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Zelenskyy: Russia Seeks to Destroy All of Donbas; Ukrainian Commander Appeals for Safe Passage from Mariupol; Russian Invasion of Ukraine Sending Shock Waves through Global Economy; China Defends Zero COVID-19 Strategy; Boris Becker Sentenced to 2.5 Years in Jail; U.S. Volunteer Killed While Fighting for Ukraine; Kansas Hit by Massive Tornado. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired April 30, 2022 - 00:00 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.
NICK WATT, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Nick Watt in Los Angeles.
Russia is increasingly targeting vital supply lines for Ukrainian troops as it ramps up its assault on the east.
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WATT (voice-over): You are looking at a railway bridge that was blown up on Friday. We have geolocated and verified the authenticity of the video. It's near Slovyansk in the Donetsk region. A senior U.S. Defense official tells CNN that Russian forces are making incremental advances there.
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WATT: Meantime, another mass grave was discovered Friday in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha; 900 civilians have already been found dead in the Kyiv region in the wake of Russian forces pulling out. Russia's focus is now on the eastern Donbas region. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Moscow's aim is to kill everyone living there.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Only if Ukraine would stand, will they live. If the Russian invaders succeed in realizing their plan, at least in part, they will still have enough artillery and aircraft to destroy the entire Donbas, just as they destroyed Mariupol.
The city, which is one of the most developed in the region, is simply a Russian concentration camp in the middle of ruins.
(END VIDEO CLIP) WATT: The situation, also, growing ever more dire for Mariupol's last defenders, holed up in that steel plant along with hundreds of civilians. For more, let's turn to Isa Soares in Lviv, Ukraine.
ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Thanks very much. Good morning to you, Nick. Let me give you a closer look at the situation, at that Mariupol steel plant that you were talking about there.
A Ukrainian commander inside tells us of relentless Russian attacks and scores of people injured. Our Scott McLean has the story for you.
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SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are Russian troops making a break for cover in the streets near the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. One of them is shot along the way. His fellow soldier attempts to pull them to safety amidst heavy fire.
One Ukrainian deputy commander says that Russia is not only bombarding the plant from the sky but now also attacking from the ground.
SVIATOSLAV PALAMAR, DEPUTY COMMANDER, AZOV REGIMENT (through translator): As of today, there have been attempts to storm the territory of Azovstal. This is infantry. This is enemy military equipment but those attempts have been beaten off as of this hour.
MCLEAN (voice-over): Sviatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the Azov Regiment, which is leading the fight from the plant says that recent bombing left some sellers and bunkers cut off by rubble. He's not sure if there are survivors trapped inside.
He says bombing also hit a field hospital turning the number of wounded soldiers to more than 500. City mayor puts the number of injured at more than 600.
MCLEAN: How many do you think will survive the next day or two?
PALAMAR (through translator): I'm not going to say how long we could be here but I'm going to say that we're doing everything we can to stabilize them.
MCLEAN (voice-over): With the soldiers in the plant are hundreds of civilians, mostly elderly, women and children they say as young as four months old. Ukrainian officials say are also running low on food and water.
Thursday, the U.N. secretary general arrived in Kyiv determined to broker a deal to safely evacuate civilians from the plant after securing an agreement in principle from Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Friday morning, the lens keys office announced an operation to evacuate civilians was planned for Friday but no other details. Palamar said a convoy was in route but had yet to arrive. He is also hoping for a deal to allow soldiers to get out though perhaps it's a long shot.
MCLEAN: Would you rather die fighting then surrender yourself to the Russians?
PALAMAR (through translator): We are not considering the terms of surrender. We are waiting only for guarantees of exit from the territory of the plant. That is if there is no choice but captivity, we will not surrender.
MCLEAN (voice-over): Petro Andryushchenko, an advisor to the Mayor of Mariupol says getting soldiers evacuated safely would take an international intervention or a divine one.
PETRO ANDRYUSHCHENKO, ADVISOR TO THE MAYOR OF MARIUPOL: I really want something like miracle.
