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Moscow Court Denies Appeal; The World Celebrates Holocaust Remembrance Day; Bodycam Video Released of Renner's Accident; Last Day to File Taxes. Aired 9:30-10a ET
Aired April 18, 2023 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[09:31:43]
SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.
Here is a look at a few of the top stories we're following for you this morning.
Eighty-four-year-old Andrew Lester is facing felony charges now for shooting a black teenager on his doorstep in Kansas City, Missouri. The teenagers showed up to the wrong house. He was supposed to be at another address to pick up his siblings. Sixteen-year-old Ralph Yarl has left the hospital and amazingly he's being able to recover at home after being shot in the head.
And, happening now, Dominion Voting's defamation trial against Fox News. The trial is underway after a 24 hour delay that raised questions about possible settlement talks.
Kate.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Just this morning, a Moscow court has denied the detention appeal from American journalist -- from the American journalists charged with espionage in Russia. And appearing in court today was the first time that we were able to see "Wall Street Journal" reporter Evan -- Evan Gershkovich since his detainment. The U.S. ambassador to Russia was on hand to support Gershkovich in court, and she also spoke out forcefully outside the court once the proceedings wrapped.
CNN's Matthew Chance is joining me now. He's been watching all of these proceedings.
It was -- it's hard to say great to see him because he was behind this glass partition, but it was great to see Evan Gershkovich's face. This appeal denied, Matthew, but what all happened?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you're right, it was good to see him. And it was the first time that we've seen him in the weeks really properly since he was detained back at the end of March. And, you know, he had a consular visit as well from U.S. diplomats yesterday. And they said he seemed to be healthy. He looked very strong. And that seemed to be borne out by the images we saw of Evan Gershkovich standing in that glass courtroom cage in the Moscow court earlier today as well.
You're right, the appeal against his detention was rejected. His defense lawyers had asked for him to be released on house arrest or to be granted bail of 50 -- they offered 50 million rubles, which is just over 600,000 U.S. dollars. That was rejected out of hand. He's facing charges of espionage, remember, which carry a maximum sentence of 20 years.
Outside the court, Lynne Tracy, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, expressed her outrage and her concern.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LYNNE TRACY, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA: I was able to meet Evan yesterday at Lefortovo Prison. It was the first time we were granted consular access since his wrongful detention more than two weeks ago. I can report that he is in good health and remain strong despite his circumstances.
The charges against Evan are baseless and we call on the Russian Federation to immediately release him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE: Yes, Ambassador Tracy also said that she found it troubling to see Evan, who she described as an innocent journalist held in these circumstances.
And for her trouble, she was summoned, along with the British and the Canadian ambassador's, just after this appearance to the Russian Foreign Ministry. The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that she was gross interference in the affairs of Russia that do not correspond to her diplomatic status. We just still don't know what sanctions they've introduced against her.
[09:35:02]
BOLDUAN: She says -- she says the administration strongly believes the charges against Evan Gershkovich are baseless.
Matthew, thank you very much. This is one step in what could be a very long road.
John.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Kate, today the world remembers the millions of lives lost during the Holocaust. To never forget. Never forget the more than six million Jews and five million others who were killed between 1933 and 1945. Holocaust Remembrance Day is not only to remember the dead, but also to honor those who survived and to keep the memory of what happened alive.
To that end, I am honored to be joined by two of our CNN colleagues and friends, themselves children and grandchildren of survivors. CNN's Wolf Blitzer and Dana Bash on the ground at Auschwitz in Poland.
Friends, very nice to see you there today.
Why don't you just tell me where you are exactly and what is happening there today.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, "THE SITUATION ROOM WITH WOLF BLITZER": Want me to start?
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Please.
BLITZER: I'll start. It's Holocaust Remembrance Day. And people all over the world are remembering the Holocaust, especially here at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Right now we're at Birkenau. This is where the main gas chambers, the crematorium, the death chambers were, at Birkenau. We were just at Auschwitz. And people from all over the world, especially tens of thousands of young people, have come here from so many countries around the world to do the march from Auschwitz to Birkenau.
