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CNN International: U.S. Judge Rules Anti-Drag Show Law Unconstitutional; Prince Harry to Give Evidence in London Court; Hollywood Director Reach Tentative Deal with Studios. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired June 05, 2023 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, Britain's Prince Harry is about to doing some no senior has done in a while. We'll have a live report on the lawsuit against a British tabloid publisher.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

FOSTER: I'm Max Foster. Let's bring you up to date with the top stories this hour.

The NTSB will begin investigating the site of a small plane crash in southwest Virginia. Police say no survivors have been found so far. The crash happened the plane came close to the U.S. Capitol which caused a response from the U.S. military who sent fighter jets to intercept it.

And Russia said it has repelled a, quote, large-scale Ukrainian offensive in southern Donetsk Region. Moscow says Ukraine tried to push through a vulnerable frontline area with tanks and armored vehicles. It's unclear that it was a counsel offensive rather than a way to test Russia's defenses.

NOBILO: The LBGTQ community and the U.S. state of Tennessee is celebrating a legal victory just in time for Pride Month. A federal judge there has ruled the law limiting public drag shows is constitutional. The judge, appointed by former President Donald Trump, says the law restricts freedom of speech. But conservative lawmakers say they aren't done fighting back. CNN's Isabel Rosales reports.

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ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A federal judge Thomas Parker has now barred Shelby County -- Memphis is in Shelby County -- from enforcing this law.

Saying in part of his 70-page ruling, quote, as a matter of text alone, the Adult Entertainment Act is a content and viewpoint-based restriction on speech. The ADA was passed from the impermissible purpose of chilling constitutionally-protected speech. We did receive a statement from the Republican Tennessee Attorney

General Jonathan Skrmetti, and here's what he said in part.

[04:35:00]

The scope of this law has been misrepresented in public by those more interested in pressing a narrative than in reading the statutory text. The Adult Entertainment Act remains in effect outside of Shelby County. This narrowly tailored law prevents minors from exposure to sexually explicit performances.

Skrmetti also saying that his office is reviewing that order and that they do plan to appeal at an appropriate time.

CNN spoke with one of the co-hosts of HBO original series "We're Here." A Tennessee native Eureka O'Hara. Here's what they said.

EUREKA O'HARA, DRAG PERFORMER: And drag was such an expression of who we are and freedom of who we are. So, to be, you know, co-put into a box with something so sexually explicit. It really just kind of demeaned the message that I was doing, especially for my work, specifically with "We're Here." So, it was sad and in time.

ROSALES: And earlier this year, Tennessee Republicans, who hold a super majority if the state legislature, passed this measure. Later on it was signed into law by the Republican governor Bill Lee. And here's what the law sought to do.

Specifically to limit adult cabaret performances on public property in order to shield children from viewing them. It threatened violators with a misdemeanor. And then repeat offenders with a felony. The ban also specifically included, quote, male and female impersonator who performed in a way that was harmful to minors. Originally this law was set to go into effect April 1st.

And that least in the case of Shelby County, that is not the case for now.

Isabel Rosales, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Prince Harry is expected in London's High Court earlier this week at some point. As he and others sue a British tabloid. The trial resumes today in a lawsuit against the publisher of the "Daily Mirror."

NOBILO: The suit accuses Mirror Group Newspapers of unlawful activities, including phone hacking to obtain private information. Harry would be the first British royal to testify in court in around 100 years. Maybe Max's thoughts on that one we can gain from.

FOSTER: Princess Anna appeared when one if her dogs bit someone.

Well, let's bring in CNN's Nada Bashir live for us outside the High Court. Nada, just the headline elements of this case and why you think Harry is appearing.

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, this is something that is deeply personal to Prince Harry. He has, of course, been very vocal on wanting to reform media practices, invasion of privacy. And he is now among more than 100 claimants suing the Mirror Group Newspapers over allegations that they published articles between 1991 to 2011, featuring both personal details, personal information solicited through unlawful means and invasion of privacy, mainly through phone hacking.

Now Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has been selected among four representative claimants to give evidence. Now the court here behind me is going to be hearing these claims over the next three days. It's unclear which of these days Prince Harry will appear in the stands to give evidence. But of course, this is something that he has been very vocal about.

And we've already heard from the Mirror Group Newspapers. They've contested these allegations. They say that their senior editors were not aware of any wrongdoing at the time of these claims. And in fact, they say that some of these claims have been brought too late to be considered by the court.

But this is a case which featured more than 100 claimants. Very notable figures, celebrities, sports stars, other notable high-profile figures including Prince Harry. Who all allege that the Mirror Group Newspapers invaded their privacy in order to publish these details featuring personal information.

