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Powerful Solar Storm Happening Around The World; Rare Solar Storm Could Impact Communications, GPS System; New Testimonies Set Stage For Star Witness Michael Cohen; Israeli Security Cabinet Approves Expanding Rafah Operation; Russia Launches Cross-Border Offensive In Kharkiv Region. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired May 11, 2024 - 00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[00:00:28]

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes, appreciate your company and welcome to this special edition of CNN Newsroom.

We begin this hour with the powerful geomagnetic storm happening right now all around the world. This storm classified as extreme level five out of five, a phenomenon that last happened more than 20 years ago. And it's causing the northern and southern lights to dazzle many places that rarely, if ever see them.

Have a look at the scene here in Atlanta in the southern U.S. a short time ago. Parts of the Midwest and even Northern California have seen chances of seeing the Aurora. The skies over the U.K. and Ireland lighting up in vivid colors earlier on Friday night. And there continues to be a high likelihood of Aurora over parts of Europe and Asia.

Meanwhile, in the Southern Hemisphere, the Aurora Australis was spotted over New Zealand as well as Argentina. It all started when the sun erupted with a series of solar flares and what's known as coronal mass ejections. And when those particles reach Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere, it creates the spectacular light shows that many of us are witnessing.

The lights are expected to peak in the coming hours although the storm will likely continue through the weekend. The Biden administration says it is closely tracking the possible impacts of the solar storm, as it could disrupt communications, satellites and power stations. Electrical utilities in the U.S. and Canada are making preparations just in case.

CNN's Chad Myers has more now on the historic solar storms and where you might see those Auroras.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. So everybody wants to know whether it's going to be visible where I am, right? It will be visible across most of North America, maybe not all the way down to the Gulf Coast, but it'll be close. And it's not a one day event. So even if you have cloud cover tonight, you will still be able to see it tomorrow because there's more than one coronal mass ejection on the way. So what is it? Well, it's just a ball of plasma that's being shot at the Earth.

These things happen all the time. But rarely do we have them that go straight at the Earth. Think about how big three dimension today. It could go that way, it could go to the back, it could go to the -- it depends on where the sunspot is. Well, we know this is coming toward the Earth because of what we call the halo effect. When you see the cloud mass kind of come out of this, this is the sun right here. This is the sun being blocked by a disk.

But when you see the coronal mass ejections come this way. It's like looking at somebody blowing smoke ring at you, you know what's coming. And you know what's on its way, that's the same idea, same kind of smoke ring that we're seeing. So yes, we have more than one still coming. So overnight, a big one, still landing on the Earth's atmosphere and we are still seeing that really bright colorful cloud all the way around the globe.

Typically, the only place you're not seeing it is where it's sunny, where the sun has already come up and you can't see it. But it was very, very spectacular. Somewhere around I would say maybe one Z, one Zulu time, Greenwich Mean Time, somewhere around 9 o'clock, not quite 9 o'clock on the east coast of the U.S. But it was still light. We couldn't see it in North America.

But another one and then another one and another one, this is still going to be going for quite some time. This is what the solar wind looks like. And I want you to think of it like a, you know the seismograph in -- when you look in California and you see the Earth shake? Well, the sun wasn't shaking at all. The solar wind was doing just fine, being nice and flat.

But then all of a sudden, around 2:30 or 2:40 this afternoon, the Earth began to shake literally. And so did the solar wind. And it came in very, very quickly. Get this number around your brain, 1.6 million miles per hour. That's how fast this solar wind is coming. Aurora is seen farther south with a G5, big number. This is five out of five. This is as big as we get. There are still levels of five, but G5, we're already up there. Power outages are likely. And also satellite disruptions are also likely.

So yes, it's certainly possible. So rare, the red coronas and then the most common are the green. This is what we see all the time across parts of Canada. But the less common are the purples. And the reds, we are seeing a lot of them tonight.

