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CNN International: Trump, DeSantis Attack Each Other on Campaign Trail; Actor Kevin Spacey Faces London Sexual Assault Trial; U.S. CDC Warns of Potential Resurgence of Malaria; Ukrainian Foreign Minister: Putin Playing Nuclear Fear Game; Ukrainian-Israel Relations Stained Since War Started. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired June 28, 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: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster. If you're just joining us, let me bring you up to date with our top stories this hour.
A travel nightmare once again playing out right before the fourth of July holiday weekend. More than 1,000 flights have been delayed or canceled in or out of the U.S. today. And hundreds of passengers are being left stranded at airports across the Northeast due to severe weather as well.
Plus, Donald Trump's former attorney Rudy Giuliani has given an interview to U.S. federal investigators. The interview is part of the special counsel's investigation into Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
This as the race for the next U.S. president is under way. Republican candidates are pleading their cases to U.S. voters and are attacking one another already. U.S. President Donald Trump is currently leading in opinion polls with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis trailing behind. Kristen Holmes tells us the state of the race.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former President Donald Trump, the current GOP frontrunner, speaking at a luncheon with the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thanks as well to all of the Republican women of the great state of New Hampshire.
RON DESANTIS, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you.
HOLMES (voice-over): And attacking his chief rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
TRUMP: Somebody said, how come you only attack him? I said, because he's in second place. Well, why don't you attack others? Because they're not in second place. But soon I don't think he'll be in second place, so I'll be attacking somebody else.
HOLMES (voice-over): DeSantis taking a less direct approach during his town hall about 40 miles away.
DESANTIS: So the question is -- and I remember these rallies in 2016, it was exciting. Drain the swamp. I also remember, lock her up. Lock her up, right? And then two weeks after the election, oh, don't forget about it. Forget I ever said that. No, no, no.
One thing you'll get from me if I tell you I'm going to do something, I'm not just saying that for an election.
HOLMES (voice-over): As he seeks to make inroads in the crucial first GOP primary state, DeSantis urging voters to look forward, not backwards, and declining to criticize the former president when asked.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some people think that Trump's actions on January 6th and beyond violated the key principles of America and the Constitution set forth by our founding fathers. Do you believe that Trump violated the peaceful transfer of power?
DESANTIS: So here's what I know, if this election is about Biden's failures and our vision for the future, we are going to win. If it's about relitigating things that happened two, three years ago, we're going to lose.
HOLMES (voice-over): DeSantis taking questions from the audience, a tradition of the primary process after not doing so on its first swing through the state.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's your administration going to do to protect our Second Amendment rights, showing that gun laws really don't seem to keep the guns out of the criminals' hands?
DESANTIS: Great questions. Thank you.
HOLMES (voice-over): The competing event prompting the Republican women's group to criticize DeSantis for drawing attention away from the luncheon with Trump, though some members of the group objected to the statement.
TRUMP: It's not really nice, but he's holding an event right now to compete with us.
HOLMES (voice-over): As the Republican primary heats up, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy not saying whether he believes Trump is the strongest candidate for the party to nominate in 2024.
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA smoke will), HOUSE SPEAKER: Can Trump beat Biden? Yes, he can beat Biden.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It makes it complicated if he's got all these trials and all this stuff overhanging the --
MCCARTHY: It makes it complicated. It also helps him. The question is, is he the strongest to win the election? I don't know that answer.
HOLMES (voice-over): Those comments sparking outrage from Trump allies and advisers, who believe the former president helped McCarthy claim the speakership after lobbying GOP hardliners in the House to back him.
[04:35:00]
HOLMES: Now just after the interview on CNBC, McCarthy appearing to play cleanup talking to a conservative news outlet, saying that Trump was stronger now than he was in 2016 and implying that the media was just trying to drive a wedge between the speaker and the former president. But of course McCarthy, as you heard there, that was McCarthy in his own words saying that he didn't know if Trump was the strongest candidate in 2024.
Kristen Holmes, CNN, Concord, New Hampshire.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: The trial of American actor Kevin Spacey on sexual assault charges is set to begin today here in London. The 63-year-old is facing a dozen charges which includes several counts of sexual assault and indecent assault. Prosecutors say these incidents occurred between 2001 and 2013. The two-time Oscar-winner has pleaded not guilty and has denied any wrongdoing.
CNN's Salma Abdelaziz joins me here in London with more. I mean, this is -- I mean, people are quite gripped by this because it seemed to have gone on for such a long time. But obviously, he denies everything.
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He denies everything and he's already shown up in court. I believe we have those images of him walking into the court today. He showed up -- if you can believe it, Max -- two hours early. These images were taken just before 9:00 a.m. The trial has yet to start. It going to start at 10:30 local time. He is absolutely keen, he says to prove his innocence, to reclaim his reputation and to reclaim his career.
Kevin Spacey has throughout maintained that none of these charges are true. That they are fabricated against him and that they have cost him his very important, very award-winning, very successful acting career. So you can see that he stepped up in there very early. He is facing 12 charges of sexual assault. They include indecent assault and causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent. They take place these incidents allegedly between 2001 and 2013.
FOSTER: When he was artistic director here.
