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CNN International: Republicans Narrowly Pass Bill to Raise Debt Limit; Biden and Yoon Announce Agreement to Deter North Korea; Disney Files Suit Against DeSantis, Claiming Retaliation; E. Jean Carroll Testifies in Civil Lawsuit Against Trump. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired April 27, 2023 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Bianca Nobilo.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Max Foster joining you live from London. Just ahead on CNN newsroom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The bill is passed.

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA) U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: The president can no longer ignore by not negotiating.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Happy to meet with McCarthy but not on whether or not the debt limit gets extended.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Walt Disney Parks and Resorts filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in federal court against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I believe the number of casualties and wounded will increase after the foreigners are evacuated. God knows if we will be alive or dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: It is Thursday, April 27th, 9 a.m. here in London.

FOSTER: It's 4:00 a.m. in Washington D.C. where Republicans in the House of Representatives are claiming a major victory, passing a bill to raise the nation's debt. Potentially avoiding economic catastrophe. But their celebration will be short lived, the measure is dead on arrival in the Senate where Democrats object to huge cuts in federal spending.

NOBILO: The bill passed by only two votes but Republicans hope that it will strengthen their hand in negotiations with Democrats and the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCARTHY: The president can no longer ignore by not negotiating. Senator Schumer, he thinks he's got a plan, put it on the floor. See if you could pass it. And then we could go to conference. But now the president can no longer put this economy in jeopardy.

We lifted the debt limit. We've sent it to the Senate. We've done our job. The only body in here that's done theirs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Even before the House vote, President Biden repeated his demand for a clean debt limit bill with no conditions or spending cuts attached.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Happy to meet with McCarthy but not on whether or not the debt limit gets extended, that's not negotiable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Without an agreement, the U.S. government could default on its debt by early June with a downgrade in its credit rating sure to follow. More from CNN's chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: After months of internal deliberations and round the clock negotiations, Speaker McCarthy achieved the biggest legislative accomplishment of his young speakership. Pushing through a bill along straight party lines to raise the national debt limit by $1.5 trillion and getting that done on Republican votes alone. The bill passed 217 to 215. Four Republicans voting against it. Four conservative members of the conference.

If McCarthy lost one more Republican, that would get enough to sink the measure. But behind the scenes, McCarthy is trying to assuage concerns for the right, trying to -- putting in a whole slew of provisions in this package. Republican priorities, efforts to go after the Biden agenda, as well as across the board spending cuts, like domestic discretionary programs as well as new work requirements for beneficiaries of the Medicaid entitlement program. All of which have been supported by most members the Republican conference.

But given the narrow majority McCarthy had very little margin for error. But it didn't convince everybody in the conference, including Congressman Tim Burchett of Tennessee, who argued that the bill should've went further.

REP. TIM BURCHETT (R-TN): Yes, I'm a hard no. I just can't get past $32 trillion in debt. The people in Tennessee work too hard, and they manage their money. And we just do a terrible job of it here. RAJU: Now, what happens next is anyone's guess. McCarthy is using the

passage of this bill to point out that it is only the House that has passed any legislation to raise the debt ceiling. The Democrat led Senate has not done that. And the White House has been calling on Congress to simply raise the debt limit without any conditions, without any spending cuts, and to avoid the potential of the first debt default, which could occur as soon as June.

That is a position that McCarthy rejects. He says there needs to be a negotiation, there needs to be spending cuts attached to it.

[04:05:03]

So, which side will blink first? That is a major question. McCarthy says he is not going to blink. He says they have passed a bill. The Senate needs to act. The Senate Democrats say McCarthy needs to change course. What will happen? A major questions as Congress and the White House are staring at the process of the first default in the nation's history. Some -- and there's a real fiscal scare, probably the biggest fiscal scare since 2011 when the United States saw its credit rating downgraded amid a standoff over lifting the debt ceiling.

Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: CNN spoke earlier with Rana Foroohar the global business columnist and associate editor at he "Financial Times." She explains why Democrats find the bill passed by the house so objectionable.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Even though this is in some way a victory for Republicans, it's unclear whether even they would be able to come together around any kind of agreement. It's not going to do anything to help Republicans and Democrats get together on raising the debt ceiling. In large part because there is a toxic list of demands from Republicans. Things like overturning Biden's efforts to forgive student debt, for example. Pulling back parts of the Inflation Reduction Act, climate subsidies. I mean, these are things that have been at the cornerstone of what the president believes in, what he feels his work for the last two years has been. And there's no way Democrats are going to let this pass. So really, we haven't moved the ball forward at all yet.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: The new trading day gets underway in the U.S. in just over five hours. Here is were futures stand right now. Positive indications. Meantime the European markets are up and running and it's a mixed picture. Pretty positive. And here's a look at how markets across Asia today, again looking good.

