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U.N. Refugee Agency Warns More Than 800,000 May Flee Sudan; Violence Erupts During French May Day Protests; US May Default On June 1 Without Debt Ceiling Hike; May Day Protests in France; Tourism Surges Across China During Holiday Week; McCarthy Voices Support for Prime Minister Netanyahu; AI Pioneer Quits Google to Warn of Technology's "Dangers"; Spain's Reservoirs Drying Up, threatening Towns and Crops; Colombians Told to Flee Amid Eruption Alert. Aired 1- 2a ET
Aired May 02, 2023 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[01:00:24]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead here on CNN Newsroom. Mass exodus with no let-up in the fighting the U.N. prepares for close to a million refugees fleeing Sudan.
International Workers Day turns violent across France, with protesters some angry over pension reforms throwing Molotov cocktails setting fires, clashing with riot.
And here we go again. U.S. Treasury warns the federal government could be able to cash within weeks alleged Republicans in Congress agree to increase the debt ceiling.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center. This is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: Thanks for being with us. The six ceasefire in Sudan appears to have gone the same way as the previous five, with ongoing deadly clashes between the two military factions locked in a power struggle for control of the country.
Heavy smoke was seen rising north of the capital Khartoum, where residents report loud explosions as well. The official death toll has now passed 500. The head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces told an Arabic language TV channel, he sees no reason to negotiate with his rival the leader of Sudan's armed forces.
But while their battles play out, civilians continue to suffer many rushing the few supplies they have left to simply try and stay alive.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): They mind to hide if there is a big problem with safety. We hear the sounds of artillery from the side, it can fall on the street, in front or the one behind. We have to sleep on the floor. There's no water or electricity, there's no food. All the shops are closed, and the ones which are open sell products at expensive prices. We hardly eat what is enough for us. We only eat one meal per day so that the little food supplies we have are enough.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Since fighting began just over two weeks ago, more than 70,000 people have left Sudan for neighboring countries. That's according to the UN Refugee Agency, which also warns that number could swell to hundreds of thousands of refugees.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHANE DUJARRIC, UN SPOKESPERSON: The U.N. Refugee Agency in consultation with the governments and partners are planning for up to 800,000 people who may flee fighting in Sudan to the seven neighboring countries without quick resolution to the crisis. We will continue to see more people forced to flee in search of safety and humanitarian assistance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The U.S. Secretary of State says evacuation convoys for Americans trying to leave Sudan will continue for as long as needed. A third convoy arrived by road at the city of Portsmouth on Monday. Evacuees then ten to Saudi Arabia by The USNS Brunswick high speed transport vessel. CNN's Larry Madowo picks up the story.
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LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): These are the first Americans to arrive in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on the U.S. naval ship Brunswick. Its small conference after an anxious two weeks of conflict in Africa's third largest nation.
MOHAMED KHALED, SUDANESE-AMERICAN EVACUEE: Not going to lie to you I didn't really like if it was up to me, I would have stayed to see things Oh, but unfortunately, it's got too bad. You know, the situation got just -- got worse and worse by the minute. You know what I mean? There was no water, there's no electricity.
MADOWO: This port city has become the main route out of Port Sudan. Several broken ceasefires later, people are desperate to escape.
REEM, AMERICAN GRADUATE STUDENT AT OXFORD UNIVERSITY: I'm basically doing a master's. And so I was in the Sudan to like do research ironically on these very same topics.
MADOWO: How's your family? Do you have family back in Sudan who cannot leave? Because maybe they don't have dual nationality in other places?
REEM: Yes, yes, of course. I mean, that's the reality for most people that are currently in Sudan is that because of the hierarchy of citizenship the way that it works. Obviously, a lot of people couldn't even afford to live Khartoum because of the prices of bus tickets. MADOWO: U.S. officials say about 1,000 Americans have been evacuated since the conflict began by land, sea or air after initially saying it was too dangerous to get private citizens out.
MADOWO (on camera): This operation only brought 100 U.S. citizens across the Red Sea. But there are so many more still stuck in Port Sudan, hoping for transport like this to get them to Jeddah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've been working very closely with international partners around the world and here in Saudi Arabia with our Saudi partners.
MADOWO: Will there be more U.S. ships today or in the next few days?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not that I know of.
MADOWO: As families escaped the fighting, there are lighter moments as even in war, kids will still teach their parents.
MADOWO (on camera): How do you feel about having left Sudan?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very good.
MADOWO: How was it? Was it scary?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wasn't scared. But she was scared.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She absolutely handled herself 100 percent.
MADOWO (voiceover): Larry Madowo, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:05:07]
VAUSE: The ongoing fight as well as many humanitarian groups to evacuate their workers. But the World Food Programme says it's rapidly resuming operations after a two week long suspension, which was put in place after three WFP workers were killed. And the Red Cross had been sent a second aid fly to Sudan soon after the first flight arrived on Sunday.