HOLMES: Our thanks to Chad Myers there. And now Canada, no stranger to the potential disruptions and dangers from geomagnetic storms like this. CNN's Paula Newton is live for us this hour near Kanata, that's just outside the Canadian capital of Ottawa. Good to see my friend. You Canadians are used to the Northern Lights. How has it been there, what were the concerns and what has played up? [00:05:11]

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's so interesting what Chad said. We are used to seeing them fairly regularly here. And it doesn't have to be a severe solar storm for Canadians to see them, especially in places where you don't have the light pollution. But as he just said, you would normally see it in green. Some of the color colors all over North America have been incredibly spectacular. Not so much here in Canada, though, this time, about 10 miles from us, they had some beautiful purples and pinks in the sky. But unfortunately, we've had some cloud cover here still. So we're going to be a little bit more patient and see if it comes out.

The issue here, Michael, is that in 1989, they had a blackout in Quebec, that is a Canadian province, actually just over the river behind me. And that was a lot of chaos. That happened in 1989. But what's fascinating here is that they just didn't have the sensors, the monitors, the satellite, certainly technology that they have now than they had in 1989. So they are better prepared, they're better prepared and all the hydro grids all across Canada and the United States. They do not believe that that would occur this time around for various reasons, in terms of the infrastructure backups they have in place and the new technology.

Having said that, as Chad clearly explained, this is a very strong solar storm. So they're thinking a bit out of the box here and wondering, OK, what could go wrong? And they were trying to foresee all the possibilities. So far, so good, midnight, just after midnight, where I am here, Eastern Time. Apparently, there's supposed to be some really strong -- some solar storm activity coming in the next hour or two in this location in Canada. We'll see if the clouds clear up. But right now, it is just a lot to look at in the sky. On the ground, everything seems normal for now, Michael?

HOLMES: All right. Good to know some lovely images we've been watching as you've been speaking. Paula Newton there in Ottawa, appreciate it. Good to see you.

All right, let's talk more about this and break it all down with Sean Dahl. He's the senior forecaster at NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center. Busy night for you. This was ranked of four on a scale of one to five. Now it is a G5, the top number. What makes it a five? And should we be more worried than we were when it was a four?

SHAWN DAHL, SERVICE COORD., NOAA SPACE WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER: Michael, thanks for having us. Glad to be here and sharing this information with your viewing audience. Yes, this is -- we were anticipating a G4. But that was still significant at the severe levels. Why? Because we haven't issued G4 storm watch since 2005. So it's been a long time. That's because we had a pretty high level of confidence. These were going to be Earth directed coronal mass ejections as Chad described, that we're going to reach Earth.

What we didn't know for sure is the timing. We're trying to forecast something from 93 million miles away. Very difficult to get that down to the hour, so please take those timings with some caution. But we didn't get a CME arrival. We don't know if it was several hitting together because some were moving faster than others. But in either case, we did have a chance for the G5. But we do not issue watches for G5 because there's too much unknowns. And sure as heck, we did meet the G5 at least twice now.

HOLMES: Yes. When we got back the most disruptive solar storm ever recorded, correct me if I'm wrong, that was 1859. It was known as the Carrington Event. How did that differ to this?

DAHL: We'll call it this way, your -- everything is correct that you said. That Carrington Event, the level of activity, right now what we're experiencing, let's call it to my head level, that Carrington level event went another three storeys up over my head. That's the difference you can have from one G5 to another. We're on the low end of the G5. And that's still been disruptive. We've been hearing about some impacts and effects to include our neighbors up north that you were just talking with the transmission operation operators are working very hard to mitigate any problems, because they're having irregularities on their voltage systems up there.

We've heard reports of this already, but it's things that they're able to manage. But it's a very busy night for them and here in the United States.

HOLMES: What -- when we talk about impacts, I know there are a lot of, you know, worst case scenarios, right? But one of the ones that struck me was if there could be a threat to satellites and how they operate and how they orbit. And there's a lot of them up there. How would that work?

DAHL: So this type of storm, it really messes up the outer atmosphere. So especially for low Earth orbiting satellites, they start to slow down because the atmosphere, expanded, it's heated up, and that slowdown makes gravity win the war and they started pulled back down if the operators don't control them and keep them at the proper orbital level, so that's one problem that satellite controllers are dealing with.

[00:10:07]

Another one is that we also have a solar radiation storm going on at the same time, S on our scale. And we hit two at that level earlier on that one through five. And that can cause particles, energized particles from the sun to get into the interior electronics and cause anomalous commands to happen, as one example.

