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Eight Lawyers Charged With Helping Trump Break The Law; Trump Facing 91 Criminal Charges In Four Criminal Cases; Poland Holds Military Parade Amid Tensions With Belarus; North Korea Speaks Out About Travis King For First Time; Deep Brain Stimulation Helps Stroke Patient Move Again; Singapore Researchers Develop "Mind-Reading'' Technology; Madonna Reschedules Postponed Shows After Health Scare. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired August 16, 2023 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:31]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church, and This is CNN NEWSROOM.

Just ahead, former U.S. President Donald Trump is promising a "major news conference" next week about the 2020 election in Georgia, just days before he is due to surrender on charges stemming from his attempts to overturn that vote.

Ukraine says Russia is using foreign ships in the latest drones fired at civilian targets.

And Madonna reschedules her celebration to a dates that had been postponed after a health scare earlier this month.

Well, the countdown is on for Donald Trump, who has less than 10 days to turn himself into Georgia authorities. The former president received a historic fourth indictment on Monday. He's been charged with 13 counts in a case alleging he and 18 others, scheme to subvert Georgia's 2020 presidential election results.

According to the Fulton County sheriff, Trump is expected to turn himself in at the county jail.

In the meantime, he has announced a "major news conference" coming next Monday, about his false claims that there was widespread fraud in Georgia during the presidential elections.

Trump's former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has wasted no time, attempting to have the Georgia case move to federal court. According to new court filings. Meadows argues he is entitled to federal immunity since the Georgia charges stem from his time serving the sitting president.

Well, among the 19 defendants charged in the Georgia election case, are eight lawyers who either worked for or were somehow connected to Donald Trump.

CNN's Jessica Schneider has more on how those who took an oath to uphold the law could potentially be found guilty of breaking it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, charging 19 people for crimes in the alleged criminal enterprise to overturn the 2020 election. And eight of them are lawyers, professionally obligated to follow the law, but now accused of breaking it.

Already, at least one, is now claiming the D.A. is criminalizing the practice of law.

JENNA ELLIS, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY: It is irredeemably compromise.

SCHNEIDER: Trump campaign attorney Jenna Ellis, who is front and center falsely claiming widespread election fraud, posted online defending her actions.

Rudy Giuliani also shot back on his radio show.

RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER ATTORNEY TO PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: This is all protected free speech. This is what you're allowed to do to contest an election. This is what a lawyer is allowed to do in representing a client.

SCHNEIDER: Giuliani is charged with 13 counts in the indictment, more than any other defendant except Trump. In a statement, he calls the charges, "an affront to American democracy."

But former federal prosecutor, Elliot Williams, points out someone's status as an attorney doesn't give them carte blanche to break the law.

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: An attorney can provide legal representation to a client, as long as they are not urging that client to commit a crime, or committing a crime themself. And the mere fact that these individuals were attorneys, doesn't somehow absolve them.

SCHNEIDER: Giuliani is charged as part of a broader racketeering charge as part of the broader racketeering conspiracy encompassing all 19 defendants. But he's also facing several additional charges, including making false statements to the Georgia House and Senate, when he testified in 2020 about bogus voter fraud claims, and urged state lawmakers to overturn the results.

GIULIANI: There are 10 ways to demonstrated this election was stolen, that the votes were phony, dead people, felons, phony ballots, phony mail-in ballots.

SCHNEIDER: Other pro-Trump attorney is also charged include John Eastman, and Kenneth Chesebro, who outlined a plan to get Vice President Mike Pence to block the certification of the election on January 6th. And, Jeffrey Clark, a top Justice Department official who drafted a letter that he hoped the DOJ would send to various state leaders, including in Georgia, falsely proclaiming fraud in their states.

ROBERT CHEELEY, TRUMP LAWYER: Regarding this voter fraud at State Farm Arena was deliberately planned, it had to be.

[02:05:01]

SCHNEIDER: Robert Cheeley was a lawyer who worked with Trump's team to promote voter fraud claims. He is also been charged, along with Trump campaign attorney Ray Smith.

RAY SMITH, TRUMP LAWYER: 2,506 felons voted illegally in Georgia.

SCHNEIDER: And Sidney Powell has been charged with seven crimes, including her alleged involvement in the scheme to break into voting machines in Coffee County, Georgia. She repeatedly and falsely declared Dominion voting systems as fraudulent, in the weeks and months after the election.

