right who had been concerned about some of his deal making already whether it was to keep the government open, whether it's to reauthorize if foreign intelligence surveillance law, as well as to actually move ahead on authorizing national security programs, as he did under the National Defense Authorization Act late last year.
All these actions over the last six months since becoming speaker have prompted this rebellion on the far right, including led right now by Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has called for his ousts and threatened to call for such a vote.
But there's a belief that Johnson be able to survive such a vote if it were to actually come to a head on the House floor because potentially Democrats could come to his defense and also the former president himself, Donald Trump defending the actions of Mike Johnson in an interview earlier in the week.
So, a lot of questions about Johnson's future. But at the moment, there is a belief and there's a relief among supporters of Ukraine aid on Capitol Hill that after months of battling finally, this is chapter is done for now. Manu Raju, CNN Capitol Hill.
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VAUSE: Will say the story a little longer. Matthew Schmidt is an associate professor of national security at the University of New Haven, as well as a former professor of strategic and operational planning at the US Army Command and General Staff College. Matthew, good to see you.
MATTHEW SCHMIDT, ASSOC. PROF. OF NATIONAL SECURITY, UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN: Good to hear John. VAUSE: OK. So most of the $60 billion or so is allocated to rebuilding
depleted U.S. weapons stockpiles. But what is notable is that Ukrainian officials have been asking the U.S. both in private and in public for the attack of long range missiles to target deeper behind Russian lines.
American officials have resisted citing both supplies and further provoking Moscow as excuses. But the House made it a requirement to include those long range missiles in this package, also on its way to Ukraine, what's known as specialized precision aerial ordinance.
What exactly is that, and overall, in terms of what the U.S. is now willing to supply? This military package seems to be leaps and bounds ahead of all the other previous ones.
SCHMIDT: Ukraine has to transform the war. You know, one week ago, 2024 was about surviving. And now it's about winning the war in the next 12 to 18 months. And the ability to take attack and enlist or glide bombs, those special areas of aerial ordinances, and to get over and above and deep into Russian lines. So their supply routes and their supply caches is critical to being able to transform the war. Ukraine has to do that. And that's really what this bill is set up to give them a shot.
VAUSE: Yes, clearly, there's this urgent need also for artillery rounds. You know, the Russians are hiring 10 to one at the moment. Also ammunition for Ukrainian troops. Are the hours before the funding bill passed the Senate, CNN reported that the U.S. is prepared to quickly send military aid to Ukraine to meet the urgent battlefield and air defense needs as soon as the supplemental passes the Senate and it's signed into law, get signed into law later Wednesday.
So once the material arrives, how soon would you expect to see some kind of turnaround in the military outlook for Ukraine?
SCHMIDT: I think you can get the 120 to 150 ammunition out into the field and in a week, two weeks, and you're going to see it -- you're going to see the effect that quickly. What's really happening here is it's a race because both sides are under o'clock.
Russia has one chance to try to push an offensive now before you get the artillery rounds in play before you get the attack comes in the F- 16s and the glide bombs in play here. And they're going to push to do that as fast as they can.
I don't think they're going to be able to do it well. And Ukraine has to do the opposite. They've got to get their defense out fast, and then position themselves to transition to offense sometime in the late summer or the fall. But I think those first effects are going to happen within days or weeks.
VAUSE: And well, this funding bill was stalled by Republicans in Congress. As you mentioned, Ukraine was just simply hunkered down trying to hold ground. And at the same time, Russia was given the freedom to play on a major offensive, and that's expected anytime soon. So there will still be ramifications here. It's not a case of now
Ukraine has the funding, everything is jolly hockey sticks, there are still consequences of this long delay.
SCHMIDT: Right. I think we're at a point here where Ukraine can save it. But another week, another two weeks, that might not have been the case. I think we're that close to that that point of inflection here.
So a lot of harm was done and the war fundamentally it isn't about territory. It's about attrition of forces and men. And the delay in this aid cost a lot of lives a lot of Ukrainian lives both -- before we got to today in the way it's going to be harder to fight tomorrow for a while until Ukrainians can grab the upper hand.
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VAUSE: Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, he really stands out from his fellow GOP members for his unwavering support for Ukraine. He called out, you know, the Fox TV host Tucker Carlson, as one of the reasons many of the GOP, anti-Ukraine and pro-Russia. Here's a clip from Carlson show before he was fired.
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TUCKER CARLSON, THEN-FOX NEWS HOST: This point, NATO exists primarily to torment Vladimir Putin, who whatever has many faults has no intention of invading Western Europe.
