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CNN International: Out of Control Wildfires Threatening Thousands in Texas; Biden Receiving Annual Physical at Walter Reed Today; Another Looming Threat of U.S. Government Shutdown. Aired 11a- 12p ET

Aired February 28, 2024 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RAHEL SOLOMON, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Good morning or good evening, depending on where you're watching. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York.

Massive wildfires are spreading across the Texas Panhandle. Look at these scenes. Authorities urging people to evacuate as the fires grow to hundreds of thousands of square kilometers, threatening lives and homes.

Michigan's primaries, both Joe Biden and Donald Trump win big, making a general election rematch look all but inevitable. Still, though, it's not all good news for the candidates. Our political panel will break it all down.

And Iranians go to the polls on Friday, the country's conservative party is hoping to increase their hold on Parliament as Iran faces sanctions and regional turmoil. We're going to have a report from on the ground straight ahead.

Evacuate now, that is the warning given by one Texas city official to residents as out-of-control wildfires burn in the state's Panhandle. The largest is the Smokehouse Creek fire, which has burned more than half a million acres and is already the second largest wildfire in Texas history, just one of a series of fires that is putting lives and property at risk.

Farmers and ranchers scrambling to prevent losing everything. The owner of an 80,000-acre ranch telling CNN that they have lost cattle and are "not sure what's alive and what isn't". Thousands of people are leaving their homes in at least five counties as they try to outrun the fires. So, just how fast is this Smokehouse fire growing? Well, since it began, it has spread at an average rate of 150 American football fields a minute. Imagine that.

Meteorologist Derek Van Dam has been tracking all of this, and joins us now. Incredible, right to put it in that context.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah.

SOLOMON: Derek, give us a sense of what the forecast is, and sort of what folks down there are really dealing with?

DAM: Well, Rahel, you can see the extreme fire spread, with the video that you see behind me, just how quickly it drums over this road and starts to do spot fires. That is how wildfires take advantage of the dry fuels in and around the area to produce additional fires and spread this large, large complex fire that is ongoing.

In fact, there was an individual who sent us this video as they were flying into Amarillo Airport. And you can see the -- just the general space and the magnitude of these fires. This is overnight and into the Texas Panhandle, just how far as the eye can see, there is wildfire burning across the Texas Panhandle. Right now, 500,000 acres, zero percent containment, that's over 200,000 hectares, for our international audience. That is a significant fire. It puts it at the second largest in the state of Texas history, set back -- a record set back in 1988. This is very interesting as well.

We noticed that the Smokehouse Creek fire has crossed state lines as well. Of course, there is no borders with wildfires. But, it is interesting to note as it continues to travel with the winds. It continues to spread into parts of Oklahoma. Speaking of the winds, check this out, cold front moved through overnight last night. It was able to be detected on the satellite imagery. Those are the hotspots. You're looking at a vantage point from space. And notice, once the winds change to a more northerly direction with the passage of the front, the fire's behavior changed as well, starting to move in a southerly direction, being pushed by the strong winds behind the cold front. So, that also made it more difficult on the ground for firefighters and residents to predict the exact future of where this fire will eventually spread.

What about the smoke? Well, right now, it currently varies thick across Amarillo and portions throughout the Texas Panhandle. But, notice this. The shift in the wind direction will make that smoke move in a northerly direction by this weekend, impacting places like Dodge City, parts of Kansas and western Oklahoma. Winds, yes, considerably lighter than they were yesterday at this time, but they are forecast to pick back up, and the warmth will return in this forecast. So, it is expected to see more fire behavior, fire weather possible by this weekend, not something residents and firefighters want to hear. Rahel.

SOLOMON: No, not at all. Derek Van Dam live for us there. Derek, thank you.

DAM: All right.

SOLOMON: And joining us now from Pampa, Texas, is Juan Rodriguez with the Texas A&M Forest Service. Juan, thank you for the time today.

JUAN RODRIGUEZ, SPOKESPERSON, TEXAS A&M FOREST SERVICE: Yeah. Thank you for having me.

SOLOMON: As I understand it, Pampa is in the Texas Panhandle. It's not far from Amarillo. Give us a sense of where you are and what conditions are likely where you are.

[11:05:00]

RODRIGUEZ: So, right now, we're in Pampa, Texas, but that's not where the bulk of the fire activity is. Last night, I was in Canadian there on the Smokehouse Creek Fire, just to the southwest of Pampa is Fritch and Borger, and like Meredith, and those are the areas getting impacted by the Windy Deuce fire. Over in that area to north of Fritch, we also have the 687 Reamer fire. That was a new start yesterday, and that one has grown to 2,000 acres west of there in Oldham County over in Boys Ranch. We also were requested for assistance to the Magenta fire, which has also surpassed 2,000 acres, but that one is now 40 percent contained.

