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Severodonetsk Now Dominated by Russian Forces; No Done Deal Yet Over Black Sea Ports; Victims' Cries Heard by Congress; Message of Unity Only for Invited Countries; Man Plowed His Car into the Crowd; P.M. Boris Johnson Wants to Revitalize U.K's Economy; Rwanda Preparing to House Migrants. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired June 09, 2022 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Paula Newton.

Just ahead right here on CNN Newsroom, from Russia's advance across eastern Ukraine to weaponizing food and grains. We are live in Kyiv and London on the Kremlin's, quote, "arsenal of terror."

Heartbreaking pleas to lawmakers to do something about gun violence. A mother who lost her daughter in Uvalde, and an 11-year-old girl who survived that massacre, will their words make a difference?

And CNN gets a firsthand look at how Rwanda is preparing for migrants to be deported from the U.K. We are live in Kigali.

The Ukrainian president is warning that as Severodonetsk goes, so too does the fate of eastern Ukraine. And now it seems that city is under almost total Russian control. Severodonetsk was the last foothold for Ukraine in the mostly Russian controlled region of Luhansk.

Just a day ago, Ukrainian fighters were defending about half of the city, now they've been forced to retreat. A local military commander says his forces are quote, "catastrophically short on artillery pieces needed to fight off that Russian advance." Now residents who cannot or will not leave are under continuous shelling. Taking cover in basements, safe rooms, really wherever they can.

Russian military claims it has inflicted significant losses on Ukraine in terms of manpower, weapons and equipment right across the Donbas region. But Ukraine's president says the fight isn't over yet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): Severodonetsk remains the epicenter of the confrontation in Donbas. We defend our position, 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 Donbas is decided there. (END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Now as we've told you here, Russia has been weaponizing energy and they've done that really since the moment that the war began. Now, it's accused to doing the same with the global food supply. U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres says the war threatens an unprecedented wave of hunger and destitution.

And Ukraine's president says he fears millions will starve if Russia's blockade of ports is not lifted. Besides blocking millions of tons of Ukrainian grain from market, Russia is accused of stealing some 600,000 tons of it. The head of the European Commission says Russia's action are an attack on the world's most vulnerable.

(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)

NEWTON: Now Turkey's government is trying to use its regional clout and close ties with both warrying countries to break the blockade Ukraine calls a global threat. That blockade was front and center as Turkey's foreign minister hosted his Russian counterpart Wednesday in Ankara. Turkey's top diplomat calls the U.N. plan to end the blockade reasonable.

CNN's Clare Sebastian is live for us this hour for us in London, but we begin with Salma Abdelaziz in Kyiv, Ukraine. And Salma, Russia now claims it has secured, you know, that land bridge, critical from this Crimean Peninsula in the south through to the eastern Donbas and right to that Russian border. Of course, it's significant strategically. But will it last? Can it last? Do you think Ukraine might attempt to retake that territory sometime soon?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: When you look at what's happening in the east, Paula, when you look at Ukrainian forces now mired in essentially what looks like a city about to fall, Severodonetsk, when you hear from Ukrainian officials themselves that they are catastrophically outgunned. That they are facing superior military, of course, outmanned, outgunned, a Russian artillery has for weeks now been grinding them down in Severodonetsk.

They, it's hard to imagine that Ukrainian forces would have the ability to take back the losses of Mariupol, of Kherson, of these areas that are now fully under Russian control. And what Russia is doing with these gains is it is solidifying them. It is making them the reality on the ground. And it's doing that by restoring infrastructure.

[03:05:05]

Hundreds of miles of railways have been restored, there is now, according to Russian officials, a full route, a rail route, between Russia down to the Donbas into these occupied Russian regions all the way to Crimea. Again, you mention that very strategic called this land bridge would give Russia access to an all-year port. It's only year- round port because it is a warm water port. That is Crimea, that part of the larger goal of this conflict here for President Putin.

