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CNN International: Hamas Releases Video Of Hostage Taken October 7; U.S. Supreme Court Hears Emergency Abortion Case; Arizona House Of Representatives Expected To Vote To Repeal Civil War-Era Abortion Law. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired April 24, 2024 - 11:00   ET

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

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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Meanwhile, Putin's friends keeping him well supplied. Iran sending him drones. North Korea has sent him ballistic missiles and artillery shells. China is proving components and know-how to boost Russia's defense production. With all this support, Russia has ramped up its airstrikes against Ukrainian cities, and critical infrastructure, rain down munitions on you brave Ukrainians defending their homeland. And now, America is going to send Ukraine the supplies they need to keep them in the fight.

This weekend, the reports, and this is -- I find this amazing, the reports of cheers breaking out of the trenches in eastern Ukraine, probably came from one of your folks, a reporter or someone. I'm not sure where it came from. But, they're cheering as they watch the House vote in support for Ukraine. It's not like they don't understand what we've done. It's not like they understand how critical this is for them. I'm making sure the shipment start right away. In the next few hours, literally a few hours, we are going to begin sending equipment to Ukraine for air defense munitions, for artillery, for rocket systems, and armored vehicles.

This package is literally an investment, not only in Ukraine's security, but in Europe's security and our own security. We're sending Ukraine equipment from our own stockpiles. Then, we'll replenish our stockpiles with new products made by American companies here in America, Patriot missiles made in Arizona, javelins made in Alabama, artillery shells made in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. In other words, we're helping Ukraine while at the same time investing in our own industrial base, extending our own national security, supporting jobs in nearly 40 states all across America.

The United States is not acting alone, to state the obvious. Our allies in Europe and around the world, who for constantly have been asking me, are we going to step up? We're not going to walk away. Are we? How many -- and some of you have been in these international meetings with me. They're very concerned, had we failed to step up, Lord only knows what would happen to the cohesion and NATO. We're also sending -- they're also sending significant help to Ukraine. We're all standing together against this brutal dictator.

As I've argued for months, this is directly, directly in the United States' national security interest. If Putin triumphs in Ukraine, the next move of Russian forces could very well be a direct attack on a NATO ally. And you all know full well that invoking Article Five of the North Atlantic Treaty would be the first thing that comes to mind, which declares an attack on one is an attack on all. If Putin attacks a NATO ally, like he is attacking Ukraine today, we'd have no choice but to come to their aid, just like our NATO allies came to our aid after the September 11 attacks here. That's why we're supporting and certainly support now to Ukraine, to stop Putin from drawing the United States into war in Europe and in the future.

It seems to me we should take a little bit of a step back and realize what a critical moment this was for the United States and for NATO. This is a historical moment. In the last two years, we've helped unify, strengthen and expand NATO. Imagine if instead we had failed, we had failed to step up now and to support Ukraine. All those gains would have begun to unravel. The cohesion of NATO would have been weakened. And our national security would have been undermined, without any question.

Putin started this war, believing he could easily break the will of the people of Ukraine. When that failed, he changed his strategy a little bit, thinking he could break the will of NATO, break the will of the United States. Break our will. Well, he has failed again. America stands with our friends. We stand up against dictators. We bow to no one, to no one, certainly not Vladimir Putin.

Look, this bill also includes vital support for Israel. Just 10 days ago, we saw Iran launch over 100 missiles and drones in Israel. And because of them and other allies across the world, including from the region, no serious damage occurred. An unprecedented attack that followed years of Iran supporting Hezbollah, Hamas, and proxies of their own attack on Israel. They fund these guys. My commitment to Israel, I want to make clear again, is ironclad. The security of Israel is critical. I will always make sure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself against Iran and terrorists who supports.

With this aid, the United States can help replenish Israel's air defense and provide other critical (inaudible) so Iran can never carry out the destruction it intended with this attack 10 days ago. At the same time, this bill significantly, significantly increases humanitarian assistance we're sending to the innocent people of Gaza who are suffering badly. They are suffering the consequences for this war that Hamas started.

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And we have been working intently for months to get as much aid to Gaza as possible. This bill includes $1 billion from additional humanitarian aid in Gaza. We're going to immediately secure that aid and surge in, surge in, including food, medical supplies, clean water, and Israel must make sure all this aid reaches the Palestinians in Gaza without delay. And everything we do is guided by the ultimate goal of bringing these hostages home, securing a ceasefire and setting the conditions for an enduring peace.

There is more that this bill does, as you all know, the press here, including providing for support to strengthen even further our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as humanitarian aid to places including Haiti, Sudan and Somalia. But, there is one thing this bill does not do, border security. Just this year, I proposed and negotiated and agreed to the strongest border security bill this country has ever, ever, ever seen. It was bipartisan. It should have been included in this bill, and I'm determined to get it done for the American people. But, I'll come back to that in another moment -- another time.

