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Powerful Solar Storm Happening Around The World; Biden Administration Closely Monitoring Geomagnetic Storm For Potential Impacts To Comms, GPS; IDF Orders More Eastern Rafah Neighborhoods Evacuated Immediately; Eurovision 2024; Trump Hush Money Trial; Russia Launches Cross-Border Offensive In Kharkiv Region; Italian Open. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired May 11, 2024 - 04:00   ET

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

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to all of you watching here in the United States, Canada and around the world, I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

The largest geomagnetic storm in years is bringing a light show that North America this weekend. But experts say this solar weather could have serious impacts worldwide.

Israel approves a new expansion of IDF activity in Rafah as civilians flee what was the last supposed safe zone in Gaza.

Plus another week of Donald Trump's legal battle wraps up and the prosecution now says it could rest its case by the end of the week. What we know about the judge's ruling for a witness who has yet to be called to the stand.

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BRUNHUBER: We begin this hour with the powerful geomagnetic storm happening right now. The storm is classified as extreme level 5 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 see them.

And have a look, this was the sky above parts of Florida a short time ago. Remarkable sight for the balmy state north of the tropics. Now on the Southern Hemisphere the aurora australis were spotted over New Zealand as well as Argentina. We'll bring you more images from around the world throughout the hour.

It all started when the sun erupted with a series of solar flares and what's known as coronal mass ejections, which launched particles directly at the Earth. The lights are expected to reach their peak activity this hour and into the morning until sunrise.

The storm will likely continue through the weekend and potentially impact communications, satellites and power grids. CNN's Kristin Fisher explains how this historic phenomenon can bring about possible disruptions and breathtaking views throughout 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 toward 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.

[04:05:00]

That is another extraordinary astronomical event.

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

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BRUNHUBER: And live now to Reading, England, and Mathew Owens, a professor of space physics at the University of Reading.

Thank you so much for being here with us. So we're in the midst of some pretty phenomenal space weather right now.

How exciting is what you're witnessing right now?

MATHEW OWENS, PROFESSOR OF SPACE PHYSICS, UNIVERSITY OF READING: Oh, I mean, for a space physicist, it's really exciting.

You've got a lot of bleary-eyed solar physicists this morning from staying up, watching the spacecraft data and then remembering to look up at the sky as well. xxx Yes, this is what we live for, right?

BRUNHUBER: All right, so take us through the physics of this. Coronal mass ejections, CMEs, what are they exactly?

OWENS: These are really big eruptions from the sun of material. So this is stuff. It's really moving, we're talking 1 million miles an hour. But it's a long way from the sun. So they take two or three days to get here.

So we actually put a forecast 2.5 days before they arrived, we were pretty confident that this was going to be some (INAUDIBLE).

BRUNHUBER: Yes, these forecasts are important because it allows us to prepare. As you say, this is happening 93 million miles away. The impact here, however, it could feel it here on the Earth.

We saw in the report there, in 2003, there were some effects and, of course, 35 years ago, we were hit by a CME about the size of 36 Earths. It caused lots of chaos, particularly in Quebec, which saw plenty of power outages.

I was actually there at the time.

So how vulnerable are we to something like that happening again, do you think? OWENS: It's quite difficult to really know. We haven't heard of any

major outages from this event. But I'm hearing a few anecdotal reports from localized power issues, particularly in Scandinavia. We'll find out more as time goes on.

But it's very difficult to assess just how vulnerable you are because there's a whole range of factors that conflate together -- demand on the grid, what time of day these things hit, things like that.

BRUNHUBER: And it's not just the power grid but satellites as well that are vulnerable. And these days compared to, let's say, 2003, we -- there are more satellites out there. We rely on them more in terms of our GPS and communications and so on.

But we are also better prepared because of what we've experienced.

Is that, is that fair?

