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Ukraine Dominates Biden-Scholz Meeting; Intense Fighting in and around Bakhmut; Alex Murdaugh Gets Two Consecutive Life Sentences without Parole; Ohio Residents Worry about Train Toxins; Some High- Profile Republicans Avoid Conservative Political Action Conference; DeSantis Chases Trans Students through College Records; Mob Violence Rocks Palestinian Village; Tom Sizemore Dies at 61; King Charles III Coronation Holy Oil Consecrated. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired March 04, 2023 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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LAILA HARRAK, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from the United States and all around the world. I'm Laila Harrak.
Russian troops closing in on the battered city of Bakhmut in Eastern Ukraine. But Kyiv says the fight isn't over yet. We will have the latest from the front lines.
Plus, Alex Murdaugh's stunning downfall: the former South Carolina attorney sentenced to life behind bars for the murder of his wife and son. But his legal problems could just be getting started.
And it has been one month since the toxic train disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, and many residents are still wondering if their lives will ever get back to normal.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Laila Harrak.
HARRAK: For the second time in his short tenure as Germany's chancellor, Olaf Scholz was back at the White House on Friday, joining U.S. President Joe Biden to reaffirm support for Ukraine.
The last time the chancellor was at the White House was soon after he took office and shortly before the Russian invasion began. Here is what the two leaders are saying now about the importance of backing Ukraine.
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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You've driven historic changes at home and, you know, increased the defense spending and diversifying away from Russian energy sources. I know that's not been easy. It's very difficult for you.
Together we're in lockstep to supply critical security systems to Ukraine.
OLAF SCHOLZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR: This is a very important year because of the very dangerous threat to peace that comes from Russia invading Ukraine. And it is really important that we act together.
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HARRAK: Also Friday, the U.S. announced another $400 million security package to Ukraine, primarily to resupply ammunition for weapons in Ukraine. So far the U.S. has provided Ukraine with more than $32 billion in military support since the war began.
Well, near the war's front lines, Ukrainian officials say constant Russian shelling has forced mandatory evacuations in the eastern city of Kupyansk. People with limited mobility, with disability and children are being told to get out now.
Ukrainian troops liberated the city in September but the fighting remains close by, with the front lines some 20 kilometers or some 12 miles from the city.
To the south, the Ukrainian army reports intense fighting taking place in and around Bakhmut. Russian forces continue to attempt to surround the city and officials believe more than 4,000 civilians are trapped by the fighting. CNN's Melissa Bell reports on the intense fighting for the battered city.
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MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bakhmut still stands, says the Ukrainian military. But only just.
VSEVOLOD KOZHEMYAKO, KHARTIA BATTALION, UKRAINE: It looks really hellish.
BELL: The bridge along the last possible supply route in and out, destroyed overnight, leaving out of reach and nearly encircled around 4,500 civilians, including 48 children, the ghost of Bakhmut, entirely out of sight. Any sign of life driven underground.
What is life like in Bakhmut today for the civilians, for the soldiers?
KOZHEMYAKO: What life? What life? The soldiers are doing their work and civilians are trying to survive. There is no water, there's no electricity.
BELL: This was Bakhmut in August, when the seashell just begun. This is Bakhmut seven months on. The city's empty, people are afraid to go out, every day, new destruction. It's better not to go outside, writes Dr. Elena Molchanova from inside the town.
CNN met her and other nurses on Christmas Eve, not quite happier times but certainly less desperate ones.
Now the constant artillery prevents her from leaving the basement of her hospital. The Ukrainian military says civilians are now trapped.
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BELL (voice-over): The head of the Wagner mercenary group urging Ukrainians nonetheless to try to leave Bakhmut as his men close in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The pincers are tightening, Ukrainian soldiers are fighting but their lives near Bakhmut are short a day or two. Give them a chance to leave the city. It is in fact surrounded.
BELL: Ukraine dismissing those comments as a disinformation campaign designed to spread panic. For now, Ukrainian soldiers continue to fight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Almost all the building, the outskirts, are ruined absolutely. Almost every house has this holes and have these marks of shelling. The streets are empty, the pictures quite say it.