This is a reminder what America can do when we come together, despite our differences. I want to thank everyone in Congress who made it possible, especially the bipartisan leadership, Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, leader Jeffries, leader Schumer, McConnell. They don't always agree. But, when it matters most, they stepped up and did the right thing. And I mean it sincerely. History will remember this time. History will remember this moment for all the talk about how dysfunctional things are Washington.

When you look over the past three years, we see that time and again on the critical issues, we've actually come together. It hadn't always been easy. But, when has come, Congress decided to rebuild America. We did with the bipartisan infrastructure law, which is just underway. When it came time to invest in our semiconductor industry and technologies in the future, we did it with the CHIPS and Science Act. And when it came time to stand with Ukraine and Israel, and help the people of Gaza, we did that as well.

At the end of the day, most of us, whether we're Democrats, Republicans or independents, believe that America must stand up for what is right. We don't walk away from our allies. We stand with them. We don't let tyrants win. We oppose them. We don't really watch global events unfold. We shape them. That's what it means to be the indispensable nation. That's what it means to be the world's superpower and the world's leading democracy. Some of our MAGA Republican friends reject that vision. But, this vote makes it clear. There is a bipartisan consensus for that kind of American leadership. That's exactly what we'll continue to deliver.

I thank you all very much, and I'm going off to make a speech at the hotel. I'm late for it. And I have plenty of time to answer questions on this and other matters.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I have a quick one on TikTok?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, do you have a message for the protestors on campus?

(CROSSTALK)

RAHEL SOLOMON, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Good morning or good evening, depending on where you're watching. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. We have been listening to U.S. President Joe Biden speaking, as he signs this nearly $95 billion foreign aid package to U.S. allies, including Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan. A few things he said after that bill received bipartisan support in the Senate yesterday, Tuesday night, a few things the President just said. He said when our allies are stronger, we are stronger. The path to my desk was a difficult one. Now, we need to move fast, and we are. He spoke about Ukraine. He spoke about Israel. And we're going to continue to follow this in just a moment.

But, in the meantime, I want to turn to some breaking news just into CNN. Hamas has released a video of a hostage who was taken from Israel on October 7. It's the first proof that Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli-American, survived after being badly wounded that day. Video shows an injury to his left arm. There is no indication though of when it was recorded.

I want to bring in CNN's Jeremy Diamond, who joins us now. Jeremy, bring us up to speed. As I said, this is breaking news just coming into us. What can you tell us about this video?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Well, Hersh Goldberg-Polin is one of five American hostages believed to be held alive by Hamas inside of the Gaza Strip, and this is the first time that we are seeing a video of him alive in this video at least since October 7. In this video, which we are not fully releasing because we know that Hamas has used these for propaganda purposes in the past, you can see Hersh Goldberg-Polin addressing the camera directly. His -- one of his hands is missing and appears to be missing several inches above the hand, not clear if it was amputated or if it was simply lost as part of his injuries on October 7.

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But, this is the first time that his family is going to be able to see that he was at least alive after October 7, that he was being held alive by Hamas, at least at the time of this video. Now, in terms of when this video was taken, we don't have any firm proof that we can independently identify, but he does, in this video, talk about the fact that this was -- he has been held captive by Hamas for nearly 200 days, indicating that if that statement is indeed true, that this video was shot fairly recently. He also talks about the holidays. We know that currently this is the Jewish holiday of Passover. It's not clear if he is referring to that holiday specifically. But, given those two indications, there is some sense that this video was filmed fairly recently.

Now, in terms of his broader messages, we know, again, that these videos are often filmed with the hostages under clear duress from their captives. In this video, he talks about the Israeli government. He talks about Benjamin Netanyahu not doing enough to secure his release and the release of other hostages. And he also extends a message to his family, saying, mom, dad, and Orly Libby and Orly -- Libby and Orly, I love you very much. I miss you very much. And I think of you every day that I'm here. So, certainly for his family, some relief at least to be able to see this video of him, although at the same time I'm sure it's very difficult for them to see him with one hand missing here in this video.

Now, we know that this comes at a time when Hamas and Israel appear to be very, very far apart at the negotiating table in terms of reaching some resolution to secure the release of these hostages, nearly 130 of whom alive and dead are still being held by Hamas and other militant groups inside of Gaza. And Hamas has in the past used these videos for that effect, to try and influence the negotiations, to try and apply pressure on the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu. Israeli officials have referred to these videos in the past as psychological warfare. But, once again, at least this is the first time that his family will have been able to see a video of him alive since he was taken hostage at that Nova music festival on October 7.

SOLOMON: Yeah. We have certainly, over the last six or seven months, heard from his family, and what they have gone through, as they have endured this. Jeremy, talk to me a little bit about the timing of this, and where conversations stand in terms of releasing some of these hostages and the negotiations between two sides. Bring us up to speed on where that currently stands.