Now course, Prince Harry has expressed that he wishes to settle this. And of course, he doesn't want to settle, he wants to see this through. He wants to see a reform of media practices for those responsible to be held accountable. He's been very vocal in the past, in his book "Spare," in his Netflix documentary and other interviews about his feelings towards the media and that invasion of privacy. Particularly, of course, over how this has impacted his own mental health, that of his wife Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex. And of course, crucially that of his late mother Princess Diana. So, this is a hugely personal issue.

But Prince Harry will be in the stands with a very different environment of what we have seen in the past where he has given interviews to perhaps people he is more familiar with and more comfortable circumstances. He will face questioning and cross- examination during this court hearing. When he does give evidence, the concern, of course, potentially for the royal family there could be revealing of further personal details not only his personal reasons for that, of royal family as well.

FOSTER: OK, Nada, thank you for joining us outside the High Court. I think it, I mean, it potentially exposes him in the sense, you know, this is a cross-examination. Harry would be cross-examined and he's used to being cross-examined by journalists. But these are top barristers getting into the details.

NOBILO: But also is he really being cross-examined by journalists? Because I think there probably a much lighter touch than the kind of cross-examination that we'd be expecting from the defense.

[04:40:02]

What impact could this potentially have on the already strained relationship between him and the rest of his family?

FOSTER: There's more detail that comes out, for example, he said, did he, earlier in this case that William had settled out of court with a newspaper group and that was really embarrassing to the royal family. So, I think they're just ready for any embarrassing things to come out. And I think we probably won't get any comment from them either on any of that.

NOBILO: Still ahead, Hollywood directors reach a tentative deal with the big studios but no such luck yet for the writers. We'll have those details.

FOSTER: Plus, on the heels of one successful launch, SpaceX is preparing to do it again. We'll talk about the company's next venture ahead.

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FOSTER: An update on a story we're following out of India. A young man has been found unconscious but alive by workers after restoring damaged track following Friday's train derailment. That's according to CNN affiliate, CNN News 18. We're told the man was found near the site of the accident and is being rushed to the hospital for serious head and hand injuries.

NOBILO: At least 275 people were killed and more than 1,000 injured in the accident. Authorities blame the number of casualties on the train's high-speed impact. We'll have a live report from the scene of the crash coming up soon on "EARLY START."

FOSTER: Clinical research offering new hope to some lung cancer patients. Clinical trial results just released showed that a pill taken daily after surgery can cut in half the risk of death from the most common form of the disease. The drug also reduced the risk of recurrence in patients. Lung cancer accounts for about 1.8 million deaths worldwide each year.

NOBILO: Hollywood directors have reached a tentative deal with movie and television studios on wages, work hours, the use of A.I. and more. This comes the Hollywood writers strike continues. CNN's Chloe Melas has the details.

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CHLOE MELAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The DGA is calling this a, quote, "truly historic deal." But what's in that deal? Well, I'm going to break that down for you.

[04:45:00]

There are 19,000 Directors Guild members, and they wanted more money. They wanted artificial intelligence and streaming concerns to be addressed. And it looks like they got that.

So there's going to be a 5 percent wage increase in the first year. Assistant directors are going to see their workdays cut by an hour. We have been hearing that many members in multiple guilds feel not only overworked but underpaid.

Something that is interesting is that in the contract, it also bans live ammunition on the set. This is coming a little over a year after what happened on the set of "Rust," with cinematographer Halyna Hutchins being killed by a live round of ammunition that somehow got its way onto set and in that prop gun that actor Alec Baldwin was holding.

When it comes to artificial intelligence, the agreement would also put into writing a clause about the use of A.I., stating, quote, A.I. is not a person and that generative A.I. cannot replace duties performed by members.

And, for the first time, global streaming video on demand residuals would be paid on the number of international subscribers. So, this results in a 76 percent increase in foreign residuals for the biggest services.

So, this is tentative. This is going to be submitted to the guild's national board in a meeting on Tuesday. But, again, we still have the writers on strike. We still have SAG that's currently figuring out their own deal. And this is important, because the content that we all watch and we consume, this is -- this means we need directors. We need writers. We need actors to do that.

So, the Writers Guild has come out and said that they support their friends in the DGA, but that they are still holding out for their own deal and for their own agreement on wages and residuals and concerns with A.I.

So we'll see. You know, I've had writers telling me that they think the writers' strike could go through the summer.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: An airline passenger is charged with endangering an aircraft after a Delta flight from France to U.S. had to be diverted to Canada on Friday. Authorities say a 34-year-old man was acting in an unruly manner and believed he was under the influence of alcohol.

NOBILO: The flight, which was headed from Paris to Detroit, Michigan, landed in Newfoundland. The passenger was arrested there and has a court appearance later on today.