BELL: But inside, life as best it can goes on. Elena helping those who come with what drugs are left. And she sends us this.
"Spring is coming she says, even to Bakhmut." And that means there's hope -- Melissa Bell, CNN, Kyiv.
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HARRAK: Former South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
He was given two consecutive life sentences with no possibility of parole at a hearing on Friday. Murdaugh was taken for processing immediately after the sentence was handed down. He will undergo medical tests and mental assessments before being transferred to a maximum security prison.
Friday's sentencing hearing came less than a day after a jury found Murdaugh guilty on two counts of murder in the deaths of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul. CNN correspondent Dianne Gallagher was in Walterboro, South Carolina, for the verdict and sentencing and filed this report.
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JUDGE CLIFTON NEWMAN, SOUTH CAROLINA CIRCUIT COURT: I sentence to you for the term of the rest of your natural life.
DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two consecutive life sentences for disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh for the murders of his wife, Maggie and his son, Paul; the end of a dramatic six-week trial.
NEWMAN: Mr. Murdaugh -- GALLAGHER (voice-over): Murdaugh spoke in court again, saying he did not kill his wife and son.
ALEX MURDAUGH, CONVICTED MURDERER: I'm innocent. I would never hurt my wife, Maggie, and I would never hurt my son, Pawpaw.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): But Judge Clifton Newman offered a different take.
NEWMAN: And it might not have been you. It might have been the monster you become when you take 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 opioid pills. Maybe you become another person.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): Judge Newman saying this trial was, quote, one of the most troubling cases of his career.
NEWMAN: And I know you have to see Paul and Maggie during the night times when you're attempting to go to sleep. I'm sure they come and visit you. I'm sure.
MURDAUGH: All day and every night.
NEWMAN: Yes, I'm sure.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): The prosecutor again pointing out Murdaugh's lies.
CREIGHTON WATERS, LEAD PROSECUTOR: The lack of remorse and the effortless way in which he lies, including here, sitting right over there in this witness stand.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): Today, sentencing comes just one day after the jury found Murdaugh guilty of two counts of murder and two weapons charges.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Guilty verdict.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): One juror spoke to ABC News about the jury's decision, saying the cell phone video placing him at the scene sealed Murdaugh's fate.
CRAIG MOYER, JUROR: The evidence was clear. Hear his voice clearly and everybody else could too.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So it took basically 45 minutes for you guys to come to a decision?
MOYER: Probably about 45, maybe an hour.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): Craig Moyer also saying Murdaugh's reactions during the trial were not convincing.
MOYER: His responses how quick he was with the defense and his lies, steady lies. I didn't see any true remorse or any compassion or anything.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): Murdaugh's defense team spoke to CNN today about their decision to put their client on the stand.
JIM GRIFFIN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: By putting him on the stand I think the jury also got to see his emotions about Maggie and Paul, which are very raw and real. But then, you know, the next day on cross examination, got to give credit where credit is due. I mean, they clearly painted Alex as, you know, a liar.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): Vowing their fight is not over.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're appealing and we feel good about an appeal. He's a liar and he's a thief and he admitted that. He's not a murderer.
GALLAGHER: Now the defense team says they believe the fact that the judge allowed the inclusion of the financial crimes Alex Murdaugh is accused of to be used as evidence in this murder trial, it tainted the jury's perception of their client. And if they weren't included, the defense team says, maybe we could be looking at a different outcome.
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GALLAGHER: Now Alex Murdaugh may be in state custody but he still has to face those pending charges, about 99 of them, mostly related to those financial allegations against him.
The attorney general tells me that just because he was sentenced to life in prison for these murders does not mean that they are not going to go after him for the financial crimes as well -- Dianne Gallagher, CNN, Walterboro, South Carolina.
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HARRAK: Extreme weather from heavy rain to tornadoes to snow has been battering much of the U.S. and at least 10 people have now died because of it. Four of those deaths were in Kentucky, where the governor issued a state of emergency Friday morning ahead of dangerous weather that included tornadoes, flooding and winds.
