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CNN International: Officials and Asylum Seekers Prepare for End of Title 42; Rockets Fired at Israel Amid Deadly IDF Airstrikes in Gaza; Trump Takes Center Stage as Republican Frontrunner at Town Hall; Rep. Santos Pleads Not Guilty to 13 Federal Criminal Charges; Former Prime Minister's Arrest Sparks Protests in Pakistan. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired May 11, 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 a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Bianca Nobilo live from London. Max Foster has the day off. Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It was a rigged election.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: It was not a rigged election. It was not a stolen election. Did you ever show those classified documents to anyone?

TRUMP: Not really. I would have the right to.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything that Donald Trump said tonight, everything that he has said and will say public is fair game for prosecutors.

REP. GEORGE SANTOS (R-NY): We have an indictment. We have the information that the government wants to come after me on.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They deserve someone who they can rely on and obviously this is not the person.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They simply do not want to risk entering the U.S. illegally.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The border was closed today. The border will be closed until after Title 42 is lifted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

NOBILO: It is Thursday May 11th, 9:00 a.m. here in London, 4:00 a.m. in Washington where the Biden administration is hours away from officially rolling back the Covid era immigration policy, Title 42. The measure allowed federal authorities to swiftly expel migrants and despite local officials in Texas, Arizona and California, preparing for a surge, U.S. border patrol chief says that his teams are prepared for what they have been seeing for months. Along the southern border crowds can be seen sheltering in tents or waiting in lines to get their asylum claims processed. The mayor of Laredo, Texas says that the city is preparing as if, quote, a hurricane is coming. In El Paso, the mayor says they are preparing for the unknown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OSCAR LEESER, EL PASO, TEXAS MAYOR: We all know that the immigration process is broken and it needs to be fixed. There is no end game. And in a community like El Paso or anywhere in the Rio Grande Valley, we cannot continue for infinity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Hundreds of troops, U.S. Marshals and other federal agents are set to begin a new mission along the southern border. The Biden administration will roll out new tracking measures as an alternative for detention for migrant families facing deportation. Meanwhile, for migrants seeking asylum at the border, many are scared and anxious about the future once Title 42 ends. CNN's David Culver is in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico just across the border from El Paso, Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now down to just hours until the anticipated end of Title 42. And from our vantage point here in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, we've seen increased activity on the U.S. side. That's what we're looking at over here, that's Texas soil. On the other side of that barbed wire and yet -- not yet through the border wall. You see hundreds if not thousands of migrants now camped out, some for hours, some days, some weeks in pretty dire conditions. Cold at night, scorching sun and heat during the day and at this hour a lot of wind too, whipping up the sand.

But what was interesting was what we've seen now happening just within the past day or so. And that is increased activity in processing some of these migrants. Let me show you what we captured from above. And that is the customs border protection vans coming through what's known as gate 42 here -- this is just one small portion of the border wall -- and they come through with a few vans and begin processing so it seems some of the migrants and then loading them up into the vans.

Now in months past we know that many of those migrants would then go through the border wall, be processed, sometimes they would be in custody for a few days and under Title 42, could be immediately expelled back to Mexico. And we saw folks who were then loaded up, dropped off on the Mexican side and then would try again.

If they're processing under Title 8, which will take precedent after Title 42 comes down, then they'll have to go forward with their claims for asylum and the stakes are much higher if they don't qualify. They could be banned from entering the U.S. for five years. So, it could be a bit more significant if they don't have the criteria to meet asylum. We caught up with some of the folks who wanted to do it the right way.

They want to enter the U.S. legally. We saw those migrants camping out, not here but nearer to the city center in Ciudad Juarez, and hundreds filling sidewalks, and then starting their mornings on their cellphones trying to log into the EVP-1 app. That's essentially one of the ways that the Biden administration has started to enhance so that they could log on and people could potentially get an appointment for an asylum officer to meet with them.

[04:05:04]

Now the people we were speaking with have been trying for days and seemingly unsuccessful.

She's saying she was doing it through the app because she wants to go in legally through asylum, but it's getting frustrating for her. She says she is not really sure if she's going to try right after Title 42. She'd really rather just have an appointment through the app. But she has faith that it's going to work out.