FOSTER: In just a few hours, NASA and SpaceX is expected to launch a resupply mission to the International Space Station. It will carry food, science equipment and new energy producing solar panels for the ISS crew. That will follow successful launch on Sunday.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we're start the Starlink 6-4, go Starlink, go, Falcon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: SpaceX there launching its Falcon 9 rocket from Florida carrying 22 miniature Starlink satellites. That launch marks the third flight for this reusable Falcon booster. And there it is, coming back down and sticking to a landing.

FOSTER: Just ahead, Nikola Jokic delivers a masterful performance in game two of the NBA finals. But was it enough to help the Denver Nuggets when the game? We'll have the highlights.

[04:50:00]

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FOSTER: In game two of the NBA finals the Miami Heat withstood a scoring onslaught from Denver's Nikola Jokic. As they defeated the Denver Nuggets 111-108 on Sunday to tie the series at one game each. Miami got off to a hot start as Denver came back with 45-14 run in the second quarter to take control of the game. The Heat answered with a run of their own to regain the lead in the fourth and take the victory. Miami's Jimmy Butler scored 21 points. And after the game, he explained his team's mind-set to reporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY BUTLER, MIAMI HEAT FORWARD: We're not worried about what anybody thinks. We're so focused in on what we do well and who we are as a group. That at the end of the day, that's what we fall back on. Make or miss shots we're going to be who we are. Because we're not worried about anybody else. That's how it's been all year long. And that's not going to change. So, that's what I think it is. I think it's the I don't give a damn factor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Denver's two-time MVP Nikola Jokic finished with 41 points and he became the first center in NBA history to record more than 500 points and 100 assists in a single postseason. But his performance wasn't enough to secure the victory. After the game Denver head coach Mike Malone told reporters his team knew why they lost.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE MALONE, DENVER NUGGETS HEAD COACH: And I asked the team. I asked our players, you guys tell me why we lost. They knew the answer. Miami came in here and outworked us. And we were, by far, the least disciplined game of 16 or 17 playoff games, whatever it is now. So many breakdowns and they exploited every one of those breakdowns and scored. So, if we're going to try to go down there and regain control of this series and get home court advantage back, we're going to have to outwork Miami -- which we didn't do tonight. And that discipline is going to have to be off the charts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Tennis star, Novak Djokovic, has advanced to the French Open quarterfinals for a record 17th time. He defeated Peru's Juan Pablo Varillas on Sunday, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. The Serbian player is now inching closer to a record-breaking 23rd grand slam title. He's currently tied with Rafael Nadal with 22. Djokovic will face Russia's 11th seeded Karen Khachanov on Tuesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

First, AC Milan's Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

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AC Milan's star Zlatan Ibrahimovic announced his retirement from football on Sunday after the club's 3-1 season finale victory over Verona. They held a brief ceremony after the game to honor the 41- year-old Swedish star. Ibrahimovic played for nine different clubs during his 24-year career, scoring a total of 561 goals for club and country. He also leave leads as Sweden's all-time leading goal scorer.

NOBILO: And the stories in the spotlight this hour.

[04:55:00]

New consumer technology will be introduced by Apple today. The technology giant is expected to unveil a mixed reality headset.

FOSTER: The headset is expected to offer both virtual reality and augmented reality. The latter is when virtual images are placed over the reality you that look at in live images. Now, Apple is also expected to launch a new 15-inch MacBook Air and outline its entry into artificial intelligence as well. Better late than never, I guess.

Sony's latest animated "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" dominated the box office over the weekend showing much better than the film's character.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Miles Morales. I'm Brooklyn's the one and only Spider-Man. And things are going great.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ok, you were supposed to be here at 5:00.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, whatever.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whatever? Whatever?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Whatever. A sequel to 2018's "Into the Spider-Verse." The movie follows a new Spider-Man fighting alongside heroes from across the multi-verse attempting to blaze his own path despite his iconic name.

NOBILO: The film made more than $120 million in the U.S. over the weekend. More than three times for the first film. That makes this the largest opening of a film so far and second largest of the year.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just ran into some people outside of our house.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I understand, I understand. Look, in order to do that I'm really going to have to get to know you guys. You know, we got to get closer. Move in with you for a while. Get to be a real pal. You know what I'm saying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: More details coming out about the upcoming sequel for the classic 1988 film "Beetlejuice." Star Michael Keaton told British film magazine "Empire," that he and director Tim Burton plan to make it exactly like they first made the movie. Apparently, that mean a lot of improvising, riffing and using practical effects. Keaton says making the sequel is the most fun he's had working on a movie in a long time. And it's expected to be released in September of next year.

FOSTER: A tough want to follow up.

Thanks for joining us here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster.

NOBILO: And I'm Bianca Nobilo. "EARLY START" is next.

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