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U.S. Defense Secretary Visits Israel to Meet its Officials; Trump Doubles Down on Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric Remarks; U.S. Aid for Ukraine and Israel Stalled in Both Houses of the U.S. Congress Amid Immigration Issues; Controversial Hong Kong Media Tycoon Undergoes a Trial; Famed Notre Dame Cathedral in Full Swing for its December 2024 Reopening. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired December 18, 2023 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is on his way to Israel as Washington faces calls to press for an end to the heavy bombardment of Gaza.

And we will speak to a man whose father is still being held hostage by Hamas, why he says Israel should be doing more to bring his father and the other hostages home.

Plus, Donald Trump is doubling down on his anti-immigrant rhetoric. We will look at what he's vowing to do if re-elected.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Thanks for joining us. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will be sitting down with Israeli officials in the hours ahead on his second trip to the country since the October 7 attack by Hamas. Austin's visit comes after a stop in Bahrain. And once in Israel, a U.S. official says he will get updates on the war, but he's also expected to press Israeli officials to define specific operational milestones in the ongoing battle.

Meantime, the Israel Defense Forces says it's uncovered the biggest Hamas tunnel in Gaza. That tunnel, which the IDF says was secured a few weeks ago, was made public on Sunday.

The Hamas-controlled Palestinian Health Ministry says the death toll in Gaza has climbed to nearly 19,000. It doesn't distinguish between combatants and civilians, but says 70 percent of those killed are women and children. Some of the images coming out of Gaza are graphic, and that includes our next video, which is hard to watch. It comes from Debalieh in northern Gaza, where a senior official in

the health ministry says at least 24 people were killed and dozens more wounded in what is thought to have been an Israeli airstrike on Sunday. He says a house sheltering displaced families was hit.

And Elliott Gotkine is following all the developments for us, he joins us now live from London. Good morning to you, Elliott. So U.S. Defense Secretary Austin will meet with Israeli officials in the coming hours amid increasing pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu to define the next phase of this war and to make a deal with Hamas to get more hostages released. How far might Israel go on all of this?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Rosemary, I don't think Netanyahu is going to waver from his position, which is that Hamas must be destroyed militarily for this war to be considered, for the job to be considered to have been done in this war. But underneath that overriding objective from Israel, there is much wiggle room. And the other things that Defense Secretary Austin will be pressing Israel to do, minimizing civilian casualties, enabling more aid to go into the Gaza Strip seem to be not too hard for Israel to do.

So in terms of the minimizing civilian casualties, Israel will maintain its position that it already goes above and beyond by warning where it's going to be attacked to enable people to move out of harm's way. And it will point to the way that it was dropping flyers with Khan Younis divided up into lots of different grids and numbers and telling people when to move out of harm's way and where to go to get to safety. Now that didn't seem to really work in practice, and Israel will no doubt be pressed to make more of an effort to turn those, let's call them intentions into results, as the U.S. has put it.

But as far as humanitarian aid goes, Israel will also point to the fact that just over the weekend, it opened the Kerem Shalom crossing, enabling aid to go directly from Israel into the Gaza Strip for the first time. Now aid is still around about half of the amount going into Gaza, still about half of what it was before October the 7th, when the humanitarian situation was far less dire and Israel will be pushed and pressed to enable more aid to go into the Gaza Strip as well.

And I think the other main thing that they'll be discussing is looking more regionally and especially about the attacks that we've been seeing on shipping in the Red Sea from Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. There will, no doubt, be discussions and perhaps even announcements about moves to boost protection for what is one of the world's most critical shipping lanes to prevent any kind of blockade on shipping going towards Israel. any blockade or any impediment to global trade routes and any impacts that might have on the global economy. Rosemary?

[03:05:07]

CHURCH: Elliott, meantime the IDF claims to have found the biggest Hamas tunnel in Gaza and has released video on that. What more can you tell us about the tunnel? GOTKINE: Quite stunning images that the IDF has released. It says that

this is the biggest tunnel it has discovered to date. It stopped just 400 meters short of the Eris crossing with Israel and I suppose if all of these other tunnel shafts we've been talking about of late have been akin to kind of veins in the human body imagine this as being one of the big arteries.

