Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
CNN International: Japanese PM Meeting With Biden During Official Visit; Iran's Supreme Leader: Israel Will Be Punished For Syria Strike; Zelenskyy: Will "Break Putin's Backbone" With Right Military Support. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired April 10, 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]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RAHEL SOLOMON, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Good morning or good evening, depending on where you're watching. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York.
President Biden welcoming Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, promising closer ties and business cooperation. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy telling CNN that he is open to listening to Donald Trump's ideas to end the war, as Russia launches fresh attacks on Ukraine's critical infrastructure. And floods, storms and tornadoes, wild weather sweeping the southern U.S., putting 30 million people under threat. We're going to have the latest warnings.
Well, just moments ago, six former Mississippi law enforcement officers were sentenced by the state. The officers pleaded guilty to torturing two black men, one of whom was shot in the mouth. They received state sentences ranging from 15 to 45 years. This group of officers, some of whom called themselves the quote "Goon Squad", last month, all six were also sentenced to federal prison terms, which ranged from 10 to 40 years. We're going to have more on this later in the hour. As we understand it, there are victim statements being held outside of the courthouse. Of course, once that picks up, we will bring it to you at home.
But, we also want to turn our attention to some other news this morning. Japan's Prime Minister says that global tensions have pushed the world to what he is calling a quote "historic turning point". And it's amid that backdrop that Fumio Kishida meets today with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House for a critical summit. The two leaders hope to strengthen the already strong alliances between the countries to help counter China's growing military and economic strength. Bilateral meetings will cover a wide range of topics, including defense, aid for Ukraine, artificial intelligence exchange, and even space exploration. Last hour, President Biden welcomed the Japanese Prime Minister to the White House. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The alliance between Japan and the United States is the cornerstone of peace, security, prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and around the world. Ours is truly a global partnership. For that, Mr. Prime Minister Kishida, I thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: All right. Let's bring in CNN's Senior White House Reporter Kevin Liptak, who joins us now from the White House. So, Kevin, talk to us a bit more about what they've already said and what we can expect from this visit.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah. We did see that highly ceremonial arrival out on the South Lawn just a few minutes ago, and it really does underscore the importance that the White House is placing, not only on this visit, but on the broader U.S.-Japan relationship, which they really do view as a linchpin of their strategy in the Indo-Pacific.
And you heard very warm words from both President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida, hailing this alliance that has been enforced for decades, but they are hoping to bring to a brand new level with this very visit, and you'll see that in the list of announcements that will come out, out of this meeting today. It's almost 70 items long. Officials say that's one of the longest lists of so-called deliverables that they can remember for this kind of official visit, and it includes steps to try and integrate the two countries, militaries try and reinforce cooperation on issues of space, of AI, try an increase in the defense industrial base, all of these issues where the U.S. thinks that there really is much more room to expand this very historic relationship, and you could see in that arrival ceremony the worth between these two men.
The other big thing that Prime Minister Kishida and President Biden both talked about is the cherry blossoms and that's something that they think sort of symbolizes this decades-long relationship. Listen to a little bit of how Prime Minister Kishida described it in his remarks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FUMIO KISHIDA, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER (Interpreted): The cherry trees along the Potomac River are a symbol of the friendship between Japan and the United States. These Japanese-born cherry trees have been sounding the arrival of spring to the city every year for over 110 years. Just as the local residents have cherished and protected these cherry trees, the Japan-U.S. relationship has been supported and nurtured by the many people who love each other's country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIPTAK: So, you hear him there really trying to use the cherry blossoms as a marker of the permanence of this relationship, and I think that does underscore one of the subtext of this visit, which is trying to make some of these items permanent with the fear potentially with the expectation that potentially President Biden might not be in office a year from now.
[11:05:00] And that is something that certainly those in Tokyo and other capitals around the world are watching very closely. And President Biden has made clear, his foreign policy is one of multilateral relationships of trying to boost the United States' presence in the Indo-Pacific. That's very different from something that President Trump might pursue, if he were to come into office. And when you talk to officials at the White House, they're very frank that there is a lot of uncertainty around the world about what might come next in American foreign policy.
And so, a lot of the items that these two leaders will be ticking off today in their meeting in the Oval Office are trying to make permanent some of these items, trying to sort of future proof them in case Trump is to win another term in the White House. Rahel.
SOLOMON: Oh, that's really fascinating, certainly, as a lot of people around the world watch to see what happens today and what comes out of it. Kevin Liptak live for us at the White House. Kevin, thanks so much.
