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Sweden Officially Joins NATO; Biden Hopeful for Israel-Hamas Ceasefire by Next Week. Protests Rage Across E.U. for Demands on Government Policies for Farmers; Biden Faces Pressure from Arab and Muslim Democrats Ahead of Tuesday's Michigan Primary; Schools Face Trouble as Some Children's Books With Pornography Content Were Challenged by Florida Groups; Odysseus Moon Mission to End Earlier Than Expected. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired February 27, 2024 - 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 from all around the world and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead. Weighing all options, the French President says he's not ruling out the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine in a display of European resolve against Russia.
Plus, a pathway to a pause. President Biden is hopeful a Gaza ceasefire agreement can be reached by next week, but several hurdles remain.
And CNN joins a Ukrainian drone team to see how Russian fighters are presenting new challenges for their soldiers.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: Thanks for joining us. Leaders from across Europe huddled in Paris for a conference focusing on aid to Ukraine at a critical time for the country as it enters its third year of war with Russia, and as U.S. assistance stalls in Congress.
Representatives of the European Union's 27 member countries took part in Monday's meeting hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron. France says the goal is to find ways to boost support for Ukraine as the country's fight on the battlefield is hampered by a dwindling supply of ammunition and weapons.
Macron said a new coalition would be set up to supply Ukraine with medium and long-range missiles and bombs. The French President also said sending Western troops to Ukraine cannot be ruled out, although no agreement was reached after European leaders discussed the prospect. CNN's Clare Sebastian is following development. She joins us now live
from London. Good morning to you, Clare. So what all came out of this international conference?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, good morning, Rosemary. I think you get the sense that Europe is really trying to lead on this issue of supporting Ukraine now that we see, of course, the U.S. bogged down in partisan politics and that Russia clearly has the initiative in the ground war that's happening in Ukraine.
Now, this comment from Macron about not excluding sending ground troops, that is the major headline here. This is a Rubicon that would have been unthinkable to cross a year ago, two years ago. You'll remember European leaders were sending things like helmets and sleeping bags.
So this shows you how far that they've come. And with this hastily arranged summit attended very well by 21 heads of state and government, there is this collective sense of urgency. So take a listen to exactly what Macron had to say about this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): There is no consensus today to send ground troops in an official, endorsed or sanctioned matter. But in dynamic terms, nothing should be ruled out. We would do whatever it takes to ensure that Russia cannot win this war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN: So he's right. There's no consensus. Certainly, the Slovak Prime Minister, Robert Fico, has expressed his disapproval of this.
And there are others as well who may not sign on. This would be a very big step up in European involvement in the war in Ukraine. Now, there were a few other things that came out of the summit.
One is that Macron has said that they will form a coalition. There are several coalitions that have been formed around specific types of weaponry. This would be a coalition for medium and long-range missiles, which Ukraine desperately needs to try to hit behind Russian lines to ease the pressure on the front lines.
And the second significant thing is that an initiative to buy artillery shells from third countries outside of Europe and then send them to Ukraine has been gaining support. You'll remember that Europe was unable to send to Ukraine the promised one million artillery shells that it had promised about a year ago. It's going to be able to send about half that.
So the quest for artillery shells is looking now outside of Europe. But as I said, Europe seems to be really trying to lead here. And those comments around not excluding ground troops are a significant step up.
CHURCH: All right. Our thanks to Clare Sebastian, joining us live from London.
One of Alexei Navalny's top aides says a prisoner swap was in the works before the opposition leader's death and that Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich delivered the proposal to Vladimir Putin. One Western official confirms to CNN that early discussions were on between the US and Germany, but no formal offer had been made.
CNN's Matthew Chance is in Moscow with more.
[03:05:05]
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mourners still paying their respects at makeshift memorials across Russia.
But now another unexpected twist in Alexei Navalny's tragic saga.
According to his close aide, negotiations for the release of the Russian opposition leader were reaching a conclusion. He was poised to be swapped, say his team, before he suddenly died.
MARIA PEVICHKN, HEAD OF INVESTIGATIONS AT NAVALNY'S ANTI-CORRUPTION FOUNDATION (through translator): Navalny should have been free in the coming days because we achieved a decision on his exchange. I received confirmation that negotiations were underway and were at the final stage on the evening of February 15th. On February 16th, Alexei was killed.
CHANCE (voice-over): The Kremlin tells CNN it has no knowledge of any deal and had nothing to do with his death. But Navalny's team insists the Russian opposition figure was killed to prevent him from being swapped.
CHANCE: You can see Evan Gershkovich is in there. Hi, Matthew, from CNN.