ABDELAZIZ: Exactly, and that's the point I was going to come to. Why is he being -- why is he facing these charges here in London? Well, he was the artistic director of the Old Vick Theater between 2004 and 2015. So in those years he really had a very prominent role in London. He considered London to be his home. And the allegations brought forth were by four separate men, four separate individuals, who say that he took advantage essentially of his position. That again, as artistic director of the Old Vick. There were separate battery charges in the United States that he was dismissed of last year, found innocent of last year. He feels I guess emboldened by that. He was speaking to a German publication that just published just a few
weeks ago, speaking again claiming that Hollywood was willing to hire him, they just were too scared to put forward someone like Kevin Spacey who's facing these charges. This trial is going to take four weeks. We're not going to have any results today. But it is an opportunity again for Kevin Spacey and his lawyers to present again what he says is proof of his innocence and for the Crown prosecution here in London to present why the allegations have come forward.
FOSTER: Salma, thank you. We'll get updates through the day.
The U.S. Justice Department reports multiple failures by prison officials gave convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein the opportunity to take his own life. Epstein died at New York City's Metropolitan Correctional Center 35 days after his arrest on charges of sex trafficking minors. Investigators blame the jail for not having guards check on Epstein that night. Allowing him extra bed linens which he used to hang himself and failing to assign him a cell mate after he was placed on suicide watch. But investigators say they found no evidence of any criminal activity linked to Epstein's death.
British actor Julian Sands is being confirmed dead after going missing while hiking in the mountains in southern Florida in January. He was 65 years old. Weather conditions had hindered search efforts in the weeks following his disappearance. But officials announced a renewed push to locate Sands earlier this month and just last week human remains were found in the area.
Just ahead, malaria is back in the United States for the first time in two decades. We'll explain why and what measures you can take to protect yourself from infection.
And Israeli Prime Minister may be planning to visit the Ukrainian capital. How a possible trip could mend strained relations between the two countries, next.
[04:40:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: A U.S. bankruptcy judge has approved Overstock.com's purchase of Bed Bath & Beyond's assets. The $21.5 million deal includes the brand name, intellectual property and ecommerce platform but it doesn't include Bed Bath & Beyond stores and inventory. The troubled retailer filed for bankruptcy protection in April after struggling for years with dwindling sales.
Ford is expected to announce layoffs in U.S. and Canada in the coming days as it shifts its focus to electric vehicles. The company when confirm any specific numbers. The automaker says in March it'll lose $3 billion on sales of electric vehicles this year. But it still expects to meet its profit target of $9 to $11 billion.
And U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning doctors about a possible resurgence of malaria. CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Max, these are the first locally acquired cases of malaria in 20 years. In other words the people who got sick, they haven't traveled outside of the United States, they got bit by a mosquito in the United States.
So let's take a look. It's four cases in Florida and one case in Texas. To put this into perspective, when this happened 20 years ago, it was just eight cases. It was the state of Florida and they managed to spray and do other things so that they didn't have any more than eight cases. And though Florida and Texas have a lot of experience in spraying for mosquitos.
So, what should people be on the lookout for? If you have certain symptoms like a fever, for example, chills, headache, body aches, and feeling generally unwell, you can go to the doctor and say hey, could this be malaria. Chances are it's not. But you can tell the doctor, you know, I've heard that there is malaria in the United States, is it possible that this is malaria? Also if you get treated quickly enough, there are anti-malaria drugs that really work quite well.
Now let's talk about prevention for a minute. Here's what people ought to be doing. They ought to be wearing mosquito repellent, wearing long sleeves and pants, and remove standing water. If you've got standing water in your yard, mosquitoes love that. Yet rid of it so that they have fewer places to breed -- Max.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Thank you to Elizabeth there.
Now and the top international stories we're following this hour. Four died and three are missing after landslides hit southwest China on Tuesday. State media say the landslides were triggered by sudden rainstorms and flash flooding in the area. Nearly 1,000 have been evacuated and hundreds of search and rescue workers deployed. But the threat isn't over. Local meteorological department says 21 counties could see heavy rain and landslides today.
[04:45:00]
And in Egypt, at least five people have died including a child and four others are injured after a 14-story building collapsed in Alexandria. State media say prosecutors have issued an order to detain two people in connection with the collapse. A lawmaker tells state media there are dozens of old inhabited buildings in Alexandria at risk of crumbling.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says Ukrainian officials expected an inside rebellion against Moscow but didn't know when it would happen. CNN's Erin Burnett sat down for an exclusive interview with the minister, who says Prigozhin may have been the first but may certainly won't be the last to defy the Russian president.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Has the rebellion in Russia, as you've seen over just these past few days -- and I know it's sort of still the fog and chaos of it, but has it changed anything on the frontlines?
You know, I spoke to a drone operator, a Ukrainian drone operator, he's operating near Bakhmut. And he was saying on Saturday, they felt a palpable panic from the Russians. But that it then subsequently returned to what he said would be, quote/unquote, normal in terms of their behavior.