They're also solidifying their gains by opening some of these ports in Berdyansk, in Mariupol. They say, Russian officials say they've been able to demine those areas. That they're going to start functioning and using them for trade and shipping. And crucially, another major gain has been the war -- the ability to get freshwater to Crimea. That is the northern canal in Crimea, that is in Russian occupied Kherson as well.

So, what you are looking at is Russian forces absolutely solidifying these gains, whether or not the international community recognizes them, and yes, when you come to the negotiating table in the reality on the ground is that, Russian forces are running these areas that the infrastructure is back and functioning and leading into Moscow. It's hard to imagine how Ukraine can gain this back, particularly when you look at them already mired in the conflict in the east, Paula.

NEWTON: And yet, many fully expect that Ukraine will try and mount another counter offensive. Clare, you've been following this conflict from another side of things. I mean, in terms of the dire predictions about what could happen to the global food supply, were there any, you know, progress in those talks in Ankara? I mean, Turkish officials say they were hopeful that they could broker some kind of a breakthrough.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Paula, no breakthrough. And frankly, I don't think one was expected. But this U.N. plan to try to create a humanitarian maritime corridor to allow Ukraine to restart those sea exports of its grain, that is still on the table according to the Turkish foreign minister who was sort of the lead broker of these talks.

He says there could be new ground for negotiations coming out of this. So, look, perhaps this is a start a sort of, baby step on the road to some kind of resolution here. But it is a long road ahead, because the two sides at the moment still can't really agree on who is to blame for the current situation.

Ukraine says that Russia is blockading those ports, that it can't get access there, it says that Russia has mined the seas around -- around those coastal waters, and they've said that in the past. Russia, meanwhile, Sergey Lavrov saying that look, Russia is willing to restart those experts to facilitate it, but Ukraine needs to demine the coastal waters. So that's one point.

And meanwhile, we hear from the deputy head of Ukraine's agrarian council saying that accusing Russia of stealing some 600,000 tons of Ukrainian grain since the start of the conflict, bringing it with trucks through to the Crimean Peninsula and then trying to export it to the Middle East.

We haven't been able to independently confirm those numbers. But CNN has reported that convoys of trucks have been seen carrying grain from Russian occupied areas in the south of Ukraine through to Crimea. So, this is something that certainly has, the annexation that has been leveled against Russia evidence does exist that it's doing that. That does not increase trust when it comes to continuing these negotiations, Paula.

NEWTON: Yes. Clare, and everything you're talking about just so reminiscent that everything went on in Mariupol and how really tragic it was that there was no breakthrough in time there as well.

Clare Sebastian following that for us in London, and thanks as well to Salma Abdelaziz in Kyiv.

Now leaders and representatives from nations of the western hemisphere will meet for talks in the coming hours at the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles. U.S. President Joe Biden officially kicked off the event Wednesday, calling for a cooperation, and in his words, common purpose.

The agenda will focus on issues like immigration the economy, and climate change. But several key leaders are missing from the summit. And that includes Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador who boycotted after the U.S. Decided to exclude Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela from the event.

Journalist Stefano Pozzebon reports now for us from Caracas.

STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: U.S. President Joe Biden kicked off his appearance at the ninth Summit of the Americas on Wednesday in Los Angeles with a strong plea to fellow Western Hemisphere leaders to join together in defense of democracy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: 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)

POZZEBON: But while the U.S. is trying to portray an image of unity across the region what dominated today was the issues of those countries whose leaders decided not to take part in the summit.

[03:10:08]

Four nations in particular, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, with whom the U.S. is trying to partner with in order to try and stem the flow of migrants towards the U.S. southern border.

And while Joe Biden is holding a series of bilateral meetings with leaders across the region, such as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, those leaders who can really address the root causes of migration are simply not there. And while these leaders decided not to take part in the summit, others were not invited altogether due to their anti- Democratic governments.