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ANDRYUSHCHENKO: It look like a Pope has to sit to the main bus from Zaporizhzhya and driving to Azovstal to take to the bus our soldier and get back.
MCLEAN: You don't think that it makes sense for the soldiers at the steel plant just to surrender themselves to the Russians?
ANDRYUSHCHENKO: It might be.
MCLEAN: That might be the best thing to do.
ANDRYUSHCHENKO: Yes.
MCLEAN (voice-over): Scott McLean, CNN, Lviv, Ukraine.
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SOARES: Well, Ukraine is also accusing Russia of stealing wheat from the areas it has occupied. Ukrainian officials claim it is happening on what they call an industrial scale, including 60 tons reportedly taken from a single cooperative in southern Ukraine.
Officials also say they took video of more than 50 vehicles taking wheat from another location this week. CNN could not independently verify their claims. But they are reminiscent, of course, of the great famine of the '30s under Soviet leader Joseph Stalin when millions of people died when officials stole crops from Ukrainian farmers.
Well, food production, of course, is one of the reasons why the war is sending shock waves through the global economy. For more on that, I am joined by Yuriy Gorodnichenko, an economics professor at the University of California/Berkeley.
Thank you very much.. Let me pick up on that, that we just heard, Ukrainian side saying Russian forces are robbing wheat from parts of the country. I believe Kherson is one of those most affected.
What does this mean in reality first on the micro level here on the ground?
YURIY GORODNICHENKO, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA/BERKELEY: It's a great question. I don't think in the immediate future, (INAUDIBLE) is going to change because Ukraine has a lot of grain and other food products.
But if this campaign continues at this scale, then we should seriously think about starvation on the ground. And this is really very close to what we had in the 1930s there, when millions of people perished because the Soviets expropriated food from peasants and they had nothing to eat.
SOARES: We are seeing it now.
And I suspect -- and I am pretty sure that you can correct me -- when did they need to start planting?
When does that season start?
Because that's going to be a concern, too, whether those areas have been occupied by Russia -- what that future would entail and what impact, crucially, that would have on food, on wheat exports right around the world.
GORODNICHENKO: I would say this. You know, the area that is controlled by the Russians, I don't think there is anything going on in terms of food production. On the other hand, the area which is controlled by the Ukrainian government, to the extent possible, they try to plant as much as they can.
Various estimates suggest that 70 percent to 80 percent of the land is going to be farmed and so we will have some food. I don't know if we're going to have starvation. But the bigger challenge is, OK, you plant the food. You collect the harvest.
What do you do next?
You need to transfer this from Ukraine to other markets. And, traditionally, Ukraine was relying on seaports, Odessa, Mykolaiv, Kherson and others. Those ports are not operational now. They are blockaded by the Russian navy.
And others are much more costly or they -- it will take much longer time. And so, at this stage, I think it is very important that Ukraine and other countries -- Poland and others -- cooperate and find ways to transport food from Ukraine to the global markets.
And if this doesn't happen, Ukraine is a huge producer of wheat. And it is going to be reflected in high prices, inflation and all sorts of problems all over the world.
SOARES: Yes. And we are seeing, of course, those supply chains being affected, like you are mentioning, not just attacks on supply chains, bridges, but also, of course, those ports being shut off.
And this has an impact, of course, between Russia and Ukraine, I think they -- together, they export more than a quarter of the world's wheat. So Yuriy, what does this mean for consumers right around the world?
And in particular, for those poorest countries depending on this wheat here?
GORODNICHENKO: Well, I think it's much higher prices. Demand for these food items is very inelastic. Many people rely heavily on bread. One of the most unfortunate countries is Lebanon. They have all sorts of domestic problems and they rely very, very heavily on Ukrainian wheat.
They don't have resources to weather another storm like this. And so, they have a very serious food insecurity situation in Lebanon and other countries.
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GORODNICHENKO: I don't want to make a forecast for how high food prices are going to go. But we already see that wheat prices are very, very high. And they keep climbing up.