SOLOMON: I mean, any sense of just how long before this is contained? I mean, it has spread at a really incredible pace. I mean, it's doubled in size since Monday. It's one of the worst wildfires in the state's history. What now?

RODRIGUEZ: So, now, we're going to take advantage of this calmer day. These last two to three days really have made progression on these fires, extremely difficult. Firefighters, we -- we've been working extremely hard to contain these fires and put in all of our efforts into it. But, with just the conditions that we've been facing topography, the country has been extremely rough, not only that, but the weather conditions have been very unfavorable. We've had extremely hot, dry days these last couple of days, along with extremely high winds gusting up to 60 and 70 in some areas of the fire. And this just pushed the fire dramatically. And so, now, we can really take advantage of this calmer day with low winds and higher humidity to try and make more progress on these fires.

SOLOMON: And speaking of the weather, I mean, any sense of when you might expect some rain or conditions that might make the firefight more favorable?

RODRIGUEZ: So, this coming Friday, the Weather Service had forecasted a small chance for some freezing rain to come over throughout our region. Whether or not that will be helpful or stopping these fires, we can't really say. If it is enough, it really would help us out. But, if it doesn't come or if it's barely any moisture that comes with it, then we might not really see too much good that comes with it.

SOLOMON: Can you just give us a sense as a Texan, I mean, just the sentiment on the ground there? I mean, obviously, the most urgent pressing need, of course, is protecting life and property. But, I also imagine for the farmers. I mean, agriculture is a huge part of Texas' economy, for the farmers, for the cattle ranchers. I mean, can you just give us a sense of just the feeling there on the ground?

RODRIGUEZ: Yes. Absolutely. And with that, I know a lot of firefighters had said that while they were out there on these fires that we've had in the last few days, that whenever they came across cattle that were trapped in holdings and pens and things like that, they open gates and let cattle loose. And so, there has been some cattle that's been let loose on some county roads, but it's better for them to be safe and be able to run away. And these are people's livelihoods. Ranchers, I mean, they feel a big part of Texas production. And so, that's a real big part of all of our livelihoods throughout the state and throughout the country. So, it is hard to see a lot of people who might potentially struggle after this. And so, it is the thing that we take into consideration.

SOLOMON: Juan Rodriguez with the Texas A&M Forest Service, we know that you have certainly a lot of work ahead of you in the days and perhaps weeks to come. We appreciate your time today. Thank you so much.

RODRIGUEZ: Thank you for having me.

SOLOMON: President Joe Biden is receiving his annual physical today. His Marine One helicopter touched down outside Walter Reed Military Hospital a little earlier. The President's stamina and mental fitness have become hot topics, as election season heats up, and this will likely be his last health update before voters head to the polls in November.

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And at 81, he is the oldest sitting U.S. President ever. As a reminder, though, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump is 77. The White House says that it will release a summary of Mr. Biden's physical a little later today.

In the meantime, we also continue to watch the threat of yet another looming government shutdown in Washington. With just days before the first of two deadlines to fund the federal government, lawmakers remain deeply divided over a plan to just keep the lights on, and there is still no clear resolution in sight. Of course, we have been here before. And pay attention to the dates in the upper right of the screen. These are all, all of these clips from just the last five months.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST, THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER: Welcome to family feud House Republican edition. Republican infighting over a spending bill is on track to shut down the federal government.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST: Three days before a potential U.S. government shutdown.

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST, STATE OF THE RACE: As the clock ticks down yet again toward a possible government shutdown --

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: There is no room for error as Congress races to avert a partial shutdown.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Incredible. Let's bring in Manu Raju. He is live on Capitol Hill with more. All right, Manu, just bring us up to speed. I mean, what is the very latest from what you can tell?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right now, there is negotiations that are happening between the House and the Senate to try to avoid this shutdown on Friday. They tried to actually pass a short-term extension of government funding. They've already done that three times since the beginning of the fiscal year, last October, started kicking the can down the road to avoid a shutdown, just pushing it down for another few days. That's where the talks are at this moment. But, it has caused considerable frustration within the ranks on both sides of the aisle because it really has a significant impact on the federal government, on program level spending, planning for federal agencies, impacts on jobs, and families as they are concerned about the prospects of having shutdown as well.

So, so many issues here at play. But, the politics are complicated, particularly among the House Republicans versus the Senate Republicans. House Republicans have demanded certain measures and policy restrictions to be added to these spending proposals. Democrats in the Senate have pushed back on that. Senate Republican leaders also have been aligned with Senate Democrats on this. So, very much is a Senate GOP versus House GOP division about strategy and tactics going forward.