And Dana and I just did it. And it was so moving to see what happened then, to see the remnants of gas chambers. And if you look over Dana's shoulder over there, you can see one gas chamber, the remnants of one gas chamber here at Birkenau where tens of thousands of Jews and others were brought in cattle cars and the Nazi's immediately decided they were going to be killed. Most of them were, in fact, killed. And it's just a painful story, especially for those of us who lost loved ones. All four of my grandparents were killed during the Holocaust. Two of them here at Auschwitz.
BASH: And, you know, John, we were - first I guess they call it Auschwitz-1 (ph). The two of us walked into a gas chamber -- the gas chamber there. And you were told that that was almost certainly where your grandparents were murdered. And we saw that. And also saw where they were put into the crematorium.
BLITZER: The -- my paternal, my dad's parents, my dad grew up in a town right outside of this death camp. It was called in Yiddish Yushpastine (ph), in Polish, Auschvensim (ph). And -- because in those days all these towns had three names, the German name, Auschwitz, Polish name, Yiddish name. And the Jews, the elderly Jews, the grandparents, for example, who were brought here were sent to that death camp. And I learned today the specific gas chamber where almost certainly my paternal grandparents were murdered.
BASH: And if I may, he didn't just learn it, we were standing inside of it. It was certainly an experience I will never forget.
BLITZER: No.
BASH: And, obviously, it was -- it was moving and jarring and horrific. And I just want to say, John, before I toss back to you, that you just -- Wolf just talked about the remnants of the gas chamber here. This is Birkenau. This is the end of the March of the Living. They call it Auschwitz Two (ph). And one of the guides here said that my great grandparents, who were Hungarian, who were OK until 1944, almost certainly came right here and probably perished in what's left of the gas chamber behind us. And it's really too overwhelming to absorb. It's going to take some time. I'm lucky enough to be here, not just with Wolf and his wife Lynn, but our - we are remembering our family, remembering those who were killed, but also, frankly, to be blunt, sticking it to the Nazis to say, look, we're here.
BERMAN: Yes.
BASH: We're alive and we're thriving. And we're able to tell the world what happened and what is still happening when it comes to hate and antisemitism.
BLITZER: So important to educate, especially a younger generation -
BASH: Yes.
BLITZER: Of what happened, especially at this time of increased antisemitism and Holocaust denial, that's sadly out there.
BERMAN: Dana, you made my point for me. It's so moving and sad, but also inspiring, to see you there because for the both of you, both of you, your presence there is an act of defiance against the evil that people wanted to do, still want to do. And we should note, you did the walk today, which has got to be so moving. Tomorrow is, what, the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw ghetto uprising. So, these important days continue. And the survivors are fewer (INAUDIBLE) to hear from them (INAUDIBLE) them now.
[09:40:00]
BLITZER: And when we see these survivors, it's so moving to hear their stories. And as you, John, correctly point out, there are fewer and fewer of these survivors left. Most of them may be in their nineties now or even older. And you hear their personal stories, what they went through, how they managed to survive. It is so heartbreaking, these stories. But these are wonderful, wonderful people and they've got a true story to tell.
BASH: Yes, and the uprising of the Warsaw ghetto, and we'll see more about that in Warsaw tomorrow, was one of the first times that the Nazi's had opposition, had real opposition. And it was from a bunch of starving, sickly Jews who they had held behind walls in a ghetto for years, who got some really rudimentary arms and fought back. They didn't last that long. I mean it lasted about a month. But the fact that they fought back is a story that -- that is worth telling.
And again, if I may, just on a personal note, my mom told me before coming here that because she and her -- and her mother, my grandmother, they didn't know when their parents were murdered, turns out it was here, they used to use the anniversary of the uprising inside the Warsaw ghetto as the time that they would commemorate and honor their lives.
