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Sunday Is Six-Month Anniversary Of Hamas Attack On Israel; Israel Opening New Crossing To Allow In Aid; Ecuadorian Police Forcibly Entered Mexico's Embassy; Total Eclipse Of The Sun On Monday; New Jersey's Strongest Earthquake In 240 Years Measured 4.8; Stronger Than Expected Jobs Report; U.S. President Joe Biden Visits Site Of Key Bridge Disaster; Iowa Advances To National Title Game. Aired 5-6a ET
Aired April 06, 2024 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Anna Coren, live from Hong Kong.
Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM:
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This tragic mistake could and should have been prevented. The strike on the aid vehicles is a grave mistake.
COREN (voice-over): The Israeli military sharing its damning preliminary report on the killing of seven World Central Kitchen workers. We will look at what answers the report provided and what questions remain.
Plus the countdown to Monday's solar eclipse is gearing up with all eyes on the sky. We will look at why one particular group plans to head indoors for the big event.
And she's done it again. Caitlin Clark advances the Iowa Hawkeyes to the NCAA's national championship game for a second straight season. "CNN SPORT's" Andy Scholes joins me live to break down March Madness.
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COREN: Well, tomorrow will mark six months since the attack by Hamas that led to Israel's war in Gaza. In that time, Gaza's ministry of health says more than 33,000 people have been killed.
Gaza's infrastructure and largest hospital have been destroyed and now more than 1 million Palestinians have taken refuge in the southern town of Rafah.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is warning Iran not to use Israel strike on Tehran's diplomatic mission in Damascus on Monday as a reason to attack U.S. personnel and facilities. The U.S. State Department says the warning is a response to a message from Iran.
Iran says it warned the U.S., quote, "not to get dragged into Netanyahu's trap," end quote.
The World Central Kitchen is calling for an independent investigation into the Israeli strike that killed seven of its workers. The IDF released a report on Friday, saying errors in decision-making led to the strike.
And the Norwegian Refugee Council says aid flowing into Gaza for new crossings offer a glimmer of hope. Israel has approved a plan to allow aid to flow through the Erez crossing and to the Israeli port of Ashdod. Israeli officials tell CNN that will happen tomorrow.
Well, CNN has a team of reporters covering all the latest. CNN's Nada Bashir is in London and CNN's diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is in Jerusalem. But we begin with MJ Lee at the White House on the Iran threats.
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MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: CNN is learning that the U.S. is currently on a high alert and actively preparing for a significant attack by Iran that could come as soon as within the next week.
This attack would be in response to the Israeli airstrike this week in Damascus that killed multiple top commanders in Iran. U.S. and Israeli officials are saying that this attack by Iran is basically inevitable and that the two governments have been working together furiously to prepare for such a scenario.
Though, even as of Friday, officials are not entirely clear on exactly when and how Iran would carry out this attack.
We're also told that, after that Damascus airstrike by the Israelis that took out those Iranian officials, Iran actually sent a message to the U.S., blaming the U.S. for that attack.
And that the U.S.' response was to say that the U.S. had no involvement in the attack, didn't know about the attack ahead of time and that the U.S. also warned Iran against coming after U.S. personnel and U.S. assets, an exchange that certainly highlights how volatile this current situation is -- MJ Lee, CNN, at the White House
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COREN: The charity World Central Kitchen is reacting to Israel's investigation into the drone strike that killed seven of its aid workers. The deaths prompted the organization to withdraw from Gaza for the time being. CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is in Jerusalem with more on the IDF report and the fallout.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): The IDF's timeline, a catalog of errors unfolding over 45 minutes, misidentification of the vehicles, misclassification of the event.
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Culminating in the deadly strikes at 11:09 pm, 11:11 and 11:13 Monday night.
READ ADM. DANIEL HAGARI, IDF SPOKESMAN: This operational misidentification and misclassification was the result of internal failures.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): This, the IDF's first public report explaining why they killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, admitting a grave mistake.
