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Anti-Abortion Doctors Pleading Appeals Court to Uphold Suspension of Abortion Pill Approval. Police Releases an Actual Footage of a Bank Mass Shooting. D.A. Alvin Bragg sues Republican Lawmaker Jim Jordan. Joe Biden Arrives in Ireland to Celebrate the 25th Year of the Good Friday Agreement, Visits his Irish Roots; Videos and Photos of Beheaded Ukrainians Seen in Social Media; Alexey Navalny's Health Reported to be Deteriorating; Biden Speaks to Parents of Evan Gershkovic; Israel Bans Non-Muslims from Holy Site. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired April 12, 2023 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead on "CNN Newsroom." Abortion in America, anti-abortion doctors are urging a U.S. appeals court to uphold a ruling that would take a common abortion medication off the market as soon as Friday.

Ambushed newly-released body cam video shows the moment officers come face-to-face with the Louisville mass killer.

And deteriorating health, jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's medical condition is said to be severe.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: And thanks for being with us. A group of anti-abortion doctors that sued to ban a common abortion medication is urging a U.S. appeals court to uphold a ruling that would take the drug off the market.

The group filed its response to request -- requests from the U.S. Justice Department and the maker of the drug, mifepristone, asking that a Texas judge's decision to suspend that drug's long held FDA approval be allowed to take effect on Friday. The group says mifepristone is not safe and that the FDA did not adequately assess its risks when it approved the drug 23 years ago.

The appeals court wants the Justice Department and drugmaker, Danco Laboratories, to respond by midday Wednesday, whichever side loses, that ruling could still appeal and possibly ultimately go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Mifepristone is typically used in conjunction with another drug, misoprostol, to end pregnancies that are 10 weeks or long. Misoprostol can also be used alone to cause an abortion, but women may encounter more complications when doing so.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ERIKA WERNER, TUFTS MEDICAL CENTER: With misoprostol alone, abortion and miscarriage management is less effective, were more likely to see failures, and therefore, more likely to need surgical intervention after misoprostol alone. When we use mifepristone and misoprostol, we're more likely to get a complete result with medication only and avoid a woman having to go to the operating room.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Lindy Li is a political commentator and women's co-chair at the Democratic National Committee. She joins me now from Philadelphia, appreciate you being with us.

LINDY LI, POLITICAL ACTIVIST AND COMMENTATOR: Rosemary, thank you so much for having me.

CHURCH: So, legal access to the abortion pill, mifepristone, is now in jeopardy after a Texas judge stripped the drug of its FDA approval. That order will go into effect early Saturday unless blocked by a federal appeals court that's currently considering a freeze on that order requested by the Department of Justice and the abortion pill manufacturer.

So what do you expect the appeals court will do and ultimately, the Supreme Court if that's where this all ends up?

LI: Well, the Fifth Circuit is known for being one of the most conservative in the country. And my guess is that this one inevitably reaches Supreme Court, which is exactly what anti-abortion activists want, and what pro-choice activists fear, that perhaps even this extremely conservative court won't go so far as to shake the very foundations of the pharmaceutical approval process, which will not only impact mifepristone but drugs of all kinds.

And there are also questions about whether the plaintiffs in the Texas case even have legal standing. And just to go back to the basics here, if you're not a woman of childbearing age, you might think you won't be personally impacted by the dueling rulings and events that are playing out of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

But imagine what would happen if one single activist judge can simply upend medical research and the FDA's approval process, imagine the dangerous ramifications for the biotech industry, imagine the disaster that would befall cancer patients and diabetics. Why would companies spend billions of dollars, developing a drug if a single judge with no medical experience whatsoever, can with one stroke of a pen, take away their approval of that judge -- of the approval of that drug.

CHURCH: Right.

[03:05:00]

LI: It would be outright mayhem, and I think this would be even too much for justices like Brett Kavanaugh and John Roberts, who despite their distaste for the administrative state, don't want to completely handicap the FDA.

CHURCH: Yeah, it is a concerning precedent, indeed. So if the courts take mifepristone off the market in the United States, doctors say they will be able to provide medication abortions using another drug called misoprostol, which is less effective and causes more cramping and bleeding and can lead to more complications.