This is big enough to drive a car through it's been described almost like a pedestrian underpass or like a subway that would you would use to go under the street and of course, we know these tunnels are used by Hamas to launch attacks to shelter from attacks and also to hide hostages, but this particular tunnel seems to be on another level. It's got ventilation systems, it's got electricity.

As I say, you could drive a car through it. It would have needed mechanized equipment to have been built. And according to Israel, it goes four kilometers under Beit Hanoun in the northern part of the Gaza Strip and has offshoots into hospitals, mosques and schools as well.

So Israel says that it discovered this several weeks ago and it's planning to destroy it, but it wanted to share these images to, I suppose, show exactly what it is up against in terms of dealing with this tunnel system that Hamas has painstakingly built over the years, and as I say, which is clearly making the battle against Hamas from Israel's perspective that much harder. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right, our thanks to Elliot Gotkine joining us live from London.

Well meanwhile, a U.S. official says the IDF has been testing out ways to degrade the vast Hamas tunnel system by flooding some of the tunnels with seawater, but it is a risky operation, as CNN's Nic Robertson reports.

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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): The tunnels themselves are big, big enough for fighters and their weapons, seen here in this Hamas propaganda video, which was also posted by the Israel Defense Force.

They are reinforced with concrete too. Two years ago, Hamas claimed to have built 500 kilometers, more than 300 miles of them. The tunnels are spread all over Gaza. This map over two years old.

The IDF says they've discovered 800 tunnel shafts so far and have destroyed 500 of them.

The entrances are often well hidden.

As I was shown by the IDF near a Gaza hospital, really well hidden, which means the tunnels can be really hard to find.

ROBERTSON: The idea of flooding the tunnels using the abundant seawater that's along the many miles of Gaza's Mediterranean shore is apparently a creative idea, not just to destroy Hamas and quite literally flush them out, but also to reach the parts of tunnels that might never be discovered from above ground. Now, it's not without its risks. There could be hostages in those tunnels.

There are very few details about how precisely the water is getting into the tunnels, how much water, how fast it's going in, or what you do if you suddenly discover you're flooding hostages, other than the IDF say they have begun carefully testing it and that this method is being trialed on a limited, limited basis.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Some of the tunnels are thought to be five floors deep. Some of the hostages who were freed have described them. This elderly hostage helped by her daughter.

YOCHEVED LIFSHITZ, FORMER HOSTAGE (through translator): We began walking inside the tunnels with a wet ground. It was moist all the time.

UNKNOWN: There are a huge, huge network of tunnels underneath. It looks like a spider web.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): The IDF says it will proceed cautiously to make sure they are not flooding tunnels where the hostages are being held.

ROBERTSON: It's significant that more than six weeks into the ground campaign, the full scale of the tunnel problem is only now really becoming apparent. Even controlling the streets above is not enough to locate all the tunnels. So flooding seems to be the new best option to really probe the extent of the invisible subterranean network, both destroying Hamas, hiding that and denying it their use.

[03:09:59]

Of course, a key. The caveat in success here is if you can't find the tunnel and it's not connected to a system you're already flooding, how effective can you be about flooding it and knowing that you're hitting, destroying the whole of the tunnel network?

Nic Robertson, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: The World Health Organization says Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital is completely overwhelmed and is barely functional. WHO staff are visiting the facility, participating in a joint U.N. mission to deliver medicine, anesthesia materials and surgical supplies. They describe a dire situation, calling the emergency department a quote, "bloodbath." They say patients with trauma injuries are unable to receive pain management and are being treated on the floor. And new patients are arriving every minute. Here's more from a WHO official.

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SEAN CASEY, EMERGENCY MEDICAL TEAMS COORDINATOR FOR WHO IN GAZA: This largest referral hospital here in Gaza has become a trauma stabilization point. They can only provide the most basic care for people with very serious injuries and very serious illnesses. There are women delivering in these common spaces that are just absolutely packed to the brim. Most patients are on the floor, a few are in beds and stretchers behind me. The emergency department is just covered in blood and there are very few staff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Meanwhile, U.S. aid for Israel and Ukraine is on the line as senators struggle to reach a deal on immigration reform. They're tied together in a package that was introduced in October. But it's still stalled in the U.S. Congress. Democrats are hoping to have a vote this week before the holidays, but many Republicans say that's probably not going to happen.