HAGARI: The soldiers conducted the strike without any awareness that these were, in fact, WCK vehicles. At the time, they were certain that they were targeting Hamas.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): The investigation found that the forces identified a gunman on one of the aid trucks, following which they identified an additional gunman. After the vehicles left the warehouse where the aid had been unloaded, one of the commanders mistakenly assumed that the gunman were located inside the accompanying vehicles.
In a separate briefing, adding more detail and specificity to the public report, the IDF told journalists that they had misidentified, something slung over the shoulder of one of the passengers, mistakenly thinking it was a weapon.
On closer examination, they discovered it was a bag. They also described in harrowing detail how the aid workers had fled from the first vehicle when it was hit to another vehicle, only to be killed seconds later.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): World Central Kitchen have described the report as cold comfort for the outrageous killing of their staff, whom they say the IDF acknowledges followed all proper communications procedures. Adding video, the IDF showed them fails to show any cause to fire on our personnel.
The United States withholding judgment on the report.
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We're reviewing it very carefully. We'll be discussing its conclusions with Israeli officials and with humanitarian organizations in the days to come. It's very important that Israel is taking full responsibility for this incident.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Two commanders fired, a major and a reserve colonel. Three others disciplined, triggering pushback from hardline ministers and pushback from the U.N. secretary-general.
ANTONIO GUTERRES, UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL: The essential problem is not who made the mistakes. Fixing those failures requires independent investigations and meaningful and measurable changes on the ground.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Nic Robertson, CNN, Jerusalem.
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COREN: CNN's Nada Bashir joins us now with more on the situation.
And Nada, in the wake of this strike on those humanitarian workers and after a very tense conversation between Biden and Netanyahu, Israel is finally opening up crossings into Gaza to get this humanitarian aid into the territory.
How soon will it arrive?
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, according to Israeli authorities, we are expecting the Erez crossing to see its first shipment of aid coming in tomorrow. It remains to be seen how quickly this aid can actually get to those most in need.
As we know, much of northern and central Gaza has been completely destroyed logistically. This poses a huge challenge when it comes to transporting aid in and around northern and central Gaza.
And of course, amongst aid organizations, there are huge security concerns, particularly in light of the killing of those seven World Central Kitchen aid workers as they were leaving Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.
Of course, the hope is that this will provide some respite. There has been growing calls for further land crossings to be opened up. We've seen, of course, the establishment of a maritime corridor. We've seen airdrops of aid.
But the repeated message that we've been hearing from aid organizations and world leaders, is that we need more land crossings. This is the most efficient and effective way of getting humanitarian supplies in to Gaza.
But of course, it remains needs to be seen how successful this will be. We heard from the U.S. secretary of state, Antony Blinken, saying that the test will be in how quickly this can get to those most in need. Take a listen.
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ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: These are positive developments but the real test is results and that's what we are looking to see in the coming days and in the coming weeks.
Is the aid effectively reaching people who need it throughout Gaza?
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BASHIR: We heard from the E.U. foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, he has said that this simply isn't enough to alleviate the starvation that people in Gaza are facing. The majority of those in northern Gaza are already facing starvation. There are fears that Gaza will be pushed deeper into famine. [05:10:02]
Of course, the killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers by an Israeli strike has stoked fear amongst many humanitarian organizations.
COREN: Nada Bashir in London. Many thanks.
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COREN: At least six people are dead after a new Russian missile strike on Ukraine's second largest city. Well, that's according to Ukrainian police, who say 11 others were injured in Kharkiv this morning.
The attack damaged apartment buildings and caused at least one fire. That came a day after Russia launched a so-called double-tap strike on Zaporizhzhya, killing at least three people.
Ukraine says one wave of attacks drew first responders to the scene before they were hit by a second wave 40 minutes later; 19 people were injured, including two Ukrainian journalists. There's no word yet if first responders are among the victims.
Ukraine has reportedly launched its own back-to-back strikes, targeting Russian airfields. Ukrainian sources say the attacks went after military airports in Russia's Saratov and Krasnodar regions on Friday, which came on the heels of similar strikes on an airfield in the Rostov region.
