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Dozens Killed in Strike at Kramatorsk Train Station Crowded with Evacuees; European Commission President Ursula van der Leyen Meets Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Visits Bucha; Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch Forced to Close Russian Offices; Ukrainians Forcibly Sent to Russia; U.S. Issues Warnings about COVID-19 in China; Ketanji Brown Jackson Speaks about Her Historic Confirmation; Kentucky Governor Vetoes Abortion Ban; Eurovision Hopeful Dedicates Song to Ukraine. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired April 09, 2022 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello, everyone. Reporting live from Lviv in Ukraine. We'd like to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world.
Once again, Russia facing accusations of war crimes after a devastating missile strike on a crowded train station. It happened in the city of Kramatorsk, a major rail hub in the east.
Thousands of men, women and children, waiting for a train to escape the conflict. Local authorities say the station was hit by two Russian missiles. Dozens killed where they stood. Ukraine's president vowing to pursue the attack as a war crime.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): We expect a firm global response to this war crime. Like the massacre in Bucha, like many other Russian war crimes, the missile strike on Kramatorsk must be one of the charges at the tribunal, which is bound to happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: There are allegations the Russian missiles delivered cluster bombs, which scatter and explode over a wide area. The Pentagon says Moscow's denial of involvement is simply not credible.
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ADM. JOHN KIRBY (RET.), PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: We find unconvincing Russian claims that they weren't involved, particularly when the ministry actually announced it and then, when they saw reports of civilian casualties, decided to un-announce it. So our assessment is that that this was a Russian strike and that the
use of short-range ballistic missile to conduct it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: This attack came as Ukrainian military commanders say Russian forces, massing near the eastern Donbas region, are almost ready to launch an all-out assault.
CNN's Phil Black has more on the aftermath. And a warning: the images in his report and the details are shocking and graphic. But they reveal the true level of brutality the Ukrainians are blaming on Russian forces.
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PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For many who fear what is coming in eastern Ukraine, Kramatorsk Station has been a gateway to safety. Crowds of people have packed its platforms in recent days desperate to increase their distance from a region Russia says it will soon conquer with overwhelming force.
Witnesses say thousands came again on Friday morning. They sought safety, they couldn't escape the war.
These are the moments after a ballistic missile exploded at the station after debris and shrapnel tore through the crown.
"So many dead bodies," a person cries. "Only children, just children."
When the screaming eventually stopped, the broken bodies of the innocent remain. We have to hide much of this scene; most of those lying, bleeding and still, are women and children. Survivors fled. We managed to contact some by phone while they sheltered together in a public building, still scared and shaken.
This woman says she looked up when she thought she heard a plane then it exploded and everyone went down.
This man says he heard the blast and threw his body over his daughter. The remains of the missile that terrified and hurt so many crashed down near the station.
Hand-painted Russian words mark its side, declaring the weapon's avenging purpose.
It says, "For the children."
The author and their intent are unknown. The result is yet another moment of horror in a war with endless capacity for taking and destroying innocent lives -- Phil Black, CNN, Lviv, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: International condemnation has been quick. French president Emmanuel Macron calling it an abomination, saying the only things in the victims' hands, push carts, teddy bears and suitcases.
U.N. secretary general Antonio Guterres tweeted that there must be accountability for a gross violation of humanitarian and human rights law.
With us now is Kostyantyn, a Ukrainian living in the southern city of Kherson, which has been under Russian control since the early days of the invasion.
Thank you so much for being with us. What we're seeing in places that have been occupied by Russian forces, as they leave, they're leaving behind evidence of atrocities committed on the local population.
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VAUSE: Do you know if there have been similar crimes committed there?
What are the reports?
We're hearing locals are being kidnapped and tortured by Russian soldiers.
KOSTYANTYN, UKRAINIAN CITIZEN: Yes, thank you for calling me. In this regard, I would like to say that there are a lot of stories and there are a lot of information going around. I know personally the guy who have been kidnapped on the peaceful meeting around two weeks ago. And I don't know what is going on with him still.
And I also heard a lot of cases when people who are kidnapped, property were stolen. The apartments in our city were robbed. What I know, they're occupying. So they search around the city for Ukrainian soldiers, for volunteers, for those who are trying to be pro-Ukrainian even now.
And I don't know exactly what's happening to be honest. But nothing good.
VAUSE: Yes, to say the least. Kramatorsk is in the news today but there have been multiple examples of so many horrific stories from the northern part of Ukraine. Listen to a member of the Ukrainian parliament, outlining what's happening so far.