So essentially, this Texas judge is trying to remove a safe and approved medication while leaving women with a more dangerous alternative. Your reaction to that?

LI: Absolutely, that's such a good point, Rosemary. Because a judge with no medical degree, who is not a gynecologist, who was not an obstetrician, has decided that he knows better than us, than American women themselves, dozens of medical associations, 400 pharmaceutical executives and the FDA itself.

A judge should not be practicing medicine from the bench. After all, over the course of 23 years, abortion pill has been deemed safer than Viagra and even Tylenol. The pills you used in more than half of all abortion.

CHURCH: And Lindy, while this legal uncertainty possessed the governor of Massachusetts and other Democratic governors, a stockpiling abortion drugs to ensure that women continue to have access to safe abortions. While we await legal clarity on this, how should the FDA be responding, do you think?

LI: They shouldn't be doing anything until we see how the legal ramifications pan out. And I'm so glad that we have governors like Jay Inslee, who are, you know, looking out for women, and they're doing not just the right thing, they're doing the smart thing. A liberal judge's resounding 11 point victory in Wisconsin is just the latest reminder that the Republicans' extremism on abortion is deeply unpopular.

We also saw this in Ruby Red, Kansas, of all places, where voters beat back abortion ban by double digit margin, despite the $3 million of the Catholic Church spent on the race. So the Republicans are fundamentally out of step with the American people.

CHURCH: That takes us to the new Pew Research Center poll that has found that more than 50 percent of Americans think medication abortion should be legal, while only 22 percent disagree. The rest aren't sure. And yet access to this abortion pill is now uncertain due to the views of some judges, politicians and religious leaders. What's going on here, do you think?

LI: I think what Republicans, at the end of the day, they realize that their pro-forced birth policies are hugely unpopular, so they resort to the judiciary to ram through deeply unpopular policies. They resort to handpicked judges, like Kacsmaryk, to tear down the wall between church and state.

CHURCH: Lindy Li, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your perspective on this issue. Many thanks.

LI: Thank you so much, Rosemary.

CHURCH: The Louisville, Kentucky police department has released dramatic body cam video of the quick response to Monday's deadly mass shooting at a bank. It shows the tense moments between officers and the gunman just moments before he's killed.

CNN's Adrienne Broaddus takes us through the footage and warning. what you're about to see is disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNKNOWN: The shooter has an angle on that officer. We need to get out there. I don't know where he's at the glasses blocking in.

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Louisville police just releasing this body camera footage. It shows the tense confrontation with 24-year old Connor Sturgeon after he fatally shot five of his fellow bank employees

UNKNOWN: Stop. Stop right there. Back up, back up, back up! Back up. Get me out of here. Stop right there on the job.

BROADDUS (voice-over): the video begins with Officer Nicholas Wilt in his training officer Corey Galloway running towards the steps of the bank. That's when more shots are fired at them.

This is when both officers are hit. We don't see Officer Wilt get hit, but we do see Officer Galloway fall backward and then down a set of concrete steps. Moments later, more shots are fired between him and the suspect.

UNKNOWN: So they got him down. I think he's down. You're doing after off now. You can go to the stairs.

BROADDUS (voice-over): That's when the gunman is killed.

DEPUTY CHIEF PAUL HUMPHREY, LOUISVILLE METRO POLICE DEPT.: For people to react by staying there, staying in the fire and going back inside the scene, keeping themselves in danger, that's superhuman.

[03:09:57]

BROADDUS (voice-over): Police also releasing these two still pictures, one showing the suspect inside a bank hallway before the shooting and one of him in the lobby area of the building where he waited for officers. Authorities say it was a targeted attack with an AR-15 style rifle --

DISPATCHER: He texted a friend, called a friend, left a voicemail saying he's going to kill everyone at the bank. Feeling suicidal.

BROADDUS (voice-over): And livestreamed the attack on Instagram, it was later taken down. A city official who has seen the video tells CNN, you can hear a female co-worker saying, quote, "Good Morning," to the gunman. Then the shooter is heard telling her, quote, "You need to get out of here."

The official says the gunman then tries to shoot, but the safety is on and the weapon isn't loaded. And once the weapon is loaded, and the safety is off, he shoots her in the back. Her condition is not known. More than a dozen people were shot.