One source told CNN at least six Russian fighter jets were destroyed and about 20 service members killed or wounded. We cannot independently confirm those claims. Russia says it shot down dozens of Ukrainian drones in those regions but it's not saying anything about the airfields.
Mexico says it's breaking diplomatic relations with Ecuador. This comes after police in the capital, Quito, entered the Mexican embassy and arrested Ecuador's former vice president. Mexico says he was a refugee and seeking asylum.
Ecuador says the former vice president had been sentenced to prison. Mexico says it's immediately removing all diplomatic personnel from Ecuador. Journalist David Shortell has more from Mexico City.
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DAVID SHORTELL, JOURNALIST: An extraordinary break between two important Latin American countries, Mexico and Ecuador ending their diplomatic relations today, following some tense few moments in Quito.
You see on video Ecuadorian police raiding the Mexican embassy there, where Jorje Glass, the former vice president of Ecuador, had been sheltering since December and asking Mexico for political asylum.
He had been under investigation for misuse of public funds related to how he appropriated some government spending around the earthquake rebuild in 2016.
Ecuadorian police moving in and arresting him last Friday evening quite dramatically, with guns out. Some police officers scaling the embassy walls.
After that very tense few moments of Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador coming out in a statement, calling it in authoritarian act and saying that he would be rupturing, breaking relations with Ecuador effective immediately.
Now we understand that to mean that Mexico will be pulling all of its diplomatic personnel from Ecuador, bringing them back to Mexico. I want to play for you some sound from a senior official at the Mexican embassy down in Quito.
This is actually the man who you can see in the video, being dragged to the ground by Ecuadorian police. Our CNN en Espanol correspondent caught up with him shortly after that exchange. Take a listen.
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ROBERTO CANSECO, HEAD OF CHANCELLERY AND POLICY AFFAIRS, MEXICAN EMBASSY (through translator): What you have just seen is an outrage against international law. And the unveil ability of the Mexican embassy in Ecuador.
Totally unacceptable. This cannot be. It's barbarism. It is impossible for them to violate the diplomatic premises as they have done.
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SHORTELL: Now this seismic break in relations following some very tense few days between Mexico and Ecuador. On Wednesday, Mexico's president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador taking a shot at Ecuador in a news conference, questioning really the validity of their recent election that just happened a few months ago.
Later that week, Ecuador's president firing right back, declaring Mexico's ambassador in the country persona non grata, which essentially means that they would have to leave the country in short order.
Earlier on Friday, Mexico made an announcement. They said they would in fact be granting political asylum to Jorge Glass, this former vice president. And that's what preceded this extraordinary raid at the embassy that we are all now watching this video of.
Of course, this is a very, very significant development, not just between the two countries but for the broader region. Ecuador of course, has been going through a very tumultuous period. They have some drug cartels that have really exploded with violence in recent months.
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That crime rising steeply in recent months in that country. And concerns in the U.S. that immigration could increase out of Ecuador toward the U.S. southern border. Mexico, of course, the country that really controls the flow of migrants to the U.S. south.
So if Mexico and Ecuador are not getting along, that is something that's going to cause concern for the White House. President Biden has relied on Mexico's president to stem the flow of immigration.
This is a serious issue that is going to have lasting repercussions -- David Shortell, Mexico City.
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COREN: We're just two days away from Monday's rare total solar eclipse across North America. See how people across the U.S. are preparing after the break.
And it wasn't a big one but an earthquake did rock the northeastern United States on Friday. We'll bring you details on one of the strongest quakes to hit the region in many years.
And it's been more than 10 days since the Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, killing six construction workers. And the tragedy is raising awareness of the dangers of work in the industry and the people who put themselves at risk to do it.
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COREN: Only two more days until the highly anticipated total solar eclipse. On Monday, the eclipse's path of totality will cross North America. But millions of Americans may find their view of the sky-high spectacle obstructed. Aside from New England, patches of completely clear skies will be few and far between the path of totality.
It's some bad news for eclipse chasers heading to the Southern Plains. Severe storms are forecast across parts of Texas and Arkansas. They'll likely come after the eclipse but could cause a hazard to travelers.