And Mike Johnson, the new Speaker of the House, signals that he believes that they can prevent a shutdown. But, he is facing his own internal pressures within the House Republican Conference to push for much more aggressive policy restrictions or even deeper spending cuts. He is resisting some of those urges on his far right. So, if he does agree to a short-term extension of government funding, which is -- seems to be the direction things are headed, undoubtedly he'll face backlash with the -- on his right flank.

And remember, back in the fall, the reason why Kevin McCarthy, the then Speaker of the House was ousted in historic and unprecedented fashion is because he agreed to move forward on a short-term extension of government funding with the support of Democrats. That was something that was seen as a red line for members on the far right.

So, this has been a very complicated saga, which is really the basics essence of governing here in the Capitol, fund the government, keep the lights on, but that has proven to be a very difficult task in this historically unproductive Congress. Rahel.

SOLOMON: And Manu, correct me if I'm wrong. I mean, Speaker Johnson himself has spoken out against continuing resolutions. And as you pointed out, we've been here several times again, I mean, is that looking like the most inevitable solution right now? Because it's Wednesday. I mean, they don't have enough time to sort of formally flesh out these plans. I mean, what do you think?

RAJU: Look, he has said that. In fact, in back in December, he said there'll be no more short-term continuing resolutions, because members simply just do not like these quick -- these short extensions of government funding. Typically, you're supposed -- Congress was supposed to pass year-along funding bills from October 1 through September 30, the fiscal year. They sat down in front of this band aid approach. He said there'll be no more doing of any of that. But, the reality is, he is faced with a choice. They don't have to deal on funding the government for a year-long basis. And so, the only option is a short-term extension of government funding or shut the government down. Ultimately, he has chosen to move on the short-term basis despite his vows in the past not to do so again.

SOLOMON: All right. Manu Raju live for us there on Capitol Hill. Manu, thank you.

And also happening on Capitol Hill, we continue to track developments where Hunter Biden has arrived for his closed-door deposition with U.S. lawmakers. House Republicans are expected to grill President Joe Biden's son about his foreign business dealings. It's part of a larger effort to carry on their impeachment inquiry into the President. Now, so far, they have failed to present solid evidence that the President illegally benefited from his family's business ventures. Here was the President's sign arriving earlier today, as you can see in this video, surrounded there by his lawyer, as I can see, Abbe Lowell.

Now, in a statement, the younger Biden says that he never involved his father in his business, and that his testimony should put an end to the impeachment inquiry.

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Let's bring in CNN's Annie Grayer, who joins me live from Capitol Hill. Annie, I think the fact that he is there in and of itself is quite notable. Walk us through what we can expect and what we might see considering it's a closed-door deposition.

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN REPORTER: Well, Rahel, we are expecting this interview to go for hours, because there are a lot of lawmakers in this closed-door deposition, both Democrat and Republican, who have a lot of questions for the President's son. I mean, Hunter Biden coming to testify behind closed doors is a huge get for Republicans who had been trying to obtain his testimony for months. And this is a really high-stakes interview because Republicans have essentially looked to Hunter Biden as the basis for their entire investigation and allegations about the President. But, there has been no evidence that the President has been involved in his son's business deals.

In fact, Hunter was unequivocal about that in an opening statement that we obtained. Let me read a section of it for you. Hunter says, I am here today to provide the Committees with the one uncontestable fact that should end the false premise of this inquiry. I did not involve my father in my business. Not while I was a practicing lawyer, not in my investments or transactions, domestic or international, not as a board member, and not as an artist. Never.

So, Hunter is just the latest witness to meet with Republicans behind closed doors and refute their central allegation. And yet, Republicans are still plowing forward with their inquiry and continue to hold up Hunter as crucial to their investigation.

SOLOMON: All right. We will watch to see what comes out of it. Annie Grayer live for us on Capitol Hill. Annie, thank you.

All right. Still ahead, Joe Biden and Donald Trump are one step closer to a rematch. But, both face new warning signs. Our political panel will dive into the takeaways from the Michigan primaries, coming up next. Plus, the UN warning that widespread famine is "almost inevitable in Gaza". That's without an urgent ceasefire. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. U.S. President Joe Biden may have his work cut out for him after facing his toughest opponent yet, the uncommitted vote. President Biden won Tuesday's Democratic primary in Michigan. But, his victory also came with a warning sign. More than 100,000 voters cast uncommitted ballots in protest over Mr. Biden's support for Israel. Now, the Republican side, Nikki Haley took a sizable bite out of Donald Trump's win, but she has still not won a single nominating contest. We have a lot to break down from Tuesday's primaries.

Joining me now on today's panel, Republican Strategist, Rina Shah, along with CNN Political Commentator and Democratic Strategist, Maria Cardona. Good to see you both ladies. Maria, let --

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, & DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Hey Rahel.

SOLOMON: Hi. Let me start with you, Maria. Takeaways from last night in the uncommitted vote.

