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WH: Biden Told Netanyahu That U.S. Policy Depends On Israel's "Immediate Action" To Protect Humanitarians; NASA To Conduct Research During Monday's Solar Eclipse; Thieves Steal $30 Million In Cash In Los Angeles Heist; The True Story Of Murder Behind Netflix's "3 Body Problem". Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired April 04, 2024 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: He described the president as being "shaken" by the death of those seven World Central Kitchen aid workers. He also described Biden as wanting immediate action toward a ceasefire.

The negotiations toward at least a pause in the action have been ongoing. Very heated discussion between all the players in the region over how to get those remaining hostages out of Gaza.

No mention though, in the readout and a very short illusion to it from Kirby, of the looming incursion into Rafah that has been the subject of heated debate between the two sides.

Something that has been a major focus of the Biden administration trying to offer Israel alternatives, trying to pump the brakes on what is seen as potentially a looming catastrophe for those million and a half people that are in Rafah.

He also mentioned that the two leaders talked about Iran and the threat that Iran poses and its promise of a retaliatory strike following what the U.S. determined was an Israeli strike in Damascus and Syria, on the Iranian consulate.

A lot to get through.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Yes.

SANCHEZ: But essentially the promise that the U.S. may revise its policy about Gaza if Israel doesn't take concrete steps.

KEILAR: Does that specifically mean military aid? He would not go that far.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

KEILAR: But what else really could it mean? What policies is he talking about here?

Let's bring in CNN White House correspondent, Priscilla Alvarez, along with CNN correspondent, Natasha Bertrand, who is live for us at the Pentagon. It was really interesting to me, Priscilla, that he said they expect

these announcements and pretty soon in the coming hours and days. But they don't just want words. He said it's about implementation. So they want to hear specific promises and then they want to see that carried out. And then they're going to assess that.

But we don't really have a timeline for that. We don't have an idea of how that process is going to play out. And we don't know if it is clear to Netanyahu that this is a red line.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: We don't know the timeline. We also don't know what they're measuring it against. Because we have heard the Biden administration say this multiple times, there has to be more aid going into Gaza. There has to be the protection of innocent civilians.

And yet over and over, we continue to see this catastrophe continue to play out and unfold in Gaza.

But just to take a moment and to take a step back. This is a significant development. We have been talking about the relationship between President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for months.

They were talking on a regular basis after the October 7th terrorist attacks. Repeatedly, President Biden has said that he stands by Israel and their right to defend themselves.

That is still the administration process. But now they are signaling that there could be changed on the horizon if they do not see changes from Israel.

And we just haven't heard that yet. They have mostly steadfastly said that they are going to stand by Israel. And now that could change if, as you both mentioned, and as Kirby mentioned, no change equals essentially change on the U.S. side.

Again, there are no measurables here. But what they do want to see is more land crossings opened up. This has been consistent with where the administration has been. They have repeatedly said that they just can't get the unnecessary into Gaza without those land crossings.

That also resulted in the airdrops, for example. And they depend, of course, on the humanitarian aid organizations.

And there has been concern that the aid organizations that I've talked to you of how they're supposed to continue to execute their mission if they could be killed in the process because you have exactly what we saw play out with those World Central Kitchen employees and the many that were killed before then.

And then also -- and all of this is the mitigation of civilian harm, which is what Admiral Kirby was talking about.

So essentially, the message today from this readout from the White House between President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Secretary of State Antony Blinken is the U.S. is examining their approach to Israel.

And that in and of itself is notable because, up until this point, that really wasn't up for question. Now it is. This has certainly served, it appears, as an inflection point in the relationship between the U.S. and Israel.

SANCHEZ: Let's get the perspective from the Pentagon now, with CNN's Natasha Bertrand.

And, Natasha, toward the end of a question there, Kirby tried to essentially defend U.S. policy and arms sales to Israel. He cited recent reports about this huge deal for fighter jets, some $18 billion. Also the sale of these 2,000-pound bombs.

But he made the argument that these aren't really new developments, that these deals take years to plan and to play out and that Congress is being -- has been being notified about these now for months.

Obviously, he's anticipating criticism that the U.S. is taking this hard posture against Israel for their mistakes in Gaza. But as critics have pointed out, consequentially, they're still arming Israel.