SIDNEY POWELL, TRUMP ATTORNEY: And that's when the Dominion operators went in and injected votes and changed the whole system.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER: And Dominion is now suing Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani for defamation. So, their legal troubles have only been compounded by this latest criminal case out of Georgia.

In the meantime, John Eastman's attorney is also responding, saying the activity in this latest indictment is political and not criminal. Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.

CHURCH: Joining me now is Miles Taylor, former chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and author of the new book "Blowback". Appreciate you being with us.

MILES TAYLOR, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Thanks, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, we're all witness to an historic moment in this country, a former U.S. president facing a fourth indictment, confronting a total of 91 criminal charges. And this latest indictment is different, of course, to the others in the Trump faces state charges. So, he won't be able to pardon himself or his allies if he wins the 2024 presidential election. But he may actually try to move this to a federal court as Mark Meadows is trying to do.

So, what does all this mean for Trump both politically and legally?

TAYLOR: Well, I mean, let's hone in on that operative number, Rosemary. 91 felony charges is 91 more charges than any former president has ever faced.

And so, we're already in uncharted territory times 91. And that's what's confounding, not just about this case, but the three that came before it is we don't really have a playbook for how this plays out with an American president.

And Donald Trump is going to try to use that to his legal advantage, but also to his political advantage. So, he is going to try to convince the courts to give him special treatment, because it's exceptional and historical precedent.

And he's also going to try to convince voters in the GOP base and across the country, that these are political charges, and not based on facts. I think he's going to have a hard time doing that with the broader public. But so far, it looks like that's resonating with Republican voters.

CHURCH: Yes, it does. And federal prosecutors have focused specifically on Trump in previous indictments in an effort to move this along quickly. While Georgia prosecutors went big, didn't they?

District Attorney Fanny Willis, invoking the state's RICO Act on racketeering, naming Trump and 18 other defendants. Now, that will likely slow the legal process down. But is this approach problematic? Or is it genius for laying out the breadth and the depth of these alleged crimes?

TAYLOR: Well, I mean, if you go and you look through the indictment, it's extremely thorough. It's extremely well documented, and their evidence isn't speculative. I mean, their evidence is damning, and it's based off of testimony that they've received over many, many months, from officials at all levels of government.

But what's really crucial here, Rosemary, is that the vast majority of the prosecutors, witnesses are Republicans. They are people who served within the Republican Party, people who are elected Republican leaders, people within the president's own administration, and in the U.S. Senate that are Republicans. And that's what I think is going to be really difficult for Donald Trump, especially, if this case moves into a trial that as we know, in Georgia is likely to be televised. As you're going to see, like you did with the January 6 hearings, a parade of Republican officials saying that the president of the United States was trying to get them to do something that at best was corrupt, and at worst was criminal.

And so, I think this shotgun approach with the vast array of charges that could be applicable gives the prosecutor likely more opportunity to make some of those charges stick. But more importantly than that, it seems very consistent with the reality, which is that a great number of violations of the law occurred in the course of this effort to overturn the election.

CHURCH: And Miles, what got lost in the frenzy of this historic moment? Was the dozen also former GOP legal officials, urging and endorsing a speedy trial date in Trump's federal January 6 case on election interference charges, siding with the special counsel in a formal brief that was filed on Monday.

[02:10:07] These conservative legal experts say it's critical that Trump gets a speedy trial in January 2024, because delaying the start date could imperil American democracy is what they're saying.

So, presumably, they feel the same way about this latest indictment. What is your reaction to that?

TAYLOR: Well, look, I think that's absolutely right. And I would say that right now, if Donald Trump wins the GOP nomination, with these charges still hanging over his head, it puts the Republican Party in an extraordinary bind.

And I think you may end up in a situation where people are calling for a brokered convention or trying to find other ways to potentially replace a nominee, who may not be able to assume the presidency, but much worse than that, and the greater concern of those conservative legal scholars is what if Donald Trump wins the presidency? And he wins the race? And that's very viable.

I mean, at this point, the betting markets still have him at a 30 percent chance of winning the presidency in 2024, then, we are in a likely moment of constitutional crisis, if somewhere in that window he's convicted, in what you know, rightfully, Rosemary is a potentially pardon proof case.