Joining us now the U.N. Special Representative for Sudan, Volker Perthes, who is in Port Sudan right now. So thank you for taking the time to speak with us.
Right now there seems no confirmation how many people have been killed, other reports of bodies piling up in the streets of the capital elsewhere, no way to know how much damage has been done to critical infrastructure.
So, how many people are in dire need of humanitarian assistance? So what is your assessment of the total impact of this fighting across the country beyond the headlines? What --what's your sense here?
VOLKER PERTHES, U.N. SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR SUDAN: Well, the figures are not precise. Obviously, we are getting through the World Health Organization figures from the hospitals and from the medical authorities. So we're probably beyond 500 people killed most of them civilians, and probably 10 times that are more being wounded. But these are rather conservative estimates as to the material damage very, very difficult to assess.
We know that's if I think is mainly in Khartoum now, and then in several cities around several cities in for, which also impacts severely any ability to where to come with humanitarian assistance, you need stocks, which have been looted, and who needs a safe access for humanitarian aid.
VAUSE: So when do you think it'd be possible when we'll be safe for those humanitarian operations to begin in earnest is it just now up to the general so at the -- at, you know, conducting this war to decide when people will receive that humanitarian aid that assistance?
PERTHES: Well, it should not be up to the generals to decide when people get humanitarian assistance. We will start again where things have been suspended by the WFP, after killing of three of their workers in for to get supplies into the country. Supplies that are already in other parts of the country are distributed.
Our humanitarian agencies continue working in the areas that are outside of fighting. And of course, the pressure on these areas in the east of Sudan and in the center in the south of Sudan are, you know, the pressures are mounting, because we have population movements inside the country.
So UNICEF and UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations are continuing the work and the temporary suspension of WFP's work after the killing of the three humanitarian workers has been lifted the day before yesterday.
VAUSE: Do you have an assessment right now, if you had to break it down what percentage of the country is now sort of locked is a no go zone for you, and humanitarian workers, what areas are actually, you know, safer to try and get to try and help people you can break it down in percentage terms.
PERTHES: I cannot put it into percentages. So statistics come later. But what I can repeat or add to is that in the east of Sudan, we can deliver, we can deliver in state since the Central Asia (INAUDIBLE), White Nile, and Blue Nile and partly in some parts of so called (INAUDIBLE) even though it's more difficult there and therefore it's extremely challenging, because fighting is going on and access is difficult.
And in Khartoum, for now, it is impossible, I would say or almost impossible without a state, without a ceasefire. We need to ceasefire both for humanitarian access to get in that doesn't apply to the United Nations also that applies to see nongovernmental organizations. But we also need a ceasefire for people to get out for people to get to a normal shop, for shops to open for the hospitals to get supplies or for people to go to hospitals. VAUSE: There's also this warning for the U.N. that more than 800,000 refugees may be heading from Sudan to neighboring countries. How do these countries deal with that kind of influx? What preparations are ongoing there? Are you capable of dealing with these crises all at once?
PERTHES: Well, they all have challenges and in some of these countries are poor and actually Sudan is having -- is hosting more than a million refugees from neighboring countries from South Sudan, from Chad, from Central African Republic, from Ethiopia and from other countries.
So far we have seen that most of the neighboring countries have tried to help or it is possible.
[01:10:00]
We have seen people relocate from Sudan to see respective neighboring country like Chad or South Sudan, even Ethiopia. There are some problems now on the significant problems on the border with Egypt, where a lot of people are heading to.
VAUSE: What sort of problems just very quickly on the border with Egypt?
PERTHES: The problems I have is that there are a lot of people are heading towards the border of Egypt and the Egyptian authorities are having their own procedures to decide whom they want to enter their country and or not. And I cannot comment on the Egyptian policy. We know that UNHCR in Egypt is active and in coordination with Egyptian authorities to help to have as much as possible for people who arrive there.
VAUSE: Volker Perthes with the UN special representative there to Sudan. So thank you for what you do. Thank you for being with us. And please, for you and all your colleagues, thank you to stay safe.
PERTHES: Thank you.
VAUSE: Well, Palestinian prisoner with the militant group Islamic Jihad has died in Israeli jail after an 87 day hunger strike. (INAUDIBLE) Khader Adnan refused medical treatment and was found dead in his cell just a few hours ago. He was accused of supporting terror. He'd been detained nearly a dozen times by Israeli authorities staging numerous hunger strikes over the years. The Palestinian Prisoner Society says Adnan was assassinated.
And U.S. Wall Street closed low the back of JP Morgan's takeover of the failed First Republic Bank, the Dow NASDAQ, S&P 500 all down just by touch on Monday. CNN's Matt Egan has more on the deal.
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MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER (on camera): JP Morgan is coming to the rescue. And that is a big relief to U.S. officials, investors and really everyone concerned about this banking crisis. Let me run you through some of the numbers here.
