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Biden Throws Critique to Netanyahu; Arizona Ruling Revisits 1864 Ban on Abortions: CNN Investigates Deadly Gaza Aid Delivery through Videos and Eyewitness Accounts. New Study Notes Concertgoers Open to Hear Climate Change from Artists; Labrador Booted Out of Police Academy Now a Rescue Dog in the Taiwan Quake Aftermath. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired April 10, 2024 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead, U.S. President Joe Biden delivers his harshest critique yet of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the war in Gaza. This as hospitals in Gaza are struggling to keep patients alive amid the ongoing Israeli offensive.
And a ruling by Arizona's Supreme Court has turned back the clock on women's reproductive rights to the 1800s with an almost total ban on abortions.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: Thanks for joining us. First, two growing questions over Israel's plans for a potential ground offensive into the southern Gaza City of Rafah, where nearly a million and a half Palestinians are now located. The Israeli Prime Minister, who's under immense pressure by his far-right government allies to fulfill his vow of eliminating Hamas, insisted on Tuesday that the Rafah operation is going to happen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We will complete the elimination of the Hamas battalions, including in Rafah. There is no force in the world that will stop us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: But senior officials within the Biden administration say that declaration is nothing more than bravado and they're casting doubt on Mr. Netanyahu's claim that a date has been set for the Rafah offensive. The U.S. president, meanwhile, issued one of his sharpest rebukes yet. Joe Biden told Univision News that he disagrees with how the Israeli leader is handling the war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: I think what he's doing is a mistake. I don't agree with his approach. I think it's outrageous. So what I'm calling for is for the Israelis to just call for a ceasefire, allow for the next six, eight weeks, total access to all food and medicine going into the country. And I think there's no excuse to not provide for the medical and the food needs of those people. They should be done now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: A warning, some of the video we're about to air is graphic and you may find it disturbing.
Health workers in northern Gaza have been exhuming bodies found in mass graves in and around Al-Shifa Hospital. A Gaza official says the remains of nearly 400 people have now been recovered from the vicinity of the complex since Israeli forces withdrew on April 1st after a two- week siege, some of them crushed by tanks, making them difficult to identify.
Other hospitals in Gaza are also struggling to keep patients alive and keep the lights on. CNN's Paula Hancocks reports on the ongoing suffering in places meant to heal.
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PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A nine-year-old girl cries out, it hurts, it hurts.
The doctor holds her hand as she lies on the floor and tells her it's going to be okay.
There's no pain medication for her burns and shrapnel wounds. He tells her to pray.
Nearby, another doctor tries to save one of his own, performing CPR on a paramedic who was injured by Israeli artillery fire. His heart eventually restarts, one life saved amidst so much loss. His longer- term chances of survival in a decimated medical system are unclear. These doctors are American, volunteers on a World Health Organization-
coordinated mission to the north of Gaza, desperate to help in an ever more helpless crisis.
DR. FARHAN ABDELAZIZ, EMERGENCY MEDICAL PHYSICIAN: The situation here is intense, it's catastrophic. I realize words are hard to describe what we're seeing. I mean you're talking about mass casualty events where people are coming in with limited staff, limited overworked staff, hungry staff, all working, who've been displaced from homes and they're sitting here and they are trying to do the best they can.
HANCOCKS (voice-over): This is Kamal Adwan hospital in the north, one of the few hospitals still open, although barely functional.
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DR. SAMER ATTAR, ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON: This morning we woke up and found out that four patients died in the ICU. One of them was about 10 years old and the mom just refused to leave the child's bedside, refused to believe that the child was dead, refused to let the staff cover her up. The child died of malnutrition, dehydration.
HANCOCKS (voice-over): Patients here lie on the floor in their own blood. Electricity relies on solar panels. The fuel ran out some time ago.
The hospital's director says volunteer specialists traveling into Gaza are a massive help amid a shrinking medical staff. Close to 500 medical personnel have been killed since October 7th. Nearly 300 others have been detained by the Israeli military, according to Gaza health authorities.
A UN-backed report had warned famine could hit northern Gaza anytime between now and May. Under U.S. pressure, the Israeli government announced last week it would reopen the Erez crossing to allow humanitarian goods to reach the area. Those plans have since been delayed, according to an Israeli official, shattering what was a small but needed glimmer of hope.
