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Russian Prosecutor Looks to Label Navalny Group "Extremist"; Joe Biden to Address Joint Session of Congress This Week; Palestinians Cheer Removal of Barriers in Jerusalem; At least 82 People Killed in Baghdad Hospital Fire; Kamala Harris Says She was Last in Room on Withdrawal Decision; Chloe Zhao Makes History with Oscar Win for Best Director. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired April 26, 2021 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00]
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Allies of jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny are vowing to push on even as a Moscow prosecutor looks to label his organization as an extremist group. The Moscow city court were set to meet today behind closed doors. Under the law, extremist groups can be banned and liquidated, and activists jailed. So let's head to Moscow where our Frederik Pleitgen is standing by. Good to see you, Fred. So what more are you learning about the future of Alexey Navalny and his organization, and also talk of a summer Biden/Putin summit.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rosemary, I think things are looking extremely bleak for Alexey Navalny's organization. And things are actually moving quite quickly here. I'm outside the courthouse where the secret hearing is taking place. And where the secret trial is set to take place as time goes on.
And already this morning the court has suspended all operations of Alexey Navalny's headquarters, also of its anti-corruption foundation. They've suspended it for the trial time that this trial is set to go on. Now sources tell us it said to go off in secret and could end Alexey Navalny's organization being deemed an extremist organization. Which is essential would give it the same legal status here in Russia as a terrorist organizations like ISIS for instance.
That means anybody who's working for this organization, anyone who protests on its behalf risks jail time. Anyone who retweets anything that has to do with that organization could also face jail time as well. So certainly things looking bleak right now for Alexey Navalny's organization.
A senior member of that organization is actually outside of Russia today. Put it this way, he said they are trying to stop us in secret. They are trying to destroy our organization in secret. The trial itself hasn't started in earnest yet. This is still a procedural hearing that's going on now. But as you can see, Rosemary, already the Moscow court here, the state prosecutor is moving very quickly to stop the operations of Alexey Navalny's organization even before the actual trial sets in -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: All right, Fred Pleitgen joining us live from Moscow, may thanks for that.
Well U.S. President Joe Biden is set to mark his 100th day in office this week, but before he does that, he will give his first address to a joint session of Congress Wednesday where he's expected to outline his economic agenda. CNN's Joe Johns has more.
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JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: So how does Joe Biden stack up against some of his predecessors in the White House? He's coming in at the low end of modern American presidents, according to some of the recent polling. He is ahead of Donald Trump but substantially behind both Barack Obama and George W. Bush.
So the question is why is that? The answer is the country has been polarized since Donald Trump left office. It's clear that most Democrats give Joe Biden high marks. Most Republicans do not. It's going to be a big week for Joe Biden. The capstone of it will be that speech on Capitol Hill, the address to Congress. But even before that, he is expected to lay out some of the facets of his plan for American families on Tuesday.
And then on Thursday, he's expected to fly out to Georgia to celebrate what he sees as the accomplishments of his first 100 days in office.
Joe Johns, CNN, Wilmington, Delaware.
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CHURCH: And earlier, I spoke with CNN political analyst Sabrina Siddiqui and I asked her what we could expect to hear from President Biden during his address to Congress.
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SABRINA SIDDIQUI, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think you're going to really hear him talk a lot about what they call a wartime footing against the coronavirus pandemic, and their efforts to vaccinate most of the American population with now more than half of the eligible U.S. population having received at least a first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
But he also has to lay out his vision, and he is going to be detailing more aspects of his economic plan.
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The administration has already rolled out a $2 trillion infrastructure and jobs plan that President Biden says is necessary to revitalize the economy amid the post-pandemic recession, but also, he is going to lay out the second part of that plan which focuses on childcare, you know, and making education more affordable, family leave, and other domestic priorities. So, this is the broad, I think, vision for his first term that we're really going to really hear for the first time in greater detail against a backdrop of other challenges that include police reform. More calls for racial justice amid other high profile killings by police of black men and women as well as the issue of immigration, gun control. So I think we're going to hear a lot about some of the domestic priorities and the way in which he plans to confront them moving forward.
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CHURCH: And that was CNN political analyst Sabrina Siddiqui talking to me earlier.
Well just ahead, more than 80 people are dead from a fire in a Baghdad hospital. And Iraq's Prime Minister says some government officials are under investigation over the tragedy.
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CHURCH: Palestinians celebrated on Sunday night after police barriers at the center of nightly clashes in Jerusalem came down. Palestinians say Israeli police put up the barricades to prevent them from holding their usual Ramadan evening gatherings. CNN's Hadas Gold joins me now from Jerusalem. Hi, Hadas, so what is the latest on the situation?
HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, I'm standing in the plaza outside of Damascus gate. This is the main entrance for Muslim worshippers to enter the old city. And all is calm and quiet now, but that hasn't been the case over the past few days as clashes have broken out between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police.
As you noted, the protesters were protesting against these barricades that were erected that prevented people from sitting and gathering in this plaza. A popular thing to do especially during Ramadan.
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Last night the barricades were taken down. There was lot of cheers from the Palestinians who were here, and they also started praying in celebration of the barricades being broken down. Authorities are hoping that it will help bring calm to the city as tensions have been boiling across Jerusalem for quite a few days. Not only because of the situation here in the plaza, but also because of incidents of violence between Palestinians and Israelis as well, and a march by Jewish extremists last week who at one point were chanting "death to Arabs."
Those tensions have also spread further down south in Gaza, where militants have fired more than 40 rockets toward Israeli communities in the past three days. The Israeli army has responded with air strikes and they've closed some of the fishing areas outside of Gaza. But authorities are hoping by removing these barricades here in the plaza would bring some calm to the city that has seen some of the most tension moments the past few days, compared to a relatively calm past few years -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: All right, Hadas Gold joining us live for Jerusalem, may thanks.
Iraq's Prime Minister has suspended the country's health minister and the governor of Baghdad. It comes after at least 82 people were killed in a massive fire at a hospital treating COVID patients. Officials believe it started when oxygen tanks exploded. CNN's Arwa Damon has more.
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ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The person filming cries out in horror. There is the sound of another blast from within the inferno. A woman screams. It's Baghdad's infectious diseases hospital, filled with COVID-19 patients and their family members.
Hussein Salem was inside caring for his mother. He was urging her to try to eat something. "I couldn't save her," he sobs. "We tried to evacuate my mom, but once we reach the door, we were blown away by one of the blasts," he remembers. The pain is still so raw, so incomprehensible.
He's at the Baghdad morgue waiting for her charred remains along with the others, whose loved either suffocated to death or were burnt, some beyond recognition. His father's anger seeps through his sorrow. "When tragedies happened, government officials always give a bogus reason. They always try to justify their devilishly ways," he says.
As seen in this CCTV video of the explosion believed to be an oxygen tank that blew came from inside one of the rooms. People start to run. Someone it looks like a patient. An elderly man is pulled out. The flames appear to be getting larger. A man arrives with a handheld fire extinguisher. But with no fireproofing, it was not enough.
That blast led to a series of others. The fire alarm was faulty. It was half an hour before the civil defense says it got a call. By the time they responded, so many were dead, so many were wounded. Residents in the area had taken it upon themselves to try to help, breaking through windows to save those inside.
Back in February, we filmed at this hospital in the intensive care unit. We spoke to doctors and family members about people's reluctance to come to hospitals, about the lack of faith in Iraq's health care system who have yet to recover from sanctions dating back to the Saddam Hussein era, and then, nonstop war and rampant corruption.
This, this is what all of that has led to. Murtadha Riyadh stares at his hands, cut from breaking glass to let in some air. His aunt and grandmother perished inside. He could not save them. "No one could imagine this could happen," he says. But, tragically, Iraq has a way of delivering the unimaginable, and with it, unimaginable pain.
Arwa Damon, CNN, Istanbul.
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CHURCH: U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris tells CNN she was the last person in the room when President Biden made the decision to withdrawal from Afghanistan. Here is more of what she told our Dana Bash in this CNN exclusive.
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DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: President Biden always said that he wants you to be the last person in the room --
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes.
BASH: -- particularly for big decisions, just as he was for President Obama.
HARRIS: Yes.
BASH: He just made a really big decision, Afghanistan.
HARRIS: Yes.
BASH: Were you the last person in the room?
HARRIS: Yes.
BASH: And you feel comfortable?
HARRIS: I do.
And I'm going to add to that. This is a president who has an extraordinary amount of courage.
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He is someone who I have seen over and over again make decisions based on what he truly believes -- based on his years of doing this work and studying these issues, what he truly believes is the right thing to do.
And I'm going to tell you something about him. He is acutely aware that it may not be politically popular or advantageous for him personally. It's really something to see. And I wish that the American public could see sometimes what I see, because, ultimately -- and the decision always rests with him, but I have seen him over and over again make decisions based exactly on what he believes is right, regardless of what maybe the political people tell him is in his best selfish interest.
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CHURCH: And you can find more of Dana's interview with Kamala Harris on our website. See what the vice president is saying about policing and gun laws at CNN.com/politics.
And we are tracking heartbreaking news out of Indonesia where the search for a missing submarine has come to a tragic end. Officials say all 53 crew members are dead and the wreckage of their ship has been found on the sea floor. Video has emerged of sailors on board the sub in happier times. They are gathered on the ship singing a love song.
