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CNN International: Gangs & Militias Vie For Control In Haiti; Borrell: Israel Using Starvation As Weapon Of War; Putin Declared Winner In Russian Presidential Election. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired March 18, 2024 - 11:00   ET

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

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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta in New York and this is CNN.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning or good evening, depending on where you're watching. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. Anarchy in Haiti as police and militias battle gangs for control of the nation's capital. Civilians caught in the middle of just struggling to secure food, fuel and water. Coming up a report from CNN's team on the ground in Port-au-Prince.

In just moments President Joe Biden will mark Women's History Month with an event at the White House where he is expected to issue a new executive order to promote women's health research. How will this play in his re-election campaign against Donald Trump, my political panel will discuss. Plus YouTube creators will now be asked to add a special label to content that was made or altered using artificial intelligence. Just ahead a live report on the new policy and its implications for users.

But we will begin this hour with the exodus in the Caribbean. A U.S. State Department charter flight has arrived in Florida carrying U.S. citizens out of Haiti. And they're the lucky ones able to flee scenes of anarchy like this in Por-au-Prince as militias battle gangs for control. A handful of elites are haggling over the makeup of a Transitional Council after the government's near total collapse. But gangs rule the streets, choking off the supply of food, fuel and water across the city. And what's left of the country's police force finds itself under siege. CNN's David Culver reports now from Port-au- Prince.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So police stations like this one here in Port-au-Prince are main targets for gangs. They feel like as soon as they can get hold of a station like this, they can then take siege and take control of much of the community. And they've tried coming after this well many of times, reinforcements have been built up not only because of the police, but because of the community. They've built barricades all around here. For the police station to function properly, they need to rely on the community and to have these almost vigilantes building a lot of the barricades to keep out any gang members. So this was a school here in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. And every single classroom that we pass, like this one here, has now become a dorm room essentially.

There are dozens, if not hundreds of people who have made this a recent campsite. As you can see a lot of them are following us around and are curious as to what we're doing because for them, it's a distraction, really. And you talk to a lot of these folks, and they've come here in the past couple of weeks because of the most recent surge in violence, and gangs taking more and more territory here in the city.

But these folks have also been on the run from their own home for months, if not years. She just got this small bag of rice and she's going to cook it up for seven people. A lot of them tell me they don't know where their next meal is going to be. One little girl, eight years old, saying she goes to bed every single night hungry.

And a lot of that is because in the past two weeks in particular, supply lines, especially for programs of international aid, like the World Food Program, have been severed. So while these organizations are trying desperately to get food in, it's not just about getting them into Port-au-Prince. It's then about getting them into communities like this. The challenges logistically are immense.

They're dealing with this at a level that they have not faced prior. I mean, it's unprecedented. And the pain, we can sense it in the kids' eyes and their parents who feel helpless at this point. But for them, it's about pushing forward. I asked one woman how you get up every day and move ahead. She said with the grace of God, but then admitted in the same breath, that sometimes they feel they'd be better off dead than living. David Culver, CNN, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

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SOLOMON: And our thanks to David for that reporting on the ground there. Well, the European Union's Foreign Policy Chief says that Gaza was the world's biggest open air prison before the war. But now is the biggest open air graveyard. Josep Borrell told a meeting of EU ministers that Israel is quote, provoking famine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEP BORRELL, EU FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF: This famine is not natural disaster, it is not a flood, it is not an earthquake. It is entirely manmade. Hundreds of trucks are waiting to enter and it's absolutely imperative to make crossing points work to effectively and open additional crossing point. And it's just a matter of political will. Israel has to do it. Starvation is used as a weapon of war. Yes. Starvation is used as a weapon of war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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SOLOMON: And overnight, Israel launched a major offensive Al-Shifa Hospital in the ruins of Gaza City, saying that it's battling Hamas militants. Witnesses report airstrikes and tank fire around the hospital, which is crowded with thousands of people seeking shelter. And a new round of ceasefire talks is set to begin today in Doha.

A source tell CNN that Israel's Mossad chief will meet with Qatar's Prime Minister and Egyptian officials to try to broker an indirect deal with Hamas that would secure the release of hostages. Meantime, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu making it clear that he views deadly strikes in Gaza as leverage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAEL PRIME MINISTER: Time will tell but Hamas' outlandish demands and I'm not itemizing every one of them now makes that deal, a lot more difficult. But I'm - we're going to keep on trying because we want those hostages back. We understand also that the one thing that gets Hamas to give them is to give these hostages to us, is the continued military pressure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: All right, let's bring in CNN is Paula Hancocks for more. She is in Doha. Paula, for the civilians, the Palestinian civilians in Gaza, the Israeli hostages being held there, of course, every moment counts. What's the timeline for these negotiations?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rahel, we know from a source close to these talks that there will be discussions today between the Mossad director, David Barnea, the Qatari Prime Minister and Egyptian officials. So this will be the recommencement, if you like of the Israeli delegation, being here in Doha, and working through what was Hamas' (inaudible) proposal that we saw last week.

