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Biden Says He's Decided How to Respond To Drone Attack; Israeli Forces Kill Three In West Bank Hospital Raid; UN Chief Meets Donor Nations After Many Halt UNRWA Funding; Israel Says It Will Not Allow Hospitals To Be a "Cover For Terrorism" After Forces Kill 3 In West Bank Hospital Raid; Farmer Protests Spreading; Macron To Discuss Farmers Crisis With EU President Thursday; Hostage's Mother: It's Agony Not Knowing Where My Son Is; Current and Former NHL Players Face Sexual Assault Charges; Musk's Neuralink Installs Brain Implant in First Human Patient. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired January 31, 2024 - 00:00   ET

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

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Coming up here on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Have you made a decision how you'll respond to the attack?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: But how and when remain an open question and will it be enough to prevent further attacks on U.S. forces by Iran-backed militants? The legal fall-out from a deadly raid by Israeli forces medics and patients in the West Bank Hospital. And billionaire, Elon Musk, one step closer to his dream of creating human cyborgs.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.

VAUSE: US. President, Joe Biden, told reporters Tuesday he has decided on how to respond to a deadly drone attack on American forces based in Jordan. But no word on when or where U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria had been repeatedly targeted by Iran-backed militants since Israel's war with Hamas began in October. But the weekend strike was the first to claim the lives of U.S. military personnel.

Three soldiers were killed at a small U.S. outpost called Tower 22 in the Jordanian desert, the first strike on Jordan. U.S. officials blamed Iran-backed militants, though Iran denies involvement. The White House suggests any action would be aimed at degrading the group's capabilities, sending a strong message of deterrence. Here's what President Biden told CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REPORTER: Have you made a decision on how you'll respond to the attack?

BIDEN: Yes, I don't think we need a wider war in the Middle East. That's not what I'm looking for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Meantime, those powerful Iran-backed militia in Iraq Kata'ib Hezbollah released this statement after the drone attack. We are announcing the suspension of military and security operations against the occupation forces, many U.S. troops in order to prevent embarrassment to the Iraqi government. Here's the Pentagon reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK RYDER, MAJOR GENERAL, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: We've seen those reports, I don't have a specific comment to provide other than actions speak louder than words.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: CNN's MJ Lee is following all the developments reporting in from the White House.

MJ LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Biden on Tuesday telling reporters that he has made a decision on how to strike back after the death of three U.S. service members. We know the President and his national security team have been weighing a number of options, including options that could be multipronged, that could take place over the course of multiple stages.

And officials had made clear that what is likely to come will -- is expected to be more serious and more powerful in its force. Now compared to the retaliatory strikes that we have seen from the U.S. in Iraq and Syria. And when the President spoke with reporters on Tuesday, he made clear that in his eyes, there is one country that is responsible for the deaths of these three Americans. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Mr. President, do you hold Iran responsible for the deaths of those three Americans?

BIDEN: I do hold them responsible in the sense that they're supplying the weapons to the people who did it.

REPORTER: But directly responsible?

BIDEN: Well, we'll have that discussion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: And those comments from the President, really capturing the very tough juggling act with the President, as he's making clear that he doesn't want to see a bigger war. But at the same time, he wants to make sure that the U.S. response was serious force. The question, of course, going forward is how he can do that and how the U.S. can do that without further escalating the situation in the Middle East.

Of course, the President is facing the tough reality as well that some of these strikes in the past have not been successful at deterring some of these Iran-backed proxy groups. When the President was asked what will actually be different this time with the next set of steps that the U.S. will take? He simply answered, we'll see. MJ Lee, CNN, at the White House.

VAUSE: The UN Secretary General has met with 35 donor nations which suspended funding for UNRWA, the biggest aid agency in Gaza in the wake of Israeli allegations, more than a dozen UNRWA workers were directly involved in the mass attack on October 7. The meeting was a chance for telling the terrorists to stress UNRWA's critical work in Gaza, as well as to listen to concerns among donor nations. The U.S. is the biggest donor to UNRWA, and the U.S. Ambassador to the UN is demanding fundamental changes before funding regimes.

