Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
CNN International: Jury Selection in $1.6 Billion Defamation Case to Resume Tuesday; House Republicans Escalate Attacks on Trump Prosecutor; Pacific Garbage Patch So Large It has Its Own Ecosystem; Kara-Murza Convicted of Treason After Criticizing War in Ukraine. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired April 18, 2023 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00]
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM I'm Bianca Nobilo.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Max Foster. Let's bring you up to date with the top stories this hour.
Prosecutors in Kansas City, Missouri, have charged an 84-year-old White man for shooting a Black teenager who accidentally ended up at the wrong house to pick up his siblings. The homeowner faces a life sentence if convicted.
And "Wall Street Journal" reporter Evan Gershkovich is set to appeal his detention in a Moscow court. We'll bring you that as it happens ahead on "EARLY START."
NOBILO: The trial in the $1.6 billion lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News is set to move forward with jury selection starting in the coming hours. A tent has been set up outside the courthouse to shield high profile witnesses from being seen by the public, and CNN has learned that Dominion is shifting strategy a bit, opting to seek the full 1.6 billion in reputational damages rather than asking for part of the payment to cover lost contracts and profits. Our Danny Freeman has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When we all got the news late Sunday night that this trial would be delayed by at least a day here in Wilmington, we were all hoping for some clarity Monday morning inside the courthouse behind me as to what caused that delay. Well, I was in that courtroom on Monday morning at 9:00 a.m., and the judge himself said that he was the one who made the call to delay this case and said this is not unusual for trials of this size.
But of course, that left the question, was there any possibility of a potential settlement in this case? Well, all day Monday, Fox nor Dominion would give any public comment to the matter.
[04:35:00] However, late Sunday night in the "Wall Street Journal," which is owned by Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of the Fox Corporation, they reported, quote, Fox has made a late push to settle the dispute out of court.
While on Monday, we were waiting for any news of a potential settlement. That never came. So now we're prepared to be back here in Wilmington on Tuesday morning 9:00 a.m. And that's where we're expecting to see jury selection and opening statements.
Danny Freeman, CNN, Wilmington, Delaware.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is not letting go of his fight against Disney on Monday, he floated several ideas to exact reproduce -- retribution against the entertainment giant.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RON DESANTIS (R) FLORIDA GOVERNOR: Come to think of it now, people are like, well, there's what should we do with this land? And so, you know, it's like, OK, kids. I mean, people have said, you know, maybe, maybe have another -- maybe create a state park. Maybe try to do more amusement parks. Someone even said, like, maybe you need another state prison. Who knows? I mean, I just think that the possibilities are endless.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: DeSantis' fight with Disney started after the company successfully resisted the state's takeover of its special taxing district earlier this year. DeSantis has also ordered a state inspector general investigation of the new agreement created by Disney.
NOBILO: U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has made it his mission to pass a bill to raise the nation's debt ceiling for one year, and he believes he can do it in just a few weeks. McCarthy spoke at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday outlining the proposed bill, which would help the federal government avoid defaulting on its debt for the first time ever.
FOSTER: He slammed U.S. President Joe Biden, claiming he's unwilling to negotiate with House Republicans. But the White House is adamant the debt limit should only be raised with no strings attached. The standoff is raising a lot of concern.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: Without exaggeration, American debt is a ticking time bomb that will detonate unless we take serious, responsible action. Yet how has President Biden reacted to this issue. He has done nothing.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY) SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: He went all the way to Wall Street and gave us no more details. No more facts. No new information at all. I'll be blunt. If Speaker McCarthy continues in this direction we are headed to default.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: A number of U.S. Senate Republicans say they will not help Democrats replaced Senator Dianne Feinstein on the powerful judiciary committee. 89-year-old Feinstein who has missed weeks of work and 58 votes because of shingles is under pressure from her own party to resign or to return quickly. Her absence has held up at least a dozen of the U.S. presidents, judicial nominees.
House Republicans are urging a federal judge allow them to hear testimony from a former prosecutor investigated Donald Trump. House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan subpoenaed Mark Pomerantz as part of a congressional probe into how state authorities investigate sitting or former presidents.
NOBILO: Last week, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg requested a judge rejects that subpoena. Republican lawmakers then held a hearing in New York City on Monday to attack Mr. Bragg's track record on crime. The DA's office called the hearing of political stunt. CNN's Sara Murray has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We welcome everyone today ...
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): House Republicans looking to stick it to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in his own backyard.
REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): In this country justice is supposed to be blind, regardless of race, religion or creed. However, here in Manhattan the scales of justice are weighed down by politics.
MURRAY (voice-over): The House Judiciary Committee is holding a field hearing to highlight violent crime in New York.
MADELEINE BRAME, CHAIRWOMAN, VICTIMS RIGHTS REFORM COUNSEL: And until there is justice for the murder of my son, there will be no peace.