DIAMOND: Well, there is no question, Rahel, that in recent weeks those negotiations have been at a standstill at best and backsliding, according to certain accounts. I was told by an Israeli official that Hamas' last counterproposal was to offer less than half of the number of hostages that they were originally offering in these talks. For weeks, we have seen the basis of these negotiations, for months even, has been six weeks of a ceasefire in exchange for the release of 40 hostages being held by Hamas. They have that to less than 20 hostages in their latest counterproposal, according to my sources.

And so, we've seen while these talks haven't broken down altogether, there certainly has been much less cause for optimism in recent weeks. And instead, what we have heard from Israeli officials is a movement towards increasing the military pressure on Hamas in order to secure the release of those hostages with a coming ground defensive in Rafah expected soon. Although we do not have a date, Israeli officials hope that that will help to ramp up the pressure on Hamas, and if not, will be a way for them, they hope, to be able to secure the release of hostages on the ground, although we've seen so far that very few of these military operations have actually been successful in securing the release of those hostages.

SOLOMON: OK. Jeremy Diamond live for us there in Jerusalem. Jeremy, thanks so much.

We want to head to some other news happening this hour. The U.S. Supreme Court, that's where justices are hearing arguments in a high stakes abortion rights case that could affect women across the U.S. It's considering, the court, whether hospitals have an obligation under federal law to provide abortions to women who are in medical emergencies. The Biden administration is challenging the state of Idaho's near-total abortion ban. Now, the state does not allow an exception to protect the health of pregnant patients unless they could die if an abortion is not performed.

Let's bring in CNN's Jessica Schneider, who is in Washington for more. Jessica, as I understand it, hearing the -- the oral arguments have been going on for more than an hour now. What's the latest here and what's happening?

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE DEPARTMENT: It's actually been a very heated first hour plus of these arguments, Rahel. The liberal justices, in particular, notably all female, they have been shooting very sharp questions at the lawyer for the state of Idaho, who argued for just about an hour. The Solicitor General for the federal government is up now. But, these justices, the liberal justices, they're really focusing on the practical effects of allowing this Idaho near-total abortion ban to operate without this oversight of the federal law, because the federal law here says that emergency room doctors, they need to step in.

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They need to offer stabilizing treatment when a woman's health is in danger. So, even if her injury isn't life-threatening, if she is not at death's door, the law still says that the doctor should offer all the necessary treatment. The federal government has argued, that includes abortions. But, Idaho has said, well, since the federal statute, which is known as EMTALA, since it doesn't mention abortion, Idaho saying that their wide-ranging abortion ban would really only require doctors to act and perform an abortion if a woman's death is imminent.

So, there has been a lot of parsing over both statutes here. And the liberal justices have really expressed exasperation at the argument from Idaho's attorney. They say that the state can't just step in and decide another standard of care that conflicts with federal law. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson, they have all really been driving the argument so far.

What is interesting, though, is we've seen the Chief Justice John Roberts, he stepped in at one point to allow the attorney for Idaho to really expand on his arguments. We're looking at the Chief Justice to get any clues as to how he might rule. The Idaho attorneys' argument is that this federal statute, it's only four pages long. It never includes any mention of abortion. And he says that Congress never intended this federal statute to be able to regulate abortion care, as the federal government is sort of arguing here. He is really saying, if the federal statute allowed doctors to kind of run rampant with abortion care, that would really be akin to allowing doctors to decide unilaterally all kinds of care, like opioids and other things that they say the state can properly regulate.

What to look out for here? We're looking at the Chief Justice, also the conservative justice Amy Coney Barrett, because they've touched on some issues, where we're wondering which way they might fall. In particular, the Chief Justice, Rahel, he focused on this idea, who is actually regulating these doctors? Who is judging these doctors? And that is the big problem here. Because there is such uncertainty in the law, these doctors are really afraid to act. And the federal government is saying they should be fully protected under this federal statute and not have this question as to whether or not their conduct is going to be prosecuted under Idaho law.

I mean, the Solicitor General mentioned it in her opening, she said that once every other week, women are airlifted out of Idaho because the doctors in Idaho are saying, you need this medical care. You likely need an abortion. But, we're just not sure that we can actually perform that abortion because of the potential criminal consequences. So, this is an issue we're seeing not only in Idaho, but in states throughout the country that have enacted these near-total abortion bans.

So, whatever the Supreme Court decides, probably coming up in the decision in June, it will resonate across the country, Rahel.

SOLOMON: Yeah. Jessica, you make the great point that the sort of patchwork of different laws, state laws around the country, has led to a lot of confusion for medical providers who just aren't sure what the right thing to do and what the legal protections are. A lot to watch here. The implications are huge. Jessica Schneider, we're going to continue to follow this. Thank you so much.

SCHNEIDER: Thanks.