CHANCE (voice-over): Swapped along with US citizens in Russian jails, like "Wall Street Journal" reporter Evan Gershkovich, accused of espionage.
Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan serving 16 years for spying.
The U.S. says both are unlawfully detained and has been negotiating for their release, including early talks on Navalny, one Western official tells CNN. But the Kremlin has regularly hinted it wants back this man, a former FSB agent, Vadim Krasikov, serving a life sentence in Germany for killing a Chechen dissident.
Navalny's team accuses the Kremlin of simply taking the opposition leader off the negotiating table by killing him, allegations the Kremlin denies.
PEVICHKN (through translator): It was clearly communicated to Putin that the only way to get Krasikov is to exchange him for Navalny. Hold on, thought Putin, I can't tolerate Navalny being free. And since they're willing to exchange Krasikov in principle, then I just need to get rid of the bargaining chip.
CHANCE (voice-over): No person, in other words, no problem. The kind of ruthlessness that saw Alexei Navalny poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok in 2020.
Recovering only to be arrested and imprisoned on his return to Russia the following year.
After news of his unexplained death, hundreds of mourners were detained while laying flowers. Now Navalny's team says a public farewell, a potential flashpoint, will be held at the end of this week.
In death, as in life it seems, Alexei Navalny continues to challenge the Kremlin's power.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: After more than a year of delays and obstacles from Turkey and Hungary, nothing now stands in the way of Sweden's entry into NATO.
On Monday, the Hungarian parliament approved Sweden's bid to join the military alliance, the final hurdle Stockholm needed to clear.
Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban dropped his months- long opposition to the move after reaching a defense agreement with his Swedish counterpart. Now Sweden is free to become NATO's 32nd member. Russia's war in Ukraine led the Nordic nation to break its 200-year-long history of military neutrality. And Sweden's Prime Minister says he's sure Moscow won't be happy about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ULF KRISTERSSON, SWEDISH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): As far as Russia is concerned, the only thing we can safely expect is that they do not like Sweden becoming a NATO member. They didn't like Finland becoming a NATO member either. The whole purpose was to emphasize that a country like Ukraine would not be allowed to choose its own path.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: U.S. President Joe Biden says he's hopeful there will be a ceasefire in the fighting between Israel and Hamas by Monday that could allow for the release of more hostages. Mr. Biden was speaking to reporters while visiting an ice cream shop with comedian Seth Meyers in New York.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Would you give us the sense of when the ceasefire will start? JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, I hope by the beginning of the weekend, I mean the end of the weekend. At least my national security advisor tells me that we're close, we're close, we're not done yet. And my hope is by next Monday we'll have a ceasefire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: But the President acknowledged it will be a long road to peace. Biden also warned Israel that it risks losing support on the international stage if the war in Gaza continues at this pace.
Meantime, sources tell CNN that Hamas has backed off some key demands in the ongoing talks. Officials from the U.S., Israel, Egypt and Qatar met in Doha on Monday to discuss the finer points of a potential deal.
[03:10:10]
Joining me now is journalist Elliott Gotkine, he's live in London. So Elliot, what's the latest on those ceasefire and hostage release negotiations?
ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Rosemary, one assumes there wasn't just something in the ice cream that was making Biden make this statement, which seems to be for the first time giving an actual time scale, a timeline for when this truce, this hoped for truce would come into effect, saying that it will happen on Monday. And what's fueling this optimism and this apparent momentum is that we had those talks in Paris over the weekend. They then moved to Doha.
What we have now are the so-called proximity talks where you have the two parties, Israel and Hamas, geographically, physically in the same city, not talking to each other, of course, speaking through mediators, but having meetings, the head of Hamas' political bureau meeting with the emir of Qatar. And we also have the Israelis, the Americans and the Egyptians there as well, trying to thrash out some of the details of this truce.
And we understand from Biden administration officials that one thing that has helped is that Hamas seems to have climbed down from some of its maximalist demands, such as a complete end to the war between Israel and Hamas and also the release of thousands of prisoners.
Now, from what we understand from reports from Reuters and others, is that the details of this truce deal would include the release of some 40 Israeli hostages, including women, people under the age of 19, people over the age of 50 and ill people, ill hostages being freed in exchange for 10 times that number of Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails. There will be a 40-day pause in the fighting.
And during that pause, 500 aid trucks per day would go in. There would be thousands of caravans and tents going in. Hospitals and bakeries would be repaired and reopened.
So this is among the items being discussed, which are still to be signed off on. And of course, much could go wrong between now and Monday. It may not happen on Monday. And the other thing to note is, of course, that in the past, obviously
with less serious conflicts between Israel and Hamas, when a truce or a ceasefire has been upcoming, we've actually seen an intensification of the fighting in the run up to that truce so that one side can either have the final word or make as much gains on the ground as possible before that truce comes into effect. Rosemary.