They are determined to keep trying and a lot of them say they simply do not want to risk entering the U.S. illegally knowing if they get to the other side, as they talk to a lot of their friends and relatives who have gone through, they know that they will face a lot of pressures. And one woman told me she simply doesn't want to deal with the persecution that she could face undocumented in the U.S. So, she's going to continue to try from the side to get that appointment. Others have told me though, quite frankly, they'll enter undetected if they have to just to get in the United States.

David Culver, CNN, Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: The prime suspect in the disappearance of American student, Natalee Holloway, in Aruba 18 years ago is heading to the U.S. to face charges. Peru has agreed to temporarily extradited Joran van der Sloot to Alabama where prosecutors wants to try him for extortion and wire fraud. Van der Sloot has been serving 28 years in a Peruvian prison for murdering the young student that he met in a casino in 2010. Holloway's parents say the extradition means they will finally get justice for Natalee.

In the Middle East, Israel is again bombarding Islamic Jihad commanders in Gaza with another airstrike early Thursday. Authorities in Gaza say the strike left three people dead, including the head of the Palestinian militant group, missile unit. And Palestinian militants are retaliating with rocket attacks on Israel, hundreds in the past two days according to the IDF. In all, at least 25 people in Gaza have now been killed in Israeli airstrikes since Tuesday, including several other Islamic Jihad commanders, as well as women and children.

Journalist Elliott Gotkine joins us now from Jerusalem with the latest. Elliott, are we expecting this fighting, these attacks to continue? ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: For now, we are, Bianca. There were

rumors and hopes that an Egyptian brokered ceasefire might prevail late last night, but that didn't happen. There were about 8 1/2 hours of calm during which no rockets were fired by Islamic Jihad towards Israel. But the rockets are firing again from Gaza towards Israel. Israel is also carrying out airstrikes against targets in the Gaza Strip. And all managed by Islamic Jihad.

Israel Defense Forces saying that it struck around about 160 sites belonging to Islamic Jihad. It says that more than 500 rockets have been fired towards Israel and that 379 of them went towards Israel with only six falling in populated areas. And of course, one of those targets that were hit by the IDF overnight using helicopters, drones and fighter jets was that of the commander who was in charge of Islamic Jihad's rocket firing unit.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressing the nation last night and saying that Israel has dealt the hardest blow in its history to Islamic Jihad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Citizens of Israel, we are still in the middle of a campaign. At this very moment, our forces are fiercely attacking the Gaza Strip and exacting a heavy price from the terrorists' organizations. I would like to reiterate, whoever harms us, whoever sends terrorists against us, will pay the price.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOTKINE: Now, no doubt Egypt, behind the scenes, is continuing to try to broker some kind of ceasefire. Israel also in touch with the U.S. with Israel's Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, speaking last night with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

Just as an aside, Israel defense minister's mother passed away last night but he will remain very much involved and in control of Israel's operation against Islamic Jihad in Gaza -- Bianca.

NOBILO: Elliott for us live in Jerusalem, thank you.

During the first "TOWN HALL" of the U.S. presidential race, Republican front runner Donald Trump filled the night with false and sometimes preposterous claims, what many would consider to be outright lies. Meaning that his third bid for the White House will probably feel quite similar to the first two. Trump refused to answer a number of pointed questions directly. Such as, does he support a federal ban on abortion? Would he rather see Ukraine or Russia win the war.

Trump also returned to his name calling tactics of past campaigns referring to CNN moderator Kaitlan Collins as a nasty person when she pressed him for answers and knocked down his false statements.

[04:10:00] He also called the woman who accused him of rape a whack job just a day after a federal jury found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation. And the court awarded $5 million to that woman, writer E. Jean Carroll. The former president has vowed to appeal the verdict and denies wrongdoing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: A Manhattan jury found that you sexually abused the writer E. Jean Carroll and defamed her. You've denied this. But what do you think of voters who say it disqualifies from being president?

TRUMP: There aren't too many of them. Because my poll numbers just came out, they went up. They said he didn't rape her. And I didn't do anything else either. You know what, because I have no idea who the hell she is.

