Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Zelenskyy Urges Leaders To "Hurry Up" With Weapons And Delivery; North Korea Fires Missile Into Sea; Shelby County, Tennessee, DA Reviewing Scorpion Unit Cases; Arrest Made In Two Los Angeles Anti-Semitic Shootings; Turkiye-Syria Earthquake Survivors Share Experiences; Republican Culture Wars. Aired 5-6a ET
Aired February 18, 2023 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello, welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber.
Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is set to deliver a major speech at the Munich Security Conference next hour. We'll have is a live preview of what's on the agenda.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROWVAUGHN WELLS, TYRE NICHOLS' MOTHER: I want each and every one of those police officers to be able to look me in the face. They haven't done that yet.
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): A plea from Tyre Nichols' mother as the five former Memphis police officers charged in the fatal beating of her son appear in court.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Heartbreak and hope in Turkiye and Syria. We'll take you to Istanbul for a look at the miraculous rescues that are still happening.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: The year-old war in Ukraine is dominating this year's agenda at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, one of the largest and most influential diplomatic forums.
U.S. vice president Kamala Harris is leading a large American delegation there and is expected to deliver a major speech next hour. Ukraine's president Friday pleaded with allies to hurry up with deliveries of the advanced weapons they promised, including tanks recently pledged by the U.S. and NATO allies. Ukraine's military is expected to launch its own counteroffensive once
it has those. Volodymyr Zelenskyy again called for Ukraine to be a full member of the E.U. and NATO.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: There is no alternative to Ukrainian victory. There is no alternative to Ukraine and -- in the E.U. There is no alternative Ukraine in NATO. There is no -- no alternative to our unity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: CNN's Nic Robertson is covering the security conference for us in Munich and joins us with the latest.
Let's start with Kamala Harris.
What are we expecting to hear exactly?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: We're expecting her to sort of take forward what we have heard from President Zelenskyy, that Ukraine needs the support.
But this now comes at a time, a year into the war, where all the allies and supporters of Ukraine have been stepping up. But as a time now to coordinate, so I think we'll hear Kamala Harris speak about what needs to be done going forward, to coordinate, bring everyone's efforts together to make that commitment.
And that's what we have heard from individual leaders here. So I think we'll get a sense of that. There will also be the message of thanks. We know that when she was meeting yesterday with the German chancellor, she welcomed the fact that Germany is providing Leopard 2 tanks.
That's after the United States announced it would provide the Abrams tanks to Ukraine. There's a lot of sequencing in what we have seen going on in terms of getting that support to Ukraine. This will be more about consolidating and organizing that support going forward. That will be the message.
But there will also be warnings in there. The foreign minister of China is speaking here today. There will be warnings about relationships with China, about China's behavior supporting Russia, Russia's antidemocratic behavior on the global stage.
And messages today, Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of NATO, likely speaking about having an economic relationship with China but not at the detriment of security. That's a lesson learned from Europe NATO's relationship with Russia.
This dependence on oil and gas at the expense of security, that's not the position going forward. So all of that, expect those tones to be in Kamala Harris' speech also. BRUNHUBER: That message of unity that you were talking about would be
welcomed by President Zelenskyy. But just as important, from what he was saying, was getting those promised weapons fast.
[05:00:00]
ROBERTSON: Absolutely. You ran that clip earlier in the show of him saying that there's absolutely no alternative for Ukraine but victory, no alternative but membership in the E.U., but becoming a member of NATO. We'll hear a reference to that, if you will, from the British prime minister.
Rishi Sunak is expected to deliver a message and expected to call for NATO assurances for Ukraine going forward. But from President Zelenskyy's perspective, now is the important moment. This was his message to the gathered leadership here yesterday: hurry up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENSKYY: We need to hurry up. We need the speed, speed of our agreements, speed of our delivery to strengthen our sling, speed of decisions to limit Russian potential. There is no alternative to speed, because it is the speed that the life depends on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: That speed is going to come from exactly what we're hearing from the leaders, which is the speed will come from the coordination of the effort. It's no good everyone throwing their individual bits and pieces at Ukraine.
