Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Biden & Harris Highlight Abortion Rights in Re-election Bid; Bob Menendez Accused of Conspiracy and Obstruction in Alleged Bribery Scheme; AZ Independent Kyrsten Sinema to Retire From Senate; Philippines Accuses China of Dangerous Maneuvers in the South China Sea; Food Aid Airdropped Into Gaza Amid Extreme Malnutrition; Hamas Says No Exchange of Prisoners Before Permanent Ceasefire; China Sets Growth Target of Around 5 Percent for 2024; Eight Men Arrested for Alleged Gang-rape of Foreign Tourist in India; Farmers to Intensify Protests and Enter New Delhi. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired March 06, 2024 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:00:45]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead, Donald Trump and Joe Biden win big on Super Tuesday, setting them on a collision course for a rematch in November.
The U.S. is wrapping up calls for a ceasefire in Gaza as a humanitarian crisis there spirals out of control and talks between Israel and Hamas remain in limbo.
And Ukrainian troops may be struggling on the battlefield, but they're scoring victories in the Black Sea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM WITH ROSEMARY CHURCH.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Good to have you with us. Well, it is looking more and more likely, we will see a 2020 rematch in the U.S. presidential race this November, after Joe Biden and Donald Trump dominated contests on Super Tuesday where 15 states and one U.S. territory held primaries. Among the last states reporting results, delegate rich California with CNN projects another win for Trump, a victory too for Biden.
And in Utah, President Biden is heading for a victory there in the Democratic race. He has so far won every Super Tuesday contest except American Samoa. And Trump is also looking for a Utah when as the votes continue to come in. There was one small prize on the night for Nikki Haley. CNN project she will win Vermont's Republican primary with 17 delegates would stake. Despite that win, Trump has built a commanding lead in the delegate count over Haley, his only remaining Republican opponent.
Trump didn't mention Haley during his victory speech, but did criticize President Biden and his immigration policies. Here is part of his message to supporters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They call it Super Tuesday for a reason. This is a big one. And they tell me, the pundits and otherwise that there's never been one like this, has never been anything so conclusive. This was an amazing, -- an amazing night and an amazing day. It's been an incredible period of time. And our country's history, it's been said in so many ways, but I think it's going to be inspiring because we're going to do something that frankly, nobody is been able to do for a long time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CNN's Kristen Holmes has been following developments from Palm Beach, Florida.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I am told by Trump's senior advisors that they are now focusing solely on the general election. The next couple of weeks, you should expect them to expand out their campaign operations in places like Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Nevada, states that they believe our high priority battleground states.
And we have seen a lot of polling that shows Donald Trump ahead in some of these days. But they're not taking any of this for granted. They do not believe that every single poll is completely accurate.
They believe that every vote is going to count. And then, any kind of rematch with President Joe Biden is going to be incredibly close.
So, that's why you're seeing them start to build out this operation. Now, they also know that their candidate is incredibly polarizing. So, that's something they have to work on.
Now, some -- one of the things that I've been told by a senior advisor they are going to look into tonight is looking at some of the datasets, and seeing how it could shape some of their strategy in these battleground states, particularly when you're looking at states like Virginia, not quite a battleground state that more leans blue, but states like North Carolina, which, again, leans a little bit red, but it's still considered a purple or battleground state.
The other part of what you noticed tonight from Donald Trump was the fact that he stayed on message for Donald Trump. This is what his campaign advisors and what his allies want him to continue to do. Not mentioning Nikki Haley, not going off into any rabbit holes, but instead, focusing on immigration, the economy, and the general election. He even talked about unifying the party. Now, of course, Donald Trump does not have a good track record when it comes to unifying the Republican Party. However, this is exactly what his campaign, his allies want him to continue to do as they head in to November.
CHURCH: As we mentioned, CNN projects that Nikki Haley did manage to win Vermont's Republican primary.
[02:05:03]
CNN's Kylie Atwood has more details on how Haley's campaign is reacting.
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Nikki Haley's campaign responding to the results on Super Tuesday, saying that she is honored to have received the support of millions of Americans and going on to point out that she is the first woman to have won two presidential primary states.
Vermont is one of them. The District of Columbia is the other one. But the statement also went on to point out the fact that there is not unity within the Republican Party right now.
I want to read to you a bit of that. Saying, "Today, in state after state, there remains a large block of Republican primary voters who are expressing deep concerns about Donald Trump. That is not the unity our party needs for success. Addressing these voters' concerns will make the Republican Party and America better."
Now, this statement not saying when Nikki Haley plans to address the public, we know that on the eve of Super Tuesday, she has no plans to make public remarks but we will watch for Wednesday to see if she comes out and speaks with her voters and tells them what the future of her campaign holds.