So unless this war in Ukraine has a quick conclusion, where, you know, farmers can harvest wheat and other crops, we are going to see more increases in commodity prices, specifically food prices.
SOARES: Let me ask you about that. Of course, wheat prices; you have got rising commodity prices. You have got fears of inflation.
What kind of impact is this bound to have on the global economy here?
A dizzying global impact.
GORODNICHENKO: Right. So we see this war has ripple effects everywhere. Oil prices are high. Gas prices are high. Food prices are high. And obviously, in the -- even in the remote places, which are not directly affected by the war, like the U.S. or the E.U., the consumers experience price increases.
This is going to reduce their purchasing power. It is going to reduce their welfare. And so, even though nobody is dying in a shooting war in the U.S. or Canada or elsewhere, the unfortunate -- the tragedy in Ukraine is going to be felt indirectly by everybody.
SOARES: Yes. And that's why we have heard from the IMF, saying the impact this is having, this war is having and the impact it could have, of course, if it drags on, calling it an earthquake. So the proportions -- economic proportions of that are huge.
Yuriy Gorodnichenko, I appreciate you taking time for us. Thank you very much.
As the war drags on, so does the exodus, of course, of Ukrainian refugees to other countries. According to the U.N., more than 5.4 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the fighting began.
As you can see there, the majority have been going to Poland. The organization also says an estimated 13 million Ukrainians are stranded near war zones and as well are unable to leave.
Well, the International Organization for Migration reports more than 7.5 million people are still inside the country after being driven from their homes. That is a number equal to the entire population of Hong Kong, just really to put it in perspective for you.
Displaced Ukrainians can't bring much besides fear and worry, as one young mother told our Anderson Cooper.
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OLENA GNES, UKRAINIAN SHELTERING IN KYIV: Now in the first weeks, I put many phone numbers on their bodies. Like I put my phone number, my husband's phone number, my sister's phone number. And then --
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: You would actually draw it on their skin?
GNES: Yes. I just wrote this on the bodies, on the hands, (INAUDIBLE) from the hands. Like OK, if I die, then OK, if Sergei die, OK, have another phone number of my sister. My sister is in Kyiv.
OK, so who else can take care of them?
OK, I will put like their grandmother. She's in Odessa, maybe she will survive.
COOPER: You had to think about that?
GNES: I -- and this is what many mothers did here.
COOPER: Do you feel safe now?
GNES: No, I don't. Of course, I am not like crying all the time anymore. I can sleep right now at night. I can eat food, which I couldn't in the beginning. But I do not feel safe right now because the sky is not closed. And this air attack can happen at any time, in any place of Ukraine, so there is nowhere safe in Ukraine.
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SOARES: Incredibly brave and strong mother of three there.
And that does it for me, live from Lviv this hour. I want to send it back to my colleague, Nick, in Los Angeles. Nick.
WATT: Thanks, Isa.
Next, living through one of the most draconian lockdowns of the pandemic. Coming up, we will get a look at what life is like in Shanghai. Many residents have been locked in their own homes in an effort to stop the spread of COVID.
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WATT: State media in China report at least five people have been rescued after a multistory building collapsed in the city. It is unknown how many other people may be trapped in the rubble. More than 100 rescue personnel were dispatched to the building.
Officials say it had six stories, including a restaurant, a cinema and a hotel, in addition to private living quarters. No word yet on the cause.
Meantime, COVID cases in Shanghai, China, appear to be on the way down. On Friday, the global financial hub reported just over 10,000 new infections, a fall of over 5,000 from the day before. Shanghai has been one of the country's hardest hit cities during this latest outbreak.
On Friday, China credited its zero COVID policy with protecting lives as well as minimizing the economic impact. The Chinese government defends that harsh COVID policy as a, quote, "magic weapon" to prevent the spread of the virus.
Shanghai COVID numbers are gradually falling but daily case counts do remain fairly high and millions are still under a strict lockdown, including CNN's David Culver.
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DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lockdown in China is like nowhere else on Earth. Here, you see a man getting swabbed for a COVID test through the fence.
