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The Russian Refineries Targeted By Ukrainian Drones; Aid Ship Nearing Gaza With 200 Tons Of Food; U.S. Held Secret Talks With Iran Over Red Sea attacks; UN To Launch "Airbridge" To Get Aid Into Haiti; U.S. House Passes Bill That Would Ban TikTok Amid National Security Concerns; Mysterious Flight Incident; Biden Campaigns in Crucial Battleground States; Judge Dismisses Six Charges against Trump, Co- Defendants; An Urban Farm at an Iconic Sporting Venue; Man who Spent Decades in an Iron Lung Dies at 78; Students Around the World Speak Out against Child Labor. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired March 14, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead here on CNN. Coordinated Ukrainian attacks on the southern border to the south east of Moscow, a clear reminder to Russian voters days before the presidential election they are a country at war.
The first humanitarian assistance to arrive in Gaza by ship scheduled for later Thursday. Unprecedented move as airdrops continue but still woefully inadequate for the hundreds of thousands facing famine. Also this.
Is the clock ticking down on TikTok, a bill to ban the app with us now heading to the Senate where Democrats fearful of election fallout, might just play for tie.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: Just days before Russia's presidential election, Ukrainian forces appear to be sending a message to voters. Despite what Vladimir Putin may claim the war isn't going entirely his way. Over the past few days, at least three Russian oil refineries, some of the biggest in the country have come under attack from Ukrainian drones. That's according to Ukrainian defense source.
A fourth refinery has also been targeted, but for now, no official word of Ukrainian involvement.
At this facility southeast of Moscow, at least two people were reportedly injured and Russian officials confirm a fire broke out overnight and was later put out. According to Ukrainian sources, the drone strikes are intended to limit Moscow's oil revenue and then impact the Kremlin's funding for the war. But Putin is sending his own message to the United States ahead of the
election, saying there's a line that Washington should not cross. Here's Fred Pleitgen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Moscow's troops claiming they're on the offensive releasing this video purporting to show Russian cluster munitions destroying three Ukrainian combat choppers. Even though CNN cannot independently verify the authenticity of the video.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in an interview with Kremlin controlled media directly warning the U.S. don't send troops to help Ukraine even though the Biden administration has never even come close to saying they do that.
We know what American combat troops on Russian territory are. They are interventionist, he said. That is how we will treat it even if they appear on Ukrainian territory.
And Putin even taking his threats nuclear saying Russia would have the edge of the U.S. in a war using atomic weapons on land, in the air using strategic bombers and at sea with Moscow's powerful fleet of nuclear armed subs.
From a technical point of view, of course, we're ready for nuclear war, he said. The missiles are constantly combat ready. Secondly, and this is accepted by everybody. Our nuclear triad is more modern than any other triad. Actually only us and the Americans have a triad.
Struggling on the battlefield, Ukraine says it has hit Russian oil refineries, including this one just over 100 miles outside Moscow with long distance drones.
Putin calling this attempted interference in the upcoming Russian presidential election, he set to win by a landslide. The main goal is to if not disrupt the presidential elections in Russia, he said, then at least to somehow interfere in the normal process of expressing the will of citizens.
Ahead of that vote and after the death and burial of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Navalny supporters say the Kremlin's crackdown is escalating. The former head of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, Leonid Volkov, assaulted and beaten with a hammer outside his home in Lithuania.
While the Kremlin hasn't commented so far, Volkov blaming Putin for the attack. It was another obvious typical classic gangster hello from Putin from the St. Petersburg gangster. Vladimir Vladimirovich. Hello to you too. What else can I say continue working against Putin. That's what needs to be done. Let's go on.
And Lithuania's intelligence services believe the attack on Volkov was likely quote, Russian organized. All this as the war in Ukraine continues and civilians bear the brunt of Moscow's full on invasion. Several killed and dozens wounded by Russian drone and So attacks in the past days. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:05:05]
VAUSE: Joining me now is Jill Dougherty, Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University and former CNN Moscow bureau chief in Tbilisi, Georgia. It is good to see you, Jill.
JILL DOUGHERTY, ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Thank you, John. Good to be here.
VAUSE: OK. For the first time, Vladimir Putin goes into election as a wartime president, and not just with Ukraine it seems. Putin had this warning for NATO about sending troops to Ukraine, here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): If it formally comes to military contingents of foreign states being deployed in Ukraine, I am confident this would not change the situation on the battlefield. This is the most important thing. Likewise, the delivery of Western weaponry to Ukraine failed to change anything. And other point, this may lead to serious geopolitical consequences.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Yes, they're also veiled threats to the U.S. about possible nuclear conflicts. You know, it seems he's painting this picture of Russia under constant threat by and standing up to Western aggression. Is this mostly aimed at Russian voters at this point, or were rallying support?
DOUGHERTY: Yes, I do think that it's mainly aimed at Russians. He, you know, he is, as you mentioned, this is a wartime situation. It's quite unique for Putin. And so he has to ultimately say, we are surrounded by enemies, and they are external and they're internal in Vladimir Putin's mind, and that he is the person who can protect Russia.
