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At Least 15 Killed In Russia Strike On Ukrainian Mall; NATO To Boost Troops And Weapons On Eastern Flank; Former Mark Meadows Aide To Testify At January 6 Last-Minute Hearing; Multiple States Move To Ban Abortion After Roe Reversed; Israel Eases Abortion Access Day After Roe V. Wade Ruling; How Latin America is Navigating Abortion Rights; Russian Court Sets Trial Date for WNBA Star Griner. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired June 28, 2022 - 00:00   ET

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

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[00:00:38]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone, I'm John Vause.

Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, searching for survivors in the rubble of a war crime. Why would Russia target a shopping mall in central Ukraine?

From red states, blue states now to abortion and anti-abortion across the U.S. A bewildering patchwork of new laws and regulations now coming into effect, leading to confusion, angst and fear.

And rewriting the not so distant past, government centers in China removing any mention that a zero COVID policy will be around for the next five years.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE: Emergency crews continue to search for those who may have survived a Russian airstrike on a shopping mall in central Ukraine. Right now, it's confirmed that 15 people did not. That death toll is expected to rise.

According to Ukrainian military officials, around 4:00 p.m. local time, a Kh-22 missile fired from a long range Russian bomber, hit the mall of the city of Kremenchuk. It's not known how many were inside the mall.

Ukraine's president says up to a thousand people where there. Nearly Kremenchuk is a long way from the front lines and Kh-22 missiles were originally designed to use against ships.

The attack came as world leaders gathered for a G7 summit, they strongly condemned the airstrike with French President Emmanuel Macron saying it was an abomination. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the attack showed the depths of cruelty and barbarism of Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine's President Zelenskyy says many escaped the mall after hearing air raid sirens but he added though this was a calculated attack by totally insane terrorists.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Today's Russian strike at a shopping mall in Kremenchuk is one of the most defiant terrorist attacks in European history. A peaceful city, an ordinary shopping mall with women, children, ordinary civilians inside.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Heavy equipment is now being used to search for those survivors and local officials say they do not know how many may be buried under the rubble.

We get more now from CNN's Phil Black.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Panicked screams, impenetrable dust and smoke. These are the terrifying moments that followed a missile strike in central Ukraine. The might of Russia's air power unleashed, unshockingly.

The city of Kremenchuk is a long way on the front line of Russia's war. Fire quickly took hold of the complex. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the site has no strategic value, it's not a threat to Russian forces. It's just a place where people were trying to live normal lives.

Only hours before the attack, Zelenskyy told a meeting of allies, including President Joe Biden, Ukraine needs modern missile defense systems to protect civilians from Russia's intensifying air campaign.

Dozens of missiles were launched at targets across the country over the weekend. One hit this apartment block in Kyiv, ending weeks of relative calm in the capital.

Ukraine also wants more heavy artillery to help battle Russia's advancing forces in the east of the country.

Russia is slowly expanding its control of the Donbas region, squeezing Ukrainian forces and local civilians from three directions.

The key city of Slovyansk is now an easy reach of Russian rockets. They fell over its residential areas, through the night, into the morning. This one delivered plaster bombs over an apartment complex, ravaging buildings, killing one man next to his car.

Locals say the man walked through this door where he lived early this morning, he's in his late 30s, going to work as a taxi driver. But it was in those moments the bomblets dispersed over here and one of them detonated right nearby.

Officials say civilians who are yet to leave Slovyansk must do so now because the Russians are close and the danger is great. In this grim moment of the war for the east, Ukraine's efforts to hold

the line are slipping. The invaders are relentless, often indiscriminate fire power means for now at least the fight here is going Russia's way.

Phil Black, CNN, Kremenchuk, Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[00:05:13]

VAUSE: For more now, let's bring in CNN's Fred Pleitgen live this hour in Germany.

So, Fred, we have these statements coming from the G7. And there's also a NATO summit coming later on today with talk of unity and support for Ukraine. But there does seem to be this time lag between what's happening on the ground in Ukraine with the Russian advances and what NATO and the United States are prepared to do in terms of weapons supplies and the type of weapons which the Ukrainians say they need.

Well, what's happening with this sort of timeline?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, I think one of the reasons why that is happening is because obviously, some of these NATO countries, they're giving Ukraine some of these heavy weapons, but it does take time for instance to train some of these Ukrainian soldiers.