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LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR, UNITED NATIONS: We need to look at the organization how it operates in Gaza, how they manage their staff and to ensure that people who commit criminal acts such as these 12 individuals are held accountable immediately so that UNRWA can continue the essential work that it is doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The UN's humanitarian coordination forum is warning suspension of funding to UNRWA could be catastrophic for more than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza. In a statement they said withdrawing funds from UNRWA is perilous and will result in the collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza, with far-reaching humanitarian and human rights consequences.

The world cannot abandon the people of Gaza. The Palestinian Red Crescent says, Israeli military vehicles are stationed in a hospital's front yard in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, where 1000s of displaced people have taken shelter. The aid group says the Israeli military entered the Al Amal hospital's compound, firing live ammunition as well as throwing smoke grenades after surrounding the building for more than a week.

One hospital official says, Israeli forces were asking displaced people to quote, evacuate the building at gunpoint. And The PRCS earlier reported gunfire from Israeli tanks, and killed one displaced woman and injured nine others. CNN there unable to verify the situation independently and we've reached out to the IDF for comment.

Israel is defending its raid on a West Bank hospital which killed three Palestinians, with the military's chief of staff saying, they will not allow hospitals become quote, a cover for terrorism. The IDF though is coming under criticism because special forces disguised as medical personnel and a woman in hijab were carrying out the attack. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has our report, and a warning, images in his report are graphic.

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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Israeli forces disguised as civilians and medical staff storming a hospital in the occupied West Bank, weapons drawn. As they move through the hospital corridor, one man is temporarily detained. Shouts of, army army, ring out through the hospital corridor. Several are wearing hijabs. Two of the operatives could even be mistaken for new parents, baby carrier in tow. A dozen Israeli forces infiltrated the Ibn Sina Hospital in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, killing three Palestinian militants affiliated with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

The Israeli military claiming this man, Mohammad Jalamneh, planned to carry out a terrorist attack in the immediate future, without providing any details. In a statement, the Israeli military said, for a long time wanted suspects have been hiding in hospitals and using them as a base for planning terrorist activities, and carrying out terror attacks, while they assume that the exploitation of hospitals will serve as protection against counterterrorism activities of Israeli security forces.

Legal experts say the Israeli commandos may have violated international law by disguising themselves as civilians and medical personnel. One of the men targeted (inaudible) was being treated for injuries from a rocket explosion. The hospital said, he was sleeping in his bed when he was killed. He and his brother Mohammad also killed by Israeli commandos in the same hospital room were affiliated with Islamic Jihad. The Israeli military said, one of the men carried this gun, but did not say their troops had been fired upon move with us together.

NAJI NAZZAL, IBN SINA HOSPITAL DIRECTOR: (Foreign Language)

DIAMOND (voice over): They killed the three youths, Basel and Mohammad Ghazawi, and Mohammad Jalamneh, in the room while they were sleeping on their beds in the room. They killed them with cold blood with direct gunshot to the head. Fierce battles later broke out in Jenin, where the Israeli military has been cracking down on Palestinian militant groups, killing at least 381 Palestinians in the West Bank since Hamas' October 7 attacks, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Jeremy diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Joining us now is Steven Cook, Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies head the Council on Foreign Relations. Welcome back. Good to see you.

STEVEN COOK, SENIOR FELLOW, MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Good to see you.

VAUSE: Okay, so there are a lot of questions now about the legality of the raid by Israeli special forces, especially given the protected status of hospitals in war zones. Here's its Chief Spokesman for the IDF.

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HERZI HALEVI, CHIEF OF THE GENERAL STAFF, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES (Interpreted): We do not want to turn hospitals into battlefields, with patients on the right and doctors and nurses on the left and terrorists in the middle. But we are even more determined not to allow hospitals to become a place that is a cover for terrorism, and one that allows terrorists to stash weapons to rest to go out to carry out an attack.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Amongst some of the issues here with Hamas, militants dare to plan terror attacks was the use of lethal force as a first response by the Israelis, a violation, also disguising themselves as civilians and medical personnel. This goes on and on and on. But is there anything to be gained beyond point scoring in arguing over which side is responsible for more violations of international law? Because it seems both sides will do what they're going to do, and whatever they are capable of doing.