From things like, you know, the attack on the oil refineries, that's the problem, because gas prices can go up in Russia. That's one domestic problem. Then you have the statement by Ms. Zakharova, who is the spokesperson for the foreign ministry saying that the U.S. is planning cyberattacks on their system, their election system, and that NGOs are trying to depress the turnout.
So ultimately, you know, again, it's to create this image of a surrounded country. And Putin is men who can protect him. It really is kind of a delicate balance, because he kind of started this situation by invading Ukraine.
VAUSE: Yes, that doesn't seem to get mentioned a lot. You mentioned that warning that came from the spokesperson for the foreign ministry. Here it is, let's listen to precisely what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MARIA ZAKHAROVA, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON (through translator): Washington via internet resources, urges the Russian citizens to ignore the election. There are plans to involve the leading American IT experts in cyberattacks on the Russian remote electronic voting system. This will make it impossible to count a substantial part of votes cast by Russian voters. I would like to stress that this is what they are tasked with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSEL Just this issue, specifically, given that the outcome of the election is pretty much in the bag, you know, Putin is going to win. There's no real challenger. So, why make these specific allegations and especially since there's no evidence being put forward? What is the Kremlin worried about here in terms of the actual election and the results?
DOUGHERTY: Well, you know, it is, excuse me, actually being conducted electronically in many places. And so I think, you know, there's opposite up -- opportunity for the Kremlin to manipulate the vote. But also, they might think that there's some way that the CIA is able to influence and there's absolutely no evidence of that, that there is a certain element, John, of paranoia, I think, among some of the Russian leadership about the United States and what it's doing.
And then also, you have an extraordinary effort to use, as they call them administrative resources to get out the vote. I mean, they're going around literally with ballot boxes, to people's houses, in some places, urging them to vote and getting the vote right there.
Also unique important to point out is this vote is being conducted in those occupied areas of Ukraine, which Russia considers its own, and which Ukraine, of course, considers part of its own territory.
VAUSE: So, along with the Ukrainian drone strikes on oil refineries over the last day or so, pro Ukrainian Russian exiles overtake towns and villages on the southern border region. This seems to be at least in part, an attempt to remind Russians that they're at war not everything's going Putin's way.
So, even if most Russians actually hear that message, then what, could it be enough to keep them at home and not vote? And I guess the point here is it's on the margins for Putin. It's all about, I guess, you know, what a 60 percent win isn't quite good enough when you basically have an iron fist on power.
DOUGHERTY: No, I mean, they won at least 70 probably 80 percent turnout. That's what they're pushing for. You know, I think people it's very hard to say what Russians actually feel all because right now polling is extremely difficult.
[01:10:04]
So the opposition and that at this point would be the supporters of Navalny, and Yulia Navalnaya, who is his wife are saying either, you know, don't vote or protest. And so we don't know what will happen. I think that is a concern of the Kremlin. Will people actually end up number one voting and number two voting for Putin?
People, there's an opportunity that people could spoil ballots votes for somebody else, et cetera. Even though we know of course it every single if even possibly opposition candidate was removed from the ballot or not even allowed to get on the ballot.
VAUSE: Yes. Jill, thanks so much for being with us in Tbilisi, we appreciate your time. Always good to see you. Thank you.
The families of hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza right outside the Knesset or parliament in Jerusalem, calling for the release of their loved ones.
More than five months since dozens were kidnapped by Hamas during those attacks on October 7, Israel believes 99 hostages are still alive in Gaza. Qatar, a mediator in negotiations between Israel and Hamas is hoping a ceasefire and hostage relief deal can still be reached before the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. But just a day earlier admitted the two sides were nowhere near a deal right now. America's most senior diplomat says work continues to try and get that agreement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Even as we work to surge humanitarian assistance by every means necessary. The most effective way to really get that done is with a ceasefire and having an environment much more conducive to getting the aid through. There's a very strong proposal on the table right now. The question is, will Hamas take it?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: In Southern Gaza, a hospital director in Rafah says five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike which hit the U.N. Relief and Works Agency building, known as UNRWA. It says at least one of its staff is among the dead. CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment. We're yet to hear back.
Ship carrying 200 tons of food assistance from the World Central Kitchen is expected to arrive in Gaza Thursday night. A temporary wharf has been under construction to allow the ship to dock and unload the first maritime shipment of humanitarian assistance ever to arrive in the territory.
Meantime, a delivery also continues from the air. The U.S. military carried out its ninth airdrop Wednesday over northern Gaza, Germany now planning its first airdrop possibly by week's end. All this as international demands continue for Israel to open additional border crossings to allow more aid convoys into Gaza, especially in the north, where fears of famine are growing.
