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U.S. To Begin Aid Airdrops; Israel Stifles Gaza Relief Effort; Alexei Navalny Laid To Rest; Hearing Concludes For Fulton County DA Fani Willis; Alaska Fishermen Retrieve Possible Spy Balloon; Record Low Turnout Expected As Polls Close In Iran; Mexico Elections; Ukraine Struggles To Hold Counteroffensive Gains; Cuba's Fuel Price Rises Over 500 Percent. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired March 02, 2024 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to all you watching us here in the U.S., Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
Israel says it will suspend military activities in specific parts of Gaza for set periods of time. We'll have the details just ahead.
As the U.S. announces more aid for Palestinians, Nima Elbagir shows us why crucial supplies are taking so long to reach thousands of people in need.
And the tensions in Russia not stopping mourners from paying tribute to the life of Alexei Navalny. We will bring you the latest scenes from Moscow following his funeral.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber
BRUNHUBER: News just coming in to CNN, the Israeli military has announced daily suspension of military activities in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, and Deir al Balah in central Gaza.
A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces says, this will run from 10:00 am to 02:00 pm local time until March 7 and will be for, quote, "humanitarian purposes." Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden indicates he will press Israel to allow more relief to get into Gaza.
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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We need to do more and the United States will do more. In the coming days, we're going to join with our friends in Jordan and others in Friday airdrops of additional food and supplies.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: Biden added that the U.S. will insist with Israel that more trucks and routes be added so that more aid can be delivered. He also warns that Israel and Hamas may not reach an agreement on releasing more hostages in Gaza by Monday, as he had initially hoped.
Meanwhile, the death toll from Thursday's aid convoy tragedy is now 115. That's according to Gaza's ministry of health. Witnesses say Israeli troops opened fire as people swarmed aid trucks to get food. Many were trampled in the chaos or even run over by the trucks.
Palestinians and Israelis don't agree on exactly what led to the deadly scene. But U.S. national security spokesperson John Kirby says, Israel should be trusted to investigate the incident.
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ADM. JOHN KIRBY (RET.), COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: We do think that the indications are that they're taking this seriously. You saw them, I think, put out a statement from their IDF spokesman last night, walking through their initial assessments of what happened.
So as far as we understand it, they're still looking at this and there have been examples in the past where they have investigated incidents and have been very honest and upfront about mistakes they've made at the IDF level in the past. And not distant past, either.
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BRUNHUBER: President Biden says the U.S. will start airdropping food and other aid into Gaza very soon. On Friday, Jordan conducted three airdrops of food into Gaza City.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Meanwhile, the Norwegian Refugee Council posted this video to social media, showing trucks full of aid lined up at the Rafah border crossing. The group says there hasn't been a single day where the needed 500 trucks have been allowed to cross into Gaza.
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BRUNHUBER: And as Palestinians in Gaza are facing the very real possibility of famine, warehouses full of food and medical supplies, rice, wheelchairs and other basics, wait in neighboring countries.
Nima Elbagir has our exclusive investigation into why this aid isn't making it into Gaza. And we want to warn you, some of what you're about to see is disturbing.
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NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Pallets of food aid with messages of love. Air-dropped into Gaza for a desperate population. This is a Jordanian flight with more countries looking to join the aid effort. Among them, the U.S. But this isn't a good news story.
On the ground, a glimpse of how much more is needed to keep starving Gazans from falling into famine. Air drops are inefficient and expensive. You just can't drop enough food for a starving population. To stave off famine, you need thousands of trucks filled with food flooding into Gaza.
But that's not happening. We were granted rare access to this warehouse in Jordan, one of the key waypoints for aid, now a chokepoint.
ELBAGIR: All of the aid that you see here is sorely needed in Gaza. But it's still waiting for clearance.
Why?
Well, CNN spoke to dozens of humanitarian workers and donor government officials, who detailed arbitrary Israeli restrictions on aid.
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Often with little to no explanation, impeding a multibillion-dollar humanitarian effort, even as Gazans are desperate to receive it.
ELBAGIR (voice-over): About 1,000 trucks' worth of essential medical aid and food supplies meant for Gaza, collecting dust and waiting to be cleared by Israeli officials.
ELBAGIR: I mean, these are baby wipes.
MARWAN AL-HENNAWY, JORDANIAN HASHEMITE CHARITY ORGANIZATION: Yes.
ELBAGIR: Why are you still waiting for permission on baby wipes?
AL-HENNAWY: I don't know.
ELBAGIR: I mean, you have bandages.
AL-HENNAWY: Yes.
ELBAGIR: We're coming up over here, you've got wheelchairs, crutches. In that kind of war situation --
AL-HENNAWY: Yes.
