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Holiday Travel; Nikki Haley Endorses Trump; NCAA Agrees to Deal Paving the Way For Paid College Athletes; Man Arrested in Turks and Caicos Set to Return Home; U.N.'s Top Court Orders Israel to Halt Rafah Offensive. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired May 24, 2024 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:55]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Back on the team. Donald Trump says he will soon be working with one of his biggest Republican critics, despite what he calls a nasty primary fight, as the former president rallies in a Democratic stronghold, sensing an opening among a key demographic.

Plus: pay-to-play. A historic settlement could transform college sports and let schools for the first time pay student athletes directly.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: And a new study shows, when it comes to daily use, more Americans are just saying no to alcohol and yes to marijuana. We're going to look at what's behind a radical shift in attitudes about pot.

We're following these stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SANCHEZ: But we start this afternoon with breaking news out of The Hague.

The United Nations' top court, the International Court of Justice, has ordered that Israel immediately halt its military offensive in the Southern Gaza City of Rafah.

KEILAR: The court made the ruling as part of an ongoing genocide case that was brought by South Africa.

And in its ruling, the court said that the humanitarian situation in Gaza had deteriorated to the point of disastrous since the court last ordered provisional measures in March. Israel has denied the allegations.

We have CNN's Jeremy Diamond joining us now live from Jerusalem.

Jeremy, how's Israel responding to the ruling and what does this mean for its military operation in Rafah?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Israeli officials are certainly responding with defiance and kind of casting aside this ruling by the International Court of Justice. Although that ruling is indeed legally binding, the ICJ has no way to actually enforce this ruling. And Israeli officials are responding by saying that that Israeli military offensive in Rafah, which has been ongoing now for nearly three weeks, will indeed continue.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry, for its part, defending the Israeli military campaign, saying that Israel is acting based on its -- quote -- "right to defend its territory and its citizens," and also saying that Israel has not and will not conduct military actions in Rafah which may inflict loss of -- on the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza, conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction, effectively responding to the wording of this ruling, which is based on the Genocide Conventions.

Now, as it relates to the offensive in Rafah, it is very much proceeding. The question now is, even though this -- the ICJ doesn't have a mechanism to enforce this ruling, what kinds of consequences could Israel face? And, indeed, other countries could potentially impose sanctions on Israel as a result of its decision not to comply with this ruling by the ICJ.

But that, of course, remains to be seen. Certainly, at a minimum, it is reinforcing the kind of growing international condemnation and isolation that Israel is facing on the world stage over its actions in Gaza.

SANCHEZ: And, Jeremy, this ruling comes as the Israeli military says it's recovered the bodies of three more hostages in Northern Gaza.

What can you tell us about that?

DIAMOND: Yes, for the second time in two weeks, the Israeli military recovering the bodies of hostages who they say were actually killed on October 7, their bodies taken into Gaza.

These three bodies of hostages were recovered in the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza, where the Israeli military has been conducting intense operations there over the course of the last couple of weeks.

The three individuals who recovered, two of whom attended the Nova Music Festival, there's Orion Hernandez Radoux, a 30-year-old French- Mexican tourist who was attending that music festival with his girlfriend, Shani Louk, whose body was recovered last week by Israeli forces in Gaza.

Hanan Yablonka, a 42-year-old father from Tel Aviv, he was attending the festival as well. And then there is Michel Nisenbaum, a father and grandfather who was trying to save his granddaughter that day. He was killed on his way to try and rescue her.

[13:05:02]

And for these families, not only are they getting the shock of their -- the bodies being recovered and brought back to Israel, but, for many of them, they're finding out for the first time that their loved ones were actually dead all along. Many of them had held out hope over the course of the last nearly

eight months that their loved ones were being held hostage, but that they were alive, and today, of course, receiving that crushing news -- Boris, Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes, so hard.

Jeremy Diamond, live for us from Israel, thank you for that report.

It appears that a Pennsylvania man will soon be able to leave Turks and Caicos after he was arrested there for bringing ammunition to the islands. A short time ago, Bryan Hagerich was handed a 52-week suspended sentence and a $6,700 fine. But, as soon as he pays that fine, he is free to head back home.

SANCHEZ: You might recall Hagerich was arrested in February. His wife says that the bag that mistakenly had ammo inside is the same one that he uses on hunting trips.

Hagerich is one of five Americans accused of bringing various amounts of ammunition to Turks and Caicos.

CNN's Carlos Suarez is covering this story for us.

