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Yemen's Houthi Rebels Claim Drone Attacks On Saudi Oil Facilities; Trump Confirms Osama Bin Laden's Son Killed In U.S. Counterintelligence Operation; Warren Makes Headway In Iowa Ahead Of Caucuses; Warren Lacks Health Care Plan Of Her Own; Veteran Gets Emotional With Sanders Because Of Medical Debt; Andrew Yang Responds To New "SNL" Hire After Racist Slur Video Resurfaces; Parents Allege Clinic Impregnated Mom With Wrong Man's Sperm; Israelis Head To Polls As Netanyahu Faces Multiple Probes; NASCAR Shocks Gun Industry, Blocks Multiple Firearm Ads. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired September 14, 2019 - 13:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:00:19]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, again, everyone. Thank you so much for being with me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin with rising tensions in the Middle East. Yemen's Houthi rebels are now claiming responsibility for overnight drone attacks against Saudi Arabia. This is being described as a large-scale operation after new video shows smoke and flames engulfing two of the country's oil facilities.

The attacks are in response to Saudi Arabia's four-year-long military campaign to quash the rebel group. And although the fires are under control, the Houthis say they're planning a wider and more painful attack against the Saudi regime if their blockade and aggression continues.

Joining me now is CNN senior international correspondent, Ben Wedeman.

Ben, these are a huge technological feat for the Houthis. How is Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world responding?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We've heard widespread condemnation, Fred, from a variety of corridors. The U.N., other Arab countries, the United States and others, at this attack, which really is a significant blow to the Saudi oil industry.

According to sources familiar with oil operations in Saudi Arabia, it's basically five million barrels of oil a day have been cut from Saudi Arabia's production capacity. That is a huge blow to the oil industry.

They're hoping to get things back in operation as soon as possible. But you're talking about, according to a source at Aramco, the state- run oil company in Saudi Arabia, the facility of Buqyaq, which is one facility that was hit, is the largest oil stabilization plant in the world.

So this is definitely a massive escalation in terms of tensions in the region. And keeping in mind that the Houthis are in many ways supported by Iran, which is the arch enemy of Saudi Arabia. Yemen is a essentially a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

And as you mentioned, the war there has been going on since March of 2015. The Saudis, with U.S. and British-supplied weapons, have killed thousands of Yemeni civilians. So in a sense this is basically the Saudis reaping what they've sowed -- Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right, Ben Wedeman, thank you so much.

Let's talk more about this with CNN National Security Analysts, Samantha Vinograd and Juliette Kayyem.

Good to see you both.

So, Samantha, you first.

What are the potential implications now that we know that Houthi forces can successfully target sites in Saudi Arabia?

SAMANTHA VINOGRAD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Fred, what we've learned today is what happens in Yemen doesn't stay in Yemen. The conflict there is having direct implications, from an oil and market perspective and from a security perspective.

From a market perspective, about 5 percent of world oil output has been taken offline as a result of these attacks. That will have an effect on the market, particularly as we wait to hear details as to how long these facilities will remain offline.

From a security perspective, what we've learned this summer -- there has been over a dozen attacks by Houthi rebels -- is that their sophistication is increasing.

As the war in Yemen drags on, the Houthis are increasingly willing to use Yemen as a staging ground to implement their biggest patron Iran's dirty work against Saudi Arabia.

The question now is how Saudi Arabia and the rest of the coalition responds. The U.N.-led peace process in Yemen is faltering. And the Saudis and Emirates may respond and say that they need to kick up operations in Yemen as a result of these attacks and because they need to engage in stronger self-defense.

WHITFIELD: And that coalition, I mean, the alliance between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia is clearly very strong, particularly under this administration. What are your concerns or worries, Samantha, about whether there would be any U.S. engagement here?

VINOGRAD: Fred, there's not a lot of areas of bipartisan consensus these days. But this spring, the Senate did send a resolution to Donald Trump's desk to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led efforts in Yemen over concerns about civilian deaths, civilian casualties. President Trump vetoed that resolution.