The fact is Ukraine is strategically irrelevant to the United States, no rational person could defend a war with Russia over Ukraine. Nobody thinks a war like that would make America safer, or stronger and more prosperous.
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VAUSE: Yes, that entire statement is wrong and partly delusional as well. But is it just Putin loving Tucker, who's responsible for the anti-Ukraine sentiment among Republicans right now?
SCHMIDT: No, I think that Republicans have a view of the world that says that they can deter somebody with strength. And they are -- they're misunderstanding that this war for Putin isn't actually about NATO in that sense, sort of Tucker's accidentally correct.
This is a war of ideology for Putin. He wants to control the future of Ukraine, because he believes he has a sort of quasi-religious mission here. And that's why you can't deter somebody like that, unless you go all the way in on this war and stop him where he's at.
VAUSE: Matthew Schmidt, it's always good to have you with us, sir. Thank you for your insights.
SCHMIDT: Take care.
VAUSE: Ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas appear to be at a standstill, while at the same time a renewed Israeli military offensive is ramping up. The IDF has issued and evacuation notice with combat zones in northern Gaza. And across Gaza many report the nearly nonstop sound of bombardments as well as some of the heaviest shelling in weeks.
The Israeli military says extreme force is being used against terrorist infrastructure, and subversive elements. Hamas spokesperson now calling for continued attacks on Israel in response, rocket alert sounded in two southern Israeli border towns Tuesday, no casualties were reported.
Meantime, the U.S. is urging Israel to allow more humanitarian assistance into Gaza.
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DAVID SATTERFIELD, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR MIDDLE EAST HUMANITARIAN ISSUE: The risk of famine throughout Gaza is very high, especially in the north and the volume of assistance entering into and most importantly, distributed within Gaza has increased significantly, but we know much more aid is needed.
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VAUSE: Israel has dismissed allegations that IDF troops bury hundreds of Palestinians in the mass grave at the Nasser medical facility in Gaza. A warning some viewers may find the following video disturbing.
Israeli military officials described the claims as baseless and unfounded. But searchers ready hostages got a (INAUDIBLE) search for Israeli hostages. They acknowledged that some of the bodies actually been taken away and examined but later returned to their resting place.
Civil defense officials in Gaza say the search continues so for more bodies. Right now 310 have been found. U.N. says it's working to confirm report some of the bodies recovered from the mass grave had their hands tied.
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RAVINA SHAMDASANI, U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS SPOKESPERSON: We are horrified also by the destruction of Nasser medical complex and Al-Shifa medical complex, and the reports of the discovery of mass graves in and around facilities. And we call for independent, effective transparent investigations into the deaths.
Hospitals are entitled to very special protection under international humanitarian law. And let's be clear, the intentional killing of civilians, detainees and others who are of the combat is a war crime.
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VAUSE: Another side of the growing rift between Israel and the United States. Israeli leaders are publicly outraged over plans by the U.S. State Department to sanction an IDF unit. Netzah Yehuda, an infantry battalion made up of Ultra-Orthodox Jews is
based in the West Bank and is accused of human rights abuses against Palestinians. CNN's Nic Robertson has details.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): Palestinian American Omar Assad was 78 years old when IDF soldiers from the ultra-religious Netzah Yehuda battalion detained him. Then witnesses say they left him to die.
That was more than two years ago. His younger brother is still struggling with the family's loss.
AMED ASSAD, BROTHER OF OMAR ASSAD: He was a father to me, not just a brother. He was our happiness. He was our heaviness.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): The troops were internally investigated, criticized by IDF commanders for a moral failure. Two officers were reprimanded but not prosecuted. They said they thought Omar Assad was alive when they left.
Abu Muhammad was also detained that bitter January night.
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High in the occupied West Bank mountaintop village of Giulia.
ROBERTOSN: They're pushing you like this. Walking up the road like this. Pushing, pushing.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): He shows me how he says the troops rough handled him, pushed him into the yard where Omar Assad lay on the freezing ground.
This photo taken that night published in an Israeli newspaper, Abu Muhammad says shows him next that Omar Assad prone body. Neither were accused of or had committed a crime. The IDF says they were stopped for vehicle inspections. Abu Muhammad clearly remembers the moment he discovered Omar Assad was dead.
A soldier put his hand on his neck to check for a pulse, Abu Mohammed says, then left in a hurry. When I was sure they were gone, I checked him. He had no pulse, and I sent for the doctor.
ISLAM ABU TAHER, ARABIC MEDICAL CENTER: Someone knocked the door and chanting Doctor. Doctor, we need the help.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): It was 3:00 a.m. Dr. Taher says, he rushed to help tried CPR. But it says Omar Assad overweight with a heart condition was already dead.