DMYTRO KULEBA, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: If this mutiny had lasted for 48 hours more, I -- I'm pretty certain we would have felt a demoralizing impact on the Russian forces fighting in the south and east of Ukraine. Unfortunately, Prigozhin gave up too quickly. So there was no time for this he stable or the demoralizing effect to penetrate Russian trenches.
But nevertheless, you know this was not the factor that our forces were counting on. It was like a force majeure. So it doesn't change anything in our plans as we continue our counteroffensive.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: But the Foreign Minister admits Vladimir Putin still has one card up his sleeve and that is Russia's nuclear weapons. He warns us again, Western countries do not want to play with Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: In the context of Putin's situation right now, do you think that his decision to use nuclear forces in some way is a real possibility?
KULEBA: Frankly, I believe that the fear of nuclear weapons is the last argument Putin has in his pocket. I think it's nothing more than a fear game, because Putin loves life too much.
KULEBA: And people around him love life even more. And, of course, we are not wizards to speak about, you know, to forecast future developments. But the West will make a big mistake if it decides to play the nuclear fear game with Putin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Thank you to Erin for that interview.
Israeli Prime Minister reportedly in the early stages of planning a visit for Kyiv. Relations between Israel and Ukraine have been strained since the war began with Ukraine accusing Israel of taking a neutral stance on the invasion. CNN's Hadas Gold joins me live from Jerusalem. Just explain the background here -- Hadas.
HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Max, I spoke with the Ukrainian ambassador to Israel yesterday who confirmed that they are in early plans, discussions, for Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Kyiv. It would be of course his first visit to the Ukrainian capital since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.
And it comes during a tense time between Ukraine and Israel relations. Ukrainian Israel there's always been a tension in that relationship because of Israel's position on the war. Now Israel has expressed support for Ukraine, voted in their favor in the United Nations, but they haven't gone so far as to provide defensive equipment to Ukraine. They often cite their own security concerns because of Russia's presence in Syria on their northern border.
But the tension between Ukrainian and Israel really came into full front a few days ago when the Ukrainian embassy in Israel issued really a scathing statement. Saying that in reality on the ground, the so-called neutrality of Israel's government is considered as a clear pro-Russian position. Now the embassy cited recent diplomatic negotiations between Russia and Israel about Russia's presence in Jerusalem.
And they also cited statements made by Benjamin Netanyahu in an interview with the "Jerusalem Post." in which he said Israel had held back on sending weapons to Ukraine because they are afraid that these weapons could somehow fall into the hands of the Iranians or the Syrians and be used against Israel.
[04:50:00]
Saying that he had asserted such a scenario had happened with the Western antitank weapons that he says we now find on our border. So we have to be very careful here now.
The Ukrainian ambassador to Israel, when I spoke to him, he actually took great offense to the statements. Saying that he wants to hear an explanation from the Israelis about why Netanyahu made those statements. And he said that he won't get that explanation because the Israeli foreign ministry actually summoned the Ukrainian ambassador for talks next week as a result of this scathing statement. But when I asked the ambassador about that summoning, he sort of chuckled and said, clearly, they're not in a rush because they are summoning me for next week. And this statement was made just a few days ago and he thinks by then the tensions should calm.
But he did say that visit by Netanyahu to Kyiv would go a long way to repairing the relations. Now when I asked the Prime Minister's office about this possible visit, they said no decision has been made yet. But something the Ukrainian ambassador to Israel told me that was interesting. He said, you know, Netanyahu has been waiting for an invitation to the White House for some time. And the Ukrainian ambassador says that he believes the fastest way to that invitation is through Kyiv -- Max.
FOSTER: OK, Hadas Gold in Jerusalem, thank you.
And coming up, a fresco found in the ruins of one ancient city appears to depict what may be an ancestor of the Italian pizza. More on the discovery next.
[04:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:00:07]
FOSTER: That is the moment a chimpanzee named Vanilla saw blue skies for the first time. The other chimps in a chimpanzee sanctuary seem to want to share the moment with her as well. Save the Champs says Vanilla spent much of her life inside a small cage at a now defunct research lab in New York.
And the stories in the spotlight this hour. A new host will be spinning the Wheel of Fortune next year. Sony Pictures television says Ryan Seacrest will take over for Pat Sajak who is retiring after 41 years. Seacrest has hosted American Idol for 21 seasons. He signed a multiyear deal to host Wheel of Fortune and will also serve as consulting producer for the show.
A fresco found in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii appears to depict what may be a distant relative of the modern-day Italian pizza. The painting was discovered in the hall of a house that had a bakery attached to it. Archaeologists presumed that flatbread depicted in the fresco, may have been eaten with fruit or dressed with spices and a type of pesto sauce. Pompeii was destroyed by a volcanic eruption nearly 2,000 years ago.
Pepsi has come up with its first ever condiment for the July 4th hot dogs. The soda maker has introduced "Pepsi Colashup." It's a special sauce infused with Pepsi and other ingredients, including smoked tomatoes, cinnamon, thyme and oregano. It was developed with the Culinary Institute of America. The sauce will only be available on July 4th at Major League ballparks in Phoenix, Detroit, Minneapolis and Yankee stadium.
Thanks for joining me here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster in London. "EARLY START" with Christine is next here on CNN.