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COOK: Well, that's clearly the case that we are now in a situation where the two sides are just engaged in point scoring over international law, in an effort to capture global public opinion, something that the Israelis lost long ago. There is something in international law about hospitals losing their protected status if combatants are using it. And that's clearly what the Israelis are getting at here, but it doesn't look good, quite obviously, and the Israeli military spokesman's denials are again, about point scoring, rather than what the two sides are actually going to do, which is to use whatever means necessary to prevail on the battlefield.

VAUSE: Yeah. And on the diplomatic side, though, CNN is also reporting that there could be a possible framework in place now, for some kind of release with the hostages of Hamas, in a statement said that it's open to discussing any serious and practical initiatives or ideas, provided that they lead to a comprehensive cessation of aggression, and securing the shelter process for our people, the Palestinians in Gaza, as well as reconstruction, lifting the siege and achieving a serious prisoner exchange process, which would be -- seem to me they're opening position in any negotiations. Here's where the Israeli Prime Minister stands. Listen to this.

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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (Interpreted): I'm not here to talk about all kinds of deals, I would like to make it clear, we will not conclude this war without achieving all of its goals. We will not withdraw the IDF from the Gaza Strip, and we will not release thousands of terrorists. None of this will happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: But they made a deal before when it comes to releasing hostages. That was back in November. Can you see some kind of second deal becoming a reality?

COOK: Well, there has been lots of talk about a deal and the fact that the CIA Director was involved in these negotiations, which suggests that the United States at least believes that there can be a deal. But as you point out quite clearly, the sides are quite far apart. What Hamas is essentially demanding is an end to the conflict. Netanyahu, politically can't, can't do that, given the fact that he and his cabinet, and his war cabinet have promised the destruction of the mass. And indeed, that is what the Israeli public is demanding. Obviously whatever deal will be fall-short of both of these -- both of these positions. But I think the larger issue is, how many hostages are alive, how many can be traded.

And I think that's what -- that's why Hamas is calling for a full cessation in into this conflict because once they give up hostages, however many they are that remain, they lose their leverage.

VAUSE: And there's a growing concern for the safety of those hostages after the IDF confirmed it's pumping seawater into the Hamas tunnels underneath Gaza. In a statement the IDF describes new capabilities to target Hamas' infrastructure by channeling large volumes of water into the tunnels. And this comes, as the Wall Street Journal reports, as much as 80 percent of the Hamas' vast war of tunnels under Gaza remains intact after weeks of efforts to destroy them, U.S. and Israeli officials told The Wall Street Journal.

Now let's just get to the point now that Israel needs to reassess its military objectives here and maybe that there needs to be some kind of negotiated settlement to this conflict with Hamas, because afterall, almost every conflict ends with a negotiated settlement.

COOK: Well, that's exactly the case. I think it is striking how much ordinance the Israelis have used and how limited their damage has been to the tunnels, although people who know something about these tunnels would tell you that it was going to take a lot more than airstrikes and artillery strikes in order to bring these tunnels to a collapse in and on itself, so much -- much broader operation would be required.

I think the Israelis are going to have to come around to declaring victory in going home. Already we're seeing Hamas reorganize itself in the northern Gaza Strip weeks after the Israelis have said that they had ceased to be a significant threat in the north. So, there's not only the question of how much damage or how little damage they've done to the tunnels, but the fact that Hamas remains a potent fighting force, the Israel is going to have to find some way out, otherwise they'll be caught there for many years.

VAUSE: Yeah, it's five months into this almost, and I guess the question is how much longer? And Steven, thanks for being with us. We appreciate your time.

COOK: My pleasure. VAUSE: When we come back, Paris under siege with highways and roads

into the French capital blocked by protesting farmers, angry over surging costs and falling incomes. Protests now spreading to other parts of Europe. Also ahead, broken promises of a free and fair election in Venezuela amid new political turmoil.