Well, scathing words over the war in Gaza by one of Israel's closest allies, U.S. President Joe Biden telling Univision that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is making a quote "mistake in how he is handling the war." The interview took place days after an Israeli strike killed seven food charity workers. Meantime, Israel is warning that if Iran hits its territory, it will strike back inside of Iran. And Iran's supreme leader today saying that Israel quote "must be punished and will be for strike that killed several top Iranian commanders in Syria." Now, the Israeli Foreign Minister says that a direct Iranian hit on Israel would be a turning point.
CNN's Ben Wedeman is in Lebanon, where there have been fears of the war becoming a regional conflict, Ben, really since October 7, since this began, but Israel and the U.S. now appear to be hardening their stance. Ben, where does this leave relations and influence between the U.S. and Israel?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly, what we're seeing is that the words coming out of Washington are something we haven't seen going back many years, perhaps to the first Bush administration when there were frictions between Israel and the United States. And it's a reflection of the growing impatience. We're now six months into this war. Almost 33,500 people have been killed in Gaza, 70 percent of them the UN believes are women and children. The war is becoming a political liability for President Biden himself within the Democratic Party.
So, certainly, there are strains, but at the same time, the United States, despite all the words that are coming out of it, we're seeing that U.S. is still willing to provide until now Israel with, by and large, not completely, all of the weapons and ammunition they are asking for. So, on the one hand, you hear these words from President Biden in that interview. But, I think the actions of the United States speak louder than those words. Rahel.
SOLOMON: OK. Ben Wedeman live for us there in Beirut, Lebanon. Ben, thanks so much.
And as we said at the beginning of the show, U.S. President Joe Biden is welcoming the Japanese Prime Minister. Once we hear that they are speaking, once we get sort of that tape ready for you, we will bring it to you at home.
In the meantime, we want to turn to some other news. Russia has launched a new attack in Ukraine's southern Odessa region. The missile strikes were aimed at critical transportation and logistics infrastructure. Ukraine's state railway company told the Telegram that two workers had been injured. At this point, we don't have any other information about casualties or the extent of damage at this point, but defiance and determination from Ukraine's President who has been speaking to CNN at a major global conference. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (Interpreted): We are at war and the enemy is serious but let's be realists, and not pessimists. Let's be realists. Now, the situation has stabilized. Once we have weapons and concrete political steps from our partners, we will break Putin's backbone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: Now, in an interview with our Senior International Correspondent Frederik Pleitgen, President Zelenskyy calls on the West to hurry up with its deliveries of new weapons to help turn the tide in Ukraine's war with Russia. And Fred actually joins us now. Fred, talk to us a bit more about what he told you.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. It was a very wide-ranging interview that we did here at the conference in Delphi Economic Forum, as Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke at first in a keynote address and then I was able to ask him a few questions. And you're absolutely right. In the past, he has said that the Ukrainians need weapons deliveries from the U.S. They need a lot of ammo, especially air defense weapons as well, and that they need them very be quickly.
[11:10:00]
He does say right now the Ukrainians are holding on, but of course with every day as things go on and the stocks aren't replenished --
SOLOMON: Fred, let me jump in here. We'll get back to you in just a moment. We want to take our audience to the President and the Japanese Prime Minister. Let's listen together.
BIDEN: When we were here last year, we said the role being played by the United States and Japan is becoming even greater, and we -- I couldn't agree more with your assertion back then. And what we see in our joint support for Ukraine in the face of the Russia's vicious assault was -- is just outrageous.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE). BIDEN: We see it in our historic trilateral relationship with South Korea.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
BIDEN: We see in our economic investments which has helped generate millions of jobs across both our nations.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
BIDEN: I sincerely want to thank you, Mr. Prime Minister, for your bold leadership across all these issues.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
BIDEN: You personally made all this possible.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
BIDEN: And I would assert our alliance has never been stronger in our entire history.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
BIDEN: So today, I look forward to discussing how we can even deepen it more, including increasing defense and then technology and cooperation across the board.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
BIDEN: We can also discuss how we can continue to enhance and ensure Indo-Pacific remains a free, open and prosperous region on the world with us standing together.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
BIDEN: I thank you for being here. Mr. Prime Minister. You've heard me say this before, but I'll say it again, you're a genuine leader, a true partner and a good friend. Thank you for being here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
KISHIDA (Interpreted): Well, Joe, thank you so much for those very kind words of welcome, and I am very grateful to be invited to the United States for this official visit. My wife, Yuko, and I are sincerely grateful for the warm hospitality extended by you and Dr. Biden. Up until now, Joe, you and I, we have had countless dialogues and we have nurtured a friendship and a trust along the way. Japan and the United States are now at the forefront in maintaining and strengthening a free and open international order that are based on the rule of law. Japan and the United States are also indispensable now to each other in driving sustainable and inclusive economic growth as well.
