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Supreme Court Seems Skeptical of Immunity Claim; World Leaders Urge Hamas to Accept Ceasefire Deal; Anti-War Protests Spread to Universities Across the U.S.; Blinken Meeting Top Leaders on Final Day of China Trip; Haitian Prime Minister Resigns, Transitional Council Takes Over; Aid Flotilla Headed to Gaza without Permission of Israelis; 130 Whales Rescued, 28 Die in Western Australia. Aired 12- 12:45a ET
Aired April 26, 2024 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pull!
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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: And rescuers rush to save dozens of whales stranded on an Australian beach.
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ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Michael Holmes.
HOLMES: And we begin with double courtroom drama for Donald Trump. Huge developments playing out in both his hush money case and at the U.S. Supreme Court, where the former U.S. president's legal team made an historic push to get him absolute immunity.
Back in New York, the former publisher of "The National Enquirer" tabloid returned to the witness stand to reveal secrets about the so- called catch-and-kill deals involving a former porn star and a "Playboy" playmate.
David Pecker explained how he brokered the agreement to purchase model Karen McDougal's story about an alleged affair with Trump, but said he refused to do the same thing for Stormy Daniels. And that Trump's former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, handled that payment instead.
After leaving court, Trump once again, railing against the whole trial.
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DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT/2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Today was breathtaking in this room. You saw what went on. It was breathtaking. And amazing testimony.
This is a trial that should have never happened. This is a case that should have never been filed, and it was really an incredible -- an incredible day. Open your eyes. And we can't let this continue to happen to our country.
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HOLMES: Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court is signaling that it will reject Trump's claims that he and all presidents should enjoy absolute immunity.
But the justices could still give him a huge boost by potentially delaying Special Counsel Jack Smith's election subversion trial.
CNN's Paula Reid with the story.
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PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The high court hearing perhaps its most consequential case of the year: whether former President Trump gets immunity from criminal prosecution for acts committed while in office.
D. John Sauer, arguing for Trump, claiming without immunity, there can be no presidency as we know it.
D. JOHN SAUER, ATTORNEY FOR DONALD TRUMP: If a president can be charged, put on trial, and imprisoned for his most controversial decisions as soon as he leaves office, that looming threat will distort the president's decision making precisely when bold and fearless action is most needed.
Michael Dreeben, arguing for Special Counsel Jack Smith, countered, claiming that absolute immunity would allow a president to commit any and all crimes at will.
MICHAEL DREEBEN, ATTORNEY REPRESENTING SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH: His novel theory would immunize former presidents for criminal liability for bribery, treason, sedition, murder. And here, conspiring to use fraud to overturn the results of an election and perpetuate himself in power.
REID (VOICE-OVER): The justices pressing both litigants about when a president can't be prosecuted and posing several scenarios.
JUSTICE ELENA KAGAN, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE, U.S. SUPREME COURT: Is it an official act?
SAUER: If it's an official act, it's --
KAGAN: Is it an official act?
SAUER: On the way you've described that hypothetical, it could well be.
REID (VOICE-OVER): Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson raising concerns about presidential power without limits. KETANJI BROWN, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE, U.S. SUPREME COURT: You seem to be
worried about the president being chilled. I think that we would have a really significant opposite problem if the president wasn't chilled.
I'm trying to understand what the disincentive is from turning the Oval Office to into, you know, the seat of criminal activity in this country.
REID (VOICE-OVER): And asking why, then, did former President Nixon need a pardon after he left office?
JACKSON: What was up with the pardon for President Nixon?
SAUER: I think it --
JACKSON: If everybody thought that presidents couldn't be prosecuted, then what was that about?
REID (VOICE-OVER): Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who could be a swing vote that decides the case, getting Trump's attorney to concede that some of Trump's alleged actions were not part of his duties as president and would not be protected under an immunity claim.
AMY CONEY BARRETT, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE, U.S. SUPREME COURT: I want to know if you agree or disagree about the characterization of these acts as private. Petitioner turned to a private attorney who was willing to spread knowingly false claims of election fraud to spearhead his challenges to the election results. Private?
SAUER: As alleged. I mean, we dispute the allegation.