You could end up hypothetically with an American president that serving from jail. This is the type of thing that the Republican Party wants to avoid or needs to avoid. This is the type of thing the country desperately needs to avoid.

CHURCH: Miles Taylor, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.

TAYLOR: Thanks, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Ukraine is bolstering its defenses against Russia along the eastern front lines. On Tuesday, Kyiv set aside more than $30 million to build up fortifications in the Northeast, and said, it has reinforced positions near Kharkiv.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, visited troops taking part in the counter offensive in the Zaporizhzhia region in the south east.

Elsewhere in Europe, Poland held its largest military parade in decades on Tuesday, flexing its military muscle as Russia's war on Ukraine looms over the region.

More now from CNN's Fred Pleitgen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A massive show of force in central Warsaw. Poland gearing up for its annual military day parade just as tensions in the country's border with Belarus, NATO's eastern flank are rising. Russia and Belarus are increasing the pressure on our borders, the prime minister says. They are increasing the number of provocations and we have to be aware that that number will continue to rise.

Poland claims Belarusian helicopters recently violated its airspace even though Minsk denies this. But Warsaw is also concerned about the presence of Russian mercenaries from the Wagner private military company fresh from the battlefield in Ukraine, now inside Belarus training the Belarusian military in some cases just a few miles from Poland's border.

In a meeting with Vladimir Putin, Belarusian strongman Aleksandr Lukashenko claiming, the fighters want to invade Poland.

The Wagner Group guys are starting to stress, he says. Allow us to go west. I said, why do you need it to go west? We're silently watching what is going on. We'll go for a sightseeing tour to Warsaw and Chechnya.

That may be typical bluster from Lukashenko, but Wagner mercenaries are some of the toughest and most successful troops on Russia's side.

Fighting hard during the battle for Bakhmut while taking immense losses, the U.S. says.

Poland is reacting saying it will send around 10,000 troops with tanks and other heavy armor to the eastern border to support the border guards already on duty there.

We have to be ready for any scenario, the defense minister says. We do not exclude any and that is why we decided to move the army closer to the border with Belarus to strengthen the border and scare away the aggressor.

Poland's eastern border has been a flashpoint for at least two years. In 2021, Belarus lured thousands of migrants mostly from Iraq to the area falsely promising entry into the European Union and kicking off a major crisis.

Now, Russia says it will beef up forces on its own western border blaming Poland.

Poland has become the main instrument of the United States' anti- Russian policy, the defense minister says. These threats to Russia's military security require a timely, adequate response.

[02:15:03]

Poland prides itself on being a strong ally of the U.S. on NATO's eastern flank, one that won't back down in the face of threats from Belarus or from Russia.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: CNN's Nada Bashir joins us now live from London. Good morning

to you, Nada. So, Ukraine says that Russia is using foreign ships in drones fired on civilian targets. What more are you learning about this?

NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL REPORTER: Well, that we have heard from the Ukrainian authorities, specifically focusing on these recent missile attacks that we've seen from the Russian Armed Forces, targeting Ukrainian territory. We saw on Tuesday, devastating attacks on the western city of Lviv.

Missile attacks, being targeted, according to the Russian Defense Ministry at Ukrainian military infrastructure. But of course, we know that there were civilians injured in those attacks, according to the Ukrainian authorities.

But what has emerged from these attacks, according to those Ukrainian authorities, is that they believe they found 30 foreign chips within these missiles, which they say were manufactured in Russia this year.

Now, at this stage, the Ukrainian authorities are working, they say, with their international partners to gather more information around these chips, to find out where specifically they weren't manufactured.

But the message from the Ukrainian authorities is that this is a clear signal that restrictions needs to be strengthened. They want sanctions against Russia and against Russia's partners to be strengthened by the international communities in order to prevent the manufacturing, and of course, the sending of these crucial components of these missiles to the Russian Armed Forces, to prevent these missiles from being manufactured in Russia.

They say they were manufactured in April of this year. So, not too long ago. But, of course, we're also learning about the Russian manufacturing of drones and their military capabilities on that front. Over the last few weeks, we've seen the use of drones, particularly, Iranian made Shahed drones used by the Russian Armed Forces to devastating effect on Ukrainian territory.

And just in the last hour, we've had an intelligence update from the U.K. Ministry of Defense. I can read you just a little bit about that update. They say Russia has almost certainly started to deploy domestically produced one way attack on crude aerial vehicles, or in other words, drones.