And that demand coming from the EU's top diplomat who was in Washington Wednesday, where he also thanked the U.S. Secretary of State at Blinken for his personal efforts to try and open more access points into Gaza for humanitarian assistance. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEP BORRELL, EUROPEAN UNION'S FOREIGN POLICE CHIEF: We need to clear the humanitarian Nexus through sea, by air. That's good. That's not enough. You cannot replace hundreds of trucks by sending parachutes. The most important thing is to open the borders by land.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Amid this desperate need for food as children starve to death there's been no lead up in Israel's military offensive on Hamas. CNN's Nada Bashir is following these developments as more now reporting in from London.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): Small but vital pockets of peace above war torn Gaza. Yet another round of humanitarian airdrops from international donors. Civilians on the brink of famine, desperately scramble to see what has arrived today. Yet amid each delivery, the war continues. More homes destroyed, more people killed.
Deborah an American woman living in central Gaza says she has lost count of the number of wars she has lived through in the besieged strip. But this time, she almost did not survive. An Israeli strike, she says, left her crushed in the ruins of her home for hours. Rescued and treated without anesthesia. She now wants answers.
DEBORAH DROLL, AMERICAN CITIZEN LIVING IN GAZA: I'm not throwing bombs. I'm not shooting anyone. Why did they come and target me? I need an answer for that. Joe Biden, I need an answer. Why are you letting them target Americans in Gaza?
BASHIR (voice-over): The English teacher says there is no worse safe left in Gaza. Some of her neighbors being buried as she speaks.
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DROLL: Yes, I could run I could go back to America. But I would feel like it was not right to do that. I should stand beside them. I should try to help them.
BASHIR (voice-over): A voice of solidarity with those in Gaza trying to survive the unthinkable. Nada Bashir, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Efforts to contain the war in Gaza and prevent a regional escalation have been the focus of back channel communications between officials in Washington and Tehran. A source tells CNN in January, Oman acted as intermediary delivering messages from the White House Middle East advisor Brett McGurk and others and taking those messages to the Iranian counterparts, around nuclear program and Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea was discussed. So two other issues. The last engagement between the U.S. and Iran at this level was in September during a prisoner exchange. In Nigeria gunman who kidnapped almost 300 school children and are
threatening to kill them if they're not paid more than $600,000. Last week, (INAUDIBLE) on motorbikes abducted the children from this school in Kaduna. And while Nigeria's president says the kidnappers will be brought to justice, his government is refusing to pay the ransom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMMED IDRIS MALAGI, NIGERIA\S INFORMATION MINISTER: Government is not taking any excuses. The President has directed that security agencies must as a matter of urgency, ensure that these children and all those who have been kidnapped are brought back in safety and also in the process to ensure that not a dime is paid for ransom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: According to one resident who lives close to the school, this kidnapping is revenge for the killing of gang members by government security services. Well, the U.N. plans to open an air bridge between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. So aid and crisis management staff can safely reach Haiti in Port-au-Prince amid a surge of gang violence and now a political crisis. Details from CNN's Patrick Oppmann.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A source close to outgoing Haitian Prime Minister, Ariel Henry says to CNN, that Henry intends to return to Haiti just as soon as the security situation there allows as well Henry's office telling CNN in a statement, that Henry believes that even though he is planning on resigning, that he still has the right to approve the Transitional Council that would pick the next prime minister of Haiti. That seems to indicate both of these statements that Henry plans remain engaged with Haitian politics, which could complicate efforts to replace them.
Henry has not been able to return to Haiti since gangs rose up and forced them to remain in Puerto Rico. It's simply too dangerous flights to come in and out of the country. And much of Haiti is on lockdown now, as the gangs have taken the streets.
The challenge now for the U.S. State Department is getting these different groups, different political groups and civil groups within Haiti to decide who's going to be part of this Transition Council that will then pick a prime minister. There is a lot of infighting going on, although the State Department continues to maintain the process is moving forward. And then there will be a Transition Council that will help navigate Haiti's political impasse.
For the moment at least, Kenyan troops that were supposed to come in and restore security and peace in Haiti are on hold. They're waiting, according to that country's president to see what happens with the political situation. The Kenyan President spoke with Secretary of State Antony Blinken by phone and assured him that the Kenyan troops will head to Haiti, about 1,000 of them just as soon as there is a new government in Haiti, and the political situation stabilizes there. But in the meantime, with no clear replacement government for Henry,
and no sense of when those Kenyan troops will arrive, the gangs in Haiti continue to have the upper hand. Patrick Oppmann, CNN Havana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: In South Sudan, more than 200,000 children and 7,000 new mothers are at risk of dying from malnutrition, according to the United Nations Office of Humanitarian Affairs. UN says close to 4 million children are suffering right now from malnutrition.
And Save the Children, a nonprofit group says its emergency feeding program is underfunded right now with more than a million pregnant and breastfeeding women are expected to suffer from malnutrition this year.
Coming up, US .lawmakers want the Chinese company ByteDance To sell off Tiktok. They don't. The app will be banned from app stores in the U.S. and that will make it a lot harder for millions of Americans to binge videos every day.
Also, SpaceX once again set to fly sky gauge with starship rocket after getting the green light from regulators. Details on Thursdays initial later this hour.