COLLINS: Mr. President, can I ask you given your recounting --

TRUMP: I don't know who -- and I tell you this --

COLLINS: But Mr. President --

TRUMP: Are you ready?

COLLINS: Can I ask you --

TRUMP: -- And I swear on my children which I'd never do, I have no idea who this woman -- this is a fake story, made up story.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: We should note that the crowd of Republicans and right leaning independence in the state of New Hampshire were very friendly to the former U.S. President. Often loudly cheering after some of his remarks. And many seem to support his repeated claims that the 2020 presidential election that he undeniably lost was rigged.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: A lot of those people in this audience and maybe a couple that don't, but most people understand what happened. It was a rigged election and it's a shame that we had to go through it.

COLLINS: Can you publicly acknowledge that you did lose the 2020 election?

TRUMP: Let me just go on. If you look at -- through the vote, they found millions of votes on camera, on government cameras, where they were stuffing ballot boxes. So, with all of that, I think it's a shame that what happened. I think it's a very sad thing for our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: When asked about the classified documents that he hoarded at his Florida resort after leaving office, Trump insisted that he has the absolutely right do whatever he wants with them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Why did you take those documents with you when you left the White House?

TRUMP: I had every right to under the Presidential Records Act. You have the Presidential Records Act. I was there and I took what I took, and it gets declassified.

COLLINS: The Presidential Records Act, which is not well-known to a lot of people, I read it. It does not say that you can take documents with you. It says, actually, that they are the property of the federal government when you leave.

TRUMP: It says you -- it says you talk. You negotiate. You make a deal. It's not criminal, by the way, not -- it's --

COLLINS: It does -- it does not say that you can negotiate.

TRUMP: The Presidential Records Act is not criminal. And just so you know --

COLLINS: It does not say you can negotiate to take the documents with you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: Some of Trump's remarks on legal investigations could give his lawyers fresh headaches and CNN's senior legal analyst points out that his comments can be used by prosecutors.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Everything that Donald Trump said tonight, everything that he has said and will say publicly, is fair game for prosecutors. I assure you they were watching and taking notes. And I'll tell you two specific moments that jumped out to me as potential usable evidence by prosecutors.

First of all, in relation to January 6, there was a moment when Kaitlan had asked him about his followers. She said, they listen to you and you know it. And Trump agreed with that. He said that's right. Now if you're a prosecutor, you're thinking, OK, there you go. That is the cleanest, clearest admission by Trump that he understands that his words have an impact on the actions of his followers. That to me is the best piece of evidence that we've seen so far on that.

Then shifting to Mar-a-Lago there was a point -- and Trump has said things like this before -- where he said essentially, I took everything. I had the right to take all of it. One of the things that you have to establish as a prosecutor in that case is knowledge and intent. And right there he admits, I knew we were taking everything and, you know, he argues wrongly that he had the right to take it. But right there you say, none of this was a mistake and none of this was unknown to him. So, I think those are two really useful pieces of evidence that prosecutors were taking note of.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: This "TOWN HALL" was intended to take the pulse of the presidential race. And it's obviously still very early, but if Trump ends up once again winning the Republican nomination, our analysts and commentators predict that there will be strong echoes of the previous campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTEN SOLTIS ANDERSON, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST AND POLLSTER: If you are a voter who is looking at next November and thinking you're dreading this rematch between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, we got confirmation that the rematch is a rerun. That we've already seen exactly what Donald Trump is and he's not bringing a new Donald Trump 2.0 to the campaign trail.

JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: People were appalled about what they saw tonight. They were appalled by the audience's reaction. And as one person said to me, if you have forgotten what he did on January 6, tonight was a wake-up call. He lied, he undermined democracy, the rule of law, the justice system. He called the Capitol Hill police officer a thug.

LAURA COATES, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: I would be salivating if I were the attorneys for E. Jean Carroll. If I were the prosecutors, if you were Jack Smith, if I was in Georgia, because every single statement will line up in a column against here as a potential claim.

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: If you're watching this trying to figure out what's going to happen to America, you should be very worried. He threw Ukraine under the bus. Just threw them under the bus.

