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Biden Urges Nations To Renew Focus On Democracy; Ukrainian Fighters Plead for More Advanced Weapons; Ukraine: Russia has Stolen 600,000 Tons of Grain; Simple Pasta Dish Shows impact of rising Food Costs; Police Look for Motive after Car Plows into Pedestrians; Treating New Zealand's Rare Penguin Species; Saudi-Backed LIV Golf Series Launches Amid Controversy. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired June 09, 2022 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. Live from CNN World headquarters in Atlanta, I'm John Vause. And you're watching CNN Newsroom.
Coming up, as Ukrainian fighter retreat, Russian forces take almost total control of the city of Severodonetsk as Vladimir Putin inches closer to seizing all of the Donbass region.
After two mass shootings by 18 year olds armed with semiautomatics, the U.S. Lower House votes to raise the age to own a semiautomatic to 21. But even that seems a bridge too far for Republicans in the Senate.
And some of the biggest names in professional golf accused of selling their souls to the Saudis as they prepare to tee off in the first ever live golf point.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: The Ukrainian president has warned that Severodonetsk go so to the fate of eastern Ukraine. Now it seems that cities almost under total Russian control. Severodonetsk was the last foothold for Ukraine, the mostly Russian controlled region of Luhansk.
Just a day earlier, Ukrainian fighters were defending about half the city, but have now been forced to retreat. Residents who have refused to or been unable to leave the region had been under constant shelling, taking cover in basements, safe rooms and wherever they can. The rest of military claims who inflicted significant losses on Ukraine in terms of manpower, weapons and equipment across the Donbass region. But Ukraine's president says the fight is not yet over.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRES. VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAIN (through translator): Severodonetsk remains the epic center of the confrontation in Donbass, we defend our positions, inflict significant losses on the enemy. This is a very fierce battle, very difficult, probably one of the most difficult throughout this war. I'm grateful to everyone who defends this direction. In many ways, the fate of our Donbass is decided there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: For us live now to Kyiv, CNN's Salma Abdelaziz has live shot duty for us today. So in just 24 hours, Ukrainian fighters in Severodonetsk went from defending half the city to falling back in this strategic retreat. So, what happened?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: John, I think we should be very careful with these estimates of control because last week, for example, even Ukrainian officials were admitting that up to 80 percent of the city was under Russian occupation, was under Russian control. Again, today they're admitting that a majority of the city is under Russian control.
The battle lines, the street to street fights, they are changing by the hour. But the reality on the ground is that you have a Ukrainian force that is outmanned, outgunned a superior Russian artillery position that is able to essentially shell, bomb, strike at these Ukrainian forces. They're pulling back, again, this is according to Ukrainian officials, pulling back to fortified positions, and they are now fighting over what is essentially a wasteland. The city has been entirely decimated based on satellite imagery that we've seen. Most buildings completely leveled.
So, if you're looking at the situation on the ground, it almost seems inevitable. Yes, there is a back and forth between Ukrainian forces. Yes, President Zelenskyy says that Ukrainian defenders are holding their ground.
But we're also hearing from Russian backed officials that Ukrainian forces are suffering major losses. They say again, this is from Russian backed officials, they say that 300 Ukrainian troops have been killed in a matter of three days, that dozens of Ukrainian weaponry, resources have been lost in this battle. Of course, Russia as well is making major losses here. But again, this is a superior military force.
And you pointed that out, why fight over Severodonetsk so much? Why is this a key city right now? It is because it is that final step tip towards taking the Luhansk region. Of course the larger goal here is to take control of the Donbass for President Putin.
It is hard to imagine how much longer the Ukrainian forces can continue to hold this. This is of course very symbolic because it would mean the loss of yet another portion of Ukraine that would now be under Russian occupied forces. And it comes at a time when Russia is claiming that it is rebuilding infrastructure, transportation links and able now to have that land bridge, that was the goal, right, with this conflict, with this invasion was to build that land bridge.
And we're going to pull up the map because I really want to show you this. Ultimately, the goal of this conflict was to connect Russia down through the Donbass down to Russian occupied Crimea to that critical port there. So, Russian back forces here, just carrying on with trying to restore transportation links, take control of these regions whether or not Ukrainian forces are able to take back Severodonetsk, it's hard to imagine how much longer they could hold any ground. John.
[01:05:15]
VAUSE: Salma, thank you. Salma Abdelaziz with an update there on the fighting in the east. Appreciate that. Thank you.
It should have been a diplomatic success for the White House. The Summit of the Americas being held in Los Angeles, officially opened a few hours ago with a speech by President Joe Biden calling for cooperation and common purpose. Only two dozen leaders from the western hemisphere are attending the gathering with issues like immigration in the spotlight. But it's the leaders who are not invited and those who boycotted because of that decision, which is overshadowed the summit. Still, Mr. Biden is trying to keep the focus on the agenda with leaders meeting for talks in the hours ahead.