TAHER: And no vital signs was on the patient.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): He says he has seen the autopsy determining Omar Assad died from a stress induced heart attack and shows me his own report of his actions that night. His conclusion is shocking. The soldiers could have saved Omar Assad.
ROBERTSON: Brett says he lost consciousness for which the Israeli army escape from the side and left him without giving him any --
TAHER: A medical help. Yes.
ROBERTSON: If they'd given him help, could he have went?
TAHER: Yes, mostly yes.
YEHUDA SHAUL, CO-DIRECTOR, OFEK: The killing of Omar Assad is just one case that Netzah Yehuda was involved in.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Yehuda Shaul is an Army veteran has tracked the unit for years says their reputation for violence precedes them. This video that caught them beating two Palestinians in the occupied West Bank two years ago quickly went viral.
The IDF discharged the soldiers involved. Netzah Yehuda battalion was originally designed to allow the Ultra-Orthodox to join the army. But Shaul says it's become home for ultra-nationalists who underpin Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right wing government.
SHAUL: They kind of took over the unit and it became very aggressive.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): After U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said determinations were being made about cutting all U.S. weapons and funding from the Netzah Yehuda battalion over alleged human rights violations leaked several days ago.
Netanyahu and his ministers have been hitting back at America. For Shaul and many others here who worry about the IDF apparent impunity, the sanctions should be a pivotal moment of reckoning.
SHAUL: What we need to do is to start to behave and start to behave morally and start to have serious mechanisms of accountability in the IDF.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): For Omar Assad's family sanctions won't bring him back or mend his wife who was broken by his brutal death.
ASSAD: Does when their time in jail.
ROBERTSON: You want to see the person who did this the people responsible go to jail.
ASSAD: Go to jail.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Omar Assad's grave like so many others witness to the lessons the IDF might learn and the cost of failure. Nic Robertson, CNN, Jiljilyya, The West Bank.
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VAUSE: At least five people including a seven-year old girl and dead while attempting to cross the English Channel in an overcrowded boat. French authorities say the boats engine stopped dumping most of the people in the water are ready to save more than 40 but nearly 60 passengers stayed on board and continued onwards to the UK.
This all comes after the British Parliament passed a bill which allows the government to deport asylum seekers by flying them to Rwanda. Critics say it's inhumane, but the supporters of the bills say it's one way to stop migrants.
British Home Secretary James Cleverly posted online these tragedies have to stop. I will not accept the status quo which costs so many lives. This government is doing everything we can to end this trade, stopped the boats and ultimately breaks the business model of the evil people smuggling gangs so they no longer put lives at risk.
Ahead, a one-two punch for Donald Trump on the second day of his criminal trial in New York. A very annoyed judge set rule on alleged gag order violations, as well as testimony about a long running secret deal to squash unflattering media reports about Trump and the Trump family.
And then later this hour, Elon Musk takes a bad earnings report for the Tesla. But since the stock price soaring by announcing a new cheaper budget EV available mid next year.
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VAUSE: While it's getting a little tense at Donald Trump's criminal trial in New York, with the judge warning the defense team, they're losing all credibility with the court. It's only been two days. They came to your hearing on whether Trump had repeatedly violated a gag order preventing him from publicly discussing witnesses.
But the former U.S. president appear to do just that before Tuesday's hearing began. He did that also on Monday, when he called a local TV station that likely witness Michael Cohen, his former lawyer and fixer was a convicted liar who did some pretty bad things.
But the big focus was another key witness the former publisher of the National Enquirer. David Pecker took jurors deeper into the world of catch and kill, explaining how he'd be on the lookout for negative stories about Trump to make sure they never saw the light of day specifically offering to flag instances of women selling stories. More details from CNN's Kara Scannell.
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KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Explosive witness testimony from a tabloid executive and former President Donald Trump's hush money trial on Tuesday, ex National Enquirer publisher David Pecker described acting as the eyes and ears of Trump's 2016 campaign, notifying Trump's attorney Michael Cohen about any negative stories to help get them killed in the lead up to the election.
Pecker is a key player involved in the crux of the prosecution's case, an alleged scheme to pay off adult film star Stormy Daniels to cover up her alleged affair with Trump to influence the 2016 election questioning centered on an August 2015 meeting between Pecker, Cohen and Trump, where the alleged conspiracy was hatched.
Pecker who ran the National Enquirer testified that at the meeting, I said what I would do is I would run or publish positive stories about Mr. Trump and I would publish negative stories about his opponents. He additionally offered if I hear anything negative about yourself or if I hear anything about winning selling stories, I would notify Michael Cohen as I did over the last several years. And Michael Cohen then he would be able to have them killed in another magazine or have them not published or somebody would have to purchase them.