The storm system has left nearly 1.5 million homes and businesses without power. Kentucky, Tennessee and Michigan now reporting the highest number of outages. The northern part of the storm is hitting much of Michigan and the Northeast with heavy snow, which is expected to last throughout Saturday.
Upstate New York and parts of New England might see as much as 16 inches of snow. Winter storm warnings are now up from Michigan to Maine. Winter storm warnings are up yet again in parts of the West as a new system moves in.
Some places in Northern California could see more than two feet of snow this weekend. Officials say they have had more snow this winter than they have had in decades. That has been critical in helping replenish some of the state's struggling reservoirs.
But even so the water level at California's largest lake is still well below average. Only a year ago, the entire state was in a, drought but now, thanks to these winter storms, it has been cut in half.
Parts of Southern California have seen snow for the first time in decades. But in the San Bernardino Mountains, there has been so much snow that people are trapped and in danger. CNN's Camila Bernal has more on that.
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DEREK HAYES, STRANDED IN SNOW (voice-over): First, I was really frustrated. But now, it's to the point where we were somewhat scared.
CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Derek Hayes trapped in the mountains of Southern California after an epic winter storm.
HAYES: There's nowhere to put the snow. There's no way to walk around it. You know, it's up to my neck in a lot of places. You take a step, you sink all the way down, you have to crawl yourself back out of the snow to try to get on top of it. Even move around.
BERNAL (voice-over): Derek, just one of the many who were stranded.
HANNAH WHITEOAK, STRANDED IN SNOW: It's unfathomable.
BERNAL (voice-over): The only thing they can do is wait for help.
CHARLENE BERMUDEZ, STRANDED IN SNOW: It's just crazy. There's no way to get out anywhere.
BERNAL (voice-over): Their concerns, food, heat, medical emergencies or medicine and food for their pets, just to name a few. These San Bernardino mountains do get plenty of snow in the winter but the past few weeks have been unprecedented with the National Weather Service issuing its first ever blizzard warning.
ROMAN DURAN, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL: Our main concern right now, is to try to get the infrastructure up the mountain to be able to clear some of these roadways so that we can essentially get, you know, the people that live up there back to their houses and the people that are stuck up there back down.
BERNAL (voice-over): Emergency crews, so far, carrying out roughly 100 rescues.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's a lot of ice.
BERNAL (voice-over): Governor Gavin Newsom also declaring a state of emergency for San Bernardino County and 12 others, activating the national guard. Residents say, lives are in danger.
BERMUDEZ: We were actually going to be getting a neighbor out of his house. He's a cancer patient who is elderly and he has a doctor's appointment that he's going to try and get to.
BERNAL (voice-over): Some have been shoveling non-stop.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dig out the truck for the fourth time. BERNAL (voice-over): But not all are able to do so.
WHITEOAK: It's one of the roughest, roughest experiences and -- but you still go into survival mode and you just keep pushing through. You know, I feel incredible bad for anyone that hasn't got that physical presence.
BERNAL: And authorities apologizing for the time it is taking to help people, who are stuck in their homes, up in the mountain. They say they are expecting progress over the next couple of days.
They do have members of the National Guard who are up there with firefighters, trying to clear the roads; that is their priority. But they say it could take about a week before people can come and go from this mountain -- Camila Bernal, CNN, San Bernardino, California.
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HARRAK: Still ahead, a month after a train with toxic materials jumped the tracks in the U.S., concerns grow that residents' lives may never be the same.
And Trump's former advisor, Steve Bannon, rips into FOX News at CPAC.
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HARRAK: Hear his ultimatum for FOX Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch.
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HARRAK: Adverse health effects are starting to show among residents following a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. A train carrying hazardous materials jumped the tracks and caught fire on February 3rd.
Now a state health survey says many residents are complaining of headaches, anxiety, coughing, fatigue and skin irritation. Officials say water testing is so far not showing dangerous levels of any contaminants related to the derailment.