ELBAGIR: -- these are really, really important things for people -- medicines, vitamin C over here.
AL-HENNAWY: Yes. Yes. And this is what we think -- what we believe, it is a crucial need that needs to be sent immediately to Gaza. There's no excuse why it's still in our warehouse.
ELBAGIR (voice-over): It's not just here that they're confused. Previously, Israel has said it's restricting military use items and provided a list. Now humanitarians tell CNN, they have not received an update. So they're relying on guesswork. CNN has obtained documents from three major participants in the humanitarian operation, a ghost list, compiled by organizations piecing together the most frequently rejected items.
Among them anesthesia, crutches, generators, water purification tablets and filtration systems, solar panels, ventilators, tent poles, X-ray machines and oxygen cylinders.
Publicly, the Israeli government agency, COGAT, claims that it has abided by a 2008 banned items list. In private, COGAT has said that that document is now obsolete, according to a humanitarian official in direct contact with the Israeli unit. The human cost of miscalculating is immeasurable.
For months now, even one rejected item means trucks like these filled with aid can be turned back, even after waiting for days to get into Gaza.
And on the ground, the reality is that, without these critical supplies, people like Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah, a renowned war surgeon, are working in conditions even he has never seen.
DR. GHASSAN ABU-SITTAH, BRITISH-PALESTINIAN SURGEON: Because we didn't have any antiseptic, I had made a solution of washing-up liquid and vinegar and some saline. And so, I would have to pour that over the wound and then scrub the wound down.
It's probably the most -- the darkest moment of my life because you're doing it -- the patient is screaming, the child is screaming, knowing that, if you hadn't, that child would be dead by the end of the day.
ELBAGIR (voice-over): Dr. Abu-Sittah's experience in Gaza is not unique. What you're about to see here is very disturbing. With very little basic medicine, doctors are making decisions they never thought they would have to make.
DR. HANY BSAISO, ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON (from captions): Without anesthesia. Where is the mercy?
ELBAGIR (voice-over): Dr. Hany Bsaiso turned his kitchen into an operating theatre to save his niece's life after she says she was hit by an Israeli tank in her house. He amputated her leg with a kitchen knife without anesthetic.
BSAISO (from captions): She's like my daughter. I am cutting off her leg.
ELBAGIR (voice-over): Ahed Bsaiso miraculously survived. At just 18, she has already experienced enough pain for a lifetime.
When aid does come into Gaza, thousands gather, clambering onto the trucks, even as Israeli gunfire rings out. Torn between fear and hunger, over 100 killed and hundreds more injured.
Yet, you can see here, people still clinging to what little they manage to get. The Israeli army says it's not responsible for what happened here. But as our investigation shows, at the very least, Israel created the conditions for this tragedy -- Nima Elbagir, Al- Zarqa, Jordan.
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BRUNHUBER: The negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage deal still appear to be on track, despite the events of the past week, U.S. officials said much hinges on Hamas' response to the latest rounds of talks. A Hamas official had warned the talks could be impacted by the killings at the Gaza aid site.
Meanwhile, families of hostages are putting pressure on the Israeli government to bring their loved ones home. Carrying photos and flags and some walking arm in arm, this group is expected to arrive in Jerusalem on Saturday after making a four-day walk from the Gaza border.
And relief efforts are ongoing in Israel and Gaza. And you can get involved.
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You can help humanitarian efforts in Israel and Gaza. you can go to cnn.com/impact or text RELIEF to 707070 to donate.
Tributes are still pouring in for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny a day after he was laid to rest. His supporters have been laying flowers at his grave site in Moscow Saturday morning. And that's happening after they turned out in droves to bid him their final goodbyes at Friday's funeral ceremony.
Thousands of people showed up despite the heavy police presence and a clear message that they could end up behind bars. According to a monitoring group, more than 100 people were arrested while paying tribute to Navalny across Russia on Friday.
One supporter in Moscow said it's a risk worth taking.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Alexei Navalny is the man who gave us hope that Russia could be a different country, that we deserve better. His faith in us, his optimism gave us energy. He is the man who gave us hope that Russia could be a happier country.
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BRUNHUBER: Melissa Bell has more on the outpouring of emotion for the dissident who died a hero to thousands of people inside and outside Russia.
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MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The name the Kremlin never speaks, chanted as Alexei Navalny's body was finally laid to rest. Thousands of people in Moscow braving the prospect of arrest to say
goodbye to Vladimir Putin's greatest foe, mourners of a political martyr, vowing that Russia will be free. Ambassadors from the United States, France and Germany also joining the crowds with flowers in hand.