ATTAR: These people, they just need help. They just want this to stop. Nobody talks. Nobody discusses politics here. They just talk about food and water and shelter, and they just want the war to end.
HANCOCKS (voice-over): As the war enters its seventh month, the injured must be wondering if anyone is hearing their cries for help.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HANCOCKS: And it's what we're hearing repeatedly from people within Gaza. The innocent civilians caught up with this, that they desperately want a ceasefire. They desperately want the war to end.
Now, when it comes to the negotiations for a possible ceasefire, we know over the weekend the CIA director did deliver a new proposal for that in Cairo. We've heard just yesterday, just on Tuesday from Jake Sullivan, the national security advisor, there's no word from Hamas at this point as to whether they will accept it. But they are asking the Qatari prime minister to push Hamas to make sure that this could be something that is acceptable to them.
We've heard from senior leaders within Hamas that they don't believe Israel is addressing the concerns of the Palestinian people, still pushing for people to be able to go back to their homes in northern Gaza and pushing for a withdrawal to certain areas of the Israeli military. Again, this is something that those in Gaza are hoping will happen immediately. It is something that we may hear in the next day or two.
CHURCH: A shocking but necessary report. Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi, many thanks for that.
Well back here in the United States, the Arizona Supreme Court dealt a major setback to abortion advocates on Tuesday. Arizona was not even a state when it passed a law in 1864 banning nearly all abortions except to save the life of the mother. Jenn Sullivan has details of the historic decision.
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JENN SULLIVAN, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): In an historic decision, Arizona Supreme Court ruled Tuesday to uphold a 123 year old law that bans nearly all abortions.
Democratic officials in the state are outraged.
UNKNOWN: This is dangerous.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): The law the Supreme Court upheld in a 4-2 decision bans abortions in all cases except when it is necessary to save a pregnant woman's life.
It also carries a prison sentence of two to five years for abortion providers.
KRIS MAYES, ARIZONA ATTORNEY GENERAL: As long as I am attorney general of the state of Arizona, no woman or doctor will be prosecuted under this draconian law.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): Arizona joins nearly two dozen other states that have banned or limited access to abortion since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. Despite the ruling, surveys continue to show that most American adults are in favor of abortion access.
In a KFF poll released last month, 71 percent of adults said abortion should be legal in most or all cases. Only 29 percent said it should be illegal in most or all cases.
Advocates warned that patients seeking an abortion will face a dire situation.
DR. JILL GIBSON, CHIEF MEDICAL DIRECTOR, PLANNED PARENTHOOD ARIZONA: This is going to have absolutely unbelievable consequences for the patients in our community.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): Vice President Kamala Harris, who's made reproductive rights her platform, says she'll travel to Arizona Friday to show support for a woman's right to choose.
I'm Jenn Sullivan reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Joining me now, Lindy Li, political strategist and women's co- chair of the Democratic National Committee. Always appreciate you being with us.
LINDY LI, POLITICAL STRATEGIST AND WOMEN'S CO-CHAIR, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Thank you so much, Rosemary.
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CHURCH: So when Arizona enacted the 1864 near-total abortion ban that the state Supreme Court is about to put back in effect, women could not even vote. That was 160 years ago. Why is the state turning back the clock on women's rights with no exceptions for rape or incest? What is going on? Even some Republicans are distancing themselves from this Arizona Supreme Court ruling.
LI: Rosemary, you're totally right. And let's be perfectly clear what's happening. The Arizona Supreme Court is reviving a 160 year old abortion ban with no exception for the woman's health, rape or incest.
And let me put this in the right perspective for everybody. This ban originated back before Arizona was even a state. Back when Abraham Lincoln was still president. Back when the American Civil War was putting brother-against-brother. That's how ancient and backward the Arizona abortion ban is. But it doesn't end there.
When overturning Roe, Justice Alito cited a 17th century judge, Matthew Hale, who executed two women for alleged witchcraft. He also cited a 13th century jurist who denigrated women as inferior.
Our current speaker Mike Johnson says that we should adhere to 18th century values. Trump thinks that he can gaslight us when he is the reason to answer a question. Why is this happening? He is the reason why the Supreme Court annihilated our rights. He is the reason why Brett Kavanaugh, an alleged sexual predator who triggered 4,500 tips to the FBI, has jurisdiction over our bodies.