CHURCH: All right. Our thanks to Elliott Gotkine joining us live from London.
Well joining me now is David Sanger, CNN political and national security analyst. He's also White House and national security correspondent with "The New York Times". Thank you so much for being with us.
DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Great to be with you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: So President Joe Biden says he is hopeful a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will be achieved by next Monday in exchange for the release of hostages, adding that his national security adviser tells him those talks are close. Why do you think the president made that prediction at this time in a seemingly very casual way while he's basically eating an ice cream?
SANGER: Yeah, it was, it took everybody by surprise, Rosemary, and I think for several reasons.
First of all, it's a little bit of a black box what's going on in these negotiations. Second, figuring out timing is difficult since the negotiations require the approval of the military arm of Hamas. And of course, they're deep in the tunnels and the communications with them have been very indirect. So that's been part of the delay.
Third, it's a little bit hard to imagine a situation in which you get the first 40 hostages out. That would be roughly half of what we believe the number of Israelis who are now held or Israelis and Americans and some others.
And then after a ceasefire of 40 days or so, you go through for a second round. And in that time, the buildup is supposed to happen. And there's a lot that can go wrong there. You could have either side declare that they haven't been fully transparent or executed on the releases.
You could have complaints that the aid isn't coming in fast enough, that the rebuilding isn't going on quickly enough.
But I think there's a lot of pressure on President Biden now as he enters these uncontested primaries and heads to the State of the Union to show that there's some progress and some pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu.
CHURCH: And sources tell CNN that Hamas has backed off some key demands in the ongoing talks. Why do you think Hamas would do that?
SANGER: Well, for Hamas, they need a break as well. Here is the theory.
[03:15:01]
They are under huge pressure. There's some indication the Israelis are getting near their leadership. And they understand that Israel's primary objective out here now is still to destroy Hamas and its leaders. And that's been at some tension with the secondary Israeli goal of getting all the hostages out. By pushing ahead on a hostage deal, I think Hamas thinks they can buy some time to figure out how they're going to try to extract their leadership before the Israelis hunt them down.
CHURCH: And complex issues like the release of IDF soldiers and Palestinian prisoners are still being resolved, as well as when the war would end, of course. But regardless of these specifics, Prime Minister Netanyahu is insisting an Israeli ground offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah will be carried out regardless of the outcome of the talks. How is that playing into these negotiations?
SANGER: His statements don't line up with our general concept of a ceasefire. In other words, would the ceasefire exempt their operations in the very south? I don't think so.
And so that's why the definitions that are in place here are so important. If they could get this done by the end of the weekend, as the president suggested, that would be a remarkable thing.
But all the indications are so far that the definitions of what you need to do next and in what order are extremely delicate. And that's why the last ceasefire fell apart.
And you'll remember when that happened, there was a big release of hostages. And then the clock ran out over various disputes. And it's taken until now, the end of February, nearly the beginning of March, to put back together something that everyone hopes would be a significant ceasefire again.
CHURCH: Our thanks to David Sanger joining us there. I Appreciate it.
SANGER: Thank you.
CHURCH: Farmers across Europe are protesting government policies that are keeping the price of their produce low as the cost of farming continues to rise. We'll have details of their demands.
Plus, record-breaking warm weather followed by a massive cold front. What the sharp swing in temperatures means for large parts of the United States. Back with that and more in just a moment.
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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Farmers across Europe are protesting their government's economic and regulatory policies. Farmers say while the cost of energy, fertilizer and transport have risen, governments are trying to reduce food prices amid inflation. Now they're demanding lawmakers take action to address their grievances. [03:20:07]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN ODY, FRENCH FARMER AND ECVC MEMBER: The European Union is not listening to our demands. Our demand is for fair revenue. We don't make a living out of our work. We produce the food and we don't make a living. Why is so? Because of free trade agreements, because of deregulation, because the prices are below cost of production. So we demand the E.U. to move on this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: At this protest in Madrid, farmers from across Spain blew whistles and beat drums, urging the E.U. to loosen regulations and drop some changes to its subsidies and other programs. E.U. agriculture ministers met Monday in Brussels and debated a new set of proposals to ease financial pressures on European farmers.
Danielle Resnick is a Senior Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute. She joins me now from Washington. Appreciate you being with us.
DANIELLE RESNICK, SR. RESEARCH FELLOW, INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE: Thanks for having me.
CHURCH: So we are seeing an increasing number of protests from farmers across Europe complaining of low prices, high costs and cheap imports. With more protests Monday in Belgium calling on E.U. agriculture ministers to address their concerns. Why is this happening at this time, do you think?
