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Level 5 of 5 Strongest Geomagnetic Storm in more than 20 Years; Stunning Auroras seen Across the Globe; Rare Solar Storm could Impact Communications, GPS Systems; Powerful Solar Storm Happening Around the World; Ex-Trump "Fixer" Michael Cohen Expected to Testify Monday; Austin: Most of U.S. Military Aid Headed to Kharkiv. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired May 11, 2024 - 01:00   ET

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

[01:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome everyone. I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate your company. Coming up here on CNN Newsroom, a rare, extreme geomagnetic storm caused by massive solar flares, creating a dazzling celestial light show across much of the world so what does that mean for things like satellites, power grids, perhaps your cell phone?

We'll hear from the experts. And we're sharing images from social media, our friends and families' viewers like you. Our powerful and historic geomagnetic storm happening right now around the world, the storm classified as extreme level five out of five, a phenomenon that last occurred more than 20 years ago.

And it's causing the northern and southern lights to dazzle many places that rarely, if ever get to see them. Have a look at the scene here in Atlanta, Georgia; in the southern U.S. a short time ago parts of the Midwest and even northern California have high chances of seeing the aurora.

The skies over the UK and Ireland lit 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 spotted over New Zealand as well as Argentina. Have a look at those colors.

Now this all started when the sun erupted with a series of solar flares and what's known as coronal mass ejections launching particles to directly at earth. We'll have more on that in a moment. Do a bit of an explainer. Now 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. Scientist Bill Nye, the CEO of the Planetary Society, says he's worried about scenarios like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL NYE, SCIENTIST, CEO THE PLANETARY SOCIETY: I did a TV show "The end is Nye" where we did six world ending scenarios. Or the one that really worries me is this very one, this one show episode number three, where we get these coronal mass ejections CMEs, back to back.

So if you had really big ones, these things, if they happen 12 hours apart, hypothetically, you could turn off the electricity in the whole world, which would be catastrophic. You know, it's -- we could -- none of us really in the developed world could go very long without electricity. You can -- there are survivalists and so on but just objectively, if nothing else, the refrigeration goes bad and we spoil enormous amounts of food.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: CNN's Chad Myers with 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, that'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 dimensions. It could go that way. It could go to the back. It could go -- 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 disc. But when you see the coronal mass ejection come this way, it's like looking at somebody blowing the smoke ring at you. You know its coming and you know it'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 Meantime, somewhere around nine o'clock, not quite nine o'clock on the east coast of the U.S. 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 -- and when you're looking 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.

[01:05:00]

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's 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 where 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: Daniel Brown is an Associate Professor in Astronomy at Nottingham Trent Universities in Nottingham, England. And thanks for being up nice and early for us. I mean, when I hear coronal mass ejection, I think, well, that's easy for you to say. What is it?

DANIEL BROWN, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ASTRONOMY, NOTTINGHAM TRENT UNIVERSITY: It is very -- as we heard its plasma. It is very highly heated gas. So not our normal gas, but everything that's then stripped and charged particles galore in there and this is the material living on the sun and in the high atmosphere of the sun.

And given these kinds of massive activities that we've had in the surface of the sun, this material is then just shot out from the sun. And the corporate is a sun spot, an amazingly massive sun spot a region of high density magnetic field on the sun that's crackling full of energy.

Normally they're big and they can also be quite symmetric. This one was far more complex. And if you can imagine these magnetic fields as being bent sticks and they're being twisted massively. And the more they get twisted, the more energy you build up.

And then they snap, throw out this material and that snapping, that material throat comes out. And these charge particles raise then towards us on Earth.

HOLMES: Wow.

BROWN: And we are quite safe because we have our own magnetic field. But because they're charged particles, our magnetic field protects us, but the amount of stuff coming in buffets our magnetic field substantially. So our shield braces against that.