MURRAY (voice-over): This amid an escalating feud between GOP judiciary chairman Jim Jordan and Manhattan's Democrat district attorney.
ALVIN BRAGG, MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY: These are felony crimes in New York state no matter who you are.
MURRAY (voice-over): Republicans have sought to discredit Bragg and his criminal case into former President Donald Trump after Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges.
JORDAN: You have a district attorney interfering with the most important election we have, which is election of the commander in chief, the president of the United States. MURRAY (voice-over): Bragg sued Jordan aiming to block the judiciary
committee's attempts to obtain documents and testimony related to the Trump investigation. Today, House attorneys argued they should be immune from civil lawsuits because their actions are within the legislative sphere. Democrats casting today's event as a political stunt.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The chairman is doing the bidding of Donald Trump.
REP. HANK JOHNSON (D-GA): The real purpose in coming to New York City is to harass, intimidate and threaten Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
MURRAY (voice-over): Taking aim at Republicans for refusing to crack down on guns in America, Bragg, touting New York's crime statistics on Twitter as the hearing played out.
Violent crime here is nowhere near record levels, but crime numbers rose in 2022. The year Bragg was sworn in from a year earlier. So far this year, crime is falling in key categories like murder, shooting incidents and rape.
[04:40:00]
As Democrats kept their focus on Trump today, they drew the ire of the GOP's witnesses.
REP. DAN GOLDMAN (D-NY): The problem is that this is a charade, and the purpose of this hearing is to cover up for what they know to be an inappropriate investigation.
REP. ELISE STEFANIK (R-NY): Don't insult my intelligence. Democrats have politicized this hearing mentioning Donald Trump 38 times. That number for Republicans is zero. We are focused on victims and making sure that we support law and order in this country.
MURRAY: Now Braggs office is currently unimpressed with Monday's field hearing. A spokesperson said for outside politicians to now appear in New York City on the taxpayer dime for a political stunt is a slap in the face to the dedicated NYPD officers, prosecutors and other public servants who work tirelessly every day with facts and data to keep our home safe.
Sara Murray, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO: The great Pacific Garbage Patch is larger than previously believed. So big, in fact, that it's created its own ecosystem. We'll have the details for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NOBILO: A huge swell of trash floating on the Pacific Ocean has grown so large that it's formed its own ecosystem. Scientists have found thriving communities of coastal creatures living with the so called "Great Pacific Garbage Patch." A 620,000 square mile collection of plastic waste between California and Hawaii.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: There's an estimated 170 trillion pieces of plastic in our oceans. Most of them put in since 2004, most of them tiny little micro plastic as they degrade, but this is stunning. This new science that shows there's enough permanence out there to mimic a coastal ecosystem for these creatures.
But long term, this is a crisis that needs addressing because petrochemical companies are on record, saying they want to increase production of plastics two or three times in the next decades, and obviously the oceans can't handle that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[04:45:03]
NOBILO: It's staggering. the garbage patch is now three times the size of France. According to estimates from the Ocean Cleanup Initiative, it contains about 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic, weighing roughly 80,000 tons.
And it turns out the pollution from the U.S. oil and gas industry is much worse than previously thought. That's according to a new study by the National Academy of Sciences. It's found that 70 percent more methane was released by those industries than the environmental protection agency had estimated. Scientists say that this discrepancy is due to inefficient monitoring of methane leaks. Methane can create 80 times more global warming than carbon dioxide.
FOSTER: The U.K. says it's investigating the possibility of sanctioning everyone involved in the trial of Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza. The British Russian citizen was sentenced to a staggering 25 years in prison on Monday after being convicted of treason for publicly criticizing Moscow's war in Ukraine. Our Matthew Chance has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VLADIMIR KARA-MURZA, RUSSIA OPPOSITION ACTIVIST: Today, the whole world sees what the Putin regime is doing to Ukraine, the cluster bombs on residential areas, the bombings of maternity wards in hospitals and schools.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It was this speech before the Arizona State House that Russian prosecutors used as part of their case against Vladimir Kara-Murza.
Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine just a few weeks earlier, and the veteran Kremlin critic, like so many others, was incensed.
KARA-MURZA: The war crimes, these are war crimes.
CHANCE (voice-over): Less than a month later, Kara-Murza was arrested in Moscow, accused of discrediting the Russian army. He was later also charged with the much more serious offense of treason.
In a court in Moscow, Kara-Murza stood motionless as he was sentenced to 25 years in jail. Outside, there was international outcry.
LYNNE TRACY, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA: Criminalization of criticism of government action is a sign of weakness, not strength. We support the right of Mr. Kara-Murza and every Russian citizen to have a voice in the direction of their country.
CHANCE (voice-over): More than 40 other foreign diplomats were at the sentencing, too. While in Britain, where Kara-Murza is a dual citizen, the Russian ambassador was summoned over what was called a politically motivated conviction. It would by no means be Russia's first.