Kylie Atwood, CNN, Charleston, South Carolina.
CHURCH: A police official in Haiti says the nation's capital has been handed to the gangs, as the security situation there continues to spiral out of control.
He says police stations and substations across Port-au-Prince are under attack, and eight of them have been lost.
Meantime, we have learned Haiti's prime minister, Ariel Henry, landed in Puerto Rico on Tuesday, after unsuccessfully trying to get home to Haiti through the neighboring Dominican Republic.
Henry was in Kenya last week, where he secured an agreement for a thousand Kenyan forces to be deployed to Haiti as part of a U.N.- backed mission to restore security there.
CNN's Caitlin Hu, recently returned from Haiti and has more on the story.
CAITLIN HU, CNN DIGITAL SENIOR EDITOR: After days of speculation by his whereabouts, Haiti's leader Ariel Henry has appeared in nearby Puerto Rico, according to a local government spokesperson.
His plane landed in what would appear to be an attempt to reach his own country, where gang violence is currently exploding. Henry has not been seen in public since last week when he visited Kenya to sign an agreement on a mission intended to help Haiti's police beat back the gangs.
But around the same time that deal was signed, the same gangs launched a wave of coordinated attacks on capital city, Port-au-Prince.
And according to the leader of one gang coalition, Jimmy Cherizier, who goes by the name, Barbecue, the attacks are intended to overthrow Henry's government.
The attacks have targeted state institutions. The gangs have burned down police stations and broken into two prisons, releasing, thousands of prisoners. And they have also targeted the airport, where it seems they are waiting for Henry's return.
Security sources say the love of coordination between previously warring gangs is unprecedented. This time, they are using each other's territories to launch attacks for example.
And amid the chaos, Haiti's government has declared a state of emergency. The neighboring Dominican Republic has stopped all flights connecting to Haiti.
Meanwhile, the civilian toll is rising. The United Nations says thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes. And that adds the over 300,000 who had already been displaced by gang violence before this escalation.
Caitlin Hu, CNN, New York.
CHURCH: Still to come, Hamas pushes back on some key demands, as negotiators are racing against the clock to secure a ceasefire and hostage deal before Ramadan. A live update just ahead.
Plus, Ukraine is hurting on the battlefield, but they are striking at Russian targets in the Black Sea, and hitting their mark.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:10:49]
The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for two of Russia's top military commanders. The Court is going after Sergei Kobylash, a lieutenant general in the Russian Armed Forces. And Viktor Sokolov, an admiral in the Russian Navy.
The ICC says they are responsible for war crimes such as directing attacks on Ukrainian civilians, causing excessive harm to civilians, and for committing inhumane acts, which is a crime against humanity. The courts top prosecutor says it will pursue justice at all costs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARIM KHAN, PROSECUTOR, INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT: The message is clear. We will continue to investigate in Ukraine, go deeper, and we will not hesitate to bring further applications, if and when the evidence requires us to do so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Nick Paton Walsh explains why this is so significant for Ukraine.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: A profound development really in the war in Ukraine. Two key Russian military commanders, both functioning in the Black Sea area issued arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court.
Two of them, both accused of being involved in attacks on civilian, infrastructure, and essentially the damage that has caused to the civilian population, essentially killing innocent civilians.
Here, the warrant points to two individuals, Admiral Viktor Sokolov, and another man, Lieutenant General Sergei Kobylash, both of whom were key commanders in the Black Sea.
The warrant suggests, during the last couple of years while much munitions fight against civilian areas were initially originating from the Black Sea fleet, that Black Sea Fleet itself though targeted by Ukraine over the past hours.
The Ukrainian intelligence service suggesting they managed to take out a patrol ship called the Sergey Kotov that cost $65 million they said, another example of how Ukraine has begun to project its force into areas that Moscow would normally have considered to be its safe territory. These outlying suggestions of Ukrainian strategic success, it comes a time of extraordinary trouble for Ukraine here near the eastern front where I'm standing,
You can hear the distant rumble of explosions far away from me. Really Ukraine is struggling to hold the defensive line. It said, it will be able to maintain after it pulled out of the town of Avdiivka, about two weekends ago.
Avdiivka be fought over for months, and Ukraine said that it had voluntarily pulled back. It gave up a number of villages in its retreat, and it said it would hold another three villages. Those villages themselves under significant Russian repeated persistent assault, Russia would throw extraordinary resources at these particular objectives. And Ukraine, I think on the best day struggling to suggest that it has that fight calmed entirely.
It's significant because if we do see Russia continue to put pressure on Ukrainian front lines around me here. There are minimal signs that there is another back defensive line prepared for Ukraine to be able to hold. And so, we are dealing with a very complex time for Ukraine in this moment. They are able to project success in the Black Sea. Yes, they even suggested in the recent days, they hit a bridge 500 miles inside Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said they took 15 fighter jets out of the sky in February alone.