The training needs to be coordinated. The spare parts need to be coordinated. It needs to come to Ukraine in a coordinated fashion.
BRUNHUBER: Earlier you touched on China. We are waiting to hear from China's top diplomat, thinking maybe he would address the spy balloon controversy. Take us through what we could hear.
ROBERTSON: It's not quite clear what he'll say yet. I think what the audience here will be listening for is to try to get a sense if China is hearing Ukraine's allies' concerns, NATO's concerns, other nation's concerns, that China is giving too much support to Russia in this war, that that's not productive for global peace and security.
And I think the audience will hope that they might hear overtures in that direction.
When it comes to this bilateral issue between the United States and China, which does affect actually other nations, which is China's spy balloons, as the one shot down over the United States was, China says they are not, that these had other purposes for monitoring climate and such.
Whether he will mention that in this format is unclear. But U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken is here. He cancelled his trip to China following the shooting down of the Chinese spy balloon. There's a question here, will there be a meeting between them in the
margins of this conference?
Even that's unclear. We do know Secretary Blinken brought along his foremost policy person on China. So that perhaps indicates it could happen.
BRUNHUBER: We'll be watching. Nic Robertson in Munich, thank you so much.
The German chancellor said Europe should be prepared to support Ukraine for as long as it takes, even if the conflict drags on for years. Christiane Amanpour asked about it afterward and here's some of that exchange.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You in your speech said we have to be ready for the long haul. You must strategize and think among yourselves how long this could last.
Do you have a target date?
OLAF SCHOLZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR: I think it is wise just to be prepared for a long war. And it is wise to give Putin the message that we are ready to stay all the time together with Ukraine and that we will constantly support the country.
So it is not really a very good idea that in this conference or at this podium the two of us discuss the question when exactly, in which months, this war will end. The really important decision we should take all together is saying that we are willing to do it as long as necessary and that we will do our best.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: As Western allies debate more help for Ukraine, we learned this moments ago: Ukraine's air force command says Russia has launched four cruise missiles from the Black Sea. Two missiles were reportedly intercepted by the air defense.
Two explosions were reported about 350 kilometers southwest of Kyiv. Meanwhile, the U.S. estimates that Russia's Wagner mercenaries suffered more than 30,000 casualties in that war. That estimate includes 9,000 dead, about half of whom have been killed over the past two months.
[05:10:00]
BRUNHUBER: A U.S.-based military think tank believes the city of Bakhmut is unlikely to be in Russia's hands by the anniversary of the invasion. Ukrainian officials say Moscow's aim is to capture the city ahead of the anniversary on Friday.
The fighting in Bakhmut is Exhibit A of why Zelenskyy is trying to drive home the need for weapons but now we're also directly hearing from Ukrainian soldiers about why they need more firepower. Fred Pleitgen has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): In the soggy trenches of Eastern Ukraine, the fighting isn't letting up. Ukraine saying Russian forces continue to viciously assault Bakhmut and the Donbas region. This Ukrainian unit says they're holding the line but need more firepower.
Give us more military equipment, more weapons and we will deal with the Russian occupiers. We will destroy them, the soldier says.
Ukraine and the U.S. believe a major offensive by the Kremlin might already be underway. And as Russia be self its troops on Ukraine's eastern front, Ukraine not only needs more and better weapons, it needs them fast.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Munich security conference via video link.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We need to hurry up. We need the speed, speed of our agreements, speed of our delivery to strengthen our sling, speed of decisions to limit Russian potential. There is no alternative to speed, because it is the speed that the life depends on. Delay has always been and still is a mistake.
PLEITGEN: But as much as the Ukrainians need weapons quickly, Vladimir Putin quickly needs a win. Mercenaries for the Wagner private military company and their boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, we're hoping to push Ukraine's troop troops out of Bakhmut in time for the one year anniversary of the war. But they now admit that's unlikely to happen.
