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Draft Opinion: Top U.S. Court to Overturn Abortion Rights Law; Trump-Backed Vance Wins Ohio GOP Senate Primary; Azovstal Steel Plant Evacuees Arrive in Zaporizhzhia; Fresh Evacuations Underway From Mariupol; North Korea Fires Ballistic Missile into Sea. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired May 04, 2022 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Max Foster in London. We're following the breaking news coverage of the war in Ukraine. Plus, the explosive fallout from the U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion that could strip away abortion rights for millions of American women.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD CHANTING: We will not go back, we will not go back!

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: How dare they tell a woman what she can do and cannot do with her own body.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It will mean that every other decision you're making the notion of privacy is thrown into question.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): I think the right outcome is to overturn Roe v. Wade. Roe v. Wade was wrong the day it was decided.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNEL (R-KY): The court should turn out the bad faith noise and feel completely free to do their job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Before that let me bring you up-to-date with the breaking news in the last 40 minutes. And that is that the EU has announced a sixth package of sanctions against Russia in response to the war in Ukraine. The plan which has yet to be agreed by member states includes a proposal to ban all Russian oil imports. The EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says, quote, Putin must pay a price, a high price for his brutal aggression. We'll have more on this breaking news in about 20 minutes time for you.

Now millions of women are feeling anguish this week over likely loss of what they've long viewed as a basic human right. And that is the ability to safely, legally end a pregnancy. The leaked document -- proven to be authentic -- shows the U.S. Supreme Court could be on the verge of taking away that constitutional right and that's ignited angry protests all over the country

The draft opinion shows the court with it's still new conservative majority appears poised to overturn the landmark abortion rights law Roe v. Wade. The U.S. vice president is infuriated. She blasted Republicans in a fiery speech and also asked the crowd if they could think of any laws that give the American government power to make decisions about men's bodies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Those Republican leaders who are trying to weaponize the use of the law against women. Well, we say how dare they! How dare they tell a woman what she can do and cannot do with her own body.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, to be clear the Supreme Court's final decision won't come until later next month and it's possible albeit unlikely that the votes could change. For now, abortion is still the law of the entire land. But without federal protections, states will be in charge of reproductive laws. All those states in red on this map are practically certain to ban abortion and the ones in yellow are likely to do the same.

Many conservative Republicans are thrilled about the likely demise of Roe v. Wade but they're not showing it just yet. Instead, they are voicing outrage over the leak of the draft opinion as CNN's Paula Reid explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The leaked draft sparking protests across the country.

CROWD CHANTING: The people united will never be defeated.

REID (voice-over): And prompting questions.

Chief Justice John Roberts --

REPORTER: Do you plan to investigate the leak?

REID (voice-over): Seen here leaving his home Tuesday, issued a statement calling the leak an egregious breach. He has directed the marshal of the court to investigate.

The court confirms the draft is authentic but cautioned it does not represent a decision or position of any member on the issues in the case. The nearly 100-page opinion says a majority of justices are prepared to uphold a Mississippi law that would ban abortion after 15 weeks and overturn Roe v. Wade which established a right to abortion 50 years ago, leaving it to individual states to determine abortion's legality.

Justice Samuel Alito authored the draft, stating there is no inherent right to an abortion.

Writing: The Constitution makes no reference to abortion and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision. Alito says Roe was egregiously wrong from the start and its reasoning was exceptionally weak and the decision has had damaging consequences.

The opinion is not expected to be published until late next month and could still be modified as a draft opinions circulate and justices can change their vote. Sources tell CNN Roberts did not want to completely overturn Roe.

[04:05:00]

It appears Alito was joined at his majority by Justices Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett. Even though Kavanaugh and Gorsuch called Roe the law of the land during their confirmation hearings.

NEIL GORSUCH, U.S. SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: It is an important precedent of the Supreme Court. That's the law of the land. I accept the law of the land, Senator, yes.

REID (voice-over): Senator Susan Collins who voted in support of Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, said today in a statement, the draft opinion was completely inconsistent in what Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh said in their hearings and in our meetings in my office.

President Biden has called the draft decision radical and echoed concerns that this decision could serve as a template for limiting other individual rights previously recognized by the court like same- sex marriage and access to contraception.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If the rationale of the decision as released were to be sustained, a whole range of rights are in question.

REID (voice-over): But in the wake of this draft opinion, Democrats are vowing to fight to protect abortion rights.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): We'll go down as an abomination, one of the worst, most damaging decisions in modern history.

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): We could pass a law to protect every woman's right to an abortion, and we should do that.

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): If this turns out to be the opinion of the court and it's issued, it could have a major impact on the outcome of this election.