One of them, Venezuela strongman Nicolas Maduro, paid a visit to Turkey on Wednesday in order to try to boost his international statesman credentials.

For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Caracas.

NEWTON: Gun reform is taking center stage at the U.S. Congress following mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York. On Wednesday, House lawmakers passed a sweeping gun control legislation bill called Protecting Our Kids Act. Although it's chance of passing the Senate is in fact, next to none.

It comes after heart-wrenching testimony from families and survivors of those recent shootings.

CNN's Manu Raju has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: Do you feel safe at school?

MIAH CERRILLO, UVALDE SHOOTING SURVIVOR: No.

UNKNOWN: Why not?

UNKNOWN: You think it's going to happen again?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Eleven-year-old Miah Cerrillo recounting in harrowing testimony how she pretended she was dead in order to survive the massacre at her school in Uvalde, Texas.

CERRILLO: There's a door between our classrooms and then he was there, he shot my teacher. He shot in the head. And then he shot some of my classmates and the white board. I went to the back. He shot my friend that was next to me. I thought he was going to come back to the room, so I covered myself with blood and put it all over me.

UNKNOWN: What did you do when you put the blood on yourself?

CERRILLO: I stayed quiet and the gunman (Inaudible).

RAJU: The parents of a murdered fourth grader, Lexi Rubio, describing the agonizing wait as they frantically tried to locate their daughter.

KIMBERLY RUBIO, MOTHER OF LEXI RUBIO: I left my daughter that school. And that decision will haunt me for the rest of my life. At this point, some part of me must realize that she was gone. In the midst of chaos, I had the urge to return to Robb. We didn't have our car at this point. Traffic was everywhere. So, I ran, I ran barefoot, with my flimsy sandals on my hand.

I ran a mile to the school, my husband with me. We sat outside for a while before it became clear we wouldn't receive an answer from law enforcement on scene. RAJU: Before receiving the devastating news that shattered their

lives.

RUBIO: Soon after we receive the news that our daughter was among the 19 students and two teachers that died as a result of gun violence.

RAJU: The gut-wrenching testimony from a pediatrician who treated the victims.

ROY GUERRERO, PEDIATRICIAN, UVALDE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL: Those mothers' cries will never get out of my head.

RAJU: Witnessing this.

GUERRERO: Two children's bodies had been pulverized by bullets fired at them, decapitated. Whose flesh had been ripped apart. That the only clue of their identities was a blood splatter cartoon close still clinging to them. Clinging for life and finding none.

RAJU: And the mother of a victim from the Buffalo grocery store massacre, detailing the injuries her son has endured.

ZENETA EVERHART, MOTHER OF BUFFALO SHOOTING VICTIM: As I cleaned his wounds, I can feel pieces of that bullet in his back. Shrapnel will be left inside of his body for the rest of his life. Now, I want you to picture that exact scenario for one of your children. This should not be your story. Or mine.

RAJU: All demanding action from Congress.

RUBIO: We demand action. We seek a ban on assault rifles and high- capacity magazines. We seek to raise the age to purchase these weapons from 18 to 21 years of age. We seek red flag laws, stronger background checks, we also want to repeal gun manufacturers liability immunity.

EVERHART: No citizen needs an AR-15. These weapons are designed to do the most to the most harm in the least amount of time.

RAJU: But many of those changes will not be included in any final deal in Congress. Giving GOP opposition to restricting access to high- powered semiautomatic rifles.

Why do you oppose reinstating the assault weapons ban now?

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), SENATE MINORITY LEADER: We're trying to get an outcome.

RAJU: Senate negotiators are instead focusing on a narrow set of changes, including bolstering states red flag laws, providing billions for mental health programs, money for school security, and allowing juvenile records to be searched in background checks.

[03:15:03]

Even though it doesn't go far enough for many Democrats, senators are willing to give the talks a chance. How concerned are you that this guns deal is not going to go as far as

you want restricted access to guns?

SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): I think it will be incremental. I think it'll be necessary things, not sufficient to stop that level of carnage we're having. But, God, we haven't done anything since Parkland, since Columbine on the national level. So, I'm hopeful, tempered hope that we can get something done that will be meaningful.

RAJU: Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Now that testimony was incredibly shocking for people to hear. But the question is, will it make any difference?

Earlier, I spoke with Ryan Busse, former firearms executive and author of the book, "Gunfight," which focuses on the American gun industry. I asked him if gun control has any chance of getting more traction. Listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN BUSSE, AUTHOR, GUNFIGHT: Well, I do sense like many people in the United States sense something different about this one. Sad that we say that. I think a lot of people said the same sort of thing after Sandy Hook and after Parkland and after so many.

It's pretty gut-wrenching what we saw today, what we know to be true. It's tough. Obviously, we saw the House pass a bill today. We are going to find out how deeply intertwined the kind of all or nothing NRA-ism, NRA politics is in the DNA of the Republican Party when it gets to the Senate.

I don't think we are going to find a lot of people with GOP members in the Senate with courage. But I think -- I think it's possible we are going to find a few. So, we will see what happens.

NEWTON: What was the mood though? You are there and when I say the mood, I mean the mood among those who need their mind changed on this issue?

BUSSE: Well, I think like so many other times, I do think that there are GOP senators who are very touched and distraught over this. But they tend to be more distraught over a very loud radicalized portion of the GOP base. They do not want to deal with, you know, the trolling, the sort of angry calls, the primaries that they might have to deal with.

And sadly, I think we've learned that they are more distraught about the outcomes, the sorts of political outcomes than they are about doing the right thing on things like this. I hope that we are in the middle of seeing a shift, I'm not optimistic that we are going to see it across the board, but again, we just need a few of them.

NEWTON: Ryan Busse, once again, thanks again. BUSSE: Thanks for having me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: A California man faces attempted murder charges after he showed up outside the home of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Court documents indicate the man said he wanted to kill Kavanaugh because he was upset about the leak of the Roe v. Wade opinion on abortion, an upcoming gun control case and the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

The FBI said he had a tactical knife, a Glock pistol with ammunition, pepper spray, zip ties, a hammer and other items. The White House says that President Biden condemns the man's actions in the strongest possible terms.

A car barrels into a crowd of pedestrians in Berlin and leaves police wondering about the motive. But now we are getting an idea about the driver's mental state before that incident. We will have a live report from the scene of the crash.

Plus, we will go to Rwanda to learn how the country is preparing to take in migrants deported from the U.K. and hear what critics are saying about the plan. That's coming up after a quick break.

[03:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: Police are still looking for clues after a driver plowed his car into a crowd of pedestrians in Berlin Wednesday. Officials say that one person was killed, 17 others injured, six of them still fighting for their lives. Of course, the question now is why. Why did this happen?

CNN's Nada Bashir joins us now live from the scene in Berlin. And Nada, as much as investigators are trying to determine the motive here, have they really come any closer to even understanding whether or not this was intentional?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, look, Paula, the information we are hearing from officials here in Berlin is that the police investigation is still very much ongoing. But we are learning more details about the suspect in question.

We heard yesterday from officials that a 29-year-old German-Armenian man had been apprehended at the scene by people in the area. He was then handed over to police and underwent a medical examination before facing police questioning.

Now that individual is still in police custody. And we heard just overnight from Berlin's interior senator, who said that the man in question appears to be mentally impaired. So that could give some clues as to the reasons behind this incident. But of course, that police investigation is still very much ongoing. There aren't any clear answers just yet. We've heard from police officials here in Berlin who have said that

they are still trying to determine whether or not this incident was an accident or whether it was deliberately. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THILO CABLITZ, BERLIN 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 or the other.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASHIR: Now yesterday we were on this street where that incident took place, that car drove up along this high street where it hit at least 17 people, as we understand that were injured. And then came over to this corner and actually crashed into this store front behind me.