[11:15:00] Through this official visit, I look forward to confirming the robust bond between our two nations, and show -- demonstrate at home and abroad how Japan and the U.S. firmly bound together will build a future as global partners. So, once again, I thank you for your warm hospitality.
BIDEN: Thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
SOLOMON: All right. We've just been watching U.S. President Joe Biden there as he hosts the Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio. A few takeaways from those brief comments that happened just moments ago, the President said -- he talked about the historic trilateral agreement with South Korea but he also said our alliance with Japan has never been stronger, and that today he looks forward to going even deeper in that alliance with defense, technology and cooperation across the board. I should say that we're expecting a news conference between the two leaders in a little bit more than an hour, at 12:30 p.m. Eastern, and we will bring that to you.
Also coming up for us right here, abortion is on the ballot this November. We're going to take a closer look at Arizona's stunning ruling over an abortion ban that dates back to the Civil War. Our panel will join us after the break.
-- on America's infrastructure. That question coming from a former White House Chief of Staff, who is now being quoted, saying that the economy is bigger than bridges. I'll explain just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLOMON: Welcome back. Democrats are pouncing on Donald Trump after Tuesday's stunning ruling in Arizona. The U.S. state now has one of the strictest abortion laws in the nation, making the issue potentially a major player in the upcoming presidential election.
CNN's Brian Todd has the details on what this 160-year-old law now means for the 21st century.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATIE HOBBS, GOVERNOR, ARIZONA: It is a dark day in Arizona.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Arizona's Supreme Court ruling that the state must enforce a near total ban on all abortions, the controversial law which dates back to the Civil War before Arizona even became a state.
[11:20:00]
The court saying quote "Physicians are now on notice that all abortions, except those necessary to save a woman's life, are illegal. Abortion providers could face a prison sentence of two to five years.
HOBBS: The near total Civil War era ban that continues to hang over our heads only serves to create more chaos for women and doctors in our state.
TODD (voice-over): The Arizona law is on hold for two weeks, while a lower court hears arguments on its constitutionality, and Arizona's Attorney General, Kris Mayes, a Democrat, says that, at least while she is in office, no woman or doctor will be prosecuted under this law by the state. President Biden calls the new ban "cruel", and Vice President Kamala Harris said this on X.
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To stop band like this, we need a United States Congress that will restore the protections of Roe v. Wade. And when they do, President Joe Biden will sign it into law. And let's always remember, it does not have to be this way.
TODD (voice-over): Opponents of abortion are applauding the Arizona ruling. The group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America in a statement saying quote, "We celebrate this enormous victory for unborn children and their mothers", and claiming the ruling quote "will protect more than 11,000 babies annually." This comes just one day after former President Donald Trump announced his campaign position on abortion, declining to support a federal nationwide ban on abortions, saying it should be left up to states.
DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: At the end of the day, this is all about the will of the people.
TODD (voice-over): And it all comes on the heels of a controversial ruling in Florida's Supreme Court last week that allowed a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy to take effect next month. Florida's high court did allow a proposed constitutional amendment that would establish the right to an abortion to go on the ballot this November, to the delight of abortion rights activists who pushed for that.
LAUREN BRENZEL, DIRECTOR, YES ON 4: What it does is remove politicians' ability to interfere with her private medical decisions.
TODD (voice-over): Florida is one of several states where abortion will or may be on the ballot in November, when voters will decide whether to guarantee the right to an abortion in their state's constitutions.
AYESHA RASCOE, NPR HOST, "WEEKEND EDITION SUNDAY" & UP FIRST" PODCAST: You're seeing all of this turmoil where people don't know from day to day what is going to be the law in their state, what happens if they get pregnant and they want to terminate the pregnancy.
