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Fox News, Dominion Agrees to a Settlement as Defamation Trial Began; Sudan's Humanitarian Ceasefire Aborts as Fighting Between Rival Factions Reaches Day Five; 29 Died in a Beijing Hospital Fire; Russian, Ukrainian Leaders Visited Their Troops as Fighting Intensifies; Afghans Shared Their Torture and Brutality since Taliban Takeover; Recent Shootings Revive Stand Your Ground Laws Debate; Cuban President Secures His Second Term; Damar Hamlin Cleared to Play after His Incident last January. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired April 19, 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]

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

Just ahead. Fox News reaches a last minute settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, just as the jury was sworn in, and the defamation trial was about to begin. How much the network is shelling out?

An 84-year old white man is out on bail after allegedly shooting a black teenager who rang his doorbell by mistake. The charges he faces in court in the coming hours.

And people cling to anything they can find to escape deadly fire at a hospital in Beijing.

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

CHURCH: Good to have you with us. Well, the jury was sworn in, lawyers were ready for opening statements, but then Fox News blinked, reaching a last minute settlement in a billion dollar defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems.

Under the deal, Fox agreed to pay almost $800 million to Dominion, about half of what the company had originally sought in damages. The agreement saves top Fox executives and the network's most prominent stars from the embarrassment of testifying in the case.

CNN senior media reporter Oliver Darcy has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OLIVER DARCY, CNN SENIOR MEDIA REPORTER: We were in the court, waiting for opening statements to begin and the judge -- there was an unexplained delay about two hours, and then the judge came out and announced that the parties had reached an out of court settlement.

This, of course, averts a very agonizing trial that was in store for Fox News, where some of its top hosts like Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, were going to have to appear just behind me in Wilmington, and testify about how the network promoted election lies about Dominion Voting Systems and just in general about Donald Trump's election lies in the wake of the 2020 election.

Rupert Murdoch, the Fox chairman, was also set to testify. So this is going to be averting a very excruciating process for Fox News, but Dominion Voting Systems they're happy. The lawyer -- the lawyers out -- came out inside the courtroom earlier today, and they celebrated the settlement.

JUSTIN NELSON, ATTORNEY FOR DOMINION VOTING SYSTEM: The truth matters, lies have consequences. Over two years ago, a torrent of lies swept Dominion and election officials across America into an alternative universe of conspiracy theories, causing grievous harm to Dominion and the country.

DARCY: Fox News also coming out with a statement, they say -- I'll read to you.

We are pleased to have reached a settlement of our dispute with Dominion Voting Systems. We acknowledge the court's rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false. This settlement reflects foxes continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards, says we are hopeful that our decision to resolve the dispute with Dominion amicably instead of acrimony of divisive trial allows the country to move forward from these issues.

I should note that I'm all so told by sources that Fox News host will not have to go on air and acknowledge the lies they told about the election in the aftermath of the -- of the election as a result of this element, so that statement from Dominion -- or from Fox, acknowledging the lies that's probably all we're going to see from Fox about this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Despite Tuesday's settlement, Dominion Voting Systems is not done with its legal battles. The company still has cases pending against right-wing TV networks, Newsmax and one American news as well as top Trump allies Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and Mike Lindell. All of these parties deny wrongdoing and are fighting the suits.

The attorney for the family of Ralph Yarl says it is a miracle the 16- year old survived being shot twice at close range. The black teenager was shot in the head and arm after he went to the wrong house to pick up his siblings last week in Kansas City, is now out of the hospital, but his family says he faces a long and difficult recovery.

[03:05:02]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) FAITH SPOONMORE, AUNT OF RALPH YARL: That's a major part of the route that died on Thursday. What Ralph went through like he lost a part of himself that day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The white homeowner and suspected shooter, Andrew Lester, is expected to be arraigned later today. He turned himself into authorities on Tuesday and was released hours later on bail. Demonstrators gathered outside the federal courthouse in Kansas City on Tuesday, demanding justice for Yarl. The mayor says he believes the teenager was racially profiled by the shooter.

