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CNN International: Chef Andres: Israel Systematically Targeted Aid Workers; Some U.S. Bridges at Risk of Collapse from Ship Collisions; Uganda Court Upholds Harsh Anti-LGBTQ Law; Millions in the U.S. Expected to Travel for a Better View of Solar Eclipse; Iowa's Caitlin Clark Wins Player of the Year Award. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired April 04, 2024 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00]
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster. If you're just joining us, here are some of our top stories today.
Rescue teams in Taiwan are searching for more survivors a day after the island was hit by its strongest earthquake in a quarter of a century. Officials say the quake killed at least nine people and injured more than 1,000. More than 100 people remain trapped and dozens are missing or unaccounted for.
World Central Kitchen says its operations in Gaza remain closed for now, and it's not yet decided when it'll resume its vital work. The group immediately suspended its mission there after the deadly Israeli strike killed seven aid workers.
Joe Biden is expected to speak by phone today with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. One official described the U.S. president as angry and increasingly frustrated and fully prepared to make that known after the deadly Israeli strike.
The World Central Kitchen's founder, Chef Jose Andre, is lashing out over the incident, accusing Israel of systemically and deliberately targeting the aid workers. CNN's Brian Todd has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The 54-year-old founder of World Central Kitchen slamming the Israeli military for the attack that killed seven of the group's aid workers in Gaza.
JOSE ANDRES, FOUNDER, WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN: They were targeted systematically, car by car.
TODD (voice-over): Celebrity chef Jose Andres, in a jarring interview with Reuters, describes how the vehicles in the team's convoy were fired on.
ANDRES: They attacked the first car. We have a feeling they were able to escape safely because it was an armored vehicle. They were able to move in the second one. Again, this one was hit. They were able to move in the third one. TODD (voice-over): Andres says his team tried to communicate with the Israel Defense Forces at that moment.
ANDRES: In the chaos of the moment, whatever happened, they tried to be telling IDF that what are they doing that? They were targeting us in a conflict zone, in an area controlled by IDF, them knowing that it was our teams moving on that route.
TODD (voice-over): Regarding Israeli claims that the attack was a mistake and unintentional, Andres brushed back fiercely.
ANDRES: This was not just a bad luck situation where, oops, we dropped the bomb in the wrong place or not. This was over 1.5, 1.8 kilometers with a very defined humanitarian convoy that had signs in the top, in the roof, a very colorful logo that we are obviously very proud of, but that's very clear who we are and what we do.
It seems that what is happening inside Gaza is like a true Hunger Games. This has to end.
TODD (voice-over): Andres went after the leadership of Israel and the U.S.
ANDRES: We are letting the people of Palestine down. U.S. must do more.
[04:35:00]
I need to understand that this was not by somebody that is above law and order that decided to kill us because, I don't know, maybe because I did a tweet that was very strong against President Netanyahu.
TODD (voice-over): Andres repeatedly rejected Israeli and U.S. claims that the strikes on his team were not deliberate.
ANDRES: Even if we were not in coordination with the IDF, not democratic country and not military can be targeting civilians and humanitarians, especially when the technology today allows you to know things in ways not too long ago was not possible.
Those drones have eyes on everything that moves in Gaza. I've been there. These drones nonstop flying above you is nothing that moves that IDF doesn't know.
But said that even nobody should be targeting ever humanitarian organizations and civilians continuously.
TODD (voice-over): Asked if World Central Kitchen will start its operations again in Gaza, Chef Andres said their work is, quote, halted, but that they're analyzing the situation hour by hour to figure out how to keep doing the work. And in a pointed message to the Israeli prime minister.
ANDRES: I will tell to Prime Minister Netanyahu, two hundred humanitarians have died already. Tens of thousands of civilians have died. I'm so sorry, but I think one humanitarian life is one too many. One children is one too many.
TODD: Again, regarding this attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israeli forces, quote, unintentionally struck innocent people. The IDF chief of staff, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, has said that the attack was a, quote, grave mistake.
Other Israeli officials have said the incident is being investigated at the highest levels.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Iran's supreme leader is warning Israel it'll regret attacking Tehran's consulate in Damascus, Syria. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei posted his message in Hebrew on the social media platform X.
Israel hasn't officially claimed responsibility for the strike. But a spokesperson says the building was a military facility, not a consulate. Monday's attack killed at least seven officials, including a top commander in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
A Texas attorney defending the state's controversial immigration law, known as SB4, says lawmakers may have gone too far by passing it. SB4 makes entering Texas illegal -- illegally -- illegal a state crime, giving state judges the ability to order immigrants to be deported. The U.S. Justice Department challenged the law, and now it sits in limbo before a federal appeals court.