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SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): From our Republican and Democrat negotiators who are really diligent, doing a great job, and then basically with the White House involved, committed to getting this border under control. That's what I'm really very hopeful for and I think we're going to see something next week and we'll stay there until we get it done.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): The bottom line here is we feel like we're being jammed. We're not anywhere close to a deal. It'll go into next year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Republicans are insisting on border policy changes before releasing any more money for Israel or Ukraine. 15 Republican senators are demanding a special conference meeting in January to discuss the negotiations.

Donald Trump is in early voting states, trying to solidify his support ahead of next year's U.S. presidential election. Many of his recent campaign stops have seen Trump using more and more incendiary rhetoric and here's what he said Saturday during a rally in New Hampshire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They're poisoning the blood of our country that's what they've done they poison mental institutions and prisons all over the world not just in South America not just the three or four countries that we think about but all over the world they're coming into our country from Africa from Asia all over the world they're pouring into our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Then just a day later, Trump emphasized his plans for what he called the largest deportation in American history. CNN's Alayna Treene has more from the campaign trail in Nevada.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Former President Donald Trump ramped up his anti-immigration rhetoric during remarks in Nevada on Sunday. He shared stories about violent crimes committed by undocumented immigrants here in the United States and vowed to devote unprecedented resources to the southern border if he were to be reelected in 2024. Take a listen.

TRUMP: Given the unprecedented millions of Biden illegal aliens who are invading our country. It is only common sense that when I'm reelected, we will begin, and we have no choice, the largest deportation operation in American history.

TREENE: Now, this is some of the most explicit language yet that we have heard from Donald Trump to preview his potential second term plans on immigration here on the campaign trail. And I can tell you, my colleagues at CNN and I have reported extensively on Donald Trump's potential second term plans on immigration. They include rounding up undocumented immigrants here in the United States and placing them in detention camps while they await to be Deported and I think it's important to point out the context of these remarks. They came here in Nevada, a state that is a large migrant population. And they also come as Donald Trump has been increasingly ramping up his violent rhetoric when it comes to immigration. Over the weekend on Saturday.

We heard Donald Trump Repeat language that immigrants are quote "poisoning the blood of our country, rhetoric that is closely associated with white supremacy." And we did hear the Biden campaign immediately criticize Donald Trump for those remarks. They argued that such language parodied that of Adolf Hitler.

[03:15:05]

The former president also received a lot of criticism over the weekend for praising authoritarian leaders like Vladimir Putin to argue that President Joe Biden is a threat to democracy. He used that same language again on Sunday, however, did not do so in such an explicit way.

Alayna Treene, CNN, Reno, Nevada.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Earlier, I spoke with CNN senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein, about why Trump's tirades on the campaign trail won't see much criticism from Republicans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: He's not only ramping up the authoritarian and racist language and making it more explicit. There's a policy agenda behind it as well. I mean, he is running on a much more militant agenda than he ran on certainly as president in 2020 when he focused more on the economy or even in 2016.

I mean, you know, behind the polls, behind the language like that about poisoning the blood of our country or vermin are a variety of ideas to weaponize control of the federal government, undermine the civil service protections, deploy federal force into blue cities and states, mass deportation, internment camps, the use of the Insurrection Act potentially to use the military to put down protests.

So all of this is much more explicit and confrontational than even what we have seen from Trump in the past. And the answer on Republicans is that, you know, he learned a long time ago there is no line he can cross. that would compel a meaningful number of them to oppose him. They have long ago decided either that they can't stand against him because his hold on the base is too strong, or B, they don't want to stand against him because they think they benefit from the mobilization of his electorate that he is uniquely positioned to do, which can enable Republicans to gain the power to do the other things that they want to do, appoint judges, cut taxes, ban abortion.

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CHURCH: Still to come, families of hostages are calling on the Israeli government to do more to secure the release of their loved ones. Next I will speak to the son of an Israeli hostage who is still being held in Gaza.

Also ahead, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is expected in Israel very soon. We will have more on his visit.

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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. The families of the hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza are urging the Israeli government to prioritize the release of their loved ones. Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday demanding the government do more to secure their release. It came a day after three hostages were mistakenly killed by the IDF.

Joining me now from Tel Aviv, Israel is Lior Peri. His father is still being held hostage by Hamas. Thank you so much for talking with us at this difficult time for you and your family.

LIOR PERI, FATHER BEING HELD HOSTAGE BY HAMAS: Good morning. Thank you for having me in the show.