Police say they have executed a search warrant on the gunman's home and determined he purchased the weapon just six days before the shooting.

JACQUELYN GWINN-VILLAROEL, INTERIM CHIEF, LOUISVILLE METRO POLICE: He purchased the weapon legally from one of the local dealerships here in Louisville.

BROADDUS (voice-over): Now, another community tries to wrap its head around devastating gun violence, including Dr. Jason Smith.

DR. JASON SMITH, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE HEALTH: I'm weary. There's only so many times you can walk into a room, and tell someone they're not coming home tomorrow and it just breaks your heart.

BROADDUS (voice-over): Adrienne Broaddus, CNN, Louisville, Kentucky.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Tennessee's Republican governor is urging state lawmakers to pass new gun control measures about two weeks after the deadly shooting at a Nashville school that left three nine-year olds and three adults dead.

Governor Bill Lee is vowing to sign an executive order to strengthen the state's background checks. He said it's time to set aside politics and pride.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. BILL LEE (D-TN): It is possible and it is important that we find a way to remove individuals who are a threat to themselves or to our society, to remove them from access to weapons. I'm asking the legislature to bring forth thoughtful, practical measures to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: But it's unclear if the Republican-dominated legislature will take up the governor's gun control push. Last week, the statehouse expelled two black Democrats for loudly demanding more firearm restrictions.

Justin Jones was reappointed by the Nashville Metro Council on Monday, and Justin Pearson will learn his fate in the coming hours when the Shelby County commissioners vote on whether to reinstate him.

The Manhattan prosecutor who filed criminal charges against Donald Trump is firing back at one of the former president's closest congressional allies. CNN's Manu Raju has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Now, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg filing a lawsuit in federal court to push back and essentially block Jim Jordan's efforts to investigate. Bragg, who pushed those charges that led to Donald Trump being indicted just last week for the first time in American history, have any former president this time on the allegations that Donald Trump falsified business records to cover up hush money payments that adult film actress Stormy Daniels an attempt to help his presidential run in 2016.

But Republicans believe that Alvin Bragg was doing this for out of pure political motivation and don't believe he has any real purpose and have tried to call Alvin Bragg to come testify. But not just Bragg, they sent a subpoena last week from Mark Pomeranz, who's was a former attorney in the district attorney's office, asking for documents asking for records and asking for Pomeranz' testimony.

Bragg, filing a lawsuit, saying that that subpoena should not be enforced, calling it unconstitutional, saying it's an effort to intimidate his office and going on to say this, "Congress lets any valid legislative purpose to engage in a free ranging campaign of harassment in retaliation for the district attorney's investigation and prosecution of Mr. Trump under the laws of New York. That campaign is a direct threat to federalism and the sovereign interests of the state of New York. The court should enjoy the subpoena, and put an end to this constitutionally destructive fishing expedition."

Now, he goes on to say in that lawsuit, there roughly 101,000 calls and emails from Trump's supporters that have been threatening and racially charged in the aftermath of Trump posting on social media erroneously that he was going to be immediately charged -- arrested by Bragg and would be indicted on these charges, that didn't happen until several days later.

[03:14:59]

But nevertheless, Jim Jordan pushing back, saying in a tweet, "First, they indict a president for no crime. Then they sue to block congressional oversight when we ask questions about the federal funds that they say they used to do it." Now, there were $5,000 in federal funds that were used to deal with the Trump investigation but not, according to Bragg's office, for this indictment specifically.

And Jordan, nevertheless, it's still pressing ahead plans to have a field hearing in Manhattan next week to try to discredit Bragg so that Bragg has not focused on violent crime in Manhattan and instead on this issue, all part of this Republican effort to go after the Manhattan prosecutor but that is backed up by the house speaker. But some Republicans, particularly the Senate, want the focus to be elsewhere.

Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill. (END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: A parade of top U.S. officials are speaking out publicly for the first time about a trove of leaked Pentagon documents posted on social media. CIA director William Burns calls the leaks which exposed U.S. spying on some of its closest allies an urgent problem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM BURNS, CIA DIRECTOR: The deeply unfortunate leak of classified documents is certainly as intense as anything and that now part of the inbox as well and, you know, it's something that the U.S. government takes extremely seriously.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: U.S. Defense secretary Lloyd Austin says investigators will turn over every rock until they find the source of the leaks. One theory is that they may be material from daily Pentagon briefings. Secretary of state Antony Blinken says American diplomats are working to blunt the impact.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We have engaged with allies and partners at high levels over the past -- the past days, including to reassure them about our own commitment to safeguarding intelligence and, of course, our commitment to our security partnerships.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Still to come, a visit that's part politics, part diplomacy and part homecoming. We're live in Northern Ireland, with President Biden's agenda. Back in just a moment

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[03:20:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. The U.S. president is beginning an historic visit to Northern Ireland 25 years after the Good Friday agreement ended decades of sectarian bloodshed. Joe Biden touched down in Belfast on Tuesday and will later head to Ireland, his ancestral home.

Upon landing, there were salutes, and there was British Prime Minister Ritchie Sunak. The two will hold talks in just a few hours from now. President Biden will also meet with all five parties that make up Northern Ireland's power sharing agreement.

And CNN's Kevin Liptak is live in Belfast, Northern Ireland, he joins us now. Good to see you, Kevin. So what's on the agenda for the President in the hours ahead, of course for the rest of the week? KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, really, Rosemary, the

centerpiece of the president's visit here in Northern Ireland is the speech that he will deliver a little bit later today at Ulster University, talking to university students. And I think that the choice of that venue is really highly symbolic talking, not necessarily about Northern Ireland's bloody past but its future.

You know, many of these audience -- members of this audience may not even remember the troubles. They might not have been born in 1998 when the Good Friday agreement was signed. And really what the president is hoping to emphasize is the economic potential of this region, the potential for investments here and really trying to focus on what's next for Northern Ireland instead of focusing only on what has happened in the past.

Now, the president is not speaking to lawmakers while he's here. He's not addressing the Parliament of Stormont and that in part because the parliament is not functioning at the moment. There's this dispute over Brexit trade rules and so that the power sharing agreement that was one of the outcomes of the Good Friday agreement is not currently sort of functioning.

And I do think that tells you the Good Friday agreement for all of its success in bringing an end to the sectarian violence, many of its ambitions are sort of remain unfulfilled. And, of course, the piece is also somewhat uneasy here.

And even in the last several days, you've seen some flare outs of sectarian violence, including in Derry when Republican dissidents clashed with police. And I think the images of that were so disappointing for so many people because of how young some of those dissidents were really just young teenagers really the sort of people for whom the Good Friday agreement which really meant to bring about major changes.

And so, the president will only be here in Northern Ireland for around 15 hours from there, it's onward to the Republic of Ireland. Later on today, he'll have the first of two visits to ancestral homes. This one is in County Louth. That is where his great-great-great grandfather, Owen Finnegan, he was a shoemaker. He left Ireland in 1849, came to the United States and really he's kind of the origin of President Biden's Irish story. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Kevin Liptak, joining us live from Belfast. Many thanks.

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's health has taken a dramatic turn for the worst behind bars and three years after he was poisoned and nearly died, his supporters worry it may be happening again.

We'll have the details for you on the other side of the break. Stay with us.

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[03:25:00]

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CHURCH: Two videos have emerged on social media purporting to show beheadings of Ukrainian soldiers. The videos are of two separate incidents filmed at different times, but they only surface within the past week.

In response to the videos, a top adviser to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted, there will be an accountability for everything.

And for more on this story, I'm joined live by Claire Sebastian. She's in London. So, Claire, what more are you learning about these disturbing videos?

CLAIRE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Rosemary, two separate incidents, as you say, two different videos surfacing in different places but, of course, both of them in the past week.

The first one appears to have been after the fact. It shows two Ukrainian soldiers -- excuse me -- lying next to a military vehicle reported to have been filmed by Wagner fighters and according to social media in the vicinity of Bakhmut, where we know some of the fiercest fighting is still ongoing, with heavy involvement from Wagner fighters, the -- there there's a voice that says they were killed in their heads cut off. There's some laughter.

[03:30:12]

It's difficult to verify the location. We haven't been able to geolocate it all the time when it was filmed, but that is the first video.