They are doing things that nobody felt they could do at the start of the war.
But the one thing that we're able to do right now is hold key parts of the Donbas front line, because they haven't got the ammunition they need from the west. And that is because of the holdup in Republican held Congress. No sign of that changing at all. And we hear from Ukrainian fighters on the front line here that it is simply a matter of life and death, until that changes.
And already, the resurgence of Russia is changing the frontline calculus daily.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, eastern Ukraine.
CHURCH: Germany's defense ministry says it's investigating the leak of a call by German officers about the Taurus missile system. Details of the conversation emerged when they were posted by Russian state media.
[02:15:01]
The hack is being blamed on human error with the German defense minister, insisting that communication systems have not been compromised as far as he knows.
Fred Pleitgen has more on the hack and the fallout.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius says he does not believe that the communications of the German military are generally compromised, after a conversation of senior German commanders was leaked, first, to Russian state media, and then commented on by Russian state officials.
Now, Boris Pistorius, the German defense minister, he says that he believes that the fact that this call was compromised was due to a failure of one of the participants on the call. It was a call between senior German commanders, including the commanding general of the German Air Force, and Pistorius said that one of the people who was on that call, called in from Singapore using the Webex software, but failed to adhere to the necessary security protocols.
In general, though, the German defense minister does say that he takes all of this very seriously. All this has caused a massive rout between Germany and the Russians.
The Russians, for their part are accusing the Germans of planning to attack the bridge of Kerch, which is of course, the bridge that links Russia to occupied Crimea, using the Taurus missile.
The Germans for their part, see that the conversation did deal with Taurus missile, and then it dealt with the specs of the Taurus missile and how many of those missiles would be needed to destroy the Kerch Bridge, obviously, the Germans saying that they did not plan to attack the Kerch Bridge. All this, of course, comes as Germany has been talking about possibly giving these Taurus cruise missiles to the Ukrainians.
So far, the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is saying that he is not willing to do that at this point in time. One of the other things that the defense minister also said is he said, at this point in time, there are not going to be any consequences for any of those involved in that call that went bad.
However, he does say that investigation has been launched. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
CHURCH: Still to come, Super Tuesday has come and gone but what did the results mean for the rest of the campaign season. We will discuss.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:20:12]
CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, it was a super predictable Super Tuesday in the U.S. The biggest day of voting during the U.S. presidential primaries.
No surprise, U.S. President Joe Biden is projected to win every Democratic contest so far except for one, American Samoa. A Biden campaign official brushed off the loss, calling it silly news.
Donald Trump also won big as expected and he's projected to extend his lead over Republican rival, Nikki Haley by more than 800 delegates, putting the country even closer to a Biden-Trump rematch this November.
Joining me now from Los Angeles is Sarah Sadhwani, a political science professor at Pomona College and democracy fellow at Harvard University's Kennedy School.
And from Sacramento, Mike Madrid, co-founder of the Lincoln Project, author of "The Latino Century", and co-host of "The Latino Vote". Welcome to you both.
MIKE MADRID, CO-FOUNDER, LINCOLN PROJECT: Thanks for having me.
SARAH SADHWANI, POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR, POMONA COLLEGE: Thanks for having me.
CHURCH: So, not surprisingly, Joe Biden and Donald Trump dominated contests on Super Tuesday, moving one step closer to a rematch between the two men in November.
But there were some clear warnings for both men. Sarah, let's start with you. What are these results reveal about what might happen in the general election? SADHWANI: Well, certainly these two are heading to the general election. They are almost at that stage. The delegate count is not quite there yet. But these are absolutely our two front runners.
What we continue to see, however, is that there are some uncommitted votes, places like Minnesota, having a number of folks pulling away from Biden on the Democratic side, really over the issues between Israel and Gaza.
We saw this previously in the state of Michigan, and this is going to be a point of weakness for Joe Biden moving forward.
CHURCH: And Mike, Nikki Haley is the sole challenger to Donald Trump. And while this might be her last stand, she has been able to expose a gap in support for Trump, especially among college educated voters and women. What might that mean for the general election? And will Haley supporters end up voting for Trump, or for Biden come November? Or would they just sit it out?
MADRID: Well, that's a couple of different question, both, who -- which I think are exactly the right questions to be asking, as we head into the final days of these primaries. College educated voters have had problems with Donald Trump since 2016, and that segment of the Republican electorate and has been moving away from him over the course of the past eight years, and moving expeditiously beyond him, after the 2022 midterms in the Republican Party, when abortion rights were essentially overturned, at the federal level.