The rail operator, Norfolk Southern, has been ordered to fully clean up the site. But a source says the Environmental Protection Agency has not accepted the company's plan yet and it expects an update next week.
But local residents believe the derailments may have long-term effects no matter what the plan is. They are concerned that potentially toxic chemicals may have seeped into the ecosystem. And as Miguel Marquez finds out, they are not sure their lives will ever be the same again.
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DAVE ANDERSON, OWNER, ECHO VALLEY FARM: Come on, girls. Come on, girls. Come on, girls.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Dave Anderson raises grass fed beef 4 miles downwind of East Palestine, Ohio. After the derailment fire and venting of toxic chemicals, this is what drifted over his Echo Valley farm.
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ANDERSON: As far as the smoke, you could probably see 100 yards. You know, it was dark.
MARQUEZ: And what did you experience?
ANDERSON: Burning eyes, burning throat, burning mouth.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): The cloud from the toxic spill settled on his pastures and ponds. The question he now cannot answer are the cattle he's raised for years OK for human consumption.
ANDERSON: Customers that buy grass fed beef directly from a farmer. They care about their food.
MARQUEZ: They want to know what they're getting --
ANDERSON: They want to know what they're getting.
MARQUEZ: -- is topnotch.
ANDERSON: And healthy for them.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): He's now sued Norfolk Southern. He also wants testing, a process, a way to certify his livestock is safe.
ANDERSON: The lawsuit is about peace of mind to start with.
MARQUEZ: Right.
ANDERSON: And information to make decisions.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Solid information, here tough to come by. Officials have established a 2-mile zone around the derailment site as a priority because Anderson's farm is farther away. Despite being directly in the path of the plume from the toxic spill, he's yet received little support and no answers from Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection, DEP.
MARQUEZ: What will sways your concerns?
ANDERSON: Testing. But there has been no testing.
MARQUEZ: None?
ANDERSON: None. And so --
MARQUEZ: DEP has not been out here at all?
ANDERSON: DEP came yesterday for the first time, four weeks after the event. A little more than four weeks after the event.
MARQUEZ: Did they test?
They take samples?
ANDERSON: They did not. They were investigating whether they should be active in this area outside of the 2-mile ring.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): The crash occurred just feet from the Pennsylvania border. The winds typically blow east toward Pennsylvania. The state is going house to house, testing soil and water in areas closest to the derailment.
MARQUEZ: What did you see that night?
SAMUEL WEGNER, PENNSYLVANIA RESIDENT: Standing at the end of the driveway, I saw a huge plume of smoke. I saw flames above the tree tops, well over 100 feet in the air and it was terrifying.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Samuel Wegner and his wife, Joyce, had their fourth child, Jackson Hayes, a week ago. He says the state's response has been too slow and lacking any information to know whether his town of Darlington, Pennsylvania, is still a safe place to raise a family.
MARQUEZ: Have you tested your well or has it been tested?
WEGNER: It was tested today and we're told to be another three weeks until we get results.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Wegner, who works in landscaping, says they evacuated for four days but moving permanently isn't an option.
MARQUEZ: How tough was it to come back to this house, knowing that you bring a newborn here?
WEGNER: I feel like I possibly regret the decision every day but here we live paycheck to paycheck. We live within our means and we don't have the financial luxury to pack up and move. It's just -- it's scary.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): The CDC is now conducting health survey in and around East Palestine, trying to determine the long-term effects on human health. While air and water testing is occurring daily, answers about long term health won't come quickly.
CAPTAIN JILL SHUGART, U.S. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE: We are hoping in the next couple of weeks to be able to have collected all of the information that we need and then those results will be available in the coming months.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): For Pennsylvania residents and business owners, downwind of the toxic fire, answers can't come soon enough.
MARQUEZ: But you're losing business because people aren't sure it's safe to eat your food. JC SUMMERS, OWNER, BUTCHER AND THE BAKER, DARLINGTON, PA: Yes, I think so. I lost a wedding over that, yes, catering job. They just -- they don't know. I mean, I'm -- I don't think there's anything wrong with anything but I don't know either.