On Wednesday, Biden called for a renewed focus on democracy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As we meet again today, in a moment, when democracy is under assault around the world, let us unite again and renew our conviction that democracy is not only the defining feature of American histories, but the essential ingredient to America's futures.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: U.S. President is expected to reveal a new regional migration declaration as we learned of a new caravan with an estimated 5,000, maybe 6,000 migrants continuing their journey north from the Mexico Guatemala border. Stefano Pozzebon is live for us this hour once again in Caracas.
So, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, the leaders of these countries not invited because they are considered to be autocratic or dictatorships, essentially, with human rights abuses. How's this now being seen in the region now that the summit is officially underway?
STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: I think, John, that the fact that these countries were not invited has been -- has received mixed reviews. Some of the countries who are present in Los Angeles have indeed criticized the White House for these decision, I'm talking of Argentina and Chile. Others have applauded the White House decision, for example, Colombia who have said that exactly countries with whose democratic record is tainted and they cannot boast a full democratic credentials should not be invited.
And then of course, you have those countries who have decided not to take part in in the summit because of that failed invitations. And I'm talking here in particular, about four countries, John, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. These are the countries that the U.S. is trying to build a partnership with in order to address what we keep hearing refer to as the root causes of migration. We know that the majority of the migrants who arrive at the U.S. southern border come from this country, and more importantly, the migrants need to cross all these countries, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and then the whole length of Mexico like the caravan that you have just mentioned to in order to get to the U.S. southern border.
So for example, just on Tuesday, the vice president of the U.S., Kamala Harris, announced that a partnership of more than $3.2 billion of corporate aid to create jobs that are in the Northern Triangle in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. There is an effort from the U.S. through the private sector, through civil society, to change the narrative and to give away motivations for the migrants to come up and try to find a better future in America. But the reality is that those leaders who can have a say in the root causes of migration can have a say in how to tackle these crisis as it seems in Washington are simply not present there. So, that that is of course, a shortcoming out of the summit of the Americas.
But then, again, the white the White House is pointing that more than 20 leaders have been invited and have accepted invitations. And after the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of the pandemic into the economy and the current inflationary wave all across the western hemisphere, this is a time of unity and this is a time of rebuilding. Hopefully the next time though, everybody will be there perhaps, John.
VAUSE: Next time. Stefano, thank you. Stefano Pozzebon live for us there in Caracas. Thank you.
In Washington now, Brett Bruen, President of the Global Situation Room, an international consulting firm. Before that he was director of Global Engagement with the Obama White House.
Brett, it's been awhile. Thank you for staying up late and being with us.
BRETT BRUEN, PRESIDENT, GLOBAL SITUATION ROOM: You bet.
VAUSE: OK. So one of the issues with the summit we just heard migration. Right now about five, 6,000 people are walking from the Mexico Guatemala border towards the United States. Just take a look at the map. Four countries which border one another leading to the United States, countries -- these migrants will either -- they're either from or must pass through to reach U.S., Honduras and Nicaragua both invited to the summit -- but not invited rather, triggering a boycott by El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico. So the question is, how does the U.S. have a meaningful and serious discussion on migration without the leaders of those five countries there?
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BRUEN: Well, John, it's important to note that this really for the United States is the top issue. Biden, has tried since the beginning of his presidency to address the flow of migrants up to our southern border. He tasked Vice President Kamala Harris with addressing the issue. Unfortunately, there hasn't been a lot of progress.
And I think the absence of those leaders from the summit is a testament to quite frankly, their frustration with the Biden administration's lack of engagement on this. I mean, Kamala Harris, there was a report just the last couple of days that documented she has spent half as much time as the First Lady of the United States in Latin America, that is to say, she has been there for less than three days.
VAUSE: Right. Well, the Biden administration says these three countries were not invited, Honduras, Venezuela, Cuba, because they're not democratic states with a history of human rights abuses. Yet when it comes to meeting the leader of Saudi Arabia, which is also a well- known civil rights abuser, well, here's the answer from the Biden administration.
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JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: Saudi Arabia is an important partner and the President believes that. And the President also believes, John, that it's important for him to be willing and able to meet with leaders all across the world, no matter who they are, who they represent, if in fact, it's going to improve U.S. national security interest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Engaged with leaders across the world no matter who they are, unless they're, what, from Honduras, Venezuela and Cuba?
BRUEN: Yes, the hypocrisy here is pretty thick, John. And it's just not a defensible position, but what's worse is that they delayed making this decision until the very last moment. So what you're seeing right now is the Chiron across CNN about how Mexico as well as these other leaders have boycotted the summit, which is not the headline, not the focus that you want if you're sitting in the White House. So, I just don't understand the diplomatic logic here that the White House has used. It's part of a pattern of indecision, and quite frankly, of just bad assumptions that they've been making.