With eclipse mania well underway, our Kristin Fisher spoke to people across the U.S. on how they plan to mark the big day.
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DR. HAKEEM OLUSEYI, ASTROPHYSICIST: It's the most amazing terrestrial thing I've ever seen.
KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi is one of the diehards, an eclipse hunter and astrophysicist who's hoping to see his sixth total solar eclipse on Monday.
FISHER: What makes an eclipse so special?
OLUSEYI: Yes. You don't have to ask that question if you see it, right?
It's -- you know, it's like bringing space and the cosmos to your lap. This is when you know, hey, I live in a solar system that's in a galaxy. It's surreal.
FISHER (voice-over): A total solar eclipse happens when the moon moves in between the sun and the earth, aligning so perfectly that it completely blocks the face of the sun.
OLUSEYI: And now, the corona, which is a billion times dimmer, becomes visible. It just appears.
FISHER: This is the moment of totality?
OLUSEYI: This is the moment of totality. Totality this time is a long totality. It's about twice as long as the 2017 total solar eclipse.
FISHER: Oh, wow.
OLUSEYI: This is a four-minute totality, that is --
FISHER (voice-over): Nearly 32 million people in the United States, from Texas to Maine, live within the path of totality. Millions more will be traveling to get there. And roughly 450 couples will be getting married during totality at two mass wedding events, "Elope at the Eclipse" in Arkansas and Ohio.
JENNY HARRIS, BRIDE-TO-BE: We wanted to -- like, again, we wanted to do something unique but we didn't necessarily need to be up front and center. And it's something that will bond everyone who does it that day together forever.
FISHER: What is it about an eclipse that makes it kind of romantic?
CARLOTTA COX, BRIDE-TO-BE: There's a story about the sun and the moon. And like when they fell in love and then when they finally kissed, that's when the solar eclipse happened.
FISHER (voice-over): A cosmic kiss. It's similar to what the Navajo people have believed for centuries.
EVELYN BAHE, DEPARTMENT OF DINE EDUCATION, NAVAJO NATION: That it's a time of, you know, intimate relation between sun and the moon. This is the time when you don't look at them, too, you know, having an intimate relation, so -- but --
FISHER: You want to give them the moon and the sun some privacy?
BAHE: Yes, to give them time for privacy.
FISHER (voice-over): Looking directly at the eclipse, like President Trump famously did back in 2017, is not safe without protective glasses. But the Navajo people won't even look at it with glasses. BAHE: During the eclipse, we have to get back into our dwelling, close the curtains, make it really quiet.
FISHER (voice-over): It's a sign of respect, a way of honoring a sacred alignment between the sun and the moon. And it's something that's been captivating humans for as long as we've been alive.
OLUSEYI: Not so much what you see, which is amazing but it's also what you feel. The first time -- I'm telling you, you feel it when you see this. It is not a -- it is not any experience you've ever had.
FISHER: And millions of Americans are trying to have that experience if the weather will just cooperate. Here in Washington, the forecast actually looks pretty good. But here you will only see a partial eclipse, not a total eclipse.
And the difference between a partial and a total is quite literally the difference between night and day -- Kristin Fisher, CNN, Washington.
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COREN: Join us Monday for the total solar eclipse as its path travels from Mexico across the Eastern United States and into Canada. Special coverage starts at 12 pm Eastern in the U.S. and that's 5 p in London.
Millions across the northeastern United States were left stunned and a rattled on Friday after a 4.8 magnitude earthquake could be felt from Washington, D.C., all the way up to Maine.
It's a rare event for the region, causing unaccustomed East Coasters, including Lady Liberty, to assume it was initially a passing freight train before realizing it was something more.
Friday's earthquake was the third largest recorded in the area in the last half century.
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And the strongest in New Jersey in more than 240 years. That's according to the U.S. Geological Survey. CNN's Polo Sandoval has more on the story from New York.
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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A typical morning in Middlesex, New Jersey, suddenly interrupted by a rare earthquake that rocked much of the eastern U.S. on Friday. Second angle captured the rattling of the walls, violent enough to knock items to the ground.