MARQUEZ: It must hurt.
SUMMERS: Yes, it sucks. I'm sorry. I don't know how else to put it. It's just the uncertainty.
MARQUEZ: Pennsylvania officials have pushed back pretty hard on the notion that not enough is being done to help people in the area. They say they have tested nearly every private well with within a two-mile radius of the derailment. They have a soil sampling program that they are about to get underway.
They work with state veterinarians and animal welfare experts to ensure that farmers know best practices for the situation. They've opened up a health clinic in Darlington in that area, that anyone can use; 200 people or more have already used it at this point.
And they are welcoming more to come. They say that everything, all the test results for all the water all the soil everything and all information, can be found both online or in person. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRAK: Donald Trump is headlining the big conservative conference in the U.S. on Saturday. But several other high-profile Republicans are staying away. We'll take a look at whether or not CPAC is still relevant for presidential hopefuls.
Plus, we'll tell you about efforts by Republican-led state legislatures to put limits on gender affirming care and on drag performances. That story and a whole lot more is after the break.
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HARRAK: Welcome back to our viewers all around the world, I'm Laila Harrak and you are watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Potential and declared U.S. Republican presidential contenders have been making their case in Maryland. Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley told the Conservative Political Action Conference that it was time for a new generation to step up.
Meanwhile, former secretary of state Mike Pompeo increased speculation that he's ready to take a run at the White House with his comments about a, quote, "crisis of conservatism." For many people, the headline act is going to be former president
Donald Trump, who takes the stage later today. But as Trump dominates the conference, several big name Republicans are staying away. Our Jeff Zeleny is there for us.
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JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's long been a command performance for Republicans harboring White House ambitions.
NIKKI HALEY (R-SC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's great to be back at CPAC.
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ZELENY (voice-over): But at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington, the parade of potential presidential hopefuls is far shorter this year. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley --
HALEY: If you're tired of losing, put your trust in a new generation. And if you want to win not just as a party but as a country, then stand with me.
ZELENY (voice-over): And former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gently called for a new direction.
MIKE POMPEO (R-KS), FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: We shouldn't look for larger than life personalities but rather we should find power in the rooms like this one.
ZELENY (voice-over): But the long running, three-day gathering called CPAC is now seen as The Trump Show.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: These are my people. This is beautiful.
ZELENY (voice-over): The former president is set to appear Saturday, joining a sea of loyal supporters and members of his own family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your president, President Donald Trump will be here.
ZELENY (voice-over): Who are rallying to return him to office. But other big-name contenders, who many Republicans see as the party's future, had other plans.
Last year, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis took to the stage as a rising star.
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): CPAC.
ZELENY (voice-over): But as he inches closer to declaring a presidential bid, he attended a gathering of donors in Florida hosted by Club for Growth, an antitax group urging the party to move on from Trump. Several potential rivals also skipped CPAC and headed to Florida, including former vice president Mike Pence, South Carolina senator Tim Scott, South Dakota governor Kristi Noem and New Hampshire governor Chris Sununu.
But adoration for Trump was on full display at CPAC, where Evie Phillips (ph) took a seat at a replica Resolute desk against a backdrop of a faux Oval Office.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trump first.
ZELENY (voice-over): OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And then DeSantis, let's do that in '28.
ZELENY (voice-over): Colleen Hoffman is from Jacksonville, Florida. She wore a DeSantis hat even as she sported a Trump sticker. She said she's torn but believes Trump is the stronger choice for 2024.
COLLEEN HOFFMAN, CPAC ATTENDEE: I really love this hat because it's like, let us alone, you know?
It's -- I love it. But as of right now, I'm going to vote for Donald Trump.
ZELENY (voice-over): At the early stage of the campaign, it's hardly a two-man contest, as Vivek Ramaswamy, an Ohio businessman who jumped into the race last month, made clear on the CPAC stage.
VIVEK RAMASWAMY (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When we rallied behind the cry to make America great again, we did not just hunger for a single man. We hungered for the unapologetic pursuit of excellence. That is what it means to be an American.