The attorney for a man who fatally shot a 20-year old woman in his upstate New York driveway says his client felt menaced. Kaylin Gillis was a passenger in a car that mistakenly turned onto the man's property while they were looking for a friend's house. She was struck by a bullet as the car drove away.

65-year old Kevin Monahan is charged with second degree murder. According to his attorney, Monahan says several vehicles, including a motorcycle, were revving their engines and drove up his driveway at a high rate of speed. The sheriff says Monahan was not threatened at all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JEFFREY MURPHY, WASHINGTON COUNTY, NEW YORK: He has not made any statements. He obtained a lawyer before he came out of the house. No, he has not made any statements. And quite frankly, it's not shown any remorse in this case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Friends and family are remembering Kaylin Gillis as a sweet girl with a kind heart. She was a member of her high school cheerleading team before graduating in 2021.

A parking garage collapsed in New York City on Tuesday, killing one person and injuring five others. It's still not clear what caused the collapse, but records at the city's Department of Buildings show the structure had six open violations, three of which were classified as hazardous.

Firefighters had to use robots to search the building since it continued to crumble after they arrived. At least one worker had to be rescued after being trapped on an upper floor. Nearby buildings have been evacuated as a precaution, searches are still ongoing, though officials believe no one else is trapped inside.

A 24-hour ceasefire in Sudan was over almost as soon as it began, with fighting quickly raging again in the capital. Witnesses have reported gunfire and explosions around the army headquarters and the presidential palace in Khartoum. The World Health Organization says at least 270 people have been killed since fighting broke out on Saturday. And gunmen have reportedly raided the homes of U.N. staff and other international groups, sexually assaulting women and stealing cars.

CNN's Larry Madowo was following developments for us. He joins us live this hour from Nairobi, Kenya. Good to see you again, Larry. So despite this 24-hour ceasefire, the fighting continues in Sudan's capital. What is the latest?

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is still the situation that this morning on day five since there's clashes broke out that the fighting continues despite what should have been the 13th or 14th hour of these 24-hour humanitarian ceasefire.

It was initially floated the United States but also supported by the tripartite mechanism that is the United Nations, the African Union and the regional body, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development.

I want to show you this video sent into CNN by a friend who tells me last night was like a horror movie, and this morning you can still see smoke rising up in the sky. You can hear sounds of bombardment, gunfire. He woke up this morning and found I spent case on his balcony.

So it's clearly a sign that even though they say one thing, the two warring sides they have not respected this 24 hour ceasefire that even they admitted it was necessary, especially as the numbers of the dead starts to rise, 270 now. And the number of the wounded also increases almost 2,000.

And yet the general's al-Burhan, who leads the Sudanese Armed Forces, and Hemetti, General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, cannot seem to agree on a time to ceasefire for humanitarian reasons or indeed, to go back to the negotiating table, like everybody has been asking them to do.

Now, Japan has become one of the first countries to say it will be evacuating its 60 citizens in Sudan and is sending its self-defense forces to do that. He says, there are no injuries, but water and food are running short.

As you said at the beginning also, there have been reports, according to internal U.N. documents seen by CNN of gunmen going into homes of U.N. International Agencies assaulting women sexually, and there's at least one rape, reported. Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Larry Madowo with his, the very latest there from his vantage point in Nairobi.

[03:10:00]

Well, at least 29 people died in a Beijing hospital fire Tuesday, one of the deadliest in the city in years.

CNN's Kristie Lu Stout joins us live from Hong Kong. So Kristie, horrifying images of people --

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah.

CHURCH: -- trying to escape the fire. What more are you learning about their faith, and of course what caused this blaze?

LU STOUT: Yeah, horrifying images, Rosemary, and just a deep tragedy for so many families in China. At least 29 people died after this fire erupted in a hospital in Beijing.

Among the dead, 26 patients, a nurse, a care provider and a family member of a patient, and according to state-run news media, this fire broke out on Tuesday, around 1.00 p.m. local time. It was put out about half an hour later, 71 patients were evacuated.

And we also learned thanks to a press event that took place, earlier today, a Beijing district official talked about the cause of the fire. He said that it was caused by sparks generated during construction, which ignited this combustible paint on site and 12 people have been detained as a result on suspicion of gross negligence.