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VAUSE: Well, the U.S. Congress remains bitterly divided over almost everything. There is bipartisan agreement, at least in the lower house, that TikTok is a risk to national security. And on Wednesday a bill which could see a national ban on the app received overwhelming support 352 in favor, 65 opposed. So next comes the Senate where it seems there'll be a much slower process to pass this bill. That is if it ever comes up for a vote. What are what comes next. HEre's CNN Lauren Fox.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A bill that could potentially ban tick tock in the U.S. now heads to the Senate after the House overwhelmingly passed their plan that would require TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell the popular social media platform or face a ban.
DAN KILDEE, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: At the end of the day for me it really came down to whether or not we can take some action to try to deter this malign influence at the PRC.
FOX (voice-over): But the bill wasn't without its detractors. 65 members voted against it, including 50 Democrats.
DAN BISHOP, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: The answer is not to go selectively banning the flow of information from particular nation the way we defeat China is being more American, not less. FOX (voice-over): Those backing the bill argue they did so for national security.
MADELEINE DEAN, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: I know we're getting plenty of phone calls that young people really love TikTok, and I lift that up, I think that's terrific. But I want to protect them from a foreign adversary collecting their data and manipulating it.
DAN CRENSHAW, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: TikTok is owned by ByteDance. ByteDance in China and China, any company has to subscribe to the National Intelligence law 2017 which says you have to be our spy if we tell you to.
FOX (voice-over): Already President Joe Biden has said he would sign the bill if it passes. Even though Biden's campaign is on TikTok. Opponents argue that could be a political mistake.
FOX: Do you worry at all about the political implications for Biden for Democrats in the election over supporting this legislation?
RO KHANNA, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: I don't know why you want to upset young people and 170 million people on a platform when there's least restrictive ways, less restrictive ways of achieving the goal.
FOX (voice-over): Donald Trump once called for an outright ban on TikTok.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Will either close up TikTok in this country for security reasons, or it will be sold.
FOX (voice-over): But now he's against the House bill.
TRUMP: Frankly, there are a lot of people on TikTok that love it. There are a lot of young kids on TikTok who will go crazy without it.
FOX (voice-over): The bill's future in the Senate now less certain.
DICK DURBIN, U.S. SENATE DEMOCRAT: I haven't come to a final decision as to whether or not it should be banned.
FOX (voice-over): Senators Marco Rubio and Mark Warner top members of the Senate Intelligence Committee committed Wednesday to quote working together to get this bill passed through the Senate and signed into law but Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has not committed to putting the bill on the floor.
FOX: And following that House vote TikTok released a statement saying that they were encouraging senators to consider the facts, listen to their constituents and realize the impact on the economy. 7 million small businesses and the 170 million Americans who use our service.
[01:25:00]
There's also no guarantee that the House bill will come to the Senate floor that's because Maria Cantwell, a leading Democrat on the Commerce Committee says she is looking at a different approach to try and rein in TikTok that could take weeks, even months to put together and again, Chuck Schumer, the majority leader has not said whether or not he's going to put that house bill on the floor. For CNN on Capitol Hill, I'm Lauren Fox.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Last hour I spoke with CNN business writer Clare Duffy asked her if the bill would actually improve national security and make us all safer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: I think that U.S. lawmakers would say that we will be safer because the concern with tick tock really is its connection to Chinese parent company ByteDance. Lawmakers are worried that the data that U.S. users give to TikTok could potentially the Chinese government could force the company to hand that over things like location data, IP addresses, and that could be used for propaganda for misinformation or for intelligence operations.
But I think your general question there is a good one. And I think it's one that many TikTok users are asking here is I think many users realize that they are handing over their data to many different kinds of companies that's getting sold to all kinds of people and governments have access to that data. And so I think many of these users are saying, why are we not focused on broader privacy legislation that would impact all of the big tech companies and not just target this one?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Let's go live to Steven Jiang, Beijing bureau chief for more on this. OK. You know, considering that Beijing is banned what Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, Tumblr because they're Blogspot blogger, Flickr, SoundCloud, Google Hangout, Tinder. I mean, they'll just goes on and on and on. It seems a bit of a hard sell to now take the high ground on censorship. But what are they say anyway?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: It's interesting. You mentioned that, John, because I don't think a lot of people he actually know that because this story obviously be extensively covered by state media, and among the top trending topics on Chinese social media platforms and attracts a lot of comments, and a lot of them are calling for Beijing to retaliate by banning U.S. social platforms, you just list it off.
And then of course, that kind of comments actually, in turn prompted sometimes quite sarcastic comments that oh, you didn't know our government has long banned these platforms for years. But of course, there is this narrative being pushed out by both stay media and some users that these platforms are banned, because they refuse to comply with Chinese laws and regulations to put their servers -- put their data as in China based servers. But of course, that's only partially true because a lot of those bans predated such laws and regulations.
But a lot of people did, correctly pointed out that TikTok has been trying to in a way address and resolve some of the concerns raised by U.S. officials and politicians by for example, spending more than a billion dollars on so called Project Texas by agreeing to store us origin data. In Texas or in U.S. based servers operated by oracle at one point TikTok seemed to be even ready to sell a stake to American companies like Walmart and Oracle.