And I think one of the other things, that the U.S. has also made clear, not just at this G7 summit, John, but before that, as well, is that with some of these weapons, they want to make sure that they actually can make a difference on the battlefield, how they work on the battlefield, and how effective they are on the battlefield as well.

If you look at, for instance, at some of these long range rocket artillery systems, like for instance, the HIMARS that was a German version of -- or similar version of that called the MARS. The U.S. initially said that they would provide Ukraine with four of those High Mobility Artillery Rocket Launching Systems.

But then, just shortly after that, they said, there will be an additional four coming as well as the Ukrainians are already starting to use the ones that they have.

Of course, one of the things that we heard from Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he addressed the G7 leaders is that he needs more heavy weapons, he needs those heavy weapons faster, especially with the way things are going right now in the Donbas region for the Ukrainian forces. But there's always going to be a time lag between what the allies provide and what the Ukrainians feel that they need.

You look at some of the Howitzer systems, for instance, that the Germans have provided, they were 36 days of training for the soldiers on those systems, because some of them are quite frankly, very complex.

At the same time, of course, even with the ones that have been delivered, the number of systems that the Ukrainians have, it's still far fewer than what the Russians have. And really the only way that the Ukrainians are going to be able to create some sort of parody on the battlefield is by having weapons that can shoot further, that can shoot more accurately, and that can shoot stronger munitions and what the Russians are shooting right now, John.

VAUSE: One thing which seems to be a hallmark of all of this, especially the G7 and NATO is all this talk of unity and how they're all on the same page. That's not entirely true. There's an agreement -- an agreement isn't unity, there does seem to be divisions, especially within NATO what they're prepared to do.

PLEITGEN: Well, I think -- I think you're absolutely right. I think there certainly are some divisions. But there definitely is a show of unity, if you will, that, for instance, they tried to create here at the G7.

If you look at for instance, the bilateral meeting between Olaf Scholz and President Joe Biden. President Biden there praising the German leader.

But at the same time, of course, we do know that there have been some of the U.S. that for instance feel that the Germans haven't been, you know, putting enough weight behind the effort to support Ukraine or having been putting weights that's about the same as the size of the country, or the financial power of the country.

Germany so far has provided for instance, seven of those heavy howitzers, of course, we know that the U.S. has provided -- it has provided a lot more.

One of the things, of course, that the U.S. is very aware of is that a lot of these European countries, right now, public opinion is somewhat of an issue. There's a lot of people, for instance, here in Germany, who fear that Germany could lose its economic strength. Germany, of course, very dependent, for instance on Russian oil and gas. And there are some divisions within the societies, not just of this countries, but some of the other European countries as well.

So, a lot of them have their own public opinion, of course that they have to look out for as well. But at the same time, they do want that show of unity, and to make sure that they provide that united front, if you will, right now in the face of what Russia is doing in Ukraine, John.

VAUSE: There are indeed many moving parts to all of this. Fred, thank you for going through some of them for us. We appreciate it. Fred Pleitgen live for us this very early hour.

Joining me now from Washington, retired U.S. Air Force Colonel and CNN Military Analyst Cedric Leighton. Colonel, thanks for coming back.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: (INAUDIBLE) John, good to be with you.

VAUSE: Thank you. Now, here's a little more from the NATO secretary general about this new strategic plan that he was talking about, about this massive buildup of what's known as a rapid response force from 40,000 troops to more than 300,000. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENS STOLTENBERG, SECRETARY GENERAL, NATO: This will mean more NATO forward deployed combat formations to strengthen our battle groups in the eastern part of our alliance. More air, sea and cyber defenses, as well as pre-positioned equipment and weapons stockpiles.

Together, this constitutes the biggest overhaul of our defense and deterrence since the Cold War.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And that's great, but the war right now is in Ukraine. If Ukrainians are not losing, they're certainly not winning. At the same time, the Russian military at this point does not appear to be a direct threat to any NATO country. At best, it seems maybe NATO's priorities are a little misguided?

LEIGHTON: Yes, well, first of all, if you're going to have combat power, you might as well as you correctly pointed out, put it in a place where it can be used as combat power.