And I want to show you this, this dramatic video of people escaping this deadly fire. You can see one person is exiting the hospital window, he's wearing white, presumably as a patient. He's using a bed sheet in order to climb down. He lands on this roof like blue-colored structure and scrambles across to reach safety on the rooftop of the building next door.

And then later on in this clip, you have to wait for the moment for when the amateur video taker pans to the left. And again, this clip has been circulating widely on social media, seen across China and around the world. But take a look at those external air conditioning units outside the hospital because you can see people perching and balancing themselves on top of them just waiting to be rescued. At CNN, we do not know whether these people were rescued or not.

This hospital fire is one of the deadliest in Beijing in recent years. It surpasses the toll from the fire in Daxing in Beijing in 2017 that killed 19 people in a cramped building for migrant workers, and that tragedy prompted authorities to demolish illegal apartment blocks.

Official Chinese media did not report on this latest fire until many hours after it was extinguished, and that prompted widespread criticism and even anger on social media. Back to you.

CHURCH: Frightening moments there for so many people. Kristie Lu Stout, joining us live from Hong Kong. Many thanks.

And still to come. Detained American journalist Evan Gershkovich heads to court in Moscow. The first time he's been seen publicly since his arrest. We'll have details on his appeal to leave prison while he awaits trial.

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[03:15:00]

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CHURCH: Detained "Wall Street Journal" reporter Evan Gershkovich will have to remain behind bars after losing an appeal to change the terms of his detention while he awaits trial on espionage charges. His lawyer discussed the journalist mindset after the hearing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIA KORCHAGINA, ATTORNEY FOR EVAN GERSHKOVICH (through translator): He denies that he is guilty. He is in a combative mood. He is ready to fight for independent journalism. He is ready to defend himself.

At today's hearing, he said that he was ready to prove he was innocent. He is hanging on and thanks everybody for their support. He receives letters and answers them when he can, and since his gratitude for everyone's support.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Gershkovich will remain in a Moscow pretrial detention center until his next court hearing late next month. He faces up to 20 years in prison for the spying charges.

With the war in Ukraine looking more and more like a stalemate, both the Russian and Ukrainian presidents visited their troops near the front lines Tuesday, looking to boost morale,

But as our Nick Paton Walsh explains, the dueling visits had very different optics.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two presidents, two different kinds of frontline visit. Rival leaders in Russia's war on Ukraine, seeking to bolster troops in embattled territory facing very different problems.

President Putin making a rare trip outside of Russia to the partially occupied region of Kherson. In video released by the Kremlin, he's pictured meeting senior commanders Monday.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): It is important for me to listen to you to hear your views to compare notes.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): Who he's talked to is also important, apparently meeting a commander of elite paratroopers in what western analysts say could be a bid to shore up their morale.

Any day now, Ukraine is expected to launch a counter-offensive, pretty much in the direction of where he standing. Putin also stopping in Luhansk, also under pressure, and just last week shifted onto Moscow's time zone as Russia continues to assimilate places its war is ravaging.

Kyiv officials quick to seize on the visit to portray a person indicted for war crimes returning to the scene describing the trip has a special tour of the occupied and destroyed territories by a mastermind of mass murders, to savor one last time the crimes committed by his people. Zelenskyy perhaps enduring greater risk in his less rare journey to

some of the worst hit parts of the eastern front, visiting the almost completely destroyed town of Avdiivka, handing out awards to troops. It won't yet be clear if he boosted morale enough to hold back the Russian forces, now on three sides of the town.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Things happen, thanks to you, take care. Our future depends on you.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): Ukraine's losses amounting, some of the injured visited by the Zelensky in Donetsk region too.

[03:19:53]

Recent leaks, documents, apparently from the Pentagon, suggested over 15,000 Ukrainian troops were dead. And that they might run out of key air defense systems in the coming weeks. If Kyiv hopes its better equipment, cause and planning, may see success in this vital counter offensive. Two presidents, two wildly different souls and one war, still without end.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Eastern Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: We have learned that the U.S. has issued a warning to Russia about sensitive U.S. technology at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant, which Russia now controls.