JP Morgan is paying the FDIC $10.6 billion to take over most of First Republic. So what does that actually mean? Well, JP Morgan is taking on $173 billion of loans that had been on First Republic's balance sheet. The key here is that JP Morgan is assuming all $92 billion of First Republic's deposits, including those above the $250,000 FDIC insurance limit. So that means if you've got money at First Republic, you're good. Your money is safe. It's just changing from one bank to another.
Now the government did have to sweeten the pot to get this deal done. The FDIC is covering a big chunk of potential loan losses here. Now all of this comes after another weekend scramble in Washington and on Wall Street to come up with a solution to this First Republic problem.
Source tells CNN that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other U.S. officials were in touch with regulators as First Republic has been teetering over the past week or so. JP Morgan says that more than 800 of its employees participated in due diligence to do some homework into what exactly is on First Republic's books.
Now, ultimately, first republic is going down in history as the second biggest U.S. bank failure ever, second only to the 2008 implosion of Washington Mutual, which, by the way, was also acquired by JP Morgan from the FDIC.
But Treasury officials are expressing relief over how this deal actually went down. Instead of a situation where the FDIC had to bail out uninsured depositors, we have the private sector leading.
JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon he said today, quote, our government invited us and others to step up. And we did. And during a call with reporters, I asked Dimon if the First Republic failure raises his already existing concerns about a reset recession.
And if the recession fears played a role at all in his decision to make a bid for First Republic, and he said it hasn't raised the odds of a recession. And in fact, he thinks JP Morgan's takeover should quote help stabilize the system. You also expressed confidence that we're getting near the end of the bank stress now let's hope so because the longer this banking crisis goes on, the greater the risk to the economy. Back to you.
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VAUSE: And Ryan Patel, senior fellow at the Drucker School of Management Claremont Graduate University says this is a great move by JP Morgan Chase to step up and acquire First Republic.
[01:15:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RYAN PATEL, SENIOR FELLOW, DRUCKER SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT: I mean he was part of the bailout when Janet Yellen made the call he was there. He bailed out the first round. And if you know if you know, JP Morgan also was a special adviser to First Republic before they make it.
So they're very familiar with the operations. So the acquisitions, yes, advances their wealth strategy, it's a seamlessly fit, and they make money and guess what, he looks like the hero in this and to keep the banking system he's become the -- he's become the face to ensure the system is there, right, everyone's looking at him. And you saw -- you just played the clip that, you know, he's kind of calm. He's trying to calm the fears, though.
VAUSE: And so he gets to me the adviser to the failed bank and then they get to buy it out for like pennies on the dollar with guarantees they don't have any losses to worry about for the next seven years. No wonder.
PATEL: Well, to be clear, he came off being an advisor to make the bid. I'm just telling you what I what I'm saying.
VAUSE: Technicalities, my friend. Technicalities and the timing. Listen to Jamie Dimon. You're talking to those who will be critical of those too big to fail banks, you know, like JP Morgan Chase. Here he is.
JAMIE DIMON, CEO, JPMORGAN CHASE: You need large, successful banks and anyone say that the good United States American not to have that to call me directly.
VAUSE: Jamie Dimon, I have Elizabeth Warren set the line for you this Monday.
PATEL: I think you can do that.
VAUSE: The failure of First Republic Bank shows how deregulation has made the too big to fail problem even worse. A poorly supervised bank was stepped up by an even bigger bank, ultimately taxpayers be on the hook. Congress needs to make major reforms to fix a broken banking system.
I mean, that last part sweet. You know, Congress should do something right. Yes. Okay, so explain me. What's wrong with this totally ad hoc system in place? What's wrong with having a total lack of consistency when it comes to bake failings?
PATEL: Well, I mean, you have this fractional banking system, which actually builds on trust as well, right. When you have these big banks, what Jamie is saying is that if they go away, you're going to cause more havoc, right. Now, obviously, he's in that game of the big banks. But also, you know, that trust aspect of why the system doesn't work is well, it doesn't work for that big bank was bad leadership.
I just want to be really clear, John, First Republic's Silicon Valley Bank manage their risk incorrectly, it was equal to poor leadership. And so is that for all the banks? No. Are we going to see that because interest rates are coming up and see what leadership has? I think we're going to see a little more cracks through the system as Jamie Dimon said, because people are catching his quote saying, Oh, that the worst is gone, or we won't see any big banks, but he's also saying that we're going to see some more issues because of poor leadership in the banking industry.
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VAUSE: Our thanks to Ryan Patel, senior fellow Drucker School of Management at the Claremont Graduate University. Thank you, Ryan.
Still ahead, a sobering assessment of Russian casualties in Ukraine, plus war in the trenches in the frontlines the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. Also it's a small island and a tough spot, how Taiwan six kilometers from mainland China and on the frontline of a very tense standoff. More on that.
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VAUSE: Russia appears to be increasing his long range missile strikes on Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reports two people were killed, 40 wounded in the city of Pavlohrad where residential buildings in six schools were hit by missiles. The city is 100 kilometers from the front line. Russia says it was targeting ammunition and weapons facilities.
