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CNN International: Biden "Increasingly Frustrated" Ahead Of Call With Netanyahu; NATO Marks 75th Anniversary In Brussels; NY Judge Denies Trump Motion To Delay Hush Money Case. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired April 04, 2024 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
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RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR Good morning or good evening, depending on where you're watching. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York.
Two world leaders under pressure, U.S. President Joe Biden plans to speak to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the first time since that deadly attack on aid workers in Gaza. NATO foreign ministers are wrapping up their meeting in Brussels as dark clouds of global instability threaten to overshadow its 75th anniversary. And how to steal $30 million in cash? Los Angeles investigating one of its biggest heist in the city's history.
Well, this morning, all eyes on the White House as President Joe Biden prepares to hold a critical call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr. Biden is expected to vent quote "outrage and frustration" after Israeli airstrikes killed seven aid workers in Gaza. Israel says that it was unintentional. But, the founder of the World Central Kitchen says that Israel, despite previously approving its route, systematically bombed its convoy car by car.
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JOSE ANDRES, WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN FOUNDER: I believe obviously Israel has and had all the right to defend their people. But, defending your people is not killing everybody else around. I've been in Gaza myself. I met -- and some of the people that die were my friends, and I served with them. Zomi is the nicest angel you will meet, a woman that has been in so many places around the world feeding people. This was a good soul.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: Now, the White House has joined international condemnation of Monday's attack. But, the world is waiting to see whether that will actually change anything on the ground.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- been no consequences thus far for any types of behavior that the President has been outraged by? KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, PRESS SECRETARY, WHITE HOUSE: We've had -- we are
having conversations with the Israeli government. We've been very clear about that. Those conversations have been tough. We've been very public about those conversations. On this particular incident, there will be an investigation. There is an investigation currently happening. The President has said he wants it to be swift. He wants it to be comprehensive, and he wants to -- there -- to see accountability.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: All right. Let's get the latest now from Priscilla Alvarez. She is in Washington. Priscilla, walk us through what we can expect from this call.
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, you can certainly expect that President Biden is going to express his outrage and anger over that incident that you were just talking about, where those World Central Kitchen employees were killed. Now, previously, when we have talked about calls between President Biden and the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, we have known about them ahead of time. They were on the books. In this case, this was a call specifically scheduled after this incident. And of course, the President making very clear in his statement this week how outraged and frustrated he was with the killing of these innocent civilians among the many others that have been killed.
And so, all of this is going to be top of mind going into this phone call between the two leaders. But, there are also going to be multiple other issues that are discussed. That includes, for example, the ramping up of humanitarian aid into Gaza, which officials say is not enough and that they need to flood the zone. Also, the ongoing hostage and ceasefire deal talks. U.S. concerns about that potential ground incursion into Rafah where there are more than a million displaced Palestinians, and also changing the way that information is shared so that aid workers can be protected as they carry out their work.
So, all of these topics and all very difficult and complicated ones are expected to come up between President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And we should remind viewers that when these two leaders get on the phone together, it's usually at critical moments or inflection points where the two often having their own teams talk to one another regularly or then jumping on a phone call to walk through some of these various challenges and get their messages across.
Now, of course, the Israeli delegation is expected to come to Washington next week for an in-person meeting. Recall that earlier this week, there was a virtual meeting between U.S. officials and Israeli officials, especially again as that looming threat of a ground incursion into Rafah is still very much there. So, this is not going to be the last conversation by any means.
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This is part of an ongoing conversation between the two countries. But, there is no doubt that the incident this week was one that fueled frustration and concern within the White House, and all of that is expected to come up during this phone call today.
SOLOMON: And Priscilla, to put a fine point on it, do we expect this to change policy at all? What's the administration saying about that?
ALVAREZ: So far, they are maintaining their policy on Israel. They still say Israel has a right to defend itself. So, even though we are hearing these frustrations and anger from the White House, their policy has not changed, and then talking about this incident, they say, as you heard there from the White House Press Secretary, that they are waiting for Israel to conduct its investigation and then going from there. So, again, even though we are talking often about the statements of outrage from the White House, their policy very much remains the same when it comes to Israel's war against Hamas.
SOLOMON: OK. Priscilla Alvarez live for us there. Priscilla, thanks so much.
Well, a new report could help explain the high civilian death toll in Gaza. +972 magazine and Local Call conducted an extensive investigation into Israel's use of artificial intelligence in the war, citing Israeli intelligence sources. They say that Israel adopted kill lists of suspected militants based on an AI tool known to have a 10 percent error rate. The report says that the targets were systematically attacked in their homes, usually at night with whole families present. One author of the report spoke to CNN.