Our Nadir Bashir is in London with details on this. Good morning to you, Nadir. So what more do you know?

NADIR BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well absolute -- absolutely right, Rosemary. This is a significant concern to the U.S. government, while Ukrainian staff are still operating the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. It does fall under the control of Russian armed forces and is currently being managed by Russia's state-owned nuclear energy firm Rosatom.

So this is a significant concern, essentially in this letter that has been reviewed by CNN sent by the U.S. Department of Energy to Rosatom. The U.S. government has essentially warned Moscow not to touch the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant because of the sensitive American nuclear technology at the plant. And in this letter, it says that the plant contains quote, "U.S. origin nuclear technical data that is export controlled by the U.S. government," warning that it would be unlawful for any Russian citizens or Russian entities to handle this technology.

Now, since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, we've seen this Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant being disconnected to the Ukrainian national grid on multiple occasions as a result of Russian shilling, raising concerns around the potential for a nuclear accident in Europe. So this is a huge concern to the international community, not least to NATO allies and all this comes as the international community. NATO allies prepare to hold another Ukraine defense contact group meeting later this week in Germany, well this will, of course, be high on the agenda. Rosemary.

CHURCH: Alright, our thanks to Nadir Bashir joining us live from London.

An important deadline is drawing closer for the U.S. Supreme Court. We are just hours away from their ruling on a possible ban on abortion medication in the United States. More on that after the short break. Stay with us.

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[03:25:00]

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CHURCH: In the coming hours, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to weigh in on a proposed ban on abortion medication issued by a Texas judge. On Tuesday, a group of anti-abortion doctors asked the court to restrict access to the drug while the matter is being debated. They claimed the FDA has not done enough to study the drug's safety.

Joining me now from Los Angeles is Jessica Levinson. She is a professor at Loyola Law School and host of the "Passing Judgment" podcast. Always good to have you with us.

JESSICA LEVINSON, PROFESSOR OF LAW, LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL: Good to be here.

CHURCH: So the Justice Department will file a response by midday Wednesday, and then the Supreme Court could roll at any time after that, as this legal battle over the abortion pill mifepristone continues, nearly two weeks after a Texas federal judge said the drug should not have been approved back in 2000.

So we're just hours away from the Supreme Court, making a ruling on access. to this critical drug. What do you think will likely happen?

LEVINSON: So if the Supreme Court follows the law when it comes to these temporary stays, which again is, of course, all we're talking about. We're not talking about here, the merits of the case, we're talking about whether there's a pause on Judge Kacsmaryk's decision while the case is working its way through the system, then what the Supreme Court should do is what they do in other cases, maintain the status quo allow there to be access to mifepristone. Put a stay on Judge Kacsmaryk's decision and allow the fifth circuit to have their hearings in the middle of May, allow this case to play out.

The default should always be when we have a change like this, basically do no harm, maintain the status quo while the case is being appealed, and that's really what the court should do. You asked me, what will they do? I don't know if there's five votes for that

CHURCH: Talk to us then about the FDA and the power it would have with this to perhaps work independently somehow, and what would happen once this comes around to the Supreme Court, making an overall decision in the end? LEVINSON: Well so the FDA is, as we said, they could exercise their

enforcement discretion and essentially have ignored this ruling. Now I think that makes some people uncomfortable even if they think there should be access to mifepristone, because it's setting the precedent that executive agencies like the FDA can basically ignore judicial decisions.

The cleaner option is just to get this ruling overturned. And I think that when it comes to what the Supreme Court is looking at, in this case, they may not want to set the precedent that a single judge can overrule an executive agency, because if we try and take mifepristone out of it for a minute, and we just think about a drug. This court, yes, it's a conservative court. Yes, it's the court that overturned Roe v. Wade.

[03:30:00]

But I don't know that they want to give single federal judges that much power, and there is an escape hatch here for the Supreme Court. They can say look, the wrong people sued, basically try this again.