And some of this material then comes in and as it spirals around our magnetic field, it then comes towards the north and south poles as it comes down this immensely fast moving particle then strikes our atmosphere with oxygen and nitrogen, and they start then to glow. And the more energetic, the more material and the faster they come, the stronger this is. And the further south or north of this can be then seen.

HOLMES: See, that's why we have people like you on. I understood all of that, and that in and of itself is remarkable fascinating explanation. Now we've known that this was coming. What sorts of -- you know mitigating actions can be taken? You know perhaps should have been taken to reduce potential impacts here?

BROWN: I mean, for one if you are in high atmosphere, especially if you're out in a near earth orbit or in orbit the satellite systems are the ones that get quite substantially buffeted and they have certain fail safe systems that they can put themselves into already.

Other parts are then the longer the lines of conduction are on the surface, the more impact they have. So you're talking, especially then things like pipelines and things like power grids as well, where these are impacted quite severely. But we have learned there were massive power outages that occurred many decades ago.

And people have learned about decentralizing and expecting these peaks. And that's the thing. It's a brief peak that is built up in the charge, and that's where we can then work towards protecting our system.

HOLMES: My attention peaked at when you started talking about the satellites, because I was reading that -- you know a potential impact could be on those. And there are a lot of them these days and we rely on them more and more. So what can happen? Does the radiation damage the satellites? I was reading that some could be -- you know sinking towards Earth. How does it play out? What could it mean?

BROWN: It's a complex system, so for one, what is probably the easiest to imagine, I was talking about our atmosphere being buffeted and hit by loads of material. That means that our atmosphere becomes a bit warmer and fluffs up. And that also means that the conditions through which our low earth orbit satellites fly changes a little bit and therefore drag increases and they can then degrade in their orbits. The other parts could be that charges being built up on the satellites.

[01:10:00]

And they, therefore their sensitive systems then fair start failing or are not appropriately working. The other part is your change, the charge of the higher atmosphere. So that will cause a different kind of environment through which signals have to travel. And our GPS is very sensitive, so it works with slight time differences to give us an idea.

HOLMES: Wow.

BROWN: And that can drift a little bit, so that might have an impact upon that as well. But in many cases, this can be calibrated and compensated for as we know. That's why we have the space where the systems set up to give us this early warning. HOLMES: Right.

BROWN: But in some cases it might be a big damage of smaller satellites or systems as well. But as we heard, it's an extreme event, but there are different levels of extreme. So we're not looking at the worst case scenario at all. We're looking at something that hasn't happened since 20 years, but there are other beasts out there that happened long time ago as the Carrington Event --

HOLMES: Right.

BROWN: -- outlines, which is an immense power output. We're nowhere near there.

HOLMES: Well, that's a relief. We are almost out of time. But I did want to ask you this. We're talking about what's happening right now today, but what about the days, weeks, even months ahead? What sort of activity might we expect?

BROWN: It's a tricky thing to say. What we are doing currently is we are running into the peak of our solar activity, which happens every 11 years. So it's not something like it's never happened before. So we know the probability of these things will increase and that will increase over the next year at least.

So we are expecting these events to most likely happen more frequently. However, something like a G5 an extreme event statistically we're probably expecting that maybe four, five times a day during an entire 11 year cycle.

HOLMES: Right.

BROWN: So we'll expect some more activity, but probably something like this is a rare one.

HOLMES: Fascinating and great explanations. Daniel Brown there in Nottingham, up early for us really appreciate it. Thanks so much.

BROWN: You're welcome.

HOLMES: Now Canada is no stranger to the potential disruptions and dangers from geomagnetic storms like this. CNN's Paula Newton is just outside the Capital of Ottawa with more.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you might have guessed, the northern lights are more of a common occurrence in Canada and the storms, the solar storms do not even have to be as severe as the one we are seeing now.