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YUVAL ABRAHAM, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, +972 MAGAZINE: As you said, sources said that the machine would occasionally make mistakes. It would mark people who have a loose connection to Hamas or no connection at all to Hamas as potential targets, and they knew that the supervision mechanism in place would not be able to find all of these mistakes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: Now, the IDF does not dispute using artificial intelligence, but it did deny that AI was being used to identify suspected terrorists. It says that its analysts must conduct independent investigations of targets in accordance with international law.
And Israel's military is making some major moves in response to escalating tensions in the region. The Israel Defense Forces say that they are going to increase recruitment and that they are calling up reservists for air defense. The IDF also suspending leave for combat units. Now, all of this comes as Iran vows to retaliate after it accused Israel of bombing its embassy complex in Syria on Monday.
Well, this morning, we are also following the latest one, the aftermath of that massive earthquake in Taiwan, as rescue operations continue there. Officials say that the death toll has risen to 10 people with more than 1,000 injured. Hundreds more are still trapped or stranded. In some cases, damaged and tilting buildings remain a threat. Firefighters say that they've used blasting equipment and special teams to try to pull trapped people out.
And there is more dramatic video from during the earthquake. This dashcam video here showing giant boulders crashing down from a hillside onto a highway. This car was able to act quickly and get out of danger. And also, take a look at these powerful images from the moment the quake struck. You can see, medical staff here desperately trying to protect newborn babies at a center in Taipei.
We have more now from CNN's Ivan Watson who is on the ground in Taiwan.
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IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This small city of Hualien was the epicenter of Wednesday's 7.4 magnitude earthquake. And I think this building here is an example of just how frighteningly powerful this disaster was. It's a day later now and already you've got work crews ready to bring down what's left of this building. We saw videos of dramatic rescues, firemen pulling residents out of this building. Now, make no mistake, this was a deadly disaster. The death toll has been incrementally growing, more than 1,000 people injured. There are still rescues underway in the mountains around this city, where there were enormous landslides bringing down entire mountain faces.
But, take another look at Hualien, down this road. You would be hard pressed to find any other building that had significant damage. In fact, a lot of these shops and businesses are currently open right now. The city authorities say there were at least 92 buildings damaged. They're being inspected to see if they're still viable going forward into the future. But, Taiwan, and Hualien, in particular, are very experienced when it comes to earthquakes.
And I think what we're seeing here demonstrates the -- how prepared this community is, the structural integrity of these buildings. Everybody I've talked to here has said that they have lived through many, many earthquakes before, that Wednesday morning was the most frightening experience they had ever had. That said, it's very clear that this disaster, if Taiwan was not so well prepared, could have been much, much worse.
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Ivan Watson, CNN, Hualien, Taiwan.
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SOLOMON: And our thanks to Ivan there.
Well, the future of Ukraine aid is what NATO members are hoping and looking to secure as the alliance marks its 75th anniversary.
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Celebrations like this one took place throughout the day in Brussels. And America's top diplomat is on hand. He met with Ukraine's Foreign Minister a little earlier. Meanwhile, an angry Kremlin warns NATO that in its view the alliance is in quote "direct confrontation with Russia."
Let's bring in CNN's Jennifer Hansler, who joins us live with the details from Washington, D.C. Jennifer, good to have you. What can we expect out of this meeting, and what can we expect to hear from the secretary there?
JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: Well, Rahel, we don't expect a lot of concrete things to come out of this meeting because it's all working towards this big Washington summit that will happen here in the nation's capital in July. However, we expect the conversations focused a lot on that support for Ukraine, that ongoing support for Ukraine. And the other key topic was expected to be sort of the elephant in the room and that is the prospect of another Trump presidency. We have heard the former U.S. President threaten potential NATO expulsion. We have heard him suggest that they would not protect allies who were not contributing enough to their defensive spending.
So, we expect the conversations to sort of focus on how do we protect in case there are threats to the alliance. My colleague, Kylie Atwood, reported there was some discussion of a potential fund to continue supporting Ukraine. That could be worth billions of dollars. There is a proposal on the table to move this Ukraine defense contact group that is currently being led by America under the auspices of NATO. So, a lot of these ideas were expected to be discussed among these foreign ministers in Brussels to sort of safeguard the alliance against a potential new Trump presidency.
