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CNN International: Speaker Mike Johnson Under Threat From How Own Party; Russia Advances in East Ukraine Amid Delay of Western Aid; Paris Pushes for More Social Housing to Keep Costs Down; South Dakota Governor Trolled for Shooting, Killer Dog. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired April 30, 2024 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00]
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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The House returned after a week off in recess following the aftermath of that vote to provide about $95 billion in aid, not just for Israel and for Taiwan, but for Ukraine. And that issue of Ukraine badly dividing the House Republican conference. Being part of what Marjorie Taylor Greene, the conservative firebrand who has called for the ouster of Mike Johnson, citing that move in particular for why she believes he should be out of the speakership. Marjorie Taylor Greene still has the power.
One, any individual House Republican does to essentially call for a vote seeking the ouster of the Speaker. Something we saw done last fall when Kevin McCarthy became the first ever House Speaker to be pushed out of the speakership by the hands of his own colleagues. She is still continuing to threaten that, but she did not come to Capitol Hill on Monday for a vote. She didn't reveal her latest thinking.
I did catch up with several Republicans, including one of the Republicans who supports her efforts. That's Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky. He made clear that they're, quote, undecided about when to call for such a vote.
The other question is, how many votes does she ultimately have? Because a lot of Republicans, even some of the more conservative members of the conference who have been critical of the deal-making of Mike Johnson, are not there yet and believe the timing is wrong. In the middle of the election year, she tried to push out the Speaker and lead to turmoil, further turmoil, within the House GOP.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's wrong? It weakens the party. It weakens Congress.
REP. ELI CRANE (R-AZ): They're pissed off. They feel like they don't get represented up here.
RAJU: And are you ready to throw out the Speaker?
CRANE: No.
RAJU: Why's that? CRANE: For a bunch of different reasons. Yes.
RAJU: Because it's not a good time?
CRANE: Yes, the timing.
REP. CHIP ROY (R-TX): There's obviously frustration with what happened.
RAJU: Do you oppose the motion to vacate?
ROY: Again, I oppose it with Kevin. I think right now we need to just do our job.
RAJU: And the ultimate question here is, what Democrats ultimately will do? Because if this vote does come and does happen, it would almost certainly require Democrats to come to Mike Johnson's defense. And if they do kill this effort to try to oust him from the Speakership, can he sustain a Speakership propped up by Democrats? And for how long can he sustain that? All major questions that hover over the Speaker at this critical time.
Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
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FOSTER: As we just mentioned, Speaker Johnson's support for Ukraine aid is the main reason that Marjorie Taylor Greene wants him out, even though the country is struggling to fend off Russia's advances on the battlefield.
At least five people are dead and 28 others injured after a Russian missile struck in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa. Ukrainian officials say the attack targeted one of the most popular places in the city, where people go to walk their dogs and play sport.
The strike also damaged several buildings, homes and businesses, including the students' palace at the Odesa Law Academy. Officials say two children and a pregnant woman are among the wounded.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says incoming military aid isn't arriving fast enough. The issue was a top priority in meetings with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Kyiv on Monday. Stoltenberg admitted that NATO allies hadn't delivered what they promised. While speaking alongside Zelenskyy, he said delays in support have triggered, quote, serious consequences on the battlefield.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Timely support for our army. Today, I don't see anything positive on this point yet. There are supplies. They have slightly begun. This process needs to be sped up.
JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: Ukraine has been outgunned for months, forced to ration its ammunition. But it's not too late for Ukraine to prevail. More support is on the way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, Russia is taking advantage of Ukraine's delayed assistance, ramping up pressure on the front line. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has more.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While U.S. Congress delayed, the damage here was already done. This is rare body camera footage from Russians, confident in their advances in the east, slow but sure. Adding to a list of nowhere villages, falling to Moscow day by day, claiming Monday to have taken here Novobakhmutivka. As Ukraine almost always stops short of saying how bad it's got.
No more true of that is the fate of Ocheretyne, another tiny village in Donetsk, also of southern unwanted fame.
