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CNN International: Pro-Palestinian Protesters Interrupt Commencement Ceremonies; Partial Key Bridge Demolition Postponed Due to Weather; Scientists Milk Venom from Deadly Marine Live for Medicine; Prince Harry and Meghan Wrap Up Three-Day Tour in Nigeria. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired May 13, 2024 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster. Here are today's top stories.

In just a few hours, the star witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial will likely take the stand. The former Trump attorney and fixer Michael Cohen is expected to testify against his former boss.

Actor Steve Buscemi is OK after being randomly attacked in New York City. Police say he was treated for swelling and bleeding in his left eye. The NYPD released a photo of the person they believe is the suspect and asked for the public's help in identifying that individual.

The world's first living recipient of a kidney transplanted from a pig has died. Rick Slayman underwent the four-hour surgery in March after he was diagnosed with end-stage kidney disease. The hospital says there's no indication his death was a result of the transplant.

As college commencement ceremonies continue, so do the protests. On Sunday, comedian Jerry Seinfeld was interrupted at Duke University's graduation ceremony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In addition to receiving an honorary degree, Jerry is also serving as our commencement speaker today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: About 30 students walked out as the comedian was introduced. You can see some students waving the Palestinian flag. Here's how Seinfeld responded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JERRY SEINFELD, COMEDIAN: And I know all of you here are going to use all of your brains and muscle and soul to improve the world and I know you're going to do a bang-up job. And when you're done, as I am now, I bet the world, because of you, will be a much better place. But it will still not make a whole hell of a lot of sense.

And it is worth the sacrifice of an occasional discomfort to have some laughs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Meanwhile, Pomona College in Southern California moved its ceremony more than 30 miles away to avoid the pro-Palestinian protests on campus. CNN's Camila Bernal has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Many students and parents frustrated in this case because they have to drive 30 miles and change their plans just to make sure that commencement goes on as planned. So instead of it being in Pomona College, it's going to be here in LA at the Shrine Auditorium. You can see it here behind me.

There are security measures already in place. There is a barrier, a metal barrier, and already security guards. You are not allowed inside the auditorium if you do not have a ticket.

The school apologizing and saying not only that this was an inconvenience, but also saying that they would provide transportation for the students to get here to Los Angeles.

Nonetheless, students just disappointed and say they're not happy about this whole change. Take a listen to what one student said.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's sad, and I think it's a really bad way to end your college career. And I think it's showing exactly where Pomona is headed.

BERNAL: And some universities like Columbia and USC canceling altogether this big traditional commencement ceremony and instead making other plans citing safety reasons and wanting to avoid protests. We saw students at Duke University walking out right as the commencement speaker was introduced. That was Jerry Seinfeld.

He was able to give his address as planned with no apparent interruptions. And this weekend at different universities, we saw students at UC Berkeley chanting and protesting and briefly pausing the commencement ceremony. They then walked out of that event.

And also at Virginia Commonwealth University, at least a dozen students also walking out when the governor was beginning to give his commencement address.

So, again, that's what a lot of universities are trying to avoid this weekend and others who have events later on. And, of course, this has also caused just a lot of frustration among students who had to deal with graduating from high school in the middle of a pandemic and now, again, having to deal with commencement under difficult circumstances or under something that they do not consider a normal commencement ceremony.

Camila Bernal, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: The partial demolition of Baltimore's Key Bridge is now scheduled for Monday afternoon. It was originally set for Saturday but was postponed due to inclement weather.

[04:35:00]

The bridge collapsed back in late March when a cargo ship rammed a pillar, killing six men who had been repairing potholes on the span. A massive piece of the bridge has been sitting on top of the ship ever since.

Our Gloria Pazmino reports from the memorial site.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, for two days now, we had been expecting the Unified Command to begin this complicated but careful operation to demolish parts of the Key Bridge that have been sitting atop the Dali, the ship that crashed into the bridge bringing it down more than 47 days ago.

But we were just told that the operation has been postponed until Monday afternoon because of the weather. We spoke with the U.S. Coast Guard just to try and get an understanding of just how complicated this operation is and why every environmental factor matters.

NICK AMEEN, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, U.S. COAST GUARD: There was some inclement weather in the area today. There were a few lightning strikes. Whenever there's a lightning strike in the area, that pushes the clock back. And so that clock just kept getting pushed back and pushed back. And so ultimately, we arrived at the decision to postpone until tomorrow.

A very dynamic situation that we're dealing with here with the Key Bridge response. It's important to note that we will absolutely not sacrifice safety for speed.