OWENS: I think that's right. Even just take an example of Starlink, they lost 48 satellites two years ago. But that was because -- and that was a very small CME but it happened during launch. And so they now do that launch in a different way. So they're not quite as vulnerable.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. Now this -- solar flares and so on. I mean, it happens fairly regularly but this one obviously really big.

What are we hoping to learn from this one right now?

OWENS: Well, actually these individual CMEs were not actually that big by historical standards.

But there were just a lot of them and they all piled together in space. And space is a mess yesterday. And then start piling together and just that continual pumping out more and more events that caused this to reach superstorm level.

So this is quite different to previous storms in a way. So there's going to be a lot for solar physicists to come pick over the next few months. I think.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, it's a good distinction to draw, not like the big, huge one we saw that affected Quebec but rather lots of the ones that could have an aggregate effect.

Now you're using special equipment. And to scientists, like you special equipment to see this. But those of us can also see what's going on now with the sun.

Is that right?

If you, if you still have your solar eclipse glasses kicking around from last month?

OWENS: That's right. I mean, the sunspot that has been throwing these CMEs out is huge. It's about 15 Earths across. So if you've got your eclipse goggles and you've still got some clear skies, you can see this with the naked eye quite easily.

BRUNHUBER: Well, listen, it's just fascinating to see what's happening now and to discuss all the ramifications. Really appreciate your expertise, Professor Mathew Owens with the University of Reading. Thank you so much.

OWENS: Thanks for having me.

BRUNHUBER: Now, as I mentioned, Canada is no stranger to the stunning views from geomagnetic storms.

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But this one is intense. CNN's Paula Newton is just outside the capital of Ottawa.

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PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: 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 toward the sky and continue to look to the sky because of those spectacular colors that we are not used to seeing.

The other thing people are keeping an eye on 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 their sleep as they continue to look skyward, looking for those spectacular colors -- Paula Newton, CNN, Dunrobin, Ontario.

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BRUNHUBER: American and Canadian electrical companies and telecom providers are preparing for any potential impacts from the extreme solar storm.

Experts say it could lead to voltage problems. Some grid systems may experience outages, just like in 1989, as I mentioned, when a solar storm knocked out power for millions of people in Quebec. And it could damage transformers. Now so far there are no reports of any major issues from the storm.

Israel's war cabinet gets the green light to expand the IDF offensive in Rafah, where there are more than 1 million Palestinian civilians. The latest just ahead.

Also our special coverage of the mass solar storm hitting Earth continues as more people take in a dazzling light show around the world. Please stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: So many pictures of aurora created by an ongoing geomagnetic storm are coming in from around the globe.

The Space Weather Prediction Center says its been upgraded to a G5 or extreme storm, something we haven't seen in more than 20 years. Now, this was the view of the northern lights in Stuttgart, Germany, earlier.

And we'll look at these pictures from South Wales as the sky turned pink and green. Across the U.S., many people also got a spectacular show, even in southern states like North Carolina, here in Georgia and Florida as well.

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BRUNHUBER: New developments in Gaza. Right now, the Israeli military's ordering the immediate evacuation of several more neighborhoods in eastern Rafah. The IDF posted on social media that evacuees should, quote, "immediately head to the expanded humanitarian area in al- Mawasi."

This comes as Israel's security cabinet has approved an expansion of the area of operation in Rafah. The U.N. says what's already happening in Rafah has displaced more than 100,000 Palestinians.

They say conditions at those humanitarian areas are not adequate. Some locations have no running water. There's no sewage system or electricity and people are being forced to live in tents and makeshift shelters on the side of the road.

U.N. secretary general says things will be much worse if Israel conducts an all-out offensive in Rafah.

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ANTONIO GUTERRES, UNITED NATIONS 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.

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BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, Hamas says Israel's rejection of the latest ceasefire plan has sent hostage release talks back to square one. Scott McLean is live in Istanbul with more on the situation.

So Scott, on the expansion of the Rafah operation and the evacuations, what more are we learning?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Kim.