Now the Saudi-led coalition may say that they need to act more aggressively in Yemen as a result of these very real, very unacceptable and these very illegal attacks with their own border. So we may see an Saudi escalation on the ground in Yemen. And we may see Iranian-backed proxies elsewhere in the region kick up their own efforts in response.

[13:05:01]

Let's not forget, President Trump has said he's willing to meet with the president of Iran at the U.N. General Assembly. Iran's support for the Houthis has really been fundamental for the Houthis being able to continue these efforts.

WHITFIELD: Juliette, what is the significance you see here behind the Houthi rebels strategically being able to target and successfully get these Saudi Arabia targets?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: So there's three aspects to this that are worth noting.

The first is just the execution of the attack. Ten drones that we know so far. That is not only incredibly sophisticated, but it's likely not able to be done by the Houthis by themselves and that's why the Iranians, as a proxy, are -- everyone's focused on them.

The second is the geopolitical aspects of this. As Ben was saying, the proxy war in Yemen has now come to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia thought the way in Yemen was going to be quick. It has not been. And that's had an impact on the crown prince, who has been a big proponent of the war, and I think the king's tolerance for the crown prince's proxy war in Yemen.

The third is obviously oil output. We do have strategic petroleum reserve so nothing will happen overnight. You gas prices won't change overnight.

But there's a larger issue. And, one thing, I'm assuming that Saudi Arabia is telling the truth that production will be back up. They have an incentive to say that the damage was not great, so we'll wait a couple of days to see if that's true.

But what is important is the entire energy infrastructure, geopolitical infrastructure is dependent on a risk assessment that it's relatively safe. So any incident like this changes the risk calculation for an entire global oil network. So will likely see increases in prices not based on a specific incident, but based on the fact that the risk profile has gone up considerably --

(CROSSTALK)

KAYYEM: -- after today.

WHITFIELD: You said not necessarily overnight but potentially overtime than we're talking. KAYYEM: Yes.

WHITFIELD: So, Samantha, you know, how do you see Saudi Arabia retaliating or responding?

VINOGRAD: It is likely that Saudi Arabia will retaliate in two ways. And as Juliette very importantly just pointed out, defensively within Saudi Arabia, it is clear that they have more work to do with respect to securing their infrastructure. This is not the first attack this summer against an oil facility, an Aramco facility. They clearly have more work to do from a defensive perspective internally. That's going to be critical.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia will likely respond with force within Yemen. That is how they've responded in the past and they will likely kick up strikes.

The real question, of course -- and we've talked about this with respect to Yemen, we've talked about this with respect to Afghanistan -- is whether there is any realistic political settlement that can be pursued concurrently.

As I mentioned, the U.N.-led peace process is faltering. And if there's going to be any end to this war, any real ceasefire after any -- the escalation and attacks by both sides, there needs to be a political avenue. Again, the U.N. General Assembly is coming up in a week. This would be a prime topic for the agenda.

WHITFIELD: So, Juliette, I already asked Samantha about what the U.S. could do or how it would respond. Do you see any way the U.S. militarily in any way would get engaged?

KAYYEM: Very unlikely. I mean, as we have just been noting that the U.S./Saudi relationship is very tight. But the idea that we would get involved militarily is minimal.

Although, let's not forget, we are supplying the Saudis with incredible weaponry that has been opposed by much of the Senate but overridden by veto by the Trump administration. So we will continue to supply that military effort.

I think what people have to know is how widely unpopular the war in Yemen is and how widely unpopular the Saudis are because of that war. It is a human rights disaster. It is unbelievable what the Saudis have done in Yemen.

So the Iranians, while other countries may not necessarily support them, the fact that this has gone to heartbeat, to the heart of the Saudi kingdom.

I mean, you can't describe what these oil fields are in terms their importance for oil production, will have a tremendous influence in terms of, I think, the Iranians hands, even if the Saudis push back in Yemen.

So I think the U.S. will continue to supply weapons, continue to support the proxy war. But this is a huge blow for the Saudis.