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So, one campaign official told CNN, any reporting that were panicked or deeply concerned would be wrong. Maria, should they be concerned? 100,000 in a state like Michigan, where margins can be very tight, is not peanuts.

CARDONA: It's not peanuts. And while I agree they're not panicking, they are certainly looking at this as a challenge that the President needs to face between now and November. The good news, Rahel, is that there is time. The other good news is that this White House is continuing to reach out to those folks in Michigan, and frankly, in other places that are not happy with how this administration has been handling the war in the Middle East. They are listening to them. And in fact, if you look at what this President has been doing from October up until now, he has changed some of this course. And I believe that those changes, as subtle as they might be and as frustrating because they don't go far enough as they are to those who are supporting a ceasefire, they need to understand that they are making a difference.

In fact, it was just recently that the President used the word "ceasefire" for the very first time. He has announced sanctions to the folks that live on the West Bank, the settlers. That has never happened before. I think the challenge moving forward, and I believe it's also an opportunity, is for this White House and this President to continue to listen to those who are unhappy. There is a lot of pain in those communities, and in those groups of voters who see the horrific images that are going on in Gaza, but to also focus on what is the broader themes here in the general election. What is at stake? The contrast between somebody like Joe Biden and somebody like Donald

Trump, who would implement a Muslim ban, who is as xenophobic as you can get, and who would be a huge existential threat, not just to our democracy, but for all communities that make up our great American electorate. And that's a message that this White House is going to continue to communicate.

SOLOMON: Now, Rina, piggybacking off of what Maria said, for some of those reasons, some of these Democrats in Michigan, Arab or otherwise who have issues with the White House's stance in Gaza, may not vote for Trump, but they also may not vote for Biden. They could just sort of sit this out. And I'm wondering how the GOP even looks at what's happening on the Democratic side here. I mean, are they looking at this as an opportunity, not that necessarily Trump or whoever the nominee ultimately is -- picks up votes, but perhaps people just sit out for Biden?

RINA SHAH, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, it depends on who on the Republican side you're asking in terms of what's next for the strategy aimed at getting these people that are so frustrated with Biden. If you ask the Haley camp, there is really not much they can offer there, because let's not forget, Nikki Haley, in the fall, talked about this unfettered support for Israel, Israel being our only ally in the region. She has been given Netanyahu's back at every turn, and that's not going to change. Trump, on the other hand, I think Bibi would like to see Trump back in the White House, no doubt. But, Trump is a little bit disjointed when it comes to messaging on this. We've heard various things from him. He went from criticizing Bibi, to saying he is supportive over the - of what that administration is doing in Israel.

But, I think you -- you look at this bigger thing. You zoom out. The big picture here is that frustration from a lot of Americans across the political spectrum, across a range of demographics, whether it's Gen X on down, that do not believe in having the back of our allies when they're committing atrocities. So, the state-sponsored genocide that you hear a lot of Arab Americans talk about, and why they wanted to run this uncommitted campaign, that is something that should continue to remain at the forefront of the minds of politicians on both sides of the aisle. I'm not trying both sides as for no reason, Rahel.

But, what I'm saying is that you've got this crop of Americans that does not feel represented in our federal branch of government, whether you're looking at the legislative or the executive, not even the judiciary. So, what do they do with this? They don't politically participate. And that is a thoroughly modern problem that I don't see anybody in the GOP talking about responsibly. So, while there could be an entryway, is my point, I don't see the Republicans really taking the bait and saying where are your people when Biden has frustrated you and continues to?

SOLOMON: Maria, when you say there is a lot of time before the election, I take your point. But, what does Biden need to do to meet these voters between now and then? Does he need to meet with these voters who are upset, these protesters who are upset? What does he do between now and then to perhaps pick up some of these votes? CARDONA: I think he absolutely should meet with him, Rahel. Look,

empathy is one of the superpowers of this President. I think he should sit down with them. Meet with them.

[11:25:00]

Listen to them. Have conversations with them. What is behind his thinking? Let them know that he is focused on getting a lot more aid into Palestine and into the Gaza area. And guess who is keeping them from doing that? Republicans in Congress right now. Right? So, there are a lot of pieces to this discussion in an incredibly complicated issue in the Middle East that I think this President has a lot to offer, if he were to sit down with these folks who are unhappy about what's going on. They want to be heard. This President is so good at listening and so good at showing empathy. I think there is time for that. I think he should be doing that. I hope he doesn't, moving forward. I think they will. Because, to your point, they do understand that this is a challenge. And because Michigan was so close in 2020, they can't afford to leave anything on the table.

And so, the message is going to continue to be, we will listen to you. We will talk to you. We will focus on ways that we can get Netanyahu to change course. We will try to get additional aid and push Republicans. They all should also push Republicans to understand how important it is to get aid to the victims in Gaza. But, the listening and the empathy, I think are critical, and I think is a huge step into having these voters understand that while voting uncommitted now is fine, a vote for Donald Trump would equal staying home in November. I think there is time to have those discussions and I think that will happen.