REID (voice-over): Republicans are condemning the leak itself.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): Whoever committed this lawless act knew exactly what it could bring about.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): Whoever did this leak should be prosecuted and should go to jail for a very long time. This has shaken the independence and the ability of the judiciary to function.

REID (voice-over): Paula Reid, CNN, Washington. \

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Now the field is set for what is expected to be one of the hotly contested U.S. Senate races this year. As CNN projects that J.D. Vance, backed by Donald Trump, will win Ohio's Republican. He'll face Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan in November. Our CNN's Jeff Zeleny has more from Cincinnati, Ohio.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: In one of the first big primary nights of the 2022 midterm campaign season, a big Republican victory in Cincinnati for J.D. Vance who emerged the victor in a crowded primary field for the U.S. Senate.

Now, this is the race to replace retiring Senator Rob Portman. He was running against a field of five other major candidates and emerged as the winner at the end thanks to the endorsement from former President Donald Trump. This has been viewed as a test of the former president's strength inside the Republican Party and one of the first people J.D. Vance thanked tonight was Mr. Trump.

J.D. VANCE, REPUBLICAN U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE: I have absolutely got to thank the 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump. Ladies and gentlemen, one for giving us an example of what could be in this country. Ladies and gentlemen, remember 2019 when wages were going up and not down. Remember 2019 when workers were doing well in this country, not struggling terribly? Thanks to the president for everything, for endorsing me.

ZELENY: J.D. Vance, of course, best known for that best-selling book "Hillbilly Elegy," has never run for public office before. In his first campaign, he not only defeated several Republican candidates, he also introduced himself to Ohio voters. Now for the next six months he will be running against Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan who Vance accused of trying to act like a Trump Democrat.

Of course, this will be one of the most competitive races in the fall campaign. But more importantly urgently, this is a big test of the former president's strength going forward. He has offered endorsements in several House, Senate and governors races. His strength will be tested throughout the month of May if he's a king maker in his party, the first try on that stop here in Ohio, Mr. Trump showed that he still is.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Cincinnati.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: All right, we're going to get the latest on situation in Ukraine for you now. Let's bring in Isa who is in in Lviv -- Isa.

ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: A very good morning to you, Max. Ukraine's military is echoing the latest British intelligence. Russia says it's struggling to break through Ukrainian defenses. We have new video that shows Ukraine's artillery and attack drones continue to be effective against Russian armor in the east. A number of Russian military vehicles lie destroyed in this village south of Kharkiv.

And this video shows Ukrainian forces hitting at least two Russian military positions on the Russian occupied Snake Island. Meanwhile, Ukraine says Russian missile strikes hit several regions in the past 24 hours causing severe damage to railways. Here I am in Lviv, the mayor says two people were injured. And these images you are looking at show a power station on fire in the aftermath knocking out electricity for parts of the city on Tuesday. Water supplies we've been told have also been affected.

[04:10:00]

The Pentagon Press Secretary told CNN's Wolf Blitzer, striking infrastructure and like railways is part of Moscow's strategy. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: They've been doing this sporadically over the last couple of weeks, Wolf. And what we believe this is, is an attempt by the Russians to try to hit targets that they believe are affecting the Ukrainians' ability to resupply or reinforce themselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well right now, we are also keeping a very close eye on the besieged city of Mariupol. Ukrainian officials say they're planning to evacuate more people from the area over the coming hours. For some, that harrowing journey to safety is finally complete. On Tuesday more than 150 evacuees from Mariupol arrived in the Ukrainian held city of Zaporizhzhia -- as you can see there. It's part of a convoy led by the U.N. and the Red Cross.

Many of them had been evacuated from the bombed out Azovstal steel plant. But Mariupol's mayor says others are still trapped inside that sprawling industrial complex that has been under relentless attack.

According to official officials sides, Russian forces have launched a fresh round of attacks on the plant. A Ukrainian commander inside Azovstal says they've been under constant fire and he said that at least two civilians sheltering in a bunker were killed during those attacks.

Well, our Nick Paton Walsh was there when evacuees from the Mariupol steel plant began arriving in Zaporizhzhia. He spoke with two women about some of the horrors they endured while trapped underground.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice over): Five buses only, but within them, the world's hopes of a way to deliver innocent Ukrainians to safety from Russia's onslaught. Just over 100 civilians, the first to leave the basement of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. Bringing with them stories of the circle of hell they lived in underground for weeks.

This is Olga. After two months in the dark, she struggles in sunlight still. I asked if she can see OK. Bad, she says. I can't see anything in the sun. Age 78 and she keeps saying, completely alone. Her entire life is in these two bags.48 hours earlier, she was pictured in a Ukrainian military video just walking out of Mariupol cheerfully across a bridge.

