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CNN International: Gaza Officials: At Least 324 Bodies Found in Mass Grave; Awaiting Judge's Ruling on Whether Trump Violated Gag Order; Ex-National Enquirer Publisher Testifies About Catch and Kill; Biden Visits Florida to Focus on Abortion Rights; Kensington Palace Shares Birthday Photo on Social Media. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired April 24, 2024 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Anna Coren. Here are some of today's top stories.

In just a few hours, U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the long awaited foreign aid package. The measure passed the Senate late last night after months of negotiating. The $95 billion package includes funding for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

A Russian court has rejected Evan Gershkovich's latest appeal. And he will remain jailed until at least the end of June. The "Wall Street Journal" reporter has been held in Russia for more than a year on spying charges. Gershkovich denies these allegations and the U.S. says he's being wrongfully detained.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to arrive in Shanghai, China within the hour. He'll meet with business leaders there before heading to Beijing on Friday for talks with China's foreign minister.

Some Israelis are marking the Jewish holiday of Passover with protests. Demanding a deal to free the remaining hostages held in Gaza. Large crowds gathered outside IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv while others packed what's become known as Hostages Square.

An estimated 129 people are still believed to be held captive in Gaza. The militant group abducted around 250 people during the October 7th attack. But with ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas at an apparent standstill, fighting across Gaza is intensifying.

The IDF is warning people to leave dangerous combat zones across northern Gaza. Residents there and in other parts of the enclave report nearly non-stop bombardment and some of the heaviest shelling in weeks. The Israeli military says it's using extreme force against terrorist infrastructure and subversive elements.

And a Hamas spokesperson is calling for continued attacks on Israel in response. Rocket alerts sounded in two Israeli border towns on Tuesday, although no casualties were reported.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is urging Israel to get more humanitarian aid to Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID SATTERFIELD, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR MIDDLE EAST HUMANITARIAN ISSUES: 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Well meantime, Israel is finally responding to allegations that its troops buried hundreds of Palestinians in a mass grave at Nasser Medical Complex in Gaza.

[04:35:00]

A warning, some viewers may find the video of the scene disturbing. The IDF says the claims are baseless and unfounded.

The IDF says the claims are baseless and unfounded. But some bodies were examined and returned to their places in an effort to find hostages and missing persons. Civil defense officials in Gaza says at least 324 bodies have been found and the search continues. The U.N. says it's looking into reports that some of the bodies had their hands tied.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAVINA SHAMDASANI, U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS SPOKESPERSON: We are horrified also by the destruction of a 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 out of combat is a war crime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Well, for more on this, let's bring in Nada Bashir, live this hour in London. Nada, we just heard from the spokesperson, but we know that the U.N.'s human rights chief is calling for that independent investigation into the mass graves. Is that likely to happen?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Certainly, troubling accounts that we are hearing from Palestinian officials on the ground with regards to the discovery of some bodies, some victims with their hands bound together. The United Nations has repeatedly called for independent access to parts of Gaza in order to carry out similar investigations. We heard similar statements following the end of the siege on Gaza's Al Shifa Hospital, the discovery of hundreds of bodies, decomposing bodies scattered around the hospital after that 14-day siege.

The U.N. has repeatedly called for independent access. And we have, of course, in some U.N. agencies, been able to reach Al Shifa to assess the destruction there.

But again, we have heard those calls for an investigation into what has taken place. On the grounds of the Al Nasser Hospital, as you mentioned, more than 300 bodies have so far been recovered from this newly discovered mass grave.

Civil defense officials in Gaza say that many of those who were discovered in the mass graves around the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis had been buried in January by family members and medics as a temporary measure due to the heavy bombardment in the region at the time.

And when families returned in order to carry out a proper burial following the withdrawal of the Israeli military, they could not find the graves or the bodies of their loved ones and that they had been moved into these mass graves.

Now, we have had a response from the Israeli military. They have acknowledged that some bodies were exhumed from these grave sites in order to carry out testing, in order to assess whether or not some of these victims may have been hostages. They say that they were following intelligence and that the deceased were treated with respect and returned to the original places where they were buried.

But this stands in contrast to the testimonies that we are hearing from Gaza's civil defense officials, from Palestinian families on the ground still looking for their loved ones who have been moved from their original burial sites. And of course from the distressing and graphic video that has emerged from our colleagues on the ground in Khan Younis.

COREN: Now, Israel, as we know, is getting a large aid package from the U.S. What's been the reaction to that Senate vote?

BASHIR: Well, this is a long-delayed announcement, of course. Israel hoping to secure that additional aid funding from the United States. Of course, that $95 billion package is set to be signed by U.S. President Joe Biden today. That includes over $26 billion in support for Israel, including $4 billion supporting the Iron Dome missile defense system for Israel. So this is a significant boost for the Israeli military.