SOLOMON: Rina, tomorrow we're going to see Donald Trump at the southern border. We'll also see Joe Biden at the southern border. I'm wondering, this is an issue that he continues to pull well on immigration. And yet, we also saw that he was behind the efforts to kill the immigration bill, which even the Border Patrol union supported. I'm wondering if you think he is overplaying his hand here on the issue. This is already a winning issue for him.

SHAH: For Trump.

SOLOMON: For Trump.

SHAH: Look, this is the issue when you talk about immigration and Trump is that there is very few people reminding folks who aren't always keyed in like we all are, that Trump didn't deliver on his promises at the southern border. And I say this as somebody who was very disappointed by the former President. When he sat in the White House, he said he is going to finish that wall. He is out on the trail lying daily, saying that he solved the crisis during his time in the White House. He didn't. He never finished the wall. He never deployed sophisticated, innovative techniques that could help with quelling what I think is continually a crisis that has spilled over into communities like mine in southern West Virginia, where fentanyl continues to ravage my hometown. And I would just say this. One of the best people on this entire

presidential campaign trail, whether you're looking at the Democrats or the Republicans, is Nikki Haley. And look, I haven't come out and endorsed her, but I really appreciated how she talked with empathy and with great intelligence and knowledge about how China factors in to the crisis of the southern border. I myself am the daughter of legal immigrants. So, I take great issue with anybody who is trying to skip line, stay illegally. Visa overstays are a huge problem. But, I'm losing faith, Rahel, in the Republicans as well as in Democrats to give me any assurances that they want to solve the problem.

SOLOMON: And Rina, just stand by for just a moment, because actually, I want to go to Capitol Hill where we're hearing Democrats speak about Hunter Biden's deposition today. Let's listen together.

REP. DAN GOLDMAN (D-NY): -- like many people would have. He went through a laundry list of board seats and jobs that he has had over his 30-year career after he left Yale Law School, and he withstood some inappropriate attacks even in the first hour. So, it is not simply there is no connection to the President, which we've known all along and which was made clear again, but there is a very understandable coherent business explanation for every single thing that they asked for.

And now that all of this China stuff or Romania or Kazakhstan is clearly, clearly baseless and bogus, the only thing that the Republicans have left are these Burisma allegations, which we now know were completely made up by their source who has now been indicted because he was working with Russian intelligence to interfere in our election. And so, let's be very clear, because that is the only basis to move forward with an impeachment inquiry. If this impeachment inquiry continues, then Chairman Comer and Chairman Jordan are working with Russia to interfere in the November 2024 election on behalf of Vladimir Putin and for the benefit of Donald Trump. That is what this has been reduced to now and that is what this first hour showed us.

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REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): All right. Ms. Stansbury from New Mexico.

REP. MELANIE STANSBURY (D-NM): Thank you. Good morning. I think it's obvious to any of us who were in the room this morning, why the Republicans did not want this to be public testimony, because there is literally no evidence, and no there there. And not only that, the embarrassing spectacle, lack of professionalism, the lack of coherent, even theory of the case this morning was so glaringly apparent that it is embarrassing for the Republicans right now. For anyone who listened to what happened, you all will hear the testimony or see the testimony in written form, hopefully in the coming days if the Republicans do carry forward with the agreement that they made with Hunter Biden's attorney.

However, it's very clear that there is no evidence of any wrongdoing that connects the President to his son, any of his business dealings, and anything that has anything to do that leads to an impeachable offense. It's been stated, but this is very clearly a smoke and mirror strategy intended to essentially try to indict the President for things that he is not even involved in. So, it's very clear that there is no there there.

RASKIN: Thank you. Mr. Moskowitz.

REP. JARED MOSKOWITZ (D-FL): Thank you, Chairman Raskin, soon to be Chairman Raskin very soon. Let me just say that I think my colleagues and I are witnessing the death of the fake faux frivolous Joe Biden impeachment inquiry. In fact, as a Jewish American, when this is over, I will say Mourner's Kaddish for this impeachment inquiry. There has been no evidence on Joe Biden from the beginning. There has been no evidence so far in this deposition linking Joe Biden to this all. So, as Jay-Z said, "Grand Opening, grand closing." Thank you.

RASKIN: Thank you. All right. Greg Casar from Texas.

REP. GREG CASAR (D-TX): We all thought after the first sham impeachment hearing where Republican witness after Republican witness says there was no evidence of any wrongdoing by President Joe Biden that they would give up, that they would stop embarrassing themselves. But, the Republican majority continued on. We all thought that after their key witness was indicted for lying to the FBI about Hunter Biden and was meeting with Russian intelligence, that they would stop degrading themselves, that they would stop debasing themselves. But, at Donald Trump's behest, they've continued on.