[04:15:00]

So, a vote for this guy is a vote for a Putin victory. Period, point blank, you can't get away from that.

He would not say that he wouldn't pardon people who have been convicted in U.S. courts of seditious conspiracy. A criminal thug group called the Proud Boys. That is an easy no, I'm not going to pardon traitors. He wouldn't even give you that. He called the Black police officer a thug. He talked about Chinatown. All the dog whistles were there. This is rerun Donald, no improvement, no reflection, no repentance, no remorse and that's what you're voting for if you vote for this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: New York Congressman George Santos has pleaded not guilty to 13 criminal charges brought by the U.S. Justice Department. He appeared in federal court in Long Island, New Jersey -- New York, sorry -- on Wednesday to answer allegations ranging from wire fraud and money laundering to making false statements to the House of Representatives. Santos was defiant after he was released on bond.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. GEORGE SANTOS (R-NY): This is the beginning of the ability for me to address and defend myself. We have an indictment. We have all -- we have the information that the government wants to come after me on. And I'm going to comply. I'm going to fight my battle. I'm going to deliver. I'm going to fight the witch hunt. I'm going to take care of clearing my name and I look forward to doing that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you will not resign.

SANTOS: I will not resign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: CNN's Paula Reid has more on the latest scandal overshadowing Santos's young political career.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New York Republican Congressman George Santos adopting the Trump playbook after being indicted on 13 criminal counts.

SANTOS: The reality is, is it's a witch hunt.

REID (voice-over): Surrounded by reporters after his initial court appearance, Santos was pressed about allegations he fraudulently received more than $24,000 in unemployment benefits during the COVID- 19 pandemic, while he was working at a Florida-based firm.

SANTOS: This is part of my defense. This is inaccurate information and I will get to clear my name on this -- during the pandemic, it wasn't very clear, I don't understand where the government is getting their information, but I will present my facts.

REID (voice-over): The indictment spanning 20 pages, details allegations that Santos illegally solicited campaign contributions which were then funneled into his personal bank accounts and used for various personal expenses including credit cards and car payments, personal bills and even designer clothes.

And federal prosecutors allege he made false statements on multiple financial disclosure statements filed with the House of Representatives prior to being elected in 2022.

Taken together, the allegations in the indictment charge Santos with relying on repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself, the U.S. attorney said in a statement.

Santos pleaded not guilty to all charges and was released on $500,000 bond. After his successful 2022 election, he was exposed for a series of lies about his personal history.

He lied about attending college, working for powerhouse financial firms, and his mother being present at the World Trade Center during the 9/11 attacks.

SANTOS: Did I embellish my resume? Yes, I did. And I'm sorry.

REID (voice-over): Two veterans accused Santos of raising funds for life savings surgery for their dog, only to keep the money for himself, which Santos denies.

SANTOS: It's an open wound and every time I see him it's like pouring salt into it again. But I'm not in that bad place I was six years ago.

SANTOS: Oh, good morning. Shabbat shalom to everybody.

REID (voice-over): He even about being Jewish and having grandparents who survived the Holocaust.

SANTOS: So, as I said many times and I think you heard me say this, I always joke. I'm Catholic, but I'm also Jew-ish, as in ish.

REID: As one of the conditions of his release, the congressman needs permission to travel anywhere other than New York or Washington. On Thursday, he says he's going to head back to Washington for a vote on a border bill and then his next court hearing is back here in New York on June 30th.

Paula Reid, CNN, Central Islip, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: And good news, scientists are encouraged by the first phase of a trial of a new vaccine against pancreatic cancer. It's based on mRNA technology which is also used in many COVID vaccines. The researchers say that 8 out of 16 patients responded to the treatment which taught their immune systems how to recognize and fight off the cancer cells. They say that a larger trial is still needed. The findings are published in the journal "Nature."

And some promising news for children with peanut allergies. French researchers studied the "Peanut Patch" in kids with the condition who one to three years old. After 12 months, scientists saw changes in two thirds of trial participants.

[04:20:00]

Those with less sensitivity could safely tolerate the equivalent of three to four peanuts. Children with more severe allergies could tolerate about one peanut. Peanut allergy symptoms include vomiting, hives, trouble breathing and sometimes death. The trial involved 362 toddlers in eight countries.