Now, the Israeli Prime Minister, as you heard there has called the proposal outlandish. He's called it unrealistic. And yet he has sent his delegation here. There were key meetings in Israel on Sunday, there was the war cabinet meeting, the security Cabinet meeting, where they decided the parameters, the boundaries of how far the Mossad Director could go. So they have a red line of they can agree up to that point, and that is when they walk away.

So we know at this point that Hamas has, through officials and sources has suggested within this what we're hearing a six week temporary ceasefire, they want to see between 700 and 1,000 Palestinian prisoners released and in return, they would release female hostages, including IDF soldiers, also the elderly, the sick and the wounded, which is believed to be around 40 hostages.

And so that appears to be what would be phase one. Of course, after that it gets very difficult. That is when Hamas would like an eventual permanent ceasefire, which Israel is not ready to do at this point. Again on Sunday, the Prime Minister of Israel saying that he will go into Rafah where more than half the population is sheltering at this point in the southern part of Gaza.

And that once that starts, it will be an operation that lasts several weeks calling it the last bastion of Hamas. So at the same time, as there are discussions ongoing, there is some hope that there could be a temporary ceasefire at some point, but we are hearing from a diplomat close to the talks that it will be not an easy task to get the Israelis to agree to this. Rahel.

SOLOMON: And Paula, on the military operation around Al-Shifa, what's the latest on - on that?

HANCOCKS: Well, we understand from my witnesses within the Al-Shifa medical complex that it is still ongoing. They say there are tanks and bulldozers that are surrounding this particular area and they are leveling areas of the outskirts of the hospital complex. Now, the Israeli military has said that they are going after key Hamas operatives within - they had intelligence that they were working from within the Al-Shifa medical complex.

And what we're hearing from the Palestinian side is that there have been multiple casualties and - and wounded, this from the Palestinian ministry in Gaza. We have no independent verification of this as we are not on the ground. But what we are hearing from eyewitnesses is that there is one of the surgical buildings on fire after there were at least four Israeli missile strikes against it.

That from one of the doctors that works in that building. He said this is where all the operations for all the departments are carried out. There were very ill patients who had undergone major operations and could not move within that building. And also there were many that were sheltering over recent weeks. We understand there's something between 20,000 and 30,000 people in this complex itself according to the Ministry of Health and also eyewitnesses and the Israeli military is now asking those in the periphery and the neighborhoods around to evacuate. They have told them to move west towards the coast and then further south to an area that they call a humanitarian area.

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They say that is an area that they will be safe although we have heard also eyewitnesses saying that there have been sniper fire against some who have tried to move from corridor to corridor within the hospital itself and also through open windows. So this is an ongoing situation at this point. We don't have clarification, as to casualties or wounded, but certainly there are concerns as to what exactly is happening there. Rahel.

SOLOMON: OK. Paula Hancocks live for us there in Doha. Paula, thanks so much. Well, Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to remain in power for six more years after an election widely panned in the West. Election officials say that he got more than 87 percent of the vote. Mr. Putin faced little opposition after an anti-war candidate was barred from running.

But Russian authorities or hitting back saying that they've had to work against foreign influence. Take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELLA PAMFILOVA, CHAIR OF RUSSIAN CENTRAL ELECTION COMMISSION (Interpreted): The level of aggressive influence on our voters was unprecedented. It has never happened with this level of intimidation of this level of trying to influence voters from outside Russia. This time the outside wishes to affect this election or discredit them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: The White House says that it is not surprised by the results and that they don't reflect a free or fair vote. Those sentiments echoed by the EU which says that the election was based on repression and intimidation. But Mr. Putin is getting some global support. North Korea and China have both congratulated him. Mr. Putin has been at the top of Russian politics for nearly 25 years and CNN's Matthew Chance has been in Moscow for this election. He has this look now at the vote and the protesters daring to defy it.

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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Another flash of defiance in Russia's presidential vote. The opposition called this midday against Putin. Supporters gathering at polling stations across the country in a show of solidarity. It's what Alexei Navalny, Russia's late opposition leader had urged before he suddenly died. Well, the Russian authorities say that anyone who attends an unauthorized protest will be dealt with severely, but you can see it's just after 12 o'clock here in Moscow and a lot of people have turned out at this one polling station to cast their ballots.