Yes, the U.S. has made clear it's not going to go along, not going to provide weapons for this operation in Rafah. But the Israelis say that they're going to go ahead anyway, they'll fight tooth and nail if they have to and they say that they already have the weaponry needed to carry out this operation.

So the Israeli security cabinet has now approved an expansion of the physical operating area for that invasion. That doesn't necessarily mean that anything is imminent.

But it allows the smaller war cabinet -- remember, that's just three members -- to make decisions on the fly about what they want to do rather than having to go back to the larger security cabinet for approval.

The White House has said that it hasn't seen any evidence that there's a large scale major offensive coming anytime soon. But that's before that we got this news that the IDF has ordered five areas of Rafah to evacuate to this, quote, "humanitarian area" north along the coastline called al-Mawasi.

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Where as you pointed out this is not exactly a gleaming humanitarian area. This is an area where people are setting up tents on the side of the road and where there is very little infrastructure to handle this volume of people.

The U.N. says that there are in some 30,000 people moving on average, every single day over the past few days. And now these new evacuations may well swell those numbers though there are people in Rafah who are finding it difficult to actually move north and some who are simply unwilling to move as well.

In terms of the aid situation in southern Gaza, there's this sort of back-and-forth between the two sides. The Israelis continue to insist that there has been some aid, at least, getting in through one of those crossings into southern Gaza.

The U.S. says that as well. But the Palestinian side says that that's not the case. And so does the World Food Programme that says that there has been no aid getting in for the last three days. That's Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.

And obviously, the situation there is extremely dire. There's only one functioning bakery left and people on the ground have told CNN that, in their words, the situation is beyond bad.

BRUNHUBER: In the meantime, Scott, in terms of the ceasefire and hostage deal talks, are we back to square one as Hamas says?

MCLEAN: Yes, that's how Hamas describes it.

Perhaps not square one but not -- it seems we're not in a position that a -- any kind of an imminent deal is going to take place. You have Hamas who's left Cairo; the CIA director Bill Burns that was trying to bring the sides closer together, he has also left.

You have discussions still taking place between the Qataris, the Egyptians and the Americans. But of course, the two sides that need to agree are Hamas and the Israelis. And it appears, according to sources with knowledge of the discussions, that one of the big sticking points is the length of time that this ceasefire would take place.

A reminder, Hamas is insisting that it will not agree to anything short of a permanent ceasefire. The Israelis are insisting on quite the opposite, that they need to be able to go in and take out those last Hamas battalions that are hiding out.

They say, in Rafah. So Hamas is demanding that the Israelis agree to a 12 week cease-fire. The Israelis are only willing to agree to six because the Israelis think that, if you have a ceasefire that is three months long, it will be very difficult to then afterwards sent troops back into Gaza and resume the military operation.

It would effectively mark the end of the military operation. And so that's where we're at right now. And also it's important to remember that there's a lot of pressure on the Israeli prime minister, who has elements of his own far-right government, saying that, look, they'll take down his government if he doesn't get the job done in Rafah.

So it is very difficult for the Israeli prime minister to agree to a ceasefire at this point without potentially costing himself his own job.

BRUNHUBER: Appreciate the updates.

Scott McLean in Istanbul, thanks so much.

The United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly approved a measure calling on the Security Council to reconsider Palestinian membership. The vote was 143-9 with 25 countries abstaining.

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, quote, to "advance the establishment of a Palestinian terror state."

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GILAD ERDAN, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: 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.

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

A new State Department report says it's, 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 Gaza. U.S. law prevents Washington from providing weapons to security forces credibly accused of gross human rights violations.

Now, amid a backdrop of pro-Palestinian protests, Sweden is gearing up for the Eurovision grand finale later today. The host city is preparing to welcome around 15,000 visitors to its arena for the glitter-filled spectacle.

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While millions more in Europe and around the world tune in for the broadcast.

Now, much of the focus is expected to be on Israel's Eden Golan. She's considered among the top 10 to win the competition, despite protesters calling for Israel to be excluded over its war in Gaza.