Despite the brutal pounding and evacuation you can see here, a military spokesman claims Sunday the Russians only had a partial foothold.
Currently, the part where the enemy is located is under our fire control and all measures are being taken to knock the enemy out of there, he said.
This after days of Russian soldiers posting videos of them raising flags inside the town. Ukraine's official statements as Russian footage showed a continued advance, showing a distance from reality, common when you're trying to win a war.
But uncommonly now angering normally loyal Ukrainian bloggers. So Ukraine's top military commander was forced to set a bleak record straight, saying the front lines had escalated, as Moscow has concentrated its efforts in several directions, creating a significant advantage in forces and in means. He said the changing situation had led to an ambiguous understanding.
[04:35:00]
Here is another case in point, Berdychiv, from which Ukraine was posting bullish videos of Russians being hit, just before their commander said they'd withdrawn Sunday.
Across the eastern front, the news is bleak, the change since the fall of Avdiivka ten weeks ago stark on this Ukrainian blogger's map. Russia making its most concerted widespread and consistent advances perhaps since the invasion.
This is Zelensky's problem to keep now, as he bolsters morale in towns and the Russian crosshairs. He has the money and so soon the weapons and the less blame he can shift for failure.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We are cooperating with our partners at all levels, he said, to achieve the level of efficiency and assistance that is needed not only to maintain our positions, but also to disrupt Russia's war plans. We're still waiting for the supplies that have been promised to Ukraine.
WALSH (voice-over): But more is likely coming. Where you just saw Zelenskyy visit, this is what is left of Chasiv Yar, yet another town. Russia has turned into this smoldering ruin, here with incendiary munitions, in the name of liberating and demilitarizing Ukraine.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.
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FOSTER: Five days after suggesting he might resign, Spain's Prime Minister has announced he will remain in office. Pedro Sanchez says he'll continue to lead the Spanish government, quote, with more force if possible. Last week, the Prime Minister told the country he was considering stepping down after a court opened a business corruption probe against his wife. Mr. Sanchez says his wife is innocent and that those complaints are part of a deliberate smear campaign by his far- right opponents.
Over the weekend, thousands of Socialist Party supporters marched in Madrid, urging the Prime Minister to stay in power.
Barely a year into office, Scotland's first minister has resigned, plunging his ruling Scottish National Party into chaos. Humza Yousaf's government fell apart unexpectedly after he scrapped a coalition agreement with Green Party lawmakers following differences over climate policy. The move backfired as the Greens said they would vote against him in a confidence motion. The SNP will now hold a leadership contest to replace him.
As Paris gears up for this year's Summer Olympics, one of the fiercest competitions might not be the Games themselves but finding an affordable place to stay. Rent is sky high, while available rentals have plummeted. It's especially a problem for many locals already struggling with the high cost of living, which is why Paris is pushing for more rent-controlled, government-owned housing, as CNN's Melissa Bell reports.
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MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The view is second to none, the location as central as they get. But this rent- controlled apartment is now Catherine's for just $800 a month.
CATHERINE CORTINOVIS, LA SAMARITAINE RESIDENT (through translated text): Welcome. The first time I saw it, I was so emotional that I burst into tears.
BELL (voice-over): And this is the building she was able to move into. Reopened amid great pomp in 2021 after some 16 years of renovation, the Samaritaine is one of the French capital's most iconic spots for luxury shopping and dining, not to mention its five-star hotel. But the Samaritaine was also obliged, as part of its reconstruction, to include 96 apartments for the city of Paris to let at modest rates.
JACQUES BAUDRIER, DEPUTY MAYOR OF PARIS IN CHARGE OF HOUSING: If you let the market act, you will have only empty houses, second homes for foreigners or rich French people. If you want Paris to stay a living city with people inhabiting in the city, you must develop a lot of social holdings.
BELL: Across Europe, there's a danger of cities turning to museums and ordinary people being pushed out. But here in Paris, there's the added particularity that this was a city entirely redesigned in the mid-19th century. And that's exactly what gives it its beauty, but also what makes it difficult for the city to adapt to the needs of the 21st century.
