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Trump Vents About Criminal Cases During New Jersey Rally; Intense Solar Storm Hitting Earth; Ex-Trump Lawyer Turned Enemy Michael Cohen To Testify Monday; At Least 47 Palestinians Killed In Overnight Israel Airstrikes; Interview With Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D- MA); Champions For Change. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired May 11, 2024 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:01]
JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: Trump has been bristling against the gag order in the hush money trial. The judge saying Trump may not publicly talk about Stormy Daniels' testimony this week or his former fixer and lawyer Michael Cohen who's due to take the stand for the prosecution on Monday.
CNN's Alayna Treene is there in New Jersey. She's joining us now.
Alayna, what's the president telling his supporters?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's really interesting, Jessica, because we actually did hear Trump just moments ago really hammer President Joe Biden over what he is arguing as being behind the criminal indictments he is facing. Now he talked about the criminal indictments more generally. He did not specifically discuss his New York hush money case, which of course he was just returning from this week from being out of the courtroom.
So I found that very interesting. I think a big question that still remains as Donald Trump is probably halfway through his remarks right now, we know that he's still currently under a gag order despite his attorneys earlier in the week trying to see if they could alter that gag order to allow him to talk about witnesses more generally, but they said that he could not do that. So it's still unclear whether or not he's going to go back to discuss this case in more detail.
I can tell you, Jessica, from my conversations with Trump's team behind the scenes, his lawyers have really urged him not to do that, not to delve too much into that. But again, we'll see if that changes for the rest of his speech.
I also just want to bring up a couple other things that I found really interesting that he talked about. One is that he claimed that he's going to win New Jersey. Now, Trump has made these kind of comments in the past, but this is the most public way he's done that yet. And look, I talked to many of his advisers about this yesterday, about why are you coming to New Jersey, which is not really considered a critical battleground state.
They actually argue, look, we know we're not probably going to win this state, but Wildwood, which is where we are on the Jersey Shore, is a very pro-Trump area. There's a lot of people here as you can see behind me, who are very enthusiastic in the crowd. They thought that this could be good for Trump after a very explosive and really embarrassing week for him in court. But they also argue that they could get some people from Pennsylvania and the Philly suburbs to come here as well. Not necessarily the expectation that they could win as Donald Trump is claiming -- Jessica.
DEAN: All right. Alayna Treene for us in Wildwood, New Jersey. Thanks so much for that reporting.
And let's bring in our political panel now. Joining me CNN political commentators, Maria Cardona, a Democratic strategist, and Alice Stewart, a Republican strategist. The two of them co-host the podcast "Hot Mics from Left to Right."
Good to see you both.
Alice, let's start first with you. Trump has been complaining and complaining that he's stuck in court. He can't get out on the campaign trail. He gets this weekend off and he stayed nearby where he lives in New Jersey and went to a blue state. It is a red area, to be sure, in a blue state, but still going to New Jersey. What do you make of that?
ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, it's hard to find anything wrong with a crowd that size and, you know, anywhere estimates from 40,000 100,000, that's a pretty good crowd. And look, he's not going to win New Jersey. He lost it in 2020 by almost 19 points, in 2016 by around 13 points. He's back in double-digits right now. But right beside New Jersey is Pennsylvania, That's a key battleground state. He's doing well there.
He needs to continue to do well there. And look to -- you know, to his defense, he has been cooped up in a courtroom. He has been miserable. He has been frustrated with that and good for his campaign to get him out, to get him in a large crowd of strong supporters, even got to have a hot dog on his way in to the events. So good for them to get him out there.
And look, he's addressing a large crowd here, but he's getting massive, massive earned media. There's many outlets that are covering this live. He's going to get more than earned media that he can possibly imagine whether he was in New Jersey or if he was in the heart of Wisconsin. He's going to get tremendous amounts of earned media. And this is certainly a trip not far from where he lives, but it's a trip very well spent.
DEAN: I will say, as a former Philadelphia resident, we did cover when I worked in Philly, you cover Southern New Jersey. So that is in the Philly market, which is an interesting point.
Maria, Trump this week strongly insulted American Jews that support President Biden. I want to play what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The fact is that Crooked Joe hates Israel and he hates the Jewish people. There's no question about that. And if Jewish people are going to vote for Joe Biden, they have to have their head examined. He's a disaster for Israel. The problem is that he hates the Palestinians also. And even more so and he just doesn't know what to do. He's a confused man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: I mean, Maria, obviously he's trying to chip away at a particular demographic, but how can that be effective?
MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, it's certainly going to be effective in strengthening the bond between Jewish voters and President Biden and Democrats because if he thinks it's a good idea to attract voters by insulting those same voters, then he's the one who needs to have his head examined.
[19:05:13]
But look, Jessica, the more that he is out there talking what he really feels and I think this is what he really feels, then the better it is for Joe Biden and for Democrats because he sounds nothing less than like an antisemite. He sounds loony. He sounds a little bit crazy. He sounds like this past week which was horribly hard on him and his ego has gone to his head, not in a good way.
And I think frankly, it helps at the end of the day, the contrast that President Biden and Democrats know is going to be the important one going into the November elections between a steady, a thoughtful, an experienced, a diplomatic president like Joe Biden, who knows how to handle these really incredibly difficult and really complicated world stage global problems versus somebody who, you know, speaks his will and his brain at every second and doesn't make any sense, and is full of hatred and retribution.
That is not what the American people want in a president of the United States. And so the more that he's speaking like that, that he's speaking freely, the better it is for President Biden going into the November elections because the contrast could not be clearer.
DEAN: What do you think, Alice --
STEWART: But --
DEAN: Go ahead.
STEWART: Yes, Jessica, if I can push back on my friend Maria there. Look, Joe Biden has a problem with Jewish people. You go across this country, look at any college campus, look at any, a major streets, where they're having these anti-Israel protests. And that is on Joe Biden. He has split in the Democratic Party because of the far-left progressives in the Democratic Party that are antisemitic and anti- Jewish, and they are pushing back on Joe Biden.
And that is a tremendous problem for him. And for him to come out this week and tell Erin Burnett that he is in the face of Hamas putting Palestinians in the crosshairs of the crossfire to tell Israel to stand down or we're going to withhold some American military important ammunition that they need. That is, that is just unfathomable. And he is getting tremendous push-back, not just by Republicans, but by Jewish people, by him basically taking the side of Hamas over the people of Israel.
That's where he's got a problem with the Jewish people.
CARDONA: OK, Jessica, I do have to jump in here because this is really important. President Biden did not, has never and never, underscore never, will ever take the side of Hamas. And so, Alice, for you to say that I think it's irresponsible. You know, I love you, but that's just not true. And the fact that Republicans are using that talking point I think really underscores how much they lack the knowledge, the expertise, and the nuance to really understand what's going on here with the Israeli-Hamas war.
What Joe Biden did on CNN and what he has done repeatedly from the beginning of this conflict is he has embraced Israel with fervor and in ways that cannot be challenged from frankly the very beginning. And what he is doing now, however, is he is actually telling Netanyahu that there is -- there are ways to go into Rafah where he does not have to put the lives of innocent Palestinians, not Hamas, innocent Palestinians on the line or endanger while Netanyahu goes after Hamas.
Those are the conversations and the diplomatic negotiations that are going on behind the scenes. And Joe Biden is not going to be talking publicly about every single conversation and pushback or embrace that he has with Netanyahu because that is not how diplomacy works. And the fact that Republicans are clueless about that I think underscores the reason why Joe Biden is exactly the right president to have at this moment in time and the right president to be reelected as these issues continue to be something that are flaring up on the global stage.
DEAN: I want to get to one more topic before we run out of time. I want to talk about potential VP picks for Trump and the kind of a theme that we've seen with them.
Alice, Senator Tim Scott from South Carolina, he's been courting Trump for that VP slot. New York Representative Elise Stefanik. Neither of them have committed to -- in certainly situations wouldn't commit to accepting the results of the election. We can listen to what they said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): At the end of the day, the 47th president United States will be President Donald Trump. And I'm excited to get back to low inflation, low unemployment senator, and how to --
KRISTEN WELKER, NBC'S MEET THE PRESS: Wait, wait, Senator, yes or no? Yes or no. Will you accept the election results of 2024, no matter who wins?
[19:10:02]
SCOTT: That is my statement.
WELKER: What about 2024? What about 2024 --
REP. ELISE STEFANIK (R-NY): We will see if this is a legal and valid election. What we're seeing so far is that Democrats are so desperate, they're trying to remove President Trump from the ballot. That is the suppression of the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Alice, is this some sort of litmus test to get on Trump's shortlist? And those are two people that, you know, are smart individuals that, you know, understand that the democracy is functioning and that the 2020 results, I think, I don't want to speak for them, but that there's no evidence that any election was stolen in 2020.
