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Israel-Hamas War; Before Ramadan, Biden Expresses Optimism For a Truce in Gaza; Israeli Strike Claimed At Least 13 Lives; New Humanitarian Airdrops Carried Out in Gaza by U.S. and Jordan; Israel Scaling Up Military Action in Lebanon with Deadly Strikes; At Least 28 Houthi Drones Shot Down by U.S.-Coalition Troops; Protesters Calling Prime Minister's Resignation Brawl with Israeli Police; Opposing Rallies in Georgia, Biden and Trump Trade Attacks; National Guard Troops Patrol NYC Subways; France Enshrines Abortion Rights in its Constitution; Early Voting Taking Place in Russia; Second Term as President Elected for Asif Ali Zardari; Election of New Parliament by Portuguese Voters; Bill to Recriminalize Drug Usage in Oregon to be Signed by Governor; After Two Pilots Nod Off in Midair, Indonesia Will Begin Inquiry;; This Week United Airlines Will Look Into Four Different Events; Italian Art Theft Valued Over $1 Million. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired March 10, 2024 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to all you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom".

President Biden is calling on Israel to consider other ways to deal with Hamas as conditions in Gaza grow more dire. Israel is scaling up its military action in Lebanon with deadly strikes. We'll look at what Israel's Defense Forces say they're targeting.

Plus, both U.S. presidential frontrunners campaigned in Georgia today, laying out their swing state strategies as they work to turn undecided voters heads.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom with Kim Brunhuber".

BRUNHUBER: President Biden is still hoping to beat the clock and reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza before Ramadan. Diplomats are becoming skeptical it can be done by the start of the Muslim holiday tonight, which was their goal. But in an interview released on Saturday, Biden said an agreement is still possible. Here he is.

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JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: I want to see a ceasefire and I'm starting with a major, major exchange of prisoners for a six-week period. We're going into Ramadan. It should be nothing happening and we should build off of that ceasefire.

My CIA director in that region right this minute still talking about it. I think it's always possible. I never give up on that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: But as Biden talks ceasefire, Israel is making new military moves. At least 13 people were killed in an airstrike in Central Gaza on Saturday, according to Palestinian health officials. While Israel says it also hit a Hamas military asset in the town of Rafah, but a Palestinian news agency says the target was a residential building where a number of civilians were wounded. Israel says, all civilians were evacuated before the strike.

Meanwhile, the U.S. and Jordan have conducted new airdrops of aid as U.N. officials warn of a looming famine in Gaza. The two countries dropped tens of thousands of meals and other aid on Saturday. Some humanitarian workers dismissed those drops as a band aid measure, saying they're degrading and ineffective. Gaza's health ministry says, two more people died of malnutrition and dehydration on Saturday, bringing the total to 25.

For more, Nada Bashir joins us from Larnaca, Cyprus. Nada, more efforts to get aid into the region while the death toll from famine grows. How quickly might we actually see more aid?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, of course, we have seen the inauguration of this new maritime corridor, which is another vital lifeline in getting aid into the Gaza Strip. We have, of course, seen those land crossings through Gaza's land boardings, those have been difficult. Of course, we've seen various obstructions, and that has caused a delay in the amount of aid trucks that can get in.

We have, as you mentioned, Kim, seen airdrops as well being carried out by a number of nations, including the United States. The hope is that this new maritime corridor will allow for a significant uptick in the amount of humanitarian supplies and crucially food and water getting into the Gaza Strip.

Now, of course, this maritime corridor has now been announced. These ships would be departing from here in Cyprus, heading towards Gaza's coast. And of course, we know that this has been endorsed by the United States. The U.S. Military has been directed to establish a temporary pier on Gaza's coast to facilitate the delivery of that aid and humanitarian aid supplies. And of course, we have heard from U.S. officials over the last few hours saying that the first batch of equipment needed to construct this pier is now on its way to the Middle East.

So, this certainly is a process that is underway. The question is how quickly this will be established? How quickly these ships can actually get to the Gaza Strip? And of course, how quickly that aid can get to those in need?