HOLMES: Wow. How long could the impacts carry on, the technical ones, but also the Aurora, which are just so incredible to watch, as we said, even as far south as here in Georgia, and that just doesn't happen.

DAHL: No, that's pretty rare incident. I just saw the Aurora here from our house in northern Colorado --

HOLMES: Oh, really? DAHL: -- which I haven't seen in the nine years I've been here. So yes, it's pretty rare for these events to happen. And, but that's why we do what we do. Our job here is to not necessarily report on the Aurora, but it's certainly some people are interested in so that's why we talk about it. But we're really tailored and making phone calls and contacting all the infrastructure operators, whether it's satellite communications, the GPS navigation. By the way, we've had a lot of reports of GPS inaccuracies and issues today, for certain types of systems because of these storms.

And that's what we do here. It's mitigating problems, talking to customers and users of our information to make sure the operators can avoid as many problems as possible.

HOLMES: You know, when you go back, and, you know, even talking about what happened in 2003, and so on, we become ever more dependent on technology, on gadgets, on things like GPS. Does that make it more likely that things will be affected by something like this? Or are we also more knowledgeable and we learn how to mitigate it?

DAHL: Yes. Michael, it's true. Some technologies we're still learning about. This is a test case scenario for some of the technologies to see how they're actually impacted because some things have developed so quickly, we just don't know. We haven't had this type of storm since 2003. So we're still learning as we go through this. Meanwhile, things we've learned in the past, measures of protections have been done. Your colleague to the north, on Canada there was mentioning about nothing experienced for power outages in Canada, that's true. Some of the things that have been stalled inhibit the induced currents that happened from the storms on the high voltage transmission line, they called inhibitors.

And some of those have been spun up and they're being utilized and to deflect and kind of keep the current from building up which is harmful to transformers.

HOLMES: When will you be, you know, when we talk about how long this goes on and so on, when will you be relieved that, you know, we got through it without major mishap?

DAHL: We are anticipating still potential issues all the way up into Monday at this point because we had yet another one of these coronal mass ejections leave the sun earlier today, and potentially another one not too long ago from solar flares that are still taking place these oftentimes associated with each other. And it's all due to the region that Chad described, a gigantic sunspot complex in the southern hemisphere in the sun. We're not going to be out of that threat for certain types of storms at all our scales until it rotates to and beyond the limb of the sun. And that's going to still take yet another several days.

HOLMES: What can we, I mean, what people like you actually, people who know what they're talking about, what can we learn from events like this?

DAHL: We can learn how to message properly. And we've done a great job of that so far from everything we've learned in the past, we brought into our audience, our government here in the United States, as well as international partners, even though in the United Kingdom and elsewhere around the world. They are all concerned now because of things you mentioned with our technology. And they want to have measures in place to properly mitigate problems.

Have rules. Make sure things are being followed. Here in the United States, these are -- there's executive orders, there's bills and legislation, working groups all assembled to design to help protect from a major space weather event because if we ever experienced something like the Carrington Event, which by the way, was over 10 times stronger than the event, that collapse the power grid in Canada in 1989. We were going to be in some trouble, potentially.

HOLMES: Wow. Wow. So fascinating to talk with you. And we appreciate you staying up. Your night is far from over, I venture to say. Shawn Dahl, thanks very much.

DAHL: You're very welcome, Michael. Thank you. Good night.

HOLMES: Good to see you.

[00:14:30]

All right quick break here on the program. When we come back a closer look at the potential impact of this massive solar storm and what it could mean for your cell phones, those electronic devices were also relied upon. We'll be right back.

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HOLMES: Stunning pictures of Auroras created by this ongoing geomagnetic storm while they're pouring in from all around the world. The Space Weather Prediction Center says it's been upgraded to a G5 or extreme storm, something we haven't seen in more than 20 years. This is what the Northern Lights looked like from Maine earlier, lighting up the sky and green and pink. It's just amazing, isn't it? Singer and actor, Nick Jonas, shared this photo of the lights from the set of a movie he's filming in Ireland.

Now the White House says it is keeping an eye on any possible impacts from this rare solar storm including disruptions to communications and GPS systems. CNN's Brian Fung explains what could happen.