TODD: Many abortion rights activists still have their sights set on a longer-term strategy to restore federally approved access to abortion. But, even they realize it won't happen soon. One leader of Planned Parenthood saying it could take decades. So, for now, their strategy is focused on going state by state to protect and maybe even expand in some cases access to abortion.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: Now, Arizona is a key swing state and the issue of abortion is poised to go to the heart of the 2024 race. Strategist Greg Valliere writes this morning, "It's increasingly likely that abortion will be a dominant issue in the election. In every state where strict abortion restrictions have been on the ballot the pro-choice forces have won. This is a serious challenge to Trump's re-election", he writes. And the polling does appear to back this up. When asked about abortion, one poll had 64 percent of voters saying that it's either the most or a very important issue, with 35 percent of voters saying that it was only somewhat important to them, or somewhat not important.
Let's turn now to today's panel to continue this discussion on abortion in America. Joining us today is Republican Strategist Rina Shah, and Democratic Strategist Brad Woodhouse. Good to see you both.
Rina, let me start with you. Just your thoughts on this ruling out of Arizona. And is this even what Republican women want?
RINA SHAH, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST, & FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN SPOKESPERSON AND SR. ADVISOR: I am completely struck by this, Rahel, because this ban that has been enacted is not just from the Civil War era. This is before women even got the right to vote, something we got in 1920 because of the 19th Amendment. And what's very important to note is that prior to us getting the right to vote, American women, and I must add, it was white American women who got the right to vote in 1920. Of course, women of color came after.
But, what I will say again is we were thought to be incapable of independent thought prior to having the right to vote. That's why we didn't have it. And that's what this moment feels like. It feels unconscionable to today's average woman sitting anywhere in America coast to coast, rural or urban, that she does not have the bodily autonomy that she thought she would have in the year 2024. And I have a hard time believing that many American women think that this is a move that guarantees us the ability to be free and equal members of this representative democracy that we have.
So, the short answer is this. Republican women across the country are livid about these decisions that are increasingly happening in states where you have these legislatures that are going too far. They're going beyond what even the super Republican voter wants. We saw that in Florida just recently, and now we see it in Arizona. Thankfully, the court had given a two-week period to say, hey, let's see if there is other constitutional processes here that can come into play, and the Attorney General, a Democrat, has also said she will not enforce this law.
[11:25:00]
So, this, excuse me, the ban and criminalize anybody that does provide abortion care at this point, this is a severe moment for folks who, again, are concerned about rights being taken away from American women in a post-Roe situation where we've had this overturn of that landmark law, and the Dobbs decision is now really showing Republican legislatures that they have free rein to do whatever they wish.
SOLOMON: Yeah. And Brad, I mean, this is obviously an issue that impacts a lot of women, certainly, but it's also a pretty big political issue. Let's take a look at just sort of some of Trump's comments about abortion over the last few years or so, in the past. Let's look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'm very pro-choice. I hate the concept of abortion. I'm pro- life. There has to be some form of punishment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the woman.
TRUMP: Both sides will come together. And for the first time in 52 years, you'll have an issue that we can put behind us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At the federal level?
TRUMP: It could be state or it could be federal. I don't frankly care.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: So, Brad, that cover quite a bit of time. The first clip was from 1999. People change their minds at times. Fine. But, you say that this could be a political earthquake, not just for Trump, but also Republicans at large.
BRAD WOODHOUSE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, absolutely. I think, as was noted earlier, every time since the Dobbs decision, that abortion has been on the ballot, either as a ballot measure to instill those rights for women in states or as a key political issue in elections like the midterms, Republicans have lost and pro-choice Democrats have won. And I think that this -- look, this decision, and I agree with everything that Rina said, I mean, this decision in Arizona is awful for women. It is awful for families. It's awful for the state, but it is awful politically for Donald Trump and Republicans.
I mean, Trump just said on Monday, states should just do whatever type of bans they want. So, Trump owns this ban. He proudly said he was responsible for overturning Roe v. Wade. The turning over Roe v. Wade is the direct result of the decision by the Arizona Supreme Court for a near total abortion ban.
SOLOMON: And Rina, it seems like some candidates and Republican candidates are acknowledging that this is really awful, and in Brad's words for them, Kari Lake, who is running for Senate, who once said that near total ban was a great law, yesterday, she said that she opposes the ruling. I mean, is that going to be enough for some voters to even have an about face publicly? Or I mean, if you're a Republican who has supported one of these types of bans, are you pretty much boxed in at this point?
SHAH: Well, if you're a Republican and has supported a ban that is anywhere under 18 or 15 weeks, you're actually in this limited minority. I mean, that's a faction within the faction of the Republican Party. Public opinion has always teetered somewhere between 15 to 20 weeks. And look, the Republican Party suffers from the fact that the extreme minority still governs it. And now you see people in state legislatures that are Republican-led, they don't know how to pull the levers of the government. This was exactly what happened in Arizona. Don't blame their Supreme Court. Blame their legislature for not redacting an old statute so that this would just happen. The Civil War-era ban could have kicked in.
