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CNN International: Jury Selection to Continue for Death Penalty Trial in 2018 Synagogue Shooting; Three Tennessee Lawmakers Discuss Gun Laws with Biden; Officer Who Shot Breonna Taylor Hired as Sheriff's Deputy; Russia's Top Diplomat Chairs U.N. Security Council Session; Israel Marks Memorial Day Amid Ongoing Political Crisis. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired April 25, 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. If you're just joining us, let me bring up to date with our top stories at this hour.

In the coming hours, U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to announce his bid for a second term in 2024. This announcement comes amid concerns about his age and new polling that reveals a majority of Democrats don't want him to run again.

And with another ceasefire in place in Sudan, the U.K. has started a large-scale evacuation of British nationals from the country. Britain's foreign secretary says priority will be given to the most vulnerable, including families with children and the elderly.

Gun violence is again rocking parts of the U.S., including Oklahoma. That's where one person was killed in a shooting at Rose State College. The suspects are now in custody. Police say the two were acquainted through a domestic situation. The community college went into lockdown during the incident.

And in California, one person was killed and four others were injured during a shooting in San Francisco on Sunday night. All victims were said to be in their early twenties. Police in San Francisco say this was not a random attack. But so far, no arrests have been made.

In the coming hours jury selection will continue for the death penalty trial of a man accused of killing 11 worshippers at a synagogue in 2018. The process began Monday, but no jurors have been selected yet. CNN's Danny Freeman has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: More than four years after the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history, the trial is underway for the massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue. In a crowded federal courtroom in downtown Pittsburgh, Monday, defendant Robert Bowers sat attentively listening handcuffed and passing notes to his lawyers as jury selection began. Throughout the day, federal prosecutors and Bowers' defense team took turns questioning potential jurors about their knowledge of the case and their beliefs on the death penalty.

Bowers is accused of killing 11 Jewish worshippers and injuring others at the Pittsburgh synagogue on October 27th in 2018.

MICHAEL EISENBERG, PAST PRESIDENT, TREE OF LIFE CONGREGATION SYNAGOGUE: I just saw what was going on and I just could not believe it. To see this, penetrate that community is -- is, I would say jarring. And I'm -- I'm just shaken by it.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Prosecutors alleged Bowers brought multiple guns to the synagogue that Saturday morning while three congregations were worshiping. The criminal complaint says Bowers started shooting outside and then inside, targeting people praying and expressing his desire to kill Jews.

Bowers faces 63 felony counts and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in this case. His defense team offered a guilty plea with life in prison in exchange for taking capital punishment off the table.

One of his defense attorneys is Judy Clark. She has represented other federal death penalty defendants like the Unabomber and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev from the Boston marathon bombing. But federal prosecutors have not budged and the judge prepared potential jurors if they make it to the sentencing phase, they should expect to weigh the death penalty in this case.

Ahead of the trial, congregates from the Tree of Life Synagogue gathered Sunday, to pray as their fellow worshippers' day in court has finally arrived.

RABBI JEFFREY MYERS, TREE OF LIFE CONGREGATION SYNAGOGUE: We cannot, we must not permit one day out of 25,993 days to define us, nor outweigh all the good. This is not a final moment.

FREEMAN: Now, jury selection is expected to last at least a couple more weeks. And I got to say it was really an emotional day inside the courthouse. And not just because of the overall story, but also because the vast majority of questions posed to potential jurors focused on the death penalty, and if they would feel comfortable sentencing a man to death. One potential juror even teared up just thinking about that question, saying and reflecting the synagogue, a place of worship that should be a safe space.