And that this indigenous manufacturing of these drones will allow Russia to establish a more reliable source of these drones. We've seen them, of course, relying heavily on those Iranian made Shahed drones in the past.

Well, this will certainly up their capabilities, according to the U.K. Ministry of Defense. Now, we are real concern for Ukraine as this counter offensive continues.

We heard yesterday from the Ukrainian deputy defense minister saying that this is going to be a long fight, calling on the Ukrainian civilians, warning Ukraine this will be a long fight ahead that they must be prepared for.

CHURCH: Nada Bashir, many thanks.

Well, the London Metropolitan Police Service has issued a statement, offering some details on its arrest of three suspected spies. The statement follows a Tuesday BBC report, claiming three people were arrested earlier this year in the U.K. on charges of spying for Russia.

The BBC says all three are still being held in custody. The match confirmed the names and ages of the people listed in the BBC report, but said only that they were charged with possessing false identity documents with improper intention. The Met did not say if the charges were related to Russia.

The U.N. warns the situation in Sudan is spiraling out of control, as more than a million people have fled the country after months of fighting. We'll have the latest on the conflict just ahead.

And the death toll is ticking up again in Maui, as crews scour neighborhoods demolished by the fire.

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CHURCH: At least 27 people have been killed in Libya and more than 100 injured in heavy clashes between two powerful groups in the capital Tripoli.

The fighting broke out Monday after a top commander was detained by the rival faction. The reason for his detention remains unclear, but he was released Tuesday after an agreement with the government.

The U.S. embassy in Libya expressed concern over the clashes and called on both sides to deescalate the situation.

Well, now to a grim discovery in Sudan. A government forum in west Darfur, with representatives from all ethnic groups in the region says there is evidence of 30 mass graves across the state, with more than 1,000 people buried in them. The group claims some of the bodies were dumped by the paramilitary rapid support forces and allied militia.

A top Sudanese official says the country needs a caretaker government to help stabilize the situation there. He also proposed a ceasefire between the Sudanese army and paramilitary forces after four months of fighting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MALIK AGAR, DEPUTY CHAIRMAN, TRANSITIONAL SOVEREIGN COUNCIL, SUDAN (through translator): The situation necessitates us to form a government to run the wheel of the state, to carry out a couple basic tasks, to provide services and rebuild what was destroyed by the war, to work with the political forces, to structure and establish the state, and to prepare the environment for a constituent and constitutional conference that will lead us to elections in the peaceful exchange of power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The International Organization for Migration says more than a million people have fled the fighting and crossed into neighboring countries since April. And more than 3 million are internally displaced within Sudan.

The Taliban are celebrating the anniversary of their return to power in Afghanistan. Tuesday mark two years since Taliban fighters seized Kabul, as U.S. troops withdrew after two decades of war.

In those two years, the Taliban have ruled the country with an increasingly iron grip, systematically restricting the rights of Afghan women and girls. And that's drawn harsh condemnation from the international community, with the U.N. Global Education envoy, saying, it warrants a criminal investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORDON BROWN, GLOBAL EDUCATION ENVOY, UNITED NATION: The legal opinion we have received shows that the denial of education to Afghan girls and employment to Afghan women is gender discrimination, which should count as a crime against humanity, and it should be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Since the Taliban returned to power, they have borrowed girls older than 12 from attending school, and have kept most women from working or leaving the house without a male guardian.

For the first time since a U.S. soldier went AWOL and sprinted into North Korea, state media has confirmed he is in the country. Here what else they are saying about Travis King.

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[02:27:02]

North Korea says the U.S. army private who darted into its territory was seeking refuge after being mistreated by the American military. This is the first time the North has confirmed Travis King is in the country. According to state media, King admitted he entered illegally. The Pentagon says the priority is bringing him home.

And CNN's Paula Hancocks, joins us now live from Seoul. Good to see you, Paula. So, what's the significance of North Korea raising this issue at this time? And what more did they say about U.S. soldier Travis King?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemarie, it is significant. And the fact that we have not heard from North Korea, they have not publicly acknowledged until today that they even have Travis King in their territory. Now, what we have heard is all through state run media KCNA. And they claim that Travis King said that he crossed the military demarcation line and crossed into North Korea, because of racism within the US military.