Meanwhile, in the Russian province of Bryansk, the governor blames an explosive device for a train derailment and fire. No one was killed in that accident.
Nearly declassified U.S. intelligence with some staggering numbers on Russian losses. More than 100,000 Russian soldiers killed since December. 20,000 alone in the fight for Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. CNN's chief and national security correspondent Nick Paton Walsh has our report.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF AND NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): It was hard to get much uglier, but each dawn still the battle for Bakhmut grinds on.
Ukraine Monday said it had pushed Russian forces back who would abandoned positions.
Months of agonizing fighting for about a football field every day say analysts, leaving little standing and rushed and injured. The soldiers here said abandoned.
There was a guy laying there in the reads, he says, yelling, guys come and help me for three days. Only 100 yards from the Russians.
Also emerging to on this the road of life but last weigh in and out of the city. News of the death of Cooper Harris Andrews, age 26, a former U.S. Marine and firefighter from Cleveland, Ohio, who felt compelled to join Ukraine's fight.
WILLOW ANDREWS, MOTHER OF COOPER "HARRIS" ANDREWS: Cooper wanted to correct things. We had a lot of conversations about fashion. I said Cooper so that means you're just going over there to drive an ambulance and I didn't know. You just don't believe in stuff. You like do something about it.
WALSH: He is near the frontline in January as part of the Foreign Legion described as ideological to the core and anti-authoritarian. His body has yet to be recovered from Bakhmut as the fighting is too intense. His mother recalled the last time they spoke.
ANDREWS: I asked Cooper because I'm like Cooper's mom, like is there anything I can try and get to you or send me and Cooper said yes. Can you send me hot sauce and chopsticks?
So I have like 1,000 chopsticks in my house because I was trying to get chopsticks for everyone. I figured (INAUDIBLE) and I have all these little packets of hot sauce that I was going to send to Cooper.
WALSH: Over the past weeks graphic battle footage has emerged showing what it's like when Russians get into Ukrainian trench network. Here a soldier races into cover shorten. But soon a shell hits. They are all miraculously OK. But the attack has started.
Watch and you see a Russian approach and throw a grenade. He misses. And they go on to shoot down Russians advancing meters from them. Shells continue to land. The attack persists for over 10 minutes. But the brutal fight for Bakhmut goes on and on. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.
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VAUSE: Exclusive new satellite images obtained by CNN appear to show a big step forward in China's military airship program. A large blimp can be seen on a runway to military base deep in China's remote Northwestern desert may have capabilities far beyond what China has already demonstrated. Details from CNN's Alex Marquardt.
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ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): This new satellite imagery was obtained by CNN from a company called BlackSky and shows for the first time according to numerous experts, a Chinese military blimp at a remote desert bass in northwestern China.
Now these photographs were taken some three months before the famous Chinese spy balloon crossed the United States back in January and February. And this is a site called correlates a military base that has been studied for years. But this is the first time we're told a blimp that has been seen at a site associated with a Chinese military, the PLA.
One expert we spoke with liken this blimp to what he called a submarine of the skies appearing to have dedicated propulsion and navigation capabilities.
[01:25:02] We know it's around 31 meters or 100 feet long. It's in the photo on a long runway outside of a huge hangar at that site near Korla, and it's an indication that China's military airship program is advancing and getting more sophisticated.
Experts say that blimps are faster, more versatile, more maneuverable than aerostats, which are stationary or balloons like that one we saw across the United States three months ago. A blimp like this would provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, which is called ISR, and would be cheaper than satellites and planes that also carry out ISR.
The questions still remain about what else may be at this site, given the size of that huge hangar and that long runway around one kilometer or 3,300 feet. One expert telling us that the Chinese could be developing an airship to fly in the stratosphere. Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.
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VAUSE: For residents of Taiwan's Kinmen islands, the words escalating tensions with Beijing carry their own special meaning. The islands are just miles from mainland China and residents says some even remember fighting the Chinese Communist. Well, CNN's Will Ripley reports they're pushing to become part of East Asia's new demilitarized zone.
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WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): As the sunsets on the Taiwan Strait, the neon lights of Xiamen in southeastern China dazzle and the dusk. CNN cameras close enough to read the glowing signs a glimpse of mainland China on the inside.
RIPLEY (on camera): But you may be surprised to learn I'm not standing in mainland China. I'm here in Taiwan on a small island sitting surprisingly close to that bustling metropolis behind me. Less than four miles of water that is all that divides this democracy from communist China.
RIPLEY (voiceover): Our 200 mile flight from Taipei to the Kinmen islands takes about an hour, a boat can reach the mainland in minutes. Some islanders feel like sitting ducks at the mercy of China's People's Liberation Army. The PLA launched massive military drills near Taiwan twice in the last nine months.
