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Rockets From Lebanon Fired At Israel After Its Police Stormed Mosque; CNN Polling On Biden's Performance And Future; Supreme Court Denies WV Request To Enforce Anti-Trans Sports Ban For Now; Chicago Doc Donates Kidney, Triggers Paired Donation To Save 2 Lives; Tiger Woods Tees Off For 25th Masters; LSU's Angel Reese Says Her Team Won't Go To WH, But School's Athletic Dept Says It Will Accept Invite. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired April 06, 2023 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

AARON DAVID MILLER, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT MIDDLE EAST NEGOTIATOR: And even though I think Middle East wars do not happen by accident, they're usually preceded by a train of -- trail of escalation. Action and reaction.

It is concerning that the fire came from Lebanon.

The last thing that the region needs is a major escalation involving Hezbollah's 100,000-plus hydrogenated weapons in what is likely to be a very, very tough response, not just against Hezbollah but against Lebanese infrastructure and the part of the Israelis.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: But we did hear from Elliott that the belief was this may be a response from Hamas, but not necessary Hezbollah. So do you think there is a way in which Israel can deescalate any of this?

MILLER: Well, it's going to take two to tango here. And remember, you have a situation in Israel against the backdrop of months of demonstrations and protests, including hundreds, if not thousands of Israeli military reservists, which is which are in precedent.

And those reserves, by the way, are important. Since Israel hasn't fought a ground war in quite some time. It is the reserves in the Air Force and in the intelligence that, in fact, would be ready for this sort of operation.

So I think, even though some would argue it's a sort of a wag-the-dog potential possibility with a Israeli prime minister who is burdened with a domestic crisis might seek a response abroad. I don't think that's the case.

I think the prime minister and his security establishment, and the Israel military establishment understands the dangers and the risks that could result if, in fact, you have a full-blown escalation and confrontation as we saw in the summer of 2006 between Israel and Hezbollah, My gut tells me, Fred, that this is going to calm down, at least on

the Lebanese piece of it, after the Israelis respond. And they've already signaled their diplomatic establishments and have their talking points to expect that they are going to respond.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll leave it there for now. Aaron David Miller, always great to see you. Thanks so much.

MILLER: Right.

WHITFIELD: All right, back in this country, weekly jobless claims came in higher than expected ahead of tomorrow's crucial jobs report. What this all means for your bottom line.

And a doctor's donation set off a chain of events that ends up saving not one but two lives. That incredible story, straight ahead.

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[14:36:53]

WHITFIELD: All right, as the country grapples with historic inflation, one area that has remained sound is the labor market. But job cuts are mounting, bringing added attention to tomorrow's jobs report. One chief economist says we're at a tipping point now.

The March jobs report will be the last monthly employment snapshot before the Fed's next policy meeting at the beginning of May.

And we have new CNN polling revealing how voters feel about President Biden and the job that he's doing. The numbers are sobering for the president as he considers a reelection bid.

CNN's political director, David Chalian, is here with more on the numbers.

David, so let's begin on reelection. What do voters think about that?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, Fred, we asked that basic question, does President Biden deserve reelection? Does he deserve another four years?

Take a look at this. Just a third of the Americans polled in this survey, 32 percent to be exact, say yes, 67 percent, nearly two-thirds of Americans, does not believe that he deserves reelection.

And look, if you look over time, we asked this question just back in December, and the president is ticking in the wrong direction.

There you see he was at 37 percent yes, deserving reelection but now he's down to 32 percent. So he's a tick down from where he was in December -- Fred?

WHITFIELD: And so when it comes to his approval ratings, is that in step with what we just saw? CHALIAN: Yes. I mean, his overall approval rating right now, in this poll, our brand-new CNN poll, is at 42 percent approve, 57 percent disapprove. And if you look over time, it's a pretty narrow range in which Biden's approval rating has fluctuated here.

But what you see here, in the most recent snapshots in December and January, there was a bit of an up -- an upward trajectory after the November midterms when Democrats performed better than many people anticipated.

That little uptick has seemed to have stalled out now and he's at 42 percent approval today in our poll.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then, finally, where do voters stand on how Biden is handling certain issues? And you know, and what are those issues and what it attributes to, you know, what they like or don't like?

CHALIAN: Yes, take a look here. We tested a whole bunch of top key issues in this poll. And what I think is so interesting is here is, for the most part, Fred, he performs worse on individual issues than his overall approval rating, for the most part.

So immigration is way down at 35 percent approval, 37 percent for the economy, gun policy. You see here, environmental policy and national security are the two areas where he's actually overperforming that overall 42 percent approval rating.

We also looked at some key tributes of Joe Biden, sort of asking people about him. And his best attribute is that 48 percent of Americans in this poll say, he works well with Congress.

But just look here. He is below a majority with core attributes. Like cares about people like you, only 45 percent say he is honest and trustworthy.

Only 35 percent say he inspires confidence. And 32 percent, that same number who thinks he deserves reelection, 32 percent say he has the stamina and sharpness for the job -- Fred?

[14:40:10]

WHITFIELD: All right, a mixed bag there.

David Chalian, thanks so much.

All right and this just in. The U.S. Supreme Court has just ruled on a case out of West Virginia on a sports ban against transgender athletes. Details on that straight ahead.

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WHITFIELD: We're following breaking news out of the U.S. Supreme Court. It has just ruled in a case out of West Virginia on a sports ban against transgender athletes.

Let's bring in Ariane De Vogue. What's the ruling?

[14:44:59]

ARIANE DE VOGUE, CNN SUPREME COURT REPORTER: Right. The Supreme Court has issued an emergency order and it said it won't allow West Virginia to enforce this law that bars transgender women and girls from participating in school sports teams for now.