The issue though, is here normally the kinds of colors that you're seeing in the sky are greenish or a milky green kind of color. Some people report seeing some blue. This time with these spectacular colors many people across Canada who do not have cloud cover will be looking towards the sky and continue to look through the sky because of those spectacular colors that we are not used to seeing. The other thing people are keeping an eye on, of course, is whether or not there will be any disruptions through anything technical, whether it's the electrical grid or anything else. In 1989 in the Province of Quebec, there was quite a widespread power outage that scientists still study today.

But back then they did not have the satellite technology that they have now. They have reinforced those infrastructure grids. But also they have more sensors, more satellite technology. They know a little bit more about what is going to be happening with these solar storms and have a bit more of a prediction in terms of what will happen.

So far no disruptions throughout Canada, except people will be disrupted in their sleep as they continue to look skyward looking for those spectacular colors. Paul Newton, CNN, Ontario.

HOLMES: After the break, a closer look at the potential impacts of this massive solar storm, what it could mean for things like power grids. We'll be right back.

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[01:15:00]

HOLMES: Stunning pictures of auroras created by this ongoing geomagnetic storm are pouring in from all around the globe. The Space Weather Prediction Center says it has now been upgraded to a G5 or extreme storm. That's something we haven't seen in more than two decades. Have a look at this.

This is what the Northern Lights looked like from Maine earlier on lighting ups the sky in green and pink just spectacular. Singer and Actor Nick Jonas shared this photo of the lights from the set of a movie that he's filming in Ireland. CNN's Kristin Fisher explains how this historic phenomenon can bring about possible disruptions and breathtaking views throughout the weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN 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 are also electrons in there. There are 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. [01:20:00]

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 eighties. Have we fixed 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 -- to all astronauts. We've got a solar storm coming in, and it's a hot one.

FISHER (voice-over): Apple TV'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 on board 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 a general thrift 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 corona 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): Kristen Fisher, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Our special coverage of this massive solar storm continues after the break. I'll speak with an astronomer about what people are seeing around the world and why this event is so rare? You're watching CNN Newsroom, we'll be right back.

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[01:25:00]

HOLMES: Welcome back everyone. You are watching CNN Newsroom with me, Michael Holmes. Now, our top story, a powerful geomagnetic storm happening right now all around the world one, this strong hasn't happened in more than 20 years, and it's causing beautiful life shows in the sky like that.

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 many have been witnessing around the world and giving a lot of places a chance to see auroras that rarely, if ever get to see them.

Geomagnetic storm activity on earth is expected to peak over the next three or four hours, but the storm will likely continue through the weekend. While it does make for dazzling displays in the sky, the solar storm could also potentially disrupt communications satellites, power stations and the like.

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

BRIAN FUNG, CNN TECHNOLOGY REPORTER: The good news is if you're an average cell phone 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 this 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 auroras 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? Well, the list includes satellites and 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 these 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 this 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.

[01:30:00]

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: And joining me now is Aurora Zone Astronomer Matt Robinson. It's good to see you, Matt. Your specialty is the Aurora Borealis. Let's start with the Auroras. What causes that spectacular light show? Break it down.

MATT ROBINSON, AURORA ZONE ASTRONOMER: It's basically -- a simple form. It's an interaction between particles, those that have been released from the sun and molecules of oxygen and nitrogen within the Earth's atmosphere. So basically these charge particles from the sun collide with a molecule in the Earth's atmosphere.

They fill it full of energy. This molecule doesn't like to have that energy level, and it remits that energy given in a photon of light. And that photon of light is the lights that we're seeing in the sky across the world as far south as the Caribbean.

HOLMES: Yeah. So, yeah -- and to that point, people travel a long way to see, you know, for example, the Northern Lights, but, this means they're being seen where I am in Georgia. And you just pointed out the Caribbean as well. How unusual is that and how is this solar flare storm making it go more further south and in places it's not normally in?