[00:20:00]

BRIAN FUNG, CNN TECHNOLOGY REPORTER: The good news is if you're an average cellphone user, this solar activity may not affect your devices very much. The exact reasons for that are really interesting and it gives you a fascinating glimpse into how our everyday technology really works, not to mention the science behind the storm.

As you've been hearing all day, the sun has been sending radiation toward Earth that interacts with our magnetic sphere. That's what's causing these roars everywhere. And a byproduct of all that can be fluctuations in the upper atmosphere that scatter or even block radio transmissions in certain specific frequencies. Now, this shouldn't interfere with cellular signals, because those run on different frequencies than the ones we're talking about here, your calls and mobile data should still go through.

But what can these storms affect, while the list includes satellites in orbit, as well as any signal trying to reach them through the ionosphere, that's the upper layer of the atmosphere we were just talking about. So that could mean glitchy or less accurate GPS readings on ships or airplanes. But again, cell phone GPS might be less affected because phones usually rely on cell towers in addition to satellites to get a location fix.

Now shortwave radios will likely have issues, that's because in order to increase their range, people typically try to bounce them off the underside of the ionosphere. With the storms, that obviously gets a lot harder. Lots of commercial businesses and government agencies use this type of communication and so do amateur ham radio operators, all of these users could be affected.

Now there is one way in which the storm could indirectly affect your electronic devices. And that's if the disruptions cause widespread power grid issues. Utility companies say they're monitoring the situation and are prepared, but storm watchers have upgraded this to the most intense level that exists in the U.S. government's classification system. And that could mean overloaded transformers and grid disruption.

If that happens, it could cut power to cell towers, data centers and other critical infrastructure. But then it just becomes more of a garden variety power outage problem, not really a direct issue stemming from the solar storm. And all of these providers have backup generators. So any interruptions in cell service should be limited if it happens at all. The bigger problem for most of us in that scenario, it'll probably be how to keep our devices charged.

Brian Fung, CNN, Washington.

HOLMES: Now in the U.S., the dazzling light show may be seen as far south as Alabama and California. Joining us now is CNN is Bill Weir in New York. I mean, it's extraordinary Bill. I mean, this is happening, you know, coming from 93 million miles away. When do you think we're going to have a good idea of impacts or I know you covered this, I certainly did or whether it's going to be a Y2K in that sense of nothing happened?

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Much ado about nothing. Yes. Well, the hope is that we dodged this huge cosmic bullet that's headed our way right now. The best case scenario is that the scientists at the Space Weather Prediction Center swept sea there in Colorado and others around the world, learn on how to protect, you know, humanity for future storms going forward. Even just in the Obama administration.

Generation ago, Craig Fugate, who was the head of FEMA took over and said, what do we do if there is a G5 storm that hits the U.S.? And most people said, what is that? Well, they didn't know what space weather was, just 10, 15 years ago. The field has come so far since then. But there are so many different vulnerabilities depending on whether we're in the bad place, a wrong spot at the wrong time.

There are the GPS satellites that fly very high, 15,000 miles up, and they have these geo synchronized atomic clocks that are down to the billions of the second that affect everything from airline travel to financial transactions. That can be vulnerable there as well. We talked about what happens on power grids, the alternating current that runs much of the North American grid. If it gets mixture with direct current from the sun, that could gum up the works and create a massive blackout.

So far, no sign of that right now. So far, nothing but giddy sort of wonder at this light show in the sky in Key Largo. I mean, normally, you have to, you know, plan for a decade and go to Iceland or Northern Alaska to enjoy the Aurora Borealis. But it's just as happening everywhere because of that intense energy. We worship the sun. We need it. We lay out under it without really realizing, Michael most times that that is a thermonuclear bomb that's been going on for 4 billion years, so much energy popping off of there. And if you're just in the wrong spot at the wrong time, it could hurt.

HOLMES: Yes. Absolutely. I mean, it's -- I mean, talking about the Aurora is I mean, here in Georgia, I mean, yes, I've been here 30 years in Georgia. I've never seen any sign of it. And you get up on the roof of the building, there's a glimmer, which is just amazing, even with all the Atlanta light pollution. Do you get a sense and you've been talking to a lot of the scientists that this is also a learning event?