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VAUSE: France is a step closer to enshrining abortion rights in this constitution. The French lower house passed an historic Bill on Tuesday by overwhelming margins, nearly 500 in favor, 30 against. The Bill now moves to the more conservative Senate where it's not guaranteed to pass. The push to constitutionalize abortion came a priority for the French government after the Supreme Court in the United States overturned the landmark Roe vs Wade decision, which legalized nationwide abortion in the U.S.

Experts say that if this new Bill becomes law, France will become the first country to include abortion rights in its constitution. Well, 10s of 1000s of farmers are protesting across France throwing manure on government buildings and blocking roads into Paris. And now pressure is going on the French President, Emmanuel Macron to find a way to end it.

Macron will discuss the matter with European Commission President on Thursday. Farmers use tractors to block key roadways outside Paris on Tuesday. They're protesting cheap imports, low wages, government policies, growing prices, falling wages, pretty much everything. CNN's Melissa Bell filed this report, not far from the French capital.

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MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What we've seen since yesterday are these farmers who had been spreading their discontent fairly widely across France, blockading roads with their tractors elsewhere around the country, dumping manure outside of local stores, setting tires and waste to light to try and draw attention to their anger, it had begun in the south of France more than a week ago, and is now moved progressively closer to Paris. And we're now just on the outskirts of Paris. Their plan is to stay until they get what they want from the government.

Now, what they're complaining about are, a combination of higher production costs as a result of the EU Subsidy System and government efforts to bring down food inflation for people, coupled with an extraordinary amount of red tape, they say that makes it simply impossible for them to do their job. For instance, what French farmers say is that it takes them an entire day each week just to fill out the paperwork that they need in order to get their subsidies from the Common Agricultural Policy.

So, it's a number of different issues that they say have driven them to this, to trying to put a stranglehold around the French capital in order to bring it to a halt. It is a siege that they're threatening. For now, just a few of these main roads into Paris are being blocked. Their threat, though, is that this will get out. As you can see, well, just behind me, where they've had set up a little while ago, a big screen they were listening to globally anytime the Gabriel Attal, the French Prime Minister make a series of announcements for the French farmer.

For now, I have to say it was a very broad speech, very fiery, he's new to his job. He's very young. And it was his job to try and show that he was determined to change the way the French state worked. In terms of specific for farmers, it was fairly short on those, but we expect more measures to be announced today. Much more crucial, there's likely to be this meeting on Thursday EU leaders will meet.

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Remember that this is now a European-wide problem. Each set of farmers from the particular countries has their own set of grievances. But all together, European-wide, farmers are feeling the brunt of European regulations that are making their jobs harder, European attempts to import cheap food, both grain and meat, milk from outside the European Union, where they say, the measures, the requests, the demands being made of farmers, they're far less stringent. So, there is an injustice they say at the heart of the system that they are no longer willing to tolerate.

And they say, very much like you'll remember, the Yellow Vest Protests where few years ago here in France, they were kicked off by that straw that broke the camel's back, it was a rise in fuel taxes. Similarly, the drop really here that caused all of this to explode here in France, was the announcement that there would no longer be subsidies on the crucial diesel that many of these farmers use to run their farms.

So, all of this combined now, a major headache for the French government, and not only for European governments, and for Brussels by the time they meet on Thursday, trying to figure out how they can bring this sort of disruption to an end.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Washington has fired a diplomatic warning shot after an opposition candidate in Venezuela was disqualified for running for President. The U.S. has sanctioned just one state-owned company, but ones, the lucrative oil and gas sector, could be sanctioned by April. All this comes after an agreement between the Venezuelan government and the opposition is now appearing to unravel. And the U.S., actually last year, lifted sanctions on the promise that there would be free and fair elections in Venezuela for President. Details now from Stefano Pozzebon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It seemed a rare victory for diplomacy in a year of conflict. October last year, the Venezuelan government and the opposition signing a deal that opened the door to a peaceful transition and brought hopes of an end to years of political crisis in the South American country.

Authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro pledging to release political prisoners and allow free and fair elections, and the United States assisting the opposition, offering to leave the sanctions in exchange for a return to democracy.

Five days later, an opposition primary with more than 2 million votes has selected Maria Corina Machado to challenge Maduro for the presidency as a unitary candidate. Then in December, a prisoner swap brought home 10 U.S. citizens detained in Venezuela in exchange for a close ally and alleged personal financier of Maduro himself. National Security Advisor, Juan Gonzalez showing cautious optimism that Venezuela could finally turn the page.

JUAN GONZALEZ, DEPARTMENT ASSISTANT SECRETARY, WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS (Interpreted): Part of the deal was releasing U.S. prisoners and Venezuelan political prisoners. They are respecting the deal and doing even more. We know this is a long process, but we are committed step by step with democracy in Venezuela.

POZZEBON (voice over): But with the new year, things started to sour.

NICOLAS MADURO, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT (Interpreted): Nothing will stop me. I will keep campaigning and protecting the people. And just do (ph) what hurts them the most, I will keep ruling this country.

MARIA CORINA MACHADO FORMER DEPUTY OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF VENEZUELA: (Foreign Language)

POZZEBON (voice over): Until Friday, when the Supreme Court stack with government allies rule that Machado is banned from holding public office on corruption charges. Machado denies the charges as well as accusations that she conspired to forcefully remove Maduro from power. Instead, she accuses Maduro of breaking his word and called on the support of the international community.

Republicans in the U.S. urging President Biden to restore the sanctions lifted last year, including all-in sanctions, which could impact gas prices back home. And the White House on Monday saying Maduro still has until spring to commit to what he pledged in October.

With both Venezuela and the United States set to go to the polls based on one presidential campaign already leaking on to the other. Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, Bogota.

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VAUSE: Coming up here on CNN, they're tired of waiting and they're worried, their loved ones are running out of time. Now the families of hostages in Gaza trying to force the Israeli government to hear their pleas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are tired, but we are doing everything, it's our mission, our life. (END VIDEO CLIP)

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VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause, you're watching CNN Newsroom. It seems the deal is taking shape which would pause fighting in Gaza in return for the release of Israeli hostages. Hamas officials say, they're studying the proposal, while the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says, he will not approve any deal, which allows for the release of 1000s of terrorists. It's now been 116 days since the hostages were taken and their families are at their wit's end running out of patience. Clarissa Ward has details reporting in from Jerusalem.

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CLARISSA WARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In Israel's Parliament last week, anger boiling over. You will not sit here while they die there, this man shouts. The family members of the hostages in Gaza storming into a session of the Knesset saying enough is enough.

Meirav Gonen was never political. Now, she's a regular here, pushing lawmakers to do whatever it takes to bring her 21-year-old daughter Romi and the other 131 hostages home.

WARD (on camera): We saw these incidents recently here at the Knesset where family members were shouting at politicians.

MEIRAV GONEN: This is the frustration, you know, people, when they're in fear and frustration, it's very difficult to be restrained. Some of us may cry more, maybe you know close inside, and some of us just need to shout it out. And you know, shouting is something this Knesset should be able to contain also, because it's too long.

WARD (voice over): Shelly Shem-Tov is fighting too, delivering a forceful rebuke to Israel's war cabinet at a press conference last month.

SHELLY SHEM-TOV: (Foreign Language)

CLARISSA WARD (voice over): Look us in the eyes. It's our children, our families, she says. Where are you? Where are you?

Shelly's 21-year-old son, Omer, was working as a waiter saving money to travel the world when he was abducted at the Supernova Music Festival.

SHEM-TOV: He is a sunshine. He is a boy that everybody wants to be near him. Everybody loves him. He loves to laugh. He loves music.

WARD (voice over): On Saturday night, she attended a rally for the hostages as she does every week, exhausted and frustrated, but undeterred in her quest to bring Omer home.

SHEM-TOV: I don't know if you are a mother.

WARD (on camera): I am.