BELL (voice-over): All the more so that in the 20th century, social housing was built on the outskirts, in the so-called banlieue, where occasionally top architects were hired to design vast social housing and sometimes grand projects, like the Espaces d'Abraxas estate that was built in the early 1980s. But for all their occasional grandeur, estates like these were kept at arm's length of the chic streets of central Paris, which meant long commutes for those who lived there. Then, in 2001, Paris's town hall was won by the left.
IAN BROSSAT, COMMUNIST PARTY SENATOR (through translated text): Our objective is social mixing and avoiding making ghettos. Avoiding ghettos for poor people, avoiding ghettos for rich people. And therefore prioritizing social housing where there is not enough.
BELL (voice-over): Private Parisian owners, wary of lowering house values, were, says Ian Brossat, just one of the hurdles that Paris's town hall had to overcome.
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In fact, the average price of a one-bedroom apartment in Paris has more than doubled these last 20 years and nearly tripled in some areas for two-bedroom homes.
Which, in turn, has made centrally located social housing all the more important. Already, it is one in nine Parisians that benefits.
People like Zina, whose place in the La Samaritaine development allows her to live close to the central Paris hospital where she works.
ZINA HADJAB, LA SAMARITAINE RESIDENT (through translated text): As they say, it's an open air museum, it's pleasant. It's really a good place to live.
BELL (voice-over): An open-air museum that is now seeking to help those who keep its schools and hospitals running to be able to benefit from them too.
Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE) FOSTER: A U.K. energy minister says members of the G7 have agreed to shut down all their coal plants by 2035, which would be a potential breakthrough in the fight against climate change. Ministers from each country have been meeting in Italy, where climate talks are expected to wrap up on Tuesday. Coal is the world's dirtiest fossil fuel and its use has been a controversial topic at international talks.
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ANDREW DOWIE, U.K. MINISTER FOR NUCLEAR AND RENEWABLES: This, by the way, is a historic agreement, something that we weren't able to achieve at COP28 in Dubai last year. So to have the G7 nations come around the table and send out a signal to the world that we, the advanced economies of the world, are committing to phasing out coal by the early 2030s is quite incredible.
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FOSTER: Well, moving away from coal would impact Japan the most. Climate experts say nearly a third of the country's electricity came from coal last year. Japan has blocked progress on the issue at the past G7 meetings.
Prosecutors in Paris have set an October trial date for French actor Gerard Depardieu. The 75-year-old is accused of sexual assault. During filming of the movie "The Green Shutters" three years ago, he denies any wrongdoing. Prosecutors say Depardieu is also under investigation for the suspected rape and sexual assault of a co-star in 2018. Depardieu has appeared in more than 200 films and TV series.
Four law enforcement officers are dead after shooting in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Eight officers were shot at while attempting to serve a warrant at a home. Three of them were killed on the scene, and one succumbed to his injuries late on Monday. Charlotte's police chief praised their bravery.
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CHIEF JOHNNY JENNINGS, CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG POLICE DEPARTMENT: They knew that they had officers that needed help, that needed to be extracted from their location, yet they went in, some getting shot themselves as a result. So, the bravery, the heroism, everything that goes down, that defines what our profession is, our people demonstrated that today.
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FOSTER: Local police say the officers were met with gunfire as they approached the home and returned fire, killing one suspect. Police haven't yet released all their identities. Charlotte's police chief says this is the most tragic shooting he's seen in more than 30 years of work.
In a statement, U.S. President Joe Biden called the officers heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice, adding: Leaders in Congress need to step up so that we ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines require safe storage of guns. And pass universal background checks and a national red flag law. Enough is enough.
Just into CNN. Metropolitan police say there's been a stabbing attack in Hainault in East London. Investigators say they've arrested a 36- year-old man who had a sword. They say there are no other suspects and don't believe that it was terror related. Members of the public were attacked, as well as two police officers. The severity of their injuries isn't known at this time, but we'll have more on the story as it becomes available to us.