It's not a protest, but it is an indication of just how many people here are heeding Alexei Navalny's call. Why have you come now to cast your vote?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because they come too.

CHANCE: And you wanted to see all these people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We wanted to come together and see each other in person.

CHANCE: Why did you decide to come now at 12 o'clock?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know why. I think everyone who stay in this queue knows why.

CHANCE: For three days Russians have been voting in an election, which President Putin was always certain to win. Scattered acts of disruption have exposed division. In several polling stations die was poured into ballot boxes to ruin paper votes already cast. Across Russia, a number of voting centers were hit with arson attacks. But officials insist these deeply flawed presidential elections in which the opposition wasn't even allowed to stand were free and fair. Compared to the last presidential vote in 2018, received only half as

many complaints. Russia's Chief Human Rights Commissioner tells state television. I don't remember such active, deeply monitored elections here, she adds. But the defiance of some Russians has also been exceptional. The simmering discontent in the Kremlin tightly controlled Russia briefly boiling up to the surface. Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: Our thanks to Matthew there and moments from now at the White House President Biden and Vice President Harris will hold an event to celebrate Women's History Month but it will also contain a campaign message that could hold the key to their re-election hopes. Plus the clock is ticking for the U.S. Supreme Court's pause on a new Texas law. Coming up details on the Lonestar state's controversial response to the ongoing immigration crisis. We'll be right back.

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SOLOMON: Well, in minutes, President Biden and the First Lady will host a reception to mark Women's History Month. The president is expected to sign an executive order designed to improve women's health research. Reproductive rights are a key issue for Biden and the Democrats as they try to secure crucial support from women voters in the race against Donald Trump.

Now to underscore how much of a priority this is for the Biden re- election campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris and the second gentleman will also attend the event. Let's bring in our panel. I want to welcome in Democratic strategist Brad Woodhouse along with Maura Gillespie. She served as an Adviser to former House Speaker John Boehner. Good to see you both. Brad, let me start with you.

Not every day that you see the entire group marketing the same event. The president, the vice president, their spouses, obviously women's reproductive rights are a huge part of their campaign. When the President speaks at this event, he needs to say what?

BRAD WOODHOUSE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, first of all, it's very important month, this is Women's History Month and healthcare has been a signature domestic issue for the President. I would say after defending democracy, health care has been his signature domestic issue. Expanding and enhancing the Affordable Care Act, lowering drug prices for - for seniors and he's made a heavy commitment to ending inequities in health care.

And one of the inequities that we've seen, you know, for decades is that women's health and research into women's health has not been funded. It's not been a priority, but he has made it a priority. This executive action he's announcing today will direct federal agencies to invest more resources into research into women's health care issues, midlife issues, heart disease, fibrosis, menopause. And so I think it's incredibly important. And I think it is an important contrast. No one could imagine Donald

Trump who ripped away Roe v. Wade, who wants a national abortion ban, no one can envision him hosting this same event. So there's definitely, you know, some political overtones, but this has been an issue the President's been committed to ever since he was elected.

SOLOMON: Well, it's interesting, Maura, right, because we just heard Trump over the weekend addressing what seems to be that vulnerable issue for Republicans in light of Roe vs. Wade being overturned. Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If the Republicans spoke about it correctly, never hurt me from the standpoint of elections, and it hurt a lot of Republicans. I think you have to have, you have to have the three exceptions, because it's just - now there are a few places where you don't. But I tell people, number one, you have to go with your heart. You have to go with your heart. But beyond that, you also have to get elected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Maura, is that from your perspective at the beginning of the shift, do you think in terms of messaging, what's your reaction to that?

MAURA GILLESPIE, FMR ADVISER TO FMR HOUSE SPEAKER JOHN BOEHNER: I think it's interesting because I do think that President Trump understands that having an all-out ban, as some Republicans in the far right flank of the party want is not sustainable for any chance of having a victory in a general election.

So he's couching I think his messages and his messaging on this topic to try and appeal more to a wider audience.

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But I still think that for Republicans as a party we've long struggled to really talk about women's health and medical freedom for women in a way that is going to bring in the women vote, which is certainly up for grabs this election.

SOLOMON: And Brad, I saw I want to move on, but I saw you sort of shake your head. So my sense is that maybe you think that this won't work for him. I mean, what are you thinking?