And now, really, I cannot believe that they have found a new low. It is so embarrassing to sit in the room for an hour while they tried to weave conspiracy theory after conspiracy theory that only embarrassed them further. So, as the oversight -- as members of Congress on the Oversight Committee, our job is to be defenders of the truth.

SOLOMON: And two top Democrats essentially continue to point at the lack of legitimacy, in their words, for this inquiry into President Biden and today's deposition of Hunter Biden.

Let's get back to our panel and just get a quick response to this.

Maria, let me just ask you first, does it seem, from your perspective, as if the GOP is recognizing that there is less steam here? I mean, certainly, after these new charges against this FBI informant who essentially is charged with lying about some of these allegations, I mean, what do you think? What's your perspective?

CARDONA: If the GOP had any self-dignity left, Rahel, then I would say, yes, they would recognize that this has become a complete and total spectacle embarrassment for their party. It has become something that is living proof to American voters that Republicans do not deserve to lead, do not deserve to be given the lead in Congress, because the only thing that they have done thus far is to use it to waste money, waste time, waste resources, use innuendo, conspiracy theories, lies, and what we have seen recently, even spy tradecraft, to try to go after Hunter Biden to do one thing and one thing only, to impeach Joe Biden because Donald Trump wants them to be his retribution. That is not what Congress is supposed to be used for. It is not what

they promised the American people when they were elected in 2022, and it's going to give Democrats a huge messaging opportunity that this is a group of people that is unserious about governing, and that's exactly what we're going to do going into this election.

SOLOMON: Rina, we're running out of time, but last word here to you. Just your response and reaction.

SHAH: Sure. The phrase sham impeachment gets tossed around a great deal now, and it's hugely frustrating for people who are creatures of Congress like me. I hate it when the institution is sort of desecrated, it feels like, by these witch hunts.

[11:35:00]

They are witch hunts that are propped up by people who want something political in nature, and given that it's an election year, the case to discredit the current President by virtue of going after his son, I think is a bit shameful. But, I also believe that inquiries need to happen. And when there is a moment to show a smoking gun, there should be one shown. And unfortunately, congressional Republicans never produced it. I had many conversations this past fall with numerous members of that Committee that were Republicans, who said, we will show you the greatest evidence of political corruption by this Biden family. And months later, we have not yet seen it. So, it's time to move on. This is done. I'm glad Hunter Biden went to the Hill. But, it's time for Republicans to move on to the kitchen table issues that impact all of us.

SOLOMON: All right. We'll leave it here. Rina Shah, Maria Cardona, great to see you both ladies. Thank you.

CARDONA: Thanks, Rahel.

SHAH: Thank you.

SOLOMON: All right, and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLOMON: Welcome back. You are watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Rahel Solomon live for you in New York.

And here are some of the international headlines we're watching right now. Fire dangers in Australia are some of the worst conditions that people there have seen in recent years. Some 30,000 people have been ordered to evacuate in the state of Victoria. One bushfire has been burning out of control since Thursday, fueled by hot, dry, windy conditions. Authorities fear that the flames could spread to more populated areas.

Prince Harry's legal team said that it will appeal a decision removing him from taxpayer-funded security while he is in the UK. The British court ruled that the Duke of Sussex lost his protection privileges after he quit his royal duties. His lawyers argued that the decision meant that he was being singled out, and that's according to British media.

A Catholic church says that Pope Francis is back at the Vatican after a hospital visit earlier today. The Vatican says that the 87-year-old pontiff had diagnostic tests. He cancelled several audiences earlier this week. The Vatican says that he was dealing with mild flu symptoms.

And the UN warning that more than half a million people in Gaza are "one step away from famine" after nearly five months of war. In a briefing to the Security Council Tuesday, the World Food Programme also said that Gaza is now experiencing the worst level of child malnutrition anywhere in the world.

All right. Let's go to CNN Jeremy Diamond who is live in Tel Aviv for more. Jeremy, bring us up to speed. I mean, what is the latest status of both negotiations to obtain a temporary ceasefire but also efforts to get more aid into Gaza?

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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, no major updates in terms of any breakthroughs in these negotiations, but there are some signs that progress is indeed being made. We have seen as the pace of the meetings of the conversations has picked up in the last week or so. And today, Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas' political leader, in a televised statement saying that his organization has displayed "flexibility in the negotiations in recent days". He said that that flexibility is out of "concern for the blood of our people and to put an end to the great pain and enormous sacrifices". But, he is also reaffirming that he will not allow through what he describes as political machinations to arise what hasn't been accomplished on the battlefield.