[14:35:00]

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Correct. All of this is still adding to Israels arsenal, the very arsenal that is being used, of course, in Gaza, and is not -- they're not taking enough steps to protect civilians there, as President Biden has made very clear.

And so while Kirby is correct, of course, that many of these ongoing arms sales and transactions were approved years ago and they did go through congressional notification.

The administration still has the ability to suspend approvals of those weapons transfers, even after the fact. So we are reporting that, on Monday, the administration approved a new transaction of over 2,000 new bombs to Israel.

And those were previously notified to the Hill about six, seven years ago. And therefore, they didn't require new congressional notification or new oversight really, even though Israel is, of course, in a very different position than it was over the last few years and is engaged in a war that the international community is saying that they are not conducting properly.

And so the question now I think is, what is this going to look like, this shift in policy? Because Secretary Austin, here at the Pentagon, he also had a call with the Israeli defense minister last night. He also expressed his outrage and the need for Israel to do more to protect civilians to deconflict with these aid organizations.

But at the same time, you've heard Kirby say there in that press conference, that, quote, "our support for Israel against a range of threats remains iron clad."

And so, how do you square that with a potential threat to start withholding military assistance, which wasn't said explicitly, but, of course, as Brianna noted earlier, that is really one of the biggest levers that the U.S. has at this moment.

And so it's going to be interesting to see whether we continue to see the fulfillment of these arms sales going back many years that the U.S. has committed to, or if the U.S. decides to suspend that.

And of course, with this massive $18 billion sale of F-15 fighter jets that the administration is set to approve, appending Congress not blocking it, is that going to be also thought twice about?

Because that is something that the Israelis have explicitly asked for multiple times from the administration, including as recently as last week.

So there are clearly things that Israel wants that the U.S. can choose not to provide them and use that as leverage. The question is, is President Biden now prepared to start doing that?

KEILAR: All right, Natasha, thank you so much.

Priscilla Alvarez, thank you so much to you.

And it's just so interesting. I mean, he was so clear to make that distinction, John Kirby was, about the weapons. But voters who oppose Biden's approach on this war, they probably aren't going to make a distinction about whether some of these weapons deals were made ages ago or not?

SANCHEZ: Yes. And as Natasha pointed out, the U.S. has the right to suspend certain arms deals. So we'll see how the administration handles it moving forward.

KEILAR: That's right.

So we're going to have much more on this at the top of next hour.

But also ahead, we are four days away from, yes, the total solar eclipse. So while we're enjoying the spectacle in the skies, scientists will be studying it. And we have a look at what they hope to learn from it, next.

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[14:42:44]

SANCHEZ: Actually, you should get the --

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: Does it match better? OK.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: I just want to point out for the record to John Berman, Anderson Cooper, Harry Enten, the folks that wore these -- (CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: -- after we did, we had them first.

KEILAR: We wore them first.

SANCHEZ: We were the trendsetters, yes.

KEILAR: That's right.

SANCHEZ: In just four days, millions of people across America are going to gaze into the sky, hopefully wearing these protective glasses --

KEILAR: You need them.

SANCHEZ: -- of course, to witness the solar eclipse.

But the celestial event is more than just a marvel to ponder and look at. It also offers an opportunity for stargazers and scientists to learn more about what's happening in the cosmos.

KEILAR: That's right.

We have our CNN chief climate correspondent, Bill Weir, who is joining us now. His glasses are prepped and ready. He's not going to stare directly at the sun.

(LAUGHTER)

KEILAR: Talk to us about -- talk to us about the learning behind this. Why are eclipses so important to our understanding of the universe?

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Well, if we learned nothing else, we just got a glimpse of Boris on the weekends with --

(LAUGHTER)

WEIR: -- and sunglasses.

SANCHEZ: You got it.

(LAUGHTER)

WEIR: But this is a fascinating period for astronomers and physicists and people who study them mysteries of the universe. Did you know that Albert Einstein's theory of relativity was proven during an eclipse?

When, because of the dim sun, scientists could look at stars and see, yes, the -- the galaxy does bend. It seems that time and space is like a bowling ball on a trampoline and shifts of perspective of celestial bodies right now.