But of course, all of that none of that has satisfied the U.S. government because of the concerns you have just heard, but also, because of the rising geopolitical tensions between the two countries and the Chinese really haven't helped themselves under the strongman leader, Xi Jinping, because of that whole strategy of reasserting the party's absolute control over every aspect of society.
You have heard some of that, including the increasingly sweeping national security legislature being passed here, such as that counter espionage law passed last year that would give the security apparatus here, very broad power to review and inspect any data from any company operating here.
And the other thing, of course, is at the end of the John, this, it really goes beyond this one app. And it's very secretive, but it's extremely effective algorithms, because it's really about the control of technologies between these two superpowers. It's all about, you know, technologies, including quantum computing and semiconductors really goes beyond just one app and its algorithms. John.
VAUSE: I wonder how long it took centers to ban those comments about all these social media platforms being censored in China. Anyway, the good old days. Steven Jiang is always good to see you, sir. Thank you very much.
Well, European lawmakers gave final approval Wednesday to a landmark law governing the use of artificial intelligence. The first of its kind law is poised to impact everything from health care and education to policing, imposes blanket bans on some quote, unacceptable uses of the technology or putting in place stiff guardrails for other applications deemed high risk.
It also requires all AI generated deep fakes to be clearly labeled. Sweeping legislation does not take effect though for another two years.
Still to come, a Boeing plane under investigation for a mysterious technical event, headed back to Chile. They will tell you why they're what's going on and what the officials are looking for.
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VAUSE: Welcome back everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
The Boeing plane which experienced a mid-air drop Monday during a flight from Australia to New Zealand is now on its way to Chile. The South American country sent aviation officials to look at the plane Thursday morning when it was in New Zealand. That investigation set to continue once they return home. We should note Chile's taking point on the investigation since the plane is registered there.
Dozens of people were hurt in what officials are calling a technical event during the LATAM Airlines flight, they said they will look at the plane's cockpit voice recorder, as well as the flight data recorder hoping they'll find details to reveal the cause of that problem.
Meantime, U.S. investigators have accused Boeing of failing to provide key information on the Alaska Airlines plane which lost a door plug mid-flight earlier this year.
For more on that, here's CNN'S Pete Muntean.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: The woman leading this probe is once again putting Boeing on blast. Jennifer Homendy is the head of the National Transportation Safety Board, and she says, Boeing's lack of a paper trail is hampering this investigation.
Remember, the NTSB's preliminary report on this January 5th door-plug blowout said this. "Boeing did not reinstall the four critical door plug bolts before the 737 Max 9 was delivered to Alaska Airlines." The bolts were removed at the Boeing factory for corrective work on another part of the plane.
The NTSB says Boeing has not been able to produce the paperwork that details that work. Here in what Homendy says in her new update to the senators on the committee overseeing aviation. "The absence of those records will complicate the NTSB's investigation going forward."
She also underscored that Boeing has been unable to locate the security footage of that work. Boeing has responded saying it has supported the investigation from the start, and it will continue to do so.
Pete Muntean, CNN -- Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: SpaceX is preparing to launch its gargantuan starship rocket in a few hours after regulators approved the test flight Wednesday. The unmanned launch could happen -- has a window, rather, of 110 minutes. That begins 08:00 a.m. Eastern time here in the U.S.
Two previous attempts to get the enormous ship into orbit ended in explosions. SpaceX avoids calling them failures but rather learning moments, which they described as a rapid, unscheduled disassembly.
[01:34:51]
The company has a lot riding on the starship NASA has selected to be part of the mission returning astronauts to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years. U.S. President Joe Biden heads to Michigan in the day ahead as he campaigns for a second term, tries to rebuild support in battleground states that he won four years ago.
CNN's Jeff Zeleny has more now on the race for the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's good to be here.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: As he sets off on a long road to reelection. President Biden's first order of business is exciting Democrats about his candidacy not simply easing concerns, he's seeking a second term.
BIDEN: Our plan is working. America's coming back.
ZELENY: Here in Wisconsin, LuVerda Martin has been watching and for her, Biden turned a corner with his State of the Union address.
LUVERDA MARTIN, WISCONSIN VOTER: I was actually quite motivated by what I saw. I felt relieved with the talking points and how he expressed himself and his energy level was quite impressive.
ZELENY: you sound surprised.
MARTIN: I was surprised, pleasantly surprised.
ZELENY: When we first met Martin last year, she was uncertain about another term.
MARTIN: I'm on the fence. I'm not sure. I'm concerned about his age.
ZELENY: As a rematch with Donald Trump comes into sharper view, Martin said, any questions about Biden pale in comparison to concerns about the alternative.
MARTIN: I just don't think he gets credit simply because he's not as loud and boisterous about what he is doing.
ZELENY: Today in Milwaukee, Biden touted the bipartisan infrastructure law, which paves the way for a $36 million investment to revitalize the downtown corridor. Signs of progress come alive at other job sites across town.