Now among the other front-runners are Croatia's Baby Lasagna with a coming of age song as well as Switzerland's Nemo with a song about self-discovery as a non-binary person.

And joining us now from the Swedish host city of Malmo is Dean Vuletic, author of "Postwar Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest."

Thanks so much for joining us. Before we get to the controversy is I just want to set the table here because, for many of us in North America, we may not be that familiar with the Eurovision contests.

So for Europe and much of the world, just how big is this?

DEAN VULETIC, AUTHOR: Well, this is one of the biggest cultural events if not the biggest cultural event uniting Europeans; 37 countries are participating this year. It's been going on since 1956, held annually.

And it's always been a showcase of European cultures. But Israel and Australia also participate in Eurovision.

BRUNHUBER: now, speaking of Israel this year, there's a chance that the controversy might overshadow the actual competition, all to do with Israel's entry. So take us through what you've been seeing about that.

VULETIC: Well, Israel's participation has been controversial since the October 7 attack and the war in Gaza. The preparations for this year, this is Eurovision had run parallel to the events in Gaza, which means that Eurovision has been the target of protests regarding Israel's participation in the contest.

Israel has been participating since 1973. A lot of the songs that it has sent have been about peace in its region. This year, the song that has been sent is ostensibly about a personal crisis. It's called "Hurricane."

The initial version of the song actually referred directly to the October 7 attacks. So the organizers of Eurovision asked Israel to change some of the lyrics in the song. But still most of the lyrics remain the same. And most people still associate the song with that original version.

BRUNHUBER: Now I understand she's something like the fifth favorite to win.

But what will the response be if she wins?

VULETIC: Well, she's definitely gone up in the bookies' predictions. She's just behind the favorite, Baby Lasagna from Croatia. I think commentators really expected Israel not to do well in this year's Eurovision because of the war in Gaza.

But it was a surprise. The second semifinal, in that it seems that voters really did rally behind Israel. And Israel made it through to the grand final tonight. So we're all going to be watching how many votes Israel gets tonight, to see whether this can be a measure of European public opinion support for Israel.

BRUNHUBER: Yes that's an interesting development and it wasn't the only controversial entry. The Dutch singer also under investigation.

What was going on there?

VULETIC: Yes, he's been under investigation since yesterday. He didn't appear in their rehearsals yesterday. The rehearsals for the grand final. The European Broadcasting Union has issued a statement, saying that he is under investigation but it has not provided any further details.

So it remains to be seen whether Joost Klein will indeed be performing in the grand final tonight.

BRUNHUBER: Meantime, generally, if we're looking at themes, overriding themes, politics and social issues do seem to be playing an important role this year, right? VULETIC: They do.

And they generally do.

I would argue they're the ones that attract the attention of viewers, of fans. Most songs still tend to be about romantic relationships, personal growth, the typical pop music fare. But really people watch Eurovision because they want to see songs that are engaged with the issues of the time.

And we certainly do see that this year. The favorite entries, the ones from Croatia, which deals with the issue of immigration; the one from Switzerland, which deals with a singer's non-binary identity.

And of course, the Israeli song.

BRUNHUBER: Then finally, I think this will definitely resonate with many of our viewers here and around the world, in this word (ph), we're expecting to see a celebration of ABBA, 50 years since their Eurovision win and the world of karaoke has never been the same since, right?

VULETIC: Exactly.

[04:30:00]

Eurovision launched ABBA's global success. But when Eurovision in 1974, so 50 years ago, we're celebrating that, this year is celebrating it in Sweden, because Sweden won Eurovision for the seventh time last year. And ABBA also launched the huge global success of Sweden's popular music industry.

So we really are also celebrating Swedish popular music tonight. And that shouldn't be forgotten, amidst all the political controversy.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, so many interesting stories and interesting music to listen for as well. We'll look forward to that. Dean Vuletic in Malmo, Sweden, thank you so much.