I should note that this was a significant meeting in Brussels this week, because not only was it the 75th anniversary, it was also the first time that all 32 new members were there. This comes after Sweden was finally admitted into the alliance earlier this year, after months and months of delay. So, this was also a cause for celebration for the alliance to say, hey, Putin, look at this. This was a strategic failure for you. The alliance has only grown bigger. We expect the Secretary of State to speak a little later today, and we also expect him to call on Congress to further aid Ukraine, to pass that supplemental that is sitting on the table. Speaker Johnson has suggested that will come to a vote when Congress gets back next week. Rahel.
SOLOMON: All right. Jennifer Hansler live for us there. Jennifer, thank you.
Well, coming up after the break, a big legal loss for Donald Trump. Why a New York judge shot down his request for a delay in the hush money trial? We'll be right back.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. Donald Trump's latest effort to delay his criminal hush money trial has been denied.
[11:15:00] The New York judge in the case has shut down a motion to delay the trial until after the U.S. Supreme Court rules on Trump's immunity claim. Now, the judge says that Trump's team had more than enough time to ask for delay earlier. So, the trial is expected to begin on April 15. Now, while the trial in New York appears to be full steam ahead, the Florida classified documents case, less so. The judge there is facing pressure from Special Counsel Jack Smith, who has slammed her handling of the case.
Joining us now to discuss this CNN Legal Analyst and Criminal Defense Attorney, Joey Jackson. Joey, we always good to have you and see you. So, tensions are pretty high in this Mar-a-Lago case, and part because of jury instructions that the judge has given to both sides, but a trial date hasn't even been set. So, can you explain for us what the issue here is?
JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST, & CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Absolutely. Good to be with you, Rahel. And so, what happens is first is the issue of jury instructions now because it's confusing there are so many cases. We'll take you to Mar-a-Lago. Mar-a-Lago is the case involving classified documents. Jury instructions are actually the law that the jury gets to guide them in their decision when the jury does deliberations and then they talk about guilt or innocence. Jury instructions, Rahel, are very important because they represent the law of the case. A jury is real providence. Right? Their role, their mission is to determine, what are the facts of the case? As fact finders, 12 jurors have to reach a unanimous conclusion as to guilt or innocence. In doing that, the judge instructs them as to the law, and through the jury instructions which constitute the legal instructions, which constitutes the law.
Trump's team is arguing that the President, under former President Trump, under the Presidential Records Act, could, if he wished to, have taken those documents and made them personal in nature. That really contravenes, is against the Presidential Records Act because presidential records are public, not private. Moreover, the Special Counsel is saying, judge, what are you speaking of? This is trial about the Espionage Act relating to classified documents. It has nothing to do with the Presidential Records Act. So, why are we even talking about it?
Furthermore, the issue in concern, Mar-a-Lago, happened two years after Trump was President. Yet and still the judge wants jury instructions to be fashioned by both parties. There is no trial date. There is no jury, and which one of the instructions would be, if the jury concludes that these classified documents were personal in nature, then there would be nothing to see here and it would lead to a quick dismissal, acquittal of the President. And so, the Special Counsel is very concerned about the judge misconstruing the law and even entertaining the notion that this could be considered the case under the Presidential Records Act, not this case, right, when it really deals with the Espionage Act, as we look at all the classified documents and boxes, and that's what all the argumentation is about in the case.
And they really feel the Special Counsel, Rahel, that the judge has a clear bias towards Trump, is delaying this matter, is not making decision, and when she makes decisions, were making them in his favor, and they have just had enough. And that's what we saw really manifested in the Special Counsel's motion in which he expressed all of this frustration.
SOLOMON: Yeah. And that was pretty clear in some of his language that was used. And I want to read for you, Joey, something that Trump posted on Truth Social this morning that the Special Counsel Jack Smith, quoting here now "should be sanctioned or censured for the way he is attacking a highly respected Judge, Aileen Cannon, who is presiding over his FAKE Documents Hoax case in Florida." Joey, beyond this being ironic, considering that Trump often attacks judges, do you see or did you see anything problematic or improper in Jack Smith's filing?
JACKSON: So, the answer is to Jack Smith filing is, no. It comports with the law. It comports with legal standards, and it comports with his concern, which is a fair one of, why are we entertaining something like this? That something being these jury instructions, and the judge even suggesting that they could be personalized by the President when we're talking about an entirely separate statute. So, I don't see that as a law. And so, I don't see how this attack would be appropriate from a legal perspective.
Now, remember, Rahel, there is an election. And as a result of that election, of course, the President is going to create this narrative that everyone is out to get me. The Special Counsel is wrong. I'm right. The judge should be respected because he is on my side and doing things I wanted to do. And as a result of that, I am the one under attack. It's a terrible system. Everyone is out to get me, elect me President, and I'll end this weaponization of the Department of Justice. That's the President's narrative.