He also interestingly called on Palestinians in the West Bank and in Jerusalem to march on Al-Aqsa on the first day of Ramadan, which could give us a preview of what could come if there is not a deal between Israel and Hamas. We saw, of course, yesterday as President Biden expressed optimism here. But, in the region, that optimism is far more cautious than what he talked about in terms of being able to secure a deal by early next week. What is clear, though, is that efforts to get aid into Gaza are being hampered by the fact that the Israeli military is continuing to carry out heavy operations and that there has been insufficient coordination between the Israeli military and these aid groups to actually get that aid, where it is most needed in the Gaza Strip.

SOLOMON: All right. Jeremy Diamond live for us here in Tel Aviv. Jeremy, thank you.

And coming up for us, major U.S. gun legislation is being challenged, involving so-called bump stock. So, these are devices that can turn legal guns into weapons resembling machine guns. We'll be right back.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing a challenge today to gun legislation involving former President Donald Trump's ban on so-called bump stock. So, these devices are used to turn legal single shots semi-automatic weapons into rapid fire guns that can fire several hundred rounds per minute, resembling illegal automatic weapons. Bump stocks were banned after the Las Vegas mass shooting in 2017, the deadliest in U.S. history. 58 people were killed when a gunman opened fire from a hotel room. Authorities said that at least 12 of the weapons were outfitted with bump stocks.

Joining us now from Los Angeles is CNN Security Correspondent Josh Campbell. So, Josh, this is not a case that specifically about the Second Amendment, but it is being watched pretty closely on both sides of the debate of gun control. So, bring us up to speed of sort of what's happening at the High Court.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right. The high court hearing arguments in this case, obviously, we know that in the United States we have more mass shootings than anywhere else in the world, which is why we've seen gun safety advocates really focus on, if Congress isn't going to ban weapons altogether, at least making them safer, and an issue was this contraption known as a bump stock.

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And even if you're not a gun enthusiast, this is pretty simple to understand. It's simply an attachment onto the weapon, and someone holding the gun, simply by using pressure, rather than having to pull the trigger one after another, it essentially turns it into an automatic weapon, allowing a user to fire hundreds of rounds of ammunition per minute. That, of course, is of concern because of the case that you mentioned back in 2017 where at this concert a man got into a hotel room, firing down on the crowd, killing 58 people. That bump stock allowed him to simply spray bullets across the field, killing so many people. After that, the Trump administration moved to regulate those bump stocks.

And an issue here is not a congressional action as it relates to the Constitution, as you mentioned. But, can the executive branch of the U.S. government regulate a firearm? And that is what is at issue here. A gun store owner in the state of Texas filed a lawsuit, saying that the ATF's regulation against bump stocks was unconstitutional. That is what the court is deciding right now. So, we're pointing out that we're getting some indication of where the justices are leaning. The conservative justices, right now as we speak, as the oral arguments continue, they're really focusing on why the executive branch should be able to regulate this and why Congress itself hasn't specifically taking up -- taken up the issue of bump stock. So, a major issue obviously happening in this week of gun violence.

SOLOMON: And Josh, what about the implications of this, and just sort of how this decision could really even relate to the government's ability to regulate other devices?

CAMPBELL: Yeah. That is so key, because this is about precedent. If the Supreme Court rules that the ATF, the agency here in the U.S. that can regulate guns, if they can't regulate a bump stock, are they not able to regulate other devices? A gun can be easily modified with all sorts of contraptions that can make it fire more rapidly, increasing its lethality. And so, that is what, again, both sides of the debate are watching here. If the Supreme Court rules that the ATF cannot regulate this device, could there then be this floodgate that opens where other regulations are also now called into question? Again, this is a very, very serious issue. We know that gun control itself has been stalled in Congress for many, many years. And we'll have to wait and see whether this regulation is also going to be countered by the court.

SOLOMON: And then, Josh, really quickly, I mean, is this something that we might get a decision on sooner rather than later, or do we expect this sort of later in the year?

CAMPBELL: It's unclear specifically how the Supreme Court is going to align its arguments. Oftentimes, when they release them, we will see several cases come at once. But, all eyes are certainly on this right now, because if that ruling comes down, the banning -- these bump stock regulations, that will take effect immediately, essentially. And it's stunning to know that in the last several years, there have been over 500,000 of these types of devices that have been sold and widely available in the United States. And so, that was something that everyone will be watching. Are all those people who are now in possession of them, can they use them? Or is it still illegal? And we will see what law enforcement does.

SOLOMON: Yeah, huge implications here. Keep us posted. Josh Campbell live in Los Angeles. Josh, thank you.

CAMPBELL: Of course.

SOLOMON: And we'll be right back.

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SOLOMON: All right. We want to get to some breaking news just coming in from Ghana. The Parliament there has passed a controversial anti- gay bill. So, the bill which passed unanimously has drawn international condemnation. Again, this is breaking news just coming into us here at CNN from Ghana.