ROBINSON: Rare -- It is quite rare. It's kind of a 1 in 20, 30 year occurrence. And that's due to kind of a -- the size of the storms that have been released from the sun. So these are quite large solar storms from X flares. So this is kind of the highest on the scale of what we see, and it's multiple of them.

So we are looking at 5, 6, and 7 that are coming all in succession from each other. So as one hits the earth's magnetic field, it kind of disturbs it. And then the next one hit, and the next one hits, or we're just getting kind of a barrage of these solar storms. It's because they're all coming all at once.

It's just charging the atmosphere and making kind of more chinks in our armor for the charge particles to get down towards the poles. And as more get down, the stronger the storm is, the further south from the earth, it kind of, it starts to show.

HOLMES: Yeah, I see what you mean. Yeah. Now, now you've, videotaped the phenomenon. You've photographed it. I mean, I've been looking at some of your stuff, but what is it like in person? What do you, I don't know, feel when you see it? ROBINSON: It's hard to describe because I know kind of the processes that for what's going on, but it's sometimes it's kind of like electronic paints being poured on the sky above your head. It's very hard to describe because even though you know what's going on. The sky is full of color and it could be moving and flowing and flipping around your head, changing in, the brightness.

And it's very hard for anybody to just try and break it down and understand it as you're watching it. All you can do is just stand there and watching, or it's, I've seen a few eclipses, solar eclipses and the Northern Lights is quite easily the best thing I've ever seen.

HOLMES: Wow.

ROBINSON: I'm addicted to it.

HOLMES: What are the best places to see it?

ROBINSON: The best places to see it are in the Northern Hemisphere, in the Euro Zone, the company that I'm working for, so this is in Northern Sweden, Finland, and Norway, and then around in the north of Canada as well. And that's only because the Northern Lights happen here more often.

So storms like this where we're seeing it, as far south as it's been seen in the Alps in Italy, this happens once every 20 years. But displays like we're seeing in the images, they happen in the Aurora zone, every couple of days, even at so, and minimum you'll be able to see the Northern Lights in some shape or form.

So that just increases the likelihood of you seeing it, and that's why people travel there and that's why the Aurora zone is for holidays there.

HOLMES: Right.

ROBINSON: To see.

HOLMES: Right. And when it comes to these geomagnetic storms, more broadly, not just the Auroras, I mean, what do you do? Is that an exciting time for you just to, sort of see this event take place despite, you know, the potential for disruption?

ROBINSON: Definitely. I mean, the potential, we talk about the potential for disruption, but the, the places that get disrupted, the electric grid satellites, places like GPS, things like that.

[01:35:00]

There are always, things in place for this potentially happening. So for the everyday person, it's kind of great that when a storm happens like this, they can just walk outside and see it. And they don't really have to worry about a lot of that stuff because it's quite, the likelihood of it happens is kind of rare.

But to be able to go out from where you live anywhere in Europe, the U.K., America, and see the Northern Light is incredibly rare. So it's, for me, when I see something like this coming, I get excited for everyone else, not just myself.

HOLMES: Yes. That's interesting. The -- where did you watch? Did you watch last night? I mean, where did you watch, where were you physically and what are your plans in the days ahead?

ROBINSON: I did, so I live in Gothenburg in Sweden at the moment, and we've -- I've seen it a few times, in the last six months but nothing like this. This storm was so storm -- this storm was so strong. I was seeing it in the south. So I just went up to my rooftop and I just sat and watched it and I had a few friends there and it was fantastic.

The next few days I'm going to get some sleep because I've had an hour because it was really exciting. And over the next few days, over the weekend, there's more storms incoming. So the potential of seeing more lights is pretty high. It is the Northern Lights, it's kind of -- we can predict it up to a certain point, but you never really know what's going to happen. But if every, if anybody's going to see it, it's going to be this weekend.

HOLMES: Right.

ROBINSON: So my plan is to sleep during the day and be awake that night.