A Wagner affiliated social medias channel posted this extremely graphic video, the authenticity of which we cannot independently verify, of alleged fighters asking for more ammo.
Every day, we lose hundreds of our comrades in arms. He says. It could have been half as many if our military functionaries had supplied us on time with weapons and ammunitions and the things we needed.
Vladimir Putin, meeting with one of his closest allies, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, trying to show he is dealing with a military supply issue. And of course, we will discuss, as usual, the entire range of our relationships, he said, including security issues and military cooperation.
Lukashenko then claiming that Belarus, which served as one of Putin's launch pad for the invasion a year ago, will soon start producing warplanes. Yes, the attack aircraft, he said, a real workhorse. We are ready to produce it in Belarus with minor assistance from the Russian federation.
Russia is apparently gearing up for a protracted and bloody war, which Ukraine's president warns, might expand beyond Ukraine. It's obvious that Ukraine is not going to be his last stop, Zelenskyy says. If we break, he will consume other countries, including all the other states that, at some point in time were part of the Soviet bloc.
Another thing that Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at that meeting in Munich is the Ukrainians really need this war to end during the course of this year. He said that modern weapons delivery would be absolutely key to make that happen.
But from the Russian side, there certainly is no sign that Vladimir Putin intends to back down. One of the things we're looking at is next week, when Putin is set to hold a key speech here in Moscow. And we'll see whether or not Russia might escalate even further -- Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: A developing story out of North Korea: South Korea's joint chiefs of staff says Pyongyang fired one missile into the waters off the Korean Peninsula on Saturday. They say it's presumed to have been a long-range ballistic missile. This is the North's second missile launch this year.
And it comes after North Korea warned it would take, "unprecedented" strong responses if the U.S. and South Korea proceed with plans to conduct military exercises. Joining us via phone from Seoul is Paula Hancocks.
Paula, I guess the timing of this isn't a surprise.
What more are we learning and should we expect more missiles perhaps?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If last year is any indication, we can definitely expect more missiles from North Korea. It was an unprecedented number that we saw in 2022. This is just the second so far this year but it does appear to be a significant one, at least according to the joint chiefs of staff.
They presume it's a long range ballistic missile, the type that concerns Washington far more than the shorter range ones. It comes the day after North Korea's foreign ministry issued a statement, saying there would be unprecedented strong responses if joint drills between the U.S. and South Korea went ahead.
There are a couple of exercises planned; the regular ones, which are planned for next month and will be held here on the Korean Peninsula. There's also ones that will happen next week at the Pentagon.
[05:15:00]
HANCOCKS: This will be a nuclear tabletop drill. This was yesterday by the South Korean defense ministry so potentially that could be a reason for this as well.
Of course these launches don't happen instantly. They do need some kind of planning but there's also the chance that North Korea just needed to test this missile. And that's why they are going ahead with it.
Timing wise, it comes a couple days after South Korea has reinstated the North Korean regime as an enemy. That was dropped from its defense white paper for six years. That has been reinstated by North Korea, by a conservative government that is more hardline against Pyongyang, with the missile launches and the strong rhetoric.
So the question now is what exactly was this missile?
We're waiting on the details, how long it was in the air, which will tell us how significant this launch was.
BRUNHUBER: Appreciate the reporting, Paula Hancocks from Seoul.
Five former Memphis police officers appeared in a Tennessee court Friday. They are charged in the death of Tyre Nichols last month. How they are likely to defend themselves, straight ahead.
Plus the prosecution rests. The Alex Murdaugh trial moves forward. Stay with us.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:20:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: We're getting a sense of how the five former Memphis police officers accused in the death of Tyre Nichols will plead their case. They appeared in a Tennessee courtroom, pleading not guilty to multiple charges, including second degree murder aggravated assault.
CNN senior crime and justice correspondent Shimon Prokupecz has more now from Memphis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WELLS: They didn't even have the courage to look me in the face.
SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER (voice-over): An emotional day where the five officers charged with murdering Tyre Nichols appeared in court before the Nichols family for the first time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not guilty.