This kind of stuff should tell the American public that we need to be serious about what we put in state legislatures. You need to research your Republicans at every level of government because they are not all the same. But, it does feel this way. So, one thing is just true here, Rahel. We have to understand that this is going to be a galvanizing issue. Will it be a top one? We have still yet to see. But, for women, largely even right-leaning, we know that this is against what they want.
SOLOMON: Brad, let me let you have the last word here. I actually want to pivot to another issue, another potentially galvanizing issue, the economy and inflation in particular. I'm sure you've seen this new POLITICO reporting this morning with this audio of a leaked transcript from a top Democrat from -- within Biden's own administration at one point. His former Chief of Staff. Ron Klain, talking about that Biden is talking about the wrong things. He is talking too much, in his words, about infrastructure investments, bridges, and not talking about inflation.
Now, he says in part he is not a congressman. He is not running for Congress, says Klain. "I think it's kind of a" -- and I think we can pull this up for you, "I think it's kind of a fool's errand. I think that it doesn't get covered that much because, look, it's a leap and bridge, like, it's a bridge and how interesting is the bridge? It's a little interesting, but it's not a lot interesting."
Brad, your perspective. One, what does it say that you have someone from within his own administration at one point calling him out? And two, is he talking about bridges too much?
WOODHOUSE: Well, look, I don't know what Ron is talking about here.
[11:30:00]
I mean, the President was in Wisconsin this week, announcing, relieving student loan debt for millions -- from a millions of American people. Last week or the week before, he was appearing with President Obama and Speaker Pelosi, talking about reducing healthcare costs. He is making -- made an announcement recently about reducing the cost of inhalers and prescription drugs. He is talking about the economy and reducing costs all the time. And by the way, infrastructure, bridges, roads, I mean, look at what just happened in Baltimore. Infrastructure is vitally important to the American people, and I think the President can walk and chew gum at the same time.
SOLOMON: Yeah. And I will say that, this morning, the President has been talking about bridges. He was talking about that new inflation report, which was disappointing. The President saying, look, there is more to do, and acknowledged that prices for housing and -- groceries, rather, are still too high. We will leave it here. Rina Shah, Brad Woodhouse, thank you both.
WOODHOUSE: Great. Thank you.
SHAH: Thank you.
SOLOMON: All right. Coming up a little later this hour, millions of Americans under threat of storms and floods. We're going to have the latest forecast and advice. Plus, Japan's Prime Minister making a visit to Washington and making a pitch to American companies to invest in his country's tech sectors. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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.
Just a short time ago, the former Chief Financial Officer of the Trump Organization was sentenced to five months in jail. Allen Weisselberg admitted to lying to prosecutors about the size of Donald Trump's real estate holdings in New York. During questioning, he has pleaded guilty to two felony counts.
Northwestern Kazakhstan officials said that more than 96,000 people have been evacuated from their homes because of dangerous flooding in the area. It's caused by rapidly melting snow, due to warm temperatures, and made worse after a dam broke in Russia.
And at this hour, as we've been following for you, U.S. President Joe Biden is holding bilateral talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House. The two leaders looking to strengthen their military defense alliance during the summit. But, that's not the only thing on the agenda. Mr. Kishida is also reaching out to the CEOs of American companies to invest in Japan's tech sector, including artificial intelligence and semiconductors.
All right. Let's bring in someone with great perspective on this. Jamie Metzl is the Founder and Chair of OneShared.World. He is also the author of the forthcoming book "Superconvergence: How the Genetics, Biotech, and AI Revolutions Will Transform our Lives, Work, and World".
[11:35:00]
Jamie, it's so good to have you today.
Thank you.
JAMIE METZL, FOUNDER AND CHAIR, ONESHARED.WORLD, & SENIOR FELLOW, ATLANTIC COUNCIL: Thank you. My pleasure.
SOLOMON: I'm curious in this moment in time, why the alliance between the U.S. and Japan growing stronger is especially significant strategically? What are you watching? METZL: Which is hugely important, of course, because China is becoming a very aggressive and in many ways dangerous actor, certainly in Asia and even globally, as a result of its collaboration and cooperation with China. So, what Japan is seeing is China being very aggressive, repeatedly violating Japanese territorial waters, extreme aggression in the South China Sea, violating Philippine national territorial waters. And what Japan realizes and the United States realizes is that we are massively over reliant on China and strategic supply chains running through China.