Trump stared at Pecker as he described the 25-minute meeting that he did not react. Pecker said after the meeting, he told the Inquirer's editor in chief about the mutually beneficial agreement. He said we're going to try to help the campaign and to do that, I want to keep this as quiet as possible.
Joshua Steinglass then asked pecker about a specific catch and kill incident where a negative Trump story was bought and buried. Pecker testified he found Trump's doorman was telling a story that he fathered a child with someone other than his wife, and he immediately alerted Cohen.
Pecker said his colleague negotiated the purchase the story for $30,000 and when he called Cohen tell him, Cohen responded, the boss would be very pleased.
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Even though the allegation was disproven, he testified, I made the decision to purchase the story because of the potential embarrassment it would have to the campaign. And Mr. Trump, Steinglass also asked pecker about another catch and kill scheme buying former Playboy model Karen McDougal story about an alleged year long relationship with Trump.
Pecker described a phone call he had with Trump after his colleague interviewed McDougal. Pecker said I told him I think you should buy it. And Trump responded saying anytime you do anything like this, it always gets out. He said he would think about it and Pecker would hear from Cohen. Trump denies having an affair with McDougal.
The morning started with a contentious hearing to determine if Trump violated a gag order not to talk about jurors or witnesses after he did so and social media posts almost a dozen times.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: We have a gag order, which to me is totally unconstitutional.
SCANNELL: Trump's lawyer Todd Blanche said the order was not clear about reposts and he tried to argue that the former president was actually trying to comply with the order. Judge Juan Merchan, exasperated with Blanche's argument scolded him and said you're losing all credibility with the court. Kara Scannell, CNN, New York. (END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: To LA and Michael Hiltzik, journalist and author as well as Pulitzer Prize winner who've been writing for the Los Angeles Times for more than 40 years. And it's good to see you, Michael.
MICHAEL HILTZIK. BUSINESS COLUMINST, LOS ANGELES TIMES: Good to be back with you, John.
VAUSE: So under oath, David Pecker explain how catch and kill works. He used the example that National Enquirer paying a doorman thousands of dollars for a false story about Trump. Somebody said, we hold the article and it's up to the publisher, whether they're going to publish the article or not paying the $30,000 you had the full exclusive for it, and you had the choice to publish the article or not.
You know, tabloid newspapers and magazines, they've always had to have been down and dirty, in many ways are often with their misleading or false reporting. And how they get their stories is not exactly legit. But it seems what Pecker is describing goes way beyond tabloid journalism.
HILTZIK: I think that's true, John. We do think of tabloids, the National Enquirer and its ilk, as really looking for the lowest common denominator in terms of what they report and their methodology. But this is something on a completely different level, this is Pecker, and Trump using the National Enquirer can actually interfere in the election to run false stories about Trump's opponents in the primaries and in the election, and to suppress stories that might be bad for him and to actually basically bury stories that would hurt Trump.
So this is a much more active participation in the electoral process. And I think people really understood the Enquirer was up to.
VAUSE: Yes, and here's a little more from Pecker's testimony about what you're talking about the negative stories, if there was any rumors in the marketplace about Mr. Trump or his family, or any negative stories that were coming out, or things that I heard overall, that I would go through, I would -- they would go through I would call Michael Cohen, Trump's lawyer directly.
So you know, not only is magazine willing to hold stories that come their way. Pecker is actively out there seeking them fight trying to find them. Has there ever been an example in the history of publishing, in the history of journalism that a newspaper has been used in this way to the benefit of one person?
HILTZIK: Well, there's certainly been cases in which tabloids of a slightly earlier era were known, basically, to look for dirt on Hollywood stars. There was a publication called confidential that would do that, and would actually use what it learned for blackmail. And ultimately, that got exposed.
But I think, you know, one aspect of this that that tends to be overlooked is that the story is that the National Enquirer made up about Trump's opponents actually infiltrated into the mains -- into mainstream journalism that the National Enquirer would run a headline about, say, Ted Cruz. Trump would repeat it, having helped to gin it up.
And then the New York Times and The Washington Post and POLITICO would report Trump's accusation as though it was sort of a standard part of the electoral campaigning process. So that's sort of a pipeline, that that oh of journalism really needs to come to grips with.
VAUSE: What you mentioned it that I have here is Donald Trump in May of 2016. He's referring to a story which was in the National Enquirer and speaking on Fox. Here he is.
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TRUMP: His father was with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to Oswald is being, you know, shot me the whole thing is ridiculous. What is his right prior to his being shot? Nobody even brings it up I mean they don't even talk about that.