And we have to look at the royal family's commitment and unity around this war. We have found a lot of intelligence out of Saudi Arabia that there's waning patience for a war that was promised to be quick, and which the crown prince basically has put his name over.

So this will have an impact because -- a war over there's fine. A war in Saudi Arabia, they're not going to be happy about.

WHITFIELD: All right, Juliette Kayyem, Samantha Vinograd, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

VINOGRAD: Thank you.

KAYYEM: Thank you.

[13:09:53]

Still ahead, Trump confirming the son of Osama bin Laden has been killed in an airstrike. What this means in the fight against al Qaeda, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back.

Developing today, President Trump is confirming the death of Hamza bin Laden in a U.S. counterterrorism operation. He is the son of Osama Bin Laden and was seen as an emerging leader of the terror group, al Qaeda.

The president releasing a statement today that bin Laden "had been killed in the United States' counterterrorism operation in the Afghanistan/Pakistan region.

CNN's Sarah Westwood is covering these developments from the White House.

Sarah, what more are you learning?

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, a lot of the details remain unclear. But for the first time today, the White House is officially confirming that Hamza bin Laden is dead. In that statement, acknowledging the U.S. role in his death, saying he was killed in a counterterrorism operation in the Afghanistan/Pakistan region.

But to be clear, it did not happen today. In fact, it may not have even been a recent development.

On July 31st, CNN reported that administration officials had intelligence leading them to believe that Hamza bin Laden was dead. And a couple of weeks later, in mid-August, Defense Secretary Mark Esper appeared to confirm this in a FOX News interview.

But I want to read you part of the statement the White House put forward today because it explains what the White House views as Hamza's role in al Qaeda.

"The loss of Hamza bin Laden not only deprives al-Qaeda of important leadership kills and the symbolic connection to his father but undermines important operational activities of the group. Hamza bin Laden was responsible for planning and dealing with various terrorist groups."

[13:15:05]

Now the State Department back in March had labeled Hamza bin Laden an emerging leader in al Qaeda. The State Department had also offered a $1 million reward for any information that would lead to the capture of Hamza bin Laden.

Documents recovered from the Pakistan compound where his father, Osama bin Laden, was killed by Navy SEALs in 2011 also seemed to suggest that Hamza bin Laden was being groomed by his father to replace him as the leader of al Qaeda.

But it's just not clear, Fred, why today the White House decided to confirm that he has died, and what gave them the certainty to put that statement out this morning.

WHITFIELD: Sarah Westwood, at the White House, thank you so much.

Straight ahead, Senator Elizabeth Warren is in the top tier of Democrats running for the White House. And she has a plan for nearly everything. So what is the holdup on her plan for health care?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:19:55]

WHITFIELD: Candidates Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden say they will release their medical records before any votes are cast in the Iowa caucuses. The age of some candidates has been a hot topic this week after Julian Castro seemed to take a jab at Biden's memory.

Several Democratic contenders have called for generational change within the party.

Biden, at 76, is not the oldest candidate in the race for the Democratic ticket, nor is he the only one in his '70s. Bernie Sanders is 78 and Warren is 70. Together, the three have been dominating the field of their younger Democratic rivals.

Despite the polls, Warren appears to be making headway before the first caucuses. But it is a different situation for frontrunner, Joe Biden.

CNN's Gary Tuchman talked to undecided voters in the critical first caucus state of Iowa.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eight Iowa Democrats, all undecided about who to support in the first-in-the- nation Iowa caucuses. We've watched all three sets of debates with them. The consensus winner the first two times, Elizabeth Warren. This time --

TUCHMAN (on camera): Who do you think did the best?

ED CRANSTON, IOWA VOTER: Warren, followed by Booker.

TUCHMAN: Temple?

TEMPLE, IOWA VOTER: Warren and Booker.

TUCHMAN: Scott?

SCOTT, IOWA VOTER: Oddly, Warren and Booker.

TUCHMAN: Leslie?

LESLIE CARPENTER, IOWA VOTER: Booker and Warren.

TUCHMAN: In that order? OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought Buttigieg and Booker tied for me.

TUCHMAN: Buttigieg and Booker?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Warren and Klobuchar.