We've heard response from the Israeli President Isaac Herzog. He said: Thank you to the members of the U.S. Senate on both sides of the aisle for your wide and firm support for the Israel aid package. Together we stand united in the face of those who threaten our shared values.

Now, this announcement comes at a time where Israel is facing mounting criticism for its military's actions in Gaza. In fact, it comes in the exact same week that the U.S. State Department has issued its annual human rights report in which it details allegations of inhumane practices towards the Palestinian people by Israeli authorities, in which it details accounts of forced disappearances, amongst many other, of course, criticisms that the Israeli military has faced.

So this has raised some concern with regards to the U.S. policy when it comes to its support for Israel and, of course, continued concern over Israel's looming ground offensive in southern Gaza and Rafah, where more than a million civilians are currently displaced and sheltering.

COREN: Nada Bashir in London. We appreciate the reporting. Thank you.

[04:40:00]

Well, today is an off day in Donald Trump's historic hush money trial and it's unclear when the judge will issue a decision on whether the former U.S. president violated a gag order that bars him from publicly discussing witnesses. But the judge appears poised to sanction Trump.

When court resumes Thursday, the former chief of the "National Enquirer" will return to the witness stand. He's expected to testify about the alleged payoffs to former porn star Stormy Daniels. On Tuesday, David Pecker admitted under oath that he agreed to be Trump's eyes and ears during his first run for the White House and detailed how Trump's then fixer and lawyer, Michael Cohen, asked him to help the campaign by paying to kill bad stories about Trump and promoting negative ones about his political rivals.

CNN's Paula Reid explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA REID, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former "National Enquirer" publisher David Pecker back on the witness stand where he shared details of his decades-long friendship with Donald Trump and how he eventually used his position to help Trump in the 2016 election.

Under questioning from prosecutors, Pecker described a meeting he had with Trump and his former attorney Michael Cohen in 2015 where they asked, what can I do and what my magazine could do to help the campaign? Pecker testified that he responded saying, what I would do is I would run or publish positive stories about Mr. Trump and I would publish negative stories about his opponents. I said I would be your eyes and ears. He told the jury he saw the agreement as mutually beneficial. It would help his campaign and it would also help me.

Pecker said he began meeting with Cohen a minimum of every week and if there was an issue, could be daily. He said he would go directly to Cohen when confronted with a negative story about Trump.

The prosecution questioned Pecker in detail about a doorman who tried to sell a story about Trump allegedly fathering a child with another woman as Trump sat in court and shook his head.

Pecker said he directed the editor of the Enquirer to negotiate a number, a price to buy the story and take it off the market. The doorman was paid $30,000 for the story, even though it later proved to be false.

Pecker told the court if the story got out to another publication or another media outlet, it would have been very embarrassing to the campaign. Pecker claimed if the story were true, it would probably be the biggest sale of the "National Enquirer" since the death of Elvis Presley. But then admitted if it were true, he wouldn't have published the story until after the election.

But before Pecker even took the stand, the proceedings began with a heated hearing on the gag order imposed on Trump in this case. The prosecution asked the judge to order Trump to remove specific posts they allege violate the gag order and fine him $1,000 for each of the alleged violations and remind him that incarceration is an option should it be necessary.

The defense attorney, Todd Blanche, argued that Trump did not willfully violate the gag order and claimed Trump believes reposting others' assertions or content is not a violation. But the hearing became heated at one point with the judge telling Blanche, you're losing all credibility with the court.

Paula Reid, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Well, Tesla is looking to ease investor concerns with plans for a new, cheaper car model, which will go into production next year. The announcement comes as the electric carmaker is taking a beating on the balance sheet. First quarter earnings were 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. Well, Tesla has a history of not meeting timelines on vehicle launches. Still, word of a new model has helped its stock in after hours trading. At last check, it was up near 13 percent, nearly $164 a share.

Well, the motorbike industry in Africa is enormous, with the United Nations reporting 27 million of the vehicles on the road. One company in Ghana dreams of replacing every single one with an electric alternative and they've opened a brand new manufacturing facility to help reach that goal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the busy streets of Accra, Ghana, riders are shifting gears to embrace an alternate mode of transport, e-bikes.

VALERIE LABI, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, WAHU MOBILITY: Africa has a incredibly bright future for electric mobility.

GIOKOS: Electric vehicle startup Wahu Mobility is one of the key drivers behind the country's budding EV movement.

LABI: We designed an electric vehicle that actually suits the infrastructure and the road conditions.

[04:45:00] GIOKOS (voice-over): The company has just opened Ghana's first EV assembly plant and it has the capacity to build 200 e-bikes a month with plans to expand rapidly.

LABI: A lot of component production has to happen in Asia, so looking at how we localize components is a huge opportunity for local artisans. We can scale this facility up to 2,000 bikes a month and that would allow us not just to sell in Ghana, but to cross to ECOWAS, have partnerships across the continent and potentially sell into Europe, Asia and other markets.