Video of Navalny's open casket, the final glimpse of a corpse finally handed back to his family and allowed to rest two weeks to the day since he took his last breaths after years spent fighting, even from his prison cells.
Vladimir Putin's iron grip on Russia, a legacy that his widow, unable to attend the funeral for safety reasons, echoed in a message on social media, sharing a montage of her life with Navalny, she wrote, I don't know how to live without you, I don't know if I can handle this or not but I will try.
His funeral reflecting his life, becoming a moment of resistance. As chance of no to war rang through the Russian capital, with people finding strength in numbers as the crowds grew.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To tell you the truth, it's very pleasant for me to be here in the company of like-minded people. Well, maybe I feel pressure but when there are so many people, then maybe no. It's not scary when we're together.
BELL: Navalny's impact extending far beyond Russia with memorials held around the world, in memory of a man who'd come to represent fearlessness itself -- Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
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BRUNHUBER: And here's a look at some of those memorials in cities around the world that Melissa mentioned. Have a look here.
The gates of the Russian embassy in London were covered in flowers. People also left signs, one reading, "You can kill Navalny but not the opposition."
Mourners also gathered in Spain. Dozens came together in Barcelona to pay their respects to the dissident.
And this was the scene in Berlin. Germany's chancellor praised Russians who turned out for Navalny's funeral, saying they, quote, "took a big risk for freedom."
And for more on reaction in Europe, we go now to Berlin, where Sebastian Shukla is standing by.
So Seb, talk to us about the importance of Germany in Navalny's life.
SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kim, the scenes that were outside the Russian embassy late last night here were very somber and very poignant. People were reading poems, playing music. There were tears and people had come to lay an enormous carpet of flowers. And all of it was done outside, just across the road from the Russian embassy. And the message was very clear from Germans and the Russians who were amongst the contingent of mourners, was that the government can do whatever they want to Alexei Navalny.
And he may now be out of sight but he's certainly not out of mind. And within that context of what happened last night is the importance that Navalny was, as a figure here in Germany and how Germany was important to him, because he came here in August 2020 after he was poisoned, directly from Russia to the German capital.
He spent weeks in a German hospital here whilst doctors ran tests to figure out exactly what had happened to him.
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And then they discovered that nerve agent, Novichok, was deployed on him after he was released. Of course, he then spent weeks in southern Germany, which we saw as part of that CNN documentary and investigation that we were a part of, where he convalesced.
And he started the investigation to figure out who exactly poisoned him and that extraordinary telephone exchange, where he had with one of his poisoners. So Kim, the message here echoed very much the messages that came out of Moscow yesterday, which is one of defiance against the Kremlin.
And people will remember Alexei Navalny and they will hope that his legacy lives on. Kim.
BRUNHUBER: His legacy and Navalny's widow didn't attend his funeral in Moscow.
But what role might she play going forward in keeping his message alive?
SHUKLA: Yes, I think Yulia Navalnaya has already laid out her stall of how important she is going to be, I mean not only do they share the same surname, obviously, but she has already said that she's going to pick up the mantle from where Alexei Navalny left off.
We just heard about the -- what she said yesterday in that very moving tribute. She posted on social media that she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to do it. But what is clear in recent days -- I mean we saw her on Wednesday this week in Strasburg, talking to European lawmakers-- is that she is going to do it.
This is going to become now her life's work and this will be -- she will adopt and she will take in now the support that Alexei Navalny's team provided to him. And they will now go in to supporting her and promoting the platform that she wants to work on.
We are -- yet to be seen and known really, whether she will return to Russia or whether she will do lots of the political work in exile here in Europe. But it is very clear, Kim, that she will now become one of the faces of the Russian opposition. BRUNHUBER: All right, appreciate that. Sebastian Shukla in Berlin, thank you so much.
Donald Trump appeared in court in Florida on Friday. The day saw hearings in two different cases that could impact his schedule in the coming months.
And the catch of the day for some Alaska fishermen wasn't quite what they were expecting. While U.S. officials are concerned, it might be another one of those suspicious balloons. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Hearings took place on Friday in two of former president Donald Trump's legal matters that could impact when or whether the cases go to trial.
In Georgia's election interference case, a hearing over whether (INAUDIBLE) Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis ended without a decision. The judge said there are multiple legal issues to consider. He expected to make a ruling within two weeks. CNN correspondent Nick Valencia has the story.
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CRAIG GILLEN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: These people, Your Honor, is a systematic misconduct and they need to go.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One after another.
JOHN MERCHANT, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think you know it when you see it.
VALENCIA: Defense attorneys pushed for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to be disqualified from former President Donald Trump's Georgia election subversion case.