Second video, heavily blurred, surfaced on Twitter which possibly shows a Russian fighter in the act of beheading a Ukrainian soldier, very disturbing, possibly filmed in the summer, given the level of plant life on the ground there.

So, this, Rosemary, shocking but perhaps building up a picture of what we know to be the brutality of that fight. We've had previous accounts of the brutality of Wagner tactics. Having said that, there are social claims on social media that Ukrainian forces behead their own soldiers to conceal their identity after they're killed. That's something that's surfacing on pro-Russian social media channels conflicting reports but, of course, again this picture of the brutality in particular of that battle for Bakhmut.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: And Claire, in another story we're following, the health of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny appears to be getting markedly worse.

In a Twitter post, Tuesday, his spokesperson said Navalny has had severe stomach issues and has lost eight kilograms or about 17 pounds over the past two weeks. According to that tweet, Navalny is not receiving any treatment inside the prison.

Navalny was poisoned with the internationally-banned nerve agent, Novichok, back in August of 2020, and his team seems -- says it's entirely possible that he's being poisoned again. We don't know that, of course. Clare, what more do we know about Navalny's health?

SEBASTIAN: Yeah, there have been fears around his health, Rosemary. Honestly, for a lot of the last couple of years that he's been back in Russia and in prison, his conditions his team have been reporting have been worsening. He's now, according to his spokesperson, in his 13th stint in solitary confinement. He was released on Friday then put back in again on Monday.

His lawyer also saying that an ambulance was called to his cell paramedics on Friday because of acute stomach pain, but he's not being told apparently what condition he might have or being properly treated. His daughter has also raised the alarm, recently telling CNN that she feels -- she fears her father is being slowly tortured and killed. His team, as you say, his spokesperson say, that they're worried that he has been poisoned by something that is causing his health to slowly deteriorate.

Now, as for who could be behind something like that, there are concerns that it could be something coming from the Russian state. Take a listen to Christo Grozev, the lead investigator of Russia for Bellingcat, instrumental in uncovering the links to the Russian state of the poisoning of Aleksey Navalny in 2020.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTO GROZEV, LEAD RUSSIA INVESTIGATOR, BELLINGCAT: We cannot exclude that there's motivation for that. I mean, we know that Navalny was definitely poisoned with Novichok by none other than the state of Russia. We know that he went back to Russia against the wishes of Putin because Putin really wanted him out. He made everything possible to prevent his return. And, of course, now from within jail, Navalny continues to essentially ridicule Putin and the war effort by being a very vocal opponent of the war. So, of course, there is the motivation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: Navalny does continue to criticize the Russian state from inside prison. Christo Grozev saying that typically that in order for something like a poisoning would come from the very top of the Russian government. But he says that in this case since we're seeing a splintering of the Russian power structure, it's possible that someone like (inaudible) could also be behind somebody like this or that. Of course, we don't know for sure that anything like that has happened.

CHURCH: All right, our thanks to Clare Sebastian, joining us live from London.

U.S. President Joe Biden has spoken with the parents of Evan Gershkovich, The Wall Street Journal Reporter arrested in Russia last month on espionage charges. The phone call happened Tuesday as the president flew to Northern Ireland. The White House says it's committed to getting Gershkovich released, as well as Paul Whelan, another American who is being held in Russia for years. The family of Gershkovich issued a statement which reads, "We are

encouraged that the state department has officially designated Evan as wrongfully detained. We appreciate President Biden's call to us today, assuring us that the U.S. government is doing everything in its power to bring him home as quickly as possible."

Moscow prison, where Gershkovich is being held, has a frightening history and reputation going back to the Soviet days of the KGB. It's been described as a fortress where prisoners are alone and isolated in utter silence.

CNN's Matthew Chance gives us a rare glimpse behind its walls.

[03:35:01]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It looms under tight security. Near the center of Moscow, the walls of notorious Lefortovo imprisoned some of Russia's worst criminals and the Kremlin's bitterest critics, and now U.S. Reporter Evan Gershkovich, too --

UNKNOWN: Evan.

CHANCE (voice-over): -- locked away here last month on charges of espionage he denies. U.S. diplomats tell CNN they've still had no access to him whatsoever. But we met one of the few people who has. The head of Russia's prison observation committee agreed to speak to CNN even though the Gershkovich case has been designated secret by the Russian state. There are strict limits, though, to what he could tell us.