WEIR: Totally. Yes. I mean, knowledge is power in these things. There's so much we don't know. And again, it's 93 million miles away. So there's a lot of margin for error when it comes to predicting when that pulse will arrive. But scientist like few years ago looked at the big events. You mentioned the Carrington Event, there was another one in 1921, that electricity actually started fires at train stations in New York. And radio telegraph operators were unable to unplug the batteries and just send messages through the electrified air. That's how intense that storm was.

[00:25:31]

They ran models just to predict what would happen if a storm of that size hit the North America with a direct hit. It could affect 130 million people. They predict it could cost between 1 and $2 trillion to repair. That could take from four to 10 years to pick up the pieces if something that devastating would have happened. That's absolute worst case scenario. And the odds against it are infinitesimal. But you never know, right?

And so you know, the way we can depend on these devices in our lives more and more, the more we know about what could threaten them, the better.

HOLMES: Yes, yes. Well, let's hope that it was the Y2K. I mean, CNN sent me to Sydney for Y2K, so I got a great fireworks display out of that and the world kept spinning.

WEIR: That's right.

HOLMES: Yes. Let's hope it's there. Bill Weir, good to see you there in New York. Appreciate it.

WEIR: Likewise, Michael.

HOLMES: All right, a quick breaking on the program. When we come back, more on the enormous solar storm as it lights up the night sky in an historic space event. Look at that. Look at that.

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[00:31:00]

HOLMES: Our top story, that powerful geomagnetic storm happening right now all around the world. It's a phenomena that last took place more than 20 years ago and it's causing beautiful light shows in the sky. Look at some of these images. It all started when the sun erupted with a series of solar flares in what's known as coronal mass ejections. And when those particles reach the Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere, it creates the spectacular light shows that we're witnessing.

Geomagnetic storm activity for Earth will peak between 2:00 and 5:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Saturday, if you're watching us around the world, it is 12:30 a.m. So it's like around 90 minutes or so from now but the storm will likely continue through the weekend. The solar storm could disrupt communications satellites and power stations.

And as the most extreme geomagnetic storm in more than 20 years makes its way across the earth, CNN's Kristin Fisher explains how this historic phenomenon can bring about possible disruptions and breathtaking views at the same time through the weekend.

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KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's called a coronal mass ejection, and those highly charged particles have been barreling towards Earth at 500 miles per second ever since. The first particles began striking Earth's magnetic field Friday afternoon. And forecasters expect it to intensify into the night and perhaps through the weekend.

HAKEEM OLUSEYI, ASTROPHYSICIST: Just think of gazillions of protons coming toward Earth at the same time, there's also electrons in there, there's also magnetic fields. And when they hit the Earth's magnetic field or any other planet's magnetic field, they interact with that field. And those changes generate currents, which can damage power grids, satellites, anything that has an electrical conductor involved.

FISHER (voice-over): The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is describing this storm as an extraordinary and very rare event. One that also has them a little concerned. The biggest threats are to satellites and to global power grids. NOAA says, it notified critical infrastructure operators and that mitigation efforts have been taken. But it's still warning of possible widespread voltage control problems.

OLUSEYI: The last time we had a big power outage due to a geomagnetic storm was in the 80s. Have we fix things since then? We're going to find out.

FISHER (voice-over): Satellites will also be tested. Most can go into a safe mode during a solar storm. But just two years ago, SpaceX lost 40 of its Starlink internet satellites during a geomagnetic storm that wasn't as strong as this one. And then there's the threat to people in space.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is Jamestown actual to all astronauts. We've got a solar storm coming in and it's a hot one.

FISHER (voice-over): Apple T.V.'s "For All Mankind" envisioned astronauts on the moon running for cover to dodge the incoming radiation during a strong solar storm. In reality, it's the astronauts currently onboard the International Space Station that may need to shelter in more protected portions of the orbiting outpost.

OLUSEYI: Space radiation is a known phenomenon that is dangerous to biology, whether it's during a geomagnetic storm or just the general thrust into outer space.

FISHER (voice-over): But despite the potential danger, a solar storm also rewards us with some of the most spectacular Auroras and this time over a wider area, extending as far south as Alabama.

OLUSEYI: The beauty of nice coronal mass ejection is that we get to have an astronomical event basically come to us from space that's visible to the naked eye. We all just recently experienced this with the total solar eclipse that happened in April. So now seeing the northern lights, that is another extraordinary astronomical event.