Plumber Rashawn Spivey is helping replace lead pipes with copper ones.
RASHAWN SPIVEY, OWNER, HERO PLUMBING: President Joe Biden --
ZELENY: He introduced Biden during a December visit, but told us for some, Trump's appeal was real.
SPIVEY: Everybody likes to look at, you know, the circus of all of it. And then by the time they make it to the ballot box, then they had to get real.
ZELENY: By that you mean vote for Biden.
SPIVEY: Yes, he's the most experienced.
ZELENY: The president's week-long blitz through battlegrounds is a partial roadmap for his best shot at reelection with stops in Pennsylvania, Georgia, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin with a visit to Michigan on Thursday.
DAVID CROWLEY, EXECUTIVE, MILWAUKEE COUNTY: If you're going to win Wisconsin, you have to win it through Milwaukee.
ZELENY: David Crowley is executive of Milwaukee County where turnout among black voters is central to Biden's reelection.
He said fear of Trump winning may not be the same motivator as last time.
What's the balance of no Trump and yes, to Biden?
CROWLEY: Well, you know, I think that there's a delicate balance. But for me, I don't just vote against something, I want to vote for something. And when to think about President Biden, he has given us a lot to vote for.
ZELENY: Wisconsin is among the states with the tightest margins. Trump won by nearly 23,000 votes in 2016 and Biden carried the state by less than 21,000 votes four years later.
The 2024 campaign is hardly a perfect sequel, a set of complex policy and political challenges hanging over the race. The Israel-Gaza war is both.
JANAN NAJEEB, PRESIDENT, MILWAUKEE MUSLIM WOMEN'S COALITION: No change in policy, he will be the reason that the Democrats lose. And Wisconsin is a swing state. Without the constituents that worked so hard to help him get elected last time, myself included, he definitely will not win.
ZELENY: A fight over reproductive rights has also injected a new dynamic into the presidential race.
MARTIN: People have not moved on.
ZELENY: It motivates Martin, a nurse, midwife, and mother of three, who said she has started to look at the old race in a new light.
Is this something that excites you -- a rematch with Donald Trump?
MARTIN: Not at all.
ZELENY: Well, what's the word you would use?
MARTIN: Now excited. I think there's a couple of words. It is what it is.
ZELENY: President Biden also visiting a campaign headquarters to meet with volunteers and talk to campaign staffers. He said this campaign will be run the old-fashioned way, door by door, phone call by phone call.
Indeed, that's a reminder. This rematch will be different on several fronts. The issues of course, are different with abortion rights front and center, also foreign policy.
But there is no doubt states like Wisconsin, separated by only a few thousand votes four years ago, will be the key battlegrounds again this fall.
Jeff Zeleny, CNN -- Milwaukee.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: A legal win to report for Donald Trump in the U.S. state of Georgia, with six of dozens of charges against him and his co- defendants thrown out of court in the election subversion case because the judge says prosecutors failed to show how the defendants allegedly broke the law related to these six specific charges.
Details now from CNN'S Nick Valencia outside the courthouse in Atlanta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The judge was clear in his decision. The Fulton County district attorney's office did not provide the necessary detail of the underlying crime. These defendants were allegedly trying to solicit, enough detail to get these charges to stick in this indictment.
The charges have to do in part with the fake elector scheme, that's the so-called fake elector scheme trying to subvert the electoral college and unlawfully elect a slate of presidential electors.
But it also has to do with that infamous phone call on January 2, 2021 when the former president and his former chief of staff, Mark Meadows called Georgia secretary of state and asked him to find them more votes.
[01:39:53]
VALENCIA: But the judge in this order saying the DA's office simply just didn't include the detail needed to have these charges stand.
And this is what he's saying in part of his order. Quote, "These six counts contain all the essential elements of the crimes but fail to allege sufficient detail regarding the underlying felony solicited. They do not give the defendants enough information to prepare their defenses intelligently. The order goes on to say, this does not mean the entire indictment is dismissed."
So let's pick up From there. This entire indictment is not dismissed. In fact, the judge left the door open for an appeal from the DA's office but that would mean they would have to fill in the detail that the judge is looking for and then try to get another indictment that would require them to put this in front of another grand jury, which would just inevitably lengthen this process.
All of this, of course, happening as we're waiting for that monumental decision from the judge. Will Fani Willis stay or will she go? The judge telling us earlier that he's on track to make a decision by the end of the week.
Nick Valencia, CNN -- Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Still ahead here on CNN.
Baseball, hotdogs, apple pie, but don't forget your fresh vegetables. Coming America's past time -- or combining Americas pastime, rather with a "Call to Earth".
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Major League Baseball season about to begin here in the U.S. and ballparks around the country are preparing to welcome fans for opening day in two weeks.
Today on "Call to Earth", we explore how Boston's Fenway Park is changing the game in a different way with an urban farm in the most unexpected place. CNN's Coy Wire has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hours before the gates open on a Red Sox game day in late August at Fenway Park in Boston -- a different team is hard at work.