SOLOMON: And after several failed attempts, Arizona state lawmakers could take the first big step today toward repealing a Civil War-era abortion law. So, the Statehouse is expected to have enough Republican support to vote to repeal the 160-year-old law. It will then go to the state Senate. District law bans abortion in almost all circumstances, even in cases of rape or incest, allowing it only to save the life of the mother.

All right. Coming up for us, it is a major boost for Ukraine, the U.S. Congress approving a much needed military aid package, as we showed you at the top of this hour. But, what will this mean on the battlefield? We'll discuss, coming up next.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. After months of delays, critically important funding from the U.S. will soon be on its way to Ukraine. A short time ago, U.S. President Joe Biden signed a $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan into law. It includes $61 billion for Ukraine. The Senate passed the bill with overwhelming bipartisan support. It's a move that Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says sends a message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Odessa, which was targeted last night, in fact, by Russian airstrikes. Fred, good to have you, especially on this day. Talk to me a little bit about what this will mean on the battlefield. I thought it was interesting that, when we heard from President Biden, he said that he plans on getting this out soon, within even hours, he said.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. That's going to be absolutely key for the Ukrainians, they say. And in fact, you mentioned the fact that Odessa, where I am right now, we're actually targeted last night by Russian drones and missiles. Well, right now, as we speak, we are actually once again under an air raid alert. So, that's going on right now. Obviously, the folks here fearing that something like that could happen again, and Odessa is one of those cities, Rahel, that gets targeted quite frequently.

And I thought one of the other interesting things that President Biden said there in his speech is that Russia was now increasing the strikes on Ukrainian cities, and of course, also on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. That's certainly something that the folks here on the ground have felt very painfully over the past couple of weeks. And one of the things that Ukrainians have been saying is that they simply don't have enough air defense weapons, not only air defense systems, but also the missiles that they need to replenish in order to take Russian missiles down, and Russian drones as well. So, certainly for them, any help can't come soon enough. But, you're also right to say that President Biden did say that within the next couple of hours, some of this aid would get moving.

I just looked at what the Pentagon put out at some of the aides that is going to be delivered to the Ukrainians, most of it is ammunition, and that certainly is something that will be music to the ears of the Ukrainians. You have HIMARS, High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, munitions, which is key for the Ukrainians to strike Russians behind their lines. And then, of course, also artillery ammunition. That's something that we've been speaking about quite a lot, as we've been reporting here from Ukraine is that the Ukrainians have been suffering from what they essentially call artillery starvation, where they've seen Russian troops advance. They could target them, but they're not able to do so because they simply don't have enough ammo in their hands.

So, it looks as though the Biden administration is going to send ammunition. We'll have to see how fast that's going to go, and how much of it there is going to be. But, the Ukrainians, for their part, have been saying that when it crosses the border, they are going to get it to the frontlines as fast as possible. That could happen within a day, really, to reach the frontline. So, the Ukrainians certainly will be quite happy to hear what President Biden said, of course, also a lot of rhetoric coming from the U.S. President, saying that the U.S. will continue to stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Rahel.

SOLOMON: And Fred, talk to me a little bit about not just the lack of ammo, as you point out, but perhaps suffering morale, which we've heard from Ukrainian authorities that the challenges on the battlefield have led to real morale issues among troops.

PLEITGEN: That's absolutely key, actually. It's one of the things that we heard from Ukrainian troops. We've been in touch with frontline Ukrainian soldiers ever since the vote happened in the House of Representatives, and some of them actually did tell us that they felt all but abandoned from their allies, of course, also by the United States. So, for a lot of them, this was a very big morale boost.

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But, of course, at the same time, their morale had been getting lower before that happened. And you have seen over the past couple of weeks some pretty significant gains made by the Russians, especially in the east of the country, around the city of Bakhmut, that we've been talking about so much. The Russians now moving on to the next significant town and really knocking on the door there as well. And the Ukrainians, even months ago, had told us they wouldn't have enough artillery ammunition unless they got replenishment from the United States to stop the Russians. Same is true on the southern border.

So, right now, you feel that the Russians are pressing. The gains so far have not been strategic yet. But, certainly, right now, the direction that the Russians are moving is forward, and the Ukrainians have had a lot of trouble trying to hold them up, Rahel.

SOLOMON: Yeah. Really interesting. We heard Biden say a short time ago, imagine if we failed to step up now, Putin started this war, but we bow to no one, certainly not Putin. As you pointed out, a lot of rhetoric there but also aids starting to flow now to Ukraine again.

Fred Pleitgen, we'll leave it here, live for us in Odessa. Fred, thanks so much.

And while the Senate was passing the bill, Russia was shelling Ukraine in the early hours of Wednesday, as we just pointed out.

CNN's Clare Sebastian now takes a closer look at the status of the battlefield and what this aid will mean.

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CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is what Ukraine's frontlines looked like last October, around the time President Biden made this impassioned appeal to Congress for more aid.