Still to come, South Dakota's governor gets trolled. The backlash against Kristi Noem growing online after her admission that she killed her dog.
Plus, former political rivals Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis met for the first time in months. What Trump is saying about their conversation just ahead.
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FOSTER: Ecuador says it's suing Mexico at the International Court of Justice over the country's decision to grant asylum to former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas, which resulted in a raid on Mexico's embassy. It accuses Mexico of violating agreements and international obligations since Glas is facing corruption charges in Ecuador. This came a day before proceedings are set to begin on a complaint filed by Mexico with the ICJ.
The lawsuit alleges that Ecuador's raid on its embassy to arrest Glas earlier this month violates international law. Glas is currently being held at a maximum security prison in Guayaquil.
The online backlash is growing against South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem after her shocking revelation that she shot and killed one of her dogs. She's now being trolled by former U.S. presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, who repurposed an old tweet from 2021 which read, quote: Don't vote for anyone you wouldn't trust with your dog.
The criticism stems from an excerpt from Noem's upcoming book in which she describes killing her dog and a goat on her family farm. CNN's Sunlen Serfaty has more.
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SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Facing intense backlash, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem defending herself after bragging that two decades ago she shot her puppy named Cricket dead. Given that Cricket has shown aggressive behavior toward people by biting them, I decided what I did. Noem's newest statement about the incident, her second explanation in three days, coming after bipartisan uproar and horror, mocking her for what many see as animal cruelty.
Noem scrambling to reframe it in a good political light. Quote: Whether running the ranch or in politics, I have never passed
on my responsibilities to anyone else to handle. Even if it's hard and painful.
In her forthcoming memoir, Noem describes her 14-month-old white- haired pointed puppy that she tried to use for pheasant hunting, a hobby that she has talked about in the past.
GOV. KRISTI NOEM (R-SD): You know, I loved it from the time I was little. And we ran a hunting lodge for many years. We started a hunting lodge, so I spent years guiding hunters.
SERFATY (voice-over): Noem says her puppy Cricket was untrainable, dangerous, and worthless as a hunting dog, according to excerpts obtained by "The Guardian.": I hated that dog, she writes. After Cricket attacked her neighbor's chickens, Noem says she got her gun, took Cricket to a gravel pit, and shot him.
It was not a pleasant job, but it had to be done.
In that same incident, Noem then went on to kill a goat she owned because he was nasty and mean, that the goat smelled disgusting, musky, rancid, and had knocked over her children in the past.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have a very special woman who's hot as a politician. She's a -- she's doing an incredible job in South Dakota. She's the governor, Kristi Noem.
SERFATY (voice-over): All this comes as Noem is being considered as a vice presidential candidate for Donald Trump. Seth Tupper has been covering Kristi Noem since she first ran for Congress over a decade ago.
SETH TUPPER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, SOUTH DAKOTA SEARCHLIGHT: Probably the thought before it came out was that this would help her with Trump, that, you know, it makes her look like this sort of gun-toting, you know, strong Western figure who's unafraid to shock people.
SERFATY (voice-over): Noem has been positioning herself for years.
DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: If Donald Trump is convicted in this trial, will you still support him in November?
NOEM: If my choice is between Joe Biden and Donald Trump every single day of the week, yes, I will support Donald Trump. I have from the very beginning.
NOEM: The team here was remarkable and finally gave me a smile that I can be proud of and confident in.
[04:50:00]
SERFATY (voice-over): And her approach --
TUPPER: The transformation that we've watched with Kristi Noem over the last four years is somebody who has transformed into this sort of mini Trump-like figure who just has this insatiable sort of craving, it seemed like, to be in the headlines all the time for one outrageous thing after the other and seems to thrive on that.
SERFATY (voice-over): -- to get Trump's nod as vice president.
TRUMP: And you're not allowed to say it, so I will not. You know, you're not allowed to say she's beautiful, so I'm not going to say that.
