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U.S. Intel Sees Rise In Russian Disinformation Against Zelenskyy; Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-MY) Discusses White House Moving Forward With $1B Arms Deal To Israel & Rising Tensions As Democrats' Israel Divide Deepens; NTSB: Ship Lost Power Four Times Before Crashing Into Key Bridge; Ukrainian Engineer Using AI To Help War Victims. Aired 1:30-2p ET
Aired May 15, 2024 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:30:00]
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN HOST: And the fact that Ukraine has postponed his presidential election that was scheduled for this year, for this spring, because of Russia's war in Ukraine.
Now according to U.S. officials, the Russian intelligence services are helping disseminate this disinformation. But it's also coming from official channels, like Putin's spokesman, and being pushed by non- official pro-Russia groups on social media.
A major concern I'm told is that people in other countries outside of Ukraine may not understand that Ukraine has been under martial law since Russia invaded in 2022. And the war is preventing Ukraine from holding a presidential election.
But Russia is pushing an area that questions Zelenskyy's legitimacy as a result.
One expert I spoke with questioned how effective the disinformation can be, because, at this point in the war, more than two years after it started, most people's views are pretty entrenched.
But the U.S. has briefed allies and partners about Russia's growing efforts and do expect them to continue to try to weaken Ukraine as Russia also faces difficulties on the Ukrainian battlefield.
Brianna?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Now, to some of the other headlines that we're watching this hour.
Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico is in critical condition after surviving an assassination attempt earlier today. Dramatic video showing Fico's staff urgently rushing him away after he was shot multiple times. He was then airlifted to a major trauma center.
The suspected gunman has been detained. Slovakia's president condemning the attack, calling it an attack on democracy. We're going to have a full report next hour. Also more than 100 raging wildfires in Canada are forcing thousands of
people to evacuate as flames encroach on pretty populated communities, as you see here.
The situation especially dire near Fort McMurray where an out-of- control 51,008-acre fire -- a wildfire is inching closer to the city. Despite some expected rain, strong winds will challenge firefighting efforts there. Hazardous smoke also drifting into the U.S., impacting air quality.
And Tom Brady is expressing some regret over his three-hour roast on Netflix. During the roast, performers made jokes about his personal life, including his divorce from Gisele Bundchen.
And now Brady is telling "The Pivot" podcast, he's worried about how it impacted his children.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM BRADY, SEVEN-TIME SUPER BOWL CHAMPION: I loved when the jokes were about me. I thought they were so fun. I didn't like the way that affected my kids.
I wouldn't do that again because of the way that affected actually the people that I care about the most.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Now Brady went on to say that he will use the experience to be a better parent going forward.
We'll be right back with more news.
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[13:37:35]
KEILAR: Now, to the Israel-Hamas war. Sources telling CNN that the White House is moving forward with a potential plan to sell $1 billion in arms to Israel.
It is still in the early stages. It would need congressional approval. But this arms deal could include tank ammunition and mortar rounds, among other weapons.
Last week, the Biden administration confirmed a pause for a shipment of large bombs to Israel, 502,000-pound bombs, because of concerns the IDF might use them in the densely populated city of Rafah, as they have in other parts of Gaza to devastating effect on civilians.
Currently, the Israeli military says it has intensified its operations in northern Gaza and parts of Rafah in the south. The U.N. Agency for Palestinian Refugees now estimates that 600,000 people have fled the southern city here in just the past week.
We're joined now by Democratic Congressman Jamaal Bowman of New York, who is vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Sir, thank you so much for taking the time to be with us.
And if I can just get your reaction to this arms deal, and if you see it to be in conflict with this suspension of delivering 502,000-pound bombs to Israel.
REP. JAMAAL BOWMAN (D-NY): Yes, very disappointed in this news. You know, we fully supported the president's decision about a week ago not to send additional weapons to Israel, voted against that measure here in the House.
We have over a million people in Gaza starving to death. We have at least 34,000 killed, mostly women and children. Now we've called from very early on for peace and a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
But let me say this. This issue is also hitting here at home, particularly in my district. A Republican super PAC, UDP, is set to spread $1.9 million against me this week in my race.
A PAC that's backed by Bernie Marcus, anti-abortion, Bernie Marcus, and others simply because we called for a permanent -- permanent ceasefire and it's simply because we're calling for peace in Gaza.
KEILAR: The majority of this arms deal would be mortars, tank ammunition. Can you explain to us where the line is for you? You have voted to support Iron Dome, for instance, in the past and in 2021.
[13:40:00]
Gregory Meeks, who is the ranking member on House Foreign Affairs, does not see this arms deal in conflict with the suspension of those bigger weapons. Making the point that Biden's point there was there are more precise ways to take on Hamas.