MERCHANT: If this court allows this kind of behavior to go on the entire public confidence in the system will be shot.
VALENCIA: Willis' arrival during a short break in the hearing took the courtroom by surprise. She nodded in rock back and forth in her chair as the state argued why she should stay on the racketeering case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A mere fishing expedition.
VALENCIA: The defense claimed Willis and the cases special prosecutor, Nathan Wade, started dating before she hired him for the job.
MERCHANT: She put her boyfriend in the spot paid him and then reap the benefits from it. VALENCIA: And that she benefited through meals and lavish trips he paid for.
MERCHANT: She's received a personal financial benefit of over $9,200 in this case that she can't account for.
VALENCIA: The lead attorney defending Willis said she paid Wade back in full, arguing this has been an effort to harass and embarrass Willis.
ADAM ABBATE, FULTON COUNTY DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: An actual conflict has not been shown and more importantly, are in conjunction with that, there has been absolutely no evidence for the district attorney has benefited financially at all.
VALENCIA: Willis sitting at the prosecutors' table, just feet from her attorney as the judge questions several of his arguments for why there's no grounds to disqualify the D.A.
JUDGE SCOTT MCAFEE, SUPERIOR COURT OF FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA: There is a relationship and that money has changed hands. There's maybe still an open question of where the ledger stands. But I think it was conceded that that balance could run in one way or in the district attorney's favor. Is that contested?
ABBATE: Yes. What's not contested is that a relationship did develop.
VALENCIA: Last month, Willis testified she started dating Wade after she hired him and denied any impropriety.
FANI WILLIS, FULTON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. I'm not on trial no matter how hard you try to put me on trial.
VALENCIA: Willis has asked multiple times to bring Trump's racketeering case to trial as soon as possible and the hopes of settling it before the presidential election. But for now, the wait continues.
MCAFEE: I hope to have an answer for everyone within the next two weeks.
VALENCIA: So now we wait for Judge Scott McAfee to make his decision, which, as you heard there, it's going to take two weeks for him to give his order.
He says he's going to have to get through some legal issues and make some factual determinations. It will take time but ultimately McAfee will have to weigh what the threshold for disqualification is.
Is it an actual conflict of interests or simply the appearance of one? -- Nick Valencia, CNN, Atlanta.
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BRUNHUBER: There was also a hearing in Florida on Friday in the Mar-a- Lago classified documents case. The judge is considering pushing back the current May start date for the trial. Both the prosecution and the defense have submitted options but Trump's attorneys argued Friday that the trial should begin after the election in November.
Now the former president was at that hearing. Proceedings wrapped up after about four hours. The judge didn't make a ruling or any formal scheduling moves.
During the five-hour hearing, Trump appeared to be growing impatient. His former lawyer, Ty Cobb, spoke with CNN on Friday about what he thought of Trump's demeanor in court.
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TY COBB, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE LAWYER: Well, I think he was there the entire time basically as a compliment or waved to her.
I think he recognizes, as does most of the litigating world, that she has really gone out of her way and that gutter rebuked by the 11th Circuit to favor Trump in these proceedings. And I think he wanted to repay the -- repay the favor by showing up and yeah, the absolute right to be there. But he didn't have to be there.
Also, I think in terms of the dynamic at 03:00 and that's sort of, you know, that's a long time for him to go without a Diet Coke.
So I can see why he might be cranky, but he probably was mostly cranky about what the government was saying in terms of the political schedules are irrelevant. You know, this case is trying to go. We can get this case done.
These issues that they're raising in terms of wonder I'm going to do these fishing expeditions with federal agencies, is unprecedented and they haven't established any evidence that would justify such a fishing expedition. Even though she's said she would entertain it.
I think Trump doesn't like it when the government speaks and the government gets its way.
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BRUNHUBER: Judge Cannon gave no indication on when she might set the trial date.
The FBI could soon take possession of another possible spy balloon. It was found off the Alaskan coast by a fishing vessel. Now it's not certain if it's really a spy balloon.
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But authorities felt it looked enough like one to warrant an investigation. CNN's Katie Bo Lillis has more.
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KATIE BO LILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What my colleague, Evan Perez, and I have learned from our sources is that commercial fishermen off the coast of Alaska found an unknown object that worried them enough that they took pictures of it and contacted law enforcement.
When the FBI saw these images, officials determined that whatever this object was bore enough resemblance to a foreign government-operated surveillance balloon that they wanted to check it out for themselves.
Now FBI officials will meet the fishing vessel when it comes into a port, expected to be sometime this weekend. The bureau will then take possession of the object, transport it to the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia, and analyze it, as has been done with previous surveillance balloons.