Now, via the U.N. and Red Cross, talks in Moscow and Kyiv and countless Russian checkpoints, she is here, worried she cannot fend for herself as a wound to her leg isn't healing because of her diabetes. The head torch that was her only source of light still around her neck, her toilet roll in her pocket.

OLGA (translated text): Toilet paper. Everything I won, I have with me. I went to the basement with just a bag and left with it. I thank the boys who carried me out. Thanks to them. Lord bless them. I can't say anything bad about our soldiers there Azov or not Azov. They held me in their hands, brought me out. One of them wanted to lift me up but I said you can't. They took each other's hands to lift me.

WALSH (voice-over): Also coming off the bus is another familiar face, Anna with six- month-old Svetoslav (ph). Embraced by her brother, one of many family reunions here. She was also seen in the same video as Olga leaving Mariupol the day after Svetoslav (ph) turned six months old. She is a French teacher in happier times.

WALSH: How do you feel now? Tired?

ANNA, AZOVSTAL EVACUEE: Now, I feel happy and exhausted because two months in basic --

WALSH: How did you live for two months in a basement with a four- month-old boy? How did you eat?

ANNA: Now I smile because I can smile finally, because all those months I was crying every day. Emotionally, it was really very, very difficult. When we didn't have any food, water for him, we just took a candle and we heat the water on the candle.

WALSH (voice-over): The busy world she's emerged into now different for her.

ANNA: For me now, for us (INAUDIBLE) how to say it? Yes, yes. It's the most difficult and the most scary because now, when I -- sorry, it's emotional, yes.

WALSH: Of course.

[04:15:00]

ANNA: Now, when there are a lot of noise, I have like a reflex to hide myself, you know. WALSH: What are you going to tell him when he's older?

ANNA: I'll just tell him that he was really a very, very brave boy, very brave. He's very calm. He's the best child in the world, I can say. He's (INAUDIBLE).

WALSH: He's sleeping well, so that's good. It's all you can ask for.

ANNA: Yes, yes, all the time.

WALSH: Exactly.

ANNA: Yes. And also, I can say that I don't want for him to repeat this story with his child.

WALSH (voice-over): Yet the terror they bore witness to will fuel a loathing that won't pass quickly.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Very brave little boy as well as a brave mother. And as I told you in the last few minutes, we're keeping a close eye on the situation in Mariupol, we're expecting more evacuations. Well, we've just learned that evacuations from Mariupol are now under way. A convoy of buses has left Mariupol and obviously they will be making their way to Zaporizhzhia one assumes.

And joining me now from Zaporizhzhia is Chris Hanger, who's a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross. And Chris, I was wondering if you could give me any insight from your vantage point as to how long it will take for this convoy of buses to arrive and any sense of the numbers. Yesterday we got 156 civilians. How many are we expecting today to be evacuated, do you know?

CHRIS HANGER, SPOKESPERSON ICRC: Thanks for having me. At this stage I can't go into any details around potential ongoing operations. What I can speak about is basically how we managed to get people out of the Azovstal in a five day operation. Yesterday our teams arrived with the civilians that were trapped in Azovstal to Zaporizhzhia and they are now in safety. As your viewers have seen the footage and we are relieved at the one hand that these people have made it out, but at the same time obviously more needs to be done. And we are in constant dialogue with the parties so we come conduct more operations like the one that happened yesterday.

SOARES: And Chris, can give us any signal at all how long this journey, this evacuation could take from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia, any sense of timing here?

HANGER: So, at the moment I can't go into any details of potential operations. I'm sorry. But what I can tell you is that these are highly complex operations. And so, what our teams need on the ground and has shown since our team for the last operation left on Friday, and it was a five day operation to get people out of the Azovstal and surroundings. So, this shows that obviously, this an active conflict zone, so people need to agile, our teams need to negotiate a lot in order to get people out.

SOARES: Let's talk about the complexity of this operation -- as you clearly outlined. And look, it's a positive sign of course that civilians are coming out, not just from the Azovstal steel plant but also from Mariupol, the city itself. But as we've outlined, as you have outlined just now, because it's a slow and pretty staggered process. What's behind the delays besides obviously being a war going on, what is Russia saying, what are they requiring in order for this to take place?

HANGER: So, as you've mentioned that you rightly pointed out, it's an active conflict. So obviously, that makes it incredibly complex in terms of our confidential dialogue with the parties. And to agree on concrete logistical terms. So, the exact route, the timing, how many people, how many civilians can be evacuated. All these logistical questions are important. But obviously, since the situation on the ground is fluid, things are changing by the minute. So obviously, that can lead to delays.

But what we've seen is our teams are extremely determined to get people to safety and with this five day operation yesterday, that it's shown that there is a glimmer of hope for civilians and that we've not forgotten that people are still trapped not only in Mariupol, not only in Azovstal, but anywhere that they may be and we continue to work on them to get these people out.