VAUSE: And this -- the opening speech, President Biden talks about the power of democracy to bring real change, here's part of his remarks from Wednesday, listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: At this summit, we have an opportunity for us to come together around some bold ideas, ambitious actions and to demonstrate to our people, the incredible power of democracies, deliver concrete benefits, and make life better for everyone, everyone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Everyone, unless they live in Cuba, Honduras, or Venezuela. There were just so many mixed messages coming from the White House, and what seems hard to believe is that they had months to organize this summit what began -- what back in August last year. How much harm has been done to the U.S.? And what are the influence that may have had in the region?
BRUEN: I fear that we've done considerable harm to our influence. The fact that this summit has been so poorly organized, and quite frankly, it's illustrative of neglect, American neglect of our neighbors. And that is just reinforced the perception that's long been held by Latin American leaders and the population of Latin America that the U.S. just isn't spending the necessary amount of time.
And, John, it wouldn't have taken a lot. I understand obviously, that you know, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, were always going to be hot button issues. But if the President went down, if Kamala Harris went down, spend some more time explained our position, look for areas of cooperation, we would have had a very different situation in Los Angeles today.
VAUSE: Yes, it's a good point to end on. Brett, thank you very much for being with us. Brett Bruen there in Washington.
BRUEN: You bet.
VAUSE: Ahead here on CNN Newsroom, the Congressional committee investigating the January 6 insurrection on Capitol Hill is about to go prime time with blockbuster public hearings. More on that in a moment.
Also, a survivor of the Uvalde school shooting goes to the U.S. lawmakers making the case for tougher gun laws. Her account is nothing short of horrific.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIAH CERRILLO, UVALDE SHOOTING SURVIVOR: He shot my friend that was next to me. And I thought he was going to come back to the room. So I grabbed the blood and put it all over me.
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VAUSE: In the U.S., the lower House of Congress voted to pass a sweeping package of gun control legislation on Wednesday.
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REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), HOUSE SPEAKER: On this vote the yeas are 223, the nays are 204. The bill is passed. Without objection, I'm --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Well, that's how the Protecting Our Kids Act cleared the House of Representatives. Now, if approved by the Senate one new regulation which says a minimum age of buying most semiautomatic weapons increase from 18 to 21. But despite two mass shootings by two 18 year olds armed with semiautomatic weapons, Republicans in the Senate are unlikely to go for it.
That's where it comes as the nation reels from a string of deadly mass shootings, including the recent rampage at a school in Uvalde. Texas for like 19 students and two teachers dead. Some survivors and parents who lost loved ones there shared their stories with lawmakers before that vote. CNN's Phil Mattingly reports one witness was a fourth grader who saw her teacher and her classmates killed.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you feel safe at school? Why not?
CERRILLO: Because I don't want it to happen again.
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A searing words of Miah Cerrillo.
CERRILLO: When I went to the (inaudible), he shot my friend that was next to. And I thought he was going to come back to the room so I grabbed the blood and put it all over me.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): A haunting pain in the voices of Kimberly and Felix Rubio.
KIMBERLY RUBIO, MOTHER OF UVALDE SHOOTING VICTIM: I can still see her walking with us toward the exit. In the reel that keeps scrolling across my memories, she turns her head and smiles back at us to acknowledge my promise. And then we left. I left my daughter at that school, and that decision will haunt me for the rest of my life.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): The visceral detail from Dr. Roy Guerrero.
DR. ROY GUERRERO, UVALDE PEDIATRICIAN: Two children whose bodies had been pulverized by bullets fired at them decapitated, whose flesh had been ripped apart, that the only clue as their identities was a blood spider cartoon clothes still clinging to them, clean for life and finding none.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): A fourth grade survivor, the parents of a murdered child, a pediatrician, the voices of Uvalde, Texas, pleading for action in Washington.
RUBIO: Somewhere out there there's a mom listening to our testimony, thinking I can't even imagine their pain. Not knowing that our reality will one day be hers unless we act now.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): As bipartisan senators engaged in yet another day of intensive talks weigh a narrow agreement that would include incentives for state red flag laws, opening juvenile records to background checks and funding for mental health programs. It's a deal if it comes together that would fall short of the explicit request of the witnesses.
RUBIO: We seek a ban on assault rifles and high capacity magazines.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): But it presents the most significant opportunity for change. White House officials and lawmakers say they've seen in years a recognition of the horror reflected in the words of Miah Cerrillo's father.
MIGUEL CERRILLO, MIAH CERRILLO'S FATHER: (Inaudible) my baby girl. She is not same little girl that I used to play with in Randwick (ph) and do everything.
[01:20:08]
MATTINGLY (voice-over): And the response from those who've witnessed the carnage firsthand.
GUERRERO: Making sure our children are safe from guns, that's the job of our politicians and leaders. In this case, you are the doctors and our country is a patient. We are bleeding out and you are not there.
My oath as a doctor means that I signed up to save lives. I do my job. And I guess it turns out that I am here to plead, to beg, to please, please do yours.