RESNICK: I think these protests really reflect some complex political economy dynamics that are happening, especially as European Union governments are trying to navigate both the fiscal and climate crisis in the shadow of upcoming European Union elections in June of this year.
We really saw these protests starting in mid-December of just last year, starting in December when the German government was trying to fill its fiscal deficit by promoting, reducing the subsidies going to farmers, particularly for diesel.
And of course, farmers rely on diesel subsidies for their tractors. And it really kind of galvanized farmers in Germany to come out onto the streets, going through Berlin and the Brandenburg Gates. And then this really kind of created a demonstration effect across the region as we saw protests, as you noted, from France to Spain, to Poland, to the Czech Republic.
They have a lot of grievances that we can go into, but one that they really noted is that their own returns on investment have really shifted over the last year. They've seen a nine percent decline on average in terms of the returns that they're getting on their production. And so the feeling that some of these reductions and subsidies and other measures are really hitting them hard. CHURCH: So how much leverage in the end do Europe's farmers have and
what solutions are they calling for?
RESNICK: So European Union farmers have a lot of leverage. They've historically been an extremely powerful constituency. Over the past few decades, they've really benefited tremendously from subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy or the CAP policy.
As we've seen, they have extremely well organized unions coming out across the region. And I think one of the main issues that they're concerned about is in the midst of all these rising production costs that they're facing and the impacts of climate change affecting their production from flooding to heat waves, they feel disproportionately burdened by European Union regulations and particularly the passage of the E.U.'s Green Deal in 2020, which really targeted agriculture as a sector that really needs to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
And so they feel that they as a constituency have been overburdened by some of these E.U. regulations. And so their main grievance is that they really haven't been part of dialogues by the E.U. in thinking about these climate goals.
CHURCH: And farmers are also protesting in India, seeking guaranteed minimum crop prices, pressing the government to follow through on promises to waive loans and withdraw legal cases brought against them during the earlier 2021 protests. Is it time for better solutions for farmers globally, given their critical role in food supplies?
RESNICK: Yes, I think this is a multi-pronged question. I mean, I think on the one hand, farmers do face a lot of challenges and the climate issues disproportionately actually affect them in their own production planning. And India's farmers face a lot of different challenges. And we hear constantly about the number of farmer suicides in India because of these burdensome loans that they face.
[03:24:54]
But I think the solution that they're proposing in India among the farmers unions is perhaps not really the right solution for the issue that they're facing. They're really wanting the government to legalize this minimum support policy program, which effectively acts as a safety net, protects farmers when there's income shocks because the government guarantees that it will buy their produce at a certain price.
But the downside is that there's a lot of wastage, particularly for products like wheat and rice, because the government doesn't have the storage facilities to keep all these products. And it leads to really kind of distortionary production cropping patterns where farmers are really choosing the products where you have this minimum support price guarantee.
So some have argued that instead of kind of market mechanisms that these Indian farmer groups are pushing for, there should really kind of be income support measures and a gradual transition away from farming to sectors that have higher value added, like manufacturing and service industries. So kind of a switch in thinking about not protecting farmers from the market side, but from the income side. And again, having kind of a gradual transition approach.
CHURCH: Danielle Resnick, many thanks for joining us. I Appreciate it.
RESNICK: Thanks again for having me.
CHURCH: Abrupt temperature changes could bring severe storms to parts of the U.S. in the coming days. Unseasonably warm weather will soon be followed by a massive cold front sweeping in from the west. Meteorologist Chad Myers has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Another very warm day again today and tomorrow in some spots. Over 60 record highs will be broken across the country just over the next 48 hours. So yes, Dallas, Texas, yesterday you were 94.
Mineral Wells was 97 degrees. And cold front's going to come by and knock that completely gone. For today, Dallas gets to 90, tomorrow back down into the 50s. Even for Chicago, Wednesday you're going to be 70 and then knock your temperatures down by 37 degrees to 33. That's the cold front. And it's the same cold front that could make severe weather tonight around Chicago, around southern Michigan, also Indiana, Illinois, and then by morning possibly all the way down toward the Ohio River.
When you have warm air like this and cold air wants to push it away, there is the potential for those storms to want to rise. When you push those storms into the air, you get severe thunderstorms possible even this time of year.
I know we think about March, April, May being severe weather season, but when the warm air is this warm, you can certainly get severe weather.
70 degrees in Chicago on Wednesday and then here's your really your knockdown all the way to 21 for a morning low. Some of the outdoor plants may not like that very much. We'll have to see what happens to all of those things that want to grow.