Why Amy Coney Barrett, a former member of the religious cult People of Praise, has a say over our bodies. He bears responsibility for their endless suffering that American women endure today. And Trump, who was found sexual liable for sexual abuse himself and was accused more than 25 times of sexual assault, appointed a third of the Supreme Court. Let the magnitude of this injustice sink in.
CHURCH: And I want to talk about Trump in just a moment, but also Arizona organizers are collecting signatures and hope to get an abortion measure on the November ballot. How difficult will that be and would you expect women and men coming out in droves to vote against this abortion ruling come November?
LI: Oh, absolutely. I'd like to issue preliminary fingers crossed. I'd like to issue preliminary congratulations to President Biden, Vice President Harris and Ruben Gallego, who's running for Senate, because whenever abortion is on the ballot, Democrats win.
We've seen this in Ohio, Virginia, Ruby Red, Kansas, Wisconsin, across the nation. Republicans don't realize, but the calculus has completely changed. It changed that day in 2020 when their right-wing justices decided to eviscerate our most intimate and fundamental rights.
The calculus of the past no longer holds. And Vice President Harris was quick to condemn Trump for bragging
about destroying Roe. She was also the first president or vice president to visit an abortion clinic. And her visit to a Planned Parenthood clinic was a monumental move because it signals to American women that our voices are being heard. Our voices matter. Our bodies matter. Our lives matter.
And Arizona Republicans think we're nothing but chattel and broodmares. Florida Republicans are trying to police our bodies. Alabama Republicans think that embryos and zygotes matter more than real live women are. And they're trying to enshrine embryonic personhood. Trump thinks women should be punished simply for exercising bodily autonomy.
CHURCH: And you mentioned Trump. As you say, he proudly announces that he got rid of Roe v. Wade. He also just announced his rather vague policy on abortion after many months of avoiding the issue directly. He now says he's going to leave it up to each state to decide on abortion rights. That's a problem for many women, of course, in Arizona now, given this new ruling and for women in other conservative states where there are bans. Why did Trump take this vague approach to the abortion issue? How political is this stand?
LI: Because he knows that Republicans are losing on abortion and even the Republican war on women is raging. But let me be clear. Hell hath no fury like women whose rights have been destroyed. And I'm calling it now. Abortion may be the single most important and underestimated issue of the 2024 election. Women aren't just going to sit idly by as an alleged sexual abuser. This rates our rights.
CHURCH: Lindy Li, thanks so much for your thoughts and thanks for joining us.
LI: Thank you.
CHURCH: Police body cam footage shows officers firing nearly 100 shots in under a minute as a traffic stop in Chicago turned deadly. The shocking video and why some say the stop should have never happened, that's just ahead on CNN.
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CHURCH: No last minute reprieve for a double murderer on death row in the U.S. state of Missouri, despite a plea for mercy backed by more than 70 correctional officers and some members of the victim's families.
Brian Dorsey was executed Tuesday by lethal injection for fatally shooting his cousin Sarah Bonnie and her husband Benjamin in 2006. At the time, Dorsey says he was in a drug induced psychosis and alcohol- induced blackout caused by years of substance abuse. His lawyer cited Dorsey's remorse, rehabilitation behind bars and poor legal representation at trial as reasons why he should not be put to death. Newly released police body cam footage is revealing the mayhem that unfolded during a deadly traffic stop in Chicago when officers fired 96 shots in less than a minute. A preliminary investigation suggests 26 year old Dexter Reed opened fire on police first, but questions remain as to why the plainclothes officers stopped him in the first place.
CNN's Omar Jimenez has details and a warning. His report contains disturbing video.
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OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): March 21st, 2024, Chicago police are initiating a traffic stop on a driver reportedly for not wearing a seatbelt, according to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, a traffic stop being conducted by five tactical officers.
UNKNOWN: Roll the window down. What are you doing? Roll that one down too. Hey, don't roll the window up. Don't roll the window up. Do not roll the window up. Unlock the doors now.
JIMENEZ (voice-over): The temperature quickly escalates. One officer puts what appears to be his gun on the windshield. Reed then fires first, hitting an officer in the forearm, according to the initial investigation. Then chaos.
UNKNOWN: Hey, St. Louis. Good.
JIMENEZ (voice-over): Reed goes down. Then three final gunshots, 96 in total, according to investigators. A gun was later recovered from the front seat of Reed's car. Portia Banks had just been on the phone with her brother in the minutes before it all happened.
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Then she turned on a police scanner at her shop.