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VAUSE: He, being Senator Ted Cruz, who was the last man standing at the time in the Republican primary.
Here's how Ted Cruz reacted to that.
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SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): This "National Enquirer" story is garbage. It is complete and utter lies. It is a tabloid smear and it is a smear that has come from Donald Trump and his henchmen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: You know, everyone knows the "National Enquirer" is grubby. And we also that a lot stuff in there is not true. But as you say, these reports were picked up by "The New York Times", "The Washington Post" and other credible news outlets. How much harm --
(CROSSTALKING)
MICHAEL HILTZIK, "LOS ANGELES TIMES": Right. Absolutely. If you -- if you read the stories in the "The New York Times" and "The Washington Post" and elsewhere at the time, they treated Trump's accusation against Cruz as something that maybe did have a negative truth to it. And you know, because so many people have a negative view of Ted Cruz, I think there were a lot of people who sort of nodded to themselves and said, yes, I'm not surprised with that.
So this was really poison been dripped into the body politic by Trump and his partners at the "National Enquirer".
VAUSE: It's basically how much harm has been done by something so underhand and sinister and how it's played out.
Michael, as always, it's great to have you with us. Really appreciate it.
HILTZIK: Thanks for having me.
VAUSE: Always a pleasure.
Well, survivors of sexual attacks by Larry Nassar, the disgraced gymnastics doctor for Team U.S.A. are set to receive almost $150 million after reaching a settlement in their case against the FBI. More than 150 women and girls say the bureau failed to investigate their claims of abuse by Nassar.
Nassar was convicted in 2018 of sexually abusing young athletes under the guise of performing medical treatment. He was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison.
The Justice Department acknowledged failures in a scathing report which found senior officials did not respond properly to those allegations.
TikTok's days in the United States might just be numbered. That's after the U.S. Congress passed legislation that might force the app's owners to sell. What can TikTok do? We'll tell you in a moment.
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VAUSE: Welcome back. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
For more on our top story this hour, much needed weaponry, air defenses, long-range missiles, and artillery will be headed to Ukraine in a matter of days. That's after the U.S. Senate approved a long- awaited $95 billion foreign aid package late Tuesday.
[01:34:49]
VAUSE: The bill which also includes financial assistance for Israel and Taiwan, had been stalled for months in Congress, held up by Republican lawmakers in the lower House.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude for the Senate's passage. Israels foreign minister has also thanked the senators. President Joe Biden says he will sign the bill into law later this Wednesday.
Also in that financial aid package, oddly enough, was legislation which could result in a ban on TikTok in the U.S. unless its Chinese parent company sells.
CNN's Kristie Lu stout live for us in Hong Kong with more on this. I guess, what are the options here. What can they do to all of this? It's a done deal.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Bytedance is weighing its options and the ramifications here are profound, John.
You know, once president Biden signs this bill into law, the clock is going to be ticking for Bytedance to either sell TikTok's U.S. operations, or shut it down.
Now, TikTok is the very popular social media platform. It's based in Los Angeles and Singapore. It is a unit of Bytedance, the privately- owned tech, John, that's based in Beijing. And that is what's been fueling all the bipartisan fears and concerns over in the United States that Beijing could use it to spy or shape public opinion.
TikTok and its CEO, they've denied that saying it's an entertainment app and it doesn't allow the Chinese government or any government to influence its recommendation model.
But the question is this, what's next? And can TikTok sold to someone else? Well, the Chinese government is on the record opposing a sale. Beijing does not want Bytedance to give up the algorithm. In fact the Chinese government may allow TikTok to be sold without the algorithm, but that's unlikely because it would strip TikTok of its secret sauce, of its core technology and the secret of its success.
And analysts have been saying that the ramifications of this are just profound and that the world could be further split into two tech spheres -- one aligned with the United States and the other aligned with China.
This is what we heard from Alex Capri. He's a research fellow at the Heinrich Foundation. He's also a lecturer at the National University of Singapore. Let's bring it up for you.
He told CNN this, quote, "A ban is a loss of soft power for Beijing. What little it has in the West. But a ban in the U.S. will spark renewed efforts to spread China's digital footprint in Southeast Asia and other mostly developing markets worldwide," unquote.
Now, we are awaiting any comment from Bytedance, any fresh comment from Beijing. TikTok has said it plans to challenge this legislation in court.
Back to you.
VAUSE: Kristie Lu Stout, as always on the story with good analysis, good reporting. Thank you.
Thank you. See you tomorrow.
STOUT: Thanks.
VAUSE: Well, Tesla stock has surged in after-hours trade after CEO Elon Musk -- CEO Elon Musk announced plans for a new cheaper EV, which could be on the road by mid next year, maybe sooner.