Then all of a sudden Mother Nature says, nope, how about 21? That'll freeze them up a little bit. So we'll have to be very careful and possibly even get them covered up if they start to peak out there.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Well, still to come, Ukraine's secret weapon against Russia isn't so secret anymore, and now Russian fighters are presenting new challenges for Ukrainian drone teams. What CNN saw while observing one unit, that's still to come.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia must suffer its key defeat in Crimea as he marked the country's day of resistance to the occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol. Mr. Zelenskyy says Ukraine has already achieved significant results in the Black Sea and is working to achieve what he said are the necessary results in Crimea. The day of resistance marks exactly 10 years since Russia annexed the peninsula.
In a speech on Monday, Zelenskyy urged, quote, "real counteraction to Russian evil" and said the fight must continue for the people in Crimea and in other occupied parts of Ukraine.
And Ukraine's President says he hopes U.S. lawmakers can come to an agreement on military aid soon. Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying millions of Ukrainian lives are on the line. He spoke with CNN's Kaitlan Collins about his country's strategy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: You did say today as far as military plans that your new commander-in-chief is drawing up a clear-cut plan, you said. Are there two different plans, one for if U.S. aid happens and one if it doesn't happen?
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Yes, it means that if we have munition or not. If we count on our partners or we have to count only on us. So that is defending plan or defending with some steps forward with counteroffensive. That's very important. Those back, looking back previous year to previous year. So what success we had on the Black Sea, maybe not everybody saw it, but it was success. We destroyed their ships.
We opened Black Sea. Not totally, but anyway, we made and created the new route in the Black Sea, which gave for today about 30 million tons of grain and other agricultural products. Yes, it's a big success. But we could did it, could do it with very contracted munition, with very contracted things. I'm not sure with audience or you all the details, but some of them I think people understand.
COLLINS: So you see the difference that U.S. aid makes, is what you're saying?
ZELENSKYY: Yes, it means that this year, if we will not get anything, we will not have any success. And also I think --
COLLINS: You don't have any success?
ZELENSKYY: Any new success. And I think the route will be closed with the grain because to defend it, it's also about some ammunition, some air defense and some other systems. And that's why without it and without we can't count on it.
(END VIDEO CLIP) Ukraine has been relying more on drones to try and level the playing field with Russia. But the Russians are well aware of the threat and doing all they can to make things tougher on the soldiers operating those drones. CNN's Nick Paton-Walsh reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON-WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They flit around fast, hiding each week in a new abandoned shell.
Drone operators have been Ukraine's secret weapon for months, but now it is getting harder.
We saw this unit in December, but their base back then has been bombed. Yet still, they hunt every day for a single mistake. A Russian who gets himself spotted.
They say the Russians are better at hiding themselves, although sometimes obviously not.
PATON-WALSH: Yeah, so they've just spotted a Russian soldier carrying groceries and a dog came out to greet him. So I think it's quite possible that's where some Russians are hiding.
PATON-WALSH (voice-over): So it begins.
The first strike on the window. One drone watching, the other flies into the target.
And quickly they prepare another.
The hunt is no game, but has the tools of one. They lose about a quarter of their drones to Russian jamming.
[03:35:02]
TIMUR, UKRAINE'S 11TH NATIONAL GUARD (translated): The jamming got worse. It's affecting us more. But we won't give up. We have to evade like snakes. Invent things. Experiment.
PATON-WALSH (voice-over): They see the Russians running into the blue house, its roof clearly hit before, a while ago. It becomes their next target.
They go in again. It could be a mortar position, they think. Watch how smaller explosions send fragments flying out.
TIMUR (translated): Nice one. Not sure it's a kill. We'll see.
PATON-WALSH (voice-over): The Russians often have to stay injured inside the damaged building to not draw in more drones.
TIMUR (translated): They usually wait. They don't run out immediately.
PATON-WALSH (voice-over): They go in again. It could be a mortar position, they think. Then suddenly, the power goes out. The internet down and screens black, but remarkably, they barely miss a beat.
The commander sparks up his cell phone 5G with the drone feed and a chat group directing the entire attack just from an iPhone.
The smoke grows in intensity. They think they might have hit a weapons store.
TIMUR (translated): There's something inside. Should be ammo --
PATON-WALSH (voice-over): They never see Russian faces or taste the smoke. The blast noise takes a few seconds to travel to them, but this is still killing up close, yet far away. Strike, launch, repeat all day.
TIMUR (translated) Nice, nice.
PATON-WALSH (voice-over): Sometimes it's cheers here, screams there, other times the other way around.