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We're going to continue to follow this breaking news story for you.

In the meantime, we want to shift our attention to Apple. The company reportedly hitting the brakes on plans to build an electric self- driving car. The company is said to have begun working on the project about a decade ago, but actually never publicly acknowledged it. Sales of electric vehicles have not grown as hoped. And several manufacturers are scaling back. Bloomberg reports that Apple is shifting many employees who were working on the car to AI. And let's see how shares of Apple are doing on the NASDAQ. They've been a little topsy-turvy lately. Shares are off less than one percent. Let's call it three quarters of a percent, trading right now at $181.36 a share.

And taking a look at the broader markets, in the U.S., you can see right across the board, the Dow, NASDAQ, and the S&P, all off slightly as we await some inflation data tomorrow.

And taking a look overseas, the major Asian markets closed down Wednesday. Europe, meantime, was mixed.

Well, over and over, we have heard warnings about the dangers of artificial intelligence. Well, here is one possible benefit, at least for the U.S. government. The Treasury Department has been using AI- enhanced fraud detection measures to try catch thieves trying to steal money from taxpayers. And the IRS, which collects taxes, is doing the same thing to try to root out tax cheats.

Matt Egan joins us now. So, Matt, I think when we hear AI, it feels a bit broad. Sort of walk us through what we know about this program and how they're hoping to use it.

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Rahel, I'm told that this program has been a game changer for the U.S. government. Starting late in 2022, CNN has learned the Treasury starting to quietly roll out artificial intelligence-powered fraud detection, basically trying to catch the bad guys who are trying to steal from taxpayers. And this strategy appears to be paying off, especially when it comes to fraudulent checks.

Treasury officials tell CNN that in fiscal 2023 alone, the government was able to recover $375 million by using this AI-powered fraud detection. It also led to the arrest of multiple individuals. Now, this is the first time that Treasury is publicly acknowledging that they're using AI to try to fight financial crime. And we know that this is something that, as you mentioned, the IRS started doing recently to try to catch tax cheats. It's also popular in the private sector banks and card companies and other businesses. They're leaning on AI also to try to guard against fraud.

Now, we should note, though, Rahel, that as you mentioned, AI is kind of broad. Right? And so, this is not the generative AI that gets all the headlines. Right? This is not the stuff of ChatGPT and OpenAI that creates images and song lyrics and even movie quality videos. This is really big data and machine learning. And the point is, though, that it is helping the government try to combat fraud, which has become a major issue. Check fraud, in particular, has spiked by 385 percent since the pandemic, according to Treasury.

And here is why AI can be so helpful. AI technology is really, really good at combing through vast amount of data and trying to detect patterns and red flags. And it can do that at lightning fast speeds, so much faster than humans ever could. One security CEO told me that once you train an AI model, it can detect red flags within milliseconds. And so, Rahel, that means that in some cases, now the federal government is able to spot these anomalies, alert the banks, and prevent fraudulent checks from ever being cashed. I think the crazy part here is that the AI revolution, it's really just getting started.

SOLOMON: Matt, it's curious that they're acknowledging their fraud detection measures. What's your sense of sort of why they're publicly acknowledging it? EGAN: That's a good question. I think it's interesting that the IRS came out with this announcement publicly back in late September, talking about how they're using AI to try to get tax cheats, to comb through really complex tax returns, especially around hedge funds and other private companies. I think it's notable that Treasury didn't come out with this until now. Although I don't know that we can really sort of say that it was all that strategic, I think that sometimes the career-level staffers inside Treasury may not necessarily see the public interest here.

But, we know, Rahel, that AI is really getting all the attention right now. We know that private companies are plowing money into it. As you mentioned, Apple, they're scrapping their electric vehicle endeavors to instead put all that money and all those resources and all those people into AI.

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And so, it's interesting to see the public side doing the same.

SOLOMON: Yeah. And shares of Nvidia, the chip maker, just continue to just sour, sour, sour, sour, sour. Matt Egan live for us in New York. Matt, thank you.

EGAN: Thanks, Rahel.

SOLOMON: All right. One more thing, from the good of artificial intelligence to the bad.

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SOLOMON: Well, imagination was about the only thing that visitors to a Willy Wonka experienced and Scotland could use, when they paid more than $40 a ticket to see an attraction that promised fantastical images from the Wonka books and films. Look at this. Featured on AI- generated images that appeared online, the beautiful pictures, but then look at the reality. It's a barely decorated warehouse for their time and money. Guests were given small cups of lemonade and lollipops for the children. Some attendees apparently were so angry that they actually called police, and I'm guessing that they did not issue any golden tickets. Heartbreaking.

All right. Speaking of money, we know your time is money. So, thank you for spending some time with me today. I'm Rahel Solomon in New York. Stick with CNN. One World is coming up next. I'll see you tomorrow.

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