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MATTINGLY: And in talking to White House officials over the course of the day, there is genuine if cautious optimism that something can actually get done. Now, to be clear, it will not be everything President Biden laid out.
And keep in mind at this moment in time, the President is actually on the west coast for the summit of the Americans. But that plays in to the White House strategy, to some degree, give lawmakers space, allow the senators to reach their own deal, a recognition that the President will obviously have to sign anything that they agree on. But they don't want to do anything to unsettle a very delicate set of negotiations.
Now, if it falls short of what the President lays out, White House officials made clear one thing, as one official told me earlier, you cannot overstate the significance of getting something, anything done after more than a decade of a blockade due to Republican opposition. They just want to get something across the finish line.
Phil Mattingly, CNN, at the White House.
VAUSE: And President Joe Biden took his message on gun control to late night television Wednesday with an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live." Kimmel asked the President why he hasn't taken more executive actions on gun violence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": Can't you issue an executive order Trump passes out like Halloween?
BIDEN: Yes. Well, I did.
KIMMEL: Isn't that something that could happen? BIDEN: Well, I have issued executive orders within the power of the presidency to be able to deal with this, everything having to do with guns, gun ownership, whether or not you have to have a waiting but all the things that were within my power. But what I don't want to do, and I'm not being facetious, I don't want to emulate Trump's abuse of the Constitution and constitutional authority.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The President added that playing dirty like Republicans, in his words not playing square, will put U.S. democracy in jeopardy.
Well, we're about to get possibly the best understanding yet of what happened during the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. And what led up to one of the most traumatic moments in U.S. history. The House panel investigating the rise of its first primetime televised hearings in the coming hours, members will start laying out what they've learned about the national nightmare, trying to stymie Republican efforts to whitewash what really happened.
Early reports indicate the committee will argue there was indeed a conspiracy to create chaos. This is not a peaceful protest that got a little rowdy. CNN's Pamela Brown reports on what else we can expect.
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PAMELA BROWN, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After a nearly year long investigation, the January 6 committee is preparing to share their findings with the American people. And they are zeroing in on one man, former President Trump.
REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD), JANUARY 6TH SELECT COMMITTEE: I think that Donald Trump and the White House were at the center of these events. That's the only way really of making sense of them all.
BROWN (voice-over): From the beginning, the investigation has focused on the unprecedented efforts by Trump and his allies to try to stop the transfer of power to President Joe Biden. While Trump was impeached by the House just days after the riot for inciting the pro Trump insurrectionists, the committee says it's uncovered more since then,
RASKIN: The select committee has found evidence about a lot more than incitement here.
BROWN (voice-over): The committee has interviewed more than 1000 witnesses behind closed doors including Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Rudy Giuliani, former Attorney General Bill Barr, and obtained more than 135,000 documents.
REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY), VICE CHAIR, JANUARY 6TH SELECT COMMITTEE: We must also know what happened every minute of that day in the White House. Every phone call, every conversation, every meeting leading up to during and after the attack.
BROWN (voice-over): That committee is clearly signaling to the Justice Department which holds the power to charge Trump with a crime related to January 6.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you it was a conspiracy?
CHENEY: I do. It is extremely broad. It's extremely well organized. It's really chilling.
BROWN (voice-over): Just this week, a federal judge again flagged possible evidence of a crime. That same judge issued a landmark ruling earlier this year finding it was more likely than not that Trump and a conservative lawyer committed a crime and strategizing to overturn the election. Trump has not been charged with a crime and has denied any wrongdoing. He continues to downplay his involvement in the deadly insurrection while bashing the committee's work as another, quote, "witch hunt."
DONAL TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: January 6, what a lot of crap. It's another con job just like Russia, Russia, Russia.
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BROWN (voice-over): But for 187 minutes, committee members say Trump was derelict in his duty watching T.V. and seemingly please supporters were fighting for him even as Republicans pleaded for Trump to intervene and text messages to his White House Chief of Staff.
DENVER RIGGLEMAN, FORMER REPUBLICAN U.S. REPRESENTATIVE, VIRGINIA: It is a roadmap. And I would have to say at this point, I think Mark Meadows is the MVP for the committee.
BROWN (voice-over): Denver Riggleman advice the committee helping to decode Meadows texts among the more than 2,300 messages obtained by CNN. Donald Trump Jr. texting, "He's got to condemn this shit. ASAP." Meadows responding, "I am pushing it hard. I agree."
But it took Trump over three hours to release this recorded video.
TRUMP: So go home. We love you. You're very special.
RIGGLEMAN: When you look at the totality of the evidence, it's pretty apparent that at some points, President Trump knew what was going on.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
BROWN: Well, the hearings are not only expected to explore efforts to overturn the election results, but also the role of far right extremist groups. One month after the election, Trump tweeted about the protest in D.C. on January 6, the following day, the Proud Boys began to plan for the rally knowing they might have to break the law to stop the certification of votes. That's according to a plea agreement from one member of the Proud Boys who is now cooperating with the federal investigation.