STEWART: Let me just start off by saying, I think all three of us agree here that there was no widespread voter fraud in 2020. Joe Biden is a duly elected president. We should not have tried to stop the certification of the election. But Donald Trump thinks otherwise, and his supporters think otherwise. And yes, to your question, Jessica, there is somewhat of a litmus test if you want to be included on the VP list and you must go along with that mindset, that there was widespread voter fraud and Joe Biden is not the duly elected president.
That's just the reality of it. And not only is that a key factor about loyalty, unequivocal loyalty to Donald Trump is another factor. And look, you know, that might be not be the best way to go about it, but that's clearly what Donald Trump has in his head, it's what his supporters believe. And that's -- the person that he wants on the ticket certainly needs to embrace that mindset.
DEAN: OK. I'm going to have to -- we could talk much more, but unfortunately, we are out of time, but I will hopefully see you both again next week, Maria Cardona and Alice Stewart. Thanks so much.
CARDONA: Thanks so much, Jessica.
STEWART: Thanks, Jessica.
DEAN: Still ahead, the IDF ordered the immediate evacuation of neighborhoods in Eastern Rafah as operations intensify. We're going to look at the human toll on civilians there. Plus, we're going to be joined by Democratic Congressman Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts to talk about how the U.S. is supporting Israel.
And you could get another rare chance to see the Northern Lights tonight. Look at that. Amazing. It's as the most intense solar storm in decades hits earth this weekend. We're going to explain what's going on.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:16:59]
DEAN: You have another chance to catch the Northern Lights tonight in places where you almost never get to see them. Take a look at a sampling of the incredible sights. Green, pink with bright swirls of yellow. Other waves of color kind of all up and down the Eastern Seaboard.
CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam joining us now from the Van Damily Farm? Is this the sign I see behind you there in Atlanta? It's in your backyard. I love that, very official looking. And I see a cute little arm tapping you on the shoulder, too, that I think is coming in in a moment. But first, tell us what's happening, why people are seeing this in the sky.
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, I mean, you got the garden name, right? The Van Damily Family Farm. I'm seeing that some of my vegetables that I've been growing have gone supersized since we've had this (INAUDIBLE) storms so I'm wondering what kind of produce I'm going to be creating this week.
Look, we've got a really unique opportunity to see something absolutely historic. And once in a lifetime for people here in Atlanta, all the way down to Florida. And the reason being is this, what's called a sunspot cluster that has formed on the sun. It is 17 times the size of planet earth. This is just absolutely incredible and you remember those little solar eclipse glasses that we got last month for April 8th solar eclipse?
Well, you can use them and see that sunspot cluster in real life with the naked eye. And that is incredible because to be able to witness that is the reason why we're having this brilliant display of Northern Lights. And so what I want to show you is just this coronal mass ejection, right? That is a solar flare of highly energized particles that are screaming towards the earth. And this is interacting with what is known as -- are magnetic poles and that creates these beautiful blues and violets and reds.
It's almost like a Roman guard using his shield and he's holding it up and deflecting this plasma that is being ejected towards earth and it goes towards the poles. And it makes it more difficult to see it in lower latitudes like where we are here in Atlanta. That is why it is so rare and it is even more rare when you start seeing Aurora Borealis with a palm tree in front of it, Jessica. This is an exceptionally, exceptionally rare event to have witnessed that. You probably noticed something here on my shoulder tapping.
DEAN: Yes. Who's tapping you?
VAN DAM: OK. Now it's your turn, Maya. I was wondering when you were going to -- and she could not wait for this moment. It's this -- you know, this is my daughter Maya, and we have used this as a teachable moment to talk about the Northern Lights and what it is that mystifies at least me as a meteorologist, but trying to bestow this on my own children as well.
So, Maya, I want to show you something. Baby, you know we've been talking about the Northern Lights lately and what we see in the sky? What do you think about them?
MAYA, DEREK VAN DAM'S DAUGHTER: They're so beautiful.
[19:20:02]
VAN DAM: Just like you.
(LAUGHTER)
VAN DAM: Hey, look, I want you to see this picture, Maya. And you see that? Look at those colors. How incredible is that? That -- look at that. I took that picture in our backyard last night and there's a chance that we see that again. What do you think?