RAQUISHIA HARRINGTON, IOWA VOTER: Warren and Booker.

JANICE WEINER, IOWA VOTER: Warren and Klobuchar.

TUCHMAN: Now, how many of you said Warren was your first choice?

So that's one, two, three, four, five, six of you. So, once again, Elizabeth Warren did very well among this group.

How many said Cory Booker as their first choice?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A tie.

TUCHMAN: Two, OK. So it seems like Cory Booker came in second place among this group.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Everyone in this group tells us they like the fight of Elizabeth Warren.

CRANSTON: She's done this and she's done a lot in the past successfully. And she wants to be in the fight and she's ready to go.

WEINER: She's very clear, she's articulate, she has plans, and she gives details. TUCHMAN: Names conspicuously absent when we asked our group who else they wanted to praise, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.

HARRINGTON: To me, Bernie seems like he's yelling at you when he's articulating what he's trying to get out.

TUCHMAN: Everyone in this group disappointed in Julian Castro taking a poke at Joe Biden's memory.

Leslie Carpenter says she met Castro a few weeks ago and advised him against that kind of attack.

CARPENTER: I told him that we didn't like it when there were personal attacks, but we liked it when they were talking about issues and elevating the conversation.

TUCHMAN (on camera): So do you think he wasn't listening to you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A courteous debate.

CARPENTER: Apparently, and it made me sad.

TUCHMAN: The final thing I want to ask you. You're all undecided voters. Any of you ready to make a decision about who you're going to support after this debate? Anybody?

You are, Temple?

TEMPLE: Yes.

TUCHMAN: OK, so who are you ready to support?

TEMPLE: I'm going to caucus for Elizabeth Warren.

TUCHMAN: So you are no longer an undecided voter?

TEMPLE: Correct.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Among this group in Johnson County, Iowa, the debates have been very good to Elizabeth Warren.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Iowa City, Iowa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Senator Warren is back in her home state of Massachusetts speaking to voters today.

She is big on policy. She has a plan for just about everything, but not on health care. Instead, she has embraced Bernie Sanders' Medicare-for-All bill.

But with health care emerging as the single the most important issue to voters, will she be pressured into coming out with a plan of her own?

With me now is Ana Kasparian, a host and producer of "The Young Turks," and Daniel Squadron, the co-founder of the Future Now Fund.

Good to see you both.

Anna, you first.

What risks is she taking, or is she risk, Warren, by uniting behind someone else's plan and not necessarily backing one of her own?

ANA KASPARIAN, HOST & PRODUCER, THE YOUNG TURKS: If you look at the polls and how Medicare-for-All has support among the majority of American voters, she's not really taking a risk by unequivocally supporting Medicare-for-All.

However, as a progressive who understands and is very much in conversations with other progressives, there's worry when she seems to backtrack a little and uses different language, like access to universal health care as opposed to unequivocally saying she supports Medicare-for-All.

Now she has come out and been strong in the debates in supporting Medicare-for-All. As long as she does that, I don't think there's a risk.

WHITFIELD: So, Daniel, the issue of health care is defining this race in a big way. Especially when we hear from voters on the trail confronting candidates, like what happened with Bernie Sanders last night. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED VOTER: Now they're saying I didn't resign or do something or something --

(CROSSTALK)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT): How are you going to pay off?

UNIDENTIFIED VOTER: I can't, I can't. I'm going to kill myself.

(CROSSTALK)

SANDERS: Hold it. Stop it. Stop it. You're not going to kill yourself. Stop.

UNIDENTIFIED VOTER: I can't deal with this. I have Huntington's disease. Do you know how hard that is? You probably don't, do you? I can't drive. I can barely take care of myself.

SANDERS: All right, I'll talk to you at the end of the meeting, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED VOTER: Sure.

SANDERS: OK.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[13:25:09]

WHITFIELD: Daniel, that is a powerful example. I wonder if candidates are feeling the pressure that they have to feeling the pressure that they have to crystallize a health care plan or some answers to respond to real-life issues just like that.