SOLOMON: Yeah, legal and political, obviously very different arenas here. CNN legal analyst, Joey Jackson, good to see you. Thank you, Joey.
All right. Let's continue this conversation and bring in our political panel.
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CNN Senior Political Commentator Scott Jennings, who joins me from California. He served as Special Assistant to then-President George W. Bush. And Maria Cardona. She is in Washington. She is a CNN Political Commentator and Democratic Strategist. Good to have you both.
Scott, let me start with you. A setback for Trump in New York City with this hush money case, at least right now, it appears to be moving forward. How does this change things for him, if at all politically?
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, & FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO GEORGE W. BUSH: Well, that case plus the January 6 case, to me, look like the most likely to produce a conviction before the election. The documents case, I mean, it feels like it's going to get pushed out. So, now the question is, will voters hold a conviction in New York against him? I've been dubious, although it won't be a good day of headlines for him if he is convicted of criminal counts in New York. To me, the more consequential case is the January 6 case. We're still waiting on the Supreme Court to rule on his presidential immunity claims. But, if that were to go to trial sometime mid to late summer, and he were convicted there, I've always believed there is a cohort of voters who would simply not want to associate their franchise, their vote with a convicted felon.
So, his strategy to delay all these trials past the election is warranted if you believe that a conviction would actually shake a few people out of his tree.
SOLOMON: Maria, what are your thoughts? I mean, at least on the hush money case, as Scott --
MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, & DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Yeah.
SOLOMON: -- pointed out, there is a huge question mark over some of these other cases in terms of whether they go to trial before November. But, is this a game changer, the fact that he could have to sit before a jury as early as a few weeks from now? Does this change things?
CARDONA: I certainly think it could be, Rahel, and the proof in that is how desperately he is trying to delay it and how upset, I'm sure, he is that the fact that it has not been delayed. And I concur with Scott that a conviction in general could keep some people from voting for him. I think that people will talk about the nature of the conviction, given the nature of the trial. But, CNN has had some polling that has said that if there is a conviction in a court of law against Donald Trump, that there will be significant drop off of support within his own base. And so, I think that's why you're seeing the desperation within the Donald Trump camp of trying to delay every single one of these trials until after the election.
Now, politically, for the Biden campaign, this doesn't really change anything, because they have never and they should not ever count on any conviction or a court session with Trump as being part of their political strategy. But, it certainly underscores the talking point about how unfit for office he is and it reminds voters they don't have to do it. Just the headlines every day reminds voters just how much legal trouble he is in, and for independents and suburban voters, that is not a good luck for him.
SOLOMON: Scott, I hear you say that a conviction could perhaps turn off some voters. What about language like this? I want to read for you just some of what Trump said about Jack Smith this morning on Truth Social. He called him "deranged". He called him a "low life". He said he is nasty, rude, condescending. Does that worry you as a Republican that language like that could turn off independents, could turn off moderates?
JENNINGS: I mean, we've been hearing this kind of language about Donald Trump's perceived political opponents for seven years. My view is, if you haven't jumped out of the boat over these kinds of tweets, or I guess X's posts, whatever now, if you haven't jumped out of the boat over this kind of language, you're not jumping out. OK? This kind of post, I mean, it's like a five out of 10 on the incendiary scale. So, no, I'm not worried about it.
I think at this point, every voter, people who love him, people who hate him, know who Donald Trump is. They know how he speaks, and some people love it and some people hate it. And I don't think someone is going to wake up today and said that was the last straw, because if that's your attitude, you would have -- that would have happened like six years ago.
SOLOMON: That's a good point, Scott.
Maria, let me switch gears and turn to Gaza. President Biden is scheduled to speak with Netanyahu today. It is expected to be perhaps a tense call. But, the administration also saying there are no plans to change U.S. policy. Celebrity chef Jose Andres whose -- of course, it was his aid group where those seven workers were killed in the strike. He spoke to CNN yesterday, and here is what he said.
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ANDRES: I just spoke to President Biden yesterday. President Biden made the statement which seems it's already a harder stand, but it's very complicated to understand that we are going to be sending -- America is going to be sending its Navy and its military to do humanitarian work, when at the same time weapons provided by America, not to defend Israel itself from missile attacks, but use weapons that are killing civilians in this moment.
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SOLOMON: Maria, your reaction to that, and how much you think voters are struggling with that same lack of understanding what they hear versus what is happening.