Now, as we understand it, according to European Union officials, there was an expectation that those ships would be able to depart some point this weekend. It's unclear whether they still will be able to depart this weekend or whether perhaps we might see more delays. But of course, this is a significant development, although there will be significant logistical challenges ahead, of course.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, that's right. And, Nada, as we played there, President Biden still hopeful of a ceasefire. What's the latest there?

[04:05:00]

BASHIR: Something is a shift in tune. We did hear from Biden just a day ago saying that the situation was tough, perhaps hopes for a ceasefire were fading. Slightly more positive tone there from President Biden. We know that the CIA director is in the region.

What we have seen over the last is this, sort of, shuffle of diplomacy. We've seen these delegations from Hamas, from regional leaders, as well as, of course, Israel traveling back and forth between Cairo where these talks have primarily been held.

There has been a lot of questions around why these talks are stalling, as we understand it. Of course, Israel has continued to push for all hostages to be released before the beginning of Ramadan. Clearly, that has not happened, and that continues to be the primary focus according to Israeli authorities.

We have heard from U.S. officials who have accused Hamas as being the primary reason as to why these ceasefire deals have not reached any sort of formal agreement just yet. And, of course, important to remember that this isn't any sort of talks around a lasting ceasefire just yet, but rather a temporary truce. A pause in fighting. Looking at about six weeks, which would allow for further diplomatic discussions in the hopes of establishing a long-lasting ceasefire.

Now, of course, we are still hearing that there are officials talking back and forth between other mediaries, but of course, no clear conclusions at this stage. No clear indication that we are seeing any sort of breakthroughs. And of course, time is very quickly running out.

We've heard from the Israeli military warning that if there isn't any sort of a ceasefire, if we don't see those hostages released before the beginning of Ramadan, then they could launch their ground incursion into the southern city of Rafah and that is of course a huge point of concern and fear.

Some 1.3 million Palestinians currently displaced in the southern city in these cramped conditions. And of course, we've heard those warnings from the U.N. that if indeed there is a ground incursion in Rafah, then we could see untold bloodshed on the ground and that is in addition to the looming famine that Gaza is now facing.

BRUNHUBER: All right. I appreciate those updates. Nada Bashir in Cyprus, thanks so much.

Israel has conducted news strikes in Southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon's state-run news agency. It says, Israeli warplanes fired two missiles Saturday, killing five people and leaving nine others wounded. The agency says, one home was destroyed in the strike, while dozens more were damaged. The casualties reported included a couple and their two children. Israel's military says it's still checking reports about the incident.

U.S. and coalition forces shot down at least 28 Houthi drones around the Red Sea on Saturday. U.S. defense officials also say, there were no reports of any commercial ships being damaged during the airstrike. The wave of drones comes as allied forces continue to hit the rebel group in Yemen. The Houthis started targeting ships in the Red Sea shortly after the Israel-Hamas conflict began.

There were clashes between police and protesters in Israel on Saturday.

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BRUNHUBER: Thousands gathered across the nation, demanding the removal of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and that a general election be held. Police in Tel Aviv shot water cannon to disperse protesters. Law enforcement says, demonstrators crossed fences, threw smoke grenades and a gas grenade. Police say, 16 protesters were arrested.

Another set of nominating contests in the race for the White House is now just two days away. On Saturday, U.S. President Joe Biden and Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump held dueling rallies here in Georgia, a key battleground state. It's one of a handful of states set to hold primaries on Tuesday.

Both men are ramping up attacks on each other as it becomes clear they will face a rematch this year. Biden slammed Trump for hosting Hungary's authoritarian Prime Minister on Friday, while Trump criticized the President's State of the Union address, calling it, "Partisan and angry."

CNN's Steve Contorno was at Trump's rally, but first we go to CNN's Priscilla Alvarez who's traveling with the President.

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PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Biden delivered a fiery speech here in Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday, a crucial state for him to clinch that victory in November of 2024. It's one his campaign is aware of in a state that he only narrowly won here in 2020.

Now, the president tried to shore up his supporters here in the state by ticking through some of his domestic accomplishments, including on reproductive rights, lowering health care costs, student loan debt relief, and making inroads with the economy.

But he also tried to draw stark contrast from Former President Donald Trump, who himself was holding a rally only 60 miles up the road from here. President taking direct aim at him and who he was keeping company with.