MAYA: It is beautiful and I really want to go out to space and see it like in outer space.
VAN DAM: OK, Elon Musk, if you're watching, maybe this is your opportunity.
(LAUGHTER)
VAN DAM: But this is so cool because, Maya, you're going to see the sky light up potentially with blues and violets and reds. You don't get to see that that often. I mean, what do you think?
MAYA: That it is the beautifullest thing I've ever seen in the whole entire world.
VAN DAM: You've been rehearsing that one I think. Look at that, Maya. You can see those beautiful pictures? Yes. OK. So that is an incredibly rare to see here in Atlanta and your own backyard. So I'm going to stay awake with my kids way past their bedtime, Jessica. And I'm going to use this opportunity -- she's going to hold me to it, by the way. And we're going to show them this great wonder, that is the Northern Lights that all of America and all of the world is getting excited about.
I mean, we've seen pictures from our hometown in Michigan and also from where our extended family in South Africa is witnessing this celestial events, and you know what to share that with your kids is really, really special, especially when they have fairy wings on them.
DEAN: That's best viewed with fairy wings.
MAYA: Fairy wings, these fairy wings.
DEAN: They look really good, Maya. Well, I think you guys are making memories tonight and I feel she's going to hold you to it, no problem.
VAN DAM: I agree. DEAN: So make sure you stay up past bedtime.
VAN DAM: Thank you. I'll keep her up overnight.
DEAN: All right, guys, Derek and Maya, thanks so much. We'll be right back again.
VAN DAM: Thanks for having us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[019:26:25]
DEAN: We have seen more than a dozen prosecution witnesses over three unprecedented weeks in Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial. But the case could hinge on a witness expected to take the stand on Monday, and that is Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer turned enemy.
CNN's Tom Foreman has more about him and his history with Trump.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jessica, this is almost a Shakespearean tale of two men united for so long and so many dealings, and now standing so far apart.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (voice-over): In a blaze of insults, accusations, and bitterness, the long private partnership of Michael Cohen and Donald Trump is imploding in a most public way.
TRUMP: Michael Cohen is a convicted liar, and he's got no credibility whatsoever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put your hands together and receive him as he comes, my friend, Mr. Michael Cohen.
FOREMAN: It was once so different, with their friendship and business dating back to 2006, Cohen, the lawyer, had no bigger client, Trump, the wannabe president, no better cheerleader.
MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER TRUMP LAWYER: He's a good man. He's a man who cares deeply about this country.
FOREMAN: Cohen, a former personal injury lawyer, knew a little about politics. A Democrat most of his life, he once campaigned for seats on the New York City Council and the State Senate, losing both times. When Trump was still feeling his way forward, Cohen helped launch a Web site, "Should Trump Run?" And all along, he clearly relished his role in the Trump Organization.
COHEN: They'd say I'm Mr. Trump's pitbull, that I am his -- I'm his right-hand man.
FOREMAN: Trump liked it.
TRUMP: Michael Cohen is a very talented lawyer. He's a good lawyer in my firm.
FOREMAN: Others noticed.
MARC FISHER, CO-AUTHOR, TRUMP REVEALED: Michael Cohen is not averse to threatening people. He is a guy who carries a pistol and an ankle holster. He makes it clear to people that he's a tough guy.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Any moment now, Donald Trump's longtime attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen, is reporting to prison.
FOREMAN: Then it all fell apart. Cohen's tough guy tactics drew federal investigators. He wound up pleading guilty to tax evasion, campaign finance violations and more. After three years in jail and under house arrest, he came out singing a very different tune.
COHEN: I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trump's illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. He is a racist, he is a con man, and he is a cheat.
FOREMAN: Critically, Cohen continued talking about one of the things that put him into prison, paying off women alleging affairs with Trump, then falsifying records to hide the hush money. Trump denied involvement, and now calls the lawyer he once praised a convicted felon and liar.
TRUMP: He's a stone cold loser, a real loser.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (on-camera): For a long time both men stood together relying on loyalty and discretion, and winks and nods when business got dirty, according to Cohen. But now Donald Trump and his old lawyer are standing firmly a part in court and that could prove costly -- Jessica.
DEAN: Tom Foreman, thank you.