And there's also we talked about the FDA. Separately, the FDA could decide to basically reapprove mifepristone. So, I wish I could say here, the clean paths, but they're actually a lot of different paths here.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Yeah, there are multiple paths, and so many consequences as a result of all of this. Jessica Levinson, always a pleasure to get your legal analysis on these matters, appreciate it.

LEVINSON: Thank you.

CHURCH: And still ahead. Imprisonment, torture and public floggings. Afghans described the brutality of life under Taliban rule, and a new report predicts the situation will only get worse.

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[03:35:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. A new U.N. report predicts international aid to Afghanistan will drop sharply this year due to the Taliban's draconian restrictions on women, and that's expected to worsen the already catastrophic social and economic situation in the country.

The U.N.'s development agency says, if international aid falls by 30 percent then Afghanistan's GDP would contract by 0.4 percent. And so far, the humanitarian aid plan is only five percent funded for this year. Per capita annual incomes could fall to just over $300 next year, which would mark a 40 percent drop since a year before the Taliban takeover. The U.N. warns there will be no escape from poverty without women in the workplace.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDALLA AL DARDARI, U.N. DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME: No engagement continues. We speak to them every day, and we present the numbers that we are presenting to them, showing how detrimental the absence of women in public life, education, and work is to the future of the Afghan economy. But at the moment, we don't see any positive response.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Women's rights are among the many policies the Taliban have dismantled since taking power, and ordinary Afghans are describing all sorts of brutalities committed by the hardline rulers.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He was tortured by the Taliban, he says, just for reporting the truth.

I was thinking of death every moment, I thought this is the last day of my life, he says.

Last December, 30 Taliban fighters stormed journalist Sabullah Nois (ph) home in the Afghan city of Taleqan. The men beat him over and over with the butt of their rifles, then arrested him, allegedly for publishing anti-Taliban propaganda.

I told them, I'm a journalist. I report the truth, whether that's against the Taliban or anyone else, but they wouldn't stop, he says. They said call your mother so she can hear you scream.

As the Taliban seized control in the summer of 2021, thousands of terrified families flocked to the Kabul airport, desperate to escape what they knew of the group's barbaric rules. But the Taliban vowed reform, pledging to be more progressive than their last time in power. Instead the group quickly fell back on its old playbook, ruled by fear, repress without mercy.

The group ordered judges to fully impose its extremist interpretation of Islamic law that includes public executions, floggings and amputations. And in December, it carried out the first known public execution, an alleged murderer was shot three times in a public square.

And over the course of just two months, the Taliban carried out floggings against more than 180 men, women and children, according to the U.N.

Like this one, this secretly-recorded video shows a Taliban militant flogging a man in a football stadium. Other accused criminals await their punishment with onlookers in the stands.

And any perceived dissent against their rule is met with brutality. Zaphri (ph), agreed to speak to CNN on condition of anonymity, he was imprisoned by the group for allegedly joining an anti-Taliban military alliance, a charge he denies.

They shoved a water pipe down my throat, they tight a bag around my head, he says. They sat on my belly and ordered me to confess that I am a member of the resistance forces.

After four months of torture in detention, Zaphri (ph) was released, he lives in hiding. His repeated attempts to flee Afghanistan have failed.

Countless Afghans have attempted the same, risking their lives to find safety away from their brutalized homeland, a perilous journey that has claimed many lives.

Like that of Afghan female journalist, Turbaqai Amurhal (ph). She was among more than 60 migrants who drowned at sea when their ship sank off the coast of Italy. Fortunately, Nuri has made it out alive with his family after his release.

[03:40:02]

Now a refugee in Pakistan, he still lives in fear.

I'm not safe in Pakistan, he says. Anything can happen here, anything.

But those left behind remain hopeful that the international community will hear their pleas, even if raising their voice means risking their lives.

Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And CNN has reached out to the Taliban for a response on the claims of detention and torture, but has not heard back.

I'm Rosemary Church. For our international viewers, "Marketplace Europe" is next, and for those of you here in North America, we'll be back with more "CNN Newsroom" in just a moment. Do stay with us.

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[03:45:00]

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CHURCH: Schools in Akron, Ohio, has set to reopen today, even though protests are expected to continue throughout the week. About a hundred people marched peacefully on Tuesday, shutting down the street outside the federal building, they're angry that a grand jury declined to charge any of the police officers involved in the death of Jayland Walker.