Danny Freeman, CNN, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: Three Tennessee Democrats who loudly demanded stronger gun controls after a deadly school shooting and were punished for that, protests back home have been praised in Washington. The so-called Tennessee three were invited to the White House on Monday to discuss gun laws with the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[04:35:00] JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What the Republican legislature did was shocking. It was undemocratic, and it was without any precedent. But you turned it around very quickly. And look, we passed the most significant gun law that passed in 30 years -- more to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: One of the lawmakers who was expelled from the Tennessee state house before being reinstated, spoke to CNN earlier along with his colleague who narrowly avoided expulsion.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JUSTIN PEARSON, TENNESSEE STATE DEMOCRAT: President Biden's message was very clear that we have to remain consistent and persistent in our effort to end gun violence and to fight for gun reform legislation in our state and other states and across our country through Congress and the federal legislature. And so, we're very confident that this White House is supportive of our efforts. And the reality is, we are also realizing this is a moral issue. It isn't really about being a Republican or Democrat. It is about whether or not we're going to protect kids over guns. And that issue stretches across our country but also across party lines.

GLORIA JOHNSON, TENNESSEE STATE DEMOCRAT: And I am in deep red Knox County in east Tennessee, and I polled this in my district a year ago when I was running and overwhelmingly a majority of Republicans or majority of independents and Democrats favor commonsense gun legislation like red flag laws, safe storage laws. Those kinds of things. And I think that we have the ability to get that done.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: The former Minnesota police officer convicted in the fatal shooting of the 20-year-old Daunte Wright, has been released from prison. Kimberly Potter served 16 months of a two-year sentence. She was convicted of two counts of manslaughter after saying she mistook her gun for a taser when she killed Wright, who was unarmed during a 2021 traffic stop. Daunte Wright's mother tells CNN that she's still angry but finds peace in the fact that Porter, quote, will never be able to hurt anybody as a police officer again.

The former Louisville police officer who fired the bullet that killed Breonna Taylor during a botched drug raid has a new job as a deputy sheriff. Myles Cosgrove has been hired by a sheriff's department in a small rural county of Kentucky. And as CNN's Jason Carroll reports, Taylor's mother is furious that Cosgrove will be able to wear a badge again.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CROWD: Breonna Taylor.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Breonna Taylor's mother had one word to describe how she felt after learning former Louisville Metro Police Officer Myles Cosgrove had been rehired by another department.

TAMIKA PALMER, BREONNA TAYLOR'S MOTHER: Anger, to think that another department would even want this guy to be a part of any department for that matter just angers me.

CARROLL (voice-over): According to a CNN affiliate, the Carroll County Sheriff's Department cited Cosgrove's experience as the reason behind the hire. His attorney confirmed the former LMPD officer recently started with the Sheriff's Department.

SCOTT MILLER, LAWYER FOR MYLES COSGROVE: On behalf of Myles and myself, we don't want anything to take away or diminish the value of the tragedy that happened to Breonna Taylor and her family. We're not minimizing that at all. But he definitely has had a hard road to go and getting back to trying to figure out a way to support his family in the future.

CARROLL (voice-over): Cosgrove was one of three LMPD officers who fired their weapons during a raid on Breonna Taylor's apartment the night of March 13, 2020. Cosgrove fired more than a dozen times, including the fatal bullet that killed Taylor. The Louisville Metro Police Department fired him in January of 2021 for failing to use his body camera and violating the department's use of force rules.

MYLES COSGROVE, FORMER LOUISVILLE METRO POLICE DETECTIVE: I started shooting as soon as I saw the flash, almost simultaneously.

CARROLL (voice-over): During a department hearing to appeal his firing, Cosgrove expressed remorse.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you regret that Breonna Taylor ended up being shot and killed?

COSGROVE: Of course. Of course, I do. It's horrible.

CARROLL (voice-over): The department's merit board upheld his dismissal. Despite that, the Carroll County Sheriff's Department decided to hire Cosgrove. His attorney notes four other officers in the raid faced federal charges in connection with that raid, three accused of lying in order to obtain a search warrant.

One former LMPD officer, Kelly Goodlett, admitted in federal court that she and another officer had falsified information in the warrant that was used to justify the raid on Taylor's apartment. U.S. Attorney Merrick Garland says had it not been for that faulty warrant, Taylor would be alive today.

Cosgrove's attorney reminded those who oppose his client being hired that he has not been charged with any crime.