Nick Paton-Walsh, CNN, Kherson, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: The Palestine Red Crescent Society has suspended all coordinated medical missions in Gaza for 48 hours over a lack of safety for its staff, the wounded and the sick. The agency says despite prior coordination with the Israeli military, they've been repeatedly mistreated by their troops. CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment.
Meantime, the U.N.'s top agency in Gaza says humanitarian aid deliveries into the devastated territory have declined by 50 percent this month compared to January.
As supply of humanitarian aid dwindles in Gaza, Jordan and France carried out the largest aid drop over the besieged territory. The Jordanian Armed Forces say they made four aerial aid drops on Monday in collaboration with the French Armed Forces, sending relief and food items, including ready-to-eat meals of high nutritional value. A journalist tells CNN he saw four planes. The first plane's airdrop went into the sea, while the remaining three were dropped in southwestern Gaza.
More now from CNN's Jeremy Diamond, reporting from Tel Aviv.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Today, Gaza's humanitarian crisis looks like this.
Palestinians desperate for food paddling and swimming out to sea after at least one plane airdropping aid appeared to miss its target, sending pallets of food crashing into the sea.
In central and southern Gaza, hundreds crowding the beaches to try and secure their piece of the rations. But this is the other side of desperation. Groups of men wielding
whips and bats steering crowds away from their precious cargo. Months of hunger and war triggering fights for survival when there is not enough for everyone.
This is what they are fighting over. Ration packs, a lifeline for the lucky few.
UNKNOWN (through translator): I was lucky and able to get one of these aids, but what about all those other people who were not able to get this aid? Look, this one didn't get any, and this one didn't get any.
DIAMOND (voice-over): But so much more is needed.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): I'm asking from the Arab nations. We are thankful for the aid through the parachutes, but we need more, and we need it distributed in a better way. This will not stop our hunger. We don't need a capsule, because when we eat this, we will eat it. And that's it. It's finished.
DIAMOND (voice-over): But nowhere are people more desperate for food aid than in northern Gaza, where women and children wait in long lines for what now passes for food, a cloudy soup mixture made with dirty water and whatever grains can be found.
[03:40:00]
AMAL MOHAMMAD NASSER, GAZA RESIDENT (through translator): There was no food or drinking water, no flour or anything. There was no cooking oil, not even drinking water. Death is better than this.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Humanitarian aid deliveries this month dropped by half compared to January, according to a United Nations relief agency, which blamed Israeli military operations and the collapse of civil order in Gaza.
In northern Gaza, aid groups suspending aid delivery amid looting and attacks on aid trucks, leaving many with few options to stay alive.
UNKNOWN (through translator): Look, we are aiding animal feed against our will, but have to aid us.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Without food or clean water, their voices are all they have left.
AHMAD ATEF SAFI, GAZA RESIDENT (through translator): The suffering of Gaza is extremely difficult. Where are the authorities? Where is the government? Israel made us hungry, and our government made us hungry, and people are stealing. Shame on you Arabs. Where are you?
DIAMOND (voice-over): But after nearly five months of war, is the world listening?
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: The U.S. president is facing growing anger from Arab and Muslim American Democrats who don't like his response to the conflict in Gaza, and they make up a substantial voting bloc in a key swing state that's about to hold its primary. CNN's Diane Gallagher explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIANE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A pivotal November battleground.
LAVORA BARNES, CHAIR, MICHIGAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY: The road to the White House runs through Michigan. You don't win without Michigan.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): But some Democrats are using Tuesday's primary to put President Joe Biden on notice.
LEXI ZEIDAN, PALESTINIAN-AMERICAN ACTIVIST: A warning to Biden and his administration that they need to hear our calls and heed our demands and respond to what it is that we're asking for, which is an immediate and permanent ceasefire.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): Using their ballots to protest the president's handling of the war in Gaza by voting uncommitted in the Democratic primary.
LAYLA ELABED, CAMPAIGN MANAGER, LISTEN TO MICHIGAN: It's a humanitarian vote. It's a protest vote.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): The grassroots Listen to Michigan campaign launched by members of the state's large Arab American community just three weeks ago, has expanded to count progressives and young voters among its supporters, like Pontiac City Councilman Mikal Goodman.
MIKAL GOODMAN, PONTIAC CITY COUNCILMEMBER: Because we are often told many times that the power that we have as citizens in the U.S. is through the power of the ballot, and this is us using that power. No one who is voting uncommitted wants Trump. They want what is happening in Gaza to stop.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): More than 30 state and local elected officials endorsed the campaign, as did Rashida Tlaib, the first Palestinian- American woman to serve in Congress.
REP. RASHIDA TLAIB (D-MI): If you want us to be louder, then come here and vote uncommitted.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): Organizers say for most, today's message is about the primary. But there's a lingering warning.