It's one of many videos shared online, capturing stunned and scared residents during and after a 4.8 magnitude quake.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this an earthquake?
Yo, my house is shaking.
SANDOVAL: The epicenter was some 50 miles west of New York City in Northern New Jersey, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, which estimates at least 23 million people felt some degree of shaking from D.C. to New England.
Ned Tanner was working at a Manhattan high-rise.
NED TANNER, EARTHQUAKE SURVIVOR: My chair started kind of bouncing a little bit. And as soon as I looked around, I immediately realized that I wasn't alone. Everybody else in the building definitely felt something. So it was a feeling I haven't experienced before. It was quite interesting. And, yes, it was a little unnerving.
The New Jersey quake is the largest to strike that state in over 240 years, according to the USGS. In New York City, a Security Council meeting on the war in the Middle East forced to pause as the U.N. Manhattan headquarters shook.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was that an earthquake?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. You are making the ground shake.
SANDOVAL: Critical infrastructure, like bridges and the transit system, fared well. Many built to withstand seismic events stronger than Friday's, assured city officials.
MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D-NY), NEW YORK CITY: We do not have any reports of major impacts to our infrastructure or injuries but of course, we're still assessing the situation.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.
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COREN: Still ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, signs like these keep popping up as U.S. economy churns out new jobs month after month. We'll have the latest jobs report that left all predictions in the dust.
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COREN: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Anna Coren in Hong Kong. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
Well, stocks finished higher on Friday following a surprisingly strong monthly jobs report. The Dow closed 307 points higher after climbing more than 400 points during the day.
The S&P gained 1.1 percent and the Nasdaq added 1.2 percent. But all three major indexes ended the week lower after starting the second quarter on a sour note.
Well, job creation in the U.S. remains in high gear despite headwinds from inflation and interest rates. And new report says the economy created more than 300,000 new jobs in March, far more than expected. The unemployment rate dipped to 3.8 percent.
Payrolls increased across the board, led by health care, government construction and hospitality. The U.S. has been adding jobs for 39 straight months now, which is the fifth longest streak on record.
President Joe Biden praised the new report, saying he'd created more than 15 million jobs since taking office. For more on this, I'm joined by Ryan Patel, a senior fellow at the Drucker School of Management, Claremont Graduate University.
Ryan, great to have you with us.
The U.S. economy appears to remain strong with job numbers really beating expectations by almost 100,000.
What does this mean for inflation?
RYAN PATEL, GLOBAL BUSINESS EXECUTIVE: Well, not so much good news actually, because I think most people thought January and February numbers were more out of the out of the woods and March would be kind of slow.
So what does it mean for inflation?
Think about the last 12 months, the average job right, 230,000 jobs every month in the U.S. was added, that would be a very booming number. What it means for inflation, it's a couple of things.
I think the first thing it means that if the Fed had to decide right now to make an interest cut, rate cut, they wouldn't. So that means the numbers in inflation is still cooling but not as much. And with wage growth still pretty high, about 4.1 percent, it's not the time that inflation is still out of the woods.
And that's something that means to interest rates that the Fed is very comfortable at this moment to start making those cuts.
COREN: Ryan, President Biden released a statement that read, in part, "Today's report marks a milestone in America's comeback. Three years ago, I inherited an economy on the brink. With today's reported 303,000 new jobs in March, we've passed the milestone of 15 million jobs created since I took office."
I mean, three years ago we were dealing with the pandemic.
Is Biden correct in taking credit for the recovery since then?
PATEL: Well, if you could throw all the political party and you just looked at the numbers, you'd probably say the same thing that you and I are thinking of. Wow, that was really good. It was a really good run. And to continue to that degree. But also the pandemic had that issue
as well. I think -- I think if you frame it that way, I think President Biden will take credit for it and will need it to go into the election.
I think also the other aspect to this is what do the consumers feel at this moment, right?
And I think not everyone looks at the numbers that way. And they see just interest rates versus the numbers. And I think that's where President Biden will have to make a distinction on that.