SOARES: And I wanted to ask you, and I'm not sure whether you can tell me this for operational security reasons. But from what I understand today the evacuations will be from Mariupol city. Do we know whether there will be any civilians being evacuated part of this convoy from the Azovstal steel plant?

HANGER: At this stage I'm really sorry but for operational security, I can't confirm and I can't go into specific details.

[04:20:00]

But obviously, what I can tell you is that our team is tirelessly working on safe passage not only in Ukraine, but this is our role as a neutral intermediary as the International Committee of the Red Cross, this is what we do in conflict zones and we continue to work on this to get people to safety.

SOARES: Chris, give us a sense really of what you have being hearing. We heard a report from our Nick Paton Walsh just terrifying ordeals that many people have gone through not just inside Azovstal but also in the city itself -- as we can see has been reduced to rubble. What have you been hearing -- your team has been hearing on the ground?

HANGER: So, our teams have been hearing from the people that we helped to get to Zaporizhzhia, I mean, it's been mentioned, you've seen it in the images, that these people have not seen the sky for two months. They had no idea what was going on around them. They only heard intense fighting, intense fighting and when they reached safety, they also -- I mean, they have seen around what was happening to their city and that make them incredibly sad and they are devastated. I mean, you've seen the images and most were in a deep state of shock.

Of course, it's a relief now that some of these people are in safety. I mean, we've seen pregnant women, we've seen women with kids at a young age. And it's a relief that they are in safety, but more needs to be done and what these people have been through is obviously beyond what we can imagine and obviously, these people now need all the help that they can get.

SOARES: And Chris, our teams on the ground have been hearing that some of these convoys -- and I'm not sure whether you can give me any information here -- have been passing through Russian-held territory, going through filtration camps. Can you tell us what exactly happens at these filtration camps?

It looks like we have seemed to have lost Chris Hanger. An answer that I would have loved to hear. We'll try to reconnect with him and try to get that answer. Chris Hanger there, who is obviously, teams are a leading part of that evacuation from Mariupol. We'll stay on top of that for you.

Meantime, still to come right here in the show, South Korea is condemning the latest ballistic missile launch by North Korea which comes just days after Kim Jong-un vowed to ramp up his country's nuclear arsenal. We're live from Seoul next. You are watching CNN.

[04:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: North Korea has apparently fired yet another ballistic missile just a short while ago. South Korea and Japan say it was launched in to the waters east of the Korean Peninsula. It comes just days after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed to bolster his nuclear arsenal. CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us from Seoul. Also, just a few days before the new South Korean president takes office.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Max. Yes, that happens next Tuesday. And it's fairly frequent that we do see some kind of a welcome from North Korea in this respect when it comes to a new South Korean president coming in or even visitors coming to the Korean Peninsula. Remember, it's only a few weeks away that the U.S. President Joe Biden will be here.

But what we have seen this year is a remarkable uptick in the amount of missile launches that were seeing from North Korea. This one today, it happened according to both the South Korean and the Japanese sites have been monitoring it just after midday. According to Japan it had an altitude of 800 kilometers, a distance of 500 kilometers. Neither side have actually specified what kind of missile or weapon system they believe this to be at this point. But clearly, we could hear something from North Korea themselves.

Now it has been condemned by all sides. The Japanese have said alongside the South Koreans that it does violate the United Nations Security Council resolutions. Ballistic missile technology is banned for North Korea. They are not allowed to carry out these missile tests. But as I said, we have seen a remarkable uptick in the amount they've launched, 13 so far this year alone.

Now you compare that to just the past couple years -- although it was during the pandemic -- last year there were just 8 missile launches, 2020 there were just 4 missile launches. So certainly, we can see North Korea has increased the amount it wants to test and most experts will tell you they expect this to continue for months to come -- Max.

FOSTER: In terms of the quality of these missiles, is it possible to assess whether or not they are getting better at making them and firing them?

HANCOCKS: Absolutely. Even if a missile fails -- and we know that one which was potentially an ICBM in March which the South Koreans say failed on just about 20 kilometers into the air after launch. That would still have taught North Korea something. So even failures they can progress from and find out what they need to change.

Now, we've heard from Kim Jong-un himself, the leader of North Korea, back in January of last year exactly what he wants to achieve. He gave a wish list of weapons systems, of missiles, over a dozen different systems that he wanted to perfect over the next five years. And this is exactly what he seems to be doing. He's systematically going through that wish list and testing each system -- Max.

OK, OK, Paula, thank you. We'll follow more reaction over the day.

Still to come, outrage and shock over the possible reversal of Roe v. Wade. We'll take a look at which states could ban abortions if the landmark Supreme Court ruling is overturned. Stay with us.

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[04:30:00]