VULETIC: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right. Still to come a closer, look at the potential impact of a massive solar storm that's underway right now and what it could mean for your cell phones and electronic devices. That's coming up, please stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all our viewers here in the United States, Canada and around the world, I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

A powerful geomagnetic storm happening right now around the world. Now one this strong hasn't happened in more than 20 years and it's causing beautiful light shows in the sky.

Now it all started when the sun erupted with a series of solar flares, what's known as coronal mass ejections. When those particles reach the Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere, it creates the spectacular light show we're witnessing right now.

Now it's giving many places a chance to see aurora that rarely, if ever, get to witness them. The storm will likely continue through the weekend and could cause communication and power disruptions.

So what exactly is a coronal mass ejection, the solar phenomenon that's causing this storm?

CNN's Chad Myers explains.

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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.

Auroras seen farther south with a G5, big number. This is 5 out of 5. This is as big as we get. There are still levels of 5 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.

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BRUNHUBER: 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.

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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.

[04:40:05]

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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right.

So again, the Space Weather Prediction Center says this geomagnetic storm is extreme, peaking at a level 5 out of five. Now that means we could see widespread voltage problems. Some grids could collapse or experience blackouts and satellite navigation may be degraded.

High-frequency radio waves may be impossible while low frequency radio waves could be out for hours. Meanwhile, Starlink internet service says it's experiencing degraded service. Now they didn't elaborate but they say they're investigating.

Starlink is operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX. Musk said earlier Starlink satellites were holding up despite the solar storm.

The Biden administration says it's closely tracking the possible impacts of the solar storm as it could disrupt communication satellites and power stations, electrical utilities in the U.S. and Canada are making preparations just in case. Scientist Bill Nye, the CEO of Planetary Society, says he's worried about scenarios just like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL NYE, THE SCIENCE GUY: I did a TV show, "The End is Nye," where we did six world-ending scenarios, where 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, like he was talking about, a third- story G5, whoa. Except in space, there's no sound, it would just be -- and 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, none of us really in the developed world could go very long without electricity. Oh, you can -- there's survivalists and so on, but just, objectively, if nothing else, the refrigeration goes bad and we spoil enormous amounts of food.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Earlier we spoke with one space scientist about this massive solar storm and why it can be so disruptive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK MIESCH, SPACE SCIENTIST, SPACE WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER, NOAA: This is the largest geomagnetic storm in about 20 years, since the famous Halloween storms then that occurred around October, late October, early November in 2003.

And what happens is when one of these CMEs or coronal mass ejections travels from the sun to the Earth, it compresses and it disrupts the Earth's magnetic field, the magnetosphere that surrounds our planet.

And when that happens, it can cause problems for power grids, for satellites. It -- whenever you wiggle a magnetic field, it induces currents and any kind of electrical conductor. And we as humans have put a lot of electrical conductors in the ground, from power grids to oil pipelines to railroad tracks.

And so anything that's electronic or conducting can be affected when one of these CMEs hits.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Russia opens a new front line in northern Ukraine and brings ground combat closer to the country's second largest city. We will have that story ahead, please stay with us.

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[04:45:00]

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BRUNHUBER: Well, there are stunning aurora happening now in many places around the world.

It's the results of the most powerful geomagnetic storm in more than 20 years, it's led to scenes like this one. And here in the state of Georgia, governments and electrical companies are monitoring the situation for potential disruptions.

The storm could potentially impact communication satellites and power grids. The light phenomenon was caused by a series of solar eruptions that threw whole particles directly at the Earth.

Prosecutors in Donald Trump's hush money trial are closing in on wrapping up their case but not before some bombshell testimony from their star witness against the former president. They've set the stage for Michael Cohen to take the stand. Trump's former fixer is expected to begin testifying on Monday.

The presiding judge wants Cohen to keep quiet before testifying but the judge says he can't issue a gag order for a witness in this case. Now of course, Donald Trump lamented his own gag order on Friday, saying everyone was free to speak except for him.