BIDEN: When dictators don't pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and death and more destruction.

SEBASTIAN: Well, this time, lapse shows how we got there, the first year of the war bringing three successful counteroffensives, the Kyiv region, and eventually we see in the Kharkiv here, and then down in Kherson. The second year, though, very different, territorial gains or losses grinding almost to a halt. Then, from October last year, if we go back there, you see the months go by. If we zoom in on this crucial area of the Eastern Front, things start to gradually change. The Russian advance begins. And then by the middle of February, Ukraine had had to withdraw from the town of Avdiivka, a town that had resisted for the best part of a decade. And the Russian advance didn't stop there.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

Well, if the red shaded area is Russian-occupied territory, you can see that by the end of March, Russia had taken a few more villages down here, tiny amounts of territory, but signaling an unstable frontline, and now the advance continues towards Ocheretyne up here and Novokalynove. Again, just villages, but critical higher ground, and more potential Russian progress. And it's not just there that Russia is attacking. Down in the south, it's fighting to regain villages like Robotyne that Ukraine took back last year. And Ukraine's second city of Kharkiv is under relentless attacks.

SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (Interpreted): We need to move back the line from which they can hit us. As I understand it, Kharkiv plays an important role here.

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

SEBASTIAN: And remember Bakhmut, Russia's only significant victory of last year, well, it's now redoubled its efforts to advance west of there and take the town of Chasiv Yar. That would be a huge blow for Ukraine, opening up critical routes to towns like Kramatorsk in the north and Kostiantynivka, and giving Russia more higher ground to fire on those military hubs. On the bottom line, Ukraine believes a major Russian offensive may be coming as soon as May. So, new U.S. aid can't reach these frontlines soon enough.

Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: And our thanks to Clare there.

And now that President Biden has signed that foreign aid package into law, it now sets up the possibility for an eventual ban on TikTok. A measure in that bill will force ByteDance, the parent company, to sell the social media app, or otherwise TikTok would be completely banned in the U.S. China's Foreign Ministry tells CNN that it has stated its position clearly and has nothing to add today. Beijing has previously said that it opposes a forced sale. TikTok has said that it plans on challenging the law in court.

All right. Still ahead, negotiation talks continue between Columbia University and student protesters. Coming up, we're going to have the details ahead on the escalating tensions at major American universities. We'll be right back.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. You are watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. And here are some of the international headlines we're watching for you today.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in China. He is arriving in Shanghai for meetings with local officials and business leaders. Blinken then travels to Beijing with a message from the White House. The Secretary is expected to deliver a warning to Chinese officials about China's support for Russian weapons production in the war against Ukraine.

A senior architect of Russia's invasion of Ukraine appeared in court Wednesday. Russia's state news agency said that Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov is detained on suspicion of bribery. He said that he is innocent, and he could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted in this high-profile alleged corruption case.

People in Athens, Greece, have been dealing with a yellow-orange haze of dust, leading some meteorologists to say that it makes Athens look like a Mars colony. The dust flew in from the Sahara desert in Africa. And as we can see here, really blanketed parts of Greece. Authorities say that this can be risky for people with health problems. They say the dust will gradually decrease today.

All right. We're turning now to one of our top stories. At the U.S. Supreme Court, justices are hearing arguments in a high-stakes abortion rights case that could affect women across the U.S. The court is considering whether hospitals have an obligation under federal law to provide abortions to women who are in medical emergencies. The Biden administration is challenging the state of Idaho's near-total abortion ban. The state does not allow an exception to protect the health of pregnant patients unless they could die if an abortion is not performed.

For more now on the legal aspects of this case, I want to welcome in David Weinstein. He is a former State and Federal Prosecutor. David, good to see you. We were talking with our correspondent Jessica Schneider a little bit earlier, who follows the Supreme Court pretty closely, and she was saying that the arguments thus far have really been dominated by some of the more liberal-leaning justices, the questions thus far. Obviously, it's a conservative-leaning court. So, I'm curious what you have heard, and if you've gotten any sense based on the questions where this may go. I mean, what do you hear here?

DAVID WEINSTEIN, FORMER STATE AND FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Well, Rahel, it's not so much unexpected that the liberal-leaning side of the court would be propounding a majority of the questions today. Look, they're certainly trying to step back the decision that was made in Dobbs, and they're trying to focus the questioning here, and ultimately the decision on not what the procedure is that is being performed, but the health of the patient who is coming in for the procedure. That's the only way they're going to get around the prior rulings of the courts.

And so, they're trying to question both sides regarding the health of the patient, and again, not necessarily the procedure. That's where their focus is going to have to be. Now, whether or not that's going to carry the day with the conservatives who will view this the same way they viewed all the other cases that it's not about the health. It's about the procedure. So, it's interesting to hear the questioning back and forth, and in some ways that's going to shape the decision.