Using a megaphone, healthcare workers call for others to get tested. The country's zero COVID strategy turning millions into virtual prisoners across the nation.
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CULVER (voice-over): Outside of Beijing, these residents forced to hand over their apartment keys so community workers can lock them in from the outside. For those who refuse, crews drill holes to chain the doors shut.
In a northeastern province, no need for a lock. Workers installing steel bars to keep people from leaving the building. Right now across China, at least 27 cities are under full or partial lockdown. CNN's calculation estimating that directly impacts up to 180 million people -- more than half the U.S. population.
For over two years now, China's COVID containment has become more extreme, fracturing everyday life. In Shenzhen, a city not under lockdown, babies kept off the subway.
The reason?
They didn't have negative COVID test results. It is now mandatory to get access to most of public life in the city. To accommodate the new rule, they have opened 24/7 testing sites.
A delayed test result had this groom in Shenzhen watching his own wedding ceremony via livestream, not allowed to enter the venue, laughing off the insanity of it all.
China's zero tolerance for any new cases comes from the top. President Xi Jinping tasked the vice premier to oversee major outbreaks. In Shanghai, that means working with the city's most senior official, the Communist Party secretary.
Their orders are carried out by the municipal government, which runs the quarantine centers and coordinated at local levels with thousands of communities. Those local workers are our little gatekeepers, determining who goes in and out of each compound, facilitating food deliveries and managing our health information.
CULVER: In addition to very regular PCR tests, each day we are also required to do rapid antigen tests. We then upload the results to this government app. And then we take a screenshot of that and a picture of the test. And we share it publicly with our community group chat, so that all our neighbors can see we are negative.
CULVER (voice-over): The community group chats can serve as a helpful way to source food but also as a space to call out neighbors, sometimes becoming a witch hunt to kick out positive cases and have them sent to quarantine centers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It has become quite common for local authorities basically to say we have a wartime situation and, therefore, we have to apply emergency measures and, therefore, you have to simply follow orders.
CULVER (voice-over): It reminds some residents of the Cultural Revolution from the '60s and '70s, a painful era of political and social chaos, sparked by extreme policies. Criticism of Beijing's zero COVID strategy is not tolerated from anyone, including the son of a Chinese billionaire who was also sent to a crowded quarantine facility in Shanghai.
He was banned from Chinese social media after criticizing the policy. His profile, with 40 million followers, erased. But not everyone is silenced. Back in Shanghai, many residents confined to their homes adding to the growing chorus of dissent. As COVID cases surge across China, millions now sentenced to lockdown.
Their release date?
Unknown -- David Culver, CNN, Shanghai.
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WATT: The one-time German tennis phenom Boris Becker has been sentenced by a court in Britain to 2.5 years in jail. "CNN SPORT's" Patrick Snell has the details.
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PATRICK SNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becker, a six-time grand slam champion and one of the most famous and biggest names in the history of the sport, will serve half his sentence in jail. The judge, on Friday, adding while accept humiliation as part of the
proceedings there has been no humility. This video of him arriving at court on Friday, very significant. Becker wearing a gray suit, white shirt and a striped tie in the famed Wimbledon colors of green and purple.
Becker was declared bankrupt in June of 2017 and that meant he was legally obliged to disclose all his assets. The assets he concealed including around $450,000, which was transferred to several third parties; a property in his homeland, Germany, and 75,000 shares as well. That is according to the U.K.'s insolvency service.
When it suited him, he made full disclosure. When it didn't, he didn't. The words of one prosecutor who had urged the judge to pass a custodial sentence. That according to Reuters.
Becker also accused of concealing and transferring assets and depriving creditors of that more than $2.5 million in assets. The 54 year-old including the press association telling the court, quote, "The proceedings have destroyed his career entirely and ruined any further prospect of earning an income. His reputation is in tatters."
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SNELL (voice-over): He will not be able to find work and will have to rely on the charity of others if he is to survive.