COREN: Well, it's interesting. You mentioned that because a recent "Wall Street Journal" poll found that like 63 percent of voters in swing states say that they rate the strength of the American economy as not so great or poor.
So what are ordinary Americans facing, I guess, that would dampen their perspective?
PATEL: Well, I think there's a couple of things. I mean, let's talk about the report again. You know, the sector that had the highlights that were showing growth were hospitals, restaurants, local governments, large warehouse retailers.
And in kind of a diverse growth. But when you think of the shelter prices, where we mean housing and rental, food prices are still high. You know, that's where the consumers are actually looking, not so much in the wage growth numbers that we're seeing.
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And so that means what?
That means that you're not taking more in your paycheck. You're also seeing companies do, even though the growth rate is great and the jobs still are layoffs, they're still looking at consumer prices increasing because companies are not -- making less of a margin when it comes to manufacturing.
And they're passing off to who?
To the consumer. And so those are not just optics or those are what some of the consumers are feeling. And so it's -- the numbers show everything's great. But that doesn't really match to some people's aspects as well.
COREN: Ryan, finally, oil prices, as we know, have risen, due to these heightened tensions between Israel and Iran.
How does that play into the picture for inflation and future rate cuts?
PATEL: That's a great point, meaning that we could talk about a little numbers and job numbers. And we look at the phone of places in inflation. We see a crisis or energy crisis or any kind of crisis that comes into -- geopolitical crisis -- into this economy. It makes it a very fragile system.
So what does that tell you?
The U.S. economy isn't as strong as people indicate, if these things of this nature can make an impact. So I know we've used the word that the economy has been very resilient.
But it can only be resilient so long until all the variables and factors can have the fundamentals to be strong enough to be able to manage some of these crises like the oil crisis that could cause some issues for many companies and profits, which also passes the buck down to the consumer.
COREN: Ryan Patel, always great to speak to you and get your perspective. Thank you so much.
PATEL: Thank you, Anna.
President Biden gets a first-hand look at the deadly bridge collapse in Baltimore, Maryland, and pledges to do everything he can to get one of the nation's busiest shipping lanes back in business. We are looking at live pictures there.
Well the Key Bridge disaster killed six minutes, all of them immigrants from Latin America. That's raising new questions about the dangers of the work and what's being done to protect the people doing it. Stay with CNN.
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COREN: Dive teams recovered the body of a third construction worker killed in the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore; 38 year-old Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval fell into the river when a container ship lost power and crashed into the bridge, causing it to collapse.
The discovery of his body came only hours before President Joe Biden visited the site, offering condolences to the family of those killed and pledging federal support for the rebuilding effort. CNN's Kayla Tausche reports.
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KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: During his visit to Baltimore, President Biden extending his condolences to the families of the six workers who died during the Key Bridge collapse.
Also vowing his support for the 20,000 workers whose livelihoods are at risk with the Port of Baltimore closed. President Biden saying that the company who owns the container ship that collided with the bridge will pay.
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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Folks, finally, we are going to move heaven and Earth to rebuild this bridge as rapidly as humanly possible. And we are going to do so with union labor and American steel.
My administration is committed, absolutely committed, to ensuring that the parties responsible for this tragedy pay to repair the damage and be held accountable the fullest extent the law will allow.
But I also want to be clear, we will support Maryland and Baltimore every step of the way, to help you rebuild and maintain all the business and commerce.
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TAUSCHE: Biden calling on companies like Amazon, Home Depot and Domino Sugar, that all took quite a lot of business in this region to maintain the jobs that they had here, even if they have to relocate some of that activity elsewhere until the port reopened.
The Army Corps of Engineers estimates that that could be as soon as the end of May for the full waterway to reopen, a development that would bring back online a critical passageway for goods, like cars, metals and farm equipment.
Local officials briefing President Biden told him the goods arriving here end up in 27 states. But the first priority is going to be removing the twisted metal from the ship that is currently sitting in the Patapsco River and getting that wreckage out of the way so that the waterway can reopen
-- Kayla Tausche, CNN traveling with the president in Baltimore, Maryland.