ALEXEI MELNIKOV, PUBLIC MONITORING COMMISSION (through translator): He was cheerful enough. I can't say that there was any physical or psychological pressure applied to him. We made sure to ask him that, and he confirmed that there wasn't any. Then we talked about the conditions of his detention, his day- to-day life, on whether or not he is in need of medical attention. But we have not uncovered any problems.

CHANCE (voice-over): In fact, Evan Gershkovich appeared calm, he told me, unlike many who find themselves trapped, cut off from the outside world behind Lefortovo's walls.

MELNIKOV (through translator): In the case of Gershkovich, I would probably say he was not shocked. You couldn't say that he was happy or that he envisaged this development. He simply took it calmly. That's all.

CHANCE (voice-over): But even a glimpse inside Lefortovo can be unnerving. This was rare access granted to Russian state television more than a decade ago. Even Russians are fascinated with the prison, infamous for holding dissidents where the old KGB executed countless Soviet citizens. Officials tell us these facilities have now been renovated, but the layout designed to limit contact between detainees remains unchanged as does the same as old prison regime.

MELNIKOV (through translator): Wake-up call is at 6 a.m., lights out at 10, breakfast, lunch and dinner, morning, day, evening. There's an inspection every morning. They ask if there are any problems, they deliver mail, parcels, deliveries from a shop. This routine will include trips to court if there are any and meetings with lawyers and investigators, et cetera. Under walk, the authorities have to let prisoners walk for an hour every day.

PAUL WHELAN, FORMER U.S. MARINE: I want to tell the world that I'm -- I'm a victim of political kidnapping ransom.

CHANCE (voice-over): U.S. citizens have passed through Lefortovo before, including Former Marine Paul Whelan, who was held there before being convicted of spying in 2020 and sentenced to 16 years in a penal colony.

Another U.S. Marine Veteran, Trevor Reed, released in this prisoner swap last year, described Lefortovo as the most sinister of the six Russian jails where he was held. I don't even know if I'd yelled out, he told "The Wall Street Journal," the other prisoners could have heard me.

And it is that sense of being unheard of isolation behind these walls that Evan Gershkovich may now be feeling too. Even if outside there's a growing clamor to set him free.

Matthew Chance, CNN Moscow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And we'll be right back with more news after a short break.

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[03:40:00]

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CHURCH: After a week of escalating tensions that have erupted in violence, Israel is moving to bring calm to one of the world's holiest sites. Benjamin Netanyahu's government is banning all non-Muslims from the sacred area Jews call the Temple Mount and Muslims call Haram al- Sharif until the end of Ramadan. The area includes the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which Israeli police raided twice last week.

And we go now to CNN's Salma Abdelaziz who joins us live from Jerusalem. So Salma, what more are you learning about Israel's ban on non-Muslims accessing this holy site and what did worshippers tell you when you visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, you wanted to learn more about the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex because it's that flashpoint site that has been the catalyst for so many rounds of violence, including the latest escalation of tensions. We went there to learn more about how Muslims revere that place during the month of Ramadan. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): A delicate balance that governs and binds this holy site is under strain. My producer and I, both Muslim-born, were granted access to film at the Al-Aqsa Compound by the custodians of the site. Only Muslims are allowed to pray here under a long- running but unwritten status quo agreement that worshippers tell us is slowly being eroded. Non-Muslims can visit the complex only during certain hours.

I feel pain, too pain inside, this woman tells me. This is a place of worship, not a place for occupation or for provocation. This is what she means.

[03:45:01]

While we speak, a group of largely Jewish visitors passes by the mosque under police escort. The women demonstrate by reciting the Koran louder and louder. This mountaintop is revered by Jews, too. They call it Temple Mount. A growing movement of Jewish extremists is demanding to perform prayers here that could upend the status quo. We witnessed at least two men praying as police stand by.

(on-camera): We've seen several small groups like this of non-Muslim worshippers passing through the complex as Muslims continue to pray inside the mosque. This is where the friction is. This is where the controversy lies.

(voice-over): Jordan is the custodian of the grounds, but that role is becoming increasingly symbolic, experts say, because it is Israel that controls the security checks at entry points and therefore access. The director general of Al-Aqsa sees the increasing visits of Jewish extremists under police escort as a provocation.