These days, though, the biggest mystery is why the corona of the sun, that is the outer atmosphere, millions of degrees hotter than the center of the sun, how it behaves. And because it's lighter when the sun is in your face, you can't study

as well. But during the eclipse they can really focus in on it.

And so they are spent -- NASA that is, NASA is sending these special airplanes, the WB-57, three of them. And they can fly way high, 60,000 feet and stay in totality for six hours.

Literally fly under the eclipse, from Mexico to Maine, measuring the corona and various instruments, either looking at the light -- and so that affects how we understand the universe.

But there are so many other experiments going on to understand how the sun affects life on earth.

[14:44:59:]

SANCHEZ: That is so fascinating. I didn't know that about the theory of relativity and how it was proven during an eclipse.

I mean, we all know the many mind-expanding in history altering things that came from the theory of relativity and Einstein's work, namely, like, the atomic bomb, for example.

What are the implications of what we might be able to learn with something like this?

WEIR: Well, there's a whole other NASA experiment that's really focused on the ionosphere. And that is the layer of the sky between 50 and 300 miles up. It separates us from the vacuum of space.

And that is full. It's like a sea of particles that become charged as the sun comes up. And as the sun sets around the world -- here's an animation, you just saw that, of those waves going around.

And so what they're going to do is fire these rockets up 45 minutes before, during and after. And these -- these rockets are called sounding rockets. They'll send out instruments to measure the changes in the ionosphere as that dark patch moves across the continental U.S.

And the ionosphere can interfere with on-ground communications, terrestrial radio signals, satellite communications that we're becoming increasingly dependent on.

You saw there, that you could see that wave go around as a sun rises and sets around us.

So that has practical implications of our interconnected world. We're so dependent on GPS, weather satellites, our financial systems are tied to space instruments as well. All affected the power of the sun.

Interesting enough, every 11 years, the sun cycles between sort of weaker activity and stronger. We are at what's called solar maximum this year. So the surface of the sun is going off. And they're really excited to see what that means for the ionosphere and the corona.

SANCHEZ: Solar maximum. (LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: I feel like solar maximum wearing these sunglasses.

WEIR: You do.

(LAUGHTER)

KEILAR: Unbelievable.

WEIR: That's your new professional --

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: I can't see anything.

SANCHEZ: You got it. WWE.

KEILAR: Do you know what mine is, Bill? Do you know what mine is?

WEIR: What's that?

KEILAR: Bri clips.

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: Bri clips.

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: Bill, I can't see you, man, but I bet you look great.

(LAUGHTER)

WEIR: It's better. Trust me.

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: No, no, I don't buy that.

KEILAR: All right Bill, you're the best. And we can't wait to talk to you on Monday.

Everyone, makes sure that you join us for "ECLIPSES ACROSS AMERICA." Our special live coverage will be starting Monday at 1:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

We scheduled this eclipse during our show so that we could get to anchor it, which was premium for us, right? You can also stream it on Max.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:52:07] KEILAR: Right now, an investigation is underway in Los Angeles after one of the largest money heists in the city's history. Authorities telling us thieves made off with as much as $30 million in cash on Easter Sunday.

CNN security correspondent, Josh Campbell, is here with the latest developments on this.

Josh, what are you learning about what happened?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brianna, I know this could be out of a screenplay written here in Hollywood. But this brazen theft is real.

I'm told by law enforcement source it happened on Sunday night. This was Easter Sunday. And authorities and the company didn't actually determine this had happened until the next day on Monday.

Now I'm told that this group, they made their way into this facility without setting off any alarms there at the building, making their way into the vault. As you mentioned, a large haul there, upwards of $30 million that were actually taken.

Now, I'm told from a source that law enforcement right now, one key focus of the investigation is whether this group had some type of inside knowledge of this facility because, again, they didn't set off any of the trip wires that are in place.

This was a type of business that processes cash for other businesses, does counting and sorting and the like. I'm told that the company in question is private security firm Garda World. We've reached out to them for comment on this ongoing incident.

But certainly something that they're taking very seriously. A large haul of cash there, $30 million -- Brianna?

KEILAR: Do they have any idea who they are looking for? Have you gotten an indication of that?