BIDEN: You know, you're the reason why we're going to win.

CROWD: Yes.

BIDEN: By the way, that's not hyperbole. You're the reason we're going to win. Donald Trump has a different constituency. Here's a guy who's kicking off his general election campaign on the road up with Marjorie Taylor Greene. He can tell you a lot about a person who he keeps company with.

CROWD: Yes.

[04:10:00]

ALVAREZ: Now, only minutes into the speech, the president was interrupted by a protester calling him Genocide Joe. It was the latest sign that the president still needs to make inroads with some parts of his coalition as it fractures over the course of this Israel-Hamas war. But even when that occurred, people in the crowd still chanted four more years.

Now, Democratic strategists say that voter outreach is going to be key in a state like Georgia, and the president making that clear today when talking to supporters.

Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, traveling with the president.

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STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Former President Donald Trump held a rally Saturday in Rome, Georgia. His first since becoming the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. He wasted little time in his remarks going after Joe Biden. In fact, he also made fun of Biden's delivery of his speech at the State of the Union.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Two nights ago, we all heard Crooked Joe's angry, dark, hate filled rant of a State of the Union Address, wasn't it? Didn't it bring us together -- bring the country to, to, to, together.

Joe Biden should not be shouting angrily at America. America should be shouting angrily at Joe Biden.

CONTORNO: A major focus of Trump's remarks was on the situation at the U.S. southern border. And ahead of his remarks, he met with the family of Laken Riley, that is the 22-year-old nursing student who was killed in Georgia, allegedly by an undocumented man. Trump also criticized President Biden for saying that he shouldn't have used the word illegal to describe that individual.

TRUMP: And I say he was an illegal alien. He was an illegal immigrant. He was an illegal migrant. And he shouldn't have been in our country and he never would have been under the Trump policy. Biden should be apologizing for apologizing to this killer.

CONTORNO: Trump's visit to Georgia is the first of many expected in the coming months. The peach state is going to be one of the top battlegrounds in the 2024 election. It's one Trump lost by less than 12,000 votes four years ago. And his team knows it's going to be close to this go around.

Steve Contorno, Rome, Georgia, CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Well, immigration is shaping up to be a large part of the 2024 election race, and you've just heard Donald Trump say that he has no qualms over President Biden referring to Laken Riley's alleged killer as an illegal immigrant. But to many, it's not that simple. Now, earlier, I spoke with journalist Sandra Sanchez about that term. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDRA SANCHEZ, SOUTH TEXAS CORRESPONDENT, BORDERREPORT.COM: Migrant advocates say, there's no such thing as an illegal immigrant. There is illegal immigration. There is the act of illegally crossing, but anyone has a right to come to the United States and try to claim asylum. So, to put those words together is something that really is frowned upon when you're at the border.

You know, clearly, he is, I think, posturing more to a conservative base. Recognizing that immigration is such an important issue. And that, you know, this is the way he is going to get votes. But several organizations throughout the country, throughout the world are just enraged at, you know, the fact that he didn't talk about dreamers. He didn't talk about a pathway for citizenship for the dreamer population.

And so, many other issues regarding humanitarian parole and those who are seeking asylum, it was more all about stopping them. A militaristic kind of approach. And you know, frankly, I just don't see where 4,600 added asylum officers is going to get the 3.2 million backlog immigration cases down to six months from the five to seven years that it currently takes, which he says it will.

I think what we need to do is get back to the push and the pull factors that caused people to come here. And I think that's what everyone local leaders are saying -- look, tonight I met with two state senators and Hidalgo County judge and. State Senator Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa is on the border security committee. He wasn't even invited to Biden's visit. And he said, you know, we've got to stop people from coming. It's just -- it's an untenable situation. We can't handle everyone coming across in -- by the thousands.

And something has to be done. Congress has to act. It can't -- the shoulder can't be put on border communities. And really the American public, you know, we're all here -- put to choose. How we feel about what we just heard. Well, they're saying, you know, it's time for Congress to really make some laws that force people to apply for asylum from their home countries. Not to get this far to the border to have lottery systems where you can have certain number of people who can come in. There has to be actively active measures to aid people to lawfully come.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:15:00]

BRUNHUBER: And you can watch my full interview with Sandra Sanchez in the next hour.