FISHER (voice-over): Kristin Fisher, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Mark Miesch is a space scientist for the University of Colorado working at NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center. He's in Boulder, Colorado and joins us now. And thanks for doing so. I think for a lot of people, and some people have been reaching out to me. Let's start with the basics. What is the event and why is it important?

[00:35:20]

MARK MIESCH, SPACE SCIENTIST, UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO: Yes, Michael, thank you for having me. Can you hear me? Yes, it's been -- this is, as you've heard before the break, this is the largest geomagnetic storm in about 20 years since the famous Halloween storms, that occurred around October, late October, early November in 2003. And what happens is when one of the CMEs or coronal mass ejections travels from the Sun to the Earth, it compresses and it disrupts the Earth's magnetic field, the magneto sphere that surrounds our planet.

And when that happens, it can cause problems for power grids, for satellites. And whenever you wiggle a magnetic field, it induces currents in any kind of electrical conductor. And we as humans have put a lot of electrical conductors in the rat in the ground from power grids to oil pipelines to railroad tracks. And so anything that's electronic or conducting can be affected when the -- one of us CMEs hits.

HOLMES: And, you know, everybody hopes it passes without, you know, much of an impact. But in a worst case scenario, you know, what could happen? What would be the thing that would worry you most? How might -- and how might it affect you and me?

MIESCH: Yes, well, the worst -- the biggest effects are likely -- would likely be power grids and satellites that we've depending. And we start -- we've depend more and more on electricity, on power grids, and on spacecraft, the GPS. And as those technologies become disrupted, they can have a cascading effect on our society that we take for granted when we plug into the wall into an electrical outlet that power will come out. But during a blackout, that's not the case.

HOLMES: Yes.

MIESCH: So but that is the worst case scenario that we -- if our -- for doing our job correctly and we do work with the power companies, we worked with the satellite companies and mitigation efforts are taken. So --

HOLMES: Yes.

MIESCH: -- so we can divert energy, we can shut down on certain circuits, we can shut down certain satellites for the -- when a geomagnetic storm occurs, so it can save this infrastructure without damaging it or lasting impacts.

HOLMES: I guess, because the thing is, you know, we have so much more in terms of technology and electronics and everything else. But at the same -- which gives us more exposure to something like this. But at the same time, I suppose we're getting smarter when it comes to mitigation and protection, right?

MIESCH: Absolutely. Yes. So, yes, so we've become more dependent on these devices, so, you know, who had a GPS in their car 20 years ago. And 20 years ago, the iPhone wasn't even invented yet. So we're becoming more dependent. But yes, it's true that engineers and scientists have worked in mitigation strategies. They have design, engineering designs that take the space weather effects into account. So if we're all doing our job right, most people should notice much of a disturbance.

HOLMES: Yes. Well, some of us are old enough to remember driving around with a map book on our lap. I hope it doesn't come to that.

MIESCH: Yes. HOLMES: Since I need a GPS to get to my mailbox. Now, of course, this happens not frequently, yes, but regularly enough. Isn't a bigger deal this time than on previous occasions?

MIESCH: Well, the sun goes through periods of activity. So there's something called the solar cycle, which lasts approximately 11 years about -- every 11 years or so, the sun gets more active. And these periods of solar activity of large -- high solar activity are called solar maximum. And so the sun has gone through these cycles since longer than people have been on this Earth.

HOLMES: Yes.

MIESCH: So, yes, the sun has been doing this for a long time and every 11 years we have peaks of activity. This is sort of hurricane season for the equivalent for space weather. But last solar maximum in 2014 was the weakest one in a century. So the -- to get it back to a level of solar activity that's as high as it is now, you do have to go back 20 years to the last big storm, that big G5 storm.

[00:40:20]

So but we're just entering solar maximum now and we expect that the next few years we'll have more of these perhaps not as high as the G5 but there are many severe geomagnetic forums, a level four storm for example. We expect many more of these to come in the in the coming years.

HOLMES: Right.

MIESCH: So we are entering a period where more of these may occur.

HOLMES: You know, it's funny we rely on people like you at a time like this to break it down for us and, you know, and reassure us, let us know what could happen. But I'm wondering, you know, for you as a scientist, is this exciting stuff?