The challenge is going to be can Republicans stopped that leaking and Nikki Haley's candidacy is showing that college educated voters are leaving for Donald Trump, specifically, the Republican Party, generally, at a rate faster than any time in the past get eight years.
And they are claiming to be never, never Trump -- anti-Trump, by about 3-1/2 times the amount that they were four years ago, race which Donald Trump lost.
So, both of these gentlemen have problems with their bases, but they're very, very different. Biden seems eminently fixable. (INAUDIBLE) seems to be (INAUDIBLE) --
(CROSSTALK)
CHURCH: All right. We're obviously having a few problems there. Let's go to Sarah. And Sarah, President Biden enjoys strong support from Democratic voters on Super Tuesday, except in American Samoa. A silly news, apparently, according to his campaign.
But we still saw a significant number of voters check the uncommitted box. And you refer to this. That's to protest his support for Israel. How big a concern should this be for the Democrats in the general election? And how does the party combat the lack of enthusiasm for his candidacy?
SADHWANI: It's most certainly a point of weakness for Biden, but he is going to have to respond to it and address it. We've seen himself and Vice President Harris, already beginning to make shifts and adjustments. We've seen Vice President Kamala Harris, coming out calling for a ceasefire, we have seen aid being dropped in Gaza.
So, already we're seeing some shifts, and, of course, he's going to have to do a lot more work in this area.
However, I'll point to the state of California, where we have essentially just elected Adam Schiff to the Senate. Now, that's not a foregone conclusion completely. He's going to have to run in November. But he's running against a Republican.
California voters had an opportunity to elect a far more liberal candidate, a ceasefire candidate in Barbara Lee.
[02:25:03]
And they rejected Barbara Lee outright. Adam Schiff is by all projections going to be the next senator from the Golden State of California. And I think this is a real sign that at the end of the day, Democratic voters will make that call, not solely on the issue of Gaza and Israel, but on larger issues around democracy, and ensuring that Joe Biden is able to advance against Donald Trump in 2024.
CHURCH: And Mike, Trump's biggest challenge appears to be uniting the Republican Party behind him. How does he bring Republican college educated voters on board as well as women who object to him, denying them reproductive rights? Whether it's access to abortions, or more likely with Republican or women access to IVF?
MADRID: Well, strategy, that's a great question again. The strategy seems pretty clear they are going to try to win by subtraction yet again, which has worked for Donald Trump in the past.
And what I mean by that is you're going to have to find a foil a bulwark against the hemorrhaging of women leaving because of the abortion rights issue. And the issue that they are going to be using overwhelmingly is going to be the issue of the illegal immigration.
This is an issue that has worked for Donald Trump. It worked for him in 2016. It served again as a foil of women leaving on cultural -- the social cultural drift word right to the Republicans that are frightening suburban women. The specter of illegal immigration and growing crime is what they are going to try to center this campaign on.
And their hopes are that if Trump can be the set the stage there, there'll be fighting on very solid ground for them. And the polls suggest that they are probably right.
CHURCH: And Sarah, more women, or more men, I should say, than women are voting for Trump and more black men are choosing Trump over Biden, and college educated voters prefer Biden over Trump.
So, what do you make of that shift in voter preferences? And how, might it change the way Joe Biden's campaign is run over the next eight months? SADHWANI: Yes. Absolutely, we have seen portions of black men, Latino men as well, shifting towards Trump. It's not a large proportion, of those voters, but it is a significant proportion, and it has a steady and consistent one over the last several election cycles.
So, most certainly, the Biden camp is going to have to do work to build back those relationships where they can. We see a lot of the shift in some of these voters. Having to do with the culture wars that are going on throughout the United States, and some sort of preference for Donald Trump and his sort of strong men masculine nature that he has.
So, this is most certainly going to be an area where Biden is going to have to try and pick up some momentum over the next several months.
CHURCH: And Mike, you get the last word, will Trump be making the economy and immigration his big issues at the expense of everything else? And is that the winning formula for him, or will it work against him?
MADRID: Well, those are both issues where he scores dramatically higher than Joe Biden. And he should -- I would advise as a campaign professional, if I were advising Donald Trump, that's precisely where I would want him to be staying and talking.
The challenge with Donald Trump is he's probably the least disciplined candidate in the history of American politics. To trying to get him to stay on message is extraordinarily difficult. I guess what might be an advantage is that he likes those two issues. He feels strong on strong ground on both of those two issues.
And again, most American voters support him by pretty wide margins on both -- on both the economy and on border security. So, can he? I don't know. Should he? Yes, he absolutely should.
CHURCH: Sarah Sadhwani, Mike Madrid, many thanks to you both for joining our panel of discussion on this issue. Appreciate it.