It all comes as the electric carmaker is taking a beating on the balance sheet. First quarter earnings down 48 percent, well short of Wall Street forecasts. Total revenue dropped 9 percent and the company's profit margin has declined by two percentage points.
Tesla has a history of not meeting timeline on vehicle launches. Still word of a new model has helped the stocks draw. At last check it was up 13 percent, nearly $164 a share.
Lauren Fix is an automotive industry analyst as well as author of "Lauren Fix's Guide to Loving Your Car".
Lauren Fix joins us now from Buffalo, New York.
Lauren Fix, good to see you.
LAUREN FIX, AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY ANALYST: Good to see you.
VAUSE: Ok, so one of Tesla's worst earnings report ever seem to be just background noise for investors. In after-hours trading the company's stock surged almost 10 percent after Elon Musk said a cheaper Tesla could be in production and ready for sale by mid next year, maybe sooner.
And then he went on to explain how they'll do it. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELON MUSK, CEO, TESLA: these new vehicles, including more affordable models will use aspects of the next-generation platform, as well as aspects of our current platforms and will be able to produce on the same manufacturing lines as our current vehicle lineup.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: I guess what we don't know here is will this be a brand-new type of vehicle or just a stripped-down version of what they currently have. And this does seem to be quite the turnaround for Musk, who earlier this month reportedly canceled plans for a cheaper EV.
FIX: Oh, he's got a lot of competition and when BYD is already -- they're selling a $25,000 car. I think he had to come up with something to try and at least grab some of the market that's not buying the higher end product.
And producing a $25,000 car would be great. I mean, all the car manufacturers are trying to work on that -- Ford, Hyundai everyone. But to get something at that low of a price point is going to be a challenge. And he's going to have to either strip-down a Model Y or a Model 3, or maybe he's got something else up his sleeve which nothing would surprise me with Elon Musk.
VAUSE: Yes.
They're also talking about what is interesting. They already have the infrastructure in place by the sounds of it to make this new or stripped-down version of a vehicle. And this is where Musk is using his advantage. That's in terms of being one of the first makers of EV cars and now one of the biggest makers EV cars, right.
[01:39:48]
FIX: Right. And he's also producing all around the world. He's producing in China. He's producing in Germany, he's producing here in the U.S. and he's also talking about potentially building in India.
So if that happens, you know, he's really thinking about making it a global car and owning at least 60 percent of the market space is really important.
Now last month, he had about 45 percent. So and he had beat by a BYD in the last quarter. But now he's back in number one again. So that's pretty good (INAUDIBLE) to say even though sales are dramatically down and production is down he still seems to be able to always shining like a rose, you know.
VAUSE: Musk is certainly upbeat, despite the poor Q1 earnings. He talked about the next phase of growth and what the not-so-distant future will look like.
Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MUSK: We're really headed for an electric vehicle, an autonomous future. Gasoline cars that are not autonomous will be like riding a horse and using a flip phone.
VAUSE: And here's the data from the International Energy Agency which backs up that statement by Musk.
"Last year, global electric car sales soared by 35 percent to almost 14 million. While demand remained largely concentrated in China, Europe, and the United States, growth also picked up in some emerging markets such as Vietnam and Thailand, where electric cars accounted for 15 percent and 10 percent respectively of all cars sold."
But right now, given all the problems at Tesla, the recalls -- the recalls rather, the safety issues, the self-driving function problems, the global layoffs, you know, the stock which is overall way down this year, and also the competition that it's now facing. Could Tesla go the way of Blackberry or you know, Kodak from you know, industry leader to Chapter 11?
FIX: Well, that's a possibility. I mean you think about someone who's always blazing the trail like Kodak did initially they were the first ones to market. They did a great job. They were the only ones for the longest time.
But now we're at the point where you're seeing such good product coming from the Koreans and the Japanese, and the domestics. You're starting -- even the Germans of course, you're starting to see that product.
But also you have to remember on a global basis for countries like India or Vietnam, there isn't a charging infrastructure that is even close to what you're seeing in other countries. And that's going to be a real hindrance from them getting to that level of growth.
Especially here in the U.S. consumers are looking at hybrids. In my opinion, if I were Elon Musk, I'd do something totally wild. I'd create a hybrid plug-in car that he could use on his infrastructure.
That would blow the minds of the domestic car manufacturers. They would never see it coming. And the fact is it could probably come in at $25,000 with it. It would probably just destroy some of these car industries.
But I don't think he's going to go that route. It would be an interesting angle. The cyber truck has not really done as well as I think he thought, and I think that's also hurting him too.