[04:40:00]

MILLER: There was a grand jury that met in the state of Kentucky that cleared him of any wrongdoing. A federal grand jury was convened and also determined that there were other people who warranted being charged criminally, but not Myles. PALMER: It's this good old boy system, like -- so I'm not surprised at all.

CARROLL (voice-over): Those seeking justice for Breonna Taylor say Cosgrove getting a badge back is a danger to the new community he is serving.

LONITA BAKER, ATTORNEY FOR BREONNA TAYLOR'S FAMILY: People of Carroll County should be very afraid and should not let this hire stand.

PALMER: You don't know what to trust anymore or who to trust. It's insane to me.

CARROLL (voice-over): Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: Russia and the West trade insults during a contentious meeting of the U.N. Security Council that was supposed to focus on peace. A live report just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NOBILO: Homes, schools, commercial buildings, infrastructure all are being reduced to rubble around the besieged Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. Ukraine's deputy defense minister calls Russia's military assaults Syria tactics. The military says Russia has mounted almost 50 airstrikes in the region in the past day alone, and much more than 30 ground assaults, which were repelled. But they still did damage. North of Bakhmut, a Russian missile slammed into a schoolyard in Kramatorsk, leaving a gigantic crater. And another missile struck a museum in the Kharkiv region, injuring at least five people.

Ukraine says Russia's focus in the Donetsk region appears to have shifted slightly but Bakhmut and the surrounding towns are still getting hit hardest. The Ukrainian forces say they are holding their ground.

Meanwhile at the U.N. Security Council, Russia's foreign minister led a meeting ironically titled, maintenance of international peace and security. But instead of trying to further peace or security, he made this dire warning.

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[04:45:00]

SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): As during the Cold War, we have reached the dangerous, possibly even more dangerous threshold. The situation is worsened with the loss of trust and multilateralism. Let's call a spade a spade. Nobody allowed the Western minority to speak on behalf of all of humankind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Sergey Lavrov is presiding over the meeting because Russia currently holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council. Ukraine's top diplomat has called that, quote, the worst joke ever.

Our Clare Sebastian is here with further details. And Clare is it is farcical. And is this just highlighting the futility of the U.N. Security Council when they have an invading nation addressing it.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think it's hard to argue that anything was achieved. If anything, that this was an extremely hostile session that really just reinforced the stark differences between Russia in particular, of course, and Ukraine's Western allies and showed up their deteriorating relations, right. The very fact, the very spectacle of Russia chairing this session entitled "Maintenance Of International Peace and Security" invited widespread condemnation. Including from the U.N. secretary general himself, who accused Russia of causing mass suffering and devastation in Ukraine.

And I think it was an interesting comment later on the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas Greenfield, she gave her reaction to CNN's Erin Burnett.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINDA THOMAS GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: It was the epitome of irony and hypocrisy to have the foreign minister of Russia chairing the Security Council. A meeting on multilateralism. Multilateralism when Russia has in their unilateral, unprovoked action against Ukraine attacked everything that the U.N. charter stands for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: A level of speech, you know, he was undeterred by this condemnation. It was a tirade against the West against the U.S. with the stump speech that we hear a lot from Russia. Ukraine is being run by Nazis. The U.S. is trying to set its dominance over the world. He then met with the U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres. And this was critical because, of course, in just over three weeks time, Russia is threatening to let that Black Sea grain deal elapsed.

Not a lot of progress, it seems, came out of that. The Russian read out of that meeting says that Lavrov believes there's been no progress made on lifting any of the sanctions that he believes are preventing Russia getting its own food and supplies onto the market. Guterres did present him with a letter to give to Putin and a potential path forward for that deal. He says they're going to study it.

NOBILO: It doesn't seem like it's a political win for anyone. Perhaps Lavrov or Russians themselves, just being able to actually present their case in that way. Clare Sebastian, thank you very much.