BARRETT: Of course.
SAUER: But that sounds private.
REID (VOICE-OVER): Other justices seemed wary of opening the door to prosecuting future presidents after leaving office.
JUSTICE NEIL GORSUCH, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE, U.S. SUPREME COURT: I'm not concerned about this case, but I am concerned about future uses of the criminal law to target political opponents based on accusations about their motives.
JUSTICE SAMUEL ALITO, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE, U.S. SUPREME COURT: Will that not lead us into a cycle that destabilizes the functioning of our country as a democracy? And we can look around the world and find countries where we have seen this process, where the loser gets thrown in jail.
REID (VOICE-OVER): Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.
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HOLMES: Norm Eisen is a CNN legal analyst and former House Judiciary special counsel in Trump's first impeachment trial. Good to see you, Norm.
What -- what's your read from what you heard today? Can you see a narrow decision that doesn't fully resolve the question of presidential immunity? What might that look like?
NORM EISEN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: The case is on the knife's edge, Michael. It could go one of two ways.
There's clearly an agreement among the members of the court that they're not going to grant Trump's full and expansive desire for absolute immunity.
The liberals on the court, the three liberal justices, plus Amy Coney Barrett, and possibly the chief justice, John Roberts, who I know well, could coalesce around slimming down the case and saying, as long as Jack Smith concentrates on purely private conduct -- and Amy Coney Barrett, although she's a conservative, got concessions that a great deal of the indictment is about private conduct -- then the case can proceed.
Or you could have a decision where a test is formulated of some level of immunity and a remand to the lower court to apply that test.
The former contingency could allow a trial to take place. We have a saying in the law, slim to win. They could slim down the case and try Trump for things like, as a political candidate, ordering his political lawyers and communications advisers --
HOLMES: Yes.
EISEN: -- to devise false electoral slates. If they go that way, we could still get a trial.
HOLMES: Right. But I mean, we're not likely to hear from the Supreme Court, perhaps, till June. If they then do send it back to the lower courts, presumably that delays it till after the election. And Trump wins, and as president, he can make it go away, can't he, then?
EISEN: If he wins, of course. As you know better than I, because you track these things, it's an extremely close race. But if he is successful, then he can order his Department of Justice to dismiss the case.
Justice Gorsuch today, my law school classmate, Gorsuch raised the issue of self-pardons. Trump could try that. We would see if the courts would uphold it.
So there's a variety of ways for Donald Trump to dispose of the case if he becomes president.
HOLMES: It's interesting, because you know, as an observer -- and we see the polls, as well -- the court is seen by many Americans as political. I mean, conservative judges, liberal justices.
If they do send it back to the lower courts, you know, avoiding a pre- election trial and avoiding making a decision on immunity, is that damaging to the political process, to not have a legal resolution to that core issue of presidential immunity?
EISEN: It is terribly damaging to the political process. The American voters have a right to know if a candidate to be restored to the presidency abused the awesome powers of that office the last time he was in the White House before they vote on him again.
So it would damage our political process, deprive voters of essential information, and frankly, further delegitimize the Supreme Court, which used to be a very respected institution and now has suffered severe hemorrhaging in confidence among Americans.
HOLMES: You know, in all your years, you know, covering the legal system, being in the legal system, being around the political side of the legal system, as well, how unprecedented are these things. I mean, this case in terms of what's at stake and the long-lasting impacts?
I mean, certainly, you know, a president has never opposed his loss the way this former president did. But long-lasting impacts resting on this, right?
EISEN: Absolutely. Profound historical consequences.
You need to begin by looking back. In almost two-and-a-half centuries, we've never had to ask this question, because we've never had a president criminally charged before.
Here, you have four separate cases in which the president is a defendant.
So certainly, it's a landmark in our legal system. And depending how they decide it will have profound future impacts.
If they were to go in favor of absolute immunity, that would transform the presidency into a dictatorship. It would allow presidents of either party to, as came out in oral argument, even order official assassination using government assets like SEAL Team 6, and have an argument they can't be prosecuted. That can't be the law.