[11:35:00] SOLOMON: How we understood, typically, federal law trumps state law on a specific issue, but the issue is a little bit more, a lot more nuanced in this situation. Help us understand the nuances of this and why this is a case that is perfect for the Supreme Court to help interpret and provide some clarity for medical providers and people across the country.

WEINSTEIN: Well, Rahel, you're absolutely right about your first statement, that, yes, traditionally, federal law will trump the state law, and that's based on our separation of powers and things that go back all the way to the formation and foundation of our country. But, we've recently had a decision about federal law that says, no, now this decision is left to the states. So, they handed the ball back to the states on this one, which is why again they're focusing on what the procedure is. And so, here, the state is saying, look, we have a decision in Dobbs that says we're entitled to regulate this specific procedure.

On the other hand, the government is now saying, that's fine. But, we have a policy in place and we have laws in place that govern how your emergency rooms operate, and what kind of medical treatment you have to provide to everyone who comes in, regardless of what the procedure is. And you have to take into account the health of the patient and you have to provide treatment, and that would include the argument that's being made, what the treatment could be if it's not necessarily life-threatening.

So, that's why this is all sort of swirling around together, and why it's not going to be an easy decision for this court to make about which side is going to trump the other. We've had a lower court that agreed with the federal government already. But, that decision was put aside. And so, now, they're going to weigh in on this intersection, and it's not one that's plain and simple. It's rather complicated.

SOLOMON: David, talk to me a little bit about the implications of this decision. If the Supreme Court sort of upholds the Idaho State law, what then? What happens then?

WEINSTEIN: Well, that's the end of the road here. If they uphold the Idaho law, then the arguments the government is making about, well, then funding will have to be withheld, that you cannot proceed forward with this procedure because of the restrictions of the state. It's going to cause people in that particular state and other states who have similar laws to now think twice about going to the emergency room, because the end result here is not necessarily that the procedure won't be performed. That's up to the doctor. But then, whether or not that doctor or emergency room people are going to then be prosecuted under a state law, which criminalizes the particular procedure they're performing.

So, this is going to have implications, not only on individuals who are coming in for this procedure, but for people who are thinking about going to an emergency room and then the funding that's being tied to it. So, a lot of complicated matters being decided today in one simple case. SOLOMON: Any sense based on some of the past decisions, certainly

Dobbs, obviously, we have another case in front of the court, the -- with sort of abortion medication, the pill, any sense of where you see this going? Where do you think this is going?

WEINSTEIN: Well, I don't have a crystal ball that's very clear. I think that they can split hairs on this one. And on this particular situation, based on the funding, based on the health of the patient that's being brought in and it not addressing a specific procedure, they can split hairs and side with the federal government on this one. On the pill itself, that one may be more difficult, especially in light of Dobbs. So, you could see a decision on this case, it goes one way, and a decision on the other case, it goes a completely different way.

SOLOMON: Wow. Yeah. Well, we'll just have to wait. We have a few months to wait until we expect the decision. David Weinstein, we so appreciate your legal insights and perspectives today. Thank you.

WEINSTEIN: You're welcome.

SOLOMON: All right. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson says that he will call on Columbia University's President Minouche Shafik to resign. The Speaker is planning to speak on campus later today, and this comes as pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia stretched into their eighth day. The school has extended negotiations with student protesters over the next 48 hours over the dismantling of pro-Palestinian encampments on campus. A spokesperson for the school says that students have agreed to take down quote "a significant number of tents."

CNN's Omar Jimenez joins us now from just outside of Columbia University in New York. Omar, give us a sense of sort of the latest and where things stand right now.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. So, one, we're anticipating Speaker Mike Johnson's arrival a little bit later this afternoon where, as you mentioned, we do expect him to call for the resignation officially of Columbia University President Minouche Shafik. We had gotten indications from other House Republicans who wanted to do the same thing. But, of course, his signaling of doing that is significant as well.

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On the other hand of things, this is the eighth day of the encampment- led protests at Columbia University that they say started because they want Columbia to divest from corporations, they say, support Israeli apartheid and genocide. That was how it began. And it also coincided with the time that the university president was testifying on Capitol Hill. That was last week. And then, the university president called in the New York Police Department to clear out these encampments, a move that is still criticized by many students and faculty for what they say escalated the temperature of these protests.

The encampments revived. We started seeing more protests outside of the campus grounds. And those have been sort of the two dynamics here where the on-campus ones have been primarily student-led, though there have been non-students that have seemed to be in there at points. And then, the protests that are outside of campus grounds tend to be the ones that are less made up of students. Those tend to have a little bit more violent and antisemitic rhetoric that we have seen in videos circulating online. But, that's not to say there aren't tensions on campus. A few Jewish students we've spoken to have said that they don't feel safe, that they feel on edge, in particular, just based on some of the signs that they say they had been seeing, despite some of the encampment organizers saying that they want it to be open to everyone.