Still ahead hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fleeing Rafah as Israel's military continues to strike parts of Gaza. We have new reporting on the extreme suffering by civilians there. Plus we'll be joined by Democratic Congressman Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts to talk about U.S. support for Israel and how the Biden administration is sending a message.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:34:26]
DEAN: And as the thousands of Palestinians are fleeing the city of Rafah amid a looming major assault by Israel's military, today, the IDF ordering the immediate evacuation of more neighborhoods in the southernmost city of Gaza.
Israel estimates about 300,000 people have already fled, and those evacuations coming amid deadly strikes in the north and central parts of the enclave.
CNN's Scott McLean gives us a glimpse into the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, and we want to warn you, the report includes graphic images that may be disturbing.
[19:35:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The bomb that hit this building in Central Gaza didn't leave much of anything or anyone intact. Locals say, it hit in the middle of the night while families were sleeping without any warning.
With little more than flashlights and their own hands, rescuers dig for survivors, but find only bodies.
As this child is loaded into an ambulance next to another, their pulses are checked, it seems only in vain.
These are the victims of a series of strikes across Central and Northern Gaza that killed scores of civilians, many of them children. Israel Defense Forces declined to comment on specific airstrikes and said it was operating to dismantle Hamas military and administrative capabilities.
At the hospitals, they save who they can. The dead are placed in body bags. This one is big enough for three. Their bloodied, soot-covered faces are wiped off, a small measure of dignity in death.
Inside a field hospital, shell-shocked kids lie on dusty gurneys. Even after seven months living in a war zone, the sound of a nearby airstrike is no less terrifying.
From an ambulance, this man is rushed inside through the hospital and hoisted frantically onto a bed, but its quickly apparent, he is dead.
For a moment, a relative sits with him in stunned silence, before more family arrive, overwhelmed.
By daybreak, they are still pulling bodies from the rubble, like this one crushed under the weight of a cement slab. Without heavy equipment, the process is slow.
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)
MCLEAN (voice over): "The biggest body part we've recovered was half a child," this man says.
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)
MCLEAN (voice over): "We are all civilians. There were no militants here. What did the children do to deserve this?" This man wonders.
Meanwhile, the IDF has now told civilians in parts of Central Rafah to leave, a sign the ground operation there is about to pick up. Streets, look increasingly empty as people pack up and leave by car, horse cart, or on foot.
(UM ZAHER speaking in foreign language.)
MCLEAN (voice over):"It's horrible. Is the world happy to see this?" This woman asks.
"We can't find a place to stay. We don't know where we are going."
Israel is directing people here, to a designated area along the coast now flooded with tents, but little infrastructure to accommodate the roughly 300,000 people it estimates are now there. With ceasefire talks seemingly at a standstill, the citizens of Gaza are just waiting for this nightmare to end.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCLEAN (on camera): And some of the people packing up and leading Rafah told our CNN stringer on the ground that this is the seventh or eighth time since the war began that they are being displaced.
One man who had kids with him said that they were the only reason why he had chosen to leave. He doesn't care if he dies. He said, "Is this a life? Death is more honorable than this humiliation." -- Jessica.
DEAN: Scott McLean for us, thank you for that reporting.
And here with us now is Democratic Congressman Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts.
Congressman, thanks so much for making time to be here with us on a Saturday night. I first just want to get your thoughts on that report from Scott McLean on the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
What more do you think can be done to help the civilians there, especially the children?
REP. JAKE AUCHINCLOSS (D-MA): It is good to be with you, Jessica, and it is a tragedy. No person of good conscience can watch that report and not ache for a permanent ceasefire in the region, not want to make sure that this never happens again and the way to make sure that this never happens again is to dismantle Hamas because Hamas has spent the last 15 years building terror tunnels instead of infrastructure, it broke six ceasefires, including on October 7th, it has promised to break more, and it is now refusing to negotiate in good faith in Cairo.
And this is the path to a permanent ceasefire. It requires that Hamas be eliminated from the equations so that the Palestinian people can have the governance that delivers humanitarian services, economic development, and ultimately dignity and statehood.
DEAN: And Benjamin Netanyahu has said that his objective is to eliminate Hamas. That is when they will feel like they have really gotten through there -- they have achieved their objective.
Do you think that it is possible to completely eliminate Hamas? AUCHINCLOSS: I was a Marine officer for four years, Jessica. One of the first books that Marine officer candidates read is Clausewitz, a 19th century theorists who wrote that all war is an extension of politics by other means. And what he meant by that is that engaging in military operations without a political end game is a fool's errand.