[00:10:07]

LEIGHTON: And so, of course, that has a lot of political implications too if one takes that to its fullest say -- you know, to its fullest logical conclusion.

But yes, the NATO forces that are being ramped up in this particular case ever since the rapid deployment rapid response force that is essential to protect NATO should have been in place anyways, quite frankly.

But the real need right now is in Ukraine, Ukraine is suffering tremendous casualties, a tremendous loss of equipment even though they're husbanding their resources fairly and fairly well considering the things that they're having to deal with.

But nonetheless, they were losing equipment. They're losing territory to some extent. And they of course, need the types of weapons that will allow them to regain the initiative against the Russians. And that's what's missing in this particular case.

VAUSE: And the latest Russian atrocity is an airstrike on a shopping mall and part of a statement from the G7 leaders read this, we solemnly condemn the abominable attack on a shopping mall in Kremenchuk. We will not rest until Russia ends its cruel and senseless war in Ukraine.

From practical sense, though, are there defensive systems like Israel's Iron Dome, which NATO and the U.S. could send to Ukraine relatively simply easily, defensive in nation -- nature rather to protect civilian areas?

LEIGHTON: Yes, the short answer is absolutely yes. You know, it's a matter of the kinds of things -- the kinds of weapons systems such as the Iron Dome, or such as a Patriot missile defense system, which is part of the Iron Dome system. Those are the kinds of things that would be necessary in order to properly defend Ukrainian civilian targets against this kind of an attack.

And I think the Israeli example is particularly appropriate in this case, because they have a lot of experience protecting their civilian population from attacks from places like Gaza, for example.

So, when you look at that, it becomes really important for the G7 nations, NATO, the West in general, to put together a real package of protective armaments that can help the Ukrainians staunch the flow of civilian death at this point, and also, help protect their forces, because it really becomes -- when it becomes through a battle of attrition, what you're dealing with here is a series of losses that are going to be very hard for the Ukrainians to recover from as badly as the Russians have performed. The losses of Ukrainians are still going to be exceptionally difficult to deal with.

And, you know, John, I think, in the West is really to make sure that the Ukrainians can survive as a viable nation state. And one way to do that is to make sure that their assets, including their military personnel continue to survive.

VAUSE: Very quickly. The Kh-22 missile, which is believed to have been the weapon of choice, which targeted the shopping mall. Talk to me about that, because I understand it's originally was used as -- design rather as an anti-ship weapon. And is it fairly inaccurate?

LEIGHTON: And yes, it is fairly inaccurate. The way in which the Russians and the Soviets before then build a Kh-22 was to serve as a type of weapon that could be used as an anti-ship mode. And it's basically a designed as a naval weapon.

The use of it on land is, is one in which, you know, it's certainly not designed to be used against targets like a shopping center. And it's also a system that is not suited for this kind of warfare in general, even if target were military targets.

So, the Russians are throwing things at these targets that, you know, are not normal weapon systems, which tells me that they're running out of some of their normal weapons at this point in time.

VAUSE: Yes, unfortunately, this is sort of a blunt instrument, which is we see the results. And we'll -- as this goes up (PH), we'll find out more.

But Cedric, thank you so much for being with us. Cedric Leighton, thank you, sir.

LEIGHTON: Absolutely, John, good to be with you. VAUSE: Thank you.

Authorities say 46 migrants have been found dead in the back of a semi-truck in southern Texas. The San Antonio police chief says officers were alerted to the scene Monday evening as someone heard a cry for help coming from the trailer.

At least 16 other migrants, some of them children were found alive suffering from heatstroke and exhaustion. They were taken to hospital for treatment.

San Antonio's mayor says this incident is a tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON NIRENBERG, MAYOR OF SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: So, the plight of migrants seeking refuge is always a humanitarian crisis. But tonight, we are dealing with a horrific human tragedy.

So. I would urge you all to think compassionately, and pray for the deceased, the ailing, the families. And we hope that those responsible for putting these people in such humane conditions are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

[00:15:23]

VAUSE: Authorities said there was no water, no working air conditioning system inside that trailer. Police have three people in custody but just precisely what their involvement is remains unclear.

We'll take a short break. When we come back, U.S. lawmakers investigating the January 6 attack called a last minute public hearing for Tuesday. Details on the surprise witnesses expected to testify, that's next.