China calls the drills a response to Taiwan President Tsai-Ing Wen's high profile meetings with two U.S. House speakers, Nancy Pelosi and Taipei last year, Kevin McCarthy in California last month.
Just off the coast of Kinmen, we see Chinese sand dredgers. China is reclaiming land to build a new airport, the mainland coast, getting closer every day.
We all hope war doesn't break out here since the chairman of the Visitors Association. We think it's basically impossible for our military to defend Kinmen. But they did defend the islands more than 70 years ago. Tens of thousands of nationalists troops from Taiwan repelled the Mainland's communist forces. Things are very different today, only a few 1,000 Taiwanese soldiers remain.
China now has the world's largest navy. Taiwan's outlying islands are no longer strategically valuable and almost defenseless if the PLA decides to make a move, many here calling for Taiwan's military to pull out completely.
We don't want Kinmen to become a battlefield again, who says, if there are no soldiers or military installations, we can become a demilitarized zone and attract more tourists. He says the handful of remaining military sites are shockingly vulnerable. Last year civilian drones from China hover over several Island outposts.
This video shows startled soldiers throwing rocks raising questions about the military's readiness. Taiwan says it shot down at least one unidentified civilian drone.
RIPLEY (on camera): In so many ways the local culture on this side and that side almost the same, politics of course the big exception, but many who grew up here are calling for closer ties with Communist China. They lived with the alternative decades of ferocious fighting right here on the front line.
RIPLEY (voiceover): He's battle scarred outlying islands bore the brunt of damage during the worst decades of the cross strait conflict from the late 1940s through the 1970s relentless artillery attacks left behind mountains of metal.
We worry history might repeat itself says Maestro Wu who makes knives from old artillery. If that happens, it will change our way of life.
Bullet riddled buildings, bomb shelters, beaches lined with anti- landing spikes, rusty relics waiting for the waves of change to come crashing in. Will Ripley CNN, Kinmen, Taiwan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: When we come back, mayday protests in France turned violent as demonstrators plastic (ph) police nationwide many so furious over changes to the retirement age, report from Paris in a moment.
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VAUSE: Welcome back. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
May Day protests in France have left more than 100 police officers wounded, nearly 300 demonstrators in custody.
CNN's Paris correspondent Melissa Bell has more on Monday's violent demonstrations.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: Even after months of protests, it was a day of remarkable violence. Angered not just at pension reforms, but at the government itself. Clashes erupted within the first half hour of demonstrations in Paris.
May Day is a traditional day of marches for workers' rights in France. But this year, with the raising of the retirement age from 62 to 64, protesters were out in droves in Marseille, Rennes, Toulouse, and in the capital.
SOPHIE BINET, CGT UNION SECRETARY GENERAL: We just have to look at the processions behind. You can see that today is a historic May Day. And we can see that this day of mobilization is a stinging denial of all the bets made by the government.
BELL: From September, the French will start working longer than they had, after the government pushed through the reform without a vote in parliament. But the unions have vowed to fight on nonetheless.
BELL: This May the 1st was always expected to be an important barometer of the popular anger there is out there. But it's likely also an important measure of just how difficult the next four years of government are likely to be for the French president.
All the more so because despite the many months of strikes and sporadic violence, more than 62 percent of the French are sympathetic to the mood, according to polling from April.
THIERRY CAMUSSO, CGT VITROLLES UNION REPRESENTATIVE: We are going to show Mr. Macron that the country -- we are not happy with this reform, and it will not do.
BELL: The government says the current pension system is simply not affordable. Its deficit at risk of spiraling out of control. But that line hasn't dampened the popular anger so far. With frustration against Emmanuel Macron and his manner of governing, showing no signs of letting up.
Melissa Bell, CNN -- Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:34:47]
VAUSE: The May Day holiday week is now under way with a surge in domestic travel across China. In fact, record numbers are on the move, finally shaking off the toughest pandemic restrictions in the world.
CNN's Kristie Lu Stout has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's China's first May Day Golden Week holiday after the pandemic and tourism is surging. In Beijing, massive crowds have descended upon the Great Wall. On Sunday, more than 14,000 people visited the Mutianyu section of the wall located north of Beijing. Throngs of visitors are at the entrance, climbing the wall, and queuing for cable cars.
Meanwhile in Macau, hundreds of thousands of Chinese tourists have been crowding into the world's biggest gambling hub. The surge comes after pandemic restrictions were lifted in January, opening the door wide to visitors for the first time in more than three years.
BECKY ZHANG, SHOP OWNER (through translator): Now the customers' flow has recovered to around 60 to 70 percent of pre-pandemic levels. So we are very busy. Compared to during the pandemic, it's much more fulfilling. There's less worry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To be honest, I feel that the vitality of the pre-pandemic period has really been restored with the crowds of people and bustling atmosphere. I haven't seen this for a long time.
STOUT: According to state media, over 240 million people will travel during the five-day holiday period, surpassing pre-pandemic levels.
Domestic travel bookings for the holiday period have also exceeded 2019 levels, according to trip.com.