PROKUPECZ: All five pleaded not guilty to charges of second degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression. Judge James Jones addressing the courtroom emphasizing this case could take time.
JUDGE JAMES JONES, SHELBY COUNTY CRIMINAL COURT: We understand that there may be some high emotions in this case but we ask that you continue to be patient with us.
PROKUPECZ: After the arraignment, attorneys for the officers began to reveal how their defense will take shape.
JOHN KEITH PERRY, ATTORNEY FOR TADARRIUS BEAN: Tadarrius Bean was doing his job at that time and he never struck him and there has been no -- no information that we have seen as of right now that indicates that there is a -- that there is any sort of information that we can rely on to say that it is murder.
PROKUPECZ: Another defense attorney invoking his client's race and warning not to rush to judgment.
BLAKE BALLIN, ATTORNEY FOR DESMOND MILLS: Let's not forget my client is a Black man in a courtroom in America. This is a country where Black people are incarcerated at five times the rate of white people.
Much has been said about the way the system has failed Mr. Nichols. I will work tirelessly to make sure that the system does not fail Mr. Mills.
PROKUPECZ: For Tyre Nichols' mother, relief the legal process has begun but the pain of her loss is clear.
WELLS: I know my son is gone. I know I will never see him again. But we have to start this process of justice right now.
PROKUPECZ: The Shelby County district attorney saying his office is reviewing up to 100 prior cases involving the now-disbanded SCORPION Unit. Seventy-five of those cases related to the five officers charged in Nichols' death. The clearest sign yet that more justice could come to the city of Memphis.
STEVE MULROY, SHELBY COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: We will be making decisions about charges regarding all of those people in the time ahead.
PROKUPECZ: The five police officers making their initial appearance in a Memphis courtroom, all charged with murder and kidnapping and assault. This was their first time appearing together in court.
And really, their attorneys clearly making it obvious that they're going to fight, that they're going to launch a vigorous defense, saying that prosecutors here are rushing this case, that there's been a rush to judgment.
And they're urging people to keep an open mind as we wait to hear more. Look, we're still waiting for more officers who are under investigation and whether or not they're going to face any criminal charges, disciplinary charges.
And also we're still waiting for more video and audio to be released by the city. All of this happening as many of the investigations here still very much underway -- Shimon Prokupecz, CNN, Memphis, Tennessee.
(END VIDEOTAPE) BRUNHUBER: Authorities in Mississippi have arrested a man who they believe killed six people, including his ex-wife. Richard Dale Crum was taken into custody, charged with first-degree murder on Friday.
Police say Crum first shot a driver in a store parking lot in a small rural town in northern Mississippi, then he allegedly shot and killed his ex-wife in her home. Authorities also found the bodies of two men, who were killed on a road behind the suspect's home, and two more victims, who were killed in a house next door. No motive at this time.
A suspect in the shootings of two Jewish men in Los Angeles is being held without bond and facing hate crime charges. Officials say 20- year-old Jaime Tran was taken into custody in connection with the shootings earlier this week.
They took place outside two L.A. synagogues over a 24-hour period. Both victims survived the attacks. Evidence shows the victims were chosen because they were Jewish. One local resident says the crimes have left the community feeling scared.
[05:25:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELISHEVA AMAR, L.A. RESIDENT: Not going to let our kids go to shul this weekend and definitely scared to have them wear their kippahs, to look Jewish.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Prosecutors in South Carolina rested their case in the murder trial of Alex Murdaugh, accused of killing his wife and son. The state called more than 60 witnesses on Friday. The court heard crucial testimony about the timeline of Murdaugh's movements the night of the murders. CNN's Randi Kaye is in South Carolina and has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETER RUDOFSKI, SLED INVESTIGATOR: This is going to be the full timeline.
RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Special agent Peter Rudofski analyzed cell phone data from phones belonging to the victims and Alex Murdaugh, as well as GPS data recovered from their cars. He presented a timeline to the jury from the night of the murders.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then at 8:44:55, what does it reflect on Paul's phone.