And so, we know that there will be increasingly a greater Chinese economic and innovation and technology sphere and a greater American sphere, and Japan and the United States are recommitting our commitments to each other that we -- our fates are tied together in many ways, and that's certainly on the strategic level, and that's what's being discussed today, but also on the trade and economic level. And that's why, as you mentioned correctly, AI, superconductors, the kind of core technologies of the new economy are what these leaders are discussing, and not just for those leaders, but also business leaders saying, how can we invest more in each other's economies? How can we invest more in each other's societies so we can be tied together and together build a safer region?
SOLOMON: Yeah. Jamie, one thing that caught my attention when we heard from President Joe Biden a short time ago was he talked about the historic trilateral agreement with South Korea. And so, we've seen Japan even just in that region sort of build these alliances and these ties. And I'm curious, what China has to be thinking, watching this visit? What China has to be thinking, looking at these partnerships, which appear to be getting stronger?
METZL: So, it's really significant, and I'm glad that you raised that. So, traditionally, the United States has bilateral, strong bilateral strategic relations with -- certainly with Japan and Korea, South Korea and with others, but Japan and South Korea traditionally, at least since the Second World War and the Korean War, have had a terrible relationship. And so, the United States has played a leading role in trying to bring Japan and South Korea together because the strategic interests of the United States, Japan and South Korea are aligned, and that strategic interest is to stand up to the bullying and aggression of China and North Korea. And that's really important.
And so, Japan, in many ways, is graduating from being a strategic dependent, where it depends on the United States, to being really a full-fledged partner. And because of that, we need to have a more latticed relationship between America's allies and partners in Japan, and Korea allies and partners in the region.
But, the thing that we're -- that everybody is afraid of is China. And just as the Japanese Prime Minister is in Washington, meeting with President Biden, Xi Jinping, the President of China, is meeting with Sergey Lavrov, the Foreign Minister of Russia in Beijing. And so, Russia and China are collaborating in lots of ways. And now, it seems clear that China is giving not insignificant material support to the Russian war effort, invasion of Ukraine. And so, we're seeing two different visions of the future. And the United States, Japan, Korea, Philippines are standing together in support of a rules-based international order, and if we're successful, that will be an order that helps many people across the world flourish.
SOLOMON: Fascinating. And then, just lastly, in terms of some of the technological partnerships and the economic cooperation, is it too late in certain areas? Because you think about sort of Taiwan and sort of their -- certainly, their heads up. I mean, is it too late, or do you feel like it's still an even playing field?
METZL: It's certainly not too late. It's never too late, because we are living in a world of rapid technological transformation. You referenced my new book, Superconvergence, and that's what the book is all about, how change is accelerating. And it's not just one technology, AI, genetics, biotechnology. It's all of these technologies coming together. And leadership of the world will depend on taking leadership in the commanding heights of the economy.
[11:40:00]
But, what leaders certainly in the United States and Japan and elsewhere realizing is that we have great vulnerabilities of over reliance is on China, and those need to be addressed, and that China is weaponizing in many ways its access to the global economy and using our technologies against us, certainly in their military. And that's why this effort of certainly the leaders of the United States and Japan and others is about, how do we get our world on a better track, where democracies and other countries that are opposing this kind of bullying, certainly of China and Russia, can work together? And for the countries that are trying to use these technologies against us, how can we best stand up to that?
SOLOMON: Yeah. It sort of reminds me of that concept of friendshoring, of sort of perhaps deepening relationships with countries that are more friendly, at least in terms of your values. Jamie Metzl, we could talk about this for much longer, but we'll have to leave it here. Thank you so much for the insights and the perspective today.
METZL: Thank you.
SOLOMON: All right. We want to get back to one of our top stories here in the U.S. A little earlier, we told you six former Mississippi law enforcement officers were sentenced by the state. The officers pleaded guilty to torturing two black men, one of whom was shot in the mouth. They received state sentences ranging from 15 to 45 years. This group of officers, some of whom called themselves the quote "Goon Squad", last month, all six were also sentenced to federal prison terms from 10 to 40 years.
Let's get to Ryan Young, who is outside this courthouse. Ryan, you have been covering this story from the very beginning. Walk us through what happened today.
RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Look, we've been watching this for over eight months, and the victims, everything they've told us so far has played out in court from how they were treated to what happened to him, the fact that they faced torture for some two hours. What we learned here today is this is the first time that Rankin County police officers and county deputies have ever faced charges and were convicted. What we did learn is those state charges will run concurrent with the federal charges. So, they didn't get any extra time today. This really sent a clear message.
Let's remind our viewers how this started. There was the accusation that these men were dating a white woman, and that's why their house was raided. Once the house was raided by the "Goon Squad", the members did everything from waterboarding to spreading chocolate syrup on them. They tried to sexually assault the men. They took Tasers and hit them over and over again with the Tasers to see which Taser was more effective. Then, one officer pulled a gun out and shot Michael Jenkins in the mouth. That changed his life, obviously. And if it wasn't for that shot, we probably wouldn't be here today. But, listen to Michael Jenkins talk about this day in court.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL JENKINS, VICTIM OF DEPUTY ASSAULT: (Inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Parker.
EDDIE PARKER, VICTIM OF DEPUTY ASSAULT: (Inaudible). So, I appreciate y'all. Today, Rankin County made a believer out of me, made a believer out of hundreds, hundred thousands, maybe millions of people. So, I'm just thankful that I'm here to see it. And I'm glad (inaudible) fighting for us. I mean, could it be without them, all our family man they did and ran with us. It's been up and down and up and down. It's still up and down. But, still a roller coaster, man. We go ride this thing out, man. Appreciate you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YOUNG: Yeah. I think one thing that stands out to me, Rahel, is when he said, thank you for giving us a voice. When he first got the phone call about this story, it was hard to believe the details. I mean, everything they said after we talked for over a half hour on the phone, it was still hard to believe it. But, one after another, the evidence started to come out. And I think one of the things I learned from court is that Daniel Opdyke, one of the deputies actually had a text group chat. He is the one who actually turned that information over to the state and the federal authorities, and that sort of started unraveling this whole complex web.
Now, the conversation here extends because people want Bryan Bailey, the sheriff of Rankin County, to step down. That hasn't happened yet. He says he will not step down. He says he had no idea that this sort of thing was going on. The "Goon Squad" members actually had a challenge coin that they would pass out to show that they were members of the "Goon Squad". The fourth person in charge of criminal investigation in this county was also a member of the "Goon Squad." A loud message being sent.
[11:45:00]
People here believe this is not over just yet because obviously the federal government is looking into the Rankin County Sheriff's Department. There are other victims who are coming forward, who say they were terrorized by these same men. A lot of questions about what's going on. But, two judges now sending a very strong message about what won't be allowed. You're talking about some people facing over 30 years now to sit there and think about the crimes that they admitted to committing. Rahel.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Ryan Young, to say what happened here was disturbing, is obviously a gross understatement. But, as you point out, this is not over because there is that DoJ investigation to determine if these actions were widespread, and sort of what the people of that community have had to endure. Ryan Young live for us there. And --
YOUNG: And --
SOLOMON: Go ahead, Ryan.
YOUNG: One last thing here. Let's not forget, the federal government actually took out billboards and put it all over this county to ask people to come forward with more information. So, like you said, this investigation is still rolling.
SOLOMON: Yeah. OK. Ryan Young, we thank you. Thanks a lot.
All right. Bad news for buyers. New numbers show that consumer costs, yeah, they are on the rise. We're going to break down the data, coming up next. Plus, why we love gold? Sales of the precious metal are taking off in an unlikely spot. We'll tell you what it is, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLOMON: Welcome back. The key report on the state of inflation in the U.S. released Wednesday shows consumer costs were rising once again in the month of March, and two of the big culprits were gasoline prices and housing prices. The Consumer Price Index, or CPI, showed a 3.5 percent increase for the year ending in March. That is the highest annual gain in the past six months.
Let's bring in CNN Reporter Matt Egan. Matt, of course, as you know, this was certainly higher than expectations and higher than the month prior. Break it down for us.
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Yeah, Rahel. It feels like inflation is sort of stuck right now. For much of last year, inflation kind of went right to script. Right? Price gains were cooling as the Fed was raising interest rates rapidly. But, now that progress has really stalled out. Market veteran Jason Pride, he said that right now inflation is kind of like a child that is stubborn and refusing to leave the playground, which is something that I can relate to, for sure.