WOODHOUSE: Well, I mean, let's be clear. Every rally he holds, he brags about overturning Roe v. Wade. He says I overturned Roe v. Wade. He said earlier in the primary campaign that the only reason that Ron DeSantis can get a six week abortion ban or other states can do 10 or 12 or 15 is because I overturned Roe v. Wade.

He's embraced the notion of a national abortion ban. It's not something he can suddenly run away from particularly when every night that you see him at a rally, he brags about appointing the justices that overturned Roe v. Wade. And, you know, Joe Biden is saying with a Democratic Congress, in his re-election, he would restore Roe v. Wade. That - that contrast is not going away, no matter how much Donald Trump and some of his advisers may hope it does.

SOLOMON: Maura, let me play for you a clip from a Trump rally over the weekend, where his comments are getting a lot of attention. But it's not about women's reproductive rights. It's a different statement. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're going to put a 100 percent tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you're not going to be able to sell those guys, if I get elected. Now, if I don't get elected, it's going to be a bloodbath for the whole, that's going to be the least of it, it's going to be a bloodbath for the country, that will be the least of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Now Trump is out this morning saying that that is being taken out of context. He said it's being taken out of context by the fake news and their Democratic Partners, quote pretended to be shocked at my use of the word bloodbath, even though they fully understood that I was simply referring to imports allowed by crooked Joe Biden, which are killing the automobile industry. The United Auto Workers, but not their leadership fully understand what I mean. Maura, we tried to play the full clip to give people better context. What are your thoughts here?

GILLESPIE: OK, his choice of words is intentional. So sure, he can defend himself and say that he was talking about the auto industry. Sure. But what this choice of words is, is stoking fear, and I actually found later on the speech, a full rally speech that we just listened to more interesting, where he said that if he doesn't win, that maybe - this may be the last election that we have.

I think, again, talking in those terms, and the rhetoric that he uses is stoking fear, and it's feeding off of people who are already upset with the current slate of choices they have for the 2024 election, already feel like there are no good choices, already feel like things aren't going well for them. So then to play on those fears, to play on those concerns, I think it's - it's cruel, but it's also not surprising. And it's, again, it makes me sad for the party, where we're at right now.

SOLOMON: And Brad, last word here is Maura says cruel and not surprising, but does it help the Democrats at all?

WOODHOUSE: Well, I mean, look, I think, I think the chaos, the political violence, that - that Donald Trump stokes hurts him and it hurts the Republican Party. And so if your opponents are hurting themselves, shooting themselves in the foot, then certainly it helps. It helps our side, but I don't think our political system, and I don't think we cheer those comments, even if it helps us. I mean, he is stoking political violence in this country, you know,

open that rally, as he does many, by calling the, you know, the January 6 interaction. It's the ones that committed violence, the ones that, you know, eventually led to the death of several people on you know, on the premises that day as hostages who he'll free if he becomes president on his first day.

So the whole you know, his whole take here is to defend the insurrectionists. He defended the Nazis in Charlottesville, called them fine people. He incited the insurrection against the capitalism. His own Vice President won't endorse him. He was a target of a violent efforts that that day and so you know, you can't - you can't wipe away the context of him using the term bloodbath.

SOLOMON: OK, we're going to leave it here today. Brad Woodhouse, Mark Gillespie, thanks so much for the time.

WOODHOUSE: Thank you.

GILLESPIE: Thanks.

SOLOMON: We're going to get to some breaking news. Attorneys for Donald Trump say that the former president is not able, not able to make the $464 million bond and the civil fraud judgment against him. His lawyer told the New York appeals court that Trump cannot find an insurance company to underwrite that bond. Let's bring in CNN Kara Scannell who joins us now. So Kara what now?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, so Trump's lawyers are informing the New York appeals court that they're having trouble coming up with this money. They can't come up with the money as one of their insurance brokers put it in a sworn statement. This is a - to come up with the bottom of the size is a practical impossibility.

They said they've approached 30 of these underwriters, the kinds of companies that - that secure these bonds like insurance companies and said that none of them would be willing to do this for -in some instances they can't underwrite a bond that exceeds more than $100 million.

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In this case, Trump's lawyers are saying he would have to come up with not just the amount that he owes personally, that $454 million, but there would be an additional amount of money and he would have to post upfront to make the underwriters comfortable with this. So they're saying that that's - it's been an impossibility. The other biggest hurdle here in which one of Trump's attorneys he put it, saying that this was sort of the - the biggest obstacle was that a lot of these insurance companies will - none of them would accept anything but cash.

So Trump would have to come up with that much money, half a billion dollars in cash to satisfy one of these underwriters, and that is just not something that he's able to do and the underwriters are not willing to take any of his property, you know, the - the real assets that he owns, they are just they're not willing to accept that. So that is become this big issue here. The appeals court, you know, the ball will be in their court.