Texas Solicitor General Aaron Nielson says now it's the court's job to decide what to do.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AARON NIELSON, TEXAS SOLICITOR GENERAL: What Texas has done here is they have looked at the Supreme Court's precedent, and they have tried to develop a statute that goes up to the line of Supreme Court precedent that allows Texas to protect the border.
Now, to be fair, maybe Texas went too far. And that's the question this court's going to have to decide.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well Nielson went on to say the Texas attorney general interprets the state law to mean any migrant subject to deportation under the law would be turned over to federal custody.
A construction company that lost six workers in last week's bridge collapse in Baltimore has set up a fund to help their families. Brawner Builders says it's created a GoFundMe account for outside donations which will go to family members. The company also says it's providing them with financial and emotional support and counselling.
Meanwhile, the city says it's setting aside $1 million in wage subsidies for workers whose jobs could be on the line because of the collapse.
It shut down the port of Baltimore, affecting about 8,000 local jobs. The city hopes the money will help companies keep those workers on the payroll.
But a CNN investigation has found a number of other U.S. bridges could be at risk of collapsing if they're hit by large cargo ships. That's what caused the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore to crumble last week. As CNN's Pete Muntean reports, one of those vulnerable bridges is just downstream from there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the center of the shipping channel that would have been used by the MV Dali. And soaring above is the four-mile-long Chesapeake Bay Bridge between Annapolis and Ken Island. A CNN investigation finds that it, too, could be vulnerable to the same kind of disaster that took down Baltimore's Key Bridge.
CAPTAIN FRANK CARVER: That's the symbol of the Chesapeake Bay.
MUNTEAN (voice-over): Captain Frank Carver showed me the Bay Bridge at close range, its oldest span now more than 70 years old. Multiple experts warned to CNN that the suspension bridge's concrete pilings and aging piers are too exposed to possible collision on this busy shipping route. State figures show that each year, cargo ships carry a total of 11 million tons of cargo underneath.
[04:40:02]
CARVER: Sometimes we do at least four times a day, if not sometimes 10,000 a day.
MUNTEAN: This is the older span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, finished in 1953. The newer span, the westbound span, finished in 1972. Both of these combined are critical for the area. About 27 million vehicles pass over these two bridges each year.
MUNTEAN (voice-over): Engineering professor Adel ElSafty of the University of North Florida says the design could be at risk of collapse if the wrong piling was hit.
ADEL ELSAFTY, CIVIL ENGINEERING PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA: If one support goes down, then the whole superstructure will go down as well, and it will pull the other parts as well. It's going to have that kind of catastrophic failure.
MUNTEAN (voice-over): The tower piers that support the main spans of the Bay Bridge have protective fenders. But ElSafty points out that is where protections end. There are none of the barriers known as dolphins used to blunt the force of an errant ship.
ELSAFTY: And that is what we really need to do is to design and protect, design better and protect our infrastructure. MUNTEAN (voice-over): The Chesapeake Bay Bridge is operated and maintained by the same agency that oversees the Key Bridge. In a new statement to CNN, the Maryland Transportation Authority says after the Key Bridge collapse, it is, quote, looking at options with the U.S. Coast Guard on the feasibility of increased pier protections for the Bay Bridge and what's possible in the navigation channel.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said no bridge is designed for a direct hit from a ship.
PETE BUTTIGIEG, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: This is a unique circumstance. I do not know of a bridge that has been constructed to withstand a direct impact from a vessel of this size.
CARVER: I think everybody will definitely be on guard now, that's for sure.
MUNTEAN (voice-over): Just south of the Bay Bridge are the container ships waiting to get into Baltimore, still blocked by the Key Bridge disaster, one Frank Carver says cannot be repeated.
CARVER: It's a whole new life, something you just didn't realize could ever happen, all that and it happened. Now you can see it just opened up so many more vulnerabilities all around.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the White House is deeply concerned about the state of the LGBTQ rights in Uganda after a court ruled in favor of one of the world's harshest anti-gay laws. The law criminalizes same-sex relationships in the country and imposes extreme punishments. A group of petitioners have challenged the law, saying it violated their constitutional rights.
CNN's David McKenzie explains the ruling.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Human rights activists and lawyers are deeply disappointed in the decision of the Constitutional Court in Uganda to unanimously uphold a draconian anti- LGBTQ law that calls for a life sentence in some cases, even the death penalty in certain circumstances for the LGBTQ community in Uganda.