MADRID: Thanks, Rosemary.
SADHWANI: thanks for having me.
CHURCH: Well, one of the top issues for voters this primary season is abortion rights and access to women's health care. President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have put the issue front and center during their campaign for re-election.
Donald Trump has been notably quiet on the issue of late, despite the fact he was in office when Roe vs. Wade was overturned, proclaiming it one of his key achievements during his presidency.
Reproductive rights have become a major issue in Alabama as well, after the recent state Supreme Court ruling that put a chilling effect on clinics offering in vitro fertilization helping increase a woman's chance of pregnancy. But at least two of the three clinics that pause their treatments plant to resume that service this week with Alabama's governor set to sign IVF protections into law.
[02:30:02]
Lindy Li is a political strategist and women's co-chair at the Democratic National Committee. And she joins me now from Philadelphia. Good to have you with us.
LINDY LI, POLITICAL STRATEGIST: Thank you. Rosemary.
CHURCH: So, Lindy, how big a role did the issues of abortion rights and unfettered access to IVF play in the results for both Democrats and Republicans this Super Tuesday? And how sure can you be that women's reproductive rights will be one of the main issues to get people out to vote come November?
LI: Oh, it played a tremendous role in it will keep doing so throughout this year. On the one hand, Republicans claim to support IVF and reproductive rights, and insist that the egregiously extreme Alabama supreme court ruling, linking -- equating embryos with humans does not apply to embryos discarded during IVF. On the other hand, you have 125 House Republicans co-sponsoring an anti-abortion bill without an IVF exception.
And then you have professional flame throwers like Congresswoman Nancy Mace who introduced a bill that pretends to protect IVF but doesn't actually do anything at all. So at best, it's window dressing and lip service, and at worst, it's a manipulative slate of hand. This just goes to show that on so many issues, you got to ignore public instead (ph), you've got to watch instead what they do. And this is true not only with IVF, but also comes to abortion and border security and infrastructure and so much more.
For instance, Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith voted against Senator Tammy Duckworth's spill to protect IVF. And Duckworth as an American hero, she lost both of her legs as a helicopter pilot and used IVF to have both of her daughters. And so, it's amazing to me that in ruby red states like in Alabama, embryos have more rights than women do. Clusters of cells that you can barely see have more rights than we do. Assault weapons have more rights than we do.
CHURCH: And Lindy, we are saying that Democrats are attracting more educated voters and more women now. But, does that necessarily translate into support for abortion rights and access to IVF come November, do you think?
LI: Well, It's mind-blowing to me. You talk about education, but I think this transcends demographics because it's mind-blowing that the Alabama supreme court ruling repeatedly quoted the bible and enshrining fetal personhood. And given our much cherished separation of church -- separation of church and state, I find this horrifying and I'm speaking as a lifelong Christian myself and most Americans like me cannot stomach this extremist interpretation of the law of the land. And what can be more pro-life than a process that creates life. What can be more pro-life than creating life where there otherwise would be none? And Vice President Harris, for instance, has been traveling around the country, listening to women of childbearing age and advocating on their behalf, because I believe that hell hath no fury like women whose rights have been destroyed by Trump, a man found legally liable for sexual abuse. You really just cannot make this up.
CHURCH: And Lindy, do describe to us what life will be like for women if Trump wins in November compared to life under a second Biden term.
LI: Well, God forbid, if Trump is re-elected, it will only get worse. He has called for women who get abortions be punished. He's supporting a national abortion ban. His allies are going after birth control. And let's be very clear, what is happening right now is because of Trump, it's only because -- possible because of Trump, because of him rushing Amy Coney Barrett onto the supreme court over RBG's dead body. And after Americans had already started voting in the 2020 election. Because of him installing Brett Kavanaugh, despite Christine Blasey Ford's sexual assault allegations and the 4,500 tips sent to the -- sent to Chris Wray's FBI.
And let's not forget that 66 percent of Americans oppose equating embryos with real life humans. But by all means, Republicans have lost time and time again when abortion is on the ballot. We've seen this in Kansas, Ohio, Virginia, Wisconsin, and across the nation. So, keep up the extremism and we will kick your butt at the ballot box.
CHURCH: Lindy Li, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.
LI: Thank you so much.
CHURCH: U.S. Senator Bob Menendez is facing a dozen new criminal charges in an alleged year's long bribery scheme. Prosecutors say the New Jersey Democrat and his wife received gold bars, cash, and other luxury gifts in exchange for favors for three businessmen, as well as the governments of Egypt and Qatar. The new indictment accuses the couple of trying to cover up this game. Menendez denies any wrongdoing and has accused prosecutors of targeting him.