I see these visits as an attack on our holy site, he tells me, and I warned the government of Israel to stay away from Al-Aqsa Mosque because any violation here drags down the entire region.

And there are tons at the gates. Small groups of Jewish radicals saying the temple will be built, a reference to a far-right fringe call to build a third temple on the sacred grounds. Prime Minister Netanyahu insists he is committed to keeping the status quo. But under his government, the most far right in Israel's history, extremist voices are growing louder and stronger.

All this makes an already extremely contentious place ever more of a tinderbox. One event here can and has sparked deadly cycles of violence across the region. Al-Aqsa is seen as a political symbol as well as a religious one by the Arab world. The complex lies in the heart of east Jerusalem, which most of the international community considers to be under Israeli occupation, but which Israel sees as part of its united capital. Al-Aqsa is our life. It is the breath we breathe, he says. It is an ideology that we carry in our minds.

We enter the Dome of The Rock, an area designated for women to witness the afternoon prayer. Some go to great links to get here, passing multiple checkpoints. But they tell us they find some peace when they arrive.

Of course, I don't feel safe, she tells me, and everything can change in an instant, so I'm always scared, but I'm here because I have faith in God.

This prayer passed peacefully as most do, but here, even quiet warship is not a guarantee.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(on-camera): Now, I have to emphasize as they do in that piece, Rosemary, that Prime Minister Netanyahu has over and over again repeated that has committed to the status quo, as recently as just a few days ago after the latest cycle of violence after that raid on Al- Aqsa Mosque. But the fears and the sensitivity around it, just show how quickly things can escalate if any perceived changes happened to that site.

CHURCH: Salma Abdelaziz, joining us live from Jerusalem, many thanks for that report.

Coming up, next. Italy moves to free up resources to face a growing migrant crisis. How they plan to address the thousands of people seeking asylum. We'll have that in just a moment.

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[03:50:00]

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CHURCH: Italy has declared a state of emergency to deal with a surge of migrants making a dangerous journey across the Mediterranean Sea.

Barbie Nadeau has more now from Rome.

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BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The world's deadliest migration route is also one of the busiest which has led Italy to call a state of emergency over the migrant crisis.

Over the weekend, more than 1,700 people arrived on the tiny island of Lampedusa, many on small boats from Tunisia, where geopolitics continue to push people to risk their lives.

And off the southern coast of Italy, bigger boats in distress put hundreds more lives at risk. One large boat with 400 people ran out of fuel in the multi-search and rescue zone and was given fuel by a merchant vessel to continue towards Italy. Those on board till the NGO alarm phone, the people were threatening to jump overboard due to the dangerous conditions.

And another boat with 800 people was spotted some 120 nautical miles off the coast of Sicily on Sunday. Both boats were being escorted slowly to safety after coast guard officials deemed it too dangerous to transfer the people in rough seas.

Italy's interior ministry statistics from April 11th showed that nearly 31,300 people have arrived by boat since January, not including the two boats being escorted to safety. That figure is about four times more than the same period last year.

The number of deaths is also growing. At least 23 people died when a boat overturned off the coast of Tunisia on Saturday, reports rescue ship and NGO. These extraordinary arrivals continue to put pressure on the government of Giorgia Meloni who won an election in September on a promise to stop boats from landing on Italian shores.

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Now, her government is tasked with dealing with the largest influx of a regular migration Italy has seen in years.

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(on-camera): And you know, Rosemary, when you think about this, it's just as extraordinary, these numbers. But this state of emergency is gonna work a couple different ways. It allows a civil protection to act much the same way they do in, say, an earthquake. They can put up some temporary housing. They can take over a parking lot. They can try to find places to house these people who have just been arriving in these incredible numbers.

But it can also work to speed up the deportation and the repatriation of people who will not qualify for asylum and a lot of human rights people were particularly watching that angle of this just to see how it works. There will be more government control, with the state of emergency set to last about six months. Rosemary.

CHURCH: Barbie Nadeau, joining us live from Rome. Many thanks for that report.

And thank you for spending part of your day with me. I'm Rosemary Church. "CNN Newsroom" continues with Bianca Nobilo, next.