Becker made tennis history when he won Wimbledon, aged 17 in 1985, putting his hometown on the map. He won Wimbledon the next year, too. That huge boom-boom serve of his. He won three Wimbledon titles in four calendar years. A huge rise to overnight global stardom, the first unseeded male player to win the Wimbledon singles crown. And later, rising to the number one global ranking.
Massive interest over the years in him ever since his private life, the notorious British tabloids at home in the United Kingdom. He would go on to win a total of six grand slam titles over the course of more than a decade. He never won the French Open but he did win two Australian Open titles and the U.S. Open as well in New York City.
He has remained active in the tennis world, most notably as the coach of Novak Djokovic. And also frequent media appearances as a commentator and a pundit as well over the years. Send it right back to you.
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WATT: I am Nick Watt. For our international viewers, "INSIDE AFRICA" is next. For everyone else, the news continues after a break.
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WATT: Welcome back. I am Nick Watt in Los Angeles.
While Russia has raised the issue of nuclear attacks in the war on Ukraine, Russia's foreign minister says nuclear war must never be launched. In an interview with Al Arabiya, Sergey Lavrov says there could be no winners in a nuclear war and he said this.
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SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: We have been champions of making bridges by all nuclear countries, never to start a nuclear war.
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WATT: That comes as another mass grave is found in the town of Bucha near Kyiv. Details on this latest discovery are scarce. But since Russian upon troops withdrew from the area a few weeks ago, more than 900 bodies have been discovered.
And to the southeast in Mariupol, the bombardment of that steel plant is not letting up. And neither is the resistance. The Ukrainian commander inside the plant says Russian attempts to storm the area have been, in his words, "deflected." Hundreds of civilians and Ukrainian troops have been holed up in the plant for weeks.
According to a senior U.S. Defense official, Russia's advances in Eastern Ukraine are slow, incremental and uneven. Even so, there's been extensive shelling of railway and supply line infrastructure. And as Sam Kiley reports, it may only be a taste of what is yet to come.
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SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Russia continues to put pressure on this eastern front as part of what the Russians are calling their second phase, having redefined their entire campaign effort here in Ukraine.
From trying to essentially topple the government, they are now suggesting their effort is to seize the Donbas, the east of the country, and potentially a large swath of the southern coastline.
Now as part of that campaign, they have been driving southeast from the town of Izyum and due south. There have been reports they have been attacking a railway close to a town just effectively on the outskirts of where I am here in Kramatorsk.
Kramatorsk is the ultimate prize and part of that, the Ukrainians know well, is going to be the Russians trying to get across the Donetsk River. They have done so in the Izyum area. But they haven't done so due north of here.
In this part of the campaign, there they are putting pressure on the town of Lyman. A bridge linking Lyman across the river to Slovyansk has been blown. We don't know whether it was blown by the Ukrainians, which is most likely, or the Russians. The Ukrainians have been blowing bridges in order to slow the Russian invasion all over the country and it has proved highly effective. But ultimately, as sources here, notably, the mayor of Kramatorsk, believes that the main Russian effort is likely to begin next week.
Perhaps, approaching May the 9th with the signature day of victory day in the former Soviet Union. On top of that, of course, there has been significant troop movements, both on the Russian side and we've seen very substantial troop movements also on the Ukrainian side -- Sam Kiley, CNN, in Kramatorsk.
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WATT: An emotional moment at the Pentagon Friday. During the afternoon press briefing, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby choked up when speaking about the atrocities in Ukraine.
Kirby was asked if he believed Russian president Vladimir Putin is a rational actor. Here is part of what he said.
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ADM. JOHN KIRBY (RET.), PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: It's difficult to look at the -- sorry -- it's difficult to look at some of the images and imagine that any well-thinking, serious, mature leader would do that. So I can't talk to his psychology, but I think we can all speak to his depravity.
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WATT: And Kirby also spoke about Putin trying to justify the war as protecting Russians in Ukraine, defending Russian national interests and rooting out Nazism in Ukraine. Kirby called that "BS."