CAMPBELL: Not as of yet. Authorities are just launching this investigation. This is the FBI. This is the LAPD.

I'm told that they are not only conducting interviews, but they're trying to gather CCTV footage from around that area, trying to determine the root of travel of these burglars, both to the facility and then as they went away.

And again, they're just trying to figure out, first, who this group is before they can then try to determine where they are.

We have seen in past heists, for example, back in 1997, here in Los Angeles, there was a group that did an armored car robbery. They stole almost $20 million. A couple of years went by without authority having an indication of who they were.

It was a slip up on the part of one of those burglars, who actually tried to buy a house using cash that was still wrapped in the same original cash band. A realtor looked at that and said, well, this is suspicious and called police.

That ultimately led to that man being arrested. He gave up the other group. But that was years before that happened.

So a lot of work that's happening right now to try to locate these individuals.

Finally, I'm told from a law enforcement source that the possibilities here are why -- this could be a cartel. This could be professional burglars.

Again, this could be just a group that may have had some type of inside information about how that building actually worked. Everything on the table right now -- Brianna?

KEILAR: All right. Josh Campbell, live for us from L.A., thank you for the latest there.

Boris?

SANCHEZ: The number-one series right now on Netflix has its own true story of intrigue and death behind it. "Three-Body Problem" is about a killing spree targeting scientists. And it's debut last month took place a day before a former executive tied to the series was sentenced to death for murder in Shanghai.

[14:55:06]

The victim, Lin Qi, a 39-year-old billionaire who helped bring "Three Body Problem" to TV. He was poisoned months after Netflix announced it greenlit the project.

Let's get the latest from CNN entertainment correspondent, Elizabeth Wagmeister.

Elizabeth, this is a wild story.

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: This really is a wild story, Boris. It's unbelievably sad, but it's truly unbelievable that this happened in real life.

So let me take you through what happened here. Lin Qi, who was a gaming tycoon, he was dubbed the billionaire millennial in China. He was obsessed with "Three Body Problem." He was a huge fan of this book series.

This is one of the biggest book series to come out of China. It's a sci-fi trilogy. And he had dreams of turning this into a major franchise. He wanted to bring it to movie, TV, to gaming.

So he was eventually able to secure the rights with the help of one of his business associates, Shubi (ph). Now, there was a falling out, which the Shanghai court has said was a dispute over, quote, "company management matters." And he plotted, Boris, to poison him. He ended up setting up a lab in

the suburbs. He tested over 100 different toxins and gifted him what he called a bottle of probiotics, which was actually lethal toxins.

Ten days later, he died after checking himself into the hospital. And now he has been sentenced to death.

Now, Lin Qi, he spoke about his legacy. He said that he thought that "Three Body Problem" and really bringing this to life and making this a huge series could be his legacy.

And he said, quote that "When he said goodbye to the world, when I'm 90 years old," quote, "it is said that when your mind will be hit by a moment of extreme clarity, when you are about to die. So I'm very afraid that what all I'll be thinking before I die is, how did I destroy the 'Three Body Problem?'"

That is what he said in an interview just one month before this Netflix series came out. So you can see just how important this was to him that he hoped it was his legacy, but he was also scared that he might ruin this beloved book series.

SANCHEZ: It is wild. This has the makings of like a true crime documentary, right? What is Netflix saying about this?

WAGMEISTER: It really does. And of course, we don't want to take away from how tragic this story is. A life was lost. He was murdered. He was poisoned to death. But it does feel like you could create a series out of this, right, Boris?

Now, I have reached out to Netflix about this entire court case. And they have no comment on this.

But this series is a massive phenomenon. Right now, it is number one on Netflix in the U.S. Now, Netflix is not available in China, but this series in its first week, it shot up to number one in 93 countries. And it has caused the book series also to shoot up to the best-sellers list.

This is a series that comes from the co-creators of "Game of Thrones." It is reportedly Netflix's most expensive series for a first season. And the creators have said that they hope to do another season as well.

SANCHEZ: Elizabeth Wagmeister, really an eye-opening story. Thanks so much for bringing it to us.

Coming up, experts are warning about a, quote, "tidal wave" of cancer. Why they believe cases of cancer could rise dramatically in the coming year.

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