SERFATY: And sources tell CNN that Trump world is very aware of how bad this story is for Noem. So the big question is, how does this hurt her prospects of being potentially Trump's vice presidential pick? And if the story that has certainly appalled so many was a serious miscalculation for her to share.
Sunlen Serfaty, CNN, Washington.
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FOSTER: U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump says he had a great meeting with his former rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. On Sunday, it was their first conversation since DeSantis dropped out of the Republican primary race in January.
After they met, Trump wrote on Truth Social, quote: The conversation mostly concerned how we would work closely together to make America great again.
He added that he was very happy to have DeSantis' full support, but not long ago, they were bashing each other on the campaign trail, of course.
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TRUMP: You can't vote for DeSanctimonious, but he's only at 4 percent or 5 percent. What the hell happened to him, by the way? Man, did he go down.
Ron DeSanctimonious.
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): You can be the most worthless Republican in America but if you kiss the ring, he'll say you're wonderful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Meanwhile, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be on the presidential ballot in California come November. The California Secretary of State's office says the American Independent Party formally submitted its nomination of Kennedy for president on Monday.
His campaign had previously tried to qualify via the minority state "We Are the People." California is now the fourth state where Kennedy has gained official ballot access. Excuse me.
Superstar NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes is embracing his "Dad Bod." I heard how he's showing it off and how you can join him.
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FOSTER: Jason Kelce may have retired from the NFL but he's not leaving football altogether. The Athletic reports Kelsey is signing a deal with ESPN and will be featured on the network's Monday Night Football Countdown. The 36-year-old gained notoriety with his speech during the 2018 Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl victory parade. He hosted the New Heights podcast since 2022.
Kelce's younger brother is about to get a big pay rise. Travis Kelce has signed a contract with extension -- contract extension rather, with the Kansas City Chiefs, making him the highest paid tight end in the NFL.
It's reported to be worth more than $17 million a year, eclipsing the New York Giants' Darren Waller. In 11 seasons with the Chiefs, Kelce has won three Super Bowls and been selected to the Pro Bowl nine times.
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TRAVIS KELCE, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS TIGHT END: Back at it again, baby. Woo! You can see a little Super Bowl right there, man.
[04:55:00]
Feels good to be in KC. I remember coming here 12 years ago, man. It's an honor and a pleasure and I can't wait to get after it these next two years, but no better than right now. Getting fired up for this year. Just got out on the field with the boys. Doggone, we're back at it, baby. Chiefs forever.
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FOSTER: Now to Kelce's team-mate, Chiefs quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, who is apparently proud of his dad bod. The three-time Super Bowl champion has joked about drinking beer and having the body to prove it, but now he's working with Cause Light to show off his six-pack and raise money for charity. Mahomes modelled the beer company's new T- shirts promoting Dad Bod's proceeds from the sales of the shirts go to Mahomes Charity Foundation.
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TAYLOR SWIFT, SINGER SONGWRITER: And for a fortnight there We were forever running to you
Sometimes ask about whoever Now you're in my backyard
Turn into good neighbors
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FOSTER: No stopping Taylor Swift, is there? That song, "Fortnight," is from her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, which now occupies the top 14 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs chart as of Monday, as she pulled off a similar feat in 2022. Swift's new album sold 1.5 million copies in the U.S. in its first three days of release and it's broken streaming records as well on Apple Music, Spotify and Amazon Music.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lion was born without a drop of nobility in his blood. A lion who would change our lives forever. Mufasa.
FOSTER: Unreal, isn't it? Disney just released the first trailer for "Mufasa the Lion King" It's the prequel to the 2019 Lion King remake and follows the story of a young Mufasa and Scar. Some big names in entertainment are in the cast including Beyonce, who reprises her role as the voice of Nala. Beyonce's daughter, Blue Ivy, voices Kiara, the daughter of Simba and Nala.
Thank you for joining me here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster in London. CNN "THIS MORNING" up next after this short break.
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