HOLMES: I just wanted, I just before I let you go, because they're talking about how you felt watching it and -- a friend, a former colleague, Brian Stelter emailed me during the show and he pointed me to a tweet -- and this person was saying almost my entire Twitter timeline is filled with awe and amazement, much like during the total eclipse. But this Aurora event is so widespread.

ROBINSON: Yes.

HOLMES: More people are posting about it versus the eclipse. No politics, no war, no name calling, just millions of people enjoying an amazing spectacle in the sky.

ROBINSON: Yes.

HOLMES: Do you see it as that sort of unifying thing? Can you relate to that?

ROBINSON: Absolutely. My Twitter's full of it and like working in astronomy, it's normally full of -- space book even other -- social medias, Facebook, people who live next to my family back in my hometown in the U.K. they're seeing it, my friends who in different countries are seeing it. So we've all kind of coming together and enjoying this one event of this standard natural beauty. So it's fantastic.

HOLMES: Yeah, when Twitter stops fighting amongst themselves and starts posting nice pictures, you know, that something, big is happening. And Matt, we've got to leave it there. Great to see you, thanks for, sharing, all of your impressions with us, Matt Robinson, thanks so much.

ROBINSON: Thank you.

HOLMES: Terrific. We'll 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 the hush money trial. We'll be right back.

[01:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back. The historic Geomagnetic Storm happening right now is leading to some remarkable auroras around the world. These are just the few of the images we've been seeing much of North America within viewing range right now. Although, you know things like cloud cover and also city lights.

The light pollution could obstruct the view to the naked eye depends where you are. Now, the phenomenon covered huge swaths of the U.K. and Ireland leading many to grab their cameras and head outdoors. This was the scene just north of Newcastle on Friday. This is at Whitley Bay.

The Northern Lights also spotted across Russia, which isn't unusual, but rarely are they seemingly ubiquitous like this. Meanwhile, in the Southern Hemisphere, the Aurora Australis put on quite the show for stargazers in New Zealand. Unbelievable, isn't it?

Now prosecutors in Donald Trump's hush money trial are setting the stage for Former Trump Fixer Michael Cohen to take the stand. He's expected to begin testifying on Monday. CNN's, Kara Scannell with the very latest from New York.

(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), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Somebody paid a lawyer and in paying 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 beat down podcast co- host on Thursday that he looks forward to testifying

MICHAEL COHEN, DONALD TRUMP'S FORMER ATTORNEY: 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 order to Michael Cohen. What the judge did was amazing, actually was amazing.

[01:45:00]

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 Daniel's 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 payoff 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: 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 signing checks. Westerhout said Trump would sign them while multitasking, doing things like talking on the phone or meeting with people. She described FedExing the signed 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 reimbursed Cohen for the hush money that Cohen paid for it out of his own pocket.

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 the law firm, and the president repaid it.

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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Now the Biden administration has released a long awaited report that finds it reasonable to assess that Israel used American weapons in Gaza in ways inconsistent with international law. But the report stopped short of concluding that Israel committed violations. CNN's, Kylie Atwood with more from the State Department.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The Biden administration found that it is reasonable to assess that Israel has used U.S. weapons in Gaza since October 7th, in a way that is inconsistent with international humanitarian law. But the Department of State's report does not make a definitive conclusion on whether international humanitarian law was violated or not, saying that there are specific incidents that remain under review.

They're still looking into. Now, we should note that the report, does say that it is challenging to make these determinations, particularly because of how this war has had to been waged, the fact that Hamas hides in population centers and -- in civilian infrastructure. Now, we should also note that the report makes it very clear that there are concerns about Israel using its capabilities that it has to drive down civilian deaths.

I want to read to you a part of the report saying quote, while Israel has the knowledge, experience, and tools to implement best practices for mitigating civilian harm in its military operations, the result on the ground, including high levels of civilian casualties, raise substantial questions as to whether the IDF is using them effectively in all cases.