The problem is, even if the Supreme Court comes to the right answer, if they take too long to do it, it will, as you know, cloak Donald Trump in impunity. Should he be reelected, he will be able to escape responsibility. So delay is also a big problem here.
HOLMES: Yes, absolutely great point.
Norm Eisen, always a pleasure. Good to see you.
EISEN: Great to see you. Thanks for having me back, Michael.
HOLMES: More than a dozen world leaders urging Hamas to accept the terms of a ceasefire and hostage deal with Israel. The leaders of 18 countries, including the U.S. and U.K., all signed onto this joint statement as they tried to secure the release of their citizens.
It says in part, quote, "The fate of the hostages and the civilian population in Gaza, who are protected under international law, is of international concern. We emphasize that the deal on the table to release the hostages would bring an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza."
Now, the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin say they are hopeful the call will be a galvanizing force, as they put it, for hostages, including their son, to be released.
Hamas released an undated video of the Israeli American on Wednesday.
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JONATHAN POLIN, FATHER OF HERSH GOLDBERG-POLIN: He doesn't look great. Coloring is off, but you'd expect that after 200-plus days in a tunnel.
He looks a little bit puffy. His face, his neck, his shoulders. Could be due to a number of factors.
But there's mixed -- mixed emotions here. It lights a fuel -- it lights a fire under us even more than we've already had, to bring him and the other 132 hostages home as fast as we can.
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HOLMES: Meanwhile, in Gaza, authorities say they have recovered nearly 400 bodies from mass graves at a hospital in Khan Yunis. A warning: the video you're about to see is graphic and disturbing.
The Palestinian civil defense said on Thursday they concluded their search of three mass graves at Nasser Medical Complex. Some of the bodies were still wearing surgical gowns or hospital wrist bands. Some allegedly had their hands and feet tied up.
The IDF denies it buried Palestinian bodies in mass graves and said Palestinians had dug a grave at the complex several months ago.
The Gaza civil defense acknowledged around 100 bodies were buried at the complex before the IDF operation there.
Some Palestinians at the scene said they had buried family members on the premises in January, but later returned to discover the bodies had been dug up and placed in a mass grave.
Farther South, Palestinian medics say Israeli airstrikes killed at least six people, including a local journalist, in Rafah on Thursday. The strikes came ahead of a planned Israeli ground invasion into Gaza's most Southernmost city, an offensive that's been on hold while hostage negotiations play out.
The Israeli war cabinet met on Thursday to discuss the situation.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this month that entry into Rafah is, in his view, necessary for a complete victory over Hamas.
Pro-Palestinian protests are expanding across the U.S., with law enforcement officers moving on demonstrators at universities in Georgia, New Jersey, California, and several other states.
CNN's Nick Watt has more from Los Angeles.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get back!
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pepper balls (ph) fired, and a lot of muscle --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No! No!
WATT (voice-over): -- deployed against protesters at Emory in Atlanta.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Move!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was an overwhelming amount of force against a group of college students.
WATT (voice-over): Two professors among those arrested.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I saw a large person seemingly assaulting one of our students, and that's upsetting.
WATT (voice-over): The administration blames trespassers for the tents and the unrest: "These individuals are not members of our community. They are activists attempting to disrupt our university. Emory does not tolerate vandalism or other criminal activity on campus."
This movement is mushrooming. A brand-new protest at Princeton.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Popular university for Gaza. We are making history.
WATT (voice-over): A protest encampment popped up at UCLA. After the violence and standoff across town at USC that led to nearly 100 arrests, this private university is closed to the public.
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And USC just canceled their commencement mainstage event, scheduled for May 10, which usually draws 65,000 people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We will not stop; we will not rest!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will not stop; we will not rest!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We will not stop; we will not rest!
WATT (voice-over): In Boston at Northeastern University, police encircled the protest, then backed off.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has called Columbia's decision to call in the NYPD "horrific" on X.
"Columbia decided to hold its students accountable to the laws of the school," the NYPD's chief of patrol replied. "Maybe you should walk around Columbia and NYU and listen to their remarks of pure hatred."
Fellow representative Ilhan Omar did visit Columbia with her daughter, who's been arrested and suspended during these protests, which kickstarted this movement.