Now all of our sources emphasized that it wasn't clear exactly what the object was and that it may not be a surveillance balloon at all.
But the concern for officials is that it could be another foreign government-operated balloon similar to the Chinese surveillance balloon that blew off course and transited across the continental U.S. in February of last year before being shot down off the Atlantic Ocean.
That balloon entered U.S. territory through Alaskan airspace. After that episode, though, the U.S. widened the aperture of its radar systems so that it could better detect objects traveling above a certain altitude and at certain speeds.
Now these more sensitive radar systems have allowed the U.S. military to spot more unidentified objects in U.S. airspace, not all of which are surveillance balloons. There were three additional shootdowns of unidentified high-altitude objects in the weeks following the Chinese balloon incident.
And just in the last couple of weeks, the North American Aerospace Defense Command -- or NORAD -- sent fighter jets to intercept and examine a small balloon spotted floating over the Southwest, drifting east.
NORAD later said in a statement that the balloon was, quote, "likely a hobby balloon" and that it posed no threat. We will continue to watch, of course, to see what the FBI is able to learn about this mystery object now bobbing across the ocean on a fishing boat on its way to port.
But right now, it's just the mystery catch of the day -- Katie Bo Lillis, CNN, Washington.
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BRUNHUBER: An update now on wildfires raging in the Texas Panhandle. The state's governor confirms one person has been killed and more than 400 structures have been destroyed. The National Weather Service says more than 7 million people are under red flag warnings for critical fire danger as high winds returned today.
Governor Greg Abbott thanked firefighters for their efforts to save both lives and properties. Here he is.
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GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): It's extraordinary to see what they were able to do, the largest fire in the history of the state of Texas. And it would have been far worse and far more damaging, not just to property but also to people but for those firefighters.
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BRUNHUBER: The largest of the fires, the Smokehouse Creek Fire, is only 15 percent contained.
Now, if you'd like to help those affected by the fires, you can go to cnn.com/impact for list of vetted organizations that you can support.
Votes are now being counted in Iran's legislative elections after the polls close. Still ahead, what these elections could mean for Iran's future, that's coming up. Please stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
Polls have officially closed in Iran's legislative elections and the counting is underway. Voter turnout is expected to be at record lows as Iranians grapple with an ailing economy and growing distrust in the government. About 15,000 candidates are competing for 290 seats in parliament. CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports from Tehran.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Iran's supreme leader kicking off voting in a parliamentary election many believed could be key to shaping the country's future.
PLEITGEN: The supreme leader is traditionally the first person to cast his ballot in Iranian elections and he has been urging the population here to come out and vote to ensure that there's high participation.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): The vote also a message to Iran's enemies, he said.
"Both our friends and people who are interested in the Iranian nation, as well as our ill-wishers, from all sides, the observer of the issues of our country and the observer of our dear nation, pay attention to this.
"Make your friends happy and disappoint your ill wishers."
While some critics have called for a boycott of the vote, authorities have said turnout is key and launched a full-on ad blitz around the country, urging people to vote, a message that resonated with some.
Samani (ph) brought her 4-year-old daughter, Lula Sadat (ph), to the polling station.
"This will make our country more prosperous," she said. "We will be helping people. And this is the order of the supreme leader."
"This morning, I was hesitant," this man says, "but then I heard the leader's speech and then I it necessary to come and vote."
It's the first election since massive protests shook Iran in the fall of 2022 after the in-custody death of Mahsa Amini, who had been accused of not wearing her hijab. With the economy in turmoil and inflation high, some on Tehran's streets skeptical of the vote.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not going to vote and that because a police chief says something is not useful for me. And so nationally, most of youth people (ph) are not going to.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): The authorities extended voting hours, claiming many people wanted to cast their ballots in an election that could see conservatives tighten their grip on power -- Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.
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BRUNHUBER: And for more on this, I want to bring in Darya Safai, a member of the Belgian parliament and a women's rights activist. She was born in Tehran but was forced into exile after joining the student protests in the 1990s.
Thank you so much for being here with us. So as we we're reporting there, the turnout numbers for the election seem extremely low.
Why is that?
Do you think was it that the boycott was successful or is it wasn't just sort of indifference motivating people here?
DARYA SAFAI, BELGIAN MP: Just as you say, it's just the people by this election, max. And the reason is this is not -- the so-called election is not really a free and fair election. This is just the competition between the puppets of Ayatollah Khamenei.
These candidates has already -- they have already been chosen and selected by council of guardians. So it shows that it's not open for everyone in the country. And the people of Iran are fed up so-called circus election. Just for showing the world that we are important, we have free elections. This is not right. And the people of Iran, they know it already. And
they don't believe that they can change anything by elections because the system, the whole system is corrupted and is damaged.