The New York Attorney General's Office has asked them to deny Trump's motion to stay that is to not put up this bond. Well, the - to not have to post the bond while this appeal plays out. That's ultimately going to be a decision that the appeals court will make. The New York Attorney General's Office opposing that. Now, if the appeals court denies Trump's motion to stay, that is to pause him having to put up this amount of money, Trump is saying we'll give us time to appeal to the highest court in New York and don't even have us enforce that judgment.

But if the appeals court denies all of that, then Trump will have to put up this judgment. It means in effect that the New York Attorney General's office will be able to try to enforce that judgment and that could mean seizing some of Trumps properties. Rahel.

SOLOMON: Wow, just - just a really fascinating turn of events. OK, well, keep us posted on how it all develops. CNN's Kara Scannell live for us in New York. Kara, thank you. Well, still ahead, a new volcanic eruption in Iceland. We'll tell you how many times it's erupted since December. Plus a new birth control pill is now available in the U.S. We're going to have a live report on how this one is different than others. We'll be right back.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. You are watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. And here's some of the international headlines we're watching for you today. A volcano in Iceland has erupted once again. This is now the fourth eruption since December, it happened on Saturday in bright lava, as you can see here and smoke are still visible.

Authorities said that a nearby town and infrastructure are safe at least for now. Niger's military government says that it is ending an agreement that allowed U.S. Pentagon officials to operate in the country. A spokesman for the military of Niger says that the record was quote unfair. Senior American officials believe that maintaining a presence in Niger is vital in efforts to fight terrorism in the region.

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New studies on what's known as Havana syndrome suggest that people with a mysterious ailment show no signs of having a brain injury. This unexplained illness first emerged in 2016 among U.S. diplomat stationed in Havana, Cuba. Since then it has sickened several other government workers around the world.

Now, back to our lead story today. The chaos in Haiti where the security situation is growing even more dangerous. Gangs have been launching a series of coordinated attacks against government institutions for weeks now. They now control 80 percent of Port-au- Prince according to the UN and are also choking off critical food supplies, water and other essential items, pushing Haitians into a humanitarian crisis. And as this unfolds a handful of elites are haggling over the makeup of a Transitional Council after the government's near total collapse.

Let me now bring in from Port-au-Prince, I'm joined by Widlore Merancourt, good to have you. He's a Haitian reporter and Editor-in- Chief of the online news organization, AyiboPost. Widlore, good to have you today, thank you so much. Can you just first give us a sense of what the situation is like on the ground there and give us a sense of what life is like right now for Haitians in the capital?

WIDLORE MERANCOURT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, AYIBOPOST: Well, the violence in Port-au-Prince is extremely dynamic. A couple of weeks ago, it was in the lower part of the city, where, you know, the main prison of the country was attacked by the gangs, releasing thousands of inmates, you know, some of the highest profile ones in the streets, and then it moved to the lower part of Delmas.

And, you know, today, we also have violence now, in the upper part of the city, the area of Petion-Ville, that is a very, you know, high end, sort of city, and Kenscoff and the likes. And, you know, life is extremely difficult. The vast majority of the victims today are the poor Haitians, the, you know, the kind of folks that you know, sell things in the streets, the kind of folks that, you know, not the rich people that, you know, some of these so-called revolutionaries, you know, are calling to help.

I have sources in the lower part for instance, of Delmas telling me, you know, when the gang is (inaudible) fine, everyone to keep the doors open as to, you know, if they can, if they want to get in, they can get in, you know, allegedly that would be using, you know, the (inaudible) population as a shield against the firepower of the Haitian National Police. So it's an extremely difficult situation, with hospitals being closed due (inaudible) of shortages, few medicines and other things.

SOLOMON: Let me ask you pointed out in a recent piece that Haiti has been here before, the U.S. has been here before, the U.S. has tried to fix Haiti before. What's the local reaction been to the news of this council? Do people think that it will actually help?

MERANCOURT: I mean, that's - that's - that's an important question, right? You know, in the last presidential - not the last, but in the 2011 presidential election, (inaudible) actually was helped directly by the West. (inaudible) and (inaudible) of his actions are still being seen today. So today, when the U.S. and other allies, you know, CARICOM and other stakeholders are discussing Haiti, that makes many people here feel uneasy, especially, you know, when you hear about the composition of the new council, it looks like, you know, many folks that some people here, you know, considered to be part of the problem of Haiti, part of you know, the folks that brings this country to the state it is today. They are there.