Now that car has since been removed by police, it underwent forensic examination. That a crucial part of the investigation, police have also asked any locals that were in the area at the time to upload any photos or videos they might have of the incident to the police web site to support the investigation.

Of course, we are still waiting to hear more information about the victims of this incident. As I mentioned there, at least 17 people injured and at least six of them have been determined to be facing life-threatening injuries.

As we understand it, there were schoolchildren among those injured. They were on a trip to the city. Their teacher unfortunately has been confirmed to have been killed in the incident. So, some tragic news there, the chancellor here in Germany, Olaf Scholz has expressed his condolences to the families. Very sad news for the city. And of course, that investigation will bring those answers in the coming days. Paula?

NEWTON: Yes, indeed, a very tragic event. And six people are still, some critically injured in hospital. Nada Bashir, thanks for that update on the investigation. I appreciate it.

Boris Johnson is hoping to rebuild his political standing by revitalizing the British economy. The prime minister is expected to deliver a speech in the coming hours, aligning his plan to tackle the rising cost of living.

Among the pledges, he is expected to make, make homeownership more accessible, boost the country's productivity and recover from the COVID pandemic. Johnson's leadership was severely weakened Monday after he survived a closer than expected confidence vote in parliament.

Now another issue on the prime minister's plate is the flow of migrants coming into Britain. The U.K. is set to deport some of them to Rwanda this week, hoping to deter others from making the dangerous crossing by boat. Britain is paying the East African nation more than $150 million to house those asylum seekers. But the plan has come under fire from various human rights groups.

CNN's Larry Madowo got a firsthand look at the migrant housing in Rwanda and he joins me now live from Kigali. It's really good to have you there on the ground.

[03:25:02]

And of course, we have heard about how controversial schemes has been in Britain. But what about there in Rwanda, what's been the reaction?

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Paula, there's been no official opinion I have seen, but I can see from discussion groups online, from social media and people scrambling about accepting so many people over five years, this is Africa's most densely populated nation, they're concerned about bringing this many more people into the country. But what kind of people will be coming in here?

We've heard from some refugees in this country who say they feel like they're neglected. These are sort of VIP refugees coming into the country right now. And also at least one M.P. here told us they should have come up before the people's elected representative, it was not a decision for the government to make on their own. But Rwandan authorities are ready for the first migrants to arrive next week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MADOWO: These are the final touches at hope hostel in Kigali before the first migrants deported from the U.K. arrive. And so, this is the new place waiting for the migrants.

UNKNOWN: Yes.

MADOWO: This building that until recently, housed young survivors of the Rwandan genocide has a new purpose. This newly renovated hostel can host up to 100 people to a room, and sharing communal bathrooms.

So, this is one type of room.

UNKNOWN: Yes, this is one sample room. We have amenities. We got towels. We've got iron baths. It's got a change of sheets.

MADOWO: Yes. This is where the migrants will live under the watchful eye of Rwandan authorities. The hostel is functional. Not luxurious. But the Rwandan government says the migrants will be free here, not in detention, like in the U.K.

UNKNOWN: View Kigali.

MADOWO: Officials are also promising healthcare and support for at least five years, or until they're self-sufficient. But the plan has been widely criticized by many refugee rights groups in the U.K., internationally and here in Rwanda. The main opposition party here says, Rwanda shouldn't have to bear the U.K.'s burden. JEAN-CLAUDE NTEZIMANA, SECRETARY GENERAL, DEMOCRATIC GREEN PARTY OF

RWANDA: It is their responsibility.

MADOWO: So, you think the U.K. is violating its international obligation by passing that off to Rwanda?

NTEZIMANA: Yes. And you can see why. We are still struggling with enough infrastructure. Electricity, water, roads. Schools. Hospitals. We need similar care to the U.K. We have to think twice.