PORTIA BANKS, DEXTER REED'S SISTER: We're listening to the police talking, like saying shots fired, but I can hear all the shots on the scanner. Like I can hear so many shots, so many shots, so many shots, but didn't know that it was my brother. So then to know later on that night that those shots that I heard and then the MLMs going past my shop was my brother, was the most heartbreaking thing that I could ever feel in my life.
JIMENEZ (voice-over): One of the family's attorneys argues this never should have happened in the first place.
ANDREW M. STROTH, ATTORNEY FOR DEXTER REED'S FAMILY: There was a weapon recovered in his car. However, it started with an unconstitutional, pretextual, and unnecessary stop of Dexter Reed. And that's what precipitated the entire incident.
JIMENEZ (voice-over): And questions remain over why tactical officers initiated a traffic stop for a supposed seatbelt violation. As part of a brief statement, Chicago police says this incident is still under investigation, but the stop is where it all began.
ROOSEVELT R. BANKS II, UNCLE OF DEXTER REED: If you don't stop my nephew, he'll be alive today.
JIMENEZ (voice-over): Reed's uncle sitting alongside his father.
R. BANKS: When this happened to my nephew, I hope the police can understand that this is the same pain that they feel when an officer is killed in the line of duty.
JIMENEZ (voice-over): It's a pain that manifests in memories and pain that manifests in despair.
NICOLE BANKS, MOTHER OF DEXTER REED: They took my son away from me. He ain't got that no more. I don't know what I'm going to do without him.
P. BANKS: And I just wish that I could talk to him one more time. But to see him gunned down, I never ever thought that it would be him. I never thought that it would be him. I never thought that it would be him.
JIMENEZ: Just hearing the amount of shots is incredibly difficult for anyone, but especially this family. And that's a lot of what we talked about. They're dealing with pain on the inside, but from the outside looking in, initial reports do indicate that Reed did fire first.
So the initial response from police is less of what's in question here. What's in question is why this traffic stop happened in the first place and why the shots continued in the way that they did. The office of police accountability has recommended that the police department relieve these officers of their police powers while this investigation plays out. And it's an investigation the police department says they are fully cooperating with.
Omar Jimenez, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Still to come, CNN investigates a February incident where dozens of civilians were killed in Gaza while waiting for food aid.
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CHURCH: It has been just over a month since one of the deadliest moments of the war, when dozens were killed in Gaza while waiting for an aid delivery. Since then, CNN has been investigating the incident. And a warning, some of the images you're about to see are disturbing.
The Israeli military claims its tanks fired warning shots into the air to disperse a crowd after seeing people were being trampled. Gaza's health ministry says more than 100 Palestinians were killed and hundreds more injured. However, a CNN analysis of videos, interviews and eyewitness
testimonies cast doubt on Israel's version of events.
CNN's Katie Polglase has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATIE POLGLASE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE PRODUCER (voice-over): It's early morning on February 29th on Al Rashid Road in northern Gaza. Thousands of starving people have gathered here to receive food. But as the aid trucks arrive, this happens.
The night would become known as the flour massacre.
By morning, over 100 would be dead in one of the single biggest mass casualty events of this conflict.
CNN investigated this incident, obtaining never seen before videos of that night, collecting evidence from 22 eyewitnesses and tracing the aid itself all the way to a Muslim charity in the U.K.
It was the IDF that was then responsible for safely delivering these vital supplies. But we found they opened fire on unarmed starving Palestinians at close range as the aid arrived.
Their explanation for the tragedy using this drone video was a stampede that caused soldiers to fire warning shots in the air. They later admitted to firing some shots directly at so-called suspects who approached them. But the IDF footage is incomplete. It cuts between crowds surrounding the trucks and bodies lying on the ground. Even this reveals they were firing in a densely packed area, likely to cause severe bloodshed.
CNN requested the full footage from the IDF, but it was denied.
Jihad Abu Watfa was amongst the starving Palestinians and started filming as the trucks crossed into northern Gaza.
JIHAD ABU WATFA, EYEWITNESS (translated): We decided to face the danger, to risk our lives to obtain any piece of bread for our families.
POLGLASE (voice-over): Videos from Jihad and another key eyewitness, Belal, indicate the gunfire started earlier than the IDF claimed. The IDF published this timeline saying the trucks arrived at the checkpoint at 4am. They then crossed at 4:29 and only after that did the IDF fire shots at the crowd.