Can you explain where the line is for you?
BOWMAN: Well, we are way past the line. I mean, we need a permanent ceasefire right now. And we need to get as much food into Gaza as quickly as possible. We need the release of the hostages. And we need a pathway to a free Palestine.
We are not having the conversations that will lead to peace and sustainability, self-determination in that region. And I'm still concerned about a potential regional conflict.
And so, you know, I have dealt with war, particularly war in the Middle East, my entire life. So has many of the college kids who are on our campuses protesting right now.
And we finally want to live in an America that is leading with diplomacy and peace and our shared humanity. Unfortunately, that is not happening right now.
KEILAR: You just had a debate a couple of nights ago, Monday night, in what is a very tough primary race, perhaps one of the toughest primary races that we're monitoring here.
You and your opponent, George Latimer, were asked whether you consider the chant "From the river to the sea," to be hate speech and/or advocating for the eradication of the state of Israel.
You'd said you do not believe it's hate speech. I just want to be clear. Do you believe that it is advocating for the eradication of the state of Israel?
BOWMAN: No, it is -- it is advocating for a free Palestine and an end to the military occupation that has been going on for 75 years.
You know, when I visited Israel and I visited the West Bank and I got to speak with Israeli and Palestinian scholars and visited Yad Vashem (ph), I learned so much about what's happening there now, and what has been happening historically.
And we've been talking about a two-state solution for so long, but we have 700,000 settlers in the West Bank right now, which pretty much stops a two-state solution from happening.
And so, you know, instead of focusing on chants that mean different things to different people, let's focus on real policy solutions that lead to peace and self-determination and safety for Israelis and Palestinians.
KEILAR: I do want to ask you, on your criticism of Israel, you have said that being critical of an ally makes our allies strong and safer in the long term.
As I mentioned, you did vote in 2021 for Iron Dome funding. Can you explain that, how you see Israel as an ally and what you meant by that?
BOWMAN: Well, they are our ally. And we don't want anyone to be bombed and killed, whether they are in Israel, Gaza, or the West Bank.
And compare by statements to what's happening right now. Right now, we have leaders in Israel saying things like there are no innocent civilians. Remember what Amalek (ph) has done to you, cutting off of food and water and using a white phosphorus and attacking mostly civilians in Gaza.
That doesn't lead to peace for anyone. That doesn't lead to safety for anyone.
And so a pathway forward has to be a new vision and something much different than what we've done in the past that got us into this position in the first place.
KEILAR: As I mentioned, you are in this tough primary. And this U.S. support for the Israel-Hamas war has become a defining issue in your race.
Have you thought about -- are you prepared to lose your election over this issue? BOWMAN: We are not going to lose this election because we have
hallways governed with the working-class people and the grassroots in our district trick and we aim to serve them.
And so we are not going to lose this election. And 69 percent of the people in our district support a permanent ceasefire. I'm an original co-sponsor of the Permanent Ceasefire Resolution.
So there's complete alignment between the majority of the district and where we stand on the issue of Gaza.
KEILAR: Well, Congressman Bowman, we thank you so much for your time. Thank you for being with us today.
BOWMAN: Thank you for having me.
[13:44:24]
And still to come, new details on what went wrong in the minutes before that huge cargo ship crashed into Baltimore's Key Bridge, collapsing it. Ahead, what more we are learning from investigators.
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[13:49:27]
MARQUARDT: Breaking news. These are live pictures from Galveston, Texas, where a barge has collided with a bridge. And it does appear that at least some of the bridge has fallen into the water.
We are told that the Coast Guard has responded to this incident. So far, there are no injuries that have been reported.
KEILAR: But as you can see there, on the lower part of the screen, there is actually oil --
MARQUARDT: Yes.
KEILAR: -- that is leaking from this barge. It is spilling into the bay, which is obviously a sensitive ecosystem.
And also this bridge is the only way to access Pelican Island, which is home to Texas A&M University at Galveston. This, right now, closed to all traffic. As you can see, no one's getting in, no one's getting out.
[13:50:11]
So we're going to continue monitoring that. It looks pretty bad there.
MARQUARDT: The university temporarily lost power.
KEILAR: Yes. And you can see there's some power lines that seemed to stretch there across the water that may have had something to do with it. A new report from the National Transportation Safety Board finding
that huge cargo ship, the Dali, that struck the Baltimore Key Bridge back in March, causing it's collapse and killing in six people, had lost power four times before the crash. Two of those blackouts occurred just 10 hours before the incident.
Despite that, the Dali's captain reported to the pilot who came on board in Maryland there to steer the ship out of the harbor, reported to that pilot that the ship was in good working order.
MARQUARDT: And now the head of the NTSB has laid out those findings at a Capitol Hill hearing earlier today.