MIESCH: Yes. Absolutely. That we don't -- extreme storms they don't come along very often. So everyone that comes along is an important data point to learn about. But it's been a in addition to our everyday technology, satellite technology, spacecraft technology, instruments, ground-based instruments, telescopes have advanced tremendously in the last 20 years. So we can study this event more closely. We can scrutinize it than previous events. So, yes, it is exciting. It's an opportunity.

HOLMES: Oh, good. Well, I'm glad to hear that and enjoy the rest of it. Mark Miesch in Boulder, Colorado, really appreciate your expertise on this.

MIESCH: Yes, thank you for having me.

HOLMES: You're welcome. Have a good rest of your night.

And we will continue to keep an eye on this solar storm. But after the break, we'll take a look at how prosecutors are setting the stage for Donald Trump's fixer to testify in that hush money trial. You're watching CNN Newsroom. We'll be right back.

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[00:46:37]

HOLMES: Day 15 of Donald Trump's hush money trial using witnesses to establish a record of phone calls and financial transactions. Prosecutors setting the stage for star witness, former Trump attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen, to take the stand. Cohen is expected to begin testifying on Monday and CNN's Kara Scannell has the latest for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Prosecutors star witness Michael Cohen is expected to testify on Monday in former President Donald Trump's hush money trial. Cohen, Trump's former attorney and fixer is at the crux of the criminal case against him. Prosecutors say Cohen paid off adult film star Stormy Daniels on Trump's behalf to kill her story of an alleged affair before the 2016 election. Trump denies the affair.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Somebody paid the lawyer and then paid the lawyer so it was a legal expense that somebody happened to be me. I didn't do the bookkeeping. I didn't even know about it. This is what the case is about.

SCANNELL (voice-over): Cohen told his Political Beatdown Podcast co- host on Thursday that he looks forward to testify.

MICHAEL COHEN, DONALD TRUMP'S FORMER ATTORNEY: The sooner this thing starts, the sooner this thing finishes.

SCANNELL (voice-over): After a defense request, Judge Juan Merchan told prosecutors he wants Cohen to keep quiet about the case before he takes the stand. But he can't issue a gag order on a witness, something Trump expressed frustration about as he left court.

TRUMP: There is no gag to Michael Cohen. What the judge did was amazing actually, was amazing. Everybody can say whatever they want. They can say whatever they want, but I'm not allowed to say anything about anybody. It's a disgrace.

SCANNELL (voice-over): Prosecutors called witnesses to the stand to help lay the groundwork for Cohen's upcoming testimony. An AT&T analyst introduced Cohen's phone records. And back on the stand Trump's former White House aide Madeleine Westerhout, testified about Trump's reaction to the release of Daniels story in 2018. Westerhout testified Trump was upset by it and her understanding was that it would be hurtful to his family. She later clarified Trump did not specifically speak about his family in that conversation.

Trump's lawyer suggested he made the $130,000 hush money pay off to Daniels in order to protect his family. Meanwhile, prosecutors argue he did it to influence the 2016 election which was two weeks away and came on the heels of the Access Hollywood tape damaging his campaign. TRUMP: And when you're a star they let you do it, you can do anything.

SCANNELL (voice-over): Trump's lawyer Susan Necheles asked Westerhout about the process of Trump's signing checks. Westinghouse said Trump would sign them while multitasking, doing things like talking on the phone or meeting with people. She described FedExing the sign checks back to the Trump Organization. Prosecutors used Westerhout to show the chain of command of checks like the one sent to Cohen to reimburse him for the hush money. Cohen testified before Congress about the allegations in 2019.

ELIJAH CUMMINGS, FORMER U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: Donald Trump wrote you a check out of his personal account while he was serving as President of the United States of America to reimburse you for hush money payments.

COHEN: Yes, Mr. Chairman.

SCANNELL (voice-over): Another witness, a paralegal at the district attorney's office, read one of Trump's tweets about the monthly payments to Cohen, which Trump called a retainer. Trump said, Mr. Cohen, an attorney, received a monthly retainer not from the campaign and having nothing to do with the campaign. The tweet came around the time his former lawyer Rudy Giuliani told "Fox News" host Sean Hannity, that Trump reimburse Cohen for the hush money that Cohen paid for it out of his own pocket.