And you'll hear from an activist involved in one of the most successful campaigns to decriminalize abortion in Latin America.

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VAUSE: The Congressional committee investigating the January 6 Attack announced a surprise hearing for Tuesday. The Federal has not revealed the reason why but sources tell CNN they expect to hear testimony from a key witness.

CNN's Ryan Nobles has --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The January 6 Select Committee is ready to hear publicly from a very important member of the Trump White House who has the potential to reveal a lot of information that we have not heard up until this point.

Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to the former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has agreed to testify in a public setting and will do so in a hearing set to take place on Tuesday afternoon on Capitol Hill.

Now, Hutchinson is somebody that we've already heard from, part of her taped closed door depositions had been played as part of the January 6 Select Committee hearings. But the fact that she's willing to testify publicly and the fact that the committee has rushed to add a hearing that was not previously scheduled shows that Hutchinson may have new information to reveal that could be an important part of this investigation.

You'll remember that last week the committee had said that they were ready to take a break, that they'd taken in a lot of new information, that they wanted to process that information and they weren't planning on any more hearings until the middle of July.

Well, that all changed on Monday afternoon where they announced that they plans to hear from another witness and reveal new information.

Now, the committee did not reveal Hutchinson's name in part because there were security concerns related to her appearance and in fact, the committee has had plans to change the hearing room to a certain degree on Tuesday to make sure that she remains safe.

However, the information was revealed originally reported by Punchbowl News and then confirmed by CNN. Cassidy Hutchinson will appear before the January 6th Select Committee on Tuesday.

Ryan Nobles, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: You can see the entire hearing plus in depth analysis right here on CNN starting at 1:00 p.m. in Washington, that is 6:00 p.m. in London, 1:00 a.m. in Hong Kong.

[00:20:00]

VAUSE: American women are now grappling with a new reality of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe versus Wade.

Across the country, a patchwork of laws is causing confusion, as multiple states move to ban abortion while others take action to safeguard reproductive rights.

CNN's Nadia Romero has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NADIA ROMERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Chaos and confusion after Friday's Supreme Court ruling, allowing states to immediately begin to set their own abortion policy, leaving women across the country with varying levels of access.

At least 10 states have effectively banned abortion. They're among 26 states which were certain or likely to ban abortion once Roe was overturned, according to the Guttmacher Institute. That includes Mississippi, where this morning, the state's attorney general certified a trigger law which goes into effect in 10 days and prohibits abortion with few exceptions.

LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSISSIPPI: The task now falls to us to advocate for the laws that empower women, laws that promote fairness in child support and enhanced enforcement of it.

ROMERO: The decision prompting Mississippi to take a hard look at its current laws to protect women and kids. It ranks 50th, dead last, for overall child wellbeing based on several factors including health and education.

STATE REP. OMERIA SCOTT (D-MS): It has been surprising to me, actually, to hear the leadership, the governor, the speaker, the lieutenant governor talking about what they're going to do for women's health when they won't even expand Medicaid, which would give women health care in the state.

ROMERO: A trigger ban in Texas will go into effect 30 days after Friday's ruling, but the state's attorney general already announced that local prosecutors can begin enforcing a six-week ban passed last year before Roe was overturned.

Providers in Oklahoma, which has implemented a trigger ban, say they're worried about the resources for underprivileged women.

ANDREA GALLEGOS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TULSA WOMEN'S CLINIC: We give resources to all of the patients with other clinics, names and phone numbers out of state, as well as resources that could help pay for the abortion and help pay for travel to get to those states.

ROMERO: In other states, things are less clear cut. In Michigan, the governor filed a motion urging the state Supreme Court to review a lawsuit to protect abortion rights. A 1931 law on the books there would ban abortion without exceptions for rape and incest.

GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER (D-MI): There is a lot of confusion about what this means for IVF, for practitioners.

ROMERO: And an appeals court is set to rule on Georgia's fetal heartbeat law which would ban abortion about six weeks into a pregnancy.

STACEY ABRAMS (D-GA), GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: And as the next governor, I'm going to do everything in my power to reverse it.

ROMERO: Meanwhile, some Republican governors are signaling they'll take action to block access to FDA-approved abortion pills.

GOV. KRISTI NOEM (R-SD): In South Dakota, we've already had a bill passed that said on telemedicine abortions, that we don't believe it should be available because it is a dangerous situation for those individuals.