And, Carlos, this man and his family, they have to be so relieved, because he was at risk of a serious prison sentence.

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right. We're talking about the possibility that he was facing 12 years in prison.

And now, with this sentence, the judge also handed down a $6,700 fine. We're told that, once Hagerich, who pleaded guilty to these possession of ammunition charges, once he's able to post that amount, he will be able to be released from jail -- or, rather, he will be able to be released from where he's staying at and travel back to the U.S.

His attorney told us that they expect to get that done today, and so Hagerich could be back in the U.S. as early as later tonight, rather. His attorney told us that Hagerich -- quote -- "is pleased. He is relieved. The sentence in all of its circumstances is reasonable and fair, and he's relieved and looking forward to pay the fine and return home as soon as possible."

Now, the judge's ruling is something that Turks and Caicos officials really had stressed over the last couple of days that was always a possibility. Yesterday, the country's premier noted that no American that's ever been convicted of a firearms offense has ever been sentenced to the mandatory minimum of 12 years in prison.

And he also noted that judges in the country have this discretion. He also really pushed back hard against some comments that U.S. lawmakers had made earlier in the week that Turks and Caicos officials were targeting Americans. The premier said that's just not the case, that is not something that they were doing.

As you noted, Hagerich, who is from Pennsylvania, is one of five Americans that have been arrested in recent months for possessing ammunition in the country. And, as you all noted, Hagerich said that he did not know that he had this ammunition in his bag.

We expect another sentencing to take place next week, and then the remaining Americans are expected back in court next week as well, with court appearances also scheduled in June and July -- Boris and Brianna.

SANCHEZ: Carlos Suarez, thank you so much for the update.

Now to a landmark settlement that's causing a seismic shift in college sports. After years of lawsuits, the NCAA and the five power conferences have agreed to a historic deal that will pave the way for schools to pay their student athletes.

Sources say that any athlete who played a Division I sport going back to 2016 can get a cut of more than $2.7 billion in damages.

KEILAR: That is a lot. And the deal also allows each school to share up to $20 million per year with its athletes.

A judge still needs to sign off on this settlement, and there are many details that need to be hammered out here.

For more, let's talk now with CNN contributor and sports broadcaster Cari Champion.

Cari, what's your reaction to this? I mean, how does this change the landscape for college sports?

CARI CHAMPION, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Listening to you guys introduce the story, it's an extremely seismic shift.

It's been 100-plus years since the NCAA said that this is an amateur sport, these student athletes should not be paid. And for them to agree to a settlement, the school also -- these power five conferences to come together with the NCAA and agree to a settlement, says that the NCAA knew all along that this was wrong.

It says that these institutions knew they should have been paying these student athletes. And here's the thing. While this settlement, in theory, is on the table and agreed to, there's still so much ambiguity here, because we still haven't decided who gets paid what.

Will the football team get more than the girls volleyball team? But, right now, as it stands, this is a huge leap forward for all of these student athletes who, quite frankly, were paying for free -- playing for free, had nothing to ask for themselves once they left school.

[13:10:04]

And I think, to me, this is a long time coming and way overdue.

SANCHEZ: Cari, you sort of alluded to this, some of the unanswered questions that are out there, one of the biggest being how Title IX is going to factor into all of this. CHAMPION: Title IX is something that we all know was important and

necessary and legendary. It's the reason why we have collegiate sports for women, for young women.

And now we're trying to figure out, I think what they will try to figure out with this settlement, because, again, it's still very ambiguous over how these schools will disseminate this rev share model. It seems as if -- and if we had, in theory, talked about it -- and I have talked to some college -- some different colleges about this.

What would happen is, is that the schools that make -- the programs that make the most money, for instance, the football program and the basketball program, will receive the most money. And then they will share the rest with the other programs, because, as of now, some of these -- and it's just the way it is -- some of these women collegiate teams are not making the money.

They're living off of football. Football is king when it comes to college finances and sponsorships and deals. And so they will have to figure out a way that seems equitable for all of these teams. And, to me, that is going to be the tough question. How, in fact, are you going to make everyone happy with this piece of the pie?

KEILAR: Yes.

And I feel like you should just bet that the football team is going to get more than the women's volleyball team. But how are they going to, you think, compensate star players? Or -- I mean, I think back, Caitlin Clark before she went pro, something like that.

How is -- how is that going to be partitioned out? Who's going to determine that? What kind of waves is that going to create?

CHAMPION: OK, so you all mentioned the fact that there are these three antitrust lawsuits, and this is what the settlement is trying to address, and that they are going to pay out over $2.8 billion.