Now, there were two aspects of the law that the judges said could be thrown out, including issues of privacy and health, but in the main they let it stand, despite the incredible pressure coming from Western governments and others ever since President Museveni signed the law last year.
And extensive reporting by CNN has shown that LGBTQ Ugandans have been harassed, evicted and beaten, and in some cases even had to flee the country to seek asylum elsewhere because of the conditions in Uganda. Now, it's likely the lawyers will appeal this ruling at the Supreme Court.
David McKenzie, CNN, Johannesburg.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: The president of Botswana says he'll send 20,000 elephants to Germany, telling a German tabloid the threat is, quote, not a joke.
This comes as Germany's government explores a ban on trophy imports. Earlier this year, Germany's Green Party raised the possibility of stricter limits to deter poachers, but Botswana's president says a ban would harm his country. He says conservation efforts have made the nation's elephant population soar to more than 130,000, causing havoc in rural villages, trampling people to death and eating crops.
Besides speaking out to the German tabloid, Germany's foreign minister says the Botswana leader has not reached out to them about the issue.
Coming up, what could get in the way of a total solar eclipse? Well, clouds and storms, of course. So we'll tell you what's in the forecast in North America ahead of that highly anticipated event.
Plus, how one couple is turning the solar eclipse into a life-changing event.
[04:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: North America just days away from experiencing a total eclipse of the sun. The line of totality, which is where the moon will completely block the sun on Monday, runs from central Mexico's Pacific coast through a large swathe of the U.S. and eastern Canada as well. One complication could be severe weather.
Forecasters predict thunderstorms could pop up in parts of the southern United States on eclipse day right along that line of totality.
Now, millions of people in the U.S. alone are expected to hit the roads, airports and rail lines to find and experience the most intense views of the solar eclipse. Kristin Fisher tells us what's in store for them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: A total solar eclipse like this one will not be visible from the United States again until 2044, so 20 years from now. That's why we're seeing so many people scrambling to try to find the best weather and get in position to see this on Monday.
There are a few other things that make this eclipse really unique, and the first is the length of time for totality. That's the moment when the moon completely blocks out the sun, and that's when day will literally turn to night, so dark that the stars come out, nocturnal animals come out. That is how dark it gets. And so that moment of totality for this eclipse is much longer than it was in previous eclipses. At the longest point, it'll be about four minutes and 30 seconds. So that's a good amount of time to really get to soak in the power of nature and our solar system.
Another really unique thing about this eclipse is the fact that it just happens to coincide with the period of peak activity on the surface of the sun, so during that moment of totality, things like solar flares or coronal mass ejections are much more likely than in previous eclipses and could just make for some really cool viewing.
But of course, with any eclipse, but this one in particular, the weather is always a factor, and unfortunately, it's not looking like it's going to cooperate in large parts of the United States along this path of totality.
Texas and Arkansas, really the weather not looking great there, but places like southern Missouri and Indianapolis and upstate New York and New England, the weather's looking pretty good there.
So as always before an eclipse, the eclipse chasers, the diehards are trying to find that best weather viewing condition so that they can see this eclipse, because again, if you don't see this one, it's going to be 20 years before you get to see something like this if you live in the United States.
Kristin Fisher, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Well, for some, the eclipse will be a few minutes of exhilaration. For others, it'll mark a new chapter in their lives. Logan Hoffman of affiliate WABI has the story of one couple making the day even more special.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LOGAN HOFFMAN, REPORTER, WABI: You're getting married during the eclipse.
HOFFMAN (voice-over): Chris Selmek says he was on a cross-country road trip when he realized he belonged in Maine with Stephanie Sennett.
CHRIS SELMEK, GETTING MARRIED DURING ECLIPSE: I proposed to Stephanie on the front porch before I even got into the house. It was the first thing I did when I got here.
STEPHANIE SENNETT, GETTING MARRIED DURING ECLIPSE: I didn't know he was going to do it right then, like right out of the car. It was cute.
HOFFMAN (voice-over): Stephanie had a stellar idea.
[04:50:00]
SENNETT: I just thought, oh, that would be such a cool day to get married.
SELMEK: I said, absolutely, we can. We can do whatever you want. And then I said, are you serious though?
HOFFMAN (voice-over): But then he thought about the once in a lifetime experience and was hooked.
SELMEK: It just felt like the biggest party in the world. How could you celebrate your wedding in a bigger way than that?
HOFFMAN (voice-over): So they got right to planning.
SELMEK: She will walk down the aisle when we hit full darkness.
HOFFMAN (voice-over): This wedding dress code requires eclipse glasses. Each guest received a pair with their invite.
SELMEK: Wow, it's dark.