ROMERO: Nationwide, protests were peaceful with a few exceptions. Police made several arrests in Oregon and Arizona.

The LAPD also clashed with protesters over the weekend, knocking "Full House" actress Jodie Sweetin to the ground as a group of officers trying to block access to the freeway.

And in Iowa, a protester was hurt when a truck pushed through a crowd crossing the street.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He grabbed, ripped my side and pushed me down, drove off.

ROMERO (on camera): Monday afternoon, Louisiana judge block this state's trigger laws on abortion. A lawsuit filed argued that the trigger laws were unconstitutionally vague.

Now, there's a temporary restraining order in place until a hearing that's set for July 8th. Back here in Mississippi, the state's last abortion clinic will open its doors Tuesday morning according to the staff and the director says they will operate until the state's abortion ban goes into effect and then they will shut down for good.

Nadia Romero, CNN, Jackson, Mississippi.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Well, the U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris was shocked by the Supreme Court ruling. She spoke about her reaction in an exclusive interview with CNN's Dana Bash.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: You were on a plane when the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, I was.

BASH: As the highest-ranking woman ever elected in U.S. history, what was going through your mind at that moment?

HARRIS: Well, so, I was on Air Force Two heading to Aurora, Illinois, to talk about maternal health.

We were with Lauren Underwood, with the chair of Judiciary, Dick Durbin, Senate Judiciary. We were headed there to unveil a plan based on the work we have been doing to ensure that women receive the kind of support they need during and post pregnancy.

And you know, we thought that the decision would come down sometime soon, but not at that moment. And I was shocked.

And you know, it's one thing when you know something's going to happen. It's another thing when it actually happens. And I just actually turned to CNN. And I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe it, because they actually did it.

And here's what they did. The court actually took a constitutional right that has been recognized for half-a-century and took it from the women of America. That's shocking.

[00:25:08] HARRIS: When you think about it, in terms of what that means in terms of democratic principles, in terms of the ideals upon which we were founded about liberty, about freedom. You know, I thought about it as, you know, a parent. We have two children who are in their 20s, a son and a daughter.

I thought about it as a godparent of teenagers. I thought of it as an aunt of preschool children. BASH: And a woman yourself.

HARRIS: And a woman myself, and the daughter of a woman, and a granddaughter of a woman.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Vice President Harris warns more rights are at risk after Justice Clarence Thomas called on the Supreme Court to reconsider rulings related to contraception, as well as same sex marriage.

And days after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the Israeli government has moved in the opposite direction making access to abortion easier.

CNN's Hadas Gold has details from Jerusalem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Israel is changing its regulations to make it easier for women to access abortion.

For decades, women have been able to get abortions in Israel but they had to fill out an application and go in person before an abortion committee at various hospitals.

This committee would be made up of two doctors and a social worker and all abortions no matter at what stage had to be performed at a hospital or at an equivalent facility.

Now, under these new regulations, women will be able to apply for an abortion online. The health minister also said that invasive questions will be removed and there will be no need to appear in person before an abortion committee. Although, that committee will still need to approve the abortion.

In addition, women will be able to seek pharmacological abortions just from their regular doctor. Here's how health minister Nitzan Horowitz Describe this new regulations.

NITZAN HOROWITZ, ISRAELI HEALTH MINISTER (through translator): The U.S. Supreme Court's move to deny a woman the right to her body is a dark mode, oppressing women and returning the leader of the free and liberal world hundred years backwards. Even here the situation is not ideal. But we are in different places. And today, we are taking big steps in the right direction.

GOLD: Now, spokespeople for the Minister of Health did say that these reforms have been in the works for several weeks, if not months, they said that these regulations had not been changed in decades, and it was high time for them to be reformed.

But it's hard to not see the connection between Supreme Court ruling and this announcement made today. Many ministers, many members of the Israeli parliament were specifically connecting what happened in the United States with these reforms that will make it easier for women in Israel to seek access to abortions. The new regulations will come into full effect in three months.

Hadas Gold, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Before Roe vs. Wade was overturned, the U.S. was one of 56 countries in the world where women could legally request an abortion.

In the European Union, most countries allow abortions within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. But in Poland, abortions recently banned, except in cases of rape or incest or if the life of the mother is at risk.