And here in Hong Kong, more than 165,000 people arrived from the mainland at the start of the May Day Golden Week holiday.
After three years of tough border controls, the city is luring visitors back and hopes are high that it will be a golden week for consumer spending.
Kristie Lu Stout, CNN -- Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: In Jerusalem, U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has lavished praise on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even extended an offer to visit Congress if one is not forthcoming from the U.S. president to visit the White House. Joe Biden has a very different relationship with Netanyahu.
CNN's Hadas Gold has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: This was the U.S. Speaker Kevin McCarthy's first trip abroad since being elected speaker. And he said that that was on purpose. He wanted his first trip and first address to a foreign parliament to be to Israel, for its 75th anniversary, because he wanted to highlight, he said, that the U.S. has no greater ally than Israel and vice versa.
And that was the tone that was carried through this entire trip and through his address to Congress, essentially saying that the U.S.- Israel alliance is incredibly important. He said that as long as he is U.S. Speaker, the U.S. security assistance for Israel will continue.
He talked about the threats that Israel faces, saying that the U.S. will always support Israel when it comes to any of these sort of military threats. And he will also work on the international arena to prevent these unnecessary attacks on Israel, especially in the United Nations.
The only slight moment of criticism in his entire speech was about being careful about Chinese investments. But at its core, this was a pro-Israel stump speech. He made biblical references to the fact that Jerusalem is Israel's eternal capital. He talked about the shared values between Israel and the United States, saying that they are values of freedom, of liberty, and of faith.
Later at a press conference, he was pressed about the more internal issues in Israel. Asked about Israel's judicial overhaul plan that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has been trying to push through. It is on pause right now.
He was asked about that, and he essentially said, that is something for Israel to decide with its internal politics. It's a democracy. He said they could make their own decisions.
I asked the speaker specifically about some of the more extreme members of this government, some ministers whose statements have been criticized by the U.S. administration. I asked him whether he is concerned about the direction of this government. Take a listen.
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Yes, he's the prime minister. He is in control.
GOLD: Now, do you think though that he will bring this judicial overhaul come in (ph) back on the table?
MCCARTHY: Look, there is work. But I think what's happening now, what he told me is they're working with both sides to come together to a compromise to try to solve that. I've heard from both sides, and both sides say there needs to have some reform.
GOLD: Speaker McCarthy had also said that if President Biden does not invite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House soon, he will instead invite Benjamin Netanyahu to speak to Congress, even without a White House invitation, making a joke, saying that he's been treated the same way by President Biden since McCarthy, he says, has also not yet been invited to the White House to meet with President Biden.
But he did soften that just a little bit, saying that he does expect the president to invite Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House in the near future.
This was, I should note, a bipartisan delegation. More than a dozen Democratic and Republican members of Congress, coming to Israel to commemorate its 75th anniversary. And the tone was definitely one of continuation of the Israeli-United States alliance.
[01:39:51]
GOLD: And it was bipartisan also from the Israeli side. Although there's deep divisions in Israel right now on politics, and on the direction of the country, both the coalition and opposition members were in attendance, and gave Speaker McCarthy a very welcome standing ovation.
Hadas Gold, CNN -- Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: When we come back here on CNN, he quit his job to speak freely about the dangers of his life's work. So, why is the Godfather of artificial intelligence so concerned now? And isn't it all just a bit late?
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VAUSE: Welcome back.
Negotiations between writers in Hollywood and production studios have broken down with the writers now on strike.
Word came via tweet from the writers' union. Most television and film productions in the U.S. will likely be shut down.
The writers say their contracts need to be reworked in the era of streaming to make up for a loss of income due to a dramatic decrease in residuals from reruns and syndications. They also want limits on the use of artificial intelligence in the industry.
But the studios say they're hurting. Stock prices are falling and they need to have deep cost cutting as well as layoffs. The last writers strike in 2007 lasted 100 days causing an estimated $2 billion in economic damage.
Well, he spent much of his life developing artificial intelligence. But last week the man they call "the Godfather of AI" quit his job at Google so he could speak freely.
Geoffrey Hinton's work on neural networks shaped AI as we know it today. He spent a decade at Google. He now tells "New York Times" part of him regrets his life's work. Hinton says he fears artificial intelligence will upend the job market, and the internet will be flooded with fake photos, videos, and texts to the point many people won't know what's true anymore. So how is that different than now.
Josh Constine is a venture partner at the VC Fund's SignalFire. He's also the former editor at large for TechCrunch. He's with us live from San Francisco. Good to see you again.
JOSH CONSTINE, VENTURE PARTNER, VC FUND'S SIGNALFIRE: Thank you so much for having me.
VAUSE: Ok. Two words here. Skynet -- watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, ACTOR: The system goes online on August 4th, 1997. Human decisions are removed from strategic defense. Skynet begins to learn at a geometric rate. It become self aware, 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, August 29th. In the panic they tried to pull the plug.