So it is - it's - so many people are saying it's a continuation of the same and this could not, you know, there is a possibility that this solution that they found, you know, is not a real one. SOLOMON: OK, we'll leave it here. Widlore Merancourt, we so appreciate the time today and we hope to have you back soon. Thank you.

MERANCOURT: Thank you.

SOLOMON: A rally is underway this hour in Moscow's Red Square to mark the 10th anniversary of Russia's annexation of Crimea. In the year since Russia has tried to prop up the image of life on the peninsula with nods to public investment and patriotism. But for many in Crimea, there is little to celebrate. Clare Sebastian reports.

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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ten years ago the woman in blue dreamed of being a teacher. Life under Russian occupation brought to Lutfiye Zudiyeva, a new calling, journalist and Human Rights Activist.

LUTFIYE ZUDIYEVA, JOURNALIST AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST (through translator): This was the first time I was searched but I had been preparing for this for many years. I was expecting them.

SEBASTIAN: Are you not afraid? You have a family, children.

ZUDIYEVA: I hope that my work will lead to the end of repression in Crimea.

SEBASTIAN: This was Zudiyeva's third arrest in four years, this time for several social media posts. Scenes like this are increasingly common, especially in Crimean Tatar communities. Forcibly deported by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in 1944, and only allowed back in the early 1990s, 2014 brought another decade of persecution to anyone opposing Russia's rule. Residents say the full scale invasion intensified crackdown.

ZUDIYEVA: In the current situation, even those who before this were protected from prosecution are at risk.

SEBASTIAN: On March 5, ten Crimean Tatar men were arrested in mass pre-dawn raids. They came through this way, the FSB, riot police officers says the wife of one visibly out of breath. A few hours later she gave birth to her sixth child.

KRZYSZTOF JANOWSKI, U.N. MONITORING MISSION TO UKRAINE: Well, we have seen a systematic effort essentially to erase Ukrainian identity, forcing people to take Russian passports, drafting Crimean men for Russian military.

SEBASTIAN: Another key policy, the U.N. says is to replace those who leave.

JANOWSKI: They brought in at least 100,000 Russians to Crimea, since the annexation. That changes the demographic composition of the peninsula. SEBASTIAN: When unmarked Russian soldiers, the little green men began surrounding Crimea as military bases in March 2014, ethnic Russians were already a majority here. The referendum which delivered a 97 percent yes vote to join Russia was illegal in the eyes of much of the world. And at one polling station, our CNN camera filmed a man dropping two ballots into the box. 10 years on Russia's propaganda machine is celebrating. This news report showing off shiny new highways.

EMIL KURBEDINOV, CRIMEAN LAWYER: If you drive along the roads, walk around the shops, it would probably seem like everything is wonderful. But there is another side. All right. I just came back from the pretrial detention center visiting my defendants. This is young people being accused of terrorism.

SEBASTIAN: Some don't even get a trial. The U.N. has documented more than 100 cases of forced disappearance from Crimea since 2014.

KURBEDINOC: This is how we live today. You drive along nice roads arrive home and then tomorrow you simply disappear.

SEBASTIAN: As Russia tightens its grip on Crimea's people, Ukraine has stepped up attacks on the peninsula on land and sea in recent months. In the place this war originally started, military tensions are rising again. Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: Well, today marks the end to the U.S. Supreme Court's pause on a controversial immigration law in Texas. Earlier this month, the Biden administration filed an emergency application with the Supreme Court asking the court to block enforcement of the Texas ruling. The ruling allows state law enforcement to arrest and detain people that they suspect of entering the country illegally.

Let's bring in CNN's Ed Lavandera who joins us live from Dallas, Texas. Ed, you have been following this very closely. Talk to us about what this means. What will this all going to affect mean not just for Texans across the border and near the border but across the state?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this law really kind of gets to the heart of this battle that has been brewing for several years now between the state of Texas and the Biden administration as to how immigration is being handled here at the border. Back in December, Texas lawmakers passed this bill, Senate Bill 4 and essentially what it does is that it gives local law enforcement officers the ability to arrest people and judges the ability to deport people who are here, who crossed into Texas illegally.

And now, immigrant rights advocates and the Biden administration, the federal government have sued Texas to block the implementation of this bill. It's known as Senate Bill 4 or SB four and it has been tied up in court since the governor of Texas signed this bill back in December. And essentially what has happened is that the judge that initially stopped this bill, Rahel says that if this law is allowed to go into effect, it will create a quote nightmare scenario where each state in the country would essentially be allowed to create its own immigration laws.