Israel is marking his Memorial Day today amid ongoing tensions over the government's plan to overhaul the country's judicial system. And the families of some fallen soldiers are calling on lawmakers to stay away from the ceremonies. For more, let's go to CNN's Hadas Gold who's live in Jerusalem for us. Hadas, tell us more about how the political contest is shaping how memorial day is being marked.

HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Bianca, I'm actually in southern Israel in Beersheba at a military cemetery here. Were one of the many Memorial Day ceremonies where being held, but this one in particular was probably more tense than others. And that's because the National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, known as an extremist with far-right views, was defiant in the face of calls by families of fallen soldiers, who asked politicians to stay away from these ceremonies because of the charged political atmosphere in Israel recently, especially over the judicial overhaul.

And Ben-Gvir, especially himself, he actually never served in the military in Israel. There is a compulsory draft. However, he was essentially exempted because of what was believed to be some of his more extremist views. So, there were some calls from families asking him to stay away. Partly because of his own personal history, but also concerns that his presence would lead to tension.

And there was tension today. Even before the ceremony took place. There were some minor scuffles between bereaved families there. Of course, it's a fairly highly charged emotional atmosphere here for so many people, their brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, sons and daughters are buried here. And then the minister when he arrived, there were sharks -- shouts. Some people started shouting at him, pointing at him. Others people started singing in a sort of protest.

But at the same time, there were others who were speaking in support of the minister. One person right next to me, said may God protect him.

Overall, the atmosphere was calmer, I think, than what most people are expecting. Some people fear that there will be some sort of massive protests against him. Normally, Bianca, this day is completely above politics, and there were calls by both the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the opposition leader, Yair Lapid, and the head of IDF Moshe Levy to keep politics out of the situation. To keep the demonstrations at bay.

[04:50:00]

But clearly the emotions are so highly charged, not over Memorial Day, but over the political situation here, the political divisions. We were also hearing reports that just outside of this cemetery as people have been leaving after the ceremony has wrapped up that they were even further scuffles between families, between bereaved families. But overall, I think that this has gone over quieter perhaps than some expected. But it is an indication about highly charged situation is here, not only amongst bereaved families, but the political divisions here in general run quite deep -- Bianca.

NOBILO: Hadas Gold, thank you so much.

Up next up, after 18 seasons as a Packer, Aaron Rodgers is saying so long to Green Bay. Details on the blockbuster trade in the NFL when CNN NEWSROOM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NOBILO: A blockbuster trade in the NFL, which had been rumored for months is now a reality. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is leaving the Green Bay Packets for the New York Jets. The full terms of the deal haven't been announced, but it will involve swapping multiple draft picks. Rodgers is a four-time MVP. He'd spent his entire 18-year career with the Packers winning the Super Bowl back in 2011.

[04:55:00]

Singer Lizzo sent a message to Tennessee lawmakers during her concert over the weekend. She invited a group of drag queens to join her on stage blatantly going against new legislation restricting public drag performances. Here's the show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(DRAG QUEENS ON STAGE WITH LIZZO)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: The singer told the crowd she was creating a safe space in Tennessee to celebrate not only drag performers, but everyone's differences. Federal judge in Tennessee has temporarily blocked the law from going into effect.

In the coming hours opening statements are expected to begin in a copyright infringement case against pop star Ed Sheeran. The jury was selected on Monday in New York. The singer is being sued by heirs of songwriter Ed Townsend. They claim that Sheeran's hit "Thinking Out Loud" copies the 1973 hit song, "Let's Get It on" by Marvin Gaye. However, Sheeran's lawyers have argued that the alleged similarities are actually not similar. The pop star is expected to testify in the trial.

Late night, TV host James Corden took one last ride on his popular carpool karaoke segment before signing off on the Late Late Show after eight seasons. The driver's seat was filled by one of his most popular guests in the show's history -- the singer Adele.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(ADELE AND JAMES CORDEN SINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: The entire clip was released online on Monday with the two real life friends talking about their memories of living in Los Angeles, as well as Adele's bad driving. James Corden ends his late night run this week.

Thanks for joining us here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Bianca Nobilo. "EARLY START" is up next right here on CNN.

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