PAZMINO: Now, the Unified Command and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been looking at working at this structure for several days now. They have already gone in and carried out a number of precision cuts. In those precision cuts, they have placed chargers, which will be wired when this operation can finally take place, to help remove pieces of this bridge.

It's going to be a controlled explosion, small explosives, which can be seen in this video animation provided to us by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It gives you an idea of just exactly how this is going to work.

They will put the chargers in. The chargers will be wired. When they explode, that will move the pieces off the ship and into the water. Salvage operation can come in, and that can begin the process of removing the bridge so that eventually the Dali can be moved off the channel.

While all of that is taking place, the community here in Baltimore is still very much remembering the victims that were lost and looking ahead to recovery, right? The Key Bridge was such a major part of the economy here, a part of the community. And as you can see from this memorial that has been taking shape here behind me over the last several days, people are still honoring the memory of those who were lost.

We have been watching throughout the day as people come in to pay their respects, lay flowers, take pictures, and just take in, as I said, the loss of those who were killed during this incident.

So if the weather and all the other environmental factors cooperate, this operation now expected to happen Monday afternoon.

Reporting in Baltimore, I'm Gloria Pazmino, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: A suspect in the killing of an Ohio police officer is dead following a manhunt that began on Saturday night. It ended Sunday after an hours-long standoff. The incident began when officers were dispatched to a residence for a reported disturbance.

That's when 23-year-old officer Jacob Durbin was shot and killed during an ambush. He was sworn in to the police force less than a year ago. His death has been an especially emotional loss for the department.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT MEYER, EUCLID POLICE CHIEF: My heart absolutely breaks. He's 23 years old. I want the public to understand what this looks like. I want them to understand the repercussions of this violence. It is absolutely disgusting, and it is affecting us all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: The corruption trial of a U.S. lawmaker is set to begin in the coming hours. Prosecutors say Senator Bob Menendez was involved in a wide-ranging corruption scheme to help the Egyptian and Qatari governments in exchange for lucrative bribes. Prosecutors say he received hundreds of thousands of dollars in items including a Mercedes-Benz car and gold bars. His wife Nadine was also charged but will be tried separately. The couple have pleaded not guilty.

This is the second corruption trial for Menendez. Another corruption case against him in 2017 ended in a mistrial with the jury deadlocked.

Scientists at one facility in Australia are on a potentially deadly mission to help save lives. They are collecting poison from some of the continent's deadliest marine creatures so it can be turned into anti-venom and other medicines.

CNN's Michael Holmes has more. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It can be painful and risky. But it's a necessary job to save lives. Venom milking.

Tanks of venomous fish sit in Jamie Seymour's lab.

[04:40:00]

Some of the deadliest marine animals in Australia.

JAMIE SEYMOUR, TOXICOLOGIST, JAMES COOK UNIVERSITY: Australia is without a doubt the most venomous continent in the world.

HOLMES (voice-over): The stings from some marine life like the box and Irukandji jellyfish can be fatal. Seymour says you'll feel the most unbearable pain. And he knows. He says he's been stung 11 times in all.

SEYMOUR: It feels like someone takes a big elephant and sticks it on your chest so you can't breathe. I get severe pins and needles like someone's got a red hot poker and they're sticking it in the joints.

HOLMES (voice-over): But even with the risks, Seymour and his team are working to save the lives of people who may be stung by one of these animals. They're taking venom and turning it into anti-venom by extracting deadly fluid from the fish's venom glands. They then send off what's been captured to another lab where they inject the venom into an animal with a strong immune system such as a horse, which then produces antibodies which are extracted, purified and reduced for humans. Now what was once deadly creates something lifesaving.

Seymour says the need for anti-venom may increase as ocean temperatures rise due to climate change. Warmer waters are pushing the marine life further south and can also change the toxicity of the venom. This could then make pre-existing anti-venoms ineffective.

SEYMOUR: It is only a matter of time before these animals turn up in large enough numbers. And the only option we have down there at the moment is to shut the beach.

HOLMES (voice-over): Meanwhile, after successful testing on mice, studies have shown anti-venom could possibly treat conditions like arthritis. Researchers have only used one of hundreds of different components in venom, so there's much more to discover to find the true power of anti-venom.

SEYMOUR: Can we find the next cure to cancer, arthritis, things of that nature? So it's sort of an open slather to do whatever you really want to.

HOLMES (voice-over): Michael Holmes, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE) FOSTER: Now just ahead, Novak Djokovic's shocking defeat at the Italian Open. Why he thinks a fan's water bottle could have had something to do with it?