LINDA HAMILTON, ACTRESS: Skynet fights back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: After (ph) that Elon Musk has warned us of AI. Here's what Elon Musk said. "AI is more dangerous than say mismanaged aircraft design or production maintenance or bad car production. In the sense it has the potential of civilization destruction."
That's a pretty big potential. So precisely what is the big concern here about the civilization destroying potential of AI?
CONSTINE: Well, Google has made an offer that apparently the Godfather of AI can refuse. Because he says he wants to speak more freely about the issues with AI.
[01:44:53]
CONSTINE: I think one of the big problems was we suddenly see -- saw this race where after years of more cautious development, the release of the Open AI-powered Microsoft Bing search engine with this existential risk and threat to Google and so it now seems like it is speeding up deployment, even if it means not always safeguarding the risks.
And I think what we really need is to understand that even though AI can be dangerous, you know, we hear a lot about those few self-driving car crashes. We don't hear a lot about the 100 people that die every day in normal car fatalities that those autonomous vehicles could have saved. So, there's a lot of upside to the AI as well, as long as we build in the proper safeguards.
VAUSE: I had a feeling you'd go there. So here is the paradox of AI just in one day, Monday. AI harrowing headline number one from Bloomberg. "IBM to pause hiring for jobs that AI could do, roughly 7,800 IBM jobs could be replaced by AI automation."
But AI happy positive story also from Monday, "A new artificial intelligence system called a semantic decoder can translate a person's brain activity into a continuous stream of text which might help people who are mentally conscious yet unable to physically speak to communicate intelligently again."
Ok, you know, so there are positives here. There are negatives here. But wherever there is a choice of good or bad, it's a pretty safe bet that bad is going to win out.
CONSTINE: I don't necessarily believe that. You know, certainly this idea of pausing AI development isn't going to work. You know, the bad actors, oppressive state governments, they are going to continue their development even if the good guys stop.
So, we need to keep doing this research so we can figure out how to stay one step ahead of the bad guys, and build in proper safeguards.
But I think another really important strategy here is what we call human in the loop. This means that instead of just replacing human intelligence, we augment it with artificial intelligence, where humans actually review the output and approve it from AI rather than just trusting in it blindly.
We actually do this at our fund SignalFire. We built this Speak (ph) in AI Technology to help us source investments. But it's taken humans in the loop for a decade now actually, fine-tuning the model, telling it what it gets right and wrong for it to be able to accurately suggest start-ups that we might want to invest in.
And so by building those humans into the loop, I think we could still prevent a lot of the problems here. That said like there certainly will be job loss, but there will also be job creation from all of this.
When you see ion health tech already, you know, suddenly there's new start-ups that can help you with medical billing to make sure people aren't overcharged, help with a health note which takes AI doctor notes, code a metric which helps with AI coding for billing for medical start-ups.
Now these can really make sure that health care stays affordable and more people survive. So, I think in the short term, there's a lot to gain, as long as we keep our eye on the regulation.
VAUSE: You know, do you remember when the Internet was first sort of out there, and it was this sort of -- it was just going to be opening up to democratization of the world. There was going to be freedom of speech and freedom of content. It's the end of dictatorships everywhere with the rise of the people.
And look at it now. I mean, how has that worked out?
(CROSSTALK)
CONSTINE: We all had to learn Internet literacy. And I think similarly, we're going to need to learn AI literacy, the same way Millennials learned to spot a phishing scam and knew not to stick their logging credential into a random web site. I think Gen Z and Generation Alpha is going to learn how to spot a deep fake, or just to not believe everything they see.
VAUSE: Your positive outlook, I love it. Thank you, Josh Constine. Good for negativities.
CONSTINE: Thank you.
VAUSE: Good to see you. Thank you. Take care.
Just ahead, Spain struggling through a semi heat wave, and some drought which is drying up reservoirs putting (ph) the livelihood of many farmers at risk. We'll have details on that in a moment. Also evacuation warnings go out across parts of Colombia as scientists warn the Nevado del Ruiz volcano could be days -- just days away from erupting. Brace yourself, Colombia.
[01:48:50]
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VAUSE: Environmental groups are suing U.S. authorities over the launch of SpaceX's massive starship rocket last month. The groups argue the Federal Aviation Administration failed to adequately investigate the potential harm the launch or mishap could do to surrounding areas.
The rocket lifted off from Texas, spewing debris over miles, before exploding over the Gulf of Mexico four minutes into the flight. But SpaceX says was a success.
Spain is struggling through a summer-like heat wave with some areas recently shattering their record highs for April. There's also a nationwide drought after three straight years of below average rainfall. Reservoirs are drying up, farmers are suffering as CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: From afar, even a natural disaster can look majestic. But up close, the full impact of a global climate emergency is clear to see.
This is the Sau Reservoir near Barcelona, normally one of the largest bodies of freshwater in this part of Spain, but months of drought, and the water levels are so low, an entire medieval village usually underwater, has come to light.