CHURCH: In the wake of those three Israeli hostages being mistakenly shot by Israeli forces, domestic pressure is building on Prime Minister Netanyahu to make a deal with Hamas, to release more of the captives being held in Gaza. How likely is it, do you think, that pressure from these tragic shootings will lead to the release of more hostages, perhaps even your 79-year-old father?

PERI: Unfortunately, I'm not so optimistic. As I've seen before, the applying of pressure on my government hardly worked in the past. Mainly, I think what's applying the best pressure is the international pressure that's being produced to the Israeli government. But unfortunately, I think now enough is being done by the United States at least, and hopefully we move them towards action.

CHURCH: And on that very matter, U.S. defense secretary Lloyd Austin will meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu in the coming hours to discuss Israel's next phase of the war. And we learned Mossad's director met Friday with Qatar's prime minister to continue talks on getting more hostages released. You have previously said that Netanyahu is more focused on the war than getting the hostages out. Do you still feel that way, even with this increased pressure on the Prime Minister, not only domestically but internationally as well?

PERI: I can only judge him, as I said before, I can only judge him by his acts because his words stopped having any meaning to me. And his actions are clearly saying war. And if I choose to address the words, two days ago he said that in a press conference, he said something like, the will of the fallen ones is what the -- is what's showing us the way. Meaning, he accidentally exposed the Israeli ethos of the dead, meaning more to our society than the living. And it hasn't changed, and he hasn't changed in this way of producing more and more dead soldiers and without prioritizing the living hostages.

CHURCH: So how far do you think Prime Minister Netanyahu is willing to go to ensure all the hostages are released? Do you see another pause in the war taking place so that more hostages can be released?

PERI: Well, it's the same as Hamas, I think, the way I see it, because what Israel says is that they have to put the knee down or to put the foot on Hamas' neck in order to force them for a hostage negotiation.

[03:25:08]

And I see it the same way with Netanyahu. He needs someone to put the foot down on him to make him do this deal, because I don't feel that he has any sentiment for us, for the -- for the hostage family or even for the released hostages themselves, as four of them stood in front of him and begged him to stop killing them in their words.

And I couldn't see any movement in his face or any change in his tone afterwards when he was answering them. So only, I'm afraid, only outside pressure will make him change his way.

CHURCH: Why, can you explain why you think that he's putting the war way ahead of the lives of these hostages? Why is that the case?

PERI: It's not something sophisticated. I think it's on the contrary. It's something very, very simple. The only way Israel has ever addressed her problem is brute force. Okay? And that has been a failure ever since. That's the only solution we apply, and that's the same old mistake and the same result that we're getting. The fear of trying something else is something I will never understand.

The fear of trying to change your ways after learning that years and years of power have brought you nowhere, the fear of changing it is beyond my understanding. I do not want to use hard words, but if somebody's unable to see his own acts as problematic, then I cannot help him. I'm really feeling lost here, not being able to help the decision makers to see the simple reality. CHURCH: Well, if you had an opportunity to talk to Prime Minister

Netanyahu now, what would you say would be a better way forward?

PERI: I believe that once you put the value of life at the top of your priorities, at the top of your moral steps, then your path will be lit very easily. Just change your perspective on how you should act. Just try to change your priorities and things will come out immediately.

Just, and as we said -- as we said two weeks before, and now all the media in Israel is repeating our words when we said, make Hamas an offer he can't refuse. As simple as that. And make it public. Make it sound worldwide. So the world will understand that what is the goals of your war, and the world will understand that you only for saving lives and then if Hamas will refuse, then you have a case to continue your war.

But as long as you didn't do it and you haven't declared the goals of the war. You don't have any legitimacy to continue and killing our own soldiers and our own hostages and of course thousands of people in Gaza.

CHURCH: Lior Peri in Tel Aviv, thank you so much for talking with us and we hope that you will see your father release very soon.

PERI: Thank you so much for talking to me. Thank you.

CHURCH: Thank you.

Coming up next, the U.S. Defense Secretary plans to press Israel about its plans for the ongoing war against Hamas. The details just ahead.

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[03:30:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. We are continuing to follow developments out of Gaza where the Israeli military has now made public what it calls the biggest Hamas tunnel. One IDF spokesperson described the tunnel system as a quote, "underground terror city."