RUDOFSKI: You can hear Alex, Maggie and Paul in the background.
KAYE (voice-over): Rudofski testified about a key piece of video extracted from Paul Murdaugh's cell phone, that witnesses say puts Alex Murdaugh at the scene just before prosecutors say Paul and his mother were killed. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What time did Paul and Maggie's phones go silent forever?
RUDOFSKI: 8:49 is when their phones went silent forever.
KAYE (voice-over): Rudofski told the jury that minutes after the murders are believed to have occurred, Alex Murdaugh's phone showed more steps taken than at any other point that evening.
RUDOFSKI: 283 steps.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a busy guy right then, wasn't he?
RUDOFSKI: Yes.
KAYE (voice-over): The witness says cell phone data also shows someone moved Maggie Murdaugh's phone minutes after she died.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At 9:06:12, what happens?
RUDOFSKI: Maggie Murdaugh's phone implements orient change -- orientation change from portrait to orientation sideways.
KAYE (voice-over): According to earlier testimony, Alex Murdaugh left the house that night around that same time, 9:06 pm to go visit his mother. GPS data from his car shows on his drive, he slowed down right around the spot where his wife's phone was found in the woods the following day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After passing that location, is the defendant's vehicle start to accelerate?
RUDOFSKI: It does.
KAYE (voice-over): Rudofski also told the jury data shows Murdaugh arrived at his mother's house at 09:22 pm and left there at 09:43 pm
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So roughly 20-minute period?
RUDOFSKI: Roughly 20 minutes, correct.
KAYE (voice-over): That's key because Murdaugh had told investigators in an interview played in court this week that he was at his mother's house for about an hour. But this GPS data shows he was there for just about 21 minutes. His mother's caretaker also testified earlier that he stopped by for about 15 to 20 minutes.
Cell phone data shows Murdaugh arrived back home at the murder scene just before calling 9-1-1 at 10:06 pm.
RUDOFSKI: This is showing the Suburban arriving at the kennels 10:05:57 pm.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From the moment, Suburban arrived at the kennels, how long did it take for that 9-1-1 call to be made?
RUDOFSKI: Less than 20 seconds.
KAYE (voice-over): Remember, Murdaugh told investigators he tried to turn his son over a couple of times and checked the pulse on both Paul and Maggie all before calling 9-1-1.
PHILLIP BARBER, ALEX MURDAUGH DEFENSE ATTORNEY: If the person getting out of the car had seen the bodies already and already knew something that's horribly wrong, do you believe that that is an unreasonably short period of time to inspect and call 9-1-1?
RUDOFSKI: I'm here to testify on this data, not the hypothetical.
KAYE: As far as the car data that shows Alex Murdaugh's car slowed down around the same spot where Maggie Murdaugh's phone was found the next day in the woods, the prosecution seemed to be pointing that out to suggest to the jury that perhaps Alex Murdaugh took that phone from the murder scene and then slowed down so he could toss it out the car window.
They also pointed out that, on the way back home that night, from his mother's house, he was driving very, very fast; at one point reaching 81 miles per hour, faster than he had driven all day.
And these are dark, windy roads, there are a lot of deer, so the prosecution again suggesting that that was odd and perhaps he was maybe in some sort of rush -- Randi Kaye, CNN, Walterboro, South Carolina.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: The death toll from Turkiye's earthquake is growing. And one of the latest victims is a star athlete from Ghana. We'll is have the latest in a live report.
Plus performing surgery in the middle of a parking lot. How medics are helping earthquake survivors survive the tough conditions they face. Stay with us.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:30:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
Word is now coming in that a soccer star from Ghana is among the 45,000 confirmed dead from that powerful earthquake in Turkiye and Syria. Christian Atsu was found a few hours ago under the rubble of a collapsed building in Turkiye. His team says his body will be returned to Ghana.