Meanwhile, the prosecution says it's entirely possible they could rest by the end of next week.

Ukraine's president says Russian advances have been stopped for now after Moscow launched a new ground offensive in the Kharkiv region.

[04:50:05]

That's in northern Ukraine 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 Friday, advancing up to five kilometers in one area. Residents of some border villages were later evacuated. At least two civilians were reportedly killed.

Ukraine says its second largest city, Kharkiv, is not in danger of falling. President Zelenskyy says, fierce battles are underway and the situation is serious.

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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) BRUNHUBER: Now most of the military aid to the U.S. has been giving to Ukraine recently, is now headed to Kharkiv and that is according to U.S. Defense Secretary who spoke about it on Friday.

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GEN. LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: May have to be redistributed to the point of need. 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 their, you know, they're going to begin to put most of -- most of the resources that we're providing.

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Austin spoke hours after the U.S. approved $400 million in new aid for Ukraine. The package includes ammunition, the Patriot air defense systems, which Ukraine desperately needs amid a constant barrage of Russian missiles and drone strikes.

The death toll continues to climb in Brazil after nearly two weeks of catastrophic flooding, 126 people have already lost their lives in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. Dozens more are missing and almost 2 million people have been impacted. CNN's Dario Klein is in Rio Grande do Sul, where rescue efforts are hampered by heavy rain.

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DARIO KLEIN, CNN ESPANOL CORRESPONDENT: Aid delivery and rescue missions don't stop here in Rio Grande do Sul, even when it's raining. This is a neighborhood, we are two kilometers from the river. And this is how it looks. Everything is under the water. But there are still people remaining in these houses, taking care of what is left. And some people don't want to live anywhere. Rescuers has even found dead bodies here in this place.

And here, in this boat we are with Luis Velasquez. He has been here for many days, delivering aid to these people.

What have you seen here so far in these places?

LUIS VELASQUEZ, DIRECTOR, LATIN AMERICA, GLOBAL EMPOWERMENT MISSION: This is very terrible, it's very sad. Believe me we have seen bodies, recovering bodies, people that has been affected people that are rescuing cows, horses, dogs.

And you can see that this has been devastated. Believe me, this is very sad. We have been delivering food, hygiene supplies for the people as Global Empowering Mission.

And I have seen that the people is crying, they are suffering a lot because they lost everything. I think this place is not going to recover, never.

KLEIN: So this is the situation here. And it doesn't look it's going to end soon. People is hoping that the water can go down and that they can start drying their homes and getting back to their lives -- Dario Klein from Rio Grande do Sul, CNN.

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BRUNHUBER: Now for more information about how you can help flood victims in Brazil, you can go to cnn.com/impact.

Prince William has given a rare health update on his wife, Catherine, the Princess of Wales. He says Kate is doing well following her cancer diagnosis. William made the comments during his visit to a community hospital off the Cornish coast in southwest England on Friday when staff asked about her.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)?

WILLIAM, PRINCE OF WALES: (INAUDIBLE).

BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Well, the Princess of Wales revealed in March that she'd been diagnosed with cancer and was in the early stages of treatment.

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BRUNHUBER: Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic is making his mark at the Italian Open, the men's world number one sailed to victory in two straight sets, defeating Frenchman Corentin Moutet.

The 24-time grand slam winner will face Chile's Alejandro Tbilo on Sunday.

[04:55:04]

Also sailing into the third round is German Alexander Zverev, who could prove to be a potential threat to Djokovic. The tournament favorites, should they face each other, in the last hour.

Well, the world's number two and women's Aryna Sabalenka is still in the tournament by the skin of her teeth. She fought until the bitter end against American Katie Volynets in a match that lasted more than two hours. Sabalenka will face Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine on Sunday.

All right.

That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back with more coverage of this geomagnetic storm, right after the break, please do stay with us.