ABBAS ALAWIEH, SPOKESPERSON, LISTEN TO MICHIGAN: You need to call for a ceasefire because it will save lives and because it's the necessary thing to do politically, otherwise you, President Biden, will be handing the White House to Donald Trump.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): The Biden campaign has acknowledged Michigan's importance in this election. But allies of the president aren't quite sounding alarms over the uncommitted primary strategy yet.
BARNES: I'm hoping and expecting that these folks will come vote for Joe Biden in November. But right now, they have an issue they want to draw attention to, and it's working. That's why we have an early presidential primary.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): The uncommitted campaign's goal is modest.
ELABED: Our threshold is 10,000 uncommitted votes, because that strategy is based off of the numbers that Trump won in 2016 against Hillary Clinton.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): In 2020, Biden won Michigan by more than 150,000 votes. But some Biden supporters, like former Congressman Andy Levin, say the president's prospects this November are uncertain.
ANDY LEVIN, FORMER U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: I mean, I'm going to do everything I can to get him elected in November. All I'm saying is I don't know if we can succeed unless we change course. And by the way, it's the right thing to do.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): He says he voted uncommitted in the primary, not because his support for the president is wavering.
LEVIN: Well, I think the great danger for Joe Biden here in the Michigan primary is that he would win with no indication that he has a problem, with no visibility of how angry people are.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): Diane Gallagher, CNN, Dearborn, Michigan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: The U.S. president is set to make a rare trip to the border with Mexico on Thursday, and Donald Trump will be there on that same day, according to a source familiar with his plans.
Joe Biden told reporters he did not know about the former president's planned visit. Trump has made Biden's handling of immigration a centerpiece of his reelection effort. The White House says Biden is considering sweeping executive action that would crack down on migrants seeking asylum at the southern border if they crossed illegally.
[03:45:01]
Jury selection is less than a month away in Donald Trump's hush money trial, and the Manhattan district attorney says threats against his office have increased significantly.
CNN's Kara Scannell has details.
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KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Manhattan prosecutors asked a New York judge to impose a gag order to stop Donald Trump from publicly attacking witnesses and jurors in his first criminal trial. The Manhattan district attorney's office said the former president's history of making public comments about witnesses, jurors, lawyers and court staff threatened to undermine the case and has already resulted in hundreds of threats to the D.A.'s office, they told the judge.
Jury selection is set to begin on March 25th. Trump is charged with falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment that was made to stop a story about an alleged affair from becoming public before the 2016 presidential election.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has denied the affair. A spokesman for Trump's presidential campaign called the request a two-tiered system of justice and said prosecutors are trying to stop Trump, who is campaigning for president, from defending himself.
Prosecutors said the potential gag order is narrowly tailored. They said they are not trying to prevent Trump from speaking about the case or district attorney Alvin Bragg.
The D.A.'s office said Trump's extensive history of attacking jurors in other cases should be enough reason for a protective order restricting Trump from sharing information about the jurors, including their identities, with others. The judge overseeing the case has not ruled on the motions. If a gag order is imposed, it wouldn't be the first time.
Judges overseeing two other cases imposed gag orders on Trump. Prosecutors said there is a connection between Trump's statements in 2023, rallying his supporters, and threats made against the district attorney's office. They said threats escalated from one in 2022 to 89 last year, including two letters containing a white powder substance and a death threat against the D.A.
Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Still to come, the battle over book bans in Florida. School librarians are forced to get creative, even drawing pants on nude characters just to keep children's stories on the shelves. We'll explain.
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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. Book bans in school libraries in the U.S. state of Florida have gotten so out of hand, some librarians are using permanent markers to draw pants on nude characters just to keep children's stories on the shelves.
But as an increasing number of conservative parents push back on anything they consider pornographic, even the state's Republican governor admits the law he championed on banning books is out of control. CNN's Carlos Suarez reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At a school district meeting in Indian River County, Florida.
JENNIFER PIPPIN, CHAIRPERSON, MOMS FOR LIBERTY INDIAN RIVER COUNTY CHAPTER: Throughout this entire book, there is pictures of people having sex and they're nude. It says, I quote --
SUAREZ (voice-over): Jennifer Pippin read from a book she says doesn't belong in public schools. Her objection was the only item before a committee of parents and educators who will decide whether the book is removed.
[03:50:08]
No one spoke in favor of keeping the book. The committee decides in April.
A prolific book challenger, Pippin heads the county's conservative parental rights group, Moms for Liberty. She knows the process well.
PIPPIN: We need to remove these materials because they are prohibited per all the laws and statutes.
SUAREZ: How many total number of books have you challenged yourself?