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ANASTASIA RADINA, UKRAINIAN MP: Russia is not just waging an unprovoked war on Ukrainian territory. What they are doing is genocide. And again most horrifying is the Kramatorsk. It's just one of the examples. We can continue naming these examples. This is Bucha, this is Mariupol, for example.
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VAUSE: What do you know about what's happening in places like Bucha, like Borodyanka, to the people there, what the Russian soldiers did while in control of the other cities, other towns? KOSTYANTYN: We know after what happened in Bucha, I mean, what we have seen on TV and the news, I think -- I know a lot of people from Kherson, based on, started leaving. And now, every day, I feel like hundreds of cars are leaving out of the city because everyone is afraid the same will happen here.
Because you never know what will happen tomorrow. Now in Kherson, there's no police, there's no Ukrainian forces. There's no one to protect us.
So what I'm saying that anything what will come in the sick heads of the occupants, they can do whatever they want. That's what --
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VAUSE: I guess --
KOSTYANTYN: Yes.
VAUSE: -- I guess the big concern right now though is that, as the fighting intensifies around the Kherson region and if the Russian forces withdraw from Kherson, if they have done in Kherson what they have done in other cities, there's a scorched Earth policy, doing as much damage and death and destruction as they can as they retreat.
What are your concerns there?
Are you prepared for that?
KOSTYANTYN: How can you prepare for that?
Like the only thing to do, I mean, what -- as I said everyone is doing now, they are leaving the city. I have chosen to not leave because I want to do what I'm doing right now. I want to help somehow to the city, to become how it was before.
But generally speaking, yes, we're all afraid that, when the Russians will go, they will leave only destruction here. That's what they are doing across the country. So decided to leave or to stay and be prepared to fight somewhere in the shelter or -- yes, to try to survive.
VAUSE: Kostyantyn, we'll leave it there. But we wish you all the very best. Please stay safe.
KOSTYANTYN: So thank you, thank you very much.
VAUSE: Thank you.
The president of the European Commission traveled to Ukraine on Friday to show solidarity with the embattled country. Ursula van der Leyen met with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in the capital, Kyiv.
[03:10:00] VAUSE: Zelenskyy thanked her for approving new sanctions on Russia but said much more needs to be done. She also visited the suburb of Bucha, where Ukraine says at least 164 bodies have now been found since Russian troops retreated.
She called the crimes unthinkable and the cruel face of Putin's army. In Kyiv, she also presented Ukraine president with a document that she says brings Ukraine closer to gaining E.U. membership. Here she is.
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URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: Ukraine belongs to the European family. We've heard your request loud and clear. And today we are here to give you a first positive answer. In this envelope, dear Volodymyr, there is an important step towards E.U. membership.
The questionnaire that is in here is the basis for our discussion in the coming weeks. It is where your path towards Europe and the European Union begins.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Well, we have an update on a developing story out of Pakistan. Parliament set to reconvene in 20 minutes to debate on a confidence motion for the prime minister Imran Khan. He is fighting for his political life.
This week, Pakistan's supreme court overruled a decision by the deputy parliament speaker to block a previous no confidence vote. The prime minister even tried to dissolve parliament. But the court also said no.
He's being dogged by claims of economic management, claims that the confidence vote is part of a U.S. conspiracy to push him from office. That's something the Americans have denied.
Coming up next, millions have fled to Poland to escape the fighting in Ukraine. Live to the border, just ahead.
And thousands are missing in Ukraine. Why aid groups accuse the Kremlin of deporting some of them to Russia.
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VAUSE: Russia's ministry of justice has revoked the registration of 15 foreign organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, forcing them to close offices in Moscow.
This decision comes after the Human Rights Watch said it found several cases of Russian military forces committing laws of war violation or war crimes in Ukraine.
Human Rights Watch, saying, "This new Iron Curtain will not stop our ongoing efforts to defend the rights of all Russians and to protect civilians in Ukraine."
The Ukrainian government is urging all those who can leave to get out as soon as possible. According to officials, almost 7,000 fled on Friday. New corridors will open from Mariupol, also from cities in the Zaporizhzhya region and the Luhansk region.
According to the U.N., over 4.3 million people have fled Ukraine for other countries; more than 7 million remain internally displaced. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is in Poland, just across the border from Ukraine.
Poland has taken in 2.5 million refugees.
What is the situation there now?