GIOKOS (voice-over): Co-founder and CEO Valerie Labi says she wanted to find a way to promote a more sustainable last mile delivery option.

LABI: By 2030 there will be 30 million delivery riders across Africa and it just made me think as a continent we are more conscious around becoming sustainable and moving to net zero and transport was just a huge opportunity to make a difference in that way.

GIOKOS (voice-over): So far they say their e-bikes are rolling out the door faster than they can build them.

IAN MBOTE, HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY, WAHU MOBILITY: Our vehicle not only plugs into the needs of a Ghanaian customer but plugs into the needs of a South African customer, a Zambian customer and this is why I see vast opportunity.

GIOKOS (voice-over): And with help of the African Free Trade Agreement, a deal aimed at boosting intra-African trade, it believes the EV sector can become a stronghold on the continent.

LABI: The African Continental Free Trade Agreement doesn't just support us to look at how do we export full bikes to different countries, but also how do we take some of the expertise that we've built that is proprietary to our business and partner with other EV companies in other regions to localize as many of the components on the continent as possible.

As we scale and as we get the right partners to crowd in in ecosystems like this, I just feel it's a matter of time before e-mobility becomes the next leapfrog.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: We'll be right back after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COREN: Well, U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to land a major union endorsement today from North America's Building Trades Union. And union leaders hope to try and deliver their 250,000 members for Biden in the battlegrounds of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Well, this comes as the president campaigned on abortion rights in Donald Trump's home state of Florida on Tuesday, highlighting Democrats' efforts to protect access to reproductive care. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Biden on Tuesday tried to leverage a restrictive abortion law that's set to take effect in Florida next week to try to put the state in play for Democrats come November of this year. Tying the unpopular abortion bans across the country directly to his Republican rival Donald Trump.

[04:50:00]

And that was really the pitch that the president brought here to Tampa, Florida on Tuesday, saying that quote, the chaos and confusion that has ensued since the overturning of Roe was because of former President Donald Trump.

Take a listen to what he said.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: For 50 years, the court ruled that there was a fundamental constitutional right to privacy. But two years ago, that was taken away. Let's be real clear. There's one person responsible for this nightmare, and he's acknowledged and he brags about it, Donald Trump.

ALVAREZ: Now, last year, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill that would ban most abortions in the state after six weeks. And that put a renewed focus on the state for Democrats as they see this as an issue that mobilizes voters and a politically salient one. Now, this is also a state that is expected to have abortion on the ballot, which, again, Democrats say could help and work in their favor.

But it's going to be an uphill battle. Florida, over the last two presidential elections, has voted for Republicans, and it's also a state where President Biden still has a wider gap in his polls against his Republican rival, Donald Trump.

So while Democrats are bringing their pitch on abortion to Florida, the Democratic strategists say it's still a challenge moving forward.

Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, Tampa, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Abortion is also taking center stage at the U.S. Supreme Court. Later today, justices will examine whether the U.S. state of Idaho can enforce its almost complete ban on abortions during medical emergencies.

The U.S. Justice Department argues that a federal law that's been around since the Reagan administration requires states to provide life-saving abortions and that this law overrides state abortion bans.

But Idaho accuses the Biden administration of using that federal law to, quote, create a nationwide abortion mandate in hospital emergency rooms. Well, the case could set forth a major precedent in whether saving a

fetus can be prioritized over helping a pregnant woman suffering a medical emergency.

Well, still to come, the British royals put out a new photo celebrating Prince Louis' sixth birthday, and it's already under the microscope. We'll show you the picture when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COREN: Well, take a look at these images from Greece, where dust from the Sahara Desert turned the sky over Athens orange. A huge cloud of dust swept across the Mediterranean Sea, prompting officials in Greece and Cyprus to issue health warnings. The spread of the dust is expected to gradually decrease beginning today.

Well, a far different landscape in Finland, where a spring snowstorm brought public transit to a standstill. More than 20 centimeters, or nearly eight inches, of snow fell in some areas. It left trams stranded and delayed bus and metro services across Helsinki. It also caused flight cancellations and delays at Helsinki Airport.

While snow is common in Finland's winter months, officials call this late April snowfall unusual.

Well, Britain's royal family celebrated the sixth birthday of Prince Louis on Tuesday, with William and Catherine releasing a photo of their son to mark the occasion.

[04:55:04]

The image was only posted to social media, bypassing news agencies. CNN's Max Foster has details on the likely reasons why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR AND ROYAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 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.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wherever you stand on conspiracy, there's no doubting its impact on the reputation of the British royal family.

FOSTER (voice-over): 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, you know, enlarging, zooming in the picture and noticing straight away that something was wrong.

FOSTER (voice-over): 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 (voice-over): 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)

COREN: Thanks so much for joining me here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Anna Coren in Hong Kong. CNN "THIS MORNING" is up next after a short break. Stay with us.

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