MADOWO: Rwanda and the U.K. expect these migrants came to disrupt the business of people smugglers. But many international bodies, even the U.K. rank Rwanda poorly on some human rights indicators. Critics also say accepting migrants who reach countries don't want is cruel and inhumane.

YOLANDE MAKOLO, RWANDA GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON: It's cruel and it's inhumane, the people are dying into the desert, trying to cross the desert, making these dangerous journeys. Drowning in the Mediterranean. We are interested in protecting vulnerable people and this has been our philosophy for the last 30 years.

MADOWO: Rwanda has also welcomed refugees and asylum seekers evacuated from Libya after unsuccessfully trying to cross to Europe. Orientation has started for the latest arrivals at the Gashora Emergency Transit Center. They are mostly from the Horn of Africa.

How do you compare the conditions in the four years you spent in Libya and here in Rwanda?

ZEMEN FESAHA, REFUGEE, GASHORA EMERGENCY TRANSIT CENTER: It is so difficult to compare because it is like from hell to heaven.

MADOWO: Being at Libya to Rwanda is like coming from hell to heaven?

FESAHA: Yes, yes, yes.

MADOWO: Zemen is grateful for the peace and freedom in Rwanda, but it's not his destination of choice. None of the people we spoke to here wanted to stay even though it's one of the options.

Your final goal is still to go to Europe?

UNKNOWN: Yes.

MADOWO: Rwanda has become the global market leader in migrant offshoring. After the U.K. scheme, a deal with Denmark is in the works. It's helped clean up Rwanda's image internationally, but some accuse it of trying to paint over a dark reputation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MADOWO: The Rwandan government has its home to about 130 refugees from the regions (Inaudible) Burundi, but also from the Horn of Africa and elsewhere . And it pushes back on that phrase, migrant offshoring. They don't think that are being used at their choice destination for rich countries sending away migrants they don't want.

And even though a similar plan with Israel failed a few years ago, Rwanda is discussing another one with Denmark and we expect, Paula, an announcement at any time now.

NEWTON: Yes. And we will certainly wait in the coming days to see when as you say those first arrivals will arrive there in Rwanda, Larry, really important to have you on the ground there. I appreciate it.

Now lawmakers investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol are about to go public with their findings. Americans will soon get new intel on what fuel that violence. And how much of it was preplanned.

[03:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: Later today, the ransacking of the U.S. Capitol will be on display like never before when the House committee investigating the attack on January 6 of last year holds its first public hearing.

The multi-media primetime event will be the members chance to share with they have learned from more than 1,000 interviews about the riot and what led up to it. Now an avalanche of new information has been unearthed since Donald Trump's impeachment.

Lawmakers will argue that the former U.S. president was responsible for serious abuses of power in his unprecedented efforts to stop the transfer of power. He's accused of dereliction of duty while supporters trashed the capitol. Findings will also include the Trump campaign's attempts to pressure state and federal officials.

Now lawmakers may want to convict the former president in the court of public opinion, but will slick video production and an evening audience actually accomplish anything, will it move the needle?

I put that question to CNN media analyst David Zurawik.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID ZURAWIK, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: It's a big hill to climb here. The committee is trying to find a way to cut through and make a dent in the audience to tell its story. To find a big, a big, big audience to tell its story about what happened on January 6th. But and it's being compared, you know, the touchstone, one of the touchstones we have is the Watergate hearing. But the Watergate took place in a totally different world.

A four-network universe. ABC, NBC, CBS, and PBS. Now we not only have this incredibly splintered media environment, but we have this really strong right-wing media, MAGA media, led by Fox News. So, it's going to be hard to reach the people to reach that kind of critical mass, in terms of the audience.

Now, they've brought in James Goldston, former ABC News president to try to make this TV, not TV, friendly, really TV attractive and people have been using words like, because it's in primetime where the biggest audience is from 8 to 11 p.m. evenings. They've used a lot of words like blockbuster to describe it, but I don't know.