[02:35:00]
CHURCH: Former Democratic, now Independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema has decided not to run for re-election. Sinema, an influential and high- profile politician from Arizona, announced Tuesday, she is retiring from the Senate at the end of her term this year. CNN's Melanie Zanona has more from Washington.
MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Yeah. Well, this is a big development in the battle for the Senate. Arizona is a key battleground state. It went for Donald Trump in 2016, but then for Joe Biden in 2020. So both parties looking to flip this seat in November, and now, instead of it being a three-way contest involving Kyrsten Sinema running as an independent and running as an incumbent, it is going to come down to a two-way contest between a Republican and a Democrat, at least making things a little bit more cut and dry. And both parties believed this is going to be a boost for their own chances. Just take listen to Steve Daines, the Head of the Senate GOP's campaign arm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. STEVE DAINES, (R-MT): Wasn't surprised by that announcement. And the polling shows that actually gives somewhat advantage to Kari Lake in all polling we've done. So, I mean this gives us another great opportunity, another open seat on the Senate map.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you think there is a party all consolidating behind Kari Lake? There's a lot of concerns about her before.
DAINES: Yeah. Look at the support she's getting across the board now amongst Republicans, she's bringing the party together, Senators together, Arizona together here behind her candidacy and I like our chances in Arizona.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZANONA: Now, the Senate GOP establishment has really lined up between Kari Lake, someone who ran for governor in the last election cycle and lost. In fact, there will be a D.C. fundraiser on Wednesday night in D.C., hosted for her by a number of Republicans. But Democrats really view her as a weaker general election candidate, in part because she is a staunch ally of Former President Donald Trump and has peddled his false lies about the 2020 election. And also, because she is at least in the past, expressed support for bans on abortion even though she has sought to moderate that issue in recent days. But no doubt, this is going to be a marquee Senate race in the fall and one that could ultimately determine who controls the Senate next year.
Melanie Zanona, CNN, Capitol Hill.
CHURCH: Just ahead, an ambitious target for China, Beijing puts economic growth front and center as leaders gather for their big yearly meeting. We'll have more on that on the other side of the break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Coast Guard vessels from China and the Philippines collided in the disputed waters of the South China Sea on Tuesday. The Philippines has accused China of executing dangerous maneuvers while China claims it took control measures against the Philippines vessel.
[02:40:00]
CHURCH: Ivan Watson went aboard a Philippine Coast Guard ship in the South China Sea and has this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is just after sunrise. And as you may see, there is a large Chinese Coast Guard ship directly in front of this Philippines Coast Guard vessel. And we've been watching this over the course of the last hour. These are supposed to be international waterways with free passage. I'm aboard this Philippines Coast Guard ship that was part of a convoy of four vessels that were headed towards a place called the Second Thomas Shoal.
And before dawn, all of a sudden, these Philippine ships were swarmed by much larger and many more Chinese ships that are more off to our port bow. These are not marked like the Chinese Coast Guard ships, but they're clearly operating with them and operating in very close proximity to this Philippines Coast Guard ship. In fact, I've seen them in the past, cutting this off and what they've succeeded in doing is not only pretty much stopping our ship in its tracks, but it has separated this ship from the other boats in the Philippines convoy, which included two small resupply vessels that were trying to get to the Second Thomas Shoal.
Now, part of what is at play here is a territorial dispute. That Shoal the Philippines claims is part of its economic exclusion zone. China, though it is much further geographically from this area, claims it for itself and clearly tries to stop Philippine ships from getting to it. We are completely encircled by a fleet of Chinese ships, at least 14 that I've counted. And moments ago, the Chinese Coast Guard ships were blasting a Philippines resupply vessel with water cannons. It is clearly by swarming this ship, a show of force and a show of intimidation, and it is physically stopping vessels from another country from being able to move forward through this international waterway.
Ivan Watson, CNN, aboard a Philippine Coast Guard ship in the South China Sea.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: More countries airdropped desperately needed food aid into northern Gaza on Tuesday, as only a limited amount of aid is being allowed in by Israel. The U.S. and Jordan sent the equivalent of about 37,000 meals, while the UAE and Egypt delivered 42 tons of food and medical supplies. The U.N. says a convoy of 14 trucks carrying food aid to the north was turned away by Israeli forces. The World Health Organization says malnutrition levels in Gaza's north are particularly extreme and roughly three times higher than in the south.
Limited aid deliveries have resulted in severe food poverty and acute malnourishment. The disparity between northern and southern Gaza underscores the lifesaving difference when people have access to aid.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENS LAERKE, OCHA SPOKESPERSON: Now, when children starting as the doctors are telling our colleagues to die from starvation, that should be an alarm like no other. If not now, when is the time to pull the stops, break the glass, flood Gaza with the aid that it needs?