Plus, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex wrap up their trip to Nigeria. We'll have highlights from their visit after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, wrapped up their visit to Nigeria on Sunday with a basketball charity event in Lagos. The trip was linked to Prince Harry's Invictus Games but was also an opportunity for Meghan to learn more about her Nigerian genealogy. CNN's Stephanie Busari joins us from Lagos.

Take us through it, Steph.

STEPHANIE BUSARI, CNN SENIOR EDITOR, AFRICA: Well, Max, they came, they saw, they conquered. It's been an eventful weekend for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. And they really just cemented their reputation as naturals at this.

[04:45:00]

And although it was billed as a private visit, Max, it was really a royal tour in everything but name. In the way that they were received, in the way that they connected with people, and the very many engagements that we saw them undertake.

And, you know, we saw that people were just very, very eager to connect with them, to be around them, to receive them. And, you know, we haven't really seen them in this much kind of activity since they stepped down as working royals.

And, you know, the Nigerians themselves were very happy to see Meghan and Harry in the country. And they also were very keen to show off the famous Nigerian hospitality. At the fundraising event on Sunday, three kings left their kingdoms to come to Lagos to welcome Meghan and Harry, and also made Meghan a royal princess, a royal African princess. I have the title here, which they made her the Ada Mazi, Omu of Arochukwu Ancient Kingdom.

Now, this kingdom predates even the royal -- British royal family. So they are saying to Meghan, really, when they give her that title, that we have accepted you as one of us. Welcome home.

And that must have been a very special moment for Meghan. We saw her looking very emotional and visibly moved. And it was one of many moments that the couple had during this visit. Many touching, light- hearted moments. We saw them dancing with young children. We saw them, we saw Harry in particular, playing, sitting volleyball with wounded veterans.

And, you know, we just saw them show that they are very, very good at this part of the job of being a royal. And, you know, I was with her at a panel on Saturday and she took selfies. She really just was very keen to engage with people and just be open and friendly -- Max.

FOSTER: They are extremely good with people, aren't they? But tell us a bit more about Meghan's connection with Nigeria and whether or not you feel she felt that or what you learned about that.

BUSARI: Well, so Meghan had previously revealed that she discovered she was 43 percent Nigerian a few years back before this trip. And so we were told, actually, by the Nigerian Defense HQ, who invited the couple to visit, that this was one of the reasons they accepted for Meghan to find out more about this roots and discover them.

And at this event on Saturday, this Women's Leadership event, Meghan spoke openly about how when she first found out, she rang her mum immediately to find out what her mum knew about where this connection might have come from.

And she just said that, you know, while I've been here, people have been telling me that they're not surprised. They said they're not surprised you're Nigerian because the traits of Nigerian women, bravery, resilience, character, beauty, all of these things they saw in Meghan. That's what people were telling her.

And so she was very keen to emphasize that part of her heritage and share that it meant so much to her as an African American. She called Nigeria her country and said that she was being welcomed home, Max.

FOSTER: OK, Steph, thank you so much.

Earlier today, tragedy was narrowly avoided in Australia after a small plane was forced to land without landing gear, following a mechanical failure. A video shows the plane approaching the runway there, wheels up before touching down and skidding along the tarmac. New South Wales Police Superintendent says the pilot stayed calm and no one was injured.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WAYNE HUMPHREY, NEW SOUTH WALES POLICE SUPERINTENDENT: As a result, it was determined the aircraft landing gear would not come back down and he stayed here and burnt off fuel. Two passengers on board, both from Tuggerawong on the central coast, a 60-year-old male and a 65-year-old female. After some hours in the air, about 90 minutes, burning off sufficient fuel, he made a textbook wheels up landing, which I was very happy to see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Yes, air traffic controllers apparently burst into applause when they saw the plane landed safely there.

Now still ahead, a night to remember at the Asian Pacific Met Gala. We'll hear from actors, writers, TV hosts who attended the red carpet event.

[04:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: World number one tennis star Novak Djokovic suffered a shocking defeat at the Italian Open on Sunday. It comes after the Serbian was accidentally hit on the head with a water bottle on Friday.

CNN's Don Riddell has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes, Novak Djokovic was knocked out of the Italian Open in Rome on Sunday, continuing what has been a really frustrating season for the world number one. Going into the French Open later this month, he still hasn't played a final yet in 2024. But he says his performance might have been impacted by a freak accident on Friday when he was cracked on the head by a water bottle. Djokovic had just played very well in his opening match of the tournament, and he was signing autographs when that bottle slid out of a fan's backpack and landed right on top of his head.