ZELENY (voice-over): Yet even as the Republican field grows, the conversations at CPAC and the comparisons between candidates always came back to Trump.
KRISTEN FORBES, CPAC ATTENDEE: I think Governor DeSantis is wonderful. I think he's amazing. I just don't think it's his time quite yet. I think if he could just give it four years, I think he'd be a great successor to Trump.
ZELENY: As former president Donald Trump comes for the final day of this convention, all eyes clearly are on his message.
Will he distinguish himself between his growing field of rivals?
His aides say expect him to do just that, particularly going after Ron DeSantis. But of course, this is far more than a two-person race. This campaign is just getting underway -- Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Oxon Hill, Maryland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRAK: CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein joins me now from Los Angeles. He's also a senior editor at "The Atlantic." Hi, Ron. CPAC mired in controversy and some conspicuous absences.
Is CPAC still the place to be?
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Not really, in the Republican Party. It has its internal problems with the person who runs it being accused of sexual misconduct by another Republican.
But it's also seen as, essentially, a Trump subsidiary at this point. And it is reflected in one way of an interesting kind of evolution and narrowing of Trump's appeal in the Republican Party.
When he won the first, time there was surprisingly little differentiation in his support from very conservative voters to more moderate voters. That wasn't really the dividing line.
This time, if you look at the early polling about 2024, he is much more dependent on the most conservative voices in the party, the most conservative voters in the party. And you see that reflected in the fact that he is dominant at CPAC.
Meanwhile, most of the field is in his back yard in south Florida, auditioning for the Club for Growth, which is a conservative group that focuses on economic issues.
HARRAK: Meanwhile, Ron DeSantis is visiting Southern California this weekend instead of attending CPAC.
Were you surprised by that?
Was that a missed opportunity for him?
BROWNSTEIN: No. First of all, I think Ron DeSantis is first going to be at the Club for Growth meeting in South Florida and then coming out to California and speaking to Orange County Republicans at the Reagan Library on Sunday.
I think DeSantis in general is someone who is very determined to set his own path and not really kind of follow organizations' dictates and lead on how he should be spending his time.
But I think he has calculated, as have many of the others, that CPAC really reflects a Trump constituency.
The other event going on, this Club for Growth event, is interesting because it reflects the continuation of what we saw in 2016, which is that a lot of the big institutions in the Republican Party want to stop Donald Trump.
[02:35:00]
BROWNSTEIN: They want to find someone else. When they could not do that, when they could not unify behind an alternative in 2016 with Trump at the lead, they all fell in line very quickly, from the elected officials to the big donors. And it will be interesting to see whether the opposition this time,
from institutional forces in the GOP, is either more effective or more durable than it was in 2016.
HARRAK: Nikki Haley at CPAC said Friday that she is running to, quote, "stop the downward spiral toward socialism" and to end the self loathing that has taken over our country.
Ron DeSantis also painting himself as a potential candidate to take on the so-called woke elect.
Is tackling wokeness the theme emerging for Republican candidates?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes, I think it. I mean, certainly in a Republican primary, as one Republican consultant said to me this week, if you look at what they are watching on conservative media, it is not the Reaganite issues of strong national defense, balancing budgets and cutting taxes.
They are talking about attacking the Left. And pretty much any agenda that is seen as advancing the causes or advocating for greater racial equity, gender equity, more inclusion of LGBTQ, all of that is being condemned as well.
And there is clearly a lot of power in that inside Republican primary electorate. It is largely why Ron DeSantis has rocketed to a position, going toe for toe with Donald Trump in many of these polls.
It's an open question to me, though, whether this can sell beyond red America in those white collar swing counties outside of Detroit, Philadelphia and Phoenix and Atlanta and Madison and Milwaukee that Republicans have to win back to gain the presidency again.
Is this really an agenda that is going to bring back some of those suburban voters, who thought Trump was too polarizing?
DeSantis may be defining himself too much in a Trump-like manner to truly be competitive for those voters, if he gets that far.