The DOJ escalating that criminal case this week charging several leaders with seditious conspiracy.
Pamela Brown, CNN, Washington. VAUSE: Please tune in to CNN for live coverage of the January 6th Committee Hearings, begins at 7:00 p.m. Thursday in Washington. That's 7:00 a.m. Friday morning in Hong Kong. We'll see it only here on CNN.
Still to come, the long range artillery giving a decisive edge to Ukrainian fighters targeting Russian positions 20 miles away with devastating impact.
Also, a mainstay (ph) in Italian dine (ph), can't escape the impact of rising food prices brought about by the war in Ukraine. Why would it?
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VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN Newsroom.
Ukraine's military says to win this war it needs more powerful longer range weapons. They're getting new shipments from the United States and NATO allies every week. But one piece of artillery has had a devastating impact by targeting Russian positions with devastating accuracy. CNN's Matthew Chance has that report.
[01:29:38]
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): These are just some of the powerful American guns now on the Ukrainian front lines meant to make a critical difference in the war with Russia. Of course, they might be targeted at any moment. Media access to them is highly sensitive and rare.
(on camera): All right. Well, we've been taken here very close to the front lines in southern Ukraine, where we're being shown these U.S.- provided long-range artillery systems. It's an M777.
According to Ukrainian military officials that we've spoken to, the U.S. has so far supplied approximately 90 of these weapons and many of them are already being used on the frontline including in this area here in the south of Ukraine pounding Russian positions.
(voice over): We were only shown a training exercise. But Ukrainian military officials say these are exclusive images of the same weapons, in action just this week, firing on Russian forces more than 20 miles away. Including on this Grad (ph) multiple rocket launcher they say had been targeting civilian areas. Ukrainian aerial footage shows the Grad being destroyed, its ammunition exploding after a direct hit.
Ukrainian artillery troops say their guns are now giving them an edge. And their Russian counterparts are feeling the pain.
LT. IVAN SUROV, UKRAINIAN ARMY, (through translator): Yes, they definitely noticed as we became faster and more precise. They are not able to keep up with us and they are operating old Soviet guns which are heavier, less precise, slower and difficult to use.
These guns are objectively the best in the world. And when we started using them, our efficiency rose tremendously.
CHANCE (on camera): It's giving the Ukrainian military an advantage, they say, on the battlefield because these weapons are much lighter, much more accurate than they've used before, much more mobile as well. And it's giving them the edge, they say, to try and help them push back Russian forces all along this region.
But of course, the complaint. If you can call it a complaint is that they want more of this. They want more weapons like this. And they want even longer-range rocket systems which they've already been promised, of course, by the United States, to push back the Russians even further.
(voice over): And Ukrainian authorities are likely to need more guns still to hold them back. With no end to this conflict, the demand for U.S. weapons maybe endless too.
Matthew Chance, CNN -- in southern Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: So far, efforts by Turkey to broker a deal with Russia to allow the export of blockaded Ukrainian grain have gone nowhere. Foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov denies the Russian navy has blockaded Ukrainian ports and says this is Ukraine's problem to fix.
But the head of the European Commission is furious accusing Russia of food terrorism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
URSULA VON DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: This is a cold, callous and calculated siege by Putin on some of the most vulnerable countries and people in the world. And therefore, honorable members, food has become now part of the Kremlin's arsenal of terror.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Meantime, a Ukrainian agriculture official is accusing Russia of stealing 600,000 tons of grain.
We have more on Wednesday's high level talks from CNN's Jomana Karadsheh in Ankara.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No deal came out of the talks between the Russian foreign minister and his Turkish counterpart here in Ankara on Wednesday to try and end the blockade of Ukrainian ports, but the expectation all along was that these were going to be talks to lay the groundwork for more negotiations and talks to try and establish a sea corridor for the export of Ukrainian grains and agricultural products that so many countries are reliant on.
The Turkish foreign minister saying that they're hoping in the coming days to bring together the Russians, the Ukrainians at the United Nations for talks and negotiations here in Turkey. To try and agree on what this sea corridor looks like.
They're going to try and push forward with this plan to create the sea corridor. But at this point it doesn't seem like both Russia and Ukraine are on board fully. We've heard both countries saying that they want to see the resumption of Ukrainian grain exports. But they're both blaming each other for the blockade of the Ukrainian ports.
We've heard foreign minister Lavrov during a press conference on Wednesday, again blaming Ukraine saying if they wanted these exports to resume they need to remove the mines from the Black Sea, from around the ports and the exports would resume.
Now for the Ukrainians they say they want security guarantees. Their biggest concern is that Russia will try to use this to carry out attacks, to escalate its attacks on the southern coast of Ukraine and on their ports. So they want any guarantees before moving ahead.