That the exact quote from that article is he harbored ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. Army."

Also saying that he had wanted to claim refuge in North Korea or in a third country. Now, it has to be pointed out this is not coming directly from Travis King, it is coming from North Korean state media.

And a U.S. defense official says that they have no way of verifying these statements that are allegedly from King. But their focus remains making sure that they can bring him home safely.

Now, we have heard through a family spokesperson from his mother, saying that she is asking Pyongyang to treat him humanely. And she's also asking for a phone call with her son. Now, looking at past precedents, that's unlikely. This is not the way that North Korea generally behaves, when it comes to U.S. detainees on their soil.

But what they have said is that they believe that he illegally entered into their territory. Now, interesting timing as well, it comes as the U.S. is trying to call a U.N. Security Council meeting on human rights abuses in North Korea that was picked to be tomorrow, on Thursday. If it was going to happen, the first time in about six years.

But, of course, what this is showing is what North Korea said yesterday in state run media that the U.S. should look internally and inwardly rather than blame others human rights abuses. Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Our thanks to Paula Hancocks, joining us live from Seoul.

In India, rescue and relief work is underway, following one of the deadliest landslides in the northern part of the country. 1000s of rescue workers continue to scrape through the debris to look for survivors.

A top state officials says bodies continue to be recovered from one of the sites, following heavy rain on Monday.

[02:30:05]

He also said schools would remain closed until weather conditions improve. In the meantime, friends and family of those who are missing are anxiously waiting for updates.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN (through translator): Two of my colleagues and their families are missing. Two bodies have been recovered. We still have hope that God will perform a miracle, and my colleague Professor P.L. Sharma, his wife, and son, will be rescued. We are optimistic and hopeful, and have faith in God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Dozens of people have been killed after heavy rains triggered devastating floods and landslides. Hawaiian authorities have long warned the death toll from the devastating wildfires will keep rising. Not long ago, it jumped yet again.

106 people are now confirmed dead in Maui. The governor says emergency crews and their dogs have covered about a quarter of the disaster zone, and hope to get through most of it by the weekend as the search expands into many wiped out neighborhoods.

The governor also says genetics experts have identified several of the dead and will confirm who passed away over the next few weeks. Many of the Lahaina victims have been out in the open in cars, and even in the water. Meanwhile, the U.S. president is planning to visit Maui soon and survey the damage, but does not want to be a distraction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: I want to go and make sure they get everything they need. We want to be sure that we don't disrupt the ongoing recovery effort. Every asset they need will be there for them, and we will be there in Maui as long as it takes, and I mean that sincerely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Meanwhile, hotspots are still flaring up across other parts of the island. CNN's Bill Weir explains.

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BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: This is the cooler neighborhood in Maui. We are several miles from the destruction in Lahaina, and this is still an active fire zone. Only about 60 percent of this Upcountry fire has been contained, and we can actually see at least two hotspots around here which explains the yellow helicopter.

That is the Maui fire department, he's taking bucket loads of water from a nearby swimming pool, a home that was completely burned down. They are refilling it with a fire hydrant, but the fire department is stretched so thin here that it's really sort of DIY fire protection, which explains this setup.

This homeowner was gone, his wife was here, but she fired up their improvised fire prevention system and they are spraying it as far as they can down into the ravine here. With the fear that some of these hotspots might whip up. There are a couple of storms brewing in the Pacific, nothing near to hurricane, or the storm Dora, that created all of the firestorm winds, but still, anything that would kick this up is one more horrible thing to worry about here.

Meanwhile, in Lahaina, officials say only about a third of that area has been searched with cadaver dogs. About a dozen souls have been identified through DNA or identified and notified families. Then you have dozens of other families who are now giving DNA samples because they have loved ones who are missing. It is agony knowing maybe the worst has happened, but hoping you will get a better result. Here again comes another drop.

In addition to the fire department and sprinklers, we actually met a couple of guys, volunteers, who were putting out hotspots with bottled water. Bushwhacking through this dry brush, one of them burned a foot when he slid into still smoldering ash.

That is the scene here in Upcountry. People understand that there is a lot of action and sympathy happening in Lahaina, but this is an ongoing story and we are going to stay on it for you all day here. I'm Bill Weir, CNN, in Maui.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Still to come, researchers say they have developed technology to recreate what you see by looking at scans of your brain. More on A.I. mind reading just ahead.