All this comes as rescue and recovery efforts continue around the region. The ongoing emergency crews found three more survivors in Turkiye after being trapped for almost 300 hours under the rubble. Now the developers of these collapsed buildings are facing more pressure from the government. Authorities have arrested 83 people so far.
CNN's Nada Bashir is tracking recovery efforts live from Istanbul.
While we're still seeing some miracles emerging from the rubble, the soccer community was saddened to hear about the death of one of the still growing number of victims of this horrible tragedy.
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is a reminder of the reality that thousands of people here in southeast Turkiye are facing the news. Now confirmed by his agent, Christian Atsu found beneath the rubble. Unfortunately, he did not survive the earthquake.
There had been previous data earlier in the week with some confusion after he went missing in the aftermath of the earthquake. Some reports that he had been found and was receiving treatment in a hospital.
But now we are learning that he sadly died in the earthquake and will be repatriated to Ghana. This comes as we're still seeing survivors being pulled out of the rubble. While there's still hope for many of those waiting for news of their loved ones --
[05:35:00]
BASHIR: -- there's the reality that many will not have survived this earthquake. The situation on the ground is extremely difficult. The humanitarian response effort is ongoing, despite the fact that search and rescue effort is beginning to wind down.
Now less than 200 operations ongoing according to the authorities. But there are still thousands and thousands of personnel working across the southeast in this country, supporting that search and rescue effort and providing that humanitarian assistance.
We're talking about aid groups providing health care; temporary shelter tents being set up. But there's a lot more that needs to be done.
The United Nations is currently appealing for $1 billion to support the humanitarian response effort. This comes after a previous appeal was announced of $400 million in support of those affected in northwest Syria.
And there's been a huge outpouring of support across the country. In Istanbul we have met with families being hosted by volunteers. They have converted university dorms into temporary shelters for those made homeless by the earthquake.
We have seen aid distribution centers being set up, thousands and thousands of volunteers working around the clock to sort through donations, to get them sent to the impacted disaster zone.
But this is a process that's going to take months. There is a significant challenge ahead for the Turkish government, not only in response when it comes to the humanitarian effort but also the infrastructural challenges that lie ahead.
You mentioned the investigation that is ongoing. We have already seen arrests. But that investigation is still going ahead. There are more than 100 suspects the government has identified as potentially being involved in construction negligence.
BRUNHUBER: Nada Bashir in Istanbul, thank you so much.
Now many of those survivors have been unable to receive treatment in fully functional hospitals. That's because some of those buildings were either damaged or destroyed in the earthquake. So instead, medics have set up makeshift facilities to help the victims. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more in this report and it does contain disturbing images.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You are watching an operation on 35-year-old Hassan Gozher (ph). He has two fractures in his femur and these doctors are working intently to stabilize the bone. Just watching this, you probably can't tell where this operation is actually taking place.
GUPTA: Just to give you an idea, we're in a tent in the middle of a parking lot outside the hospital in a quake zone and they're doing orthopedic surgery here.
DR. GREG HELLWARTH, ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON: Is that Dr. Gupta?
GUPTA: Yes, it is.
HELLWARTH: Oh my goodness. Good to see you.
GUPTA: How are you doing?
GUPTA (voice-over): This is Dr. Greg Hellwarth, an orthopedic surgeon from Indiana, who flew over as soon as he heard about the earthquake. Right now, Dr. Hellwarth is worried about bleeding.
So over here, in another part of the tent, they have found Hassan's brother to be a match and have him hooked up and quickly donating. A true blood brother.
In the middle of a natural disaster, you do whatever it takes to save a life.
GUPTA: What would have happened to someone like him if he didn't have this operation?
HELLWARTH: I've worked in places before where people like this and don't have the operation. They lay at home, languish. Some of them would get bed sores, blood clots, pneumonia and maybe die from that.