BERMAN: I love your mom for that and so many other reasons. Dana Bash, Wolf Blitzer, again, we are honored to have you here today.
Wolf, thank you for everything you've told us from Poland, from the concentration camps in your reporting.
And, Dana, you've done such wonderful work on antisemitism here on the United States.
Thank you for - both, everything you've done. And we'll talk to you again while you are there. Be well.
BASH: Thank you, John.
BERMAN: All right, such an important day.
We'll be right back.
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[09:45:11]
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NEPHEW: He went up, and then turned around, got out to tell me something, and then that's when it started coming at me like full force. That's when he tried to jump back in there.
He slipped because these tracks, there's no way to - there's no way to stand on them. There's no way -
DEPUTY: He tried to jump on it?
NEPHEW: He tried to jump on it into the thing.
DEPUTY: And it took him under?
NEPHEW: And it took him under.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIDNER: Oh, that is hard to hear. We're seeing newly released body camera footage taken moments after first responders rushed to help actor Jeremy Renner after a nearly deadly snowplow accident.
CNN's Chloe Melas is joining us now.
Chloe, the Avengers actor says he broke more than 30 bones and suffered severe injuries. This happened on New Year's Day, right?
CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Yes. And, I mean, speaking of those injuries, we know, because he just recently sat down with Diane Sawyer, that he - it included eight ribs broken in 14 places. At one point he said he saw his eye out in front of him. It had come out of its socket. So many injuries. But the good news is, he was on a red carpet recently at the "Rennervations" premier walking with a cane. But he is well on his way to recovery.
But this bodycam footage, it takes you there. We have been talking about this accident since it happened on New Year's Day. There was a huge snowstorm. Thousands without power in the area. And Jeremy was out there with that massive snow cat, 14,000 pounds we were just talking about. Can you imagine? He's out there pulling a car out of the snow with his nephew. He gets back in the cab and -- of this massive snow cat. And he uses these all the time on his property -
SIDNER: Right.
MELAS: Because he's like a mountain guy, right?
SIDNER: Yes.
MELAS: He's out in his house in the Lake Tahoe area.
SIDNER: He's a fixer upper type. Yes.
MELAS: Exactly. Like his show. And so he gets out of there and he's -- he's over there and he jumps out of the cab. And he's trying to talk to his nephew, and that's when it starts to roll towards his nephew. And that's when he slips on those tracks and gets crushed right underneath.
It is a miracle he survived.
SIDNER: Absolutely.
MELAS: The body cam footage, you see all his neighbors and people around him. And you see at one point, Sara, we thought that perhaps there was -- it was like a snow embankment.
SIDNER: Yes.
MELAS: No, it's asphalt, right?
SIDNER: Oh.
MELAS: He is completely crushed.
SIDNER: So he's compressed under that. Because if it had been snow, at least he would push down into the snow a bit. Wow.
MELAS: Right. And in this you hear the officers asking, you know, what exactly happened? You hear the nephew explaining.
SIDNER: Yes.
MELAS: He's trying to -- was trying to save my life.
SIDNER: Yes.
MELAS: You see the blood everywhere. And, remember, because the roads were blocked off - I mean the stars aligned that day for Jeremy Renner, despite how awful this was, Sara.
SIDNER: Yes.
MELAS: The roads were blocked off. It took helicopters and authorities a long time to get to him. And they got there just in time. SIDNER: Chloe, it's a terrifying accident, but we are glad to see that he is OK and talking about it and starting his new show on the carpet.
MELAS: Exactly.
SIDNER: Appreciate it. Tell your mom to stop calling while you're on the air. That was Chloe Melas.
Thank you so much.
Kate.
COLLINS: Coming up for us, grab your W-2s. It is Tax Day. How to get an extension if you need one and why some refunds are going to be smaller this year.