Nicaragua and El Salvador abortions are illegal under any circumstance. And in El Salvador, prison sentences can stretch up to 40 years.

Joining us this hour from Santiago in Chile is Ana Cristina Gonzales Velez, an advocate for reproductive rights and one of the leaders of a movement which succeeded in decriminalizing abortion in Colombia. Thank you so much for taking the time to be with us.

ANA CRISTINA GONZALES VELEZ, CO-FOUNDER, LA MESA: Thank you for you for inviting me to this program.

VAUSE: You're welcome. Now, in just the past 18 months or so, we've seen a lot of headlines like this. Argentina's Senate approves historic bill to legalize abortion. Mexico Supreme Court rules criminalizing abortion is unconstitutional. Colombia becomes the latest Latin American country to partially decriminalize abortion. And that's where you come in on all this.

So, just looking at your experience in Colombia, what was behind the legal ruling in February which made abortion no longer a criminal act?

VELEZ: Well, we've worked for many years, maybe decades to make these real in our country as maybe you know, Colombia, one of the few countries in the region that totally banned abortion up to 2006.

After that, we got our first constitutional decision to decriminalize abortion under three circumstances. And after maybe 15 years of trying to implement these decision and make that decision real for women's life, we started a new process under the (INAUDIBLE) movement. We managed to decriminalize abortion or to repeal abortion crime from the penal code up to 24 weeks.

So, it's been a decades of work. And lastly, the last two years we create and build strategy, very comprehensive strategy. And we presented a claim into the constitutional accord that was -- the claim that ended up with the decision that you had mentioned.

[00:30:15]

VAUSE: Abortion on request is only available in six London American countries. Last year, lawmakers in Honduras were to include a total abortion ban, which has been in effect since 1985 to include it in the constitution.

So, it is a mixed picture across the country, right? Not all countries are heading in the same direction as Colombia.

VELEZ: Absolutely. We have Central America, where most countries totally banned abortion. And there are very critical situations of government and institutions prosecuting women, even women that have spontaneous abortions.

But we have seen in our region is that the feminist movement is growing, that are strategies are much more stronger. We are on the street, but we are also helping and building arguments to move forward the conversation about this very important idea of repeal abortion crime from the criminal code.

VAUSE: Those people who were in favor of women's reproductive rights protested outside the U.S. embassy in Buenos Aires, where this green wave of protests began in favor of abortion.

Here's one of the protest leaders. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): This U.S. court ruling returns our gender rights back decades. What is being fought today is for the lives of our fellow sisters, to decide to have an abortion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So, with regards to the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, how do you see that impacting what's happening in Latin America?

VELEZ: I really think that when it is about abortion, you cannot take anything for granted. We all know that these are issues that are always under, you know, fight and attention; and the conservatives do not agree with our freedom.

So I think that maybe the U.S. can also learn a lot about the mobilization and the strategies and their arguments and the framings that we have developed in this region.

I'm sure that the most conservative people, some parties, and people will try to use this decision to -- to overturn some of our advances or to create -- you know, they will use politically in the -- in the war sense would happen in the United States.

But they know that we are mobilized, and we know that we are ready, even to share with Americans our strategies, arguments and framings. VAUSE: Thanks so much for being with us. We'll leave it there. Ana

Cristina Gonzalez Velez, thank you so much.

VELEZ: Thank you so much for you.

VAUSE: Well, she's been locked up in a Russian jail for months, and now American basketball star Brittney Griner set to go on trial. When we come back, the Biden's administration under growing pressure to bring her home.

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[00:35:40]

VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

A chlorine gas leak at the port of Aqaba in Jordan has killed at least 12 people while another 300 have been heard. Images released by state media show a tank filled with 25 tons of chlorine falling from a crane at the port, releasing a huge cloud of yellow gas.

Meanwhile, residents have been told to close their windows, stay indoors.

Basketball player Brittney Griner will go on trial later this week in Russia. The WNBA star attended a preliminary hearing on Monday. She's been held since February on drug smuggling charges.

But there are concerns that Moscow may try to use Griner as well as other detained Americans as pawns amid Russia's war in Ukraine.

We have more now from CNN's Kylie Atwood.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Brittney Griner has a trial in Russia on Friday, and the reason it's so significant is because Russia has extended her detention by six months in Russia.