Talks with protesters continue. If they fail, say Columbia administrators, they will have to consider options for restoring calm to campus.
WATT: Here at UCLA, a growing but peaceful protest. I think they've learned from what happened at USC, where security and the police went in pretty heavy. Here at UCLA, almost zero visible police or security presence whatsoever.
What's a bit odd, though, is even if you're a student here right now, you can't walk across your campus, because the protesters have put a barricade up around their encampment. And you've got to register with them and wear a mask before they'll let you in.
Media, not allowed in, and they're even trying to stop photojournalists from filming from outside in.
Nick Watt, CNN, on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles.
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HOLMES: Some tough talks could be in the cards for the top U.S. diplomat as he visits China. Still to come, we'll go live to Hong Kong and our Kristie Lu Stout to keep track of Antony Blinken's talks in Beijing.
Also, Haiti at a crossroads. All eyes on the new interim prime minister and transitional council, tasked with restoring peace to the island ravaged by gang violence. That's when we come back.
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HOLMES: The U.S. secretary of state is doing a diplomatic balancing act on the final day of his visit to China. Antony Blinken meeting with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing several hours ago. And a separate meeting with President Xi Jinping could happen later on Friday.
Blinken telling his Chinese counterpart he would not hold anything back about U.S. differences with China.
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ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I look forward in these discussions to being very clear, very direct about the areas where we have differences and where the United States stands. And I have no doubt you will do the same on behalf of China.
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HOLMES: For more, Kristie Lu Stout joins me from Hong Kong. Good to see you, Kristie.
America's top diplomat meeting with China's foreign minister. Can these talks actually deliver?
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KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR/CORRESPONDENT: Yes, one wonders, given the tenor of these talks, because we've learned that Wang Yi delivered a warning to Antony Blinken to, quote, "not step on China's red lines."
Look, there is a long list of unresolved issues between the U.S. and China.
And these talks also come at a sensitive time. They come right after President Biden signed a bill to counter China's military might and defend Taiwan. And after he signed that separate bill that could ban TikTok in the U.S.
Blinken is back in China to bolster with the relationship and also to express strong concerns about China's support for Russia, as well as overcapacity and trade issues.
This morning, he met with China's foreign minister, Wang Yi. A working lunch began shortly after noon. So that is underway right now.
At 2:40 p.m. local time, he'll be meeting with China's minister of public security. As for that meeting with Xi Jinping, that is to be confirmed.
Now, earlier today, we heard from Wang Yi. He addressed the relationship between these two powers, and he told Antony Blinken that the relationship is at a crossroads. Take a listen to this.
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WANG YI, CHINA'S FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): Should China and the United States keep to the right direction of moving forward, with stability, or return to a downward spiral? This is a major question before our two countries and tests our sincerity and ability.
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STOUT: Last year, Blinken visited China to stabilize relations. As you recall, that was during a time of peak tension.
Since then, the tension has eased, but there are major sticking points that are there, including -- and let's bring up the list for you. You have China's -- the war in Ukraine and China's backdoor support of Russia. You have China's assertions of sovereignty in the South China Sea.
On top of that, America's forced divestment of TikTok; the fate and future of Taiwan, especially as a new president is about to be sworn in; human rights, including the situation is Xinjiang; the flow of fentanyl precursor chemicals; and trade and Chinese overcapacity. Now on Thursday, Blinken raised issues about overcapacity, about China
trade, while meeting with Shanghai's top official. While there, he also spoke with business leaders and students at NYU Shanghai.
And he said that both Biden and Xi are determined to strengthen people-to-people ties, including student exchanges. And Michael, right now, I just want to share, there are almost about 300,000 Chinese students in America. Compare that to only 800 American students in China.
Back to you.
HOLMES: Wow, big difference.
STOUT: Yes.
HOLMES: Kristie Lu Stout there in Hong Kong. Thanks so much.
Now the second phase of voting in India's general election is now underway. People from 13 states and federal territories casting their ballots in what's been called the most consequential election in decades.
Voting taking place in seven phases across the country and will take six weeks in all to complete. Nearly a billion people eligible to vote in India.