FOSTER: Renewed fears about the stability of the U.S. banking center sent the Dow tumbling during Wednesday trading on Wall Street. Stocks initially rallied after a number of better-than-expected earnings reports from tech giants. But a sharp drop in shares of First Republic Bank rattled investors. The Dow closed down 229 points after the bank stock dropped about 30 percent. The S&P 500 was also on the, red while the Nasdaq rose half a percent. And after-hours trading shares of Facebook parent Meta jumped after the company reported that sales grew by 3 percent in the first quarter. That marked its first revenue growth in nearly a year.

NOBILO: In just a few hours, South Korea's president will deliver a speech to the U.S. Congress. It's part of President Yoon Suk Yeol's state visit to Washington. Only the second world leader to get the state visit during the Biden presidency.

FOSTER: The speech is expected to highlight the 70-year history of the alliance between the U.S. and South Korea and look ahead to its feature.

NOBILO: U.S. President Joe Biden called the alliance ironclad during the remarks at the White House on Wednesday. The two leaders announced a new security agreement meant to the strength in their ties and deter North Korea.

FOSTER: The U.S. agreed to deploy a nuclear armed submarine to South Korea, and President Biden delivered this stark warning to Pyongyang.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Look, a nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States and its allies and partisans -- partners is unacceptable and will result in the end of whatever regime when it takes such an action.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Kristie Lu Stout joining us from Hong Kong. We've got this address, haven't we, to the U.S. Congress. Always a big moment in these state visits. How do you think he will frame that alliance?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, President Yoon will be addressing the U.S. Congress at 11 a.m. Eastern time. He'll be marking, as you just mentioned, celebrating 70 years of the U.S. South Korea alliance. And the timing is significant because it comes right on the back of that key new agreement in the deterring North Korea that was announced on Wednesday.

The U.S. has pledged to give South Korea more insight, more involvement into its nuclear planning and a commitment to deploy nuclear armed submarines to South Korea for the first time since the early 1980s. Which is a very symbolic show of force. And in return South Korea agreed to not pursue its own nuclear arsenal. I wanted to listen to what President Yoon said about the deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YOON SUK YEOL, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT (through translator): President Biden has reaffirmed his ironclad commitment to extend a deterrence towards the Republic of Korea. Our two countries have agreed to immediate bilateral presidential consultations in the event of North Korea's nuclear attack and a promise to response swiftly, overwhelmingly and decisively. Using the full force of the alliance, including the United States' nuclear weapons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Now coming out of this deal there are two key questions. First, will it be enough to reassure South Koreans? Because opinion polls show a majority of South Koreans want their country having its own nuclear weapons.

[04:10:00]

And analysts say it really remains to be seen whether they're going to be satisfied with this new deal.

And the second critical question is it enough to deter North Korea? Last year North Korea fired a record number of missiles. It continues to fire more this year, including new technology, like the solid fuel ICBM. President Biden, he did repeat the U.S. offer to North Korea to have more talks but he offered that stark warning to North Korea vowing the end of whatever regime that launches a nuclear attack on the U.S. or its allies. Very tough words and squarely at Pyongyang, and we are still awaiting comment from North Korea. Bianca and Max, back to you guys.

FOSTER: All right Kristie in Hong Kong, thank you.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is in Israel right now. The latest stop on the presumptive Republican presidential candidate sort of world tour really. He's expected to meet in Jerusalem, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

NOBILO: The visit comes as tensions between Israel and the United States are on the rise. And as antisemitic incidents are at all-time high in Florida. A trend DeSantis says that his state is working to change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): Florida has led the way on combatting the scourge of antisemitism. My first year as governor when we were actually here on our trade mission, I signed legislation to combat antisemitism in our public universities. And that's been a huge problem throughout our country. In Florida we treat antisemitism the way that we treat racism. And so, if it's not appropriate to attack someone on the basis of their race -- which is not -- it should not also be OK somehow to engage in antisemitic tropes. And so, in Florida we've stood on the side of combatting antisemitism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Also, back home the governor's yearlong battle with Disney has taken a new turn. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts filed a suit on Wednesday against DeSantis and his handpicked oversight board which recently took control over the special tax district that Disney has controlled for decades. Our Steve Contorno has more. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Walt Disney Parks and Resorts filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in federal court against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The 77-page lawsuit allege that DeSantis engaged in a yearlong effort to punish the company for its opposition to a state law that bans the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identities in public schools.