[01:34:51]
KARADSHEH: And then there's the issue of what Russia is going to get in exchange for agreeing to this deal. And indications are that they are trying to get some sort of sanctions relief, something that is really going to be problematic, unlikely to be accepted by western powers and countries that have just imposed sanctions on Russia recently.
The Turkish foreign minister still sounding optimistic that they are going to be able to work on some sort of a plan saying that Turkey is open to getting Ukrainian and Russian exports out to the world where they're really needed to quote "combat" what he described as a true global crisis.
Jomana Karadsheh, CNN -- Ankara.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Higher food prices are being felt at grocery stores, food markets, restaurants all around the world. Spiking costs of basic staples have been staggering. Corn and wheat are up more than 60 percent. Soy beans and sunflower up more than 35 percent. And then there's the cost of fertilizer in shipping which are both climbing as well.
CNN's Barbie Nadeau reports, the entire dilemma can be explained in a serving of pasta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (voice over): This is the quintessential Italian meal, spaghetti with tomato. But the price of this Italian staple has increased tremendously over the last year.
To understand why here the cost to produce pasta from Durham wheat and tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes has gone up, we went directly to the source. Here at the Maestri Pastai pasta factory in southern Italy, owner Valentina Castiello tells us the price of some of the raw materials to make her pasta have jumped by 100 percent. She tells us her company is trying to find ways to absorb the excess but some of it will go to the consumer.
VALENTINA CASTIELLO, OWNER, MAESTRI PASTAI: We have increased the price of our final product by 30 percent. The cost is high but the consumer continues to buy the affordable products that everyone can use at home.
NADEAU: The average Italian eats around 50 pounds of pasta every year. Castiello says to confront the rising cost of living, distributors are actually buying more inventory from her factory because even if the price of pasta goes up, it is still by far the most affordable way for many Italians to put food on the table. The rising cost range from packaging to electricity to fuel, to transport these goods.
But it isn't just pasta makers struggling to produce economical food. At this tomato farm near Rome that La Marasca (ph) owns with her father and brother, things aren't much easier. She tells us that fertilizer costs alone have risen 150 percent over last year.
They had to make a drastic decision to reduce the number of tomatoes they planted by 40 percent because they have no idea what the market will be like when these new tomato plants are ready to harvest.
Marasca says the tomato is the base of the Italian diet during the summer as fresh produce and during the other seasons as canned products. The factors driving the prices of these fundamental Italian ingredients are complicated.
First came the pandemic then Russia's war in Ukraine and now, the uncertainty of what's next.
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VAUSE: That was CNN's Barbie Nadeau with her report.
There's still no word on why a driver plowed his car into a crowd in Berlin on Wednesday, killing at least one person, 17 others were injured. Six still fighting for their lives.
After running down pedestrians, the driver crashed into a nearby store. He's now being treated in hospital and according to police is a dual German Armenian citizen.
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THILO CABLITZ, POLICE SPOKESPERSON (through translator): To reconstruct the event we are obviously looking if this was an intentional act or a traffic accident that might have occurred due to a medical emergency. We are currently trying to clear this up which is why so many colleagues are working here right now to collect evidence to reliably determine if it's one of the other.
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VAUSE: Investigations have continued at the scene of the crash and officials have shut down reports that a confession letter was found in the car.
Still to come, the LIV Golf tournament is about to tee off. Its supporters say the series could be a game-changer for the sport. But already it's been a game-changer for a few careers out there. More on that in a moment.
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VAUSE: New Zealand's rugged (ph) coastline is home to some of the most endangered species of penguins. They're cute but these sassy birds have a vicious bite according to those who are trying to protect the species.
CNN's Kristie Lu Stout has more now on the team trying to save these threatened but adorable animals.
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KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On New Zealand's south island coast on 150 acres of private land, Penguin Place is a rescue and rehabilitation center for sick, starving, and injured penguins. It's also a haven for this native endangered species.
JASON VAN ZANTEN, CONSERVATION MANAGER, PENGUIN PLACE: Hoiho is Maori word for yellow-eyed penguin and it means noisy shouter so chance (ph) are that you are going to see one, you'll hear them screaming at each other.
They're the world's only solitary species penguin. So they don't like each other.
STOUT: They don't seem to like human contact either says Penguin Place conservation manager, Jason van Zanten.
VAN ZANTEN: Believe it or not the yellow-eyed penguins aren't cute and cuddly like they look. They have a really vicious bite and they can do quite a bit of damage.
STOUT: Many of these birds come to Penguin Place from the Dunedin Wildlife Hospital nearby where they're under the care founder and director, Dr. Lisa Argilla.
DR. LISA ARGILLA, DUNEDIN WILDLIFE HOSPITAL: I love penguins. They are quite sassy, little individuals. They all have their own individual personalities as well.
STOUT: This is a Fiordland crested penguin or Tawaki. It's one of New Zealand's rarest mainland penguin species.
DR. ARGILLA: Well, the New Zealand penguins are in such strife. Reaching THE levels of being endangered, just trying to save these guys as best as we can. Stop them from becoming extinct.