What we're seeing is that consumer prices, as you mentioned, up 3.5 percent year-over-year, hotter than expected, hotter than the month before, nowhere really near that two percent goal that the Fed has. Most concerningly, core inflation, which excludes food and energy, that was supposed to cool down and it didn't. And as far as why this is happening, you mentioned the two main culprits, gasoline and housing, and those are two things that people can't really avoid.
Another major concern is the cost of car insurance. We're seeing that car insurance is now up by 22 percent over the last 12 months. Now, there are of course some improvements. Right? We're seeing that new cars and used cars, airfare, all of those dropped on a month-over- month basis.
[11:50:00]
And when you look at the long-term chart that we had up just a minute ago, you can see that. Listen, things have, of course, improved from back in the middle of 2022 when this inflation gauge was over nine percent. But, it does seem to be kind of stuck in this three percent to four range. And no surprise, this is not sitting well with investors on Wall Street. As soon as these numbers came out, we saw a bond yield spike. Stock futures and the stock market go down pretty significantly. At last look, the Dow was down about 400 points, almost 500 points there, you see actually near session lows, around 1.3 percent, even steeper losses for the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ.
And listen, the obvious question here, Rahel, is how is the Fed going to be able to start cutting interest rates anytime soon when you have a really hot jobs market, and you have inflation numbers that consistently this year have been coming in hotter than expected? Former Obama economist Jason Furman, he said, look, the next move for the Fed might not be a cut. It might actually be an interest rate hike. Of course --
SOLOMON: Yeah.
EGAN: -- that would be another thing that would not sit well with investors.
SOLOMON: Yeah. I mean, it is shocking that we have gone from absolutely seeing rate cuts in 2024 to maybe we don't see any rate cuts at all to maybe we see a rate increase.
Speaking of increase, apparently, more people are buying gold, Matt. Well, what's that about?
EGAN: Yeah. Listen, gold is having a moment. We're seeing gold prices up 14 percent so far this year. It has been described as a monster rally of historic proportions, approaching $2,400 an ounce for the first time ever. There is a few factors behind this move, including the fact that inflation is still too hot. I mean, gold is a hedge against inflation and has been for centuries. Also, these rate cuts that we're talking about, sometimes rate cuts, that can help boost the price of gold. Then there is a lot of demand for physical gold right now because central bankers, including those in China, they've been buying aggressively as they seek to diversify away from the dollar.
Gold is also something that people buy when they're worried, right, and there are concerns about wars, the Russia-Ukraine war, the situation in the Middle East, and then there is FOMO, right, just the fear of missing out. To some extent, people are buying gold because other people are buying gold and because the price is going up. But, no matter the reason, Rahel, this has been a very impressive rally, and it's one that people on Wall Street are watching very closely.
SOLOMON: Yeah. The sales of gold apparently going up while the price of everything pretty much goes sideways. Matt Egan live for us in New York. Matt, thank you.
EGAN: Thanks.
SOLOMON: All right. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLOMON: Parts of the U.S. are dealing with severe weather that could get worse later in the day in the southeast, which includes Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Georgia. Parts of the south have already dealt with battering storms that caused torrential rains, flooding, damaging winds and tornadoes.
Let's bring in CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar to explain a little bit more about what you're watching, Allison.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah. That's right. You can see behind me some of the damage that's coming in. We've had numerous sheds and barns near the town of Port Arthur, Texas, also damage to roofs in nearby homes and businesses, even structurally. I'm starting to see walls that have collapsed, things like that, bricks coming down, some of the damage that we've seen in that area. We also still have some ongoing tornado warnings and severe thunderstorm warnings that are right now across portions of Louisiana as well as the state of Mississippi.
[11:55:00]
There is a tornado watch for those areas, valid until one o'clock Central Time this afternoon, and a new tornado watch that was extended into the surrounding states of areas of Florida as well as Alabama that will extend into the afternoon. Those threats continue for all of these areas you see here. That includes strong tornadoes, damaging winds and the potential for some large hail.
Flooding has also been a concern. A flash flood emergency for the town of Kirbyville, Texas. Again, that river, the creek that was there rose six feet in just a few hours, more than six feet, excuse me. And flood watches and flash flood warnings in effect for a lot of different areas around these locations. Some of these spots have already picked up four to six inches of rain. Now, we're expecting an additional one to three inches on top of that. You can see, Rahel, that system is going to continue to progress eastward as we go through the rest of the day today.
SOLOMON: Allison Chinchar in Atlanta, Allison thanks so much.
Well, we know your time is money. So, thank you for spending some time with me. I'm Rahel Solomon in New York. Stick with CNN. One World is coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:00:00]