But in Belal's video filmed seven minutes earlier at 4:22am, gunshots ring out. He warns there is a tank.
The IDF claim the convoy was still stationary at the checkpoint at this time.
Next, Jihad begins filming. It's now 4:28am and there's a barrage of gunfire and the shots are close. Analysis by weapons experts of the bursts indicate it is heavy automatic gunfire at 600 rounds per minute. Jihad keeps filming.
A tank is beside me. We're now under siege, he says. Moments later, you see a truck driving along the road. We spotted traces from the gunfire here. One can be seen ricocheting up here, according to weapons experts.
WATFA (translated): The feeling was totally indescribable, fear, confusion. You fear, God forbid, going back to your family as a martyr.
POLGLASE (voice-over): As day broke, the number of dead and injured that emerged was staggering. Interviews with survivors at hospitals afterwards found some people had been shot in the upper body.
UNKNOWN (translated): Where were you injured?
UNKNOWN (translated): In my chest, and it went out through my back.
POLGLASE (voice-over): Amid the devastation, CNN found a clue as to who had delivered this aid, this box with the writing, Umar Welfare Trust.
MOHAMMAD AHMED, TRUSTEE, UMMAH WELFARE TRUST: This was the first time that the aid had reached northern Gaza and we were very, very excited and happy that finally we had gone through.
POLGLASE (voice-over): They received the terrible news as to what had happened via WhatsApp.
AHMED: I woke up to some photos with cardboard boxes of our logo, Umar Welfare Trust, with bloodstains on them and it came as a shock. This is the first time in 20 years where I've actually seen blood being mixed with aid.
POLGLASE (voice-over): In all, at least 118 died that day. With the UN struggling to access northern Gaza, the IDF are responsible for ensuring aid arrives safely.
Despite this, the UN has documented two dozen attacks on Palestinians awaiting aid in the last three months alone.
For those like Jihad living on the verge of famine, it has led to a desperate fight for survival.
JIHAD ABU WATFA, EYEWITNESS (translated): The living take precedence over the dead. I must get food for myself and my children.
POLGLASE (voice-over): And now that fight becomes more challenging than ever.
Katie Polglase, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: And CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment on these findings and is awaiting a response.
Still to come, climate change is an issue requiring immediate action, but do music fans want to hear about it at concerts? I'll ask a musician and environmental advocate after the break.
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CHURCH: In a landmark ruling, the European Court of Human Rights has found Switzerland violated human rights by failing to adequately address climate change. It is the first time the court has ruled on climate matters. The case was brought by more than 2,000 Swiss women, most in their 70s, who claimed heat waves were harming their health and quality of life.
CNN's Clare Sebastian has details.
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CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The fact that three cases claiming government-alleged inaction on climate violates people's human rights made it to the European Court of Human Rights in the first place was already groundbreaking. But the fact that one of the cases was partially successful is another major milestone for climate activists.
It explicitly links national climate change policies with a state's duty to protect the human rights of its citizens. And it bolsters, of course, the body of proof that litigation can be an effective tool alongside global treaties to force governments to do more to stop global warming.
Experts and activists say this will open the floodgates to more cases in Europe and globally, where there is a growing trend of human rights cases being brought over climate change. That, a view shared by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.
GRETA THUNBERG, CLIMATE CHANGE ACTIVIST: This is only the beginning of climate litigation. All over the world, more and more people are taking their government to court, holding them responsible for their actions. And the results of this can mean in no way that we lean back. This means that we have to fight even more, since this is only the beginning.
SEBASTIAN: Well the two other cases, including one attempting to force 32 countries to do more to prevent global warming, were dismissed for technical reasons. But the court's ruling in the Swiss case is binding, with no option to appeal. Switzerland will now be compelled to act, including possibly reducing its greenhouse gas consumption.
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The Swiss government says it's analyzing the judgment and the, quote, "measures Switzerland has to take for the future".
Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: A new study done by the climate advocacy group Planet Reimagined shows the majority of music fans are open to hearing about climate change from their favorite performers.
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The group surveyed more than 350,000 fans who attended at least one live concert in the U.S. in the past year. It found 70 percent of fans were not opposed to performers using their platform to address climate change. In fact, more than half of those surveyed think artists should speak out. Nearly three quarters of fans believe climate change is an important issue, with even more saying they're already taking action themselves on the matter.