I hope he's listening though. You never know. He may go the hybrid route.
FIX: Yes.
VAUSE: Theres also the issue of, you know, Elon Musk himself. He's a very divisive CEO. Here's part of the news coverage on Tesla's earnings. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was your biggest takeaway for the quarter?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tesla needed an adult in the room. And Musk was the adult in the room on this conference call.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: But over at the news Website "Electrek", which focuses on the transition from fossil fuels to electric power, here's the headline.
"Elon Musk is a pigeon CEO. He comes, -- all over and goes," says former Tesla manager.
You know, when it comes to Musk, there is no middle ground. He's either loved or he's loathed. So does that ultimately have an impact on Tesla sales, especially now there's so many other choices out there for people, certainly other options. You know, they don't like Musk, they go somewhere else.
FIX: I don't think it impacts sales. I think it impacts stock. And you saw that after hours. They loved what he said. They loved him as a person. He's the pied piper.
He could say anything. He could say complete gibberish, and people would follow him and his stock would go up.
So I think that he can say whatever he wants at this point. He's a bit bombastic, shall we say, but overall, when you start looking at the competitors and who's coming on board, he can say anything he wants.
When you look at what Volkswagen's coming up with and all the German manufacturers as well, Hyundai and Kia, really great products that consumers like and they like the dealer network? So if there's a problem, they can get it fixed. And that's going to really hurt him because there are no Tesla repair stores unless they take the vehicle away. There are service centers, but they're not dealers like your traditional dealer, which consumers here in the U.S. at least really like that experience of going into a dealer, which is why you're seeing such great sales in especially in the German line.
VAUSE: Lauren Fix, good to have you with us. Thank you for your insights. And as always, good to see you. Thank you.
FIX: Thank you.
VAUSE: Still to come here on CNN, Columbia University's midnight deadline for pro-Palestinian protesters to disperse has come and gone. But the protest tent encampment still stands. Over to you, (INAUDIBLE) officials.
[01:44:31]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Demonstrators opposed to Israel's war in Gaza remain camped out at Columbia University. And administration officials are now urging protests leaders to come and talk.
The school had set a midnight deadline to resolve the issue, but last hour, the editor in chief for the school newspaper told CNN the deadline was extended to 8:00 a.m. local time. It's coming up in six hours from now.
No comment yet from Columbia University -- officials no comment, in fact.
Video from CNN affiliate WCBS appears to show a handful of tents were removed, but that came just before midnight.
This all comes as the pro-Palestinian protest movement has spread to other U.S. campuses including universities in Minnesota and Michigan.
CNN's Isabel Rosales has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Growing protests as students from Columbia University vowing to occupy school grounds until the university meet their demands.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are calling for divestment from Israel --
KHYMANI JAMES, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY STUDENT: -- so that Columbia is not funding the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
ROSALES: This, as calls for the resignation of the school's president, Minouche Shafik, continue to get louder. Shafik under fire from both inside and outside the university and could face a censure vote from the university senate as early as tomorrow. Shafik and other university officials are facing internal criticism that NYPD arrests and student suspensions allegedly violated tenets of academic freedom and free expression on campus.
From Boston to Berkeley, there is a spotlight on how colleges are managing student outrage.
Harvard Yard closed for a second day in a row.
While at MIT, a pro-Palestinian encampment stands firm in solidarity with other protesting students.
ROSALES: The growing unrest on college campuses causing concern and chaos as schools prepare for graduation in the coming weeks.
Many students saying they fear for their safety.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's scary, it's terrifying. They have a sign that says "Long live the Intifada".
ROSALES: While others say they are --
JAMES: Vehemently -- vehemently opposing all forms of oppression.
ROSALES: They will not back down.
QUINN PERIAN, MIT STUDENT, JEWS FOR CEASEFIRE: Until MIT agrees to stop building the weapons that are used in this mass killing.
JAMES: We want the genocide to stop.
ROSALES: And just outside Emerson College, there is a growing number of signs and tents. Organizers here have food, water. They are ready to stay here for however long it takes until the college meets their demands.
Over at MIT, also over 20 tents on display there in front of the chapel. A group Jews for ceasefire, an organizer telling me that if they are asked to bring down the encampment, those tents, they will not do so.
MIT telling CNN that they will consider the next steps in regards to those tents.
Isabel Rosales, CNN, Boston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well, after Voyager 1, the most distant man-made object from earth is once again in communication with NASA that comes up to five months of gibberish. The 46-year-old probe for five months was actually out of commission in terms of communication.