Results not expected until the fourth of June.
Embattled Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry announcing his resignation on Thursday, saying that, given the current state of affairs, the time was right for him to step down.
Since February, an alliance of gangs has being creating chaos in Haiti's capital and elsewhere in the country.
A transitional council working to form a new government now. It will exercise some presidential powers until a new president-elect is inaugurated, which must take place no later than February 7, 2026.
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MICHEL PATRICK BOISVERT, HAITIAN INTERIM PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Haiti, our country, finds itself at a crossroads, searching for suitable solutions to emerge from this multi-dimensional political crisis which has lasted too long and whose consequences are harmful on the population, on property, and on both public and private infrastructure.
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HOLMES: For more, I'm joined by Jacqueline Charles. She's the Caribbean correspondent for "The Miami Herald."
Good to see you, Jacqueline.
Prime Minister Ariel Henry might be gone, but this is a transitional council, not a government. What are the next steps?
JACQUELINE CHARLES, CARIBBEAN CORRESPONDENT, "THE MIAMI HERALD": Well, the next step is that the seven voting members of this nine-member group has to choose a president among them or a coordinator, chairman, depending on who you speak to.
And then after that, they have a difficult task of finding a new prime minister to replace Henry. Now, one of the council members said that they hope to have it done by the 1st of May. We will see.
I mean, it's taken them a while to get to where they are now, more than a month. So, you know, that might be a little bit optimistic.
But everybody's watching to see who will be the next prime minister, because in Haiti's political structures, it's actually the prime
minister who runs the day-to-day.
HOLMES: The gang leader known as Barbecue said he wouldn't support a transition he wasn't part of. I mean, what what do you expect he and the other gang leaders are going to do now?
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CHARLES: Well, you know, we do know that they do not have a seat at the table. This has been a debate outside of Haiti, not really inside. They asked for the ouster of Henry. He left, but the violence did not subside. It has continued. The airport remained shut down. So does the main port.
We're watching to see, but you know, I don't think anybody believes at this point, because you have a transitional government, that the violence is going to go away. I know the international community would hope that.
But for those of us who have been watching the situation unfold in Haiti which is a very devastating crisis, and we see no signs. It looks like the gangs have an endless flow of ammunition.
HOLMES: Yes. Is there enough of a representation of people on this council who ordinary Haitians can or will trust to do the job required right now?
CHARLES: You know, you ask a very interesting question.
I mean, this is the country that is just a couple of decades out of democ -- out of a dictatorship. And the average Haitian increasingly does not believe in democracy. I mean, they've watched elections after elections ago array [SIC].
And so I think just in terms of the political sector, they've lost a lot of faith.
So these individuals have a huge challenge before them. Some of them have previously served in government. They are older, wiser.
But you're talking about a population that is majority young, that has been suffering. And so the question for the average Haitian today is, do they see themselves reflected in these nine individuals, or do they believe that these nine individuals can respond, you know, to their crisis?
Because it's not just about the violence.
HOLMES: Yes.
CHARLES: This is a country where you have serious inequality. Because of this violence, it's become a detonator for a serious humanitarian crisis. Five million people are struggling to find food to eat. Over 100,000 who are displaced.
It is not just in Port-au-Prince; it's being felt throughout.
HOLMES: Yes. And you make a good point. I mean, gangs control, I think it's 80 percent of Port-au-Prince. Perhaps it's more now. The number of Haitians killed in early 24 was up 50 percent, compared to the same period last year.
Three hundred and sixty thousand, I think, is the number of Haitians internally displaced.
I mean, if not this new administration, what -- what would work to help Haiti and Haitians back to some semblance of security and normality?
CHARLES: Let's be clear. Everybody's been paying attention to this crisis since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021, but it did not begin in 2021.
This has been a crisis that has been growing. I mean, unfortunately since the 2010 earthquake, instead of Haiti rising from the ashes, it just seems to have been on this downward spiral.
So I think that, you know, we need to first start to look at the institutions. You have to build institutions in that country. You have to restore faith. You have to find a way to empower Haitians to begin to sort of take back their power; to believe in the power of the vote, the ballot box, democracy; to feel that tomorrow is a brighter day, despite all the negatives and all of the challenges.