Is the influx of people still coming or has it slowed some in recent days?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, the stream of refugees doesn't stop. I'm at a train station now near the border. Every day, dozens of families come through the train station.
They've escaped violence but what they have to do is figure out what's next. They have to figure out where they'll sleep. And one of the women is Larysa.
I know you arrived with your niece and two young girls, your relatives. It's five weeks into the war.
Why did you decide to leave home now?
LARYSA HOLUB, UKRAINIAN REFUGEE: I decided to because the situation is getting worse, getting worse and worse in our region. So we hear explosions, missiles, almost every day. And we hear Russian troops attacks. We can hear them coming near and near every day.
ABDELAZIZ: You feel like the Russians are coming closer and closer?
HOLUB: We hear because the battles are becoming nearer and nearer to us, to our homes. And so, it's fear, it's a combination of fear and (INAUDIBLE). (INAUDIBLE) watch the news --
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ABDELAZIZ: You were telling me about this, when you saw the images from Bucha.
HOLUB: Yes, yes, when we watch the news from Bucha, when we saw the (INAUDIBLE) Russian troops (INAUDIBLE).
ABDELAZIZ: Why did this affect you so much, when you saw the pictures from Bucha? Why did this affect you so much?
HOLUB: Because the people were civilians and especially women and girls and children. So I think the --
ABDELAZIZ: You just felt you couldn't stay anymore.
HOLUB: I just felt that -- I just put myself into their places. And my relatives, (INAUDIBLE) --
ABDELAZIZ: It's horrible.
HOLUB: It's horrible, yes, extremely horrible.
ABDELAZIZ: Thank you so much. And I'm so sorry you had to leave home.
But one of the things that Larysa has told me and that you hear here, so many times, is no one wants to be a refugee. They want to go home. And --
HOLUB: Yes, we are --
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ABDELAZIZ: They are insistent that they --
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HOLUB: Yes, we want to go home. And I believe that we will go home and I believe that (INAUDIBLE) everything will be good.
ABDELAZIZ: Thank you so much.
(CROSSTALK)
ABDELAZIZ: Thank you so much. Thank you.
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VAUSE: It's so important to hear from --
ABDELAZIZ: -- people who just don't want to be refugees.
VAUSE: Absolutely. Salma, it's so important to hear from the Ukrainians, who have lost everything and left everything behind. And their life is just so heartbreaking. Salma Abdelaziz, thank you for that live report.
Horror stories continue to emerge from Ukrainians now being deported to Russia, forced to pass through what are called filtration or registration camps. Mariupol city council said Russia's failure to agree to evacuation corridors and creation of these filtration centers are part of a broader effort to cover up potential war crimes, carried out by Russians in that city.
The council said Russian forces are identifying potential witnesses to their atrocities and then silencing them. CNN cannot verify those claims. But we're hearing residents say they were sent to Russia against their will as well as reports of missing children. Katie Polglase has our report.
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KATIE POLGLASE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE RESEARCHER (voice-over): Post after post of missing children in Ukraine, families desperate to find their loved ones. Most come from the cities most severely impacted by the fighting.
And at the top of the list is Mariupol. These pictures of missing children were provided by parents and police to Magnolia, a Ukrainian NGO tracking missing children. Their Ukrainian director told CNN they are inundated with cases.
KARYNA LYPOVETSKA, DIRECTOR, MAGNOLIA: The number of missing children is close to 2,000, by only one month.
POLGLASE (voice-over): A scene of utter devastation. Amid the chaos and uncertainty, families told CNN, relatives, including children, went missing. And now, from this void, a story has emerged of people not missing but deported.
LYPOVETSKA: Unfortunately, some people are stolen, forced, stolen by Russians. Some were displaced in Russia but no one knows information where exactly and for what.
POLGLASE (voice-over): CNN has spoken to multiple Mariupol residents, who say soldiers from the Russian army forcibly evacuated them to Russia.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some who asked to stay were told no.
POLGLASE (voice-over): This testimony is from "Anna." We're using a pseudonym to protect her identity and a CNN producer is reading her words. Like many others, "Anna," a young woman was living under bombardment in Mariupol.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They came in and said, "It's an order."
He told us, "If you make a fuss, things will get worse."
POLGLASE: Many told us it started with a promise of evacuation. Soldiers came to where they were staying and told them it was dangerous and that they needed to get out. And so they went to shelters and then camps further and further into Russian territory.
It was then that they realized that there was very little option to get out.