Regardless, the university president set a deadline of midnight last night to find an agreement on clearing these encampments. That deadline came and went. The extension was moved out for 48 hours. But, the potential consequence of not reaching that agreement last night was that they were going to have to find alternative ways to clear this encampment. So, it's unclear if that still applies to if they haven't reached an agreement within the next two days or so. But it, of course, lead you to question what those alternative ways would actually be.

And finally, the university has pushed classes to a hybrid model until their last day of classes, which is always scheduled to be Monday. But, they've also now require classes to offer a hybrid option for taking finals, which those finals -- final exams were scheduled to take place next week as well. So, that's an added step that they've taken. And again, we'll see, if in the next 48 hours, there are significant developments on this campus.

SOLOMON: And Omar, before I let you go, just talk to me a little bit about, one, for our international audience, Columbia, one, is certainly one of the most prestigious universities in the country, but it's also in a very, very dense part of New York. It's in Manhattan, and it's in like a very --

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

SOLOMON: -- busy part of the city. But also, talk to me about just the feeling on campus, the tension on campus, and how students that you've been able to talk to are feeling.

JIMENEZ: Yeah. So, for context, yes, Columbia University is in -- is essentially on the Upper West Side of New York City. And as opposed to some of the other major universities where this is happening that may tend to be in smaller towns, this university and New York University, a little bit further south on Manhattan here, have attracted a lot of outside folks to the point where some of the student protesters on campus have tried to distance themselves from what they have described as outside instigators. So, that is a dynamic that, of course, is playing out.

And then, when you mentioned being on campus, we were on campus today. We will be on a little bit later this afternoon as well. Life does seem to be going on and moving with the encampments sort of taking up one main lawn of their quad, essentially, on campus. People are still going to class or walking in cafes. But, when you get to the entrance of that encampment, they have their own set of rules and guidelines. There is essentially guidelines that you have to follow. They're posted at its entrance. And if you don't follow, you could be removed.

That also has been, I think, a source of tension for a lot of these students, not to mention some of these Jewish students that we've spoken to, not all because there have been some Jewish students inside this encampment, but a good number of those that we have spoken to have felt that just some of the messaging alone and some of the rhetoric they perceived as being violent on campus, and some of the fear that it's been created from some of the outside protests at the entrance of campus have just not created a safe environment for them. And some of them have chosen to celebrate part of this Passover week at home as opposed to how they would normally do it here on campus, Rahel.

SOLOMON: OK. Omar Jimenez live for us there. Omar, thank you.

Well, still ahead, he has covered natural disasters and the changing climate around the world. Coming up, CNN's Bill Weir will explain how all of that reporting led to a new book about a series of hope. We'll talk about it.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. We have seen a lot of stories of extreme weather in the past few weeks and months. Just last week, we brought you these images of flooding in Dubai. The city there, we'll pull these images up for you, the city there saw a year's worth of rain in just a day. We'll pull it up for you. Now, at the forefront of our coverage is our climate correspondent, Bill Weir, our Chief Climate Correspondent, in fact, began taking these experiences and turning them into a series of Earth Day letters for his son, who was just a baby when he started. And those letters then began and became the inspiration for Bill's new book "Life as We Know It (Can Be): Stories of People, Climate, and Hope in a Changing World". And Bill joins us now.

Bill, I'm so glad to have you on the program. When I started to read the book, oh, Bill, I can't hear you. Unfortunately. We'll get your audio working. But hopefully, you can hear me.

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT, & AUTHOR, "LIFE AS WE KNOW (CAN BE)": OK.

SOLOMON: I can hear you now.

WEIR: I can hear you. OK. Thank you, Rahel, for having me.

SOLOMON: When I started to read the book, I was so excited when you walked into makeup because I couldn't wait to tell you how much I was enjoying it. It was a joy. It was funny. I was impressed by all of your stories. But, talk to me a little bit about what inspired you to write the book and what you hope people take away from the book.

WEIR: Absolutely. Well, thank you for the kind words. It was inspired by my little nugget "River", who was born at the height of the pandemic in 2020. I became a new old dad at age 52. And I'd been covering climate for a couple of years, full time, and really understanding the enormity of the story, what was coming. It started as sort of a letter to apology to him, a cathartic way to mark what was the seismic events he was living through in his first months on Earth, and also to look for practical tips for him, like, how to build a resilient and sustainable life. Where should he live? Where are the climate havens? What kind of house? What are the latest ideas on sturdy construction, energy sources, food supplies?

And I just got -- went down all these really fascinating rabbit holes of new technology, the dreamers and doers I met along the way who are imagining a better future, not only for what is built in, the pain that's coming, but how to save as much life as possible, and build just much tighter, more resilient, healthier communities. And that's ultimately what I have here. Hopefully, more than just my kid will take some of the ideas.