What I have always found amazing is that the average Haitian spends a majority of whatever salary or money that they have on an education. They still believe that that is the key to the future, that's the way out. And so how do you take that kind of hope and build on it and say to people once again, you can feel secure, and you can start to train.
HOLMES: Yes. Yes. Well, hopefully, first step towards brighter days. We can -- we can but hope.
Jacqueline Charles, always good to talk to you. Thank you so much.
CHARLES: Thank you.
HOLMES: A humanitarian aid flotilla heading to Gaza 14 years after Israeli forces attacked another boat from the same group, killing ten people.
Why they're willing to risk it again. That's when we come back.
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HOLMES: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM with me, Michael Holmes. Appreciate you being with us.
Now, as the war in Gaza approaches the seven-month mark, the humanitarian suffering just gets worse and worse. The Pentagon said the U.S. has started construction of a temporary pier intended to help deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Israel accuses Palestinian militants of firing mortars at the site on Wednesday as a United Nations team was visiting. CNN cannot independently confirm that claim.
Meanwhile, new CNN video shows a U.N. and World Food Programme convoy carrying vital supplies, including fuel, medicine and fuel, into Northern Gaza on Thursday.
The head of the WFP's Palestinian efforts says, although 2,000 tons of food were delivered in the past month, it is only a fraction of what is actually needed.
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MATTHEW HOLLINGWORTH, DIRECTOR, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME IN PALESTINE: We need to be providing a lot more food assistance into Gaza City and the North. That's why we're trying to run these convoys every single day through every single route that is open to us.
And we'll be continuing this mission today, tomorrow, the next day, every day we can.
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HOLMES: Earlier this week, a flotilla left Istanbul, headed for Gaza. The organizers as same ones who set up a 2010 aid flotilla where ten people were killed by Israeli troops in international waters.
And despite not having permission from the Israelis, they insist they will try to reach shore.
Our Scott McLean talked to one of the organizers ahead of the journey.
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SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At a port in Southern Turkey, this cargo ship is being loaded with aid that may well never be delivered.
The ship will be part of a small flotilla soon bound for Gaza, along with this ship being tuned up in Istanbul. Neither have permission from Israel to enter the blockaded Gaza Strip.
MCLEAN: This is a passenger ferry. It's not meant to carry aid. It's meant to carry people. And there will be hundreds of them on board, mostly activists, because as much as this is about sending aid to Gaza, it is also very clearly about sending a political message.
ANN WRIGHT, SPOKESPERSON, FREEDOM FLOTILLA COALITION: And if we can get our little ship in, it will be a drop in the bucket of what's needed, but hopefully, it will -- it will put pressure on other countries to put pressure on Israel -- and it could be diplomatic isolation, economic isolation -- to make them stop this genocide.
MCLEAN (voice-over): Ann Wright is a former American soldier and diplomat turned pro-Palestinian activist and was on board an ill-fated aid flotilla to Gaza in 2010.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mavi Marmara, you are approaching an area of hostilities, which is under a naval blockade.
MCLEAN (voice-over): The ships were boarded by Israeli troops in international waters. And on the Mavi Marmara, carrying hundreds of international activists and journalists, soldiers were greeted by slingshots and with bars and chairs after rappelling down onto the deck.
The resistance was futile.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have -- one person has just been hit in the head by a bullet.
WRIGHT: I was at the boat next to them, and we heard the shots hitting the Marvi Marmara. And we saw people falling. Nobody expected that. We didn't expect that the Israelis would start killing people and killing ten of them.
MCLEAN (voice-over): Nine Turks and an American were killed.
Israel initially defended the deadly raid, but then years later, apologized and paid a multimillion-dollar settlement to the victims' families.
One of the victims was Cengiz Songur, whose son Ismail has spent the last six months organizing this latest effort.
MCLEAN: Why are you doing this again?
ISMAIL SONGUR, PRESIDENT, MAVI MARMARA ASSOCIATION: That's very simple: to break the siege of Gaza. It's not because of my father. Right now we are standing for the children of Gaza.