POLGLASE (voice-over): CNN spoke to multiple people on the condition of anonymity. And using "Anna's" testimony, we started tracking the key locations along the deportation route. We are not identifying individual routes for the safety of our interviewees. This is the town of Bezimenne. These tents indicate one of many sites
across the town, where interviewees told us they were taken on the first step of their journey.
"Anna" described her stop as , quote, "registration camp," where they said they were interrogated for hours by Russian and Russian-backed forces.
Russia claims these camps are to harbor refugees. Another shelter seen here in Taganrog. And while some interviewees saw the journey to Russia as a necessary passage to safety, others, including "Anna," found the experience distressing and forced.
This is "Anna's" migration card, a standard document provided to her by Russia upon entry. But it masks a troubling journey. "Anna" told CNN they were forced to surrender their phones and passports during intense security checks.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They photograph you from all angles. I felt we were treated like criminals or being held as the property of the Russian Federation. I didn't feel we were free to leave.
POLGLASE (voice-over): After questioning, interviewees told CNN they were transferred to other locations dotted across Russia and Russian occupied territory. Some made onward journeys as far as Moscow and St. Petersburg.
The limitations on freedom of movement for those interviewed by CNN seemed to vary based on their access to money and family ties in Russia.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).
POLGLASE (voice-over): Ukraine's government claims 45,000 people have been forcibly taken to Russia so far, which CNN cannot independently verify. International human rights conventions prohibit the forced deportation or transfer of civilians.
After a week of transfers across Russian territory, "Anna" was finally given permission to leave and decided to drive to the border with Estonia, a route others have also managed to take, according to the Estonian authorities.
However, others still remain in Russia or are unaccounted for entirely. And while the conflict in Ukraine continues, the panicked search for the missing, feared dead or deported, goes on --
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POLGLASE (voice-over): Katie Polglase, CNN, London.
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VAUSE: If you would like to help the people of Ukraine, who are in need of shelter, food and water, medical supplies, please go to cnn.com/impact. There you'll find a number of ways that you can help. Thank you for watching. For our viewers around the world, I'm John Vause, live in Ukraine. Up next for you, "AFRICAN VOICES: CHANGEMAKERS"
To our viewers in North America, please stay with us. I will be back with more breaking news after the break.
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VAUSE: It's just 30 minutes past the hour. Welcome back. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Ukraine's president is vowing to hold Russia accountable for the attack on the Kramatorsk train station, which killed at least 50 people and wounded dozens of others. Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls it a war crime. And he is expecting a firm global response.
Thousands of people were at that station in Eastern Ukraine, waiting for a train to escape to safety. Here's how a member of the Ukrainian parliament described what happened.
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KIRA RUDIK, UKRAINIAN MP: This is one of the next level of Russian crimes. I cannot even describe in words what we feel here. Russians are hitting where it hurts the most, hitting train stations, where the people are trying to evacuate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The northeast city of Kharkiv may be the next focus of Russian forces. Ukraine's defense intelligence chief says Russians are regrouping for an advance on that city.
I spoke earlier with Mick Ryan, a retired major general in the Australian army, asking him to weigh in on the attack at the train station, which left dozens dead.
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MAJ. GEN. MICK RYAN, AUSTRALIAN ARMY (RET.): There is only two ways this could have happened. One, that the Russians were surveilling the station and they would have seen it was civilians.
Or two, they weren't but they should have expected there were civilians there. So this is a significant breach of the laws of armed conflict. There is no reasonable prospect of not being guilty of some kind of war crime, at least for those operating the rocket and, potentially, the military chain of command above them.
VAUSE: OK. We also know now that the Ukrainians and the Russian militaries are building up their forces in the east.
So how will the Russians make up for the heavy losses that they suffered over the past seven weeks?
RYAN: I think we saw, in the most recent briefing from the Pentagon, that we have seen a buildup of the Russians, at least 10 new battalion tactical groups. But it is going to take the Russians some time to reinforce, recondition, reequip those troops they pulled out of the north of Ukraine after their defeat in the battle of Kyiv.
So both the Russians and Ukrainians are going to be rushing forces to the east, in a battle of buildups, to ensure one side can defend and the other side can go on the offensive.
VAUSE: The Ukrainian military proved to be successful defenders up to this point. They have stopped the Russian military offensive. They forced Putin to redefine his goals here.
What are their chances, though, of launching a successful counteroffensive?
What would that look like?
RYAN: Well, I am pretty sure the Ukrainian high command will be -- or have been talking to the president about this for a few weeks.