U.S. National Guard troops are now patrolling New York City's subways. Coming up, why some New Yorkers aren't happy about that. We'll have that ahead.

Plus, France becomes the first country in the world to secure abortion rights in its constitution. We'll have more on the historic move when we come back. Please stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: Authorities are investigating what caused the British Navy's largest warship to briefly catch fire. Officially say, a minor isolated fire happened while the HMS Queen Elizabeth was docked in Scotland, Saturday. A Royal Navy spokesperson says, the fire was brought under control quickly and put out. Adding there were no reports of injuries and no ordinance or military supplies were involved. The Royal Navy says, the 65,000 ton warship can hold up to 40 aircraft.

An update now on those 10 coal barges in Kentucky which broke away from the vessel, towing them in the Ohio River. Coast Guard officials say, efforts are underway to recover any remaining barges and push them out of the channel. Two of them sank.

[04:20:00]

Authorities say the vessels disconnected from their towing vessel after exiting a dam. Salvage operation will begin once equipment arrives on the scene. An investigation is still ongoing into what caused the barges to break away.

The preliminary report into the deadly condo collapse in Surfside, Florida is in, but it leaves many questions unanswered. It contains about two dozen theories of what caused the catastrophic failure that killed 98 people in 2021. Although the condo was north of Miami, many residents were from different parts of the world.

The daughter of one victim asked, if there were so many signs the building was unstable, why wasn't it evacuated before it collapsed and killed her mother and so many others? The towers were completed in 1981. The report says, parts of the design were sub-code even back then, including steel reinforcement issues and the strength of concrete in columns and floors. The final report is expected next year. Prince Harry and his wife Meghan made a surprise visit to Uvalde, Texas, site of the second worst school shooting in U.S. history. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex met with the family of Irma Garcia, a teacher who was killed in the 2022 massacre.

Garcia's nephew says, Harry and Meghan spoke with Irma's children about their hopes for the future. Family members say, the royals have kept in contact with them since the shooting. In October 2022, their charitable foundation contributed to a new playground for Uvalde's children.

The governor of New York is facing a backlash for sending National Guard troops into New York City subways to help tackle crime. And the critics aren't just politicians or subway riders, even some in the New York Police Department are blasting the move. With the department's patrol chief saying on social media, "Our transit system is not a war zone."

Polo Sandoval has the story.

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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And so, this is the first weekend for these new security measures to be in place after New York Governor Kathy Hochul made that announcement of approximately a thousand more personnel added to the subway system here to try to really reassure the passengers that use the nation's largest transportation system here.

Important to point out though that the governor making very clear that they will have a very principle, very main objective here in terms of what we can expect, which will be to assist with those random searches, things like luggage and also purses. It's important to point out that these are actions that we've seen before from the NYPD in the past.

So, this will essentially supplement those efforts in the past. It's after a recent, very highly publicized incidents that have taken place on the New York City subway system though. It's important to point out that since New York City Mayor Eric Adams increased the number of NYPD personnel patrolling the MTA system, there has been a decrease in the number of some of those violent incidents.

However, New York City officials here, again, mainly Governor Kathy Hochul here, hoping to reassure some of those passengers. Again, this was the addition of roughly 750 personnel with the National Guard, in addition to about 250 state police, and also MTA police.

Here's how some of the folks who use this system every day feel about these new changes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it can be sometimes hard to, like, process the statistics when you hear about really scary, high-profile incidents. So, some of it is certainly an emotional reaction. Just like the comfort that I get from the presence of the National Guards people, it's probably somewhat emotional, but it helps me go about my life. So, I appreciate it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've never had a problem on the subway system or the Long Island Railroad. I think everybody that works in this system does a great job. This is New York City. Stuff has been happening for as long as I can remember.

SANDOVAL: And of course, no change has come without criticism. There is some of those critics who say that there is no evidence that indicates that some of these random bag searches can actually serve to prevent some of these random attacks that we have seen in the past. Nonetheless, Governor Kathy Hochul maintains that one of the main priorities is to make sure that the people who use this system every day feel safe for doing so.

Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Russia's preparing for its presidential election later this week, but it's clear that there's only one real candidate, Vladimir Putin. I'm taking a deep dive into his propaganda machine just ahead. Please, stay with us.

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[04:25:00]

BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom".

Early voting is underway across parts of Russia ahead of the presidential election this week. That includes occupied areas of Ukraine where Russian forces have taken control. Now, it would be a big surprise if President Vladimir Putin doesn't win this vote, given most opponents have been barred, locked up, or worse. Putin is expected to hold power for years after signing a new law in 2021 allowing him to run for two more terms.

CNN's Clare Sebastian takes a closer look at the Kremlin's propaganda machine now working in overtime to push a perfect image of Putin in a time of war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Flying into a fifth term, the war of Putin's nuclear capable strategic bomber almost as loud as the propaganda machine propelling him forward.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Vladimir Putin on board of the most powerful, the biggest, the fastest strategic bomber.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): This is Putin's desired pre-election image. Strong, vigorous, calling the shots in his so-called special military operation, and letting his chief propagandists' campaign on his behalf on state TV. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): He works until late, late at night, starts again in the morning. I just want to say thank you to him, to our president.

SEBASTIAN: As we get closer to elections in Russia in March, we're seeing more and more of this more obvious propaganda. But there are also slightly more subtle tactics at play, and the most prominent of those is the constant scapegoating, or even outright trolling of the U.S.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in a foreign language).

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): One popular talk show played this split screen on a loop. Putin boarding his bomber, Biden tripping up the steps of Air Force One. News reports on the war in Ukraine regularly showing off the wreckage of Western weapons. There's even a discarded Starlink container.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in a foreign language).

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Boris Akunin, one of Russia's most popular modern authors says the West needs to take note of this.

[04:30:00]

BORIS AKUNIN, RUSSIAN WRITER: Putin benefits from this picture of the outside world as a -- as something hostile so that people would unite around him. When the war started, a lot of Russians start -- emigrated. Then they met with hostility. A lot of them had to return. And every single case has been used by Putin's propaganda to strengthen this idea that we are together. We are a besieged camp.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Alexei Navalny knew how to get around Putin's propaganda machine and its longstanding policy of ignoring him. From this cramped Moscow headquarters, which I visited in 2017, he and his colleagues beamed their message to millions of Russians by a YouTube. And yet his death was something state media temporarily found itself unable to ignore.

First discrediting his legacy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): He was a Nazi.

SEBASTIAN (through translator): Then blaming the west.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): For them, this is excellent timing, we have elections coming up. Support for the president is off the charts.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Finally turning on his widow, Yulia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We looked at the life of the queen of the opposition, during the time he was in prison.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Two hours after the news of the death of her husband, the wife emerges all made up. Listen, the girls will understand me, even her mascara didn't run. How do you manage that?

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): For Akunin, Navalny's death is more than just a propaganda challenge. It signals propaganda may now be taking a back seat to a much blunter instrument of control, outright repression.

AKUNIN: By killing Alexei Navalny, they lost the last chance of trying to pretend that they were legal dissent law abiding. Intimidation is now going to be the main instrument.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Now a Kremlin has called accusations that Russian authorities were behind Navalny's death unfounded. The distance -- spokeswoman says, the official cause of death on his medical report seen by his mother was natural causes.

Pakistan's former Prime Minister -- President Asif Ali Zardari was elected on Saturday for a second term in office. He last served from 2008 to 2013. Zardari got more than twice as many votes from the country's electoral college (ph) as his competitor and won support from the ruling coalition. Zardari is the husband of the late Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto who was assassinated in 2007.

Portuguese voters are heading to the polls today to elect a new parliament, two years ahead of schedule. Now, you're looking at live pictures of polling stations in Lisbon. Polls opened at the top of the hour. This election comes after a sweeping corruption probe led to the fall of Prime Minister Antonio Costa's government.

Now, on the ballot, Pedro Nuno Santos, Secretary General of the Socialist Party, is looking to expand upon Portugal's current center left socialist platform. Luis Montenegro is the president of the center right Social Democratic Party and leader of a broad conservative coalition. And a third contender is Andre Ventura from Portugal's radical right wing Chega party.