CARDONA: Yeah. Rahel, there is no question that this is one, not just one of the biggest challenges that's facing the Biden White House and frankly the Biden campaign, but it is such a heart-wrenching issue. And in full disclosure, I knew one of the aid workers that was killed. My husband was very, very close to her. She has been on -- he has been on our air talking about her. So, it has been gut-wrenching for us as it has been for so many who are seeing the ravages and the images.
And so, what I say is that this White House does have a big challenge, and part of how they are going to be living that challenge is today in that call with Netanyahu. I am told that it is going to be very tough. It is going to be very stern. And look, publicly, they are saying right now that nothing has changed. But, I suspect, Rahel, if these images continue, the horrific hospital that was bombed that you all have been covering this so incredibly well, as you should, and the outcry on the international stage about what is going on and how Israel has been so indiscriminate in their prosecution of this war, that's going to have to change.
And so, the Biden administration have to use every tool within their disposal to get Israel to change course. And so, we'll see. Today, plans haven't changed, but that doesn't mean that they won't change tomorrow, next week or three months from now.
SOLOMON: Scott, speaking of plans changing, let me ask, Trump says that he will make an announcement on abortion next week. I'm curious what you think he can say to try to thread this needle. I mean, certainly coming out of Florida with these rulings, putting abortion literally on the ballot box in November, what does he say? What do you think?
JENNINGS: Well, he has already started to lay out publicly in dribs and drabs over time what I think is kind of the outline of a pretty simple position, it's the old Ronald Reagan position, that he is pro- life, that he believes in the three exceptions, rape, incest and life of the mother, that he strongly supports in vitro fertilization, and that he thinks some kind of a reasonable limit on abortion, between 15 and 20 weeks, could be his position.
Now, I don't speak for him. I don't know what he is going to do. But, he said that in interviews and in various formats over the last few months. If he lays that out as his position, that's a very reasonable and defensible political position. I think most Americans could support it. And I think it's perfectly fine for him to carry that into a general election.
SOLOMON: Maria, if he does say something like that, though, does he risk losing his more conservative, evangelical base? I mean, this is an issue more broadly --
CARDONA: Yeah.
SOLOMON: -- that you see Biden actually polls better than Trump on.
CARDONA: Yeah. I do think that is a risk. But, the other problem with what he might say, if it's what Scott says, is that he has really no credibility on it, because he has said many times bragging about how he is so proud that he is responsible for overturning Roe v. Wade. He is the one who put in the three judges that resulted in the Supreme Court decision. And so, that is what Democrats are going to be using, not just against him, but against Republicans. And so, whatever he talks about, whether it is 15 weeks or 16 weeks, a ban is a ban is a band to women.
And the problem with how Republicans talk about this is that they don't understand that every single woman who is in a situation where she might need an abortion is different. You cannot legislate the kind of healthcare that every woman might need because every situation is different. It's tragic and it's different. And this is what Republicans do not understand. And so, again, if he says that, this is going to continue to be political kryptonite for him and for Republicans all across the board who just want draconian decisions on this and to keep women from having the power to make decisions about their own bodies. SOLOMON: Well, we certainly will wait to see what the official message and language is. Scott Jennings, Maria Cardona, good to see you both. Thank you.
CARDONA: Thanks, Rahel.
SOLOMON: Yeah.
JENNINGS: Thanks.
SOLOMON: Well, coming up next, the chaos and the confusion in Kabul during the 2021 U.S. withdrawal. Coming up, exclusive CNN reporting on what some State Department officials on the ground said that they were trying to do during the evacuations and new details, when we return.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York.
And here are some of the international headlines we're watching for you today. At least four people are dead after the latest Russian attack on Ukraine's second largest city. Drones reportedly struck residential buildings and a power plant in Kharkiv early Thursday, knocking out electricity to hundreds of thousands of people. Officials say that at least 10 people were hurt.
The President of Zimbabwe has declared a national disaster over an ongoing drought. He says that the devastating dry spell linked to the climate event, known as El Nino, means that nearly three million people will go hungry. It's just one of the countries across southern Africa experiencing a drought.
And today, new details, an exclusive CNN reporting about the U.S. evacuation of Afghanistan confirmed the chaotic situation around the Kabul airport. Closed-door testimony from three top State Department officials giving insight into how there was no time to prepare and no evacuation plan in place. The officials who rushed in after the Taliban took over, said that they initially and essentially created the withdrawal plan from scratch. Now, this exclusive CNN reporting was done by CNN State Department Producer Jennifer Hansler, as well as Security Correspondent Kylie Atwood, who joins us live from Washington.