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COREN: Well so far, the bodies of only three construction workers killed in the bridge collapse have been recovered. They were among eight men working to fill potholes on the bridge's center span at the time of the crash.
Two of the men were rescued from the water. All of them were originally from Latin America. President Biden spoke about the victims during his visit to the site.
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BIDEN: And our hearts are still breaking. Eight -- eight construction workers, right on the water when the bridge; six lost their lives. Most were immigrants but all were Marylanders, hard working, strong and selfless.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COREN: Joining me now is Ashanti Martinez, a member of the Maryland House of Delegates.
Ashanti, great to have you with us. During President Biden's visit on Friday to Baltimore, he said, the nation has your back.
Did you feel that support?
ASHANTI MARTINEZ, MEMBER, MARYLAND HOUSE OF DELEGATES: Absolutely and good morning. Thank you for having me.
Since the start of this tragedy, the Biden-Harris administration has been on the ground here in Maryland, ensuring that we, one, had the command unit set up so that we're all centralizing all of our efforts, both federal, state and local, so that we can respond rapidly to this tragedy.
The Biden administration also was able to inject $60 million in emergency aid so that we could start to begin to repair a lot of the damage but also start to look at what is the impact to the workers in the Port of Baltimore.
And mainly the workers that we saw here on the bridge, many people like them, how are we going to support them as we start to rebuild this very vital lifeline, which was the Key Bridge and the Port of Baltimore?
COREN: Well, those six road workers who died while working on the bridge on that overnight shift, filling in potholes, they were all immigrants from Central America. You took over as chair of Maryland's legislative Latino caucus.
Tell us how immigrant workers are not protected and what can be done to better protect them?
MARTINEZ: immigrants are the lifeline here in Maryland and across the country when it comes to our economy. When we are at home asleep.
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These folks are out making sacrifices in the middle of the night to make sure that we have comfort and commerce. The lives that were lost are emblematic of folks who, day in and day out, labor and sacrifice so that all of us have what we need.
Right now, I think is a moment for the Biden administration to do everything at their disposal to ensure that folks have an opportunity, a pathway to be protected, doing expansion of TPS as well as humanitarian parole.
COREN: Well, as you say, Latino workers, they play an important role in your state and they certainly play an important role federally. They represent about a third of Americans in the construction industry. I mean, that is a huge overrepresentation, considering their makeup, just 19 percent of the U.S. population.
What more can be done to safeguard Latino workers?
MARTINEZ: I think providing protections around legal status helps eliminate the fear that many people have when they go into the workforce, looking for opportunities. It would stop against potential waitstaff. It would stop against having to work on unsafe working conditions.
If people were empowered by legal status, they would have the ability to operate fully with not only within our economy but fully contribute to their communities as well.
COREN: Ashanti, as we know, immigration and border security, some of the top issues if not the top issue in this year's election, do you think that this tragedy could perhaps change the way that Americans view this debate over immigration policies?
MARTINEZ: You know, immigration is a national issue that, unfortunately, Congress has continued to kick the can down the road and not provide a solution. We need comprehensive immigration reform.
And I think all Americans understand that vital need and understand the importance of immigrants here in this country. I think this election cycle is an opportunity for us to elect and continue with the Biden-Harris administration, because we know that they are going to be the folks that can help usher in this type of reform that we need.
We know that, if we were to go back to the Trump administration, we would not be able to make progress on this very vital issue. We, in February, had a potential comprehensive deal when it came to our national security spending.
But that fell through because Republicans are so busy playing politics when it comes to immigration reform instead of delivering for the American people.
COREN: We can only hope that this now shines a spotlight, this tragedy shines a spotlight on these issues. Ashanti Martinez, we thank you for your time.
MARTINEZ: Thank you for having me.
COREN: Still ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, Caitlin Clark and Iowa are heading back to the women's national title game to face South Carolina. "CNN SPORT's" Andy Scholes joins me after the break to break down the whole nail-biter of a game in the Final Four.
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COREN: Women's basketball superstar Caitlin Clark is on to the national title game after Iowa squeaks by UConn in the Final Four. "CNN SPORT's" Andy Scholes joins us now.