(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: Witnesses tell CNN, Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians as they waited for aid in Gaza city on Monday night. It is the second such incident in the past week. A local journalist who was there says they could see and hear sporadic gunfire. Though it's unclear if there were any casualties. CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment.
The incident came just days after another chaotic scene at a food delivery last Thursday, which Gaza's health ministry says left 118 people dead and 760 injured. Meantime, a senior Hamas official accuses Israel of stalling negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza in exchange for more hostages. He says there can be no exchange of prisoners until there's a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory.
But America's top diplomats says it is on Hamas to accept an immediate truce, a sentiment echoed by President Joe Biden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A hostage deal is in the hands of Hamas right now because we've done an offer, rational offer. Israelis have agreed agree to it, and wait and see what the Hamas does.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[02:45:00]
CHURCH: Those comments by President Biden come as a U.N. diplomat tells CNN that Washington circulated a newly revised U.N. Security Council draft resolution to back an six-week ceasefire in Gaza with the release of all hostages. Let's turn to CNN's Scott McLean now who joined us live from Istanbul in Turkey. Good to see you, Scott. So, what more are you learning about these efforts to reach a ceasefire and release these hostages in Gaza?
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Rosemary. Yeah, so Reuters had reported yesterday that the Hamas delegation in Cairo for those talks had been persuaded by mediators to continue for one more day after talks appeared to have broken off. That's not necessarily a sign that they are onto something or that there's going to be a breakthrough just because Hamas is continuing to talk.
Egyptian state media says that there are difficulties. The foreign minister, the Egyptian foreign minister said yesterday that he's neither optimistic nor pessimistic about the situation, but said that it's clear that they are not ready for a ceasefire right now, and there are no signs of an impending breakthrough or anything like that. And also remember, the Israelis aren't even in Cairo for these talks, a decision made by the Mossad Director and also by the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu because they say that Hamas has not responded to two of its key demands.
Number one, that is for Hamas to provide a list of all of the hostages, who is alive and who is dead. Something that Hamas said yesterday that they could not provide until a ceasefire actually began. They are also looking for confirmation of the ratio of hostages to be released for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Reuters and Al Jazeera had reported last week that Hamas was considering a proposal for 40 hostages to be released in exchange for 400 Palestinian prisoners. So 10:1 ratio. But again, all of this is under negotiation.
Hamas also put out a statement just today saying that, look, they are being flexible. They have been flexible on their demands, but they accused the Israelis have not addressing what they would like to see and their demands are three things. Number one, a permanent ceasefire. Though that's something that Prime Minister Netanyahu has made clear is not going to happened because he will only consider the war to be over once Hamas is completely wiped out. And that also involves an invasion or going into Rafah where more than a million people are currently sheltering.
Hamas is also demanding a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops, something that seems to be a non-starter or is at odds with the day- after plan released by the Israelis which would allow unfettered access to Gaza for IDF troops there and also full control of Gaza's borders. And Hamas is also looking for people displaced from the north to be allowed to return to their homes from the south, something that seems relatively benign, but again, is at odds with Israel's insistence that even after a pause to get hostages out and aid in, that the war will in fact begin again.
The U.S. is pushing maybe a more stopgap proposal and that is for a six-week stop in fighting in exchange for Hamas releasing 40 hostages -- sorry, in exchange for Hamas releasing vulnerable hostages. We are talking about women, elderly people, sick, injured people, but the difficulty with that we understand is that Hamas has not agreed on to engage on a definition of who would be considered vulnerable in that circumstance. And so, that is where things stand right now.
Obviously, the U.S. continues to push Israel to get more aid in. It seems to be running out of patience given the humanitarian situation there, given the risk of famine, the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza says that 15 children have already died from malnutrition or dehydration already. And so, the U.S. is doing whatever they can. They are airdropping aid, as you mentioned already, along with some other countries. Something that should be pretty embarrassing considering that Israel is its very close ally.
It is considering a maritime corridor to get more aid into Gaza. It is calling for the immediate ceasefire at the U.N. Security Council, as you mentioned, Rosemary, a change in their previous position and also U.S. officials met with Prime Minister Netanyahu's chief rival Benny Gantz yesterday. Rosemary?
CHURCH: All right. Thanks to Scott McLean, bringing us the latest there from Istanbul. Appreciate it.
Well, in the face of regional tensions, China's political elite are in Beijing for the Annual National People's Congress. Beijing has already set an ambitious growth target of around 5 percent as leaders work to restore confidence in the world's second largest economy. Current challenges include the property sector pressure from deflation and a low birth rate.
[02:50:00]
CHURCH: Kristie Lu Stout is covering this for us live in Hong Kong. She joins us now.