Meantime, new and disturbing images are emerging from Gaza amid Israel's war against Hamas. This video comes from Jabalia in northern Gaza where a senior official in the Hamas-controlled health ministry says at least 24 people were killed and dozens more wounded in what is thought to have been an Israeli airstrike on Sunday. He says a house sheltering displaced families was hit.

And we are now awaiting the arrival of U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Israel, there he is, after his stop in Bahrain. A U.S. official says Secretary Austin will press Israeli officials to define specific operational milestones in the ongoing war. So you can see him there arriving in Bahrain.

A crowd of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered outside a restaurant in Detroit on Saturday chanting slogans directed at the restaurant group's Jewish CEO. He has said in the past that he supports peace and protection of both Israeli and Palestinian lives. CNN's Polo Sandoval has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Qualification is that this was an incident-free demonstration, albeit one that certainly gained some extra attention.

Detroit police say that anywhere from 100 to 150 demonstrators, some with Palestinian flags, gathered outside of a downtown Detroit restaurant. Their chant specifically directed at the head of the restaurant group that owns and operates that establishment. His name is Jeremy Sassen.

He has previously and publicly express support for Israel. Some of the chants in question here include, quote, "Jeremy, you can't hide. We charge you with genocide." As well as, "Jeremy, what do you say? How many kids did you kill today?" End of quote.

An online flier for the rally, also calling on a boycott for other of Sassen's restaurants. In 2021, we should mention Sassen told the "Detroit Free Press" that he has been not only previously targeted with anti-Semitism, but also by many negative reviews of his establishment given his support for Israel. CNN did reach out to Heirloom Hospitality, the restaurant group involved here, but a representative for the company declined to comment, adding that it did not want to increase already heightened tensions.

[03:35:07]

That's really the overarching theme here in terms of what we've seen in the U.S. given the conflict in the Middle East. Recently, in just a few weeks, it was in a Philadelphia restaurant that where we saw similar scenes play out. In fact, an identical chant there, the governor of Pennsylvania, as well as the White House condemning that demonstration, calling it anti-Semitism.

And then over the weekend, a Cleveland Palestinian tea house told CNN affiliate WOIO that it too has been targeted by hate, including anti- Palestinian banners. And that really speaks to the greater issue here, of course, the anger, the frustration that the conflict in the Middle East has unleashed in the United States.

Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Police have arrested a man in Washington after he allegedly sprayed an unknown substance at two people while shouting an anti- Semitic phrase. The 33-year-old suspect appears to have been arrested near the Kesha Israel Congregation Synagogue. Washington police have confirmed to CNN that multiple synagogues in the city have received threatening emails. but there's currently no credible threat. Well, right now, U.S. aid for both Israel and Ukraine is stalled on

Capitol Hill, with lawmakers at odds over tying that funding to changes in US immigration policy. CNN's chief congressional correspondent, Manu Raju, has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Senators have spent the weekend trying to see if they can get any sort of compromise on the issue of immigration, dealing with the surge at the southern border of Mexico among migrants coming into the United States, changing border policy, things that have really eluded Congress for decades.

They want to try to get an agreement now in order to see if they can unlock aid to Israel and Ukraine because the Republicans have said the border must be dealt with first before they'll agree to green lighting billions of dollars in more aid to Ukraine as well as aid to Israel, which is why so much focus is on these talks that are happening in the Senate.

There's already blowbacks, some from the right who are concerned that Republicans are giving away too much, not pushing for enough restrictive policies. And then a growing number of critics on the left worried about Joe Biden giving away too much, some flatly warning that it could cost him at the ballot box.

Why do you think the president's struggling so much? with Hispanic voters compared to last time.

SEN. ALEX PADILLA (D-CA): Well, I'm not as worried about that yet. I think if we do go, if he does go too far in the Trump direction when it comes to this, it's going to be felt at the ballot box next year, no doubt about it.

SEN. BOB MENENDEZ (D-NJ): I am amazed that what is the equivalent of Trumpian ideas is being promoted by President Biden and a Democratic one.

RAJU: But they were able to get a deal. It would take time to draft the text, to get approval from the four different caucuses in the House and the Senate, actually set up the votes in the Senate, which takes some time. Getting it out of the Senate. And the fact, the House is actually out until January. This would not even get approved until January.