HOFFMAN (voice-over): It's safe to say the couple's embracing the theme.
SENNETT: Our colors are navy blue and gold.
HOFFMAN (voice-over): With thousands expected to visit Maine for the eclipse, getting timing just right is key.
SENNETT: I keep thinking, like, what if there's so much traffic? I can't get there in the time that we want to start the ceremony.
SELMEK: I'm probably going to feel my heart pounding.
HOFFMAN (voice-over): But they both agree that the most important part of the day is starting their lives together.
SELMEK: I came up here not knowing what I would find, and I found the sweetest girl in the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Join us on Monday for the total solar eclipse as it travels from Mexico across America and into Canada. Our special coverage starts at 12 p.m. Eastern in the U.S. That's 5 p.m. in London.
Now, if you're planning a trip to the moon, you might have to adjust your watch. NASA has been tasked by the White House to create coordinated lunar time by the end of 2026. Differences in gravity make time go slightly faster on the moon by about 59 microseconds each day. But even this tiny amount can jeopardize the accuracy and safety of space missions.
This standardized time will serve as a benchmark that all space agencies and private companies can use.
Still ahead, she is the college basketball player that has everyone talking. We'll tell you about the latest accolade for Iowa's Caitlin Clark.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) FOSTER: She scored 41 points Monday night to lead her team to the NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four, and she broke the all-time Division I scoring record this season with more than 3,900 career points.
Now, Caitlin Clark has another honor to celebrate. She has been named the 2024 Naismith Women's College Player of the Year. It's the second consecutive win for the Iowa Hawkeye superstar. Clark spoke to the crowd in Ohio last night after receiving the award.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAITLIN CLARK, IOWA GUARD: Like I said, I think it's been a special year for women's basketball, so to win this award is really special. But to be back here playing with my team, I couldn't script it any better. I know some of them are here somewhere back there. I'm not really sure. Oh, right there.
Thank you for being here. I love you guys. This is just as much yours as it is mine, and my parents are here, and I love you guys to death. And, yes, I'm just very grateful and thankful, and I'll see you all on Friday night.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: One of Caitlin Clark's toughest rivals in college basketball is turning pro, meanwhile. Angel Reese, the star player for Louisiana State University, announced she'll leave the school to join the WNBA. And in an interview with Vogue, the former national champion says she's achieved everything she wanted in college sports. Her decision comes after LSU lost to Caitlin Clark in Iowa in the NCAA tournament on Monday.
ESPN says the rematch of last year's title game was the most watched women's college basketball game in history, with more than 16 million people tuning in at one point.
[04:55:03]
Now to stories in the spotlight this hour.
A fifth installment of the Matrix franchise is now in the works 25 years after the now, classic film premiered in theatres.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, the original Matrix there from 1999 starred Keanu Reeves and Lawrence Fishburne.
The film's original co-writer and co-director, Lana Wachowski, will serve as executive producer of the fifth movie. Details on the plot and casting, including whether Reeves will return as his character Neo, haven't been released though.
A band most widely known for one of its hits in the 90s is speaking up after a New Zealand politician used their song as walkout music at a convention. See if you recognize it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DUNSTAN BRUCE, LEAD SINGER, CHUMBAWAMBA: I get knocked down, but I get up again You are never gonna keep me down I get knocked down, but I get up again You are never gonna keep me down I get knocked down ...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: I'm sure you do. It is tub-thumping "I Get Knocked Down" by Chumbawamba.
CNN spoke with the group's founding member and former vocalist, Dunstan Bruce, who says the band's values and message don't align with New Zealand's controversial Deputy Prime Minister, Winston Peters. The band has asked its former record company to issue a cease and desist letter since it's not the first time Peters has used the song.
And one of the oldest known books in existence is expected to fetch several million dollars at auction. Christie's will be handling the sale of what's known as the Crosby-Shoyen Codex. It was written in Coptic on papyrus in Egypt and is thought to be the earliest Christian book of worship. The Codex was part of a collection discovered in the 1950s but carbon dating suggests it dates back to the third or fourth century, would you believe? It goes up for auction on June the 11th if you're interested.
And finally, a man has pleaded guilty to stealing an 18-carat gold toilet worth more than six million dollars. This is that toilet and believe it or not it was fully functional.
It was part of a satirical artwork installed in the house where Winston Churchill was born. It was stolen in 2019 just days after the exhibit opened. Now, 39-year-old James Sheen has pleaded guilty to charges for his part in the theft. Three other men have been charged but pleaded not guilty. No word on where the toilet is now.
Thanks for joining me here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster in London. CNN "THIS MORNING" is up next.
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