They want the regime change. And that's how they are trying to show the world because actually the comment, Ayatollah Khamenei, he knows it himself. They have killed the people, innocent people on the streets of Iran.
So do they think that the people are going to vote and re-elect this system and regime?
This won't, it can't be the case. And how they are fighting against the totalitary (sic) of this regime.
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And they want to make another country, which is the (INAUDIBLE) in place of this sort of circus election, which the hashtag exist already on the social medias.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, the path to democracy even more rocky because the voting for the assembly of experts, as well is significant, which will appoint the next supreme leader, especially given the current one is 84. So they will likely name his successor.
Do you expect more of the same?
SAFAI: Right. They are trying, Khamenei is prime such a long time, already 45 years, to have the most power in the country. And he has it. So how it works, this assembly of experts are chosen already by the guardian council.
And the guardian council is chosen by Ayatollah Khamenei himself to choose the one who should be in the place of Khamenei in the future.
So it's just a vicious circle, which turns around the core of the power and this machine which is Khamenei himself. Yes, so no one, no woman, even if you can have some of the women on the list of the parliament, which are just decorated, even in this council and this assembly, you cannot have a woman.
So it shows what the regime is.
BRUNHUBER: Since you're talking about women, I want to ask you about the death of Mahsa Amini. Obviously, it was such a huge catalyst for action in Iran.
You said at the time, I'll quote here, "What we are going through now is the beginning of the end," but now, a year later, so, I mean, are you disappointed that the end doesn't seem any closer?
SAFAI: I don't think that I can name it a disappointment because it is the Iranian people, they show their power, still are right now no going to vote for these murderers. They show every day that they are still alive. This revolution, so-called revolution, for me, is still alive and they
prove it once more. Once again, that they don't want this regime, they don't believe in any reform of this -- inside this regime. And so- called reformist doesn't access for the people of Iran themselves.
So they show the way they are working on it. And the moment that the world and the Western countries also see what the Iranian people wants to, they want to realize for the future of the country, which is a secular democracy.
And the moment that also the world help them and support them, at least, and stop with appeasing this regime, I am sure that Iranian people will gain their goal (ph).
BRUNHUBER: Yes, we only have about a minute left.
But since you mentioned Western countries, I wanted to ask you about that, because, you know, even for those who aren't particularly concerned about what happened since within Iran's borders themselves.
I mean, we're seeing again now, with Iran's influence in the Middle East, with -- on their proxies, whether it's attacking shipping lanes, attacking Israel or indeed U.S. soldiers, what happens in Iran, it really does affect the rest of the world.
SAFAI: Right. And that's what I'm trying to say the whole time, also in the politics in Belgium, as a member of the parliament, I am talking about. This is not only about the Iranian people and their freedom, which is very important, but it is about the whole region, whole Middle East. It is about the whole world.
If you can see, they have made the region and Middle East like so unsafe for everyone, every country. And they are, together with Russia, they are fighting against the Western countries.
We, as Western countries, America, Europe, we are trying to have our power together, to make our power more for defending (INAUDIBLE) as a part of Europe against Russia and Islamic Republic of Iran.
So this is how they are making the world a world of terrorism and unsafe place for everyone of us. It's the time to have together a powerful statement against this regime and make them weaker than before, to let the Iranian people do their work and finish this regime, once for always.
BRUNHUBER: We'll leave it on that note. Daria Safai. Thank you so much for being with us. Really appreciate it.
SAFAI: Very welcome. Thank you.
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BRUNHUBER: Mexico's presidential campaigns kicked off on Friday, with the two leading candidates vying to become the country's first female president.
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Claudia Sheinbaum, here on the left, told supporters that she would carry on the leftist policies of the current president. She said Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has transformed the country for the better.
But the opposition, Xochitl Galvez, blasted the current administration's policies, calling them "ineffective."
She's promising to take a tougher stance on violent drug trafficking, saying, quote, "The hugs for criminals are over."
Argentina's libertarian president delivered a fiery state of the union address on Friday. Javier Milei vowing to advance his economic reforms with or without political support.
CNN's Ivan Sarmenti has more from Buenos Aires.
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IVAN SARMENTI, CNN ESPANOL CORRESPONDENT: Argentinian president Javier Milei opened the congressional sessions for 2024 this Friday evening with the state of the union style speech in Congress.
The first one since he took office last December and facing lawmakers were rebuffed some weeks ago, his army run vehicle saying a love of the regulations and badges back (ph). The congress, dominated by the opposition, he announced a new package of bills and began by stating that Argentina is in the most critical moment in its history.