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[09:52:00]
BERMAN: This morning, the Kremlin released video of Russian President Vladimir Putin visiting troops in Russian occupied parts of Kherson in southern Ukraine. The Russian state media says Putin wanted a report from military officials as Ukraine prepares to launch an offensive.
In Sudan, explosions and gunfire rocked the capital Khartoum for a fourth day. A 24-hour ceasefire is reportedly set to take effect today, although there are few signs it is. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke earlier with the two rival generals battling for control of that country.
And in Mumbai, Apple CEO Tim Cook was given an original Macintosh this morning as he welcomed customers to the first physical store in India.
Kate.
BOLDUAN: That was quite a look of surprise in getting that.
So, if you are hearing this for the first time, you may have a bit of a scramble ahead of you today. It is Tax Day friends. This year we all got a few extra days, actually, because the usual deadline of April 15th fell over the weekend. But if you're still hard up against the tax filing deadline, there is still hope for all of us. There is still time to file an extension.
CNN's Christine Romans is here to help us out a little bit.
Help us out, as always, Christine, but what are you hearing about where the average tax refund is - is lining up this season?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: So, people are getting a little bit less this year. And the reason is because those generous tax benefits related to Covid and the pandemic relief, those have all expired. So, on average people are getting, this year, as of yesterday, $2,933. And you can see that's about 10 percent less than they were receiving last year. But where we're really seeing the difference this year is better
customer service from the IRS. This has been an agency that's been underfunded for more than a decade. They got a lot of money last fall in that Inflation Reduction Act. And they've been putting that money to work. They've had 5,000 new hires. They've now answered two million more actual phone calls talking to a live person, Kate. Six and a half million phone calls as of yesterday. The wait time, we're told, is down to less than two minutes. So, that is a big improvement.
BOLDUAN: But it also just says how bad it way, I'm sorry to say. I mean --
ROMANS: Oh, it was bad. It was bad. And now, you know, they're doing a lot of resources here to hire more people, but also to invest in technology. They even now have a customer call back feature, which is really new and revolutionary for the IRS. But they'll be doing a lot more technology buildout as they try to go after tax dodgers, especially wealthy tax dodges.
There's extended deadlines for people who are affected by these winter storms in the south, in New York as well, until May 15th, in California till October 16th. So, there are some automatic extension for people.
BOLDUAN: To July 31st. Oh, OK, yes.
ROMANS: Yes, because, look, they had a lot of damage there.
BOLDUAN: No, absolutely.
ROMANS: And people - I mean people might not even have any of their documents.
BOLDUAN: They don't even know where their documents are.
ROMANS: So, if you need to file an extension though, if you cannot get it all together in the next few hours, you can use the IRS Free File. You need to fill out form 4868. This is your friend, 4868 is the form so you can get into extension until October 16th. That's for people who haven't had it done and in the books yet.
BOLDUAN: Christine, as always, thank you so much.
ROMANS: You're welcome.
BOLDUAN: You're so helpful. I need to take a screenshot of this and get to work. It's good to see you.
Sara.
SIDNER: Just writing that number down. OK. Done.
Coming up, the man accused of shooting 16-year-old Ralph Yarl is now facing two felony counts.
[09:55:05] We're live in Kansas City as we wait for Andrew Lester to turn himself in.
Plus, jury selection is underway in a $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox News. The latest from outside the courtroom, ahead.
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SIDNER: A white 84-year-old man is now charged with two felonies after police say he shot a black 16-year-old boy who simply rang the wrong doorbell. We're live in Kansas City as we wait for the suspect to turn himself in.
BOLDUAN: Right now jury selection and one historic showdown in court. After so much speculation outside of the courtroom, the defamation trial against Fox News begins.
[10:00:00]
We have the latest from inside.
BERMAN: Now it may happen at any moment. The Supreme Court could determine the fate of a commonly used abortion drug as soon as today.