And we'll see how Republicans and Democrats alike react to any deal that is reached. It could potentially sink in the House as well. So just so many questions about whether they can get there. But negotiators say they have been making progress. But is that enough progress to get a deal that could pass both chambers? That remains a huge question at this critical moment.

Manu Raju, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: Still to come, Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai appears in court on charges of violating the city's national security law. We are live outside the courthouse with more on the landmark trial. Back with that and more in just a moment.

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[03:40:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. The U.S. is condemning North Korea's recent missile launches. The South Korean military says a long-range ballistic missile was fired Monday from the Pyongyang area with a flight range of about 1,000 kilometers.

Japan's coast guard believes the missile fell into the waters west of Okushiri Island in the Hokkaido region. Well just a day earlier, North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile that flew about 570 kilometers before falling into the water. Pyongyang says the launch was partly in response to a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine arriving in South Korea.

A trial is now underway in Hong Kong to decide the fate of media tycoon Jimmy Lai, a supporter of the city's pro-democracy movement and founder of the now-shuttered "Apple Daily" newspaper. Lai's anti- Beijing newspaper was forced to shut down in 2021 following his detention in 2020. He's being tried under Hong Kong's sweeping national security law, facing multiple charges of colluding with foreign forces and a separate charge of sedition. The maximum penalty is life in prison.

CNN's Kristie Lu Stout is following the story from outside the court in Hong Kong. She joins us now. Good to see you again, Kristie. This high-profile trial is putting a spotlight on China's clampdown on Hong Kong. What more can you tell us about the case?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, here in Hong Kong, I'm standing outside the West Kowloon Magistrates Court on day one of the national security trial of the prominent China critic and media mogul, Jimmy Lai. Now court has been adjourned for today and we will hear opening statements tomorrow. But earlier today, throughout the day, we've seen outside the courtroom, security has been tightened.

Inside the courtroom, Jimmy Lai was seen wearing a gray suit. He seemed and he appeared calm, also appeared thinner than what we've seen him before. And he was surrounded by four corrections officers who were guarding him. He was also seen smiling and waving to supporters, including loved ones who were inside the room. Many people around the world are paying very close attention to this trial because it is seen as a test of Hong Kong's freedoms, especially after Beijing imposed the national security law on the territory. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT (voice-over): Considered by many as a father figure to Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, Jimmy Lai always knew his actions might attract the ire of authorities. But he didn't let it faze him.

JIMMY LAI, FORMER CHAIRMAN AND FOUNDER, NEXT DIGITAL: I think it's a good idea anytime, any situation that you are in to fight for your freedom. Because without freedom, you have nothing left.

[03:44:55]

LU STOUT (voice-over): In a recent media briefing, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, not holding back in their criticism of Lai, calling him, quote, "one of the most notorious anti-China elements bent on destabilizing Hong Kong."

After numerous delays, the former media mogul returning to court to finally face trial under Hong Kong's sweeping national security law.

Since that legislation was imposed by Beijing in response to massive social unrest and anti-government protests, authorities have cracked down on dissent. Today, most of Hong Kong's political opposition are either in prison, like Lai, or have fled the territory.

As the founder of the "Apple Daily," once Hong Kong's largest pro- democracy newspaper, which regularly challenged the government, Lai is the most high-profile critic of Beijing charged under the national security law.

He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison on multiple counts of colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security, as well as a single charge of sedition under a law that dates back to Hong Kong's colonial past.

76-year-old Lai has been in custody for the last three years, and his son is concerned that incarceration is taking its toll.

SEBASTIEN LAI, JIMMY'S SON: I think psychologically he's very strong, but there is -- there always is that element. There's nobody escapes the gravity of age. And at his age, he is at a tremendous amount of risk being in maximum security.

LU STOUT (voice-over): For its part, the Hong Kong government says that all cases concerning offenses that endanger national security, including lies, are handled in a fair and timely manner.

In a statement to CNN, a spokesperson said, quote, "without commenting on individual cases, the Hong Kong SAR law enforcement agencies have been taking law enforcement actions based on evidence and strictly in accordance with the law in respect of the acts of the persons or entities concerned."