DANIEL SQUADRON, CO-FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FUTURE NOW FUND: There's no question. What Senator Sanders faced in Nevada is what folks are facing across the campaign trail and also up and down the ballot.

It's no coincidence it happened in Nevada, which is among the lowest- 10 states for folks who are uninsured, when it comes to folks who don't see doctors because they can't afford it. It's not one of the 10 states that protects people from surprise billing.

And it's true that there's a big question we see on the debate every time, will you check the box for Medicare-for-All and kind of be on that side or the other side of the wall. That's where the debate is.

A dozen states still haven't fully implemented the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare

And I think it is something missing from this debate, is how folks, presidential candidates, will use their bully pulpit and their policy to get states to do it.

For that veteran -- and it breaks your heart to see it -- the person that can probably most help them in the short term is their state representative or state senator. And I hope Senator Sanders connected him with one of them.

WHITFIELD: Race relations, also a huge topic across America on the campaign trail. Democratic presidential candidate, Andrew Yang, tweeted a response to Shane Gillis, the new "Saturday Night Live" cast member, who is under fire for using a racial slur against Chinese people, and he did so in an old podcast. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHANE GILLIS, COMEDIAN: China Town is (EXPLETIVE DELETED) nuts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's crazy.

GILLIS: It is full (EXPLETIVE DELETED) China. It's (EXPLETIVE DELETED) down there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wonder how that started. They just built one (EXPLETIVE DELETED) looking building, and people were like, no one said anything.

GILLIS: So why don't the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) live there?

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: So then, Yang tweeted this, saying, "Shane, I prefer comedies that makes people think and doesn't take cheap shots. But I'm happy to sit down and talk with you if you'd like."

Ana, that is one candidate saying I'm ready to take on this problem of racism, racial insults head on. How effective might that be to voters?

KASPARIAN: I think that was actually a great response to a controversial issue. Right now, we're knee deep in what's referred to as cancel culture, where we automatically brush aside and destroy the reputation and future career prospects of someone who might have made a mistake.

Now in this case, I don't know much about Gillis. I don't know if he is racist or not. I don't know if he has some sort of discriminatory characteristic against Asians, but we should have the discussion. We should have a conversation about it. And i think that Yang handled that really well.

WHITFIELD: Daniel?

SQUADRON: I want to say, I represented Chinatown in New York City in the state senate for nine years. It's one of the great communities in the country. And it was also devastated by 9/11, right at the edge of the World Trade Center site. So the comment is absolutely appalling. Andrew Yang is right to call it out.

We also know from Andrew Yang's debate that his job is to try to get attention when he's not gets as much as some of the folks with more experience, more dollars, higher polls. So this will certainly keep the spotlight on him, much like the debate opener did for a little while longer. I wish it would not come out of something so despicable.

I know folks that go to Chinatown. I enjoy it because they have great businesses out there.

WHITFIELD: All right, Daniel Squadron, Ana Kasparian, we'll leave it there for now. Thank you so much.

KASPARIAN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Still ahead, a now-divorced couple suing a fertility clinic after learning a painful truth. The daughter they conceived through in vitro fertilization while still married contains zero of the father's DNA. And now there's a lawsuit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:33:05]

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back.

Imagine going through the tedious, expensive and emotional process of IVF, carrying a baby for nine months only to find out that the child you gave birth to is not 100 percent yours as planned. That is what one white New Jersey couple is alleging after giving birth to an Asian baby.

They say a DNA test revealed the father was not actually the biological father. And now the couple is suing their fertility clinic. But that clinic is digging in and has now they're suggesting the mix up was not on their end, but perhaps the result of an extramarital affair?

Here is Erica Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HILL (voice-over): Six years ago, Kristina Koedderich and Drew Wasilewski welcomed a baby girl. Conceived via IVF using what they thought was Drew's sperm and Kristina's egg.

KRISTINA KOEDDERICH, MOTHER: When she was born, all my friends said, oh, she looks Asian, she looks Asian. But you just figure every baby like looks different when they're born.

HILL: As she got older, the physical differences were clear.