And what I think President Biden is doing right now with Prime Minister Netanyahu is insisting that the Israeli War Cabinet present a plan for governance for North, Central and South Gaza so that their military operations are ultimately nested in to an end state of governance.
[19:40:08]
Because no amount of military success, no amount of kinetic operations against Hamas is ultimately going to be successful unless there is an alternative in Gaza for governance that provides humanitarian services, that provides economic development, that supports infrastructure.
Whether that's the Palestinian Authority, whether that is a reconstituted Fattah is yet to be determined. But what is clear is that the Israeli War Cabinet does have the responsibility to communicate and converge on that strategy with President Biden, and that is why he has become so frustrated.
DEAN: And so it sounds like you think he is justified in becoming frustrated with this. Do you agree with what he has done in withholding that shipment of the super bombs to Israel?
AUCHINCLOSS: it is regrettable that this daylight has had to emerge between two allies because the United States and Israel should have an ironclad alliance when it comes to security matters, but President Biden now, for seven months has said to the Israeli War Cabinet, your military operation needs to be nested in with a strategy for governance in Gaza, for post-war success, and Prime Minister Netanyahu has been far too intransigent in providing that.
Now, I think there are two kind of bad takes right now, though. One bad take his saying, oh, President Biden, he is letting domestic political concerns wag the dog and he is more worried about Michigan then he is about Israel. That is not true. President Biden is rock solid in his support for Israel's security.
The other bad take is, oh, this is too little too late and Israel is still going to go out there and commit war crimes and that's unfair as well.
The truth is that President Biden and Israel remains strategically aligned, yet President Biden is trying to help Israel articulate and communicate and ultimately architect post-war governance for Gaza that can actually ensure a permanent ceasefire and Israel is within its rights to defend itself against Hamas, including through a limited surgical Rafah operation.
DEAN: And there are dozens of hostages that remain in Gaza, including five Americans who are believed to be alive and still being held hostage. Do you fear that an expanded invasion into Rafah could derail any hopes of a hostage deal?
We heard from John Kirby that perhaps going in in a bigger way in Rafah could give Hamas an upper hand at the negotiating table. What do you think?
AUCHINCLOSS: It is also true that unilaterally handcuffing Israel's ability to conduct military operations would let up all leverage over Hamas altogether, and at that point, what imperative would Hamas have to release any hostages?
There is clearly the necessity for both negotiations and diplomacy and both the threatened actuality of military force, but they have to be paired together. They have to be synergistic, and this is where I think President Biden has the bigger vision.
He is saying that Cairo and Rafah have to be aligned and working together. They cannot be intentioned with one another, and that's where he is getting frustrated with Prime Minister Netanyahu.
I think President Biden is doing this from a place of love for Israel and a genuine aspiration for a humanitarian and economic better place for the Palestinian people.
DEAN: And I've got just about 30 seconds left. I want to come back here to America for a second and ask you about your new bill to increase safety for kids online, and what made you put that together?
AUCHINCLOSS: Jessica, I am the youngest parent in the Democratic Caucus. I've got a four-year-old, three-year-old, and one-year-old, that means I am in a race. I am in a race to regulate social media until my four-year-old starts scrolling.
Screen time has been devouring family time. These social media corporations have been monetizing our children's attention spans. I think families are fed up. I think schools are fed up with the decline in kids' mental health, and it is time for Congress to act and say that the social media corporations need to have a duty of care for what is in the best interest of children.
DEAN: All right, so we will see where that goes. Congressman Jake Auchincloss, thanks so much for joining us. We appreciate it.
AUCHINCLOSS: Good evening.
DEAN: We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:49:06]
DEAN: We are taking a look this weekend at "Champions for Change," unsung people whose ideas are making the world better for people, business, and society. And today, we are shining a light on a Ukrainian engineer in New York who is using artificial intelligence to help fellow Ukrainians who have lost limbs in the war.
The groundbreaking technology could change the way we use prosthetics.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VALERA KUCHERENKO, UKRAINIAN VETERAN (through translator): During one of the missions at night, after walking through the passage, I heard grenades thrown at me.
When I regained consciousness in the ER room, I didn't have hands.
VERONIKA KUCHERENKO, VALERA'S WIFE though translator: I was hoping until the very end that it wasn't him.