[00:35:06]
According this Islam, if a person is dying while going for the good mission, he is becoming a shahid, a martyr (ph). That's why it is not a kind of loss for us. It's kind of a, you know, gain for us. MCLEAN (voice-over): The flotilla has not been coordinated with the Israelis. Nor is it attempting to use the established maritime corridor to Gaza used by the World Central Kitchen before seven of its staff were killed by Israeli strikes.
Flotilla organizers say they will not allow Israel or any Western country to inspect the cargo.
Israel declined to comment.
SONGUR: We are sure that Israel is not authority in the region to check our humanitarian aid. That's why it's very clear for us. We have the green lights from the international conscience to move with the flotilla.
MCLEAN: And if they block you?
SONGUR: That's the problem of Israel. We will go there. If Israel try to block it again, you know, same or similar scenario can happen in the Middle East.
MCLEAN (voice-over): Scott McLean, CNN, Istanbul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Still to come on the program, survival rates for beached whales are typically low, but after 160 of the sea mammals became stranded in Australia, a rare, if mitigated, success. We'll have that after the break.
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HOLMES: The New York Court of Appeals has overturned the rape conviction against Harvey Weinstein.
It comes four years after the disgraced Hollywood producer was found guilty of felony sex crimes and sentenced to 23 years in prison. Allegations against Weinstein from more than 100 women helped launch the #MeToo movement.
Some of its leaders spoke out against Thursday's decision.
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ASHLEY JUDD, ACTRESS AND WEINSTEIN ACCUSER: This is what it's like to be a woman in America, living with male entitlement to our bodies.
TARANA BURKE, #METOO MOVEMENT FOUNDER: We are devastated for the survivors who are connected to this case and the survivors who had found some solace, some solace and catharsis in the original verdict around Harvey Weinstein.
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VAUSE: The appeals court has ordered a new trial, stating that the use of witnesses to prior bad acts should not have been allowed. Weinstein will remain behind bars, since he was convicted for rape and sexual assault in Los Angeles in a different case last year.
A bittersweet story in Western Australia, where rescuers successfully returned 130 whales to the sea after they beached themselves. But sadly, more than two dozen of the mammals have died. Isa Soares with more.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pull!
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With a big heave-ho, a stranded whale is pulled to shore. Rescue teams rushed to Western Australia's coast on Thursday to undertake a dramatic operation, rescuing around 130 pilot whales after at least 160 were beached.
Although volunteers and wildlife officials managed to rescue some to sea, the exercise was only partially successful after at least 28 died.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's maybe a wake-up to humanity to see how we're treating the water, we -- how we're treating the planet.
SOARES (voice-over): Animal behaviorists and marine scientists have previously said survival rates for beached whales is low, surviving for only six hours on land before they start to deteriorate.
But with this mass stranding, it was the community spirit that shone come through, as locals and officials worked side-by-side to keep the whales upright and their blow holes clear.
Whilst the reason for whale strandings continue [SIC] to puzzle experts, some theorize there may be in a noise disturbance or an illness within the whales' pod that caused the mass stranding. But ultimately, they just don't know.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Young ones, but yes, no initial ideas as to what's caused the stranding.
SOARES (voice-over): And it's not only Australia where this mystery takes place. Last year, more than 50 whales died in a mass stranding event in Scotland.
After frantic efforts to revive the few who were found alive yielded no results, officials had to make the heartbreaking decision to euthanize them.
As for some the lucky whales who survived this incident, rescue team said it was good news.
Isa Soares, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES: A hundred and thirteen thousand people registered to enter Venice in Italy on the first day of the city's new tourist fee, aimed at curbing visitors.
About 14 percent of them were day trippers, required to pay the five- euro charge. The pilot scheme runs for 29 days until July 14. It's a world first, but not everyone is pleased.
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HOLMES: Some locals protested the fee, saying it risks turning the city into a theme park.
I'm Michael Holmes. Thanks for spending part of your day with me. I will be back with more CNN NEWSROOM at the top of the hour. WORLD SPORT, meanwhile, after the break.
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