SHEM-TOV: So, try to imagine. Try to imagine that your son went to a festival. He only went to festival. You can call your son now to ask him how he is. You know where your son is sleeping tonight. I don't know.

[00:30:34]

WARD: It must be agony.

SHEM TOV: Where we are tired. But we are doing everything. It's our mission of our life to bring my son back home. Everybody was saying stop; stop.

WARD: And do you feel that enough is being done? Do you feel satisfied with the response?

SHEM TOV: Listen, my son is not at home. Every day I'm getting into his room. And he's still not there, sleeping in his bed. So if it's enough, no, it's not enough. It's not enough.

WARD (voice-over): One hundred and fifteen days into this nightmare, patients and time are running out.

Clarissa Ward, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Still to come here on CNN, reasons for hope for thousands who suffer from quadriplegia, with human trials now underway by a company owned by Elon Musk, with a successful implant in the brain of a wireless chip which could restore the ability to move.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Five current and former NHL players are facing sexual assault charges in Canada over an alleged incident in 2018. This is current and former players. They were all part of Canada's World Junior Hockey Team at the time.

Some of the details are only coming to light in 2022 during parliamentary hearings involving the sport's governing body, Hockey Canada.

CNN's Paula Newton has more now, reporting in from Ottawa.

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PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: One former and four current NHL hockey players are facing charges relating to an alleged sexual assault that apparently took place in June 2018.

Now, we have reached out to these players and have statements from their lawyers. Now charged with sexual assault are Michael McLeod and Cal Foote from the New Jersey Devils; Carter Hart from the Philadelphia Flyers; and Alex Formenton, who played for the Ottawa Senators and was then playing in the European pro leagues. All four have taken leave of absences from their teams and through their lawyers, have indicated that they say they have no criminal wrongdoing here, that they will fight these charges and plead not guilty.

[00:35:10]

Now, Hockey Canada weighed in on these allegations.

In June of 2022, when they were forced to appear in parliamentary hearings here in Ottawa and admitted that they knew about the alleged incident within 24 hours; that they alerted police; that they, as well, launched an investigation.

But they also added that they settled a civil lawsuit with the alleged victim back in 2022.

Now, after a national outcry, London police agreed to reopen the investigation. They say they will have more on these charges in the first week of February.

Paula Newton, CNN, Ottawa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: The future's looking a little brighter for the global economy, according to the latest report from the International Monetary Fund.

The group is predicting 3.1 percent economic growth for the year ahead, matching what happened last year. That's slightly higher than predicted last October.

The IMFs chief economist says the clouds are beginning to part.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PIERRE-OLIVIER GOURINCHAS, CHIEF ECONOMIST, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND: The global economy continues to display remarkable resilience, with inflation declining steadily and growth holding up. The chance of a soft landing has increased. But the pace of expansion remains slow. And risks remain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: One of those risks: the threat to commercial shipping in the Red Sea. The IMF says it could scramble supply chains and cause a spike in commodity prices.

The group also cited the wars in Gaza and Ukraine as potential threats to global growth.

Now to a small step towards Elon Musk's dream of augmenting the human brain with technology, not just to compete, but to survive in an A.I.- filled world.

He announced his startup company, Neuralink, had installed a brain implant in its first human patient. We don't know much else about the patient. Musk only said it's recovering well, unlike the monkeys they tried these out on months ago, years ago.

Neuralink is far from the only company working on this sort of technology, but ultimately, Musk wants to commercialize a product called Telepathy to someday help those who've lost the use of their limbs.

So does this mean there is now reason for hope for thousands of people with debilitating conditions such as quadriplegia?

CNN's chief medical correspondent, Sanjay Gupta, is with us now to explain how all of this works. And it's good to see you. Thanks for being with us.

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You, too. Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: You know, Elon Musk, he's not the only one implanting wireless interface devices into people's brains. Well, at least his company. A handful of companies have been conducting their own trials. But the Neuralink chip, or N1, as it's called, kind of works differently to the others, in part because of these threads, these dozens of threads, which implant directly to brain tissue.