We should note that the Biden administration is in touch with the Israeli government on this front. They've provided, this report to the Israeli government, and they will continue asking, the Israelis for information on these specific strikes that they are looking into. They have, in some cases, received that information.

In other cases, they haven't been receiving that information. So we'll watch to see as these ongoing assessments, develop. Kylie Atwood CNN, the State Department.

[01:50:00] HOLMES: Now, Israel's security cabinet has approved an expansion of the area of operation, as they put it in Rafah. More than 1 million displaced Palestinian civilians have taken refuge there. In addition to the people who lived there before this conflict, these people who've come in after being displaced from other parts of Gaza, total population around 1.5 million now.

And an Israeli official telling CNN, that the security cabinet's decision is a quote, green light, end quote, for the war cabinet to expand their operation in Rafah, but we're told that does not mean an imminent expansion. The U.N. says what's already happening in Rafah has displaced more than a hundred thousand Palestinians.

And they say conditions at what the IDF calls the so-called Humanitarian zone are just simply not adequate. Some of these areas have no water available, no sewage or electricity. And 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: 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 only have God looking over for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The U.N. Secretary General says things will be much worse if Israel conducts an all-out offensive in Rafah. Now, the United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly approved a measure calling on the Security Council to reconsider Palestinian membership.

The vote was 143 to 9, 25 countries abstained. The measure also grants the Palestinian Authority, new rights and privileges at the U.N. They won't have a vote, but they will be able to submit and introduce proposals and amendments. Meanwhile, Israel's U.N. Ambassador said the resolution is an attempt to quote, advance the establishment of a Palestinian terror state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GILAD ERDAN, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: You can see exactly what you are inflicting upon the U.N. charter with this destructive vote. This is. You are shredding the U.N. charter with your own hands.

RIYAD MANSOUR, PALESTINIAN OBSERVER TO U.N.: I stand before you as the Israeli Prime Minister is ready to kill thousands more to ensure his political survival as he openly declares the Palestinian state is an existential threat. And together with his co-conspirators continues 76 years after the Nakba to try and finish the job.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, before the vote, the U.S. vowed to again veto any bid for Palestinian statehood that's brought before the Security Council.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Ukraine's President says Russian advances have been stopped for now after Moscow launched a new ground defensive in the Kharkiv region that's in Northern Ukraine. You see it there on the map as opposed to the east and the south where most of the recent fighting has been happening.

Ukrainian sources say Russian troops swept across the border on Friday advancing up to five kilometers in one area. The sources also say Russia wants to set up a 10 kilometer buffer zone along the border, which President Vladimir Putin has recently suggested. Residents of some border villages were later evacuated at least two civilians killed, according to reports.

Ukraine says its second largest city Kharkiv is not in danger however of falling. President Zelenskyy saying fierce battles are underway. The situation he said is serious.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: 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.

It is important that our partners support our soldiers and Ukrainian resilience with timely supplies, rarely timely. The package that really helps is the weaponry brought to Ukraine, not just the announcement of a package. I thank every leader who perceives the situation exactly like this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, most of the military aid that the U.S. has been giving to Ukraine recently is headed to the Kharkiv area. That's according to the U.S. Defense Secretary who spoke on Friday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: They have to be redistributed to, the point of need.

[01:55:00]

And that point of need is going to be determined by the Ukrainians. If they believe that their, most urgent need is in Kharkiv area, then certainly that's where, they're -- you know, they're going to begin to put most of the -- resources that we're providing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Austin spoke ours after the U.S. approved $400 million in new aid for Ukraine. The package includes ammunition for patriot air defense systems, which Ukraine desperately needs, amid a constant barrage of Russian missiles and drone strikes. All right, thanks for watching. I'm Michael Holmes. Thank you for

spending part of your day with me. CNN "Newsroom" continues with my friend and colleague, Lynda Kinkade after short break, I'll see you tomorrow.

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