KOEDDERICH: I would go to a restaurant and they're like, oh, did you adopt her?

HILL: Shortly after their daughter's 2nd birthday, they say DNA tests confirmed Drew had a zero percent chance of being her biological father.

DREW WASLEWSKI, ALLEGED FATHER: It shook my world. That was like the final thing that destroyed everything around me.

HILL: Now divorced, the former couple is united in their fight to learn the identity of her biological father, suing the clinic where she was conceived.

A director with the facility in a March deposition maintains there was no mix-up.

In a statement to CNN, that facility, the Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Science, said it cannot comment on individual patients but says they're taking this very seriously and are thoroughly examining the alleged incident.

[13:35:05]

DAVID MAZIE, ATTORNEY FOR THE FAMILY: They have known about this since 2015. And they haven't provided any information, any clarity. The only thing they say is we did everything right.

HILL: Then last month, a judge ordered the clinic to turn over records on all the men, both donors and those hoping to be parents, like Drew, who gave specimens around the same time, and all the women whose eggs were fertilized when Christina's were. They have until September 27th. WASLEWSKI: It hurts every time. It just gets to the heart. Just

stabbing and stabbing and stabbing.

Every day, you can't run from this. You can't run.

Hi, daddy. Hi, sweetie. How are you?

And, you know, you see that and she's adorable and it breaks your heart, but the whole scenario is just -- it sucks.

HILL (on camera): Did it change in any way how you feel about her?

WASLEWSKI: No. Everybody is wondering, what are you going to do? What do you mean I'm going to do? I'm going to take her and throw her like a piece of garbage and throw away? You go, she didn't do anything.

She's my daughter. I watched her born.

KOEDDERICH: Yes, yes.

WASLEWSKI: She's the most adorable little kid. I want to be there as long as I can, but still, it doesn't make it right.

HILL: Erica Hill, CNN, Livingston, New Jersey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: That is an amazingly emotional journey that they're going on.

Joining me now to talk about this, Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney and law professor, Richard Herman, a criminal defense attorney and law professor.

Good to see you both.

(CROSSTALK)

RICHARD HERMAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hi, Fred.

WHITFIELD: So, Richard, you're first.

So the clinic, you know, says that it didn't do anything wrong. And under ordinary circumstances, I guess they have to keep that kind of information private, secure. But in a case like this, don't they -- a judge did rule, but they have to be compelled to reveal as much as they can to prove that they got it right before saying, you know, there was an affair going on here, right?

HERMAN: Well, you know, there are HIPAA rules and laws that determine what information can be released or not. But a court order by a judge will trump that. And it will be part of the investigation, Fred, in discovery.

Look, this is why contract laws are the most important course in law school. We have an agreement, we have a meeting of minds, we have consideration, payment for a service and then we have a breach of contract. So the question is, did the facility breach it or did they follow their protocol.

They asked for all male donors in that period of time at that facility. The defense will ask for all of the Asian males that she knows during that period of time as well.

(CROSSTALK)

HERMAN: And they're going to go after her strong on this. The baby is Asian. They're claiming that perhaps she fooled around and had an affair with someone and that is the cause of this. They're saying they followed protocol, they did not make a mistake.

And look, they will have records and witnesses and documents

(CROSSTALK)

HERMAN: -- to show whether or not they made a mistake or not.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Yes, so when you hear this, Avery, I mean, OK, so if the clinic is saying, you must have had an affair, they are now saying, the clinic is now saying, we are more than certain that we did not make a mistake in order to throw something like that out there. And this family is now being hurt multiple times here.

So, Avery, what is the best legal defense that the clinic has to be able to say, you know, we got it right and, oh, by the way, somebody here was having an affair?

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I don't know that I ever want to defend the institute, but if I had to, you're starting point is that contract.

And one of the questions that the case presents, Fredricka, is whether or not the institute, the clinic is immunized. In other words, is there a waiver for mistakes done by the clinic? That is a significant legal issue here, which the judge has to decide.