PIPPIN: Myself here in Indian River County, 242.
SUAREZ (voice-over): Out of these, a couple of titles stand out. The literary classic "In the Night Kitchen" by Maurice Sendak and a newer book, "Unicorns Are the Worst", about a grumpy goblin. Both have illustrations of characters without clothes.
Pippin challenged both books under a Florida education law, which allows for the removal of a public school library book that depicts or describes sexual conduct. In her formal objection, Pippin said the images were pornographic. But in our interview, she walked back that claim.
SUAREZ: What's pornographic about them?
PIPPIN: So they're not pornographic. They contain nudity.
SUAREZ (voice-over): But nudity alone is not harmful to minors. According to Florida law, the content would have to appeal to a prurient interest, be patently offensive, or without literary or artistic value.
SUAREZ: I keep going back to nudity that is harmful to children. And so a goblin's backside on the face of it, to me, doesn't seem like it is harmful to children.
PIPPIN: Absolutely. So again, you and I can agree on that, but some other parents may not agree.
SUAREZ (voice-over): Pippin told the district to remove the books or draw on clothing using permanent markers to cover up the nudity.
So school librarians drew shorts, overalls, and shirts on the illustrations.
SUAREZ: To see these drawings, you think that genuinely could adversely affect a child who otherwise may not know what the backside of a goblin looks like or ever thought?
PIPPIN: Sure. So if a child is possibly maybe being raped by an adult, and maybe seeing the nudity in itself, maybe just not the backside, but seeing something nude could, you know, be detrimental to them.
SUAREZ (voice-over): From her home office in Orlando, Stefana Ferrell couldn't believe it. She's part of the Florida Freedom to Read Project, an organization that tracks thousands of books being challenged in the state.
STEFANA FERRELL, CO-FOUNDER, FLORIDA FREEDOM TO READ PROJECT: I have an eight-year-old. As soon as we heard that unicorns are the worst, I had a drawing that was getting drawn on. My son wanted to read it. And so we read through the book, and he said to me, Mom, she took out the funny part. Why would they do that?
SUAREZ (voice-over): Ferrell said covering up the images is censorship. The publisher of "Unicorns Are the Worst" agrees, telling CNN, quote, "There should be no place for this type of literary vandalism in our schools and libraries".
FERRELL: These things are happening because the law is broad, and the rules are punitive, and people are scared. And we've lost track of good judgment and common sense.
SUAREZ (voice-over): School libraries across Florida have removed more than 1,400 titles during the 2022-2023 school year, according to writer advocacy group Pen America.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who signed the law making all of this possible, now admits some book objections have gone too far. He wants state lawmakers to limit the challenges.
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): If you're somebody who doesn't have a kid in school and you're going to object to 100 books, no, I don't think that that's appropriate.
SUAREZ: Under a proposal moving in the state legislature, school districts would be able to fine individuals $100 for a book challenge after they've unsuccessfully objected to five books.
Lawmakers are also looking whether to limit challenges from people who don't have children at the school where the book is located. Jennifer Pippin told us she challenged Unicorns Are the Worst, the book with the naked goblin, on behalf of a grandparent.
Carlos Suarez, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Still to come, alarming new findings on Antarctica's so-called Doomsday Glacier. What the science tells us about our changing climate. Back with that in just a moment.
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[03:55:00]
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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Scientists say Antarctica's so-called Doomsday Glacier has been rapidly melting since the 1940s, three decades earlier than previously thought. The glacier got its nickname because its collapse could cause a catastrophic rise in sea levels.
The new findings also match data on a neighboring glacier which started melting around the same time. Neither one has shown any signs of recovery. And scientists say that's significant because if both glaciers are retreating simultaneously, it means they're being forced by something pointing to further evidence of human-caused climate change.
Odii's mission to the moon is coming to an end earlier than expected. Any time now, flight controllers are expected to lose contact with the first American spacecraft to land on the lunar surface in more than half a century, if they haven't already. The private company that deployed Odii, short for Odysseus, says it intends to keep collecting data until the lander's solar panels are no longer exposed to light. It was suggested that would happen after nine days, not five.
Intuitive machines released these images from Odii's descent. We have yet to see any images taken after the historic touchdown last week. The antennas on Odysseus may be pointing in the wrong direction because it tipped when it landed and ended up on its side.
Railway officials in India are investigating a runaway train that traveled unmanned for 74 kilometers before it was stopped. This video went viral on social media. The freight train was on the run for one and a half hours before workers got it to stop by using the emergency brakes and putting stones on the track. No one was injured in the incident, but officials say four people have been suspended and an investigation is underway.
Thanks so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. "CNN Newsroom" continues next, with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.
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