[11:40:00]

And that the federal government should be the lone voice in determining immigration laws and immigration enforcement as well. Texas officials, the governor and the Attorney General are arguing that Texas has the sovereign right to defend itself, that it is in the middle of a crisis in the front line of defense here. And this has been tied up in courts for the last several weeks.

And what we are expecting now is a decision from the Supreme Court as to whether to determine the fate of this bill and whether or not it will be allowed to go into effect. A judge in Austin last month, ruled that to block the law and then a federal appeals court overturn that, and then the Supreme Court put a pause on it as well as they work through the details of all of this.

So what we're expecting today is that the Supreme Court to issue some sort of ruling, because today they had issued that this is the - today would be the deadline, and so determined that the fate of this law, and of course, this is really at the heart in the center of this brewing battle between state officials here in Texas and the Biden administration over immigration, Rahel.

SOLOMON: And then Ed, remind us for our viewers, there was also a concern that sort of bestowing this power at state - at the state level might create racial profiling, for example, I mean, walk us through some of those concerns.

LAVANDERA: Well, that's been especially some of the issues that immigrant rights advocates have been bringing up in the lawsuit. This law was originally challenged by a number of advocacy organizations, and then joined by the Biden administration and the Justice Department as well.

And essentially, they're concerned that this would create this possibility of racial profiling, especially along border communities where you have a large Latino population, many migrants crossing from the U.S. along the U.S. southern border, Latino as well. And that essentially would create this scenario where U.S. residents and U.S. citizens would have to constantly be able to prove their citizenship to any law enforcement officer that would question whether or not they are here illegally, and they say, you know, very critical of that possible aspect of this law. But state officials insist it's necessary because they view this immigration situation as a crisis.

SOLOMON: Ed Lavandera live for us there in Dallas. Ed, thanks so much. Well, now to a new over the counter birth control pill that's now for sale in the U.S. It's the first time that a birth control pill can be purchased without a doctor's visit, or a prescription. Consumers can start ordering the Opill online and get it within a few days. Some major retail pharmacies, including CVS and Walgreens have also said that they will offer Opill once they receive their shipments. Let's bring in CNN's Jacqueline Howard. Jacqueline, you have spoken to

some of the executives from some of these companies. What can you tell us about that?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Well, Rahel, I can tell you this is a major milestone in the rollout of Opill. It's the nation's first over the counter birth control pill. Online orders are starting today for the product. And it appears to be in stock at amazon.com It's available on Opill's website, which is Opill.com And I spoke with like you said executives at Perrigo the company behind Opill, and they did say that orders placed on Opill.com will be fulfilled within a day or two. And the product will be shipped in discrete unbranded packaging.

Now what we know about Opill, it's a progestin only birth control pill. It's up to 98 percent effective and it does come with the manufacturer's suggested retail price of $19.99 for a one month pack, $49.99 for a three month supply, and $89.99 for a six month supply. And as part of this rollout, Rahel, earlier this month, shipments of the product were sent to distribution sites. Today, online orders are beginning.

You can purchase this online. Next in the next few weeks. We expect the product to be available in stores. Major retail pharmacies, like CVS, like Walgreens are expecting to have it available in stores in early April. So watching this rollout of a major milestone products, the first over the counter birth control pill is really interesting. We're experiencing history in real time right now here in the U.S., Rahel.

SOLOMON: Yeah, certainly. Certainly a moment in history, that is for sure. Jacqueline Howard live for us in Atlanta. Jacqueline, thank you. All right, coming up, whether you create or just watch videos on YouTube, changes are coming. What the platform's new rules are and how they could impact you. Plus, a special day that you may be paying off for the rest of your life. Oh, it's a struggle I know well. The skyrocketing costs of weddings coming up straight ahead.

[11:45:00]

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. Starting today YouTube creators will have to label whether their videos at least the ones that look realistic were made using artificial intelligence. When users upload a video, they will be asked if their content makes a person say or do something that they didn't do or alters the footage of a real event. If a video does, well YouTube will note that it contains altered or synthetic content. Let's bring in CNN Business Writer Claire Duffy, who joins us now. So Claire, tell us a bit more about this policy and how YouTube plans to actually enforce it.

CLAIRE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Right Rahel, so big move from YouTube here on trying to make it more transparent to users when videos contain AI generated content. So starting today, as you said, when creators go to upload a video to YouTube in creator studio, they'll see a question asking them whether the videos contain realistic looking AI generated content that could include videos, images or audio.