But I believe the judge's order, which has to be complied with in less than two weeks, will tell us a great deal about what will happen, what the outcome will be. Because we will know who those contributors are and that will be enormously helpful in understanding what the truth is and what the facts are here.

WHITFIELD: So, Richard, if, in the end, a terrible error -- an error was made by the clinic, then what here?

HERMAN: That is negligence. That's medical negligence. And in that case, they're suing, they will seek compensatory damages, they're going to seek information, who the real father is, his medical history. And this dad wants to know, am I a dad somewhere else that I don't know. And he may be sued for support or -- (CROSSTALK)

HERMAN: So there's a host of problems.

[13:40:01]

But they will see any moneys they paid, and they paid $50,000 or something to have this procedure done, and they will seek mental anguish.

FRIEDMAN: $500,000.

HERMAN: And here a jury could bring is this up, Fred. It's pretty emotional, yes.

FRIEDMAN: Well --

HERMAN: People, some people say they have a healthy baby, they should be blessed. Other people are saying, no, it is horrible what happened to them. This could be a telephone number case in front a jury with the right lawyer.

FRIEDMAN: Well --

(CROSSTALK)

HERMAN: I would settle this case. If I was the clinic, I would settle and get a release as fast as I could in this one.

FRIEDMAN: There's a health issue and that is that you need to know who the father is. These are increasingly significant issues.

(CROSSTALK)

FRIEDMAN: Because you want to know the family history.

I agree. If they're going to resolve this thing, it will involve identifying who the father is

(CROSSTALK)

FRIEDMAN: -- so they can learn that health history. And also tighten up the procedures so this doesn't happen again.

WHITFIELD: So of all --

(CROSSTALK)

FRIEDMAN: Or maybe the procedures are, maybe they were perfect.

WHITFIELD: I guess, of all of those male donors that the judge now says we want to see if there's a match, et cetera, what about the rights of all of those people, of all of those men?

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Avery?

FRIEDMAN: That's a wonderful question. That is a wonderful question.

HERMAN: They're not --

(CROSSTALK)

FRIEDMAN: They're going to identify who they are. They will identify who they are, and the judge will hold on to that. And you will find out is, I'm betting you right now, I'm betting you right now, there will be an Asian-American who was involved in this. And let's see what happens. We're going to know the answer two weeks from today.

(CROSSTALK)

HERMAN: Was he involved as a donor for the facility or was he involved outside of the facility with her?

Yes, there will be an Asian male involved here, but the question is, at what point in time. And that's the whole case right there, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Wow. That is a complicated case

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: -- that is for sure.

All right, Avery Friedman, Richard Herman, good to see you as always.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much.

FRIEDMAN: Pleasure.

WHITFIELD: Coming up next, a potential power grab in Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu fighting off multiple allegations of corruption as he tried to cement power. His fight for the far-right vote, coming up.

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[13:46:06]

WHITFIELD: This week's election in Israel could determine the fate of the country's long-serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

President Trump weighing earlier this morning, tweeting, "I had a call today with Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss the possibility of moving forward with a mutual defense treaty between the United States and Israel that would further anchor the tremendous alliance between our two countries. I look forward to continuing those discussions after the Israel elections when we meet at the United Nations later this month."

But with mounting accusations of corruption and multiple investigations into the prime minister, Netanyahu's future is all but clear.

CNN senior international correspondent, Sam Kylie, is following the details from Jerusalem.

Sam, the polls are closed. How are things likely to turn out?

SAM KYLIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly clear from the position of Trump , the U.S. president, what he wants to happen is the reelection of Benjamin Netanyahu.

But his party, Likud, and the Blue and White Party, the center left, are basically, according to most of the opinion polls, at 32 seats each, and 120 seats missing, leaving much smaller parties out there that would have to be stitched into a coalition. Among them could be the Joint List, which is a predominantly Arab party made up and supported by Arab Israelis.

And this is what I found when I visited an Arab/Israeli town.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYLIE (voice-over): An election poster calling on citizens of this Arab/Israeli to vote for the man on the right. It's safe to say they probably won't. Support for Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party is close to nil around here.