DIMA GAZDA, CO-FOUNDER, ESPER BIONICS: When the war started, we understood that Esper Hand can help a lot of Ukrainians.
[19:50:04]
I am originally from Ukraine. I left one day before the war started.
We started Esper Bionics because we believe robotics will unlock many technologies for all humanity to live longer and feel more active life.
Esper Hand is a bionic hand and it can give back many functions. Esper Hand understand user behavior and helps to choose the right grip in advance because as of AI; also, it detects muscle activity.
If we take cup today from a table several times, tomorrow, the system will understand.
YAKOV GRADINAR, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, PROTEZ FOUNDATION: Since my start of working in prosthetics, I was always looking for a product that will be more reliable and aesthetically fit.
When we met with Dima, we saw a huge potential of working together.
GAZDA: Protez Foundation is one of our favorite partners. We sell our device with the price of manufacturing cost to Protez Foundation and today, install it for free to end-user.
It is social duty for us. It is not a business market.
GRADINAR: Our program works where people come three weeks to six months, we bring them to clinic, get them fitted so they everyday come and do exercising and do physical therapy.
VALERA KUCHERENKO (through translator): A mechanical hand can't substitute the real one, but it is making my life so much easier and it allows me to function.
For me, prosthetics where made in such a way that I am returning back to the Army.
GRADINAR: Approximately 40 percent of patients that v fitted went back to frontline. Its shocks me. But they are looking for opportunity to go back and help.
ROMAN TSYMBALYUK, UKRAINIAN VETERAN (through translator): The thing I want to do is see my kids and hug them.
GRADINAR: In my job I feel very blessed that I can see people being restored functions that they lost during this injury.
GAZDA: It is hard to be involved in all the stories, but it is easier when you see how it helps people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEAN: Amazing. Be sure to tune in next Saturday at 9:00 PM Eastern right here on CNN for the "Champions for Change" one-hour special.
We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:57:55]
DEAN: The cicadas are coming. The noisy red-eyed, crunchy bugs are starting to come out of the ground in force.
Forest Tree workers you workers in Illinois put out this PSA to explain why in the weirdest funniest way possible.
Here is Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's the next best thing --
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You are the same block out of this or you know, take a break? Okay.
MOOS: To having a cicada crawl on you --
RAJU: Oh. Oh my God.
MOOS: To prepare Illinois residents for the thrumming 17-year cicada invasion that's about to occur.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And emerge when the temperatures are right, it is roughly around 64 degrees soil temperature.
MOOS: Employees from the DuPage County Forest Preserve --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And they will crawl out of their exoskeletal shell.
MOOS: Recreated the life cycle of cicadas. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Their wings because this really bright orange.
MOOS: Complete with red eyes and cardboard and cellophane wings.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The males will crawl up to the tops of the trees and start singing to attract mates.
MOOS: Jennifer Redzewski play the lead female cicada in a video she describes as --
JENNIFER REDZEWSKI, ENVIRONMENTAL INTERPRETER, DUPAGE COUNTY FOREST PRESERVE: Really cheesy and you know, kind of low quality, but intentionally so.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She will flick the wings at him and they mate.
MOOS: The video went viral. "This is cicada gold." "Educational and unhinged."
Everyone's favorite part was an insect pickup line, adlibbed by a Ranger named, Smoky --
SMOKY, RANGER: Say, girl, if I was a fruit fly, I'd land on you first because you're so sweet.
MOOS: The female lays eggs on a branch, kisses them goodbye. They hatch, portrayed with dazzling special effects.
MOOS (on camera): What was your whole budget for this thing?
REDZEWSKI: Basically zero dollars.
MOOS (voice over): They snack on trees sap, then fall back to earth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They will start burrowing into the ground --
MOOS: Where they feed on plant roots, 17 years later, they re-emerge. The only thing missing --
MOOS (on camera): You guys didn't re-enact the mating.
REDZEWSKI: No, we kind of skipped right over that part.
MOOS (voice over): A cicada rom-com minus the sexy parts.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
SMOKY: I'd land on new first because you're so sweet.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEAN: You're welcome, America.
Thank you for joining me this evening. I'm Jessica Dean. I'll see you again tomorrow night starting at 5:00 Eastern.
An encore presentation of HBO's "Real-Time" with Bill Maher is up next.
[20:00:32]