The 25-year old was shot more than 40 times after he fled from a traffic stop last June. Officers say he fired edit them first, but was unarmed when he ran from his vehicle. The shooting of 16-year old Ralph Yarl in Kansas City is renewing

scrutiny of "Stand Your Ground" laws here in the United States. Yarl, on the left, was shot twice by Andrew Lester, on the right, when the teenager mistakenly rang Lester's doorbell last week. The incident and other recent shootings have fueled protests and stirred memories of Trayvon Martin and other victims who were shot and killed by men who later claimed self defense.

CNN's Josh Campbell explains the "Stand Your Ground" laws and how they might impact Ralph Yarl's case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNKNOWN: The defendant is charged with armed criminal action.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 84-year old Andrew Lester surrendering to authorities after allegedly shooting 16-year old Ralph Yarl, a black teen shot by a white homeowner in Missouri, reviving the fierce debate over "Stand Your Ground" laws.

LEE MERRITT, ATTORNEY FOR YARL FAMILY: He looked out of the door. He saw a black boy and he feared for his life. And that's something that we've heard a lot in American jurisprudence.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): Yarl accidentally went to the wrong address to pick up his siblings. A probable cause document says Lester believed it was a break-end, that he shot twice within a few seconds.

In Missouri, a person may use physical force if he or she, quote, "Reasonably believes such force to be necessary in self-defense."

SHAN WU, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I think the problem for this defendant is the lack of any actions on the part of the victim who got shot that it would appear to be threatening.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): At least 28 states have some kind of "Stand Your Ground" law on the books, providing legal protections for those in danger. Prosecutors across the nation have aggressively pursued charges against those they believe abused weapons without facing an immediate threat.

Saturday in New York, 20-year old Kailyn Gilis was fatally shot by a homeowner, after she and friends accidentally turned into the wrong driveway.

SHERIFF JEFFREY MURPHY, WASHINGTON COUNTY, NEW YORK: There's clearly no threat from anyone in the vehicles.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): Kevin Monahan was taken into custody and is now charged with second degree murder, but his attorney told CNN he was in fear after seeing multiple vehicles speeding up his driveway.

Mark and Patricia McCloskey drew national attention in June 2020, claiming they were defending their Missouri mansion, brandishing guns and pointing them at protesters demanding police reform. They pled guilty to misdemeanor charges. For Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year old who fatally shot two protesters in

2020, a fear for his own life was key to his defense.

KYLE RITTENHOUSE, DEFENDANT: If I would have let Mr. Rosenbaum take my firearm for me, he would abused it and killed me with it and probably killed more people.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): Rittenhouse was ultimately acquitted. But perhaps most famously tested Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law, which like Missouri, permits the use of deadly force to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm.

MARK O'MARA, DEFENSE LAWYER FOR GEORGE ZIMMERMAN: That's a unique law because it says to a potential shooter, don't worry about, you know, running or turning away or backing up. You can shoot.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): In 2012 neighborhood watch Captain George Zimmerman shot and killed 17 year old Trayvon Martin, who had just left a local convenience store. Zimmerman called 911 to report a quote "suspicious person," and ignored the dispatcher's warning not to approach the individual, ultimately getting into a confrontation, and shooting Martin in what Zimmerman described as self-defense.

GEORGE ZIMMERMAN, DEFENDANT IN TRAYVON MARTIN SHOOTING: Help me, help me. I felt his arm going down to my side, and I grabbed it, and I just grabbed my firearm for sure.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): He was tried and acquitted by a Florida jury.

(on-camera): Now the man accused of shooting 16-year old Ralph Yarl is now out on bond. CNN is attempting to locate his attorney for comment, we will have to wait and see how he pleads and whether he ultimately claims self defense. Of course, in claiming self defense, the next question is defense from what, as Yarl family attorney told CNN, it's not illegal to ring someone's doorbell.

Josh Campbell, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[03:50:02]

CHURCH: Officials in Maine have arrested and charged a man in connection with multiple killings. Joseph Eden is accused of murdering four people, after police discovered their bodies at a home in the town of Bowdoin on Tuesday.