They'll be required to include that disclosure if the AI generated content is realistic and could be potentially misleading to other users. And if they repeatedly fail to do so, they could potentially face consequences, including losing the ability to monetize or make money from their videos. This of course, an effort by YouTube to address these really real concerns increasingly that widely available AI generated - generative AI tools could potentially make it so that users are confused about what's real and what's not.

On the user end, what people will see is there'll be a label on the videos telling them once a creator has indicated that there's AI generated content, the users will see a label showing that it is AI generated or synthetic media, Rahel.

SOLOMON: Claire, how do you think this might affect political content? I mean, it is obviously an election year here in the U.S. We have already seen AI generated content being used, sort of in the - the campaign space in the political space. How do you think this might apply there?

DUFFY: Yeah, this is one of the biggest concerns that I imagine YouTube is trying to address here. One of the things that will help in terms of how they're implementing this policy is that for most videos, when creators indicate that there's AI generated content, that label will show up in the description of the video underneath the video.

But for potentially sensitive topics like politics, there'll be a more prominent label on top of the video player that users will see really clearly. YouTube also says that its regular content moderation policies will still apply to AI generated content. So for example, the platform doesn't allow content that could confuse voters about how or when to vote. So whether it's AI generated or not, that content will still be removed.

SOLOMON: All right, Claire Duffy, thank you. Well, the interview that led to a cancelled deal between former CNN anchor Don Lemon and Elon Musk has now been released online. Here now is a brief look at their tense exchange on former X advertisers.

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DON LEMON, HOST, THE DON LEMON SHOW: You don't think it's OK for them not to advertise with or pad their content or their advertisement next to something that it is antisemitic.

[11:50:00]

ELON MUSK, OWNER, X: That is definitely a question. You - we - there's - there's - you can absolutely choose where - next to which content do you want your advertisement to appear.

LEMON: You said that they are killing the company but you're the head of the company. The buck doesn't stop with you? MUSK: I acquired X in order to preserve freedom of speech in America, the First Amendment and I'm going to stick to that and if that means making less money, so be it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Don Lemon says that after that interview, Musk cancelled his partnership with X. Musk was also asked about a recent meeting that he held with former U.S. President Donald Trump, who faces more than half a billion dollars in civil judgments. Musk says that he is not paying for Trump's legal bills.

All right, coming up the cake at the next wedding you go to might have few more tears to win as inflation for forces couples to just reconsider how they spend money at their weddings. We'll be right back.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. Inflation can take a bite out of just about everything that's part of daily life along with other things that are hopefully once in a lifetime events like weddings, for example. With costs rising as high as those multitiered cakes at the reception, a research company that tracks data says that the average cost of a wedding in the U.S. topped $30,000 for the first time last year.

And while that's happening, the actual number of weddings is dropping. Surprise, surprise. CNN's Business reporter Nathaniel Meyersohn is in New York. So Nathaniel, talk to us about why couples are cutting back on lavish weddings. This is a very personal struggle for me as someone who's getting married in a few months. Talk to us about it.

NATHANIEL MEYERSOHN, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: I think maybe I should interview you for this segment, Rahel.

SOLOMON: I have lots to say Nathaniel.

MEYERSOHN: But yeah. But as you said this is happening because of the rising cost of weddings. So in 2020, the average wedding cost about $20,000. Fast forward to today, it's up to $30,000. So the cake is more expensive, the food at the wedding, transportation, everything, the wedding gowns are more expensive. So everything's getting more expensive.

And so we do start to see couples cutting back a little bit. That was really interesting that a couple of years ago, when David's Bridal filed for bankruptcy, they said that this - the rising cost of wedding gowns was impacting the company because more brides were starting to go to discount stores, and even buying second-hand wedding gowns. So that hurt David's Bridal.

SOLOMON: Interesting, and what about the overall number of weddings? Are some people deciding to skip weddings entirely?

MEYERSOHN: So if you - if you go back to the pandemic, weddings were completely on pause. So you saw this big drop in 2020 kind of a little bit of a recovery in 2021 but still not to pre-pandemic levels. And then in 2022 weddings boomed. There were about 2.5 million weddings in 2022. The last couple of years we have seen that drop a little bit to 2.2 million weddings. And long term, this number is much - is much lower than it used to be. Marriage rates are down. Wedding rates are down so there are fewer people tying the knot.

SOLOMON: You know one thing I'll say Nathaniel as I've have interviewed some of the - the CEOs of jewelry companies if you're looking to save, I mean this is more so for the men but if you're looking to save, lab grown diamonds.

[11:55:00]

I mean it is - it is a steal. I'm just saying because the weddings are expensive. You can maybe save on the diamond. Nathaniel Meyersohn, great story. Good to have you today. Thank you.

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

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