At least we can fight for our rights, rights that no one else are going to ask for.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

KYLIE: "We have to vote for the Arab Joint List, even we will it won't affect the Knesset. At least we can fight for our rights, rights that no one else will has for."

About a fifth of Israel' population is Arab. Among them, voter turnout has been falling but that may change.

(on camera): With the two main parties pretty much neck and neck in these elections, there's a strong feeling in the Arab community that this time around their votes really count, perhaps galvanized by recent remarks by Benjamin Netanyahu.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

KYLIE (voice-over): He's raised tensions by saying, if he is elected, he will annex the Jordan Valley into Israel.

Facebook has said that it suspended the automatic messaging system on the prime minister's official page for 24 hours because it violated its rules on hate speech. This, after the chat pot shared a pop-up message that encouraged people to vote Likud because, "a secular left- wing weak government would rely on Arabs who want to destroy us all, women, children and men, and will enable a nuclear Iran that will eliminate us." Netanyahu said the message was a mistake, that he hadn't written it or seen it beforehand, and he ordered it removed immediately.

Opinion polls show that the mainly Arab Joint List is expected to come third in some Kessnet seats.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

KYLIE: "We will all vote for the Arab list this time more than ever because of the racism against us.

An alliance with the right-wing Likud has been ruled out. But Likud's main rival, Blue and White, has so far brushed off the offer of a pact with the Joint List because of its anti-Zionism.

The latest polls show that if it wants power though, that may have to change.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KYLIE: Now, Fred, there's lots of other parties on both sides of the political divide. Benjamin Netanyahu will likely have to do a deal with some very extreme right-wing religious parties, and that will make it difficult for him to work in the center. He is very, very secular in his approach. And similar challenges would face the center left of Blue and White, trying to put a coalition together.

[13:50:04]

So there won't be any great revelations after, or immediately after Tuesday's elections -- Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right, Sam Kylie, thank you so much.

Still ahead, an unexpected development in the fight for gun control. NASCAR now making a bold move, blocking multiple gun ads. Details next.

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WHITFIELD: All right. First, it was Walmart, then Walgreen, CVS and Kroger followed suit. Now NASCAR is adding its name to the list of corporations appearing to take a position on gun rights in this country.

CNN's Sara Murray has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: NASCAR is shocking some gun companies as it appears to reject some ads that were supposed to advertise certain firearms.

Now, this is kerfuffle that started happening a couple of months ago. There were a few gun companies that were approached by an advertising vendor, that's a group NASCAR would really like some ads from you, why don't you submit them.

Well, a couple of months later, they heard from this advertising vendor which said NASCAR is having a gradual shift on its gun approach. They don't want ads depicting assault-style rifles, things like A.K.-47s, things like A.R.-15s. But they're happy to take ads for less controversial accessories, maybe concealed-carry weapons.

[13:55:07]

Well, this set the gun companies up in arms. They were livid. They said NASCAR is alienating their fan base. They pointed to the overlap between NASCAR fans as well as gun owners.

And we've seen this trend of companies reevaluating their stance on whether they're willing to advertise guns, whether they are willing to sell guns, how they want to partner with organizations like the NRA.

But things are still a little murky when it comes to NASCAR. In part, because they won't publicly clarify their position. The gun companies have pressed for more information about the gradual shift.

I have reached out to NASCAR multiple times to say, what does this mean about your approach to Second Amendment issues, to your willingness to partner with firearms companies, and so far NASCAR hasn't responded.

It is worth pointing out though that the NRA has taken notice of this story. They put up a blogpost online making it clear that they are none too pleased about what they see as a not so gradual shift.

Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The White House is now considering using a phone app for some gun background checks. Sources tell CNN the app would be used for private sales, and not commercial ones. The app would be connected to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

Gun rights and privacy advocates have already expressed concerns about the app's security. They also say the app could become a de facto registry. Officials expect a gun reform plan to be released next week.

Coming up, for the first time since he was ambushed in June, one of baseball's most beloved figures is speaking out about that terrifying moment when he was shot in the Dominican Republic. His message today, straight ahead.

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