I mean, I'm skeptical of what these hearings can accomplish and I'm skeptical of how you stage anything for TV and think it is going to be a big event, when it's a government here dressing it up in a lot of ways. But you may really sort of steal the seriousness out of it and still not region audience.

[03:35:05]

NEWTON: David Zurawik, thank you for previewing it for us. I appreciate it.

ZURAWIK: Thank you. Thanks, Paula, for having me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Now be sure tune in to CNN for live coverage of the January 6 committee hearings. It starts at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Washington time and at 7 in the morning on Friday in Hong Kong, right here on CNN.

Russia's war in Ukraine is being felt in food markets right around the world. When we return, a live report from Rome on the impact of soaring food prices on pasta and other mainstays of the Italian diet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: So, Ukraine's president is warning that millions of people right around the world may starve if Russia's blockade of Ukrainian ports is not lifted. With Ukraine not being allowed to export grain, food prices right around the world are skyrocketing.

Now the spiking cost of basic staples is staggering. Corn and wheat are up more than 60 percent. While soybeans and sunflower oil are up more than 35 percent. And it will be a dominant issue when the European Central Bank meets in the coming hours to consider a possible hike in interest rates to combat inflation.

Now this obviously is taking its hit on the European markets. You see the FTSE down about three quarters of a percent, the DAX and the Paris CAC40 a little bit better than a percent. And that is also reflecting in fact the increase in inflation and also the pressure on supply chains. All of that putting a lot of pressure on people's livelihoods.

CNN's Barbie Nadeau joins us from Rome with more on how Italians are coping with that sharp rise in food prices.

Barbie, you know, pasta, right? Basic staple in Italian cooking, and yet now to a troubling symbol of inflation, right?

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: That's right. You know, when you look at just this basic Italian ingredient and how much it is costing to produce it right now, not just for the consumer, but for those factories and those farmers, we took a close look at just what the root of the problem is, Paula.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

NADEAU: 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 what the cost to produce pasta from Durham wheat and tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes has gone up, we went directly to the source.

Here, the Maestri Pastai Pasta factory in southern Italy, owner Valentina Castiello tells us that the price of some of the raw materials to make her pasta have jumped by 100 percent.

[03:40:03]

She tells us her companies trying to find ways to absorb the excess but some of it will go to the consumer.

VALENTINA CASTIELLO, OWNER, MAESTRI PASTAI PASTA FACTORY (through translator): 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 Dali Le Maraska (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.

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NADEAU: Maraska (Ph) 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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NADEAU (on camera): You know, Paula, when you look those, we are not talking about luxury items like meat and fish and proteins and things like this. This is just basic pasta and tomatoes. And the prices are just skyrocketing for the everyday Italian. Paula? NEWTON: Yes. And in issue, whether it's pasta or rice, as you said

these are staples and really will impact the table right around the world.

Barbie Nadeau for us in Rome, I really appreciate it.

Now economists are warning that the world will pay a hefty price of course for but we were just talking about Russia's war in Ukraine. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has slashed this year's global growth forecast from four and a half to 3 percent. And that follows a similar out book -- outlook by the World Bank earlier this week. Where we see the chief economist Laurence Boone says inflation is double what was previously expected and may yet get worse.

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LAURENCE BOONE, CHIEF ECONOMIST, OECD: Inflation pressure have been growing. There is the uneven recovery from the pandemic and especially disruptions from China's zero COVID policy. And this has already led to rising inflation. But the war, halting commodity production and distribution and threatening further disruptions is adding even more.

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NEWTON: So, when it comes to all G20 nations besides Russia, the group predicts that the U.K. in fact will be the hardest hit economically in 2023.

And I want to thank all of you for your company. I'm Paula Newton. Have a great day. African Voices Changemakers is up next for us.

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(AFRICAN VOICES CHANGEMAKERS)

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