HARRAK: Now Donald Trump will deliver the keynote address on Saturday.
Is he still a front-runner to become the Republican nominee for president?
BROWNSTEIN: I think he is. I think DeSantis is in a stronger position against him at this point than any of the other candidates were in the 2015-2016 period.
But, yes, I think Trump is still the front-runner, primarily because he has such a hold on the blue-collar side of the party. The basic dynamic in 2016 was that Trump won the nomination because he's consolidated the blue-collar half of the party to a much greater degree than anybody consolidated the other half, which is the white- collar half.
Which was very dubious of it him even then. If you look at the early polling about 2024, you see something of the same dynamic, where Trump is still very strong among Republican voters without a college degree.
He is still facing a lot of resistance among Republican voters with a college degree. But they, at this point, are splintering more among many of the alternatives.
DeSantis does have the ability to put together a cross class, cross ideology coalition and pose a bigger threat, I think, to Trump than anyone did in 2016. But that is still on paper.
Trump still has a big piece of the party. And someone is going to have to solve the Rubik's Cube of putting together just enough of the blue collar side and the white collar side to get past his really dominant position with those working class Republicans.
HARRAK: Ron Brownstein, thank you so very much.
BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.
HARRAK: Steve Bannon, a former adviser to Donald Trump, is slamming Rupert Murdoch and FOX News for, quote, "disrespecting" the former president. In a fiery speech at CPAC, Bannon branded Murdoch, who is Australian, and his family, "a bunch of foreigners." And he gave the Fox Corporation chairman this ultimatum.
STEVE BANNON, ADVISER TO FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP: OK, Murdoch. Here's the way it's going to be, brother. You've disrespected Donald J. Trump long enough. OK?
They don't respect you. Read the depositions. The deposition -- they have a fear, a loathing and contempt for you. The Murdochs immediately have to start covering president Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRAK: Those depositions Bannon was talking about are related to a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems against FOX. In that deposition, which has recently been made public, Rupert Murdoch conceded that some FOX News hosts endorsed false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
He also admitted that, in hindsight, he would have liked the network to have been stronger in denouncing the former president's lies.
A coalition of 16 Democratic attorneys general are condemning Florida's Republican governor Ron DeSantis after his administration asked public colleges in his state for information about students receiving gender affirming health care.
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HARRAK: The coalition said in a letter sent on Friday that the request threatens to undermine the private medical decisions made by individuals and risks the lives and well-being of some of the most vulnerable people.
The 16 attorneys general say they are trying to protect citizens from their states, who are part of Florida's university system. It's unclear why the DeSantis administration is seeking the personal information. CNN has reached out to the governor's office for comment.
Tennessee joins other Republican-led states seeking to restrict drag shows and ban gender affirming care for minors. Governor Bill Lee signed both pieces of legislation into law on Thursday. They go into effect on July 1st.
Nearly a dozen bills limiting drag performances are working their way through Republican-led state legislatures. And the ACLU says more than 80 bills nationwide seek to restrict access to gender affirming care.
Major medical associations agree that such care is clinically appropriate for both children and adults with gender dysphoria. But treatment is highly individualized and surgical interventions are not typically performed on children.
Well, we've now learned that U.S. President Joe Biden had a cancerous lesion removed from his skin during last month's annual exam. According to the president's physician, a biopsy confirmed the lesion was a basal cell carcinoma, a common and easily treatable form of skin cancer.
The doctor added that all cancer cells had been removed and no further treatment was needed. He also revealed that first lady Jill Biden had similar lesions removed earlier this year.
A Palestinian village becomes a flashpoint for violence and children are caught in the middle. Ahead, CNN reports on the impact of revenge attacks sparked by the killing of two Israeli brothers.
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HARRAK: The Palestinian village of Huwara in the occupied West Bank has been rocked by violence. Last week, a mob of Israeli settlers burned cars and homes and killed a Palestinian man after two Israeli brothers were killed.
Palestinians have been flooding the streets to protest the violence. The tense situation there has escalated since Israel's far-right finance minister said he thought the village should be, quote, "erased."