According to lawsuit, the company's First Amendment rights were violated by Governor DeSantis, and there was, quote, a targeted campaign of government retaliation -- orchestrated at every step by Governor DeSantis as punishment for Disney's protected speech.

In a statement to CNN, DeSantis' office criticized Disney and said, quote, we are unaware of any legal rights that a company has to operate its own government, or maintain special privileges not held by other businesses in the state.

The lawsuit is the latest escalation in a year-long fight between DeSantis and Disney. One of the state's largest companies. And it now heads to federal court where a judge will decide who is the victor.

For CNN in St. Petersburg, Florida, I'm Steve Contorno.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: With the governor of Florida attacking the state's most famous business seems odd to you, you're definitely not alone. We talked about it earlier with Richard Foglesong. Author of the book, "Married to the Mouse, Walt Disney World and Orlando."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD FOGLESONG. AUTHOR, "MARRIED TO THE MOUSE, WALT DISNEY WORLD AND ORLANDO": It was Disney that put Florida on the map. It was Disney that really made Florida the tourist mecca that it is today. And so, why would a governor, especially a Republican governor -- Republicans in (INAUDIBLE) distance -- want to go after the most important business in the state of Florida? And the short answer is because when Governor DeSantis decided to go after the teaching of inequality and wokeness in schools, saying that there's something wrong about that. That Disney spoke out against him and criticized them. And so, now it seems that the governor wants to punish Disney for having the nerve to criticize him for having a different attitude about the teaching of sexual orientation and issues of that sort.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Severe storms are threatening more than 40 million people across the southern United States right now. The forecast is warning of large hail, flash flooding and isolated tornadoes in parts of Texas all the way east to Florida.

Some areas have already taken a hit, tennis ball size hail pummeled the central Texas town of Dublin, even forcing a bull to take shelter from the deluge.

FOSTER: There were more than 61 hail reports across the southern U.S. on Wednesday, many of them in central Texas.

[04:15:00]

But parts of Florida are already feeling the effects of the storms as well. Video from the town of Palm Bay shows a strong hailstorm hitting the area there.

NOBILO: Firefighters in the coastal town of Melbourne, Florida captured this video as they drove through a heavy hailstorm of their own. The storms are expected to push east on Thursday putting area along the U.S. Gulf Coast at increased risk.

Still to come, the women who accuses Donald Trump of rape, testifies in detail about the alleged encounter.

FOSTER: Plus, harsh consequences for a Montana state lawmaker who spoke out in defense of transgender rights. Her punishment and reaction, up next.

NOBILO: And with Sudan's truce in tatters, we go inside a frontline hospital that struggling to keep up with all of the injuries.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NOBILO: Tucker Carlson is speaking publicly for the first time since he was fired from Fox News. But he's not saying anything about his departure. Carlson posted a two-minute video online, on Wednesday, in which he called the debates on TV news unbelievably stupid and completely irrelevant.

[04:20:04]

FOSTER: He ended with a cryptic message, see you soon. Fox's rating in the 8:00 p.m. Eastern hour have dipped considerably without Carlson. Also, he put the video out in that time slot, which is interesting.

NOBILO: In the hours ahead, we are expected to hear more testimony from the woman who accuses Donald Trump of sexually assaulting her decades ago in a department store dressing room.

FOSTER: E. Jean Carroll is set to return to the witness stand after describing alleged rape during dramatic testimony, on Wednesday. CNN's Kara Scannell has more from New York.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Over several hours Wednesday, former magazine columnist, E. Jean Carroll, testified telling the jury, I am here because Donald Trump raped me. Carroll described the chance encounter at a New York department store on a spring evening in 1996. She said it began as flirtatious banter, Trump asked or advice on a gift. They looked at handbags, hats, and then made their way to the lingerie department on the sixth floor. She testified they teased each other about a bodysuit before the

encounter turned violent. Carroll testified that Trump shoved her against the wall of the dressing room, shut the door, pulled down her tights and raped her. Soon after Carroll said she confided in two close friends. Both of them expected to testify at the trial. And one warned her not to go public because Trump, then a New York real estate tycoon and fixer of the tabloids would bury her.

Carroll testified that she hasn't had a romantic relationship since the alleged assault because of flirtatious behavior landed her in serious trouble. Carroll told the jury, I'm not settling a political score, I'm settling a personal score. Because she called me a liar repeatedly and it really has decimated my reputation. Carroll testified she was fired from her job. Receive threatening emails and bought bullets for a gun that she owned.