Kylie, good to have you. What more can you tell us about this investigation? Obviously, we all remember that day really well, the photos. It was quite a scramble. What else have you learned?
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. It was quite a scramble publicly. And we were reporting on what was happening behind the scenes. And now, what we have are these State Department officials on the record, describing just how challenging the situation was for them on the ground in Afghanistan. These three officials that gave transcribed interviews talked about the fact that they were really rushed into this chaotic scene. One of them had been working at a posting in Turkey. Another one had been working on arctic issues. And another one was asked to go to Kabul and departed eight to 10 hours later.
And what they found when they got there was that there was really no operational plan for them to be following, although other State Department officials say that, NEO, which is a noncombatant evacuation plan, had been worked on by the State Department in the lead up to this evacuation. Essentially, what these diplomats told these investigators on the Hill is that they were just making it up on the fly because there was really no plan that had been laid out for them that would have effectively been useful in this troubling situation.
James DeHart, who is one of the State Department officials, I want to read to a part of his transcribed interview. He was asked quote, "Were you executing off a specific plan? He responded by saying, "I would say not really. We had to, I would say, create from scratch tactical operations that would get our priority people into the airport."
[11:35:00]
He then added that there were -- they were roughly as effective as they could be under the circumstances. But, of course, painting a picture of just how challenging it was. And one of the things they really get into is the challenges that they faced with the Taliban, who were effectively the ones who were in control of that chaos outside of the airport gates.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Really, really stunning developments, Kylie. Give us a sense -- I mean, is the investigation now complete? What happens now?
ATWOOD: Yeah. So, what is worth noting here, is that it is the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee who is leading this investigation. He started the investigation more than two years ago and it is still ongoing. What the Committee is going to do is come up with a report later this year that synthesizes all of the interviews that they've done. They're still going through some documents that they've received from the State Department. And Biden administration officials are very cognizant of the fact that there is a political motive here for the Republicans, because obviously, the Afghanistan withdrawal was a very dark mark on President Biden's foreign policy legacy, and these Republicans clearly want to bring this issue to the fore as Americans head to the polls closer to November as they're picking between Biden or Trump.
SOLOMON: OK. Kylie Atwood at the U.S. State Department. Kylie, thanks so much.
All right. Still ahead for us, police in California are investigating a multi-million dollar cash heist. The latest on the search for suspects coming up in a live report. Plus, an insider trading scandal is rocking Donald Trump's social media platform. We'll have the latest here.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. Trading is often running on Wall Street today. Let's take a live look at the major U.S. indexes, which we'll pull up for you in a moment.
In the meantime, I want to bring in Josh Campbell, as the city of Los Angeles is apparently investigating one of the largest cash heist in its history. Josh, how did this all go down? What happened here?
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Rahel. This sounds like it could be straight out of a screenplay written here in Hollywood, but this brazen heist is real. A law enforcement source tells me that both the FBI and the Los Angeles Police Department are now investigating after nearly $30 million was stolen from a money storage facility. This happened north of Los Angeles in the neighborhood of Sylmar, California. Now, I'm told that this actually occurred on Easter Sunday in the evening, but was not discovered until the next day.
Now, a source tells us that at this hour this investigation is continuing. They're particularly concerned by the fact that this group was able to make its way into this money storage facility without tripping off any alarms and able to get inside the vault and take away as much, again, as $30 million. One area of focus right now for investigators, I'm told, is whether this group had some type of inside knowledge into the operations of this facility.
[11:40:00]
Again, we're talking about a guarded facility with a vault inside. Nevertheless, this group able to make their way inside and carry out all of this cash. Now, the investigation continues. I'm told that they're also scanning the area for any type of surveillance footage that they can obtain in order to try to determine the route of travel of these burglars, both as they came to this money facility and then, obviously, as they fled. This has been described as one of the biggest cash heist in LA City history. There was another heist back in 1997, where a group of thieves took nearly $20 million. They were eventually arrested. But, at this hour, no information on authorities on whether they know who this group is, where they are located, but certainly a very brazen heist taking place here in LA, Rahel.
SOLOMON: Yeah. As you said, it's like something out of an action movie. Josh --
CAMPBELL: Yeah.
SOLOMON: -- the FBI being involved. Is that because of the amount? Is that sort of -- talk to us about why the FBI is involved here?