SOLOMON: No. I think "River" probably already knows his dad as pretty cool. But, we will have proof of all of the stories. And Bill, talk to me a little bit about, you go beyond just the politics of climate change, but you also make the case that economically it makes a lot of sense too.

WEIR: Well, we're living through this industrial revolution, Rahel, that a lot of people just don't notice in their daily lives. But, for the first time in human history, the cheapest energy sources man has ever created now come from the Sun plus storage, or onshore wind. It's why Texas leads the nation in green energy. It's why electricity is free for hours a day in Texas. And now the race is there to store that intermittent energy, to hold it and run factories with it. There were ways to regenerate agriculture, just by the way we graze cows to make healthy ecosystems, healthier in different ways.

And so, there is like a buckshot of ideas out there that we don't talk about enough on the climate conversation. We've been so worried and so much doom has been injected in this conversation and so much misinformation and demagoguery that we need to talk about the hopeful future that we can build.

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Dr. King didn't say, I have a nightmare. He said, I have a dream. And that rallies the most people behind a common cause bigger than themselves.

SOLOMON: And talk to me a little bit about that, because you do talk about innovations. You talk about innovators. But, for those of us who don't work in this industry, who are not as close to solving the problem, or the problem in and of itself, how can we deepen our conversations with one another about the issue? Because you talk about pluralistic ignorance, and that we misunderstand how much other people are genuinely concerned about climate change. WEIR: Yeah. Most Americans guess they're out number two to one, by

folks who just don't care or don't get the story. If the opposite is true, you're surrounded by allies you didn't know you have. And if you care about a planet in balance, most people just don't talk about it because of the way it has been sort of politicized. It's just this third rail thing that people don't want to talk about a drop off with their kids.

But, there is a way to bring it up a drop off. When you say, you know, I just was reading about these electric school buses that are really cool, no fumes, and you can plug the classroom into them after dark, have we thought about our water supply? Do you read the headlines about what's happening in Detroit? Is our water safe? What's in our air locally? Is there a way for us to maybe run for the utility commission and have an influence locally about energy streams? It's just connecting with neighbors across the fence line about shared values and love for the hiking trail or the fishing hole or the cultural treasure you all know you want to protect.

We're so isolated these days. We have the golden age of distraction and addiction and depression with our devices because we're disconnected from each other. And traveling the world, I get to meet some of the most amazing communities, and the ones that are strongest and healthiest and happiest are the most connected to each other and the nature around them.

SOLOMON: Interesting. You are preaching to the choir, Bill Weir, but that's a conversation for another day. But, let me ask you, I know some authors, and certainly I watch a lot of authors as they promote their books, it's always -- it sounds like it's always such a laborious process. One author, a friend of mine, said it's like birthing a baby. One thing I've noticed about you when you're talking about the book, is you completely light up. I mean, talk to me about the experience of writing the book, and did it give you a deeper sense of hope and a deeper sense that, you know what, the planet will OK? Talk to me about that.

WEIR: Yeah. It was very cathartic. It's the hardest thing I've ever done. I was supposed to turn this in a couple of years ago, honestly. But, it's just a whole different muscle set than when you write for television on a daily basis to write a long book. But, I'm glad it took longer, because enough happened in the world, enough happened in policies that I suddenly was talking to excited scientists and entrepreneurs, instead of people who are just depressed by the complete lack of public action around the topic.

And it's both. You have to hold sort of hope and dread at the same time. It's like two sides of the same coin, like, oh, it's going to be tough, but we can do this. And good thing, you're tough, I'm telling my kids, and I'm going to give you the tools, all the tools I can find around the world to help you get through this. But, ultimately, we're just the stories. We are the product of the stories we tell each other, the ones we get excited about, the ones who we rally around. And our stories are always under revision. And my hope is that solving a climate crisis starts with a better story and how we communicate with each other about it. SOLOMON: Yeah. Well, it's obviously a story that is still unfolding. Bill Weir, it was -- it's such a joy to read the book. I'll tell you, I have certainly become smarter about the environment from reading it. And one takeaway I will tell you that I had, I told my fiance after reading this. I need to do some more adventures because I am living to safe life. Bill Weir is living his best life out here, and I need to be more adventurous.

WEIR: Get into the world.

SOLOMON: Bill Weir, good to have you, my friend. Great book.

WEIR: You bet. Thank you, Rahel.

SOLOMON: We so appreciate you today.

All right. We're going to take a short break. We'll be right back.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. And one more thing today. Several horses broke free and rushed through London today. Take a look. They're part of the Calvary that acts as the King's official bodyguard, and escaped during their morning exercises. It's also somewhat disturbing scene there, as some horses reportedly smashed into the windows of a taxi and a bus. The Army was able to recover them. A number of horses and some people are now being treated for injuries.

All right. Well, it was certainly a newsy hour, and we appreciate your time. So, thank you for spending some time with me today. I'm Rahel Solomon in New York. Stick with CNN. One World is coming up next.

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