CNN's Pete Muntean is here with more details.
So, Pete, these investigators have obviously been hard at work for almost two months now. What are they learning?
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Fifty days since this crash. And some big new revelations here.
And it all focuses on really two things, that, one, the Dali had a blackout on board before the ship left the port of Baltimore and, two, that the crew tried to circumvent electrical issues onboard by using circuit breakers that had not been used for months.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy says the focus of her investigation is now on the electrical system.
At 1:25 in the morning, that is when the first blackout occurred after the ship was underway. And what this report describes is about four minutes of terror on the ship's bridge where it was being controlled by a port pilot and that port pilot's apprentice.
That they called for tugboats to come back, that they called for help from the bridge itself to clear the bridge of the crews that were on the bridge. And also that they tried to drop an anchor to make it so that the ship would stop relatively abruptly.
All of those efforts were for naught. It was too late. The collision occurred at 1:29 in the morning on March 26th.
The ship also sailed through those protective dolphins, the big concrete barriers out there in the Patapsco River.
And NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy says this bridge was inadequately protected and that is a wake-up call to any of the lawmakers who are listening during this hearing today that bridges like the Key Bridge in Baltimore need to be better bolstered.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNIFER HOMENDY, NTSB CHAIR: I would say, where you have navigable waterways, you, whoever's owning -- I keep reiterating this. If you own a bridge, if a state owns a bridge or other entity owns a
bridge, look at the current structure. Do a risk assessment. You can do that now. You don't have to wait until we issue an urgent recommendation or come to the conclusion of our investigation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MUNTEAN: The NTSB says that investigation typically takes 12 to 24 months to reach a final report on probable cause. This is just the preliminary report right now.
And the NTSB says it's also working through mountains of data, also with Hyundai, who made the electrical system on board the ship.
We're also hearing for the first time that there could be a contract awarded to rebuild the Key Bridge sometime later this year. The goal is to build a new bridge and open it by sometime in 2028.
MARQUARDT: Yes, clearly, lots more to figure out, of course, in this investigation.
Pete Muntean, thanks for breaking that all down for us. Appreciate it.
We are taking a look this week at "CHAMPIONS FOR CHANGE," unsung people whose ideas and innovations are sparking big improvements in business, technology, and how we live our lives.
KEILAR: Today, a Ukrainian engineer in New York is using artificial intelligence to help his fellow Ukrainians who have lost limbs in the war.
Here's a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VALERA KUCHERENKO, UKRAINIAN VETERAN (through translation): During one of the missions at night, after walking through the passage, I had grenades thrown at me.
When I regained consciousness in the ER room, I didn't have hands.
VERONIKA KUCHERENKO, VALERA'S WIFE (though translation): I was hoping until the very end that it wasn't him.
DIMA GAZDA, CO-FOUNDER, ESPER BIONICS: When the war started, we understood that Esper Hand can help a lot of Ukrainians.
I am originally from Ukraine. I left one day before the war started.
We started Esper Bionics because we believe robotics will unlock many technologies for all humanity to live longer and feel more active life.
Esper Hand is a bionic hand and it can give back many functions. Esper Hand understands user behavior and helps to choose the right grip in advance because of AI. Also, it detects muscle activity. [13:55:07]
If we take cup today from a table several times, tomorrow, the system will understand.
YAKOV GRADINAR, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, PROTEZ FOUNDATION: Since my start of working in prosthetics, I was always looking for a product that will be more reliable and aesthetically fit.
When we met with Dima, we saw a huge potential of working together.
GAZDA: Protez Foundation is one of our favorite partners. We sell our device with the price of manufacturing cost to Protez Foundation and, today, install it for free to end-user.
It is social duty for us. It is not a business market.
GRADINAR: Our program works where people come. Three weeks to six months, we bring them to clinic, get them fitted so they everyday come and do exercising and do physical therapy.
KUCHERENKO (through translation): A mechanical hand can't substitute the real one, but it is making my life so much easier and it allows me to function.
For me, prosthetics were made in such a way that I am returning back to the army.
GRADINAR: Approximately 40 percent of patients that we fitted went back to frontline. It shocks me. But they are looking for opportunity to go back and help.
ROMAN TSYMBALYUK, UKRAINIAN VETERAN (through translation): The thing I want to do is see my kids and hug them.
GRADINAR: In my job, I feel very blessed that I can see people being restored functions that they lost during this injury.
GAZDA: It is hard to be involved in all the stories, but it is easier when you see how it helps people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Those are some pretty cool prosthetic limbs there.
Be sure to tune in Saturday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern for the "CHAMPIONS FOR CHANGE" one-hour special.
And in the meantime, stay with CNN.
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