On Friday, the E.U. ambassador to the Palestinian Territories toured the scene and called for accountability. Hadas Gold on the Palestinian village now with Huwara experiencing the worst Israeli settler violence.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the Palestinian village Israel's far-right finance minister said needs to be erased. Huwara, where Israeli settlers tried to do just that on Sunday. Revenge attacks after the killings of two Israeli brothers by Palestinian gunmen hours before.
Days later, the smell of burning rubber still lingers in the air. As residents cleanup shattered glass, burnt up cars, Blackened buildings, one Palestinian man killed in the ensuing chaos.
Huwara has long been a flashpoint for violence between Israeli settlers and Palestinians, partly due to the highway that runs through it.
NAHAWAND DAMIDI, HUWARA RESIDENT (through translator): They usually attack us by throwing stones. If we try to defend ourselves, they will use weapons. But last time was different. Wherever you look, there are bullets fired. Fires everywhere.
GOLD: Security cameras outside of residence home show masked settlers gathering flammable material to set this home on fire. The door literally melting.
Ten-year-old Lamar Abu Saris said her room's window was broken by three big stones.
LAMAR ABU SARIS, HUWARA RESIDENT (through translator): Mom hid us in her room and focus to the rooftop to see what was happening. We heard them breaking the windows of the house. We didn't do anything to them.
GOLD: Her 2-year-old sister, Sawar, jumps when she hears a noise outside.
"Beep, fire," she whispers, a reference to the car set ablaze that her family's auto repair shop.
Their mother, Hana, saying her children are traumatized.
HANA ABU SARIS, HUWARA RESIDENT (through translator): They burned the cars and shot three bullets toward me and were screaming "Death to Arabs."
GOLD: A few days later, that phrase, "Wipe out Huwara," echoed by the Israeli finance minister and settler leader Bezalel Smotrich.
BEZALEL SMOTRICH, ISRAELI FINANCE MINISTER (through translator): I think the village of Huwara needs to be erased. I think that the State of Israel needs to do this and God forbid not private people.
GOLD: Smotrich later tweeting he didn't need it and only wants to quote, "act in a targeted manner" against the terrorists and supporters of terrorism.
NED PRICE, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: These comments were irresponsible. GOLD (voice-over): The U.S. State Department calling his original
comments "repugnant" and "disgusting." At least a dozen settlers have been arrested, according to Israeli police. There is now a heavy military presence in town.
Israeli soldiers telling our team to stop filming, because it's a closed military zone, as Israeli authorities still search for the gunman who killed the two Israeli brothers and to keep Israeli settlers out of town -- Hadas Gold, CNN.
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HARRAK: Family, friends and movie fans are remembering "Saving Private Ryan" actor Tom Sizemore, who passed away Friday. His representative says Sizemore died peacefully in his sleep at 61, with his brother and sons at his side. He'd been hospitalized in a coma since last month --
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HARRAK: -- when he suffered a brain aneurysm that was triggered by a stroke.
Sizemore often played tough guys and is best known for roles in the movies "Heat" and "Black Hawk Down," along with the TV series "China Beach." His brother called him larger than life.
We will be right back.
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HARRAK: The oil that is going to be used to anoint King Charles III during his coronation has been consecrated. The ceremony was held at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Friday. The British monarchy's coronation ceremony has remained essentially the same --
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HARRAK: -- for over 1,000 years, according to the palace. The oil is based on one used for the coronation of the late Queen Elizabeth in 1953.
Now this may seem obvious but the U.S. Transportation Security Administration says don't send your cat through the X-ray machine at the airport. They have a CAT scan to prove it.
It happened on Friday in Norfolk, Virginia. The cat is apparently fine after it was discovered in a carryon bag designed for small animals. The TSA recommends walking with cats through the metal detector. It is not known if the feline's owner didn't know that or simply forgot to let the cat out of the bag.
Couldn't help ourselves there. That wraps up this hour of CNN NEWSROOM, I am Laila Harrak. Stay with
us, I will be back with more news after a quick break.