An important part of his speech was to criticize the inheritance received and what he called the impoverishing model. The last few years were an economic disaster, an orgy of public spending, he said.
In the message, the libertarian president also announced new cuts and other reforms. Argentina faces high inflation which predates Milei but has grown to more than 250 percent after the new president devalued the currency by 50 percent last December.
It has increased tensions with workers and unions, sparking more strikes and protests. This was the first time a president launched (ph) ordinary sessions in the evening as the U.S. president annual state of the union address.
In Argentina traditionally, this happens at noon. Milei seems to have decided to emulate some American conventions. He did this in December, when he gave his inauguration speech outside the congress, as U.S. presidents usually do. Here in Argentina, presidents used to deliver their first address to the nation in the chamber of deputies.
Although this Friday, Milei warned congress that he would make changes with or without the lawmakers, one of the most important parts of his speech was invitations to governors, former presidents and political leaders to a pact, then guidelines that aim to reconstruct Argentina.
After 70 minutes, Milei finished this address, asking for patience and trust -- Ivan Sarmenti, CNN, Buenos Aires.
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BRUNHUBER: U.S. President Joe Biden is working on what could be the most important speech of his presidency as he and his senior advisors prepare Thursday's State of the Union address amid a tightening reelection race.
Aides say Biden will emphasize economic populism in his primetime speech in an effort to draw a sharp contrast with the likely Republican nominee, Donald Trump.
And looming large over Biden's address is the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The White House's inability to finalize a hostage release and ceasefire deal has cost Biden support among some key constituencies.
Straight ahead, we'll go to the front lines in Ukraine, where the country's military is fighting to hold its ground, outgunned and outnumbered against Russia's forces. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Ukraine has signed a major security agreement with the Netherlands as fighting intensifies on the front lines. Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the deal includes about $2 billion in military aid from the Netherlands this year, with more assistance spread out over the decade.
The Netherlands also agreed to support Ukraine's bids to join the E.U. and NATO. On the front lines, Russian forces are pounding areas of Eastern Ukraine. The commander of Ukrainian forces in the region acknowledged Russia has achieved some local successes but said Ukraine's defensive line was holding.
Ukrainian soldiers tell CNN they're very much counting on the U.S. to come through with more military aid, which is currently stalled by Republicans in Congress. Ammunition shortages are making it harder for Ukraine to hold its ground against Russia's advances. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reports.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Not even tree cover means safety. They're firing to defend the tiny gains of Ukraine's counteroffensive. But now, they are outgunned by Russian troops trying to surge forward. You can hear how many shells they fire back.
No U.S. aid means Ukrainians risk losing, right here, right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (from captions): 401 -- target infantry. High explosive around.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (from captions): Roger that. Targeting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (from captions): One round, fire.
WALSH: they feel like they're fighting really with one hand behind their back, such a shortage of shells here. They get to do that, if they're lucky, about 10 times a day.
WALSH (voice-over): Back in the summer counteroffensive, they would fire 80 a day.
WALSH: The cat is called Diva (ph).
WALSH (voice-over): Down in the bunker, it is strange to hear men who live underground to avoid death be so familiar with Republican procedural dysfunctionality.
ANTON, UKRAINE'S 65TH MECHANIZED BRIGADE (from captions): I hardly understand the Republican policy on aiding Ukraine. The biggest issue is lack of ammunition and the tiredness of soldiers. Most of my guys spend two years here.
WALSH: Do you have a message for the people in Washington?
ANTON (from captions): We are very much waiting for aid. We urgently need it. More rounds equals saving more lives.
WALSH (voice-over): That drone footage shows the remains of last night's failed Russian assault. This is what was a key prize in the counteroffensive, the tiny village of Robotyne, still Ukraine's but now another front line where Russia is hitting back hard.
This thermal night imagery shows their latest bleak tactic. It's a quad bike, carrying three Russians, charging at the front lines to simply see how far it can get.
KOKOS, 15TH NATIONAL GUARD (from captions): It's more maneuverable than armored vehicles. It's hard to hit with artillery, so we have to use drones. We heard from prisoners of war that they are given pills before assaults. They just keep on coming and coming.
WALSH (voice-over): But while Russia seems to squander infinite resources, Ukraine must be more ingenious and crowdfund. This 3D printer to make tiny components for about 10 attack drones a day. Without more artillery, they say only these drones hold Russia back here.
It is a bleak and fierce fight which is more the nearby town of Orikhiv. Russian airstrikes have left it looking like defeat rather than a symbol of Ukrainian tenacity it is.
WALSH: It's time to come back here, it's just worse and worse and you just don't even really imagine what people can do to survive here or what there is really worth left fighting over.