CHRIS GRALLERT, PRESIDENT, GREEN CITY GROWERS: As these crops continue to come out, we're planting fall greens, we're planting lettuces.
WIRE: This is Fenway Farms, a 5,000-square foot garden area on a section of rooftop at the oldest active Major League Baseball Park in America.
GRALLERT: You know, agriculture happens everywhere. We're just bringing it up off the ground and putting it up on the roof.
WIRE: Chris Grallert is a farmer and the president of Green City Growers, which operates this farm in some 200 other locations, including at 40 Boston public schools. But none are as visible and perhaps surprising as Fenway Farms.
GRALLERT: There's a desire for people to have more locally-grown fresh produce and interact with the people who are growing and distributing that fresh produce.
And I think when you have such high visibility like you do at a garden like this, people start to see that it's possible and it can really be the seed to start the new revolution towards food system transformation.
[01:44:52]
WIRE: The garden first opened in 2015, recycled milk crates formed the raised planters.
GRALLERT: These are fingerling type potatoes.
WIRE: Irrigated by a special system that delivers the precise amount needed to each plant.
The produce doesn't have to travel far, just a short walk to Chef Ron Abel and his team, operating the restaurants and concessions at Fenway.
GRALLERT: Produce delivery.
RON ABEL, SENIOR EXECUTIVE CHEF, FENWAY PARK: How you doing, buddy?
GRALLERT: Good to (INAUDIBLE) what a yield.
Beautiful onions, right off, look at the size of those.
ABEL: I have the best chef job in the city. Well, actually, maybe the country where I've got a rooftop garden that the food travels 100 feet, gets washed, and gets served to everybody.
And then this dish that Sean's putting together is simple. Potatoes we harvested this morning, we've got purple potatoes, we've got fingerling potatoes, heirloom carrots of different colors, and he just steamed them lightly, and they get seasoned lightly.
WIRE: Green City Growers estimates Fenway Farms reduces the need for produce to purchase at the venue by 20 percent.
ABEL: Mostly we look at quantities and what we can go through and we also look at perishability. So there are challenges here. We can't predict what Mother Nature is going to give us.
WIRE: Anything left over, along with what's harvested from a smaller designated area next to the main farm, is donated to a local food rescue and distribution organization called Lovin' Spoonfuls.
GRALLERT: We can produce anywhere from four to six thousand pounds of fresh produce a year depending on what we're growing. And so the range of vegetables -- asparagus to zucchini.
WIRE: Produce from A to Z, making the iconic green of Fenway Park even greener.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: CNN's Coy Wire reporting there.
Please let us know what you're doing to answer the call with #calltoearth.
Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: He was known as the man in the iron lung. Polio (ph) -- Paul Alexander spent most of the past 70 years in an iron lung that is until Monday.
He was diagnosed with polio in 1952, just age 6, paralyzed from the neck down, unable to breathe unassisted. Despite that, he would become a lawyer, wrote an autobiography, and lived an incredible life.
CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta found out in this report from two years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: A therapist promised Paul a dog if he could breathe on his own for three minutes.
PAUL ALEXANDER, MAN IN THE IRON LUNG: I developed a way to how to get air and breath. I worked on it for a year before I could reach that three minutes but I reached it.
DR. GUPTA: Eventually, Paul would be able to gulp or take in air for hours at a time, allowing him to leave the confines of the iron lung during the day and accomplish more than anyone thought was possible for him -- college, law school, and a 30-year career as a courtroom attorney.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Paul Alexander survived polio as a child, but he fell victim to COVID on Monday, age 78.
[01:49:55]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Freedom to me is being able to reach my goals without any barriers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Freedom is the ability to have your own thoughts AND make your own decisions without others putting their prejudices on.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Being able to follow my passion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: freedom is when you can do whatever you want, whenever you want.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Students from the Ivory Coast there sharing what freedom means to them. CNN is partnering with young people around the world for the eighth
year of My Freedom Day, a day of action led by students trying to raise awareness on modern-day slavery.
We've heard from children and teens from Nepal to Ecuador -- all of them standing up against child labor. Students in Kosovo also sharing their thoughts. Here they are.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The future starts with the choices that we make today. Choose to stand against child labor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every handprint is a step closer to banning child labor, print your (INAUDIBLE) today, My Freedom Day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My Freedom Day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My Freedom Day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My freedom Day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My freedom day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My Freedom Day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My Freedom Day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My Freedom Day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My Freedom Day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My Freedom Day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: We're covering this event all around the world. So let's now go back to Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong with the children there.
They're always so articulate, your kids. Whenever we hear from them at these events.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, very, very articulate absolutely. And you know, young people, they have often been the victims of modern-day slavery, but they have emerged as some of the most articulate and most passionate activists standing up against them, this horrible practice.
I'm here at KG5 or King George V School here in Hong Kong where the students here ranging in age from Year 7 to Year 12 have been taking part in this sweatshop simulation challenge so they could feel what it's like to be trapped in a forced labor situation.