Lai was a fixture at the student-led pro-democracy and anti-government demonstrations that brought central Hong Kong to a standstill in 2014. When millions of people took to the streets in 2019, Lai was there once again. Just months later, Lai was marched out of his own newsroom when more than 200 police officers raided the "Apple Daily's" headquarters. A year on, Lai's printing presses fell silent as the paper shuttered, a blow to media freedom in Hong Kong. Lai's legal challenges have mounted ever since, his lengthy rap sheet

worn as a badge of honor after a lifetime of demanding democratic reform.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT (on-camera): Ahead of the trial, the governments of the United States and the U.K., as well as the Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ, have criticized the trial and called for the immediate release of Jimmy Lai.

In his statement, the Asia coordinator of CPJ called the trial, quote, "a dark stain in Hong Kong's rule of law that is doing a disservice to the government's efforts to restore investor confidence."

Now, the Hong Kong government has repeatedly said that freedom of speech and press freedom are enshrined in the basic law, that's the mini-constitution of Hong Kong, and that they are not at risk. Rosemary, back to you.

CHURCH: All right, our thanks to Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong with that report.

A politician in western Ukraine has been charged with terrorism days after he threw live grenades into a local council meeting. The man was identified as a 54 year old deputy in the village of Koretsky. Court officials say he threw the explosives into a meeting of community leaders on Friday, wounding at least 23 people. Prosecutors say one of the victims has since died from their injuries. The man is being held without bail. Court officials say they believe he was unhappy with how the council meeting was going and committed the attack to influence their decision-making.

And we'll be right back.

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[03:50:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. Well, hundreds of people were rescued from flood waters after remnants of tropical cyclone Jasper dumped intense rain on northeastern Australia. Officials say there's still potential for life-threatening flash floods in the area. Authorities say people sought safety on rooftops and some were stuck there all night. And there's concern about safe drinking water, sewage overflows and power outages. So far no reports of any deaths or injuries but more rain is expected on Monday.

In Argentina, an intense storm has left at least 13 people dead and others injured in a town outside Buenos Aires. Winds reportedly reached 140 kilometers an hour. Officials say at least 300 people had to be evacuated in the middle of the night. Argentine President Javier Millet said his cabinet is working with local authorities to help victims recover from the damage.

And people around the world watched Notre Dame Cathedral burn nearly four years ago. The restoration may not be on schedule to meet the original goal of opening before the Paris Olympics, but an event over the weekend symbolizes the enormous progress that's been made. Michael Holmes has the story.

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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Flying high over the Paris skyline, a golden rooster is hoisted to its new perch, on top of the newly rebuilt spire of Notre Dame Cathedral, scheduled to reopen in a year.

The rooster, made of gold-colored copper, is a crowning milestone in the church's reconstruction, after a blazing fire destroyed the roof of the historic structure four and a half years ago.

PHILIPPE JOST, PRESIDENT, REBUILDING NOTRE DAME DE PARIS (through translator): The rooster now means it's the very end of the rebuilding of the spire. It stands 96 meters tall, and once the roofers will have covered the spire, we will be able to take the scaffolding off, and that's when Parisians and everyone who walks past will be able to see this flamboyant rooster.

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HOLMES (voice-over): The rooster is a long-time symbol of France, but this one, shining in the sunlight, is more like a phoenix rising from the ashes.

Its predecessor, a weathervane that sat atop a wooden spire, crashed through the ceiling of the cathedral in 2019 when it became engulfed in flames.

Workers say it's been a labor of love to help this new bird get off the ground.

UNKNOWN (through translator): It's something I'm really proud of because you only do it once in your life. You don't do it twice. So it's gonna be engraved in my memory for a very long time.

HOLMES (voice-over): Before it was sent aloft, the rooster was blessed by the Archbishop of Paris, who placed a tube inside it listing the names of hundreds of people who took part in the reconstruction. Just over a week ago, the French President Emmanuel Macron visited the construction site and said work was on track for the cathedral to reopen on December 8, 2024.

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): We saw the advancement of this work site that seemed impossible come to reality. And for the first time, We came here not to mark the anniversary of the fire, but to mark one year before the reopening.

HOLMES (voice-over): The old rooster found battered and dented in the debris of the fire will be displayed in a new museum. The new one will watch over the final stages of Notre Dame's restoration and hopefully the many years that follow. Architects say they have installed a range of fireproof features in the cathedral, so this venerated church is never again reduced to ashes.

Michael Holmes, CNN.

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CHURCH: And thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'm Rosemary Church. "CNN Newsroom" continues next with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.

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