Up next for you, a key inflation report in the U.S. suggests that the Federal Reserve campaign to curb high prices is working. A look at the latest numbers ahead.

Plus, the arrest of Imran Khan sparks nationwide protests in Pakistan. Can the government keep the former Prime Minister's supporters under control or will the violence grow? And the world's most popular search engine is changing. We'll tell you

how -- coming up ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NOBILO: Wednesday's closing bell on Wall Street wrapping a largely positive day for U.S. stocks as investors welcomed cooling inflation data. We also learned that April's Consumer Price Index rose by 4.9 percent year-over-year. And that was slightly below what economists were expecting.

[04:25:00]

And with just a few hours until a new trading day begins, here is a look at where U.S. futures stand right now in positive territory.

Inflation in the U.S. has seen a slow and steady easing with the latest figures signaling that the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes are helping to cool prices. But there's still more work to do. CNN's Matt Egan is following these developments for you from New York.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Bianca, the inflation fire hasn't been put out, but it does increasingly look contained. Consumer prices jumping by 4.9 percent year-over-year in April, that is the smallest increase in exactly two years. There have now been ten consecutive months of cooling prices. Unfortunately, though, the pace of the improvement has slowed. It's basically leveled out. Even though it's currently at a level that is more than twice what the Fed is targeting.

Now on a month-over-month basis, inflation actually heated up between March and April, though a lot of that was driven by a spike in used car prices and that spike is not expected to last.

Digging into the report there were definitely some positives here. A record price drop on an annual basis for major appliances and for health insurance. On an annual basis, used car prices are actually down.

Grocery prices, they're still going up rapidly, but even that has cooled off. On the other hand, car insurance is up more than 15 percent over the last year. And this one is painful to me as a parent, daycare and preschool prices experiencing their biggest percentage spike on record.

So, if you put it all together, inflation is clearly moving in the right direction but the pace of the progress has slowed. And it's still too early to declare victory on inflation. For now investors and economists, they are betting that this latest inflation report very much keeps alive the potential for a pause by the Fed in June. At last check there is about a 99 percent chance priced into the market that the Fed does nothing at all as far as interest rates go at the June 14th meeting. That is up from 79 percent a day ago.

Still though, you know, there's one more jobs report and one additional inflation report due out before the Fed has to decide what it's going to do and as we've learned in this economy, a lot can change in a month -- Bianca.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: Matt Egan there for us.

New warning from the respected economic research firm Moody's about what could happen if Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling and the U.S. defaults on its debt. It says that that would have a disastrous impact on American jobs especially in states with federal workers or workers who rely on government funding and in states that depend on tourism such as Florida and California. It also warns other large states such as Texas could lose hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan will remain in police custody for eight days as he faces multiple corruption charges. He was indicted in one of those cases on Wednesday at a special hearing. Unprecedented protests have escalated across the country since his arrest on Tuesday. Multiple senior members of Khan's political party have also been arrested now. Police report Khan supporters setting fire to vehicles and buildings, storming into military offices, blocking roads and engaging in clashes with officers. CNN producer Sophia Saifi joins me now from Islamabad with more on this. Sophia, is this direct challenge to the military from protesters through violence and opposition unprecedented?

SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN PRODUCER: Bianca, I mean, it happened decades ago. The Pakistani military is very entrenched as an institution in this country. But these protestors are young. They've very shaped by the age of social media. And they're out with a lot of passion for a popular politician like Imran Khan. Have a listen to one of those young men who've been protesting out in the streets -- to have an idea of what the mood is currently like.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIAQAT ALI, PRESIDENT, PTI YOUTH COUNCIL (through translator): He is a thousand times better than these current robber rulers of ours. He does not need to struggle for me. The problems he is facing today are for me, so why should I sit home like a coward?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAIFI: Bianca, the issue is, is that there is an economic crisis in Pakistan. It's been brewing for many, many months. Imran Khan was ousted in that vote of no confidence back in April of last year. He is under custody right now. The army has been called in for security purposes by the federal governments and by the provincial governments of various provinces across the country.

[04:30:02]