However, the reason why they agreed to this is because the NCAA and college athletics, as we know, if they decided to pay everyone as they have over the past maybe 20 years, not necessarily until 2016, it would have been bankrupt, the system would have been bankrupt, because they do, in fact, owe these players.

Now, how this will play out moving forward, it seems to me that the players who are the most well-known, the most recognized -- you mentioned Caitlin Clark -- will make the most money, especially in name, image and likeness deals. That's just how it's going to work. That's how it works in the real world. The biggest talent gets paid the most.

However, what we're going to see is, a lot of people, students, in particular -- because students don't necessarily have to opt in this deal. While the schools have agreed and the NCAA has agreed, there are certain student athletes who will try to push this through. What they're trying to do now, the NCAA is trying to lobby Congress to

come up with some sort of law, so that they don't have to continue to pay these students as if they're employees, because, if they did, that would bring health insurance into the matter. That would bring a litany, other -- a litany of other details that they just don't want to address.

This is just the beginning. And it's going to be -- if I had to bet, and I'm not a betting woman -- but, if I had to bet, there's going to be more money to be paid out to these students and to these programs, and the NCAA is going to try to push back.

That's why they're trying to settle this right now.

KEILAR: Yes.

It feels like a moment we're going to be looking back on for the effects it will have going forward.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

KEILAR: Cari, thank you so much, Cari Champion.

CHAMPION: Of course.

KEILAR: We appreciate it.

CHAMPION: Thank you.

KEILAR: And coming up, from campaign rivals to on the same team? Donald Trump talking about Nikki Haley in a whole new way today. What that might mean moving forward.

SANCHEZ: Plus, the governor of Louisiana is poised to sign legislation that would make it a felony to possess abortion pills without a prescription.

And it could be the busiest travel weekend ever in the United States. What you need to know if you're one of those millions of Americans heading out this Memorial Day weekend.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:18:15]

KEILAR: From bitter rivals to back in the fold.

Former President Trump weighing in for the first time a day after former GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley said she's going to vote for him.

SANCHEZ: Here's Donald Trump talking about that after his rally in the Bronx last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (R) AND CURRENT U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I think she's going to be on our team because we have a lot of the same ideas, the same thoughts. I appreciated what she said.

We had a nasty campaign. It was pretty nasty. But she's a very capable person. And I'm sure she's going to be on our team in some form, absolutely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: CNN's Steve Contorno joins us now, a Florida man in the flesh here in the studio.

Steve, Trump seemed reluctant to specify how Nikki Haley was going to be part of the team.

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Not only that.

We are just learning from Trump's team that Nikki Haley and Donald Trump haven't even spoken yet. So, while there has been this public de-thawing in their rivalry, there is still a chilled relationship behind the scenes. And it's a long way until there's some sort of kumbaya of sorts.

Now, this -- he's not calling her birdbrain anymore, but it's still -- there -- for her to enter the fold and start helping him politically, it's going to take a little bit more outreach on her end. And he could use her help. She's a prolific fund-raiser. And she continues to get pretty wide support in these primary contests long after she has exited the race.

SANCHEZ: These zombie primaries, right?

KEILAR: Yes, that's right.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

KEILAR: And, I mean, this rally that he had in the Bronx, it was a more diverse crowd than we're used to seeing, for sure, at a Trump rally.

He's not going to win New York, but this does give him a chance to talk about something that's kind of in the political zeitgeist right now, which is, is Trump making enough inroads with black and Hispanic voters that he can peel away part of that bloc from Biden?

CONTORNO: Yes. And that's certainly a fear of the Biden campaign.

[13:20:00]

And, yes, Donald Trump's rally in the Bronx is not going to result in him winning the Bronx. In fact, it was mostly just convenient because he was supposed to be in court in Manhattan that day. So it's a nice easy journey over there. However, he was making outreach to those communities you mentioned,

because there are large black populations in Atlanta and Detroit. There are large Hispanic populations in Nevada and Arizona. And so this is the pitch he is making to them.

And here's what he said about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I did criminal justice reform at a level that nobody thought was possible to get. And I did that largely for the black and Hispanic community.

They're the ones that wanted it, Opportunity Zones with Tim Scott. And he was so much in favor of it. And it's probably maybe the best economic development package ever for African-Americans, for Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans.

We did a lot of things that people couldn't believe we were able to get done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONTORNO: Now, that criminal justice reform he was talking about is the FIRST STEP Act that reduced the discrepancy between sentencing for crack and cocaine, also reduced some sentences for nonviolent offenders.