CAMPBELL: Yeah. So, the FBI works with LAPD. The FBI, obviously, investigates federal violations of crimes, and when we're talking about that amount of currency, U.S. federal currency, the FBI would get involved. And there is also a question about whether there is any type of interstate nexus to this. So, we've seen in the past, when you have these large scale robberies, a group may come in from out of state and then flee to go to another state. That, obviously, within the FBI's jurisdiction. We're told right now an all hands on deck operation happening behind the scenes right now between a host of law enforcement agencies trying to not only attack where this group is, but how they actually made their way inside.
SOLOMON: Yeah. So many questions. Josh Campbell live for us in LA. Josh, thanks so much. Keep us posted.
CAMPBELL: You bet. Yeah.
SOLOMON: All right. Speaking of money, trading is off and running on Wall Street today. Here is a live look at the major U.S. indexes, all green across the board, the Dow Jones up about half a percent but still off of that 40,000 mark. Trading closer to about 39,305 points. The NASDAQ up almost a full percentage point. Taking a look at markets overseas, you can see European markets are mixed. And here is the action in the Asia-Pacific, where markets are also mixed.
Well, Donald Trump's social media business is coming under scrutiny after two investors pleaded guilty to insider trading.
Tom Foreman looks at Trump's -- Trump media's roller coaster ride on the markets and the newest controversy now surrounding it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (R) AND CURRENT U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (R): Too big to rig.
(CROWD CHANTING)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A sizzling insider trading scandal is rocking the business deal that brought Donald Trump's Truth Social to the public market with billions at stake. Simply put, two players in a company that helped Trump strike that deal pleaded guilty to securities fraud, admitting they illegally used secret information to make millions for themselves and some friends, even as the stock's value for regular investors has soared and sunk by the day.
Dan Alexander focuses on Trump's businesses for Forbes.
DAN ALEXANDER, SENIOR EDITOR, FORBES: What you have is arguably the most hyped up wildly trading new stock that we've seen in a heck of a long time.
TRUMP: We must Make America Pray Again.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Although Trump relies heavily on Truth Social for selling Bibles, settling scores and pushing the politics of revenge, in terms of users, his social media venture has been an internet backwater compared to the giants, with fewer than a half million people using it each month. Trump's personal worth dropped by a billion dollars earlier this week after a regulatory filing revealed Truth Social lost more than $58 million last year. So, who is backing this new stock? Analysts say it's not savvy investors, but largely mom and pop Trump supporters.
JEFF TOMASULO, CEO, VESPULA CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: People are -- who really want to help Donald Trump out and believe in Donald Trump and believe in his vision.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Trump has gone to court, trying to push out two early partners in this venture, former contestants from his reality show "The Apprentice."
(VIDEO PLAYING)
FOREMAN (voice-over): If he wins, that could increase his share of any dividends. But, he'll still have to wait about a half year before he can lay his hands on any of the theoretical billions the company is currently worth.
ALEXANDER: If you value this business like a typical business right now, you'd be looking closer to the 100 million dollar figure than you are in any of these billion dollar figures.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: All right. To Baltimore now where a construction company that lost six workers in last week's bridge collapse has set up a fund to help their families. Brawner Builders says that it has created a GoFundMe account for outside donations which will go to family members. The company also says that it's providing them with financial and emotional support and counseling.
Meantime, a CNN investigation has found a number of other U.S. bridges could be at risk of collapsing if they are 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.
[11:45:00]
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION 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 Kent Island. A CNN investigation finds that it too could be vulnerable to the same kind of disaster that took down Baltimore's Key Bridge.
FRANK CARVER, BOAT CAPTAIN: 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.
CARVER: Sometimes, we do at least four times a day, if not sometimes 10 times 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, UNIV. 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: I think 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 long 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: Don't hold the light. Sometimes (inaudible) realize whatever happened all that that happened. Now you can see it has opened up so many more vulnerabilities all around.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: All right. And still ahead, Monday's total solar eclipse is getting closer, and millions of people are traveling just to watch it, and think of all the money they plan to spend and they will spend. Coming up, what economists are expecting from the eclipse? We'll be right back.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. Eclipse mania is well underway with a rare event now just days away. And all of the buzz has also meant some big bucks for some communities in the United States. Some economists believe that the U.S. economy could see a boost of up to $1 billion.
[11:50:00]
The total solar eclipse is expected to attract millions of spectators, all hoping to catch a glimpse of what's been called a once-in-a- generation event.
For more on this, let's bring in Professor Gregory Ramshaw. He is a professor in the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management at Clemson University. He joins us from Clemson, South Carolina. Professor, good to have you.