WALSH (voice-over): And on the road out, these, a stark warning Ukraine is preparing for bad news.
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Six months ago, they were trying to search forward with new Western armor here. Now they prepare to lose. Only one thing changed and it was in Washington, not in their hearts -- Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Orikhiv, Ukraine.
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BRUNHUBER: Cubans are grappling with a big price hike at the gas station. Just ahead, what the largest price increase there in decades means for the economy, please stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: The fashion and design worlds are grieving the loss of one of their most distinctive stars. Longtime style legend Iris Apfel died on Friday, age 102, according to a post on her Instagram page.
The lifelong New Yorker worked alongside her late husband, Carl Apfel, for decades. And clients for their interior design and textiles businesses included nine U.S. presidents. Calling herself a geriatric starlet, Apfel's unique style led to a modeling contract with a top agency when she was 97 years old.
The CDC has issued new guidelines on how long people must avoid others after they've had COVID-19. Officials now say you don't necessarily need to stay isolated for five days. Jenn Sullivan has the details.
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JENN SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): People who test positive for COVID-19 no longer have to isolate for at least five days. The new recommendations coming from the CDC Friday.
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DR. MANDY COHEN, CDC DIRECTOR: We are in a different place, both in the level of protection people have against these illnesses and the tools we have available.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): Under the new guidelines, the CDC says, once you're fever-free for 24 hours without the help of medication, you do not need to isolate.
You can resume normal activities. But the CDC still suggests taking precautions for five days, like wearing a mask and limiting contact with others, especially if you still have symptoms or are near people vulnerable to serious illness.
COHEN: We are encouraging organizations to allow employees to stay home when they're sick.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): Previous guidelines recommended people who had tested positive for COVID stay home for at least five days.
DR. BRENDAN JACKSON, LEAD, RESPIRATORY VIRUS RESPONSE, CDC: COVID-19 is still an important public health threat but it is not the emergency that it once was.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): In 2021, COVID was the third-leading cause of death in the U.S. but the CDC says last year it dropped to 10th and COVID hospitalizations are down.
But health experts still recommend getting an annual COVID shot, particularly those in high-risk categories, like older adults, people who are immunocompromised and pregnant women.
COHEN: We need to keep our immunity up and stay ahead of this virus.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): Updated COVID vaccines are expected to be announced later this year -- I'm Jenn Sullivan reporting.
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BRUNHUBER: And a concerning development about another illness. The CDC says at least 41 measles cases have been reported across 16 states since the start of the year.
Measles had been declared eliminated in the United States in 2000 but the CDC says falling vaccination rates and increased travel can result in unvaccinated people getting the disease and bringing it back to the U.S. Measles can be especially serious for children and potentially deadly.
Cubans are learning to live with a five-fold increase in fuel prices that took effect yesterday. It's the biggest jump there in decades.
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And quite a shock in a country where many people earn less than $20 a month. CNN's Patrick Oppmann has more on how Cubans prepared for the extra expense.
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PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just about everything that has four wheels is now lined up at a gas station all across Cuba because, starting on Friday, the price of fuel is going to jump up more than 500 percent.
So you see people in old American cars, old Soviet era cars, Chinese cars filling up and many times, many cases, siphoning out that fuel to fill up again. People have been waiting for hours, sometimes more than a day to fill up their cars, because the price is going to jump up so dramatically.
It's the largest price hike that people say they can ever remember taking place. Cuba, of course, receives, has received fuel for decades now from allies like Venezuela and Russia. And that has allowed the government, those donations of fuel, to subsidize the fuel they sell to their people.
The Cuban government points out that, up until now, fuel's been as cheap here than just about anywhere else in the world. Now it's going to cost, if you use a black market exchange rates, about $20 to fill up your car with gasoline, a full tank of gasoline.
And that may not seem like a lot. But remember, $20 is more than what most government workers make here each month. So it is a substantial increase and people are concerned that it's going to lead to higher transportation prices, higher food prices.
And that as already out-of-control inflation gets worse and simply may not be affordable for many Cubans to live here -- Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.
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BRUNHUBER: All right, before we go, we just wanted to show you this. Now, it looked like real-life versions of Marvel's famed superhero Iron Man, taking to the skies in Dubai this week, have a look.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): It was all part of the world's first jet suit race. That's right. Each pilot raced around a one-kilometer course, darting between a dozen giant inflatables positioned in the water, that you can see there. A 30-kilogram, 1,700 horsepower jet suit can go up to 136 kilometers per hour.
The makers of the high-tech backpack, Gravity Industries, says the goal of the race is to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers to dream big.
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BRUNHUBER: All right. That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back with more news in just a moment.