Shortly after authorities responded to reports of several vehicles getting hit with gunfire on a nearby highway, three people were shot and taken to the hospital officials say they believe the two incidents are connected.

Republican lawmakers tell CNN, Florida governor Ron DeSantis is seriously considering a run for the presidency. He met behind closed doors with a select group of GOP lawmakers on Tuesday in Washington. DeSantis is considered a leading challenger to former president Donald Trump. Although he has not officially announced his candidacy, a number of republicans tell CNN they're not ready to make any endorsements until later in the primary season.

Well, Tuesday was Tax Day here in the United States and the U.S. president, vice president and both of their spouses released their tax returns for last year. The Bidens reported a joint income of nearly $580,000. They paid nearly 170,000 in federal and state income taxes and donated more than $20,000 to 20 different charities. Vice president Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff reported almost $457,000 in income, their federal and state taxes came to about $121,000 and about 23,000 went to charity.

Cuba's national assembly is widely expected to vote to give president Miguel Diaz-Canel a second term in the coming hours, but even though his reelection seems guaranteed, his first term was anything but smooth.

Here's CNN's Patrick Oppman with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK OPPMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For decades, it was a question that obsessed policymakers from Washington to Moscow who would succeed the Castros, one they'd left power in Cuba. Only in 2013 did Raul Castro and the speculation by announcing Miguel Diaz-Canel as first vice president and his heir apparent.

Comrade Diaz-Canel isn't an upstart or an improvisation, he says. His trajectory has lasted nearly 30 years. An engineer by training and a longtime communist party bureaucrat, Diaz-Canel in 2018 became president of Cuba, the first head of state on the island since the revolution, not named Castro.

But his tenure has been marked by nearly every calamity imaginable. A month after Diaz-Canel took office, Cuba suffered one of the island's worst aviation disasters, when a plane operated by the state airline crashed, killing 112 people aboard.

U.S. economic sanctions, many of which were lifted under the Obama administration, were renewed with a vengeance by then president Donald Trump. Generous shipments of oil from socialist ally Venezuela have waned as that country grapples with its own economic meltdown. The pandemic shuttered Cuba's tourism industry for the worsening already widespread shortages of food and medicines.

Then on July 11th 2021, thousands of Cubans took to the streets in the largest anti government demonstrations since the revolution. Within hours, Diaz-Canel went on state TV to order those who'll faithful to the government to attack the protesters.

The order to combat has been given, he said. The streets belong to the revolutionaries.

The crackdown on protesters led to more economic sanctions from the Biden administration, which may have only further unify the communist run government. On Wednesday, Cuba's national assembly will meet in his widely expected to approve a second five-year term as president for Diaz-Canel.

CARLOS AZUGARAY, FORMER CUBAN DIPLOMAT: This is a city under siege. This is a country under siege. And there are many ways in which Americans would look at this, rally around the flag, circle the wagons so the Cuban government is very good at doing that

OPPMAN (voice-over): Diaz-Canel's repeatedly promised that better times are close at hand.

But as Cubans leave the island in record numbers, inflation makes food increasingly unaffordable and the worsening energy crisis forces people to wait for days to fill up their cars. The question many people have here is, when?

Patrick Oppman, CNN, Havana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[03:54:55]

CHURCH: Well, it may go down as one of the greatest comebacks in sports. Damar Hamlin, The Buffalo Bills safety who had to be resuscitated after collapsing on the field in January, has been fully cleared to return to football. Doctors diagnosed him as suffering a rare condition in which a traumatic blow to the heart at a certain time during the heartbeat can cause it to stop, but he believes that's all behind him now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAMAR HAMLIN, BUFFALO BILLS SAFETY: I've been beating statistics my whole life, you know, and some people might say that coming back to play might not be the best option. But that's their opinion and like I said, I've been being statistics my whole life, so I like my chances here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Hamlin's team says he has been participating in offseason workouts and he says, being able to wake up and take deep breaths means the well moment is now happening every day.

And thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. "CNN Newsroom" continues with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo, next.

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