The country's most high-profile opposition figure, Alexey Navalny, who is already serving an 11-1/2-year sentence amid renewed concerns for his health behind bars.
Another prominent Russian opposition leader Ilya Yashin was recently sentenced to 8-1/2 years in jail for criticizing the Ukraine war. This will all end soon. He shouted out in court. But there's no real reason for optimism.
In fact, the Russian crackdown on free speech is getting worse. Only last month, U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich of "The Wall Street Journal" in Russia was arrested for espionage. The paper vehemently denies the charges against him, but it all sends a chilling Kremlin message aimed at silencing the voices against it.
Matthew Chance, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO: And we've got some breaking news, Sudan's armed forces say that they will adhere to proposal of a ceasefire presented by international bodies. The ceasefire is expected to start at six p.m. local time. That would be 12 p.m. Eastern.
They're talking about the tripartite mechanism, which is the U.S. Mission to Sudan, the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, and it's whether or not the other side would agree to the same rules to the ceasefire, presumably.
Now ahead, there was plenty of action across the NBA on Monday. We'll show you what got Golden State stream green thrown out of the game there.
[04:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NOBILO: Hollywood is facing its own real-life drama. Members of the Writers Guild of America voted overwhelmingly to strike when their contract expires on May 1st. They want substantial changes to pay and other benefits because of the shift to streaming services. FOSTER: The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers says
it's trying to work out a fair contract but admits the two sides are far apart. The last writers' strike in 2007 lasted 100 days, shutting down many TV and film productions.
There's plenty of action and drama during Monday's NBA playoffs. See what we did there. As the two teams opened up 2-0 leads in the opening round. The Sacramento Kings beat the defending NBA champs, the Golden State Warriors 114-106 on Monday. Erin Fox led the Kings with 24 points. Game three will be on Thursday in San Francisco.
NOBILO: The Warriors were forced to finish the game without Draymond Green who was ejected in the fourth quarter after stomping on the King's Domantas Sabonis.
And in the Eastern Conference, Tyrese Maxey scored 33 points and hit 6, 3 pointers to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to victory against the Brooklyn Nets. Game three will be on Thursday in Brooklyn.
And the stories that some people are talking about this hour. Jalen Hurts is now reportedly the highest paid player. I can't say so many tongue twisters.
FOSTER: There is a bit of a tongue twister.
NOBILO: Mark that up. In NFL history, the Philadelphia Eagles signed the quarterback to a five-year contract extension worth $255 million, and that is, according to ESPN and the NFL.
FOSTER: Unbelievable numbers. Hurts led the Eagles to the Super Bowl back in February. But they lost to Kansas City. He finished second in the MVP race behind the Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes.
McDonald's is making some changes meant to improve its burgers. And who better to announce those changes than the Hamburglar himself.
[04:55:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAMBURGLAR: Problem. The rubble. Problem. Double.
These are my best burgers ever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: McDonald's is promising softer buns, gooier cheese and onions added right from the grill. And the signature Big Mac will have more of that special sauce. What is the special sauce?
FOSTER: It's a special, it's secret.
NOBILO: The changes are already available in international markets and some U.S. cities, including LA, Seattle and Las Vegas, and they will be rolled out across the U.S. by early next year or you could, you know, have a salad with some protein and healthy -- FOSTER: The burger it's not a specific brand of burglary or not into
its not really, I'm just not really that.
NOBILO: I don't really like processed food.
FOSTER: But it's a huge risk, don't you think? I mean, people love these burgers.
NOBILO: Yes, they do.
FOSTER: They're tinkering, but not in a massive way.
NOBILO: And finally, the latest image from NASA's Webb telescope. This time it captured the image of a bright burst of star formation. The brilliant starburst was triggered by two galaxies crashing into each other 250 million light years away.
FOSTER: You sound very excited like this.
NOBILO: So, I think that's quite interesting.
FOSTER: What's it telling us about the world when two-star systems --
NOBILO: And so, I know how unenthused you are about space.
FOSTER: Well, I think they all tell us -- we always say the same thing that it changes that our view of the planet.
NOBILO: Did you want to be an astronaut when you were younger than we were thwarted those ambitions that --
FOSTER: No, I want to be a zookeeper. I wanted to do things on earth. I'm more focused on earth.
The collision generated an infrared glow that contains the light of more than one trillion suns. For comparison, the Milky Way Galaxy has a luminosity that is equivalent to about 10 billion suns.
I know people care about these stories. I'm there for them.
NOBILO: Good. Do you want to thank them for joining us?
FOSTER: Thank you for joining us. Even the star gazers. I'm Max Foster.
NOBILO: And I am Bianca Nobilo, EARLY START with Christine Romans is coming up next.
FOSTER: I bet she's into space.
NOBILO: I bet she is, most people are.