They have been engaging for the last hour or so in a very menial, tedious task over and over again. Orders being barked at them, noise being played in the background, no breaks, no rest, no sense of agency.
And they've also been hearing workshops from activists just to learn more about the phenomenon of child labor.
I want to bring in a modern-day abolitionist. Her name is Miwa Chan (ph). She is the Asia-based executive director of the International Justice Mission. And she often talks to students about these issues, including the very sensitive issue of child labor.
You recently spoke to students at Hong Kong International School. What's the message that you give to them?
MIWA CHAN, INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE MISSION - ASIA: Well the message its very simple that there is no age limit when it comes to advocating for something they are very passionate about. And that's why students likewise can use their influence to help end modern-day slavery and human trafficking.
STOUT: According to the International Labor Organization, some 160 million children around the world are working and not going to school. Why is the situation so dire?
CHAN: Yes, I think there are a few key factors that contribute to this. I mean first and foremost it's really the forced migration that is caused by conflict, poverty, definitely in very rural areas. And of course, on the lack of enforcement of labor legislation.
And definitely the COVID-19 pandemic has definitely just led to an increase in the vulnerability of children.
STOUT: Which industries are the worst offenders? Well, in partnership with local authorities, and the government we have rescued children from brick factories, from textile, diamond industries, from agriculture, farming, fishing, domestic servitude and also like the commercial sexual exploitation.
STOUT: So what's the solution here?
CHAN: Well, over the past 25 years, what we have, we're able to see real progress and it's really through the strengthening of the justice system, right? In fact, (INAUDIBLE) evaluators have seen up to 83 percent in the reduction of prevalence of crime.
And we do this really by partnering with the local government to rescue the children, to walk with them in an aftercare on a restoration journey, and empowering them as leaders to advocate for the end of child labor.
But ultimately what we want to see is a strengthened justice system to protect future generations from slavery.
STOUT: Absolutely, Miwa Chan, thank you and your team for your important work and also just speaking to the next generation of modern-day abolitionists fighting this rising trend of child labor. In the next hour, here on CNN, John we'll be speaking to some of the students who took part in sweatshop simulation challenge just to hear what they gathered, what they learned from this experience back to you, John.
VAUSE: Kristie, thank you for that, as always.
Now, let's go to Vedika Sud in India. Vedika, what have you got?
VEDIKA SUD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, I'm at the Genesis Global School in Noida here in New Delhi, one of the many schools across the world, marking My Freedom Day, a day of student action.
And what they're doing here, it's very quiet, you see now, as they're too busy in making these posters. The school is really (INAUDIBLE) on child labor as you can see (INAUDIBLE) that problem.
And here you can see this poster made by a (INAUDIBLE) where she talks about the (INAUDIBLE) on young children when they shouldn't be any on them at a tender age.
[01:54:49]
SUD: There's so many colorful posters that's talking about such significant pressing issues that deal with child labor. And then there's this one by (INAUDIBLE) that talks about how child labor should stop because you need to empower, educate, and protect those children, and not let them be victims of child labor.
I have two very special guests this morning. One of them is Yavil (ph) and the other is Aisha (ph). I'm going to talk to them. Yavil has been very busy.
Yavil, I'm going to Interrupt you for a moment here. I want to understand what the message is that you're trying to send them through this piece of art here when you blindfolded two young children.
YAVIL, STUDENT: Well, (INAUDIBLE) like folding here. I wanted to take that to do like (INAUDIBLE) don't work through labor.
SUD: And Yavil, how can you make a difference as an individual.
YAVIL: Well, I (INAUDIBLE) through this poster, I want to reach out to the right audience. I want them to speak up whenever they see children having to pick up work (INAUDIBLE). I want them to speak up and I want them to -- send them to school, they should go to school.
SUD: Right. Moving on to you, Aisha. I can see that the slogan right at the top of your poster says "Books not tools in the hands of our children." Tell me more.
AISHA, STUDENT: So good morning. I am Aisha.
My poster with the strong visuals and concise text and the harsh realities of labor. I believe books not tools in the hands of children means that every children should get equal opportunity and every child should stand up for themselves. And say I have the right to be educated.
SUD: That's a beautiful powerful message out there for these girls.
John, according to government data in the 2022, 8 children were trafficked every day in India. And these children here want to make that difference to bring those numbers down.
And I want to (INAUDIBLE) from young girl from (INAUDIBLE) who says speak out against child labor, and let's release the burden off their shoulders. And that's what the school wants to do through their performances on stage that we will be bringing to you in the next hour and through these posters.
Back to you.
VAUSE: Vedika, thank you. Also to Kristie there in Hong Kong. Thanks to you both. And thanks to the kids who put so much work and effort into making this all possible.
So please post your message to boost the fight against forced labor using the #MyFreedomDay on social media and go to CNN.com/myfreedomday for a lot more information.
Thank you for watching this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Please stay with us.
I'll be back with more news at the top the top of the hour, 100 percent more me coming up.
[01:57:37]
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