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[02:36:27]

CHURCH: New Zealand finally ended the last of its Covid restrictions on Tuesday. The country's health minister scratched New Zealand's seven-day isolation rule for those who test positive for the virus.

New Zealand led the world for how nations could successfully fend off the Coronavirus when it first hit back in 2020. It ordered early lockdowns and strict border restrictions. Health officials said as a result, the nation had a far lower mortality rate than many other countries.

We are getting new details about a possible new treatment for strokes. Researchers found that implanting a stimulation device directly onto the brain could help patients who have been disabled. 66-year-old Stan Nicholas suffered a stroke six years ago.

Afterwards, he had trouble moving the left side of his body. That did not improve, despite months of therapy. Then, he volunteered to become one of the first people in the world to have a stimulation device planted in his brain and chest. Nicholas says it changed his life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STAN NICHOLAS, STROKE SURVIVOR: I can lift my left arm, which I couldn't do. Look at this. It has helped me out with my cooking, preparing my meals, eating, and things around the house. Yard work, household chores.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Doctors hope that deep brain stimulation in addition to physical therapy could help improve movement for many more people, even those who suffered strokes years ago.

Researchers in Singapore are using artificial intelligence to look at brain scans and recreate the images that are seen, essentially like reading someone's mind. CNN's Lynda Kinkade, reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Artificial intelligence can write an essay, create a work of art, and now, say researchers in Singapore, essentially read your mind. These researchers have developed a technology that aims to recreate what you see by looking at scans of your brain. Here's how it works. Study participants receive an MRI brain scan while looking at a series of images.

JUAN HELEN ZHOU, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE: So, the participant is presented with a series of images. Each lasts for nine seconds, with nine seconds break in between. And then now, you can see, this is the functional magnetic resonance imaging data.

KINKADE: Researchers say the A.I. program learns which images correspond to which brain scans. It translates your brain activity into a language that it can understand using a program called Stable Diffusion.

JIAXIN QING, PHD STUDENT, CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG: So next time you come in, you will do the scan, and in the scan you will see the visual stimuli like this and it will record your brain activities at the same time.

And your brain activities will go into our A.I. translator and this translator will translate your brain activities into a special language that a Stable Diffusion can understand. Then it will generate the images you are seeing at that point. So that's basically how we can read your mind in this instance, and we can see the generated images on this side.

KINKADE: Not quite a perfect match, but you can see it is a baseball scene. The technology is modeled to the brain scans of individual participants, and researchers say it has a long way to go before it can read the minds of the general public. But if mind reading does one day become a reality, they want to make sure private thoughts are protected.

[02:40:06]

ZHOU: People might be worried, right, whether the information we're provided here might be assessed or shared without the prior consent. So, the thing to address this is we should have very strict guidelines, ethical and law, in terms of how to protect privacy.

KINKADE: Still, the scientists are optimistic that mind reading A.I. can be used for good to help people control artificial limbs, or if they're unable to speak, communicate using only their thoughts.

CHEN ZIJIAO, PHD STUDENT, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE: Maybe we can help them to control their robots and their phones. Communicate with others just using their thoughts instead of speech.

KINKADE: Studies all over the world are looking into the implications of Stable Diffusion. Scientists in Japan, the United States, and the Netherlands are learning how A.I. can make sense of our brains. The research is a new frontier as artificial intelligence starts to turn science fiction into reality. Lynda Kinkade, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: The queen of pop is feeling better and is about to hit the road. Madonna has rescheduled the summer show dates that were postponed after she suffered a health scare back in June. The singer was hospitalized to treat a bacterial infection and recovered at home.

Now, the ticket company Live Nation says Madonna will kick off the celebration tour in the UK and Europe in October as planned, with the previously scheduled U.S. shows honored after that. Some shows will be canceled, but Live Nation says Madonna hopes to make it up to those cities in the future.

Oscar winner Halle Berry celebrated her 57th birthday with a Barbie themed celebration. She posted photos of her visiting the World of Barbie in Santa Monica, California, with her boyfriend and 15 year old daughter.

Mom and daughter both wore pink for the outing, of course. Berry wrote on Instagram, I got to let my inner Barbie sore. Thanks so much for joining us, I am Rosemary Church. I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM at the top of the hour. WORLD SPORT is next.

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