This isn't a ruling on the merits. It's an emergency order. But the effect is that, right now, the state can't enforce this against a 12- year-old trans girl named Becky Pepper Jackson. She wants to participate in school sports and came up against this law.

Two justices notably dissented. That's Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas. They would have ruled in West Virginia's favor.

What's important here is it's really the first time the court has looked at the issue of transgender sports, even in this limited way in an emergency order. But it is the first time they've looked at it.

It comes as Republican-led states across the country are trying to pass these similar laws. So we've seen a glimpse today in this emergency order about how the Supreme Court is going to look at this issue.

WHITFIELD: All right. And more to come.

All right, thanks so much, Ariana De Vogue. Appreciate that.

All right, right now, in the U.S., more than 90,000 people are waiting for someone to donate a matching kidney. Thanks to this Chicago kidney doctor, there are now two fewer people on that long waiting list.

She did it by donating her own kidney to a Virginia woman she had never met in an effort to show her own patients how safe the procedure is. And that's where the domino effect kicks in.

CNN's Elizabeth Cohen is joining us right now.

So, Elizabeth, walk us through exactly how all of this worked.

DR. ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Fred, it's so wonderful when this works out. And this all worked out thanks to Dr. Aleksandra Gmurczyk. She's at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago.

So let's take a look at what happened. There was a wife who needed a kidney transplant and her husband was not a match. So he wanted to donate to her but he couldn't.

But Dr. Gmurczyk, she was a match, so she donated to the wife. And that allowed the husband, who then wanted to, you know, give his kidney, he gave that to another patient.

So in other words, because of what the doctor did, two people were able to get a kidney transplant. Let's take a listen to Dr. Gmurczyk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ALEKSANDRA GMURCZKY, DONATED KIDNEY TO STRANGER: I have seen so many patients that need a kidney transplant. I just feel so bad for every one of them. And I just cannot pick one, just one person because my heart would break for the other one. So I just could not do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: So now this has happened other times, too. Other times, doctors have given their kidneys to patients, sometimes, even like in this case, patients they don't even know -- Fred?

WHITFIELD: And then, Elizabeth, you know, you have seen firsthand, you know, how amazing kidney donorship can work out in life. And you experienced it yourself in your own life?

COHEN: Yes, in my own family. This was really amazing. Thirteen years ago, my mother needed a kidney. And her cousin stepped up. So David Canter, a retired Air Force colonel in the U.S. Air Force, he gave her his kidney.

And so my mother got to keep being a social worker and taking care of her clients. She got to help take care of her grandchildren. And thanks to him, we got her for longer -- Fred?

WHITFIELD: Aw, that is so sweet. And thanks so much for sharing your family story.

Elizabeth Cohen, appreciate it.

[14:48:43]

All right, three Democrats in Tennessee could soon be expelled for taking part in a gun reform protests on the statehouse floor. We're following all the drama from Nashville. Stay with us.

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[14:53:20]

WHITFIELD: The 2023 Masters is underway right now at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. Five-time Masters champ, Tiger Woods, is back in action on one of his favorite courses.

CNN sports analyst, Christine Brennan, is in Augusta.

So, Christine, so far, how's he doing?

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: Fredricka, he's actually making a charge right at the end of his round. He has birdied the last two holes. That was 15 and 16.

Got two more holes to play. He's on 17 right now. And then, of course finishes at 18. He's one over par. At one point, he was three over par.

He has looked frustrated. The perspiration. It's a hot day out here. He's been sweating through his shirt. He just hasn't looked settled.

But it's been almost two months since he played a round of golf, a competitive round in Los Angeles on the PGA tour. So he's looked rusty. And the iron play hasn't been as good. The putts have been short.

Everything that we know about Tiger and that so many fans love, the ability to just kind of just, you know, take the momentum and run with it. He had no momentum until the last 20 minutes or so.

Birdie, birdie. Tiger could even maybe birdie one more to get back to even par, which would be -- which would be a very good start for him on a tough day.

WHITFIELD: Nice. All right, Tiger back on the prowl. We like to see that.

All right. So, Christina, I also want to ask you, on the heels of the most viewed NCAA women's basketball national championship game, you know, it's not the final shots or the fact that LSU's win over Iowa was, you know women's basketball reaching heights at a whole new level.

You know, it's also about the first lady now walking back that hosting the runner-up team idea.

[14:55:02]

So you know, on this anniversary year of Title IX, how do you see this kind of elevated attention impacting the already fierce female athletes that we are seeing?

BRENNAN: Fredricka, I think the controversy actually is a very good thing. People -- here we are Thursday. The Masters is going on right behind me. And we're talking about women's basketball.

That is fantastic. I mean, that -- that is wonderful. Controversy can be great. The conversation, the national conversation that you and I have talked for a long time about, how sports takes us to report conversations.

This has racism. This has sexism. This has everything. I'm not saying all that is good all the time. But if we are talking about these things that can be a positive.

And, yes, as far, as Dr Jill Biden, I think she got very excited after watching that tremendous LSU/Iowa game. LSU was the national champs. Katelyn Clark (ph), of course, the record-breaking tournament.

And I think she just thought, hey, let's have them all come to the White House. Clearly, she's walked that back.

LSU is going. And Katelyn Clark (ph) has said herself, she goes, that's the way it should be.

WHITFIELD: Yes, I mean, I guess that was the teacher in Jill Biden saying, come on, everybody, let's you know all get together. But, you know, no.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: It's winners go to the White House. And these athletes want to honor that tradition and stick with it.

All right, Christine Brennan, thank you so much.

All right, an investigation is now underway after a prominent tech executive was stabbed to death in San Francisco. What police are saying about the attack.

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