And when he talks about the economy, though, and how he has been better for black voters than the former president -- or the current president, it really depends on what statistics you look at.

When you look at the unemployment rate, for example, for black Americans, it is lower under President Biden than it was under former President Trump.

SANCHEZ: Yes, the Biden campaign no doubt taking the opening that the Trump campaign sees very seriously.

Steve Contorno, great to have you with us.

So --

KEILAR: It is the -- yes, you're going to have to say it with me. This was literally written, this story, to kind of annoy Boris a little.

SANCHEZ: A little bit. A little bit.

KEILAR: It's the unofficial start of summer, and let's just get it out of the way. Say it with me, Boris.

Pack your patience.

SANCHEZ: Pack your patience.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: It was like a game show.

KEILAR: Oh, OK, ready?

KEILAR AND SANCHEZ: Pack your patience.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

KEILAR: See, you're warned now. The nation's highways and airports will be jammed. That's what AAA is saying here.

It's expecting a record nearly 44 million Americans traveling on Memorial Day weekend. TSA says just this month it's already logged five of its busiest days ever, a sign of a busy summer travel season to come.

CNN's Ryan Young is at the world's busiest airport in Atlanta, where TSA screenings set records for a second day in a row.

What are you expecting there, Ryan? A lot of people packing their patience?

(LAUGHTER)

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I have to laugh over that, because, you know, in live television, you always have a few people who are straggling around it.

And our first travelers who have been drinking a little bit decided to stop by right before this live shot started.

(LAUGHTER)

YOUNG: But, anyway, look, they're getting their summer kicked off. Why not have a good time, right?

As you look this direction, you can see the lines that are starting to pack in, and you have got to get through the roads to get here. But they're -- just yesterday alone, you're talking about 2.9 million people across the country are out here.

I have talked to so many people who say this is the first year where they really felt like spending some money for the summer after the pandemic. They saw the prices. They saw travel going up, but, at the same time, they wanted to start their summer pretty strong this year.

Just last -- yesterday here at this airport, they broke records for screening with over 111,000 passengers. This is the most people we have seen so far today, all lanes of security open. And you're not even seeing the international travelers. Multiply this across the country, you're dealing with travel records in terms of what's on the road to get to the airport.

And then a lot of people are finding out when they arrive here that the parking garages are full already. But listen to some of these travelers who are talking about their

excitement and their knowledge that they would have to pack their patience?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARI GARCIA, TRAVELER: The TSA line was crazy. So, highly recommend digital I.D. It was a breeze. Even PreCheck and CLEAR was full of people.

CALVIN FISHER, TRAVELER: Used to traffic. When you come, when you're traveling during a holiday season or so, there's some things to expect. You're going to see folks traveling.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: You love the good attitudes.

And, like I said, you can never fault people for having a couple drinks before they decide to get in the TSA line or decide to wave right in the middle of the camera. It happens, guys.

(LAUGHTER)

YOUNG: And, at this point, you just have to get used to it.

But we have heard so many people talk about the idea that this was their -- going to be their first big splurge of the year. And they were looking forward to summer being kicked off. I can understand your excitement as you guys tried to rehearse those lines together.

I just have to wonder whether or not you guys are going to take on these lines for the summer.

(LAUGHTER)

YOUNG: But, at the end of the day, they are saying there could be larger lines coming this afternoon, because a lot of us are stuck at work.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

YOUNG: And then, of course, once we get off, we're going to be trying to run someplace. So we will have to see how this works out as the rush hour, plus this travel traffic all combines at the same time -- guys.

SANCHEZ: That's why it's a cliche, and you hear us say it over and over and over, but really especially after you have had a few drinks.

YOUNG: Why not?

SANCHEZ: Be patient with the folks around you.

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: Be kind to your fellow travelers. And go say hi to Ryan Young if you are at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

(CROSSTALK)

[13:25:01]

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: Ryan Young, thank you so much.

KEILAR: He's like, thanks so much for that, Boris.

(LAUGHTER)

KEILAR: All right, taking a bit of a turn here, it is up to the governor now. Abortion drugs could soon be classified as dangerous controlled substances in the state of Louisiana.

We're going to speak with the state senator who sponsored this bill next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: At any moment, Louisiana could become the first state to label abortion pills as dangerous, a move that has been widely criticized by health care professionals.

A first-of-its-kind bill is waiting to be signed by the governor right now.