GUPTA (voice-over): Before the earthquake, Hassan would have likely gotten his operation here at this hospital in Antakya in southern Turkey. It's still standing on the outside, yes but completely wrecked inside. No longer functional. DR. ELLIOTT TENPENNY, DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL HEALTH UNIT FOR SAMARITAN'S PURSE: This hospital is destroyed. So there's no other place to seek care. It's not just about the broken bones and the crush injuries, it's about these patients also. Supply chain is a real challenge.
GUPTA (voice-over): This is the team from Samaritan's Purse. Elliott Tenpenny is an ER doctor from North Carolina.
TENPENNY: We have had aftershocks 4, 5.0 and it sways the tents back and forth and knocks things over but nothing major.
GUPTA: So all the work that you need to do can still be done?
TENPENNY: Yes, absolutely.
GUPTA (voice-over): Over just 36 hours, they put up all these tents, set up generators, communication dishes, even brought their own water purifiers.
TENPENNY: We use this machine here. It's a reverse osmosis machine. It allows us to get it from anywhere, including the ocean and do desalination if we want to.
GUPTA: And then you just keep it in these bladders and it's in use -- and these look full. So you -- that this is a process constantly happening.
TENPENNY: That's right.
GUPTA (voice-over): All of this so they're able to give the best care to their patients. Like one year old Mehmet (ph), his mother, Hasan (ph), glued to his side, telling us her story through a translator.
And what was happening to him?
[05:40:00]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): He couldn't breathe anymore.
GUPTA (voice-over): She thought he had the flu the past few days. But things got worse this morning, maybe from the fumes. As many people have been doing, they were burning plastic to stay warm. The diagnosis, bronchitis and asthma. So severe. He was put on anesthetic gasses to open up his airways and keep him alive.
Hasan (ph) is alive as well, recovering with his brother's blood providing sustenance. Care plus prayers is giving these patients hope and an entire community devastated with loss, a lifeline.
GUPTA: I have covered stories like this all over the world. They are so tragedy you can and sad, yet you do see people who rise up and do what needs to be done to save lives. Putting tents in the middle of a parking lot in the middle of a quake zone, it's remarkable. And the baby who you just saw there in the piece, good news, he
continues to do well. You see people holding him there and keeping his airways open. He was transferred to another hospital, where he's expected to make a recovery.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: For more information on how to help the earthquake victims, go to cnn.com/impact you can find a list of organizations that are working on rescue and relief efforts.
Still ahead, the latest battleground in the culture wars. Republicans are pushing legislation to limit drag shows. Critics say the bills are rooted in bigotry and would limit free speech. Please stay with us.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: A slew of bills mostly in Republican held states are looking to restrict or prohibit drag show performances in the presence of children.
[05:00:00]
BRUNHUBER: Republicans say the performances expose kids to sexual themes and imagery that are inappropriate while rights advocates say they are discriminatory and could violate free speech laws.
A CNN analysis finds the bills in at least 11 states are working their way through legislatures, though none have been signed into law. In North Dakota, Republican lawmakers are pushing to pass a bill against what they call obscene performances in the presence of minors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that there is broadly an attack on our system in the state and around the country. I think that we need to take a stance in North Dakota. We're going to protect children. We're going to protect their right to innocence. So that was the framework of this bill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Critics of anti-drag bills say the legislation is rooted in bigotry. One family friendly drag event in Memphis, Tennessee, last year was interrupted by the far right group the Proud Boys. Organizers of the event say the community will rise above the outrage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel like we're stronger than that as a community. As people, we care about each other. We will protect each other.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Logan Casey is a senior policy researcher and adviser at the Movement Advancement Project, an independent think tank, which tracks LGBTQ policies across the United States.
Thank you so much for being here with us. We have these almost 40 bills, targeting drag performances across some 15 states. And some of these bills, the penalties will be really serious. Exposing a minor to one of these performances would be a felony. Basically, you could go to jail over this.
It seems like a very specific issue to be galvanizing conservatives.
What's behind this?
LOGAN CASEY, SENIOR POLICY RESEARCHER AND ADVISER, MOVEMENT ADVANCEMENT PROJECT: Yes, thanks for the opportunity to be here.