And Andy, everyone had been waiting for this matchup. But lots of people not happy with how it ended.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORT CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Yes. And a great game. We had Caitlin Clark versus Paige Bueckers and it came down to the wire but a controversial call ended up deciding this. So it has a lot of people shaking their heads this morning.
Yes, the Huskies, they did a great job against Clark, playing some great defense, holding Clark in check until the third quarter. And that's when Clark would finally get going, knocking down a pair of big 3s.
Clark though, she had just 21 points in this one. But here's the play everyone's talking about this morning, Iowa up by 1, Yukon's (INAUDIBLE). Bueckers got it but they call Aaliyah Edwards for an illegal screen. Take another look, just a brutal call to make in that moment.
Hawkeyes would hold on to win 71-69 and will play for the national title for a second straight year. And here was UConn head coach Geno Auriemma afterwards on that controversial call.
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GENO AURIEMMA, UCONN HEAD COACH: There's probably penalty for screen call, yes, you can make on every single possession. I just know there were three or four of them called on us and I don't think there were any called on them. So I guess we just got to get better at not setting illegal screens.
CAITLIN CLARK, IOWA GUARD: I think being in this moment before, I think, gives our group a good understanding of what to expect. We know what South Carolina brings to the table. We know we're going to have our hands full. The way they played tonight was incredible.
But it's the national championship, it's the last game on my career. It's the last game for five people on this team. So I don't think motivation will be hard to come by.
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SCHOLES: Yes, so it will be Iowa versus South Carolina for the title. NC State hanging with the undefeated Gamecocks in the first half down, just one going into the third. But that's when coach Dawn Staley said her team turned up the heat. South Carolina dominant the third, outscoring NC State 29-6.
The team was asked about what was said at halftime when they were up just one.
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ASHLYN WATKINS, SOUTH CAROLINA FORWARD: We done have our locker room talk, we wanted it. I knew, I can tell by our faces. I can tell by our voices. We wanted it more.
TE-HINA PAOPAO, SOUTH CAROLINA GUARD: I mean, we just told each other that we're good. We've been in this position before and that we just got to come out wanting it more and we did. And we locked in on both sides of the court.
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SCHOLES: At the end of the day, South Carolina would cruise to a 78-59 win. They're now 37 and 0, looking become the first undefeated national champions since UConn in 2016. So that stage is set, undefeated South Carolina will take on Caitlin Clark for the national title Sunday afternoon at 3 Eastern.
Now all is not lost for NC State fans. Their men are going to take the floor tonight in the Final Four for the first time in 41 years.
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And a big reason why is their 6'9", 275-pound forward, DJ Burns Jr. He's played a huge role in the Wolfpack's improbable runs to reach this point. They had to win nine games in a row. Any loss would have ended their season. But Burns says he's believed in this team all along.
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DJ BURNS JR., WOLFPACK FORWARD: Yes, I definitely could have imagined this. You know, that's why I worked so hard every day to get to this point. So I'm not going to act like it's something that was -- that I thought was unachievable but you need a team to do it. So I'm just glad that God blessed me with the team that allowed us to be here.
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SCHOLES: Yes. So NC State and Purdue will tip things off tonight just after 6 Eastern on our sister channel, TBS. And it's going to be Alabama and UConn. The winners will play for the national championship Monday night.
And finally, you know, nothing says opening day in baseball like pouring snow. Check out the seats in Pittsburgh for the Pirates' opener against the Orioles. The teams having to play through snow showers. And the Pirates, they ended up losing this one 5-2.
But I go to a baseball game, I like sitting in the sun, having hot dogs and some peanuts.
But the -- up north here in U.S., dealing with snow for these first few weeks of baseball.
COREN: Yes. I guess it makes a little -- a little bit slippery. Andy Scholes, good to see you. Thank you very much.
Well, that wraps up this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Thank you so much for your company. I'm Anna Coren in Hong Kong. For viewers in North America, "CNN THIS MORNING" is next. For the rest of the world, it's "AFRICAN VOICES: CHANGEMAKERS."