Now, Sunday's election comes as Portugal prepares to observe 50 years since the fall of a fascist dictatorship.

Voters in Ireland have rejected government attempts to modernize what's called sexist language in the country's constitution. Ireland's public broadcaster reports a proposal to add durable relationships, other than marriage, to the law, lost by two to one margin. A second proposal to replace references to women's duties in the home fell by a three to one margin. The Prime Minister admitted voters have given his government two wallops. Listen to this.

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LEO VARADKAR, IRISH PRIME MINISTER: For some people, it was the fact that they wanted the concept of motherhood to remain in the constitution and be a distinct thing. Others didn't like the word strive. Felt that it didn't go far enough. And then there are others who felt that it shouldn't be just about family care That it should have been about people with disabilities too.

So, when you lose a referendum this badly, by this margin, there are many reasons as to why it's defeated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The votes on Friday were timed to coincide with International Women's Day. Despite its strongly Catholic history, Ireland has liberalized divorce laws and legalized same sex marriage in recent years.

On Friday, France become the -- became the first nation in the world to explicitly enshrine abortion rights into its constitution. French President Emmanuel Macron said he would like to see it in the European Union's Human Rights Charter as well.

CNN's Melissa Bell is in Paris with a closer look at the historic move.

[04:35:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): For the adoption, 780. Against, 72.

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was an overwhelming majority of French lawmakers gathered in Versailles who voted in favor of changing France's constitution. In Central Paris, women celebrated the fact that their freedom to terminate a pregnancy would now be beyond the whim of political change.

EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): This will enshrine the freedom of women to choose abortion and to be a solemn guarantee that nothing will ever limit or abolish this right because it will have become irreversible.

CROWD: My body, my choice. My country, my voice.

BELL (voice-over): Back in 2022, the streets of Paris too had heard the cry that became so familiar as the U.S. Supreme Court prepared to reverse Roe versus Wade.

SARAH DUROCHER, PLANNING FAMILIAL (through translator): With what happened in the U.S., there was a strong reaction in France by politicians. Several laws are proposed and the prime minister came to see us here at family planning to tell us how worried she was about the right to abortion.

BELL (voice-over): A righteous hard won in France as it was elsewhere. The procedure only legalized in 1975 after a battle led by the lawmaker and then Health Minister Simone Veil, a woman speaking to a parliament of men.

SIMONE VEIL, HEALTH MINISTER (through translator): This is an injustice that must be stopped. BELL (voice-over): Nearly 50 years on, it is a different generation of women celebrating the fact that France is now going a step further.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

BELL (voice-over): The French artist Barbara Pravi says her own experience of abortion at 17 was so traumatic that it was in song that she tried, many years later, to deal with it.

BELL: What difference, do you think, it will make to have it inscribed in the constitution?

BARBARA PRAVI, SINGER/SONGWRITER: Having the right to do abortion cannot be like a condition of politics, you know? It has to be something we have and no discussion.

BELL (voice-over): Recent polls suggest that over 80 percent of the French population supports safeguarding abortion rights.

PRAVI: If you put something in the constitution, it automatically changed people's minds. I know that my children will never think about the question about abortion.

BELL (voice-over): Barbara says, she was able to put her loneliness and shame into song, but believes that France's constitutional change might help women in the future to feel neither.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The state of Oregon has taken a revolutionary approach to drugs, but that's about to change. Coming up, we'll tell you why some believe a new bill will cause more harm than good. Stay with us.

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[04:40:00]

BRUNHUBER: For more than three years, the state of Oregon has conducted a brave and risky experiment to treat addiction as a public health crisis and not a crime. In 2020, voters chose to decriminalize the possession and personal use of all drugs, meaning anyone who was caught using would only face small fines and would be offered access to addiction care and other services. So, it was meant to offer them help rather than to punish them.

Well now, that experiment is about to end. Oregon's governor will soon sign new legislation making the possession of drugs like fentanyl and heroin a misdemeanor. Offenders could face up to six months in jail. State lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to approve the new bill, but some addiction care advocates aren't pleased with this about face.