So Kristie, after unveiling an ambitious growth target, does China have a plan to get there?
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is the question. At the moment, there are a lot of question marks out there, skepticism even. And with the Chinese economy facing that long laundry list of challenges that you mentioned just then, the Chinese President Xi Jinping is now calling for China to unleash new quality productive forces. This is his new mantra at the National People's Congress, which is currently underway this week in Beijing. We heard China release that growth target of around 5 percent this year, but no major stimulus measures were announced.
So, analysts fear that China may have a target, but it doesn't have a plan. In fact, one analyst at UBS says this. Let's bring up the quote for you. He says, "The growth target is OK, but the missing part is how they want to achieve that. What sort of stimulus is unclear for now." Now, during the Congress, Xi Jinping spoke to a delegation from Jiangxi Province and he used that new mantra saying this -- let's bring up Xi's words. Xi Jinping saying developing new quality productive forces does not mean neglecting or abandoning traditional industries. It is necessary to prevent a headlong rush into projects and the formation of industry bubbles.
Now, that term, "new productive forces" that was first used by Xi Jinping September last year when he called for the need for new growth model based on innovation. But analysts point out that Xi is putting the focus on future economic growth at a time when China right now is facing a long list of economic issues, like the property crisis, like the demographic crisis, like weak consumer spending, (inaudible) unemployment, rising local government debt, et cetera, et cetera. The situation has gotten so bad. It's been called a drag on world output by the IMF.
Now, we are, Rosemary, monitoring a press conference that's happening right now in Beijing with senior officials. It's an economy related press conference. The Central Bank Governor is there, along with China's Commerce and Finance Ministry Chiefs, and its top securities regulators. Any updates from that, we will bring it to you right here on CNN. Back to you.
CHURCH: And we appreciate that. Kristie Lu Stout joining us live from Hong Kong. And we'll be right.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Several more suspects have been arrested in India in the alleged gang-rape of a foreign tourist and the assault of her husband. CNN's Vedika Sud has details. VEDIKA SUD, CNN REPORTER: Five more arrests have been made in connection with the alleged gang-rape are a female biker and a violent assault on her husband in India's eastern state of Jharkhand. that takes the total arrests to eight. Addressing a press conference, Tuesday, the police said they have confessions and forensic evidence, and will push for a speedy trial and ask for the strictest punishment for the culprits. The accused have been book for gang-rape and robbery. It's clear if the alleged attackers have lawyers.
Soon after the announcement by the police, the survivor put up a post on her Instagram page. She said, "They have caught all criminals. There were eight in all. Everything has gone very quickly. The police has been tremendously efficient." She also asked for justice for all women who have been subjected to sexual violence. CNN is not naming the female victim in accordance with the Indian law that prevents the naming of victims of sexual violence.
[02:55:00]
SUD: The incident has led to outrage. More than 100 bikers converged in Jamshedpur in eastern India, demanding justice for the survivor and capital punishment for the accused. The incident came to light after the couple, both foreign nationals, posted a video over the weekend on their Instagram page describing their ordeal. They had stopped for the night in Dumka District when the alleged attack took place. In one of the videos, the husband said a knife was held to their throats and his wife was gang-raped.
According to government data, more than 31,500 rape cases were recorded in the year 2022, an average of 86 cases per day. Break that down further and that's a rape almost every 17 minutes in the country.
Vedika Sud, CNN, New Delhi.
CHURCH: Farmers in India are planning another round of protests in the coming hours. Security has been tied across the capital New Delhi, as farmers are planning to enter in large numbers. For months now, the farmers have been demanding higher prices for their crops. Thousands started their march to the capital last month, but were stopped by security forces who used tear gas and water cannon to disperse them.
An American detained in Russia for more than five years says the death of opposition figure Alexei Navalny is extremely worrying. Paul Whelan is serving a 16-year prison sentence on espionage charges, which he vehemently denies. And the U.S. State Department says he has been wrongfully detained. Navalny, a longtime critic of the Russian president, died in prison last month. Dozens of countries, including the U.S., have blamed Vladimir Putin directly for his death. Paul Whelan spoke exclusively to CNN.
PAUL WHELAN, FORMER U.S. MARINE IMPRISONED IN RUSSIA (via telephone): I can't say too much for obvious reasons, but one thing I will say is that if they could get to him, they can get to me. And what that means is, if they are willing to face repercussions from the world for doing in somebody like Navalny, they are not going to think twice about doing in someone like me and then blaming the United States for not bothering to get me back in five years.
CHURCH: The Kremlin has denied any involvement in Navalny's death.
I want to thank you for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. I will be back with more "CNN Newsroom" after a short break. Do stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:00:00]