Tournament organizers at the time said that he'd suffered a bump on the head, but he'd been checked out, there was no cause for concern, and he was certainly making light of it when he arrived for a practice hit on Saturday wearing a cyclist's helmet.

But on Sunday, Djokovic was struggling against the unheralded Chilean Alejandro Tabilo, he was just blown away.

In a tournament that he's won six times before, he was bounced out in the third round, losing 6-2, 6-3 in only 67 minutes. Tabilo, to be fair, played superbly, but afterwards Djokovic indicated that he wasn't feeling quite right.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC, WORLD NUMBER ONE MEN'S TENNIS PLAYER: Then I felt a very strong hit in the head, and that has really impacted me a lot. After that I got medical care, and I've been through a, you know, half an hour, an hour of nausea and dizziness and blood, and, you know, a lot of different things. But I managed to sleep OK. You know, I had headaches, but, you know, the next day or yesterday was pretty fine, so I thought, you know, it's OK. But maybe it is OK, maybe it's not. I don't -- I mean, the way I felt on the court today was just completely from -- it's like a different player entered in my shoes. You know, just no rhythm, no tempo, no balance whatsoever on any shot, so it's a bit concerning.

RIDDELL: It doesn't sound good. Hopefully, he's going to be OK. Djokovic will be heading to the French Open in Paris in two weeks' time, where he's looking for what would be a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: The Stars came out on Saturday night for LA's Gold Gala. It's every year to honor Asian Pacific contributions to the creative arts and more as well. Kristie Lu Stout has more on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Stars arrived at the Music Center in downtown Los Angeles Saturday to attend the annual Gold Gala, a gathering of who's who in the Asian Pacific community. The event celebrates the non-profit Gold House's A100 list. 100 changemakers making a significant impact in areas like entertainment, fashion, technology and more.

PRABAL GURUNG, FASHION DESIGNER AND GOLD GALA CREATIVE DIRECTOR: It's great to see that kind of visibility. There's a long way to go still, you know, obviously we feel that way, but the progress is being made.

STOUT (voice-over): Among this year's honorees, Padma Lakshmi.

PADMA LAKSHMI, AUTHOR AND TV HOST: I just feel seen, I feel so humbled to be included.

STOUT (voice-over): And Lucy Liu.

LUCY LIU, ACTRESS: It's a really important time to be together in this community.

STOUT (voice-over): When it comes to Hollywood, Asians have historically been underrepresented or stereotyped, but that's changed in recent years.

[04:55:00]

A joint study by Gold House and USC Annenberg found the percentage of speaking Asian characters in top box office films in the U.S. rose from 3.4 percent in 2007 to 15.9 percent in 2022. The roles themselves are more complex.

The age of streaming has also ushered in more opportunities for diverse storytelling.

LAKSHMI: I think what the industry has realized is that Asian creativity and Asian talent is A, different, and B, lucrative. You know, that's been wonderful to see people take chances and how we've knocked it out of the park.

JOEL KIM BOOSTER, ACTOR AND COMEDIAN: Events like this are so exciting to me because when I was coming up in this industry, I think there was a lot of energy of like, there's only going to be one of us in the room.

It's so rewarding to be in a space like this where we're all coming together and we're all supporting each other as a community. It's not something that I grew up imagining I'd have for myself.

STOUT (voice-over): Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Stories in the Spotlight. The newly crowned winner of the Eurovision Song Contest has made a triumphant return to Switzerland.

Nemo received a hero's welcome at the airport. The singer and rapper is the first non-binary musician to win the prize. The song "The Code" is about the singer discovering and embracing their non-binary identity. It captured the hearts of Eurovision's judges and audiences and clearly the fans in Zurich as well.

Now, one of the year's most anticipated film festivals is getting ready to kick off. The official poster for the 77th Festival de Cannes was revealed on Sunday. This year's image is taken from legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa's film Rhapsody in August.

Event organizers say it serves as a testament to the power of cinema. The Cannes Film Festival begins on Tuesday and runs until May the 25th.

Finally, two Austrian skydivers have made history here in London. They've completed the first wingsuit flight through the iconic Tower Bridge. The duo leapt from a helicopter 3,000 feet above the River Thames on Sunday. They reached a top speed of 246 kilometers an hour. The stunt came after extensive training, you'd hope, which involved the use of cranes to simulate the dimensions of the bridge.

Thanks for joining me here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster in London. CNN "THIS MORNING" is next.