Joining us to talk about Oregon's decision is Tera Hurst, the executive director of the Health Justice Recovery Alliance. Thanks so much for being here with us. So, you helped lead the effort to implement the bill. So, this turnaround must be a big disappointment for you. So, to start, just briefly take us back to the hope you had. What was the thinking behind this here?

TERA HURST, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HEALTH JUSTICE RECOVERY ALLIANCE: Yes, I mean, I think that ultimately what Measure 110 did was it really created a health approach or it started to create the public health approach that the voters wanted to addiction, and make sure that when we are working with somebody who is struggling with addiction, when somebody is living on the streets, we are able to meet them with a health door instead of jail cells.

And really, you know, trying to shift away from this idea that we need to punish and criminalize folks who are struggling with a health issue. And really make sure that we were funding and investing in services that we know work.

And so, Measure 110 also diverted hundreds of millions of dollars into addiction and harm reduction services from the cannabis revenue account. And so that is still going on. And we've already served tens of thousands of Oregonians through those services. Unfortunately, the state, you know, was slow to fund those services and get the funds out. And so, what people saw was a lot of devastation on our streets. And Measure 110 was an easy scapegoat.

BRUNHUBER: Well, let me ask you -- I mean, specifically in terms of one of the failures, you know, people who were caught with small amounts, for instance, were issued a citation and then told to call a hotline. But only one percent did so. So, in your mind, what went wrong with this was implemented.

HURST: Yes. I mean, really, this is not a policy failure. This really, truly, was an implementation failure. The hotline was never advertised. The police were never given citations that were a uniform citation with that phone number on it, with the, kind of, here's what you can do to get help. Here is how you can reach out to get in -- get connected to those services that we've been investing in. And law enforcement was never trained on what Measure 110 actually did.

So many of them thought that it legalized drugs, which it absolutely did not. And they were confused when they were handing out a citation, what that citation even did.

BRUNHUBER: Yes.

HURST: So, I think that ultimately, it's surprising that so many people called the hotline because nobody knew existed, right?

BRUNHUBER: Right.

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HURST: And the good news was Measure 110, the citation was one small tool, but ultimately what we wanted to do is if people have rapid access to care and free access to care, will they access it? And what we found overwhelmingly was yes, they will. They don't need police intervention. BRUNHUBER: Yes. But the problem is now Oregon's experiencing one of the nation's largest spikes in overdose deaths, particularly due to fentanyl. I'm sure you have been hearing plenty of, I told you so's, particularly from, you know, tough on crime Republicans. We know correlation doesn't equal causation, so it's hard to make that sort of straight line between decriminalization and the rise of, you know, these recent drug problems. But is there a link there, do you think?

HURST: No, and actually the researchers who have been studying the impacts of Measure 110 have unequivocally said that there is no correlation between Measure 110 and the overdose deaths that we're experiencing here. What happened is, is that we didn't have the services or even the, kind of, crisis and intervention that we needed for when fentanyl was coming into our market. Before Measure 110 was even passed, we experienced a 70 percent increase in overdose deaths from 2019 to 2020.

So, these are tragic, but they were not because we decriminalize small personal amounts of drugs. These were because a really lethal drug supply, you know, came into our market. And we do know that, you know, our neighbors to the north also experience these kinds of spikes and overdoses.

So, it really isn't -- and it's, you know, the data shows that it isn't a decriminalization issue by any stretch, but it's an easy way to poke holes in this issue.

BRUNHUBER: We only have a minute or so left, but, you know, I wanted to end on this. I mean, this is just one example in one state, but it's being used as a cautionary tale. That being soft on crime doesn't pay. So, what are we to take away from this experiment if, let's say, our viewers are watching from another community that's hard hit by the drug crisis and wants change?

HURST: I think it shows the policymakers aren't listening to the voices of people who've been most impacted by the failed war on drugs, and they're letting politics and not policy and data drive their decisions. We have been raging this drug war on communities for the last 50 years. And we are, you know, we're experiencing the highest overdose death rates, the highest incarceration rates and the highest addiction rates as a nation.

And so, what we can say is criminalization does not work. And what we can say is that we need to have patience when we're trying to build out a public health response. So, you know, this really is politics. This is not policy.