Now, that is pending the results of the trial on Friday. And, I'm told by U.S. officials that a U.S. diplomat is going to attend that trial. A State Department spokesperson also says that the Biden administration continues to work closely with Griner and her family, calling on Moscow to release Griner, who is considered wrongfully detained by the U.S. government.

And we heard on Monday night from Brittney Griner's agent, Lindsay Colas, calling on President Biden and Vice President Harris to strike a deal right now to bring Griner home.

And that is a call that we have heard from those who support Brittney Griner for weeks now, for an extended amount of time, just wanting the Biden administration to do anything in their power to get her home.

Of course, there is also another American, Paul Whelan, who has been detained in Russia for more than two years now. And over the weekend, Secretary of State Tony Blinken was asked about a potential prisoner's watch to bring home both Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan. He wouldn't comment on the specifics of what the Biden administration is considering. But he didn't count out that possibility.

Of course, it was a prisoner swap that brought home Trevor Reed earlier this year, who was another American wrongfully detained in Russia.

Kylie Atwood, CNN, the State Department.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Still to come, scrubbing the past. He didn't say no way. Beijing goes to damage control over official's remark that zero-COVID measures could last for years. A live report, in a moment.

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VAUSE: Did he say it or did he not say it? Chinese censors are busy scrubbing the Internet of any mention of a quote claiming zero-COVID restrictions would stay in place for the next five years.

The comment by one of President Xi Jinping's closest allies is already facing public backlash online.

CNN senior international correspondent Will Ripley, live in Taipei with more.

So you know, government censors were pretty quick to remove this five- year reference, but it seems just not quick enough.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, you can understand why, when I redo these numbers for today, John, China reported 22 local COVID-19 cases today. One with symptoms, 22 asymptomatic cases.

And, yet there are cities, entire cities in China, that have been locked down for months. There are people that have to go regularly and stand in hours-long lines to get mandatory COVID testing.

The economy, of course, is taking a huge beating. We know that. And it's also just, you know, hurting people in their everyday life. And we're going to show you an example of that in a moment.

So, when Cai Qi, the Communist Party chief in Beijing, was quoted, not misquoted, but a misleading quote in the Beijing daily, saying that President Xi's zero-COVID policy, which is not rooted in science, it's all politics. President Xi said that China's doing it.

For one and a half billion people, they're basically being told up for the next five years, zero-COVID could be the status quo. And, so you know, of course, people are outraged. People freaked out. And there was a hashtag next five years on Weibo, which was quickly banned by Chinese censors. You know, these are people that, if you're in close contact with someone with COVID, you have to go into government quarantine for weeks.

Twenty-two cases today. One case with symptoms today. And, so you'll understand why this video we're going to show you has gone viral, no pun intended in China. A billion views in counting, in that country one and a half billion people.

And the border city which has been on lockdown for two months, there was this confrontation caught on camera between a daughter and police.

She was trying to get to the hospital to pick up her dad's pain medication. And the police said, No, your QR code is yellow. Which means her mandatory COVID test result hadn't come back yet, in which case, it would turn green if she was negative.

But because it was yellow, they weren't going to let her pass. And, she tried to push he way through. She wanted to get her dad's medicine.

A lot of children could understand this, trying to take care of an elderly parent who is suffering. But the police, in the end, ended up charging her. There was a physical altercation.

And the reason why this is going viral, John, is because there are countless stories like this all over China. This one just happened to be common camera.

And, you know, we tried to reach out to this woman. We weren't able to get a hold of her directly. But there was a statement that she posted online.

And she explained. You know, she said her dad was in so much pain he couldn't eat, couldn't talk, couldn't sleep. And she was going to do whatever she good to try to get him his medicine. Zero-COVID stood in the way.

And, that should be a slogan that people say a lot in China, John. Zero-COVID standing in the way of life getting back to normal. And this official being quoted, and now they're trying to erase all reference of it, saying five years of that. No wonder people are outraged in China.

VAUSE: Five years. I bet you it will be five years. Let's see what happens, though. Will, thank you. Will Ripley in Taipei. Appreciate that.

Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. Please stay with us. WORLD SPORT starts after a short break. I'll see you right back here, hopefully at the top of the hour.

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