GREGORY RAMSHAW, PROF., CLEMSON UNIV. DEPT. OF PARKS, RECREATION & TOURISM MGMT.: Thank you so much for having me.
SOLOMON: So, a billion dollars, I've seen estimates even higher than that. Does that surprise you at all, or does that track?
RAMSHAW: It doesn't surprise me at all. When you have these very rare events that folks may experience once in their lifetime, hopefully more than that, you can imagine that people are going to want to travel for that, not only for their own interests, but to share it with family and friends, to go to communities that are hosting eclipse festivals, and also to be with communities of like-minded individuals, whether they're interested in the science of the eclipse, or even it's more of the cultural dimensions of the eclipse. You can imagine that this is not just an individual event, but it's a community event, and people want to share it with others. So, I can -- absolutely. It's not doesn't surprise me that the folks are going to travel for this.
SOLOMON: And help us understand all that this will entail. I mean, I've seen porta-potty businesses, sort of portable toilets, sort of seeing a really nice boost, certainly the merchandise that goes along with the eclipse, the hotels. Well, what all does this encompass?
RAMSHAW: Well, I think for a lot of communities, they're going to be hosting visitors, maybe in ways that they hadn't necessarily before. So, they're going to have to plan for that. And, I pity the poor community, who is in the eclipse line that's -- that hasn't planned for it. So, you can imagine, communities are planning on seeing a lot of visitors here and they need facilities. They need places to go to the restroom. They need to dine at places. So, I'm glad that a lot of destinations are really planning for this, and it's -- it can be a real economic boon, particularly so early in the leisure tourism season.
SOLOMON: Yeah. And it's also happening on a Monday, which I imagine isn't normally a really busy time for hotels and for restaurants. So, 15 states, professor, in the path of totality that will see this. Millions of people expected to attend. The 15 states, obviously, will touch on some large cities. But, what about the smaller, more rural communities who perhaps are not built in terms of the infrastructure for such crowds, but also just maybe haven't had that experience? Does this create any challenges for those communities?
RAMSHAW: I think it certainly can. In any tourism community or anytime when tourists come to a community, there is going to be shared spaces, particularly things like roads. So, that can be a bit of a challenge to navigate. But, I think for many rural communities, this will actually be a real benefit. Many will see tourism, that they otherwise probably wouldn't have seen, or maybe have seen it earlier in the season. You don't have a lot of tourism in many communities before the summer months.
And I think the other thing is, well, people are going to journey to these communities that they wouldn't have thought of before or maybe hadn't considered visiting before. Hopefully, they have a wonderful time. Hopefully, all the facilities are up to spec, and they'll tell other people about it, share on social media. And obviously, these communities will have really shareable types of events at the time when the eclipse happens that they can use in their marketing and promotion for many years to come.
SOLOMON: Yeah. I've seen some people even say that they booked their hotels well, well in advance. Some people say they've been planning for this for years which -- I have a hard enough time planning for my next week, let alone what I'm going to be doing in years. But, that's a conversation for another day. Professor, let me ask, what are your eclipse plans? How are you planning to watch the event?
RAMSHAW: Well, unfortunately, here in South Carolina, we had a wonderful experience with the eclipse in 2017. And so, that was a wonderful experience for us here. We're in a partial eclipse in South Carolina on Monday. Unfortunately, we're in the midst of the end of the academic term. So, about the time of the eclipse, I'll be picking up my son at the -- at his school, and hopefully, we'll both get a chance to experience that as well.
SOLOMON: Yeah. For those of us who won't be in the path of totality, I will be in a studio. So, I won't be watching it live as well. But, hopefully, we'll see the pictures and we'll still be able to enjoy, even if it is virtually or remotely. Professor Gregory Ramshaw, good to have you today. Thank you.
RAMSHAW: Thank you so much for having me.
SOLOMON: And a programming note, as I just teased there, join us next Monday for the total solar eclipse as it travels from Mexico across the U.S. and into Canada.
[11:55:00]
Experience the total eclipse from numerous locations along with plenty of science and excitement along the way with myself, Bill Weir and Richard Quest. Our special coverage starts at 12 p.m. Eastern. I hope to see you there. And one more thing before we go, she is the college basketball player
that has everyone talking, Caitlin Clark scoring 41 points Monday night to lead her team to the NCAA women's basketball Final Four, and she broke the all-time Division One scoring record this season with more than 3,900 career points. And she now has another honor to celebrate. She has been named the 2024 Naismith Women's College Player of the Year. It is the second consecutive wins for the Iowa Hawkeyes superstar. Congrats to her.
And 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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