Since the war started to turn and as the Ukrainians started to seize back more and more of their territory in the last week of March, the Ukrainians have proven themselves to be the most successful and effective military organization probably of the 20th century so far.
They have done a magnificent job as the small dog, fighting off the big, brutish, vicious dog that is the Russian army. So they would have to back themselves for pushing back the Russians further.
And all it will take is Western aid, Western sanction and Western information operations to support them.
VAUSE: General, thank you, General Ryan there, we appreciate your time, sir.
RYAN: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Russian forces now appear to be targeting communications in places in Ukraine. The Russian seized the offices of Ukraine's national telecoms provider, Ukrtelecom, in the city of Enerhodar.
On its official Telegram channel, it said all equipment had been removed and the city maybe left without Ukrainian communication and the internet.
Back now to Lynda Kinkade, standing by at CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta with the rest of the day's news. LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John. Great job as
always. You and the team doing there in Lviv. We will see you again soon. Get some rest for now.
Shanghai was, until recently, China's financial hub and a bustling city. Now the streets are empty as China pursues its zero COVID policy. We'll have the details ahead.
Also some of Washington's biggest power players are temporarily sidelined by COVID.
Could it have been bad advice that got them there?
What insiders are saying, coming up next.
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KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade, live in Atlanta.
Frustration in Shanghai as the devastating wave of COVID infection shows no sign of slowing. Health officials report more than 20,000 new infections for the second day in a row.
Officials are planning another round of citywide testing to help them decide how to move forward.
Anna Coren is joining us from Hong Kong.
Over two years into the pandemic, this is an extreme lockdown. People complaining about being unable to get food.
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KINKADE: And now more PCR testing for the entire city.
ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: That's right, 25 million people have not been allowed to leave their homes since the end of March. People are just furious. And they're taking their anger out on social media.
As you say, food shortages, medicine shortages; infected children have been separated from their parents, something we saw here in Hong Kong and caused outrage. We're seeing that in Shanghai.
These people can't even leave their homes. You mention the mass testing that officials have just announced. They say that, once that is done, they will work out certain zones and may ease restrictions. But once again, no timeframe as to when that will happen.
And the city, which is the most populous city in China, has recorded 23,000 cases, 25,000 cases for the whole of China but obviously the majority in Shanghai. This is the financial, the business, commercial hub of China. It contributes to 4 percent of the country's GDP.
Many economists saying there maybe no growth whatsoever in China for the quarter. That is how drastic this situation is.
But up until this date, China has just maintained this zero COVID strategy. And Shanghai has escaped relatively unscathed. There have been individual building compounds that may have been locked down but nothing to this extent.
And people have had enough. As to where this goes, we don't know. If COVID was to get out of control in China, which is what authorities fear, the health system would not be able to handle it. We have seen it here in Hong Kong, which is operated -- even though it's part of China, it's operated independently.
But that explosion of cases we had in Hong Kong, if that was to translate on the mainland, the public health system would be overwhelmed. There's predictions there would be tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of deaths if that was to happen.
Authorities are doing everything in their power to ensure that this doesn't happen, adhering to the zero COVID strategy. It's not just public health concerns; it's also political. The rule of Xi Jinping has staked his leadership on how he has managed to keep COVID out of China.
And remember, too, he has an unprecedented third term he's hoping to obviously to get at the end of the year. He does not want COVID chaos or a COVID-19 crisis to overshadow that.
KINKADE: All right. We'll keep an eye on Shanghai. Anna Coren, good to have you on this story for us, from Hong Kong. Thanks so much.
The Biden administration is touting its COVID efforts. Press secretary Jen Psaki says the world entered a new chapter in its fight against the virus. But there's still more work to be done.
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JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The Biden administration's historic vaccination program saved 2.3 million lives in the United States, prevented 17 million hospitalizations and 66 million cases and avoided $900 billion in healthcare costs.
While COVID isn't over, Americans now have more tools than ever before to protect themselves and this country is moving forward safely, back to many of our more normal routines.
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KINKADE: Despite that, Washington is coping with a cluster of high- profile COVID cases after a series of public events exposed high level officials, including the ones you see on the screen. Health experts say outdated and confusing guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could be partly to blame.
In the meantime, many in Washington, including President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, attended a special event Friday without masks. CNN's Phil Mattingly has more on the COVID outbreak in Washington and why the top two officials in the U.S. were willing to risk infection to celebrate a historic moment.