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(CREW MEMBERS SINGING)
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CHURCH: An official says the ship didn't sink due to human error. He blamed natural causes. The military says the lost sailors will be given honors and promoted. And we'll have more ahead after a short break. Do stay with us.
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CHURCH: There was some great moments and history was made at this year's Academy Awards show. The film "Nomadland" was the biggest winner Sunday night in Hollywood. It won several awards including best picture. The film's director Chloe Zhao won the Oscar for best director. She is the first Asian woman to win that category in Oscars history.
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CHLOE ZHAO, WON OSCAR FOR BEST DIRECTOR: I have always found goodness in the people I met. Everywhere I went in the world. So this is for anyone who has the faith and the courage to hold on to the goodness in themselves and to hold on to the goodness in each other. No matter how difficult it is to do that. And this is for you, you inspire me to keep going. Thank you. Thank you.
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CHURCH: And the star of "Nomadland" Frances McDormand, won best actress for her performance as van dwelling women who roams the American West. So let's bring in CNN's Will Ripley. He joins us live for Hong Kong. Good to see you Will. History was made at this year's Oscars as we said. Particularly for Asian women. Take us through some of the highlights.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's just you get goose bumps listening to "Nomadland" director Chloe Zhao who spoke so lovingly about her homeland, her upbringing. She was born in Beijing. It's exactly the kind of message that you would think China would love its people to see. But they didn't get to see it because the Oscars were blacked out. As has been CNN's coverage of "Nomadland" director Chloe Zhao's win.
Just last hour they cut to black when I started talking about it on the air. Why is that? Because she gave an interview years ago to a magazine that was perceived by Chinese nationalists to be critical of China. She said it was a place are lies are commonplace. As a result, the first Asian woman and the second woman ever to win for best director is banned from Chinese social media. The #oscar is censored. Chinese state media, silent. And that same thing here in Hong Kong, by the way. The Oscars weren't broadcast in the Chinese territory. Not because of any government regulation. Analysts are say it was more like an act of self-censorship.
So obviously, "Nomadland" was one big success story, and we know that there were not only any Oscar broadcasts in China but there were broadcasts of the Oscars in South Korea. And they've been celebrating big time there over the win of a very iconic star in that country who is well known to South Korean audiences. "Minari" co-start Yuh-Jung Youn, she has been an actress in South Korea for more than 50 years. But this is actually the first time a Korean has ever won an Academy Award. So this is historic.
And her film is about the story of South Korean immigrants who traveled to the United States back about 40 years ago. In the early 1980s. And it talks about their struggles as they try to put down roots. A topic particularly timely right now. Considering there has been an escalating wave of violence against Asian-Americans in the United States. And this is across the country.
A lot of police departments are saying it's attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. So the U.S. Senate just last week passed legislation to try to help law enforcement crack down on these anti-Asian hate crimes in the U.S. And now you have the Oscars celebrating the terrific work by two Asian women. Even if that work is not being necessarily celebrated in certain parts of the region where they came from -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: It is extraordinary stuff. As you said, goose bumps all around. Will Ripley joining us live from Hong Kong, appreciate it.
Well some of the other big Oscar moments, the streaming service Netflix was nominated for 36 awards. It brought home seven. The most of all studios. The company's wins including two Oscars for David Finch's "Mank." Anthony Hopkins won best actor for his role in "The Father." At 83 he is now the oldest Oscar winner ever.
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He beat out the late Chadwick Boseman who many considered a frontrunner for his role in " Ma Rainey's Black Bottom". The actor died last August after a battle with colon cancer. And British actor Daniel Kaluuya won his first Academy Award taking best supporting actor for his portrayal of Fred Hampton in "Judas and the Black Messiah."
Well meantime, actress Regina King kicked off Sunday's show with a powerful speech about George Floyd and police brutality. Take a listen.
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REGINA KING, ACTRESS: I have to be honest, if things had gone differently this past week in Minneapolis, I might have traded in my heels for marching boots. Now I know that a lot of you people at home want to reach for your remote when you feel like Hollywood is preaching you, but as a mother of a black son I know the fear that so many live with and no amount of fame or fortune changes that. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: A record crowd poured into a stadium in Melbourne anxious to watch a Australian football match and get some sense of normalcy. More than 78,000 people turned out. The highest attendance at a sports arena since the start of the pandemic. Last year the match was played at an empty stadium. On Sunday, fans expressed their excitement to return.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's fantastic. I think it's really fantastic that people can come back to football again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just really grateful that I can be here at the footy. And yes, it's unbelievable since we've come from, you know, being locked away at home and not having anyone in the footy. And yes, it's a great feeling.
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BRUNHUBER: And four other matches have been held over the last month in Australia but not with as large a crowd.
And thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. "EARLY START" is up next. Have yourselves a wonderful day.
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