STOUT: Dr. Argilla and her team treat up to 50 penguins here per season.
DR. ARGILLA: Most of the injuries we see are actually predator related. This guy has got what would be consistent with a nasty gash wounds all over the feet from a barracuda. I guess climate change is definitely having an impact on the temperatures of the ocean and what fish are around and where they're dispersing so that could be why we're seeing more injuries.
STOUT: At Penguin Place, these young birds are feeling the effects of climate change. Unable to find enough food in the ocean due to rising sea temperatures, as well as fishing practices Van Zanten says. Around 80 percent come in underweight and need fattening up.
VAN ZANTEN: These birds have been declining a lot recently. In the last ten or so years we have lost about three quarters or 75 percent of the population. So that's a lot really, really quickly.
Humans also have their part to play. A lot of the public beaches unfortunately do have a lot of foot traffic on it. And we cause a lot disturbance for these birds.
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VAN ZANTEN: Private reserves like this are really important for the species ongoing. The work we are doing is absolutely critical for these guys and their survival here on the mainland.
So 95 percent of the birds that come into us are successfully released back out onto the wild.
STOUT: For Van Zanten's birds, things are looking up. But for the full recovery of these penguins species, it's baby steps.
DR. ARGILLA: You can do it. Penguins are like sentinel species for the ocean. They're the ones that are going to be affected by climate change, first and the most. They are screaming at us to say that the climate is a disaster. So now we just got to hope that the human race can listen to them because we don't want to lose these guys.
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VAUSE: Let us know what you have been doing to answer the call with hashtag Call To Earth -- anyone.
We will be right back. Stay with CNN.
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VAUSE: The E.U. is moving to ban the sale of new combustion engine cars by 2035 after a vote passed the European Parliament it will now head to the European Council. And if approved, will become the law strongest law that phase out gasoline vehicles. Well critics argue it's unwise to phase out those types of cars, the E.U.'s climate policy chief says now is the perfect time to start. The E.U. is the world's biggest polluter with transportation being the only sector to continually increase output of greenhouse gases.
We're just hours away now from tee off in the first LIV Golf tournament. Each round, seven rounds players will compete for a total prize money of $25 million. That's in each round.
Little wonder senior golfers, professional golfers are leaving the long-established PGA tour to sign up. With so much money coming in from the Saudi regime -- a regime with a widely condemned human rights record, the tournament is awash in controversy as well.
CNN's Alex Thomas has details.
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ALEX THOMAS, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Backed by Saudi Arabia's billions of dollars, LIV Golf could fundamentally change the professional men's game. The new series offers players fewer tournaments and guaranteed prize money, lots of it.
Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson are the biggest stars to sign up and the pair are earning more from this than their entire prize money from a combined 45 years on the PGA tour.
DUSTIN JOHNSON, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: This is something that I thought was best for me and my family. And you know, I'm very excited about playing. And obviously this is the first week and you know, it's just -- yes, something exciting. It's something new. And yes, I think it's great for the game of golf. And so, you know, that's why I'm here.
THOMAS: LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman says his new series is game changing especially for lower ranked players.
GREG NORMAN, CEO, LIV GOLF: The PGA tour doesn't give a rat's ass about what's going to happen to you after you finish playing the game of golf. They don't.
THOMAS: But the money hasn't impressed everyone. Norman told the "Washington Post" that Tiger Woods turned down a high nine figure sum to join which has called the venture quote, "polarizing". While another golf legend, Jack Nicklaus, says he also rejected an offer to get involved, worth $100 million.
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JACK NICKLAUS, GOLF LEGEND: I had zero interest in it. I don't care what kind of money they want to thrown at me. My allegiance has been to the PGA tour, I grew up with the PGA tour. I helped found the PGA tour, as it is today. And my allegiance is there. It's going to stay there.
THOMAS: It's the backing by Saudi Arabia's public investment fund, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that has attracted the stiffest criticism. The Arab nation has long been accused of sports washing. Using the popularity of sporting events to clean up its reputation for human rights abuses and alleged state-sponsored killings.
A U.S. intelligence report claim, Bin Salman himself sanctioned the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, something Bin Salman denies. Even Mickelson said it was scary getting involved with the Saudis, but he says, golf desperately needs change, and real change is always preceded by disruption.
PHIL MICKELSON, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: I don't condone human rights violations at all. I don't think -- nobody here does and throughout the world. I am certainly aware what's happened with Jamal Khashoggi, and I think it's terrible.
I've also seen the good the game of golf has done throughout history. And I believe that LIV Golf is going to do a lot a good for the game as well.
THOMAS: Despite the reservations, LIV Golf is forging ahead with eight tournaments this year, five of which are in the United States, with the season finale at the Trump National Doral Course in Florida.
Alex Thomas, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Christine Brennan is a CNN sports analyst and sports columnist for USA Today. It's good to see you.
CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: Great to see you John. Thanks.
VAUSE: Ok. so proof once again that everyone has their price, two-time major champion Dustin Johnson who said he would remain loyal to the PGA tour but was then reportedly offered more than $100 million dollars by LIV or LIV which would be $25 million more than he has earned in his entire career. His manager saying it was too compelling to pass up.
A few days earlier reports that Phil Mickelson signed a contract with $200 million. This is the sort of money which providing you can live with yourself, it makes for a very comfortable ride. You can go away and do whatever.
So will they be pariahs after this in the world of golf? If this tournament continues on, keeps eating away traditional golf, are these the guys the smart ones who got in on the ground floor?
BRENNAN: I think, John right now, I wish I could say we would know exactly what this will look like in six months. We don't.
To me they are pariahs. I think to many, many people, they are pariahs. And for one reason only. They have decided to go into business with a murderer. We know that MBS, Mohammed bin Salman, was according to the human rights organizations, according to authorities, was responsible for the murder of "Washington Post" columnist, Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. And there is no doubt about that.
And MBS and his money that Saudi funds is sponsoring this LIV Golf. So it's not like you are just going to play in a tournament and then leaving and going home.
I think there is some concern, on the PGA tour in the United States, that this could take hold. This could become a bigger deal although I'm not so sure that is really going to happen because -- 54 hole tournaments, it's a team competition, it looks kind of silly. No one knows really what the rules are.
So I don't think it's a threat yet for established golf, but it certainly has got everybody nervous. And more and more of these guys are saying that they are going to go become business partners with MBS.
VAUSE: And on that, the CEO of LIV Greg Norman, he was asked about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and role that was played by MBS.
This is what he told one interviewer. Look we've all made mistakes, and you just want to learn from those mistakes and how you can correct them going forward.
Possibly the worst answer to one of the biggest criticisms hanging over this tournament.
BRENNAN: Oh, without a doubt. I mean it's just an awful, awful answer by Greg Norman. You would think, John, that alone would be enough of a comment or a point, or cautionary tale for any of these guys, Phil Mickelson is a smart guy.
Any of them (INAUDIBLE) -- do I want to be a part of that? Do I want to be in business, not only with MBS and that fund in Saudi Arabia, but also with Greg Norman? Because you are right he is running this whole thing. This renegade golf tour.
You know, do I want to be part of anything involving Norman when he would say something that horrendous? That awful, that despicable, that reprehensible? Just to be slipping off the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in that manner? We all make mistakes?
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BRENNAN: The PR nightmare that has been going on with these guys including even just the press conference the other day, that devolved into people shouting and some reporter being escorted out. Just a media three-ring circus.
I think clearly they need to up their game on that. Because right now, there what you -- it's like amateur hour with the worst possible things being said obviously in the case of Greg Norman.
VAUSE: And I guess at the end of the day, whether this thing survives, or whether it lives on depends on how deep the pockets are of the Saudis. And they have very, very deep puppets.
They don't have a TV deal with anybody right now. they have a limited number of players who have signed up. It's costing them a fortune.
I guess the question is how long do they stick with it, you know, spending hundreds of million of dollars for, you know, this payoff we have seen some very limited right now, just controversy.
BRENNAN: Certainly that's the case. I mean if they've got deep pockets, if they've got unlimited money they can keep throwing money at golfers. What it is, could be in control of the U.S. side of this, or what we call the establishment side U.S. (INAUDIBLE) which runs the British Open, obviously just the national PGA of America and the U.S. Golf Association.
All they have to do is put their foot down. All they have to do is say you cannot play in any majors if you do this. Because Phil Mickelson is right now saying hey I'm going to do the LIV Golf and I'm also going to do the majors.
So you've got to cut this off. You've got to tell these guys no, they can't do that. Basically the established golf leagues and golf circuits in the western world have to look at them and say, basically they have to play hardball. They have to say enough is enough.
And the PGA tour in just a few hours actually is going to make some kind of an announcement. One presumes that they will ban any player who has already left to go play in this tour because it is against their rules. It's a violation of their rules, John, to go and play on a rival tour. You just can't do that. You're part of the PGA tour, you've got to be in the PGA tour, you've signed up for that.
We'll see if there are legal challenges to that. But one will presume the PGA tour will really throw the book at these guys. We'll see how that goes. And then, these major tournaments, Augusta National, will the Masters allow all these guys back after they take the blood money of Saudi Arabia? It will be very interesting to see.
But if the golf world, doesn't rise up and play hardball against these guys, there is going to be more and more of these golfers being poached and taken away. That of course, can hurt the game in the United States, and in Europe. It could hurt immeasurably if this continues.
VAUSE: Yes. We will see what happens I guess. They're teeing off in just a few hours from now. We'll see what happens. Christine, thanks so much.
BRENNAN: John, my pleasure. Thank you.
VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
CNN NEWSROOM continues with my friend and colleague Paula Newton in just a moment.
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