You're right that it does seem very specific but it's important to understand that these bills are part of a much broader and coordinated attack on LGBTQ people and particularly transgender people across the country and across virtually every aspect of our lives.
While these bills on their face seem like they would focus on criminalizing an art form, their ultimate goal is really to push transgender people out of public life entirely.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, they seem to confuse drag and trans together, even though obviously they are not the same thing. Specifically with the drag performances, the Republican argument is it's not anti-drag; it's pro-child.
So a Tennessee state senator Jack Johnson told CNN in a statement, "I am carrying the legislation to protect children from being exposed to sexually explicit drag shows that are inappropriate for minor audiences. It's similar to laws that prohibit children from going to a strip club."
So is there not any merit to that argument, these are complex, confusing issues and kids are just too young?
CASEY: Yes, so we hear that a lot. And we know what the politicians are saying these bills are about. But when you look at the bills, you see that what they are trying to do is push transgender people out of the public life entirely.
As to the (INAUDIBLE), parents know best what type of entertainment is appropriate for their kids and at what age. And that's a decision for parents to make, not for the politicians. BRUNHUBER: Concretely, what effect is it actually having on the
community?
CASEY: Yes, this is really an unprecedented time. It's hard to understate how under fire we are across virtually every aspect of our lives. And that creates a lot of fear and concern.
As I mentioned, hundreds and hundreds of bills just this year alone were only six weeks into the year and we have already broken last year's record for the number of anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in state legislatures.
And some states haven't even started their legislative session yet. So there's a lot of fear and a lot of concern.
We also know that, even when these bills don't become law, they can still cause harm. Last year, there was a survey of transgender and nonbinary youth. And 86 percent said these recent debates in state legislatures about anti-LGBTQ bills have negatively impacted their mental health.
BRUNHUBER: We only have about a minute left. I wanted to ask you, in terms of trying to fight these, there are legal, constitutional free speech issues when it comes to anti-drag laws specifically.
But for the wider battle, obviously the political fight will be had here.
Do you think it will activate liberals the way it seems to animate conservatives, especially when polls suggest there's less support for these issues among African Americans and Latinos?
[05:50:00]
CASEY: Yes, I think the fact that this is a broader and coordinated attack really speaks to how hard opponents of LGBTQ equality are pushing this agenda. And it's not in line with what the majority of Americans feel and support with respect to LGBTQ people and issues.
So I think what we have seen over time is that support for LGBTQ people and issues growing and growing. And those are the values that Americans share. And it's really the politicians pushing these bills who are out of step and out of line.
BRUNHUBER: All right, thank you so much for being here with us, Logan Casey. Really appreciate it.
CASEY: Thank you for your time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: And we'll be right back.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: The chairman of a top Qatari bank has made an offer to buy Manchester United. He says he wants to purchase 100 percent of the football club and return it to its former glory. He also plans to invest in the club's facilities and to, quote, "place the fans at the heart of the team."
[05:55:00]
BRUNHUBER: His offer is one of several bids for ManU, which was put up for sale back in November.
The powerful James Webb space telescope is giving us the clearest look yet of young stars as they are forming, peering inside the heart of spiral galaxies. Until now, dust prevented us from seeing the formation of emerging stars.
But the telescope uses infrared light to see through the dust. The creation of stars can create giant bubbles of gas and particles, which can look like spider webs. Researchers will use the telescope to study 19 spiral galaxies, hoping to discover new insights about the life cycle of stars.
Before we go, have a look at a different kind of star here.
(VIDEO CLIP, "BREAKING BAD")
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Fans of "Breaking Bad" will recognize this scene and that underwear from the first episode of the hit crime series. The pair worn by Bryan Cranston playing Walter White is now up for auction.
It's currently going for $7,000 with 10 days of bidding left. But Walter White's tighty whities may not be so tidy after all. The auction description says the pair has lost some elasticity over time due to age and wear.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Like us all, I guess. Don't forget you can follow me on Twitter. "CNN THIS MORNING" is next.