Adam Met is the founder of Planet Reimagined and a UN sustainability advocate. And you might also know him as a member of the popular group AJR. He joins me now from Raleigh in North Carolina, the latest stop on the band's current tour. Always great to have you with us.
ADAM MET, FOUNDER, PLANET REIMAGINED: Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here.
CHURCH: So let's talk about this new research carried out by your organization, which shows that live music fans are ready to hear from their favorite artists about climate action. Planet Reimagined surveyed 350,000 fans. What all did this research reveal?
MET: It was an incredible project because if you think about it this way, when you're at a concert, there is palpable energy that really you can cut with a knife.
And around 250 million people attend concerts in the United States every year. So imagine if you could take all of that energy and use it for good, use it to help combat climate.
And one of the most amazing things that we found out is that fans are actually ready to do that. They are actually ready to take action on climate, especially if the artist asks them to. And they're ready to do it right there on site. It's amazing. But three quarters of fans actually believe that climate change is a problem. And 78 percent of them are already taking action on climate. So if we think of that as a base, we actually have so much room to grow, but also so many people who are starting at a great place.
CHURCH: So what exactly do these fans want to hear from their favorite bands and artists and what calls to action on climate change are they likely to respond to? How far would they actually go, do you think?
MET: It's funny, just a handful of years ago, you would have thought that we want artists to just focus on the music, you know, just go up there and sing, take us away from our problems. But our world is so connected now that fans want artists to be their guides, want to invite them in to share with them the process of how to engage around climate. And we are way past the changing from plastic straws to (inaudible) paper straws.
We are way past the idea of, I'm going to agree to go vegan for one meal a week, right?
The kinds of actions that we're looking for people to take are real concrete things that are going to get elected officials, governments and companies to make changes. So right there on site, we are having people sign petitions, we're having people register to vote, learning about who to vote for that would make a difference for climate, and actually contact their elected officials right there on site by writing them letters or calling them and leaving them messages.
But one of the most impactful things we found is that it's not just if the artist says, will you do this? Will you take this action? It's if the artist says, will you take this action? And I'm going to do it too.
If fans see that the artist is actually taking action themselves, they are much more likely to participate in that action.
CHURCH: And as a member of a band yourself, has this been your experience with fans and what do you tell them when dealing with such a bleak issue like the future of this planet with climate change spinning out of control?
MET: Climate change is a massive issue and fans know that and artists know that. So there are a lot of artists that are taking action.
And one of the most important ways that we can do it is by getting people excited about these actions on site at concerts. And that's what we're trying to do on the second leg of AJR's tour. And we're expanding it to a bunch of other tours across the United States.
[03:40:06]
These really simple, easy actions for people to get involved. It's not about your carbon footprint. It's about how can we take your own voice and amplify it, make it so much bigger so that elected officials and governments start making these concrete changes we need to see.
CHURCH: And AJR is currently on a tour of the United States and you're partnering with local climate groups at each stop along the way. When people go to your concerts, what can they expect on this front?
MET: Absolutely. So it's a real balance.
In order to do this study, we partnered with national companies and organizations like Ticketmaster and Green Nation, which is Live Nation's sustainability arm, Reverb, Climate Outreach and a bunch of others. But the real win here is when we can get people to work with local organizations.
People are much more likely to volunteer and participate in local issues, whether you're talking about environmental justice or river cleanups or local specific actions that people can take to try and get petitions passed, things like that.
So if you can have a local organization volunteering and taking time on the concourse of a concert, you're going to get many more people to volunteer their time. We're not talking about money. We're talking about people spending their time to make the planet a better place.
CHURCH: Adam Met, thank you so much for joining us and for all that you do.
MET: Thank you so much.
CHURCH: In Taiwan, a playful Labrador retriever who flunked out of the police academy has captured the hearts of people struggling in the aftermath of last week's earthquake. Roger was too friendly and playful to become a drug sniffing dog, but his intelligence and personality made him a great rescue dog. He has played a crucial role in the quake's recovery efforts.
According to Taiwan's Central News Agency, Roger and his handlers found the body of a missing 21-year-old woman. This isn't Roger's first quake mission. He's worked on seven operations since 2018. But the eight-year-old retriever may be retiring soon, as most rescue dogs are sent to a suitable home when they turn nine.
I want to thank you for spending part of your day with me. I'm Rosemary Church. "Marketplace Middle East" is next, and then, do stay tuned for CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster at the top of the hour.
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