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WATT: U.S. officials are also, once again, warning Americans not to travel to Ukraine, while expressing condolences for the death of a U.S. citizen there. The family of Willy Joseph Cancel tells CNN that the 22-year old died fighting alongside Ukrainian forces. Oren Liebermann has more.
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OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Willy Joseph Cancel, this wasn't his war. The 22-year old had already served his country in the Marines. But after Russia invaded Ukraine, Cancel's family says he felt the need to leave Tennessee and join the fight.
REBECCA CABRERA, WILLY'S MOTHER: Even before he left to go to Ukraine, he was proud because he wanted to do the right thing and fight alongside the underdogs and help them with things that he thought was important.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Cancel's says he started working for a private military contractor shortly before the war. Cancel agreed to go fight in Ukraine. He arrived in a country still defending on multiple fronts in mid-March.
Russian forces inching toward Kyiv and carrying out more strikes on western Ukraine. His mother says she was told he fought with men from different countries before he was killed in action. His body has not been recovered because of the danger. His new brothers in arms mourning his loss.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This make me feel sad and I'm grateful for his sacrifice. It's unbelievable that you are able to -- that he was able to go here and put an ultimate sacrifice for my home country of Ukraine.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Cancel leaves behind a wife and a seven- month-old baby, a family left without a father and a husband. His brother-in-law says he was the type to fight for what's right regardless of the outcome. He's not the only one.
Ukraine's military created International Legion for foreign fighters. A Ukrainian official said more than 20,000 volunteers and veterans from 52 countries wanted to join, though how many served is unclear.
The U.S. has sent billions of in weapons to Ukraine to help them fight Russia but the White House says American citizens should stay out of this fight.
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We know people want to help but we do encourage Americans to find other ways to do so rather than traveling to Ukraine to fight there.
It is a war zone. It's an active war zone and we know Americans face significant risks but certainly we know a family is mourning, a wife is mourning and our hearts are with them.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Cancel's mother says the call was too great, the cause too important one for which Cancel gave his life.
CABRERA: He knew they needed help and it was just something that he felt that he could help in because he had the experience and the training and the knowledge to go and help them.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Oren Liebermann, CNN, at the Pentagon.
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WATT: The G20 summit in Bali is still six months away. But there is a diplomatic showdown already brewing over attendance.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has accepted an invitation from Indonesia to attend. But U.S. President Joe Biden has also called for Russia's ejection from the G20. The White House press secretary says Biden is discussing the situation with advisers.
A disaster declaration in Kansas after a swarm of tornadoes tore through that state and Nebraska. We will go to the CNN Weather Center for the latest. And the most powerful sheriff in the U.S., right here in L.A., is at
the center of an inmate abuse scandal. How he is taking it out on the reporter who wrote the story -- when we come back.
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WATT (voice-over): That is a massive tornado passing over Andover, Kansas, earlier. The city administrator says there are reports of injuries as well as damage to, quote, "several homes and cars."
The National Weather Service says there were at least 15 tornadoes reported, mostly in Kansas and Nebraska and another in Florida. Kansas also reporting hail. All this, part of a severe storm system passing through the region this weekend.
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WATT: Meantime, a U.S. judge has sentenced a member of the ISIS terror cell known as the Beatles to life in prison. Alexanda Kotey pleaded guilty in September to involvement in the hostage taking that led to the deaths of American, Japanese and British citizens in Syria.
He will serve the first 15 years in the U.S., then will be transferred to the U.K. for the rest of his life term.
Here in Los Angeles, alarm this week from press freedom advocates after L.A.'s powerful sheriff suggested a reporter was under criminal investigation for doing her job.
County sheriff Alex Villanueva attacked "L.A. Times" reporter Alene Tchekmedyian on Tuesday after she published a series of stories, including one about a possible coverup within his department.
Her newspaper accused him of abusing his position in an attempt to intimidate their reporter. This latest controversy hinges on one piece of video. Take a look.