BRUNHUBER: We'll have to leave it there, but really appreciate getting your take on this. Tera Hurst, thank you so much.

HURST: Thank you so much.

BRUNHUBER: Still to come, United Airlines just had a very bad week with not one, not two, not even three, but four major incidents involving their planes. That's ahead. Please stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Troubling report out of Indonesia. The country's transport ministry will launch an investigation after two Batik Air pilots fell asleep during a recent flight to Jakarta, according to the state news agency. A preliminary report released on Saturday found the pilot and co-pilot fell asleep at the same time for nearly 30 minutes, that caused the aircraft to move to an incorrect flight path. None of the 153 passengers and four crew members were hurt during the flight. There was no damage to the aircraft.

Now, it was apparently not an isolated incident. The report said the second-in-command had slept during the flight prior to this incident. The pilot-in-command then asked for permission to also rest, and the second-in-command took over the aircraft. Around 90 minutes into the flight, the second-in-command then inadvertently fell asleep, according to the report.

A United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Mexico City was diverted to Los Angeles on Friday. Officials say, one of the plane's three hydraulic systems experienced an issue in flight. Now, this is the fourth issue the airline has experienced this week alone.

Camila Bernal reports.

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CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: United Airlines says, they take safety very seriously, but nonetheless, these have been very scary situations for a lot of the passengers who've had to experience this.

The latest incident happening Friday. This was a flight from San Francisco to Mexico City, and it was an Airbus 320 with 105 passengers and five crew members. And officials saying that what failed here was the hydraulic system. There are actually three hydraulic systems and one of them failed.

So, they had to land here at LAX At around 4:30 local time. No one was injured and the passengers essentially went off to another plane and made it to Mexico City. But it wasn't the only incident on Friday. There was another flight from Memphis to Houston.

This was a Boeing 737 MAX 8 with 160 passengers and six crew members. And what happened here was in part because of the rain. So, as this plane it landing and taxiing, it skids off the runway and goes into a grassy area. So, it was a very different deplaning situation for a lot of the passengers on board.

And then on Thursday, we saw the images of another plane. This was a Boeing 777. It was 235 passengers, 14 crew members on board a flight from San Francisco to Osaka. And what happened here was that the plane lost a tire after takeoff. This tire fell onto a car. I mean, again, another very scary situation where the flight was diverted to LAX. And the passengers deplaned here and eventually got onto another airplane and made it to Japan. But again, just a different, very scary situation for a lot of these passengers.

[04:55:00]

And then finally on Monday, another incident. This was a Boeing 737 that was going from Houston to Fort Myers. And what happened here was that the engine ingested bubble wrap, and we're talking about 161 passengers, six crew members, some of them who were able to see the flames.

One passenger speaking to CNN saying he wrote, essentially, a goodbye e-mail to his wife. Telling her that he loved her. You know, again, just terrifying moments for passengers on board. United Airlines saying that these are separate incidents, but that they are investigating all of these incidents. They're also saying that they're going to work with the manufacturers, with the FAA, and with the NTSB to figure out exactly what happened. And again, what they're saying is that safety is their top priority.

Camila Bernal, CNN, Los Angeles.

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BRUNHUBER: Well, there's been an art heist worth more than a million dollars in Italy. Nearly 50 gold pieces by sculptor Umberto Mastroianni were stolen from an exhibition near Lake Garda. One of the pieces called "Man/Woman" was found on the grounds of the exhibition, but the others are still missing. The theft happened Wednesday night. The thief nor thieves apparently knew what they were looking for. Nearby jewels were left untouched, only the Mastroianni pieces were taken.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a fair income stampede.

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BRUNHUBER: A mob of kangaroos -- yes, that's what the group of these marsupials is called, didn't even have the courtesy to say, mind if I play through at a golf course in Victoria, Australia. Stephen Roche shot this video, he says, it's not unusual to see roos on the course, but the sheer number surprised him. Kangaroos have soft feet and didn't damage the greens, though the bunkers will need a raking.

Well, that wraps this hour of "CNN Newsroom". I'm Kim Brunhuber. I will be back with more news in just a minute.

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