[00:50:16]

RUDY GIULIANI, DONALD TRUMP'S FORMER ATTORNEY: Having something to do with paying some Stormy Daniels woman 130,000 I mean, which is going to turn out to be perfectly legal. That money was not campaign money. They funneled it through the law firm, funneled through a law firm and the president repaid it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCANNELL (on camera): Now this kept a week where the jury saw the documents that prosecutors say were falsified, in this case, the invoices, the general ledger entries and the checks. They also heard from the woman, Stormy Daniels, that's at the center of the hush money payment. Next week, it will be Michael Cohen squaring off against the man he said he would once take a bullet for. Prosecutors say they could rest their case by the end of the week.

Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.

HOLMES: A new White House report says it is, quote, reasonable to assess that Israeli forces have used U.S. weapons in Gaza in ways inconsistent with international humanitarian law. The report stopped short of saying that Israel violated international law but it is sharply critical of the toll in global Gaza. Part of the report says and I'll read some of it, quote, while Israel has the knowledge, experience and tools to implement best practices for mitigating civilian harm in its military operations, the results on the ground including high levels of civilian casualties, raise substantial questions as to whether the IDF is using them effectively in all cases. U.S. law prevents Washington from providing weapons to security forces credibly accused of gross human rights violations.

Israel's security cabinet has meanwhile approved what they call an expansion of the area of operation in Rafah, more than 1 million displaced Palestinians have taken refuge there. Many have already fled other parts of Gaza. An Israeli official telling CNN that the security cabinet's decision is a, quote, green light, end quote, for the war cabinet to expand the operation in Rafah. But we're told this does not mean an imminent expansion. The U.N. says what's already happening and Rafah has displaced more than 100,000 Palestinians. And they say conditions that what the IDF calls the, quote, humanitarian zone are just simply not adequate. Some areas have no running water, there's no sewage, no electricity. People are being forced to live in tents and makeshift shelters on the side of the road.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MALEK AL-ZAZA, DISPLACED PALESTINIAN (through translator): There is no water. There is no food. No one is asking about us. No one is looking for us. As you can see, that is our situation. We can only have God looking ill for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The U.N. Secretary General says things will be much worse if Israel does conduct an all-out offensive in Rafah.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: Around 100,000 Palestinians are moving north from Rafah. Yet, humanitarian partners have no tents or food stores left in South Gaza. The massive ground attack in Rafah would lead to an epic humanitarian disaster and pull the plug on our efforts to support people as famine looms. International humanitarian law is unequivocal. Civilians must be protected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: U.S. President Joe Biden threatening to withhold additional U.S. weapons shipments if Israel goes forward with an all-out ground offensive.

Ukraine says its second largest city is not in danger of falling after Russia launched a new ground offensive in the Kharkiv region. Ukrainian sources say Russian troops swept across the border in the Northeast on Friday, advancing up to five kilometers in one area. Residents of some border villages were later evacuated at least two civilians reportedly killed.

President Zelenskyy says Ukraine's artillery stopped the Russian advance, but the situation is still precarious.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The main focus is the Kharkiv region. Russian forces today attempted to expand operations against Ukraine. We understand the extent of the occupiers forces see their intentions, our soldiers, our artillery, our drones respond to the occupier.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Washington approved $400 million, of course in new military aid for Ukraine on Friday. That's on top of the more than $60 billion announced last month. The U.S. Defense Secretary says most of that new aid is headed to Kharkiv.

And we leave you now this hour with the massive geomagnetic storm that is hitting the Earth right now, giving people in many places across the globe a rare view of the Northern Lights, the Southern Lights as well. This is happening in the southern hemisphere too.

[00:55:13]

The sky over Staffordshire in England turning green. And in the U.S. the Northern Lights were seen as far south as here in Georgia, painting the sky pink. The Space Weather Prediction Center says we haven't seen a solar storm this intense in more than 20 years. And it should continue for the next few days.

By the way, the storm could affect the power grid as well as satellite and radio communications. We're watching the story closely. We will keep you updated in the hours ahead.

Meanwhile, thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'm Michael Holmes. You can follow me on X and Instagram at HolmesCNN. Stick around. I'll be back with more of our coverage after a quick break.

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