The folks here say normally, you'd barely be able to see even the tip of the medieval church, because it would be almost fully submerged. But now, as you can see, the church is very much on land. And the authorities here fear things will get much worse once the summer's heat really sets in.
The Sau Reservoir is already at less than 10 percent capacity, and that is causing hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland to dry up. All of this wheat is probably lost. Farmer Santi (INAUDIBLE) shows me why.
"The grain should be milky," he said. "We are in a critical moment. If it doesn't rain, this will end up empty. We should be seeing the grain come up to here, but it's only like this. If it doesn't rain in the coming week, the crop will be zero."
But there is no rain in sight, and temperatures in Spain have skyrocketed. Scientists at the Institute of Agri-Food Research and Technology are trying to find ways to make very little water go a longer way.
Chief Scientist Joan Girona (ph) says efficiency needs to be maximized.
JOAN GIRONA GOMIS, RESEARCHER IRTA: -- taking the most of our drop of water.
PLEITGEN: Just like the crops, the people in this area are also in survival mode. Dozens of towns are without water and need to get it trucked in.
The village (INAUDIBLE) hasn't had any for about a year and residents say they can't even remember the last time it rained.
"I don't recall," Joan tells me. It's been a long time, a year or more without proper rain, nothing.
This region of Spain is a bread basket for all of Europe, and while the authorities say they're building desalination plants to combat the water crisis, the head of the region's water authority says life here might change dramatically soon.
SAMUEL REYES, DIRECTOR, CATALAN WATER AGENCY: Sometimes, I think about the capacity of the territory. I mean, is this a country where we can handle, with the increase of citizens, tourists, industry, farmers, agriculture? Or we should stop?
PLEITGEN: And that point might be closer than some believe. Back at the Sau Reservoir, authorities are actually draining most of the remaining water to prevent this precious and ever scarcer resource from getting contaminated by the sludge at the bottom of this once mighty lake.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN -- Barcelona, Spain.
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VAUSE: Residents of more than two dozen communities in Colombia have been told to leave, after a volcano began spewing increased levels of rock and hot ash. Scientists are warning the notorious Nevado del Ruiz volcano could likely erupt soon.
CNN's Isa Soares has details.
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ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The ruins of a ghost town are all that remain from Armero. The small town in Colombia was wiped away by the Nevado del Ruiz Volcano nearly 40 years ago, killing almost 25,000 people in a matter of minutes.
And now, officials are warning it will erupt again in just weeks or even days. Seismic energy is intensifying and volcanic activity is very unstable.
[01:54:54]
SOARES: Officials declared orange alerts since late March, but according to the Colombian Geological Service, the conditions of the volcano have made the probability of eruption greater in the past couple of days.
Locals have a hard choice to make, whether to potentially brave ashes, gray clouds and lava, or leave everything they have behind.
DIEGO PERDOMO, FARMER (through translator): our life is worth more than an animal and other things. But as poor people, we have to go on. It's not fair that we leave here and leave our things behind.
ALDEMAR PARRA, FARMER (through translator): For us, this is not possible to evacuate because of the animals. If one of us leaves, another one comes to see what's left.
SOARES: The slopes of the Nevado Del Ruiz in Central Colombia are fertile grounds for local farmers. The Colombian government called for the voluntary evacuation of 28 communities in the area. And they are offering housing assistance to those who do.
But many locals have refused, saying they're worried about leaving their livelihoods. Some local farmers have lived through early eruptions and do not trust their lands or even animals would be safe if they leave.
Officials tell CNN that dozens of people have evacuated the area. They warn, it's not just the eruption should be concerned with, but the aftermath.
When volcanoes erupt, there is a dense, fast-moving flow of lava pieces, volcanic ash, and hot gases that can go up to 100 kilometers per hour, and destroy everything in its path.
Another threat is when volcanic rocks mix with nearby rivers, creating avalanches that can take everything in their way.
JOHN MAKANO LONDONO, COLOMBIAN GEOLOGICAL SERVICE: It has been making these eruptions for almost ten years. The locals say, well, the volcano already does this. We're used to it.
That is very dangerous. You cannot get used to what is not normal.
SOARES: This region is still reeling from the tragedy that struck in 1985. And now, officials fear another disaster, desperate for history not to repeat itself, if locals do not prepare for the worst.
Isa Soares, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Before we go, if you have a thing for feline fashion then the Met Gala in New York, well, that was for you this year. Dress code in honor of Karl -- a tribute to the late designer Karl Lagerfeld. The Grammy winner Doja Cat chose to dress up as Lagerfeld's beloved cat, Choupette.
Not to be outdone, Oscar winning actor Jared Leto went full feline. (INAUDIBLE) the cat's terrifying, it's a disturbing (ph) case.
I mean, seriously, that will give kids nightmares.
Anyway, thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. CNN NEWSROOM continues with my friend and colleague Rosemary Church after a short break.
See you back here tomorrow.
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