So explain how they he work and why this is so unique.

GUPTA: Yes. So basically, you're talking about a device that's about the size of a quarter, just to give you some context. It's pretty small. And it's got these threads, as you mentioned, that sit on an area of the brain. I'm going to show you on this model here, John, if you can see this. There are parts of the brain that are responsible for different things.

So on the top here, this is a part of the brain that's responsible for movement. This chip or this device actually sits on that top, that part of the brain. And when you think about movement, can't move. These are patients who are quadriplegic or have ALS. But just thinking about movement, that releases a characteristic firing of neurons.

And this device says, oh, OK, that's the firing of neurons that looks like when someone wants to move a cursor this way or move a mouse this way. And eventually, the device learns what those, those electrical patterns look like.

And after learns it well enough -- and that can take weeks, if not months to learn -- it connects to a Bluetooth device, which can then control things in your environment. Your smartphone, your mouse on your computer, things like that.

The person is not moving, but they're just thinking about moving, and that's what's causing this, this change in the devices around them.

VAUSE: I guess at this point, what is unknown is how long a patient will be able to tolerate the chip, actually, in the brain. How long that chip will continue to operate. And here -- but here's what Neuralink is actually promising part of their promotion. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The device is designed to interpret your neural activity so you can operate a computer or a smartphone by simply thinking about moving. No wires or physical movement are required.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: They also need to prove not only that the technology worked, but actually brings significant benefits, as well. So looking ahead here, what needs to happen before it can be available on a much wider basis to people who need it?

GUPTA: Well, you know, to your first point, John, about just the device itself, you know, as a neurosurgeon myself, we do implant devices in the brain for -- for different sorts of things. Deep brain stimulators and things like that.

So that's not new to necessarily have a foreign body that sits in the brain or on top of the brain as -- as is the case here.

But a lot of things have to happen for this to become a reality. I mean, you know, the idea, first of all -- all we know is they've implanted it. Does it actually work?

[00:40:10]

There's been videos of monkeys, for example, primates that have had these devices that have been able to control a cursor and even play a game like Pong, for example. I think we have some video of that.

Is it going to be able to do the same thing in humans? Will it get even better so that I could have a text chain with you without ever having to actually touch a device, just doing it all with my mind?

I think that they're pretty confident they're going to get to that point. But that's years away still, John. They have to go through all this regulatory approval. They've got to do more and more patients. They've got to make sure that they actually show that it only works, but works in different types of patients.

VAUSE: Musk, though, has much grander ambitions. Apparently, he wants to develop a generalized input/output device that could interface with every aspect of your brain.

In other words, something everybody would use to connect their minds directly to the digital realm. Just like Neo in "Matrix." Look at this.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How is he?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ten hours straight. He's a machine.

KEANU REEVES, ACTOR: I know Kung Fu.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: "I know Kung Fu."

GUPTA: Love that movie.

VAUSE: Great movie. The first one was the best. The rest were not so good.

In most cases, reputation for over-promising and under-delivering. But even so, it seems, you know, there is still a lot to be gained, even if he does fall short.

GUPTA: I think that, for patients who -- who are quadriplegics, for example, they don't -- they can't move. People who have ALS, and they're getting progressively weak.

There's a -- there's real utility, I think, to these types of devices. And again, just keep in mind, we're talking about a very specific part of the brain. You're really looking at motor function here, in terms of something that you can improve.

What you just saw there with that video and some of these promises, that's talking about human consciousness and cognition and things like that. That's not an incremental step, John. That's an exponential step.

So I say years before we get to the point where it becomes a reality for people who have quadriplegia, it's much longer than that, even, for the idea of being able to capture cognition and be able to link it to a device as -- as Musk is talking about.

VAUSE: But, you know, the future is now. Sanjay, as always, thanks for being with us. Appreciate the discussion (ph).

GUPTA: Thank you.

VAUSE: Take care.

GUPTA: You got it.

VAUSE: John Vause, back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. But first, WORLD SPORT starts after a short break. See you back in about 17 minutes or so.

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