Fighting back tears, Carroll said she regretted going public about the alleged assault 100 times. But being able to get her day in court, she said, is everything to me.

Carroll is expected to continue her testimony for about an hour, Thursday. Then Trump's attorneys will get a chance to cross examine her. They say the alleged rape never happened. That Carroll made of the story and that she's motivated by money and politics.

Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Montana State Representative, Zooey Zephyr, says Republican lawmakers are trying to take away her constituents' voices. She will not be allowed to attend the final days of the legislative session because of comments deemed inappropriate by house leaders. CNN's Lucy Kafanov reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Montana State House, effectively voted to ban Representative Zooey Zephyr from the remainder of the legislative session. She is not a lot to be on the House floor. She will be able to vote remotely but not participate in debates. She's not been recognized to speak on the floor since last week when she told her Republican colleagues that they have blood on her hand if the ban gender from any medical care for transgender youth. She was given an opportunity to speak today. Take a listen.

ZOOEY ZEPHYR, MONTANA STATE HOUSE DEMOCRAT: When I rose up and said there is blood on your hands. I was not being hyperbolic. I was speaking to the real consequences of the votes that we as legislators take in this body.

KAFANOV: And those were her, effectively, last words in this legislative session. She's no longer allowed to speak in the House. She is vowing to continue to fight for her constituents and her community.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: Disturbing new details are emerging about the Air National Guardsmen accused of posting stolen classified documents on social media. Prosecutors say the information Jack Teixeira took far exceeds what's being reported. And releasing him from jail could pose a huge threat to national security. He's due in court today for a hearing on whether he'll have to remain behind bars while awaiting trial.

FOSTER: Teixeira has not yet entered a formal plea. Prosecutors say that he viewed hundreds of documents and did keyword searches in what appears to be a deliberate effort to disseminate American secrets. We're also told he has a history of making violent threats and have access to an arsenal of weapons at his Massachusetts home.

An update now on the long-running criminal investigation into U.S. President Joe Biden's son Hunter

NOBILO: Lawyers for Hunter Biden met with Justice Department officials on Wednesday. CNN exclusively filmed Biden's legal team arriving and leaving. They declined to comment on the meeting but we're told that Biden's lawyers had been seeking an update on the case.

FOSTER: Multiple sources tell CNN that prosecutors are weighing several potential charges against Hunter Biden. They include felony tax evasion and making false statement -- false statements about a gun purchase as well.

Now still to come, tens of thousands of people are fleeing Sudan amid a tenuous cease-fire. We'll have a live report on the latest fighting.

NOBILO: Plus, China is pushing peace in Ukraine but it wouldn't even call Moscow's and vision a war. We're live in Beijing with details on a phone call between Xi Jinping and Volodymir Zelenskyy.

[04:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NOBILO: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Bianca Nobilo.

FOSTER: I'm Max Foster. If you're just joining us, let me bring up to date with our top stories this hour.

Republican in the U.S. House are claiming a major victory. Passing a bill to raise the nation's debt limit potentially avoiding economic catastrophe. But the measure is expected to be dead on arrival in the Senate. Where Democrats object to huge cut in federal spending.

Walt Disney's Parks and Resorts has sued Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his handpicked oversight board. The company accuses the potential Republican presidential candidate of weaponizing his political power to punish Disney for exercising its free-speech rights and damaging Disney's business in the process. Much more ahead on these stories in about half an hour on "EARLY START."

NOBILO: Earlier, today the U.K. foreign secretary urged all British citizens in Sudan to leave immediately while the current cease-fire, while tenuous, remains in effect. It expires late today and the first plane carrying British evacuees landed back in the U.K. on Wednesday.

FOSTER: Meanwhile the head of the army has signaled his willingness to extend the truce by another three days and has agreed to talk in neighboring South Sudan. The rapid support forces haven't responded yet to the proposal. And we're getting reports of new clashes and gunfire today in Khartoum and some of the surrounding areas.

NOBILO: CNN's David McKenzie is following Developments live from Johannesburg. David, obviously, this cease-fire is very shaky. We don't know if and how long it would be extended for. But what impact does the violence having on the public health of and assistance inside of Sudan? Obviously, the country has a fragile health system at the best of times with huge discrepancies between rural and urban areas anyway.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think the main thing here to say about the cease-fire, is that it's a cease- fire in name the only.

[04:30:00]