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WATT (voice-over): An inmate gets punchy at a sheriff's department lockup. In this footage recently obtained by the "Los Angeles Times," you see a deputy's knee on the now handcuffed inmate's neck or head. This week, L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva announced another investigation.
SHERIFF ALEX VILLANUEVA, LOS ANGELES COUNTY: Here are the three individuals that we want to know a lot about.
WATT (voice-over): An investigation into who leaked that video. He pointed at a picture of the "L.A. Times" reporter who broke the story.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this "Los Angeles Times" reporter under investigation by the department?
VILLANUEVA: Well, the act is under investigation. And all parties to the act are subjects of the investigation.
ALENE TCHEKMEDYIAN, "LOS ANGELES TIMES" REPORTER: It was, you know, uncomfortable and bizarre and a little bit surreal to see my photo up there. It's obviously alarming, of course, when a powerful government official would do something like that.
WATT (voice-over): Raises the question, why?
Well, this potentially excessive use of force by one of his deputies was kept from the public. The video only surfaced last month but it happened more than a year ago, just as jury selection began in Minneapolis for the trial of Derek Chauvin, who murdered George Floyd with a knee on the neck.
Sheriff Villanueva blocked and stalled an investigation, states one of the sheriff's underlings in a freshly filed claim to obstruct justice and avoid bad publicity for his re-election campaign.
VILLANUEVA: Well, the foundation this entire lawsuit is false. Everything in this lawsuit is false.
WATT (voice-over): The scandal prone Villanueva faces voters in June. Right now, questions over a helipad built by his home apparently without permission, reports the "L.A. Times" based on a department audit. Also, an investigation into alleged gang activity among his deputies.
VILLANUEVA: There was absolutely no actionable information on here for anybody, but it made for a good clickbait for the "L.A. Times."
WATT (voice-over): On this incident, Villanueva claims he wasn't shown the video until eight months after it happened, acted swiftly, launched an investigation. He blamed subordinates for any earlier lack of action.
TCHEKMEDYIAN: Yesterday, we heard for the first time an eyewitness who says that they were personally in the room and saw him watch the video five days after the incident happened.
WATT (voice-over): A high ranking official, she says she didn't cover it up, Villanueva did and later tried to demote her. Villanueva is the most powerful sheriff in the land claims, this is all deep conspiracies against him.
VILLANUEVA: There's a lot of people working in concert in coordination that includes the "L.A. Times," that includes people that, obviously, want to defeat me electorally, that includes the board appointed inspector general and the civilian oversight commission. A lot of people work in overtime.
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WATT: Villanueva has since clarified on Twitter that the reporter is not a suspect and he is not pursuing criminal charges against her.
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WATT: Next, investors bid farewell to one ghastly month in the markets. We will show you what dragged them down, what is coming down the pike and how it could affect your bottom line.
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WATT: A brutal date and a brutal month on Wall Street. The Dow closed down more than 2 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq shed 4 percent, ending its worst month in 14 years, dragged down partially by Amazon's stock sinking.
And the S&P 500 had its worst month since the pandemic began. It closed down nearly 4 percent. In addition, lackluster earnings reports, a key indicator of U.S. inflation, show it won't ease anytime soon. As Richard Quest reports, all these factors are giving investors jitters.
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RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST: It was a horrible session that ended a difficult week. As more companies have revealed their earnings, so it's becoming clearer. Share prices could not be supported.
The latest victim was Amazon, one of the bellwethers, a favorite of the pandemic, who revealed losses that were much greater than expected and costs that were rising even faster.
As a result, Amazon was down some 15 percent -- an extraordinary amount for a stock like Amazon. Put it all together and investors are going into the weekend worried over inflation, concerned over higher interest rates -- which are coming on both sides of the Atlantic -- and bewildered about the market's inability to see a way forward.
With the current environment, there can be no assurance of gains anytime soon -- Richard Quest, CNN, New York.
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WATT: Stock market jitters there. Some camera jitters here. Thanks for spending part of your day with me. I am Nick Watt in Los Angeles. Stay with us. We will be live from Lviv, Ukraine, after the break.