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PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: For White House officials grappling with war in Eastern Europe, an up and down economy with rising inflation, sagging poll numbers at the lowest level at President Biden's time in office, joyful is not often the word to described every day here.
And yet, on Friday, that's exactly the word Jen Psaki used when asked to describe how the White House officials were feeling as the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court became official.
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MATTINGLY: It was an enormous moment, a historic moment, the first Black female justice on the court in its 233-year history. It was something Judge Jackson leaned into, the historic moment and its meaning.
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JUSTICE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON, U.S. SUPREME COURT: It has taken 232 years and 115 prior appointments for a Black woman to be selected to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States.
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JACKSON: But we made it.
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JACKSON: We made it, all of us, all of us.
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JACKSON: And our children are telling me that they see now, more than ever, that, here in America, anything is possible.
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MATTINGLY: Psaki told me she spoke to the president shortly before he walked out on the South Lawn for the event and he was reflecting on the significance, not the legacy for his administration or what it meant politically for him, but the significance of the moment for the country.
And it's certainly something you heard from Judge Jackson's remarks but it also came at a very unsettled time at the White House. There are new COVID positives on a daily basis. Washington has been hit from top officials across both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue.
However the event was still held outside, White House officials making it clear. They're acknowledging it's possible the president could eventually test positive. But they said it's a risk assessment he and his doctors said they are willing to take to continue to interact with people.
He tested negative on Friday morning. One person who also tested negative on Friday morning, Kamala Harris, the vice president, who had a close contact. She is supposed to be wearing a mask on a regular basis for the next several days, according to CDC guidelines. But she was unmasked during the event.
She gave a hug to Judge Jackson at one point. Psaki said it was just an emotional moment, which is very understandable. For now, the administration making clear the next phase of dealing with COVID, living with COVID-19, is very much their philosophy -- Phil Mattingly, CNN, the White House.
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KINKADE: The period after the 2020 U.S. election was chaotic in Washington. Now one of the key players in the stop the steal movement plans on cooperating with the government. The details coming up.
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KINKADE: Welcome back.
The Idaho Supreme Court is temporarily blocking the state's abortion ban after several abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, filed a lawsuit last week. The new ban mimics a controversial Texas law, that would outlaw abortions around six weeks.
Over in Kentucky, the governor vetoed a sweeping bill that would ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. It also would restrict access to abortion medication and make it more difficult for minors to get an abortion.
A key figure in Donald Trump's post election rally agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department investigation into the January 6 Capitol riot. Ali Alexander organized several stop the steal rallies after Trump's loss.
He says he was subpoenaed by a federal grand jury, looking into a number of post election events. He says he is not a target of the investigation and did nothing wrong.
Texts obtained by CNN suggest two of Trump's allies were brainstorming how to subvert the last election even before all the votes had been counted. The texts exchanged between his son, Don Jr., and former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows right after Election Day.
Trump Jr. says the former president's team has operational control and total leverage to ensure his second term. If Trump would lose, Trump Jr. suggested using a slate of fake electors or having the House elect the next president since Republicans controlled more House delegations than Democrats.
Trump Jr.'s attorney says he likely forwarded messages he received from someone else.
Will Smith will not be allowed to attend the Oscars for the next 10 years. The Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences made the announcement Friday because, of course, the actor slapped Chris Rock on stage at this year's Oscars.
Smith's ban extends to any Academy event, in person or virtually. Smith responded to the announcement, saying, quote, "I accept and respect the Academy's decision."
This doesn't prevent the Oscar winner from being nominated in the future.
Now in the buildup to the 2022 Eurovision contest, Ukraine's nominee arrived in Israel for a preview. Kalush Orchestra, a Ukrainian musical group, will be performing at the Eurovision next month in Italy.
Ahead of the event, the front man of the group said they will be dedicating their song, "Stefania," to their motherland.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLEG PSYUK, KALUSH ORCHESTRA (through translator): I want to say that this song was dedicated to my mother. But now that there is war in Ukraine, it is gaining new meaning and sense, because, metaphorically, many people interpret the words "my mother" as "my Ukraine," that needs to be protected.
[03:55:00]
PSYUK (through translator): That is why I want to urge people to cherish peace. It became clear only now how important peace is when there is no peace.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
KINKADE (voice-over): The band also did an impromptu performance at the news conference.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
I'm Lynda Kinkade. Thanks so much for spending part of your day with me. Breaking news coverage of Russia's war in Ukraine continues in just a moment. Stay with us. You're watching CNN.