[01:49:52]
VAUSE: It's responsible for some of those incredible photos of our solar system. Recent data issue had threatened to cut off contact, but has now been fixed remotely by NASA scientists. No small feat, considering Voyager 1, is about 15 billion miles, 24 billion kilometers away from us. I want to go there.
To Zambia now where the tech scene has been gathering pace in recent years. The country's first tech and innovation hub is a company called BongoHive. It's been supporting start-ups since 2011.
The co-founder spoke with "Africa Insider".
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSHUA MURIMA, HEAD OF INVESTOR RELATIONS, BRITER BRIDGES: Zambia has actually enjoyed a rather stable political economy. The regulations there are predictable, which is good for having investor (INAUDIBLE) confidence?
Briter actually counts close to 200 startups that operated Zamia and (INAUDIBLE). We have seen now more than $800 million being deployed to such startups.
LUKONGA TINDUNDA, COFOUNDER, BONGOHIVE: We see ourselves as an enabler for the ecosystems. We were the first innovation hub in Lusaka and in Zambia.
We support the startup ecosystem in a couple of ways. First and foremost, we run programs that address the different stages of the businesses. Some that are at idea stage or god stage -- those that are looking for investment.
We host quite a number of events that bring stakeholders together to learn, explore opportunities to collaborate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will give you what you're looking for, fully edited.
TINDUNDA: This workshop's topic is Beyond Chat: How A.I. is Transforming Businesses. And the goal is to make sure that we can have conversations around the use of these tools in driving businesses forward.
We opened BongoHive in 2011, inspired in many ways by the growth of technology hubs across the continent. And we adopted a lot of those models, and adapted them to the conditions in Zambia.
We had a few people that work for us now, we have staff compliment of just 30 who supported over 2,500 businesses through our programs.
We see technology as an enabler for different kind of businesses. So our perspectives have changed from people simply starting or building apps, right to building disruptive businesses that leverage on technology.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: We'll pause here for a moment with a very short break. And we'll be back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Some stunning images. The spookiest perhaps from Athens. The orange haze is from a huge cloud of dust from the Sahara Desert, sweeping across the Mediterranean Sea and prompting officials in Greece and Cyprus then to issue some health warnings. The dust's spread is expected to gradually decrease from today.
Quite a different landscape in Finland where a spring snow storm brought public transit to a standstill. More than 20 centimeters or nearly eight inches of snow fell in some parts leading tram stranded, and delayed bus and metro services across Helsinki. Also caused flight cancellations and delays at the airport.
While snow is common in Finland's winter months officials called the late April snowfall unusual.
Britain's royal family celebrated the sixth birthday of Prince Louis on Tuesday -- happy birthday -- with William and Catherine releasing related a photo of their son to mark the occasion. The image though was only posted to social media. News agencies were bypassed.
CNN's Max Foster has details.
[01:54:57]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: The joyous smile of a young boy on his sixth birthday captured by his mother.
Prince Louis, fourth in line to the British throne, in the spotlight since birth, unaware of his role in a global media storm.
The release of pictures to mark the birthday of a royal family member is pretty routine. The way it was shared, however, was unprecedented.
The palace, using this moment to take the narrative back into their own hands after a flurry of conspiracy theories last month.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone is still talking about this picture.
PIERS MORGAN, TV HOST: Wherever you stand on conspiracy, there's no doubting its impact on the reputation of the British royal family.
FOSTER: It all started when a photo of the Princess of Wales and her three children posted on Mother's Day just weeks after she underwent surgery was found to be edited.
The princess, who's known for taking family photos, claimed in a statement she was the one who made the tweaks, with photo agencies quickly dubbing it a breach of editorial guidelines.
ERIC BARADAT, AFP PHOTO DIRECTOR: Everybody started enlarging, zooming in the picture and noticing straight away that something was wrong. FOSTER: Days of rumors and speculation prompted the princess to announce that she had been diagnosed with cancer with a request of privacy.
CATHERINE, PRINCESS OF WALES: It has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that's appropriate for them and to reassure them that I'm going to be OK.
FOSTER: While her husband and heir to the throne, Prince William, returned to the public eye last week, all focus was centered on Louis' birthday, with questions over whether they would post a photo, whether Kate would have taken the photo and whether she would be in it.
In a change of strategy, while a royal source said the photo wasn't edited, they didn't distribute the picture to agencies, posting straight to social media and losing the need to adhere to their editorial rules.
The decision, a symptom of the palace's changing relationship with the media, the palace taking out the messenger in an apparent attempt to reframe the headline.
Max Foster, CNN London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm John Vause.
The news continues on CNN with Nick Watt in Los Angeles. Can they do that?
See you tomorrow.
[01:57:17]
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