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CNN International: Gunmen Attack Prison Van in France, Killing Two Guards and Freeing Inmate; Blinken Pledges New Aid to Ukraine Amid Fierce Russian Onslaught; 8,000 People Evacuated From Kharkiv Region; IDF Identifies Operations in Northern Gaza, Parts of Rafah; Canadian Emergency Service Crews Battling Active Fires, Dozens Out of Control; Dozens Dead After Massive Flooding in Indonesia; U.S. Begins Talks on New $1 Billion Arms Deal for Israel; Despite Arms Embargo, Guns Keep Flowing Into Haiti; at Least 3 Killed in Anti-government Violence in New Caledonia; Biden Repeatedly Said He's Willing to Hold Debate With Trump; Outrage After Georgia Approves Foreign Agents Law; Cross- examination of Michael Cohen to Resume on Thursday; U.S. Consumer Prices Rose 0.3% in April; China Vows to Take Action After Massive U.S. Tariff Hike. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired May 15, 2024 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- around 11 in the morning. So, a very scary situation and obviously, thoughts with the prison officers there, there are big demonstrations today about the safety that they're afforded in these situations. Amra was on his way to court, by the way, on a burglary charge.
AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM": Hello, everyone, and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Amara Walker. This is "CNN Newsroom." Just ahead, the U.S. is pledging an extra $2 billion in military financing to Ukraine. That from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on a visit to Ukraine today. But, can that help tip the balance on the battlefield?
Also, sources tell CNN the U.S. is beginning work on a new $1 billion arms deal for Israel. We are live in Jerusalem. Plus, CNN is on the ground, inside Haiti, as people struggle to access daily necessities like food and medicine. Why do guns and drugs keep flowing into the country?
Ukraine's military says Russia's bombardment of the Kharkiv region has not let up. That has prompted officials there to evacuate some 8,000 people from the area. Overnight, Russian bombs on Kharkiv have injured at least 21 people, including children. Ukraine's defense could get a much needed boost soon.
While in Kyiv, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the U.S. and Ukraine are just weeks away from a bilateral security agreement. In a news conference with Ukraine's foreign minister there, he added that an additional $2 billion in military aid is on its way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ANTONY BLINKED, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Ukraine is facing this renewed brutal Russian onslaught and we see, again, senseless strikes at civilians, residential buildings. I emphasize to the president, my conversations with the foreign minister, the substance of the work that we're doing to get the aid to Ukraine. We're rushing ammunition, armored vehicles, missiles, air defenses, rushing them to get to the frontlines to protect soldiers, to protect civilians.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is inside Ukraine and he filed this report just a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: What we're seeing north of Kharkiv, let me make sure people understand the context. This is not another active frontline where the Russians are seeing success. They've been seeing success and moving forwards in the east quite dramatically over the past weeks.
What they did on Friday is launch a significant new invasion, frankly, from their territory into parts of Ukraine that they'd been kicked out two years ago. And it's, frankly, depressing to be back here.
This was a frontline two years ago that we worked around to see now, this potentially under threat again. Now, the Russians have come at this with force, resources. They've not found the Ukrainians ready. We've not driven past significant fortification on the way to here, two places where they are being urgently built, we did see. And key to all of this as a town called Vovchansk. Now, that is on the border. We were there when they were kicked out two years ago, but now, the Russians are back it seems.
A local police chief talking about hearing gunfire in and around the city, so it seems that most (inaudible) the Russians are certainly on the outskirts and Ukraine's military talks talking about how they'd move to take more favorable positions over the last 24 hours. That is sort of a euphemism for a form of retreat. So clearly, Russia on the forefoot there. They have other key settlements in their sights too, one of which Lyptsi might potentially enable them to shell Kharkiv, Ukraine's second biggest city.
Remember, place of millions that have felt for a while calm, the ability to get back to normal life, and is now facing the possibility of continued shelling. They've had airstrikes over the past days or so. And so, all of this a reflection of how Russia appears to have got its resources together, to have turned its economy into a war-time one, and regained its focus and its manpower, while Ukraine has been left with its morale crated (ph) because this six months, it has had to wait for that $61 billion.
Back in December, people were talking about how they didn't get it, they were finished. They have had to wait five or six months. That starved them of ammunition on the frontlines to stop Russian advances, that has left them questioning where they have to essentially devote what little they have left.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: All right. Thank you so much, Nick Paton Walsh. Let's bring in International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson. He is joining us now from London. Nic, we've just heard that Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president has now postponed his foreign engagements because of the situation that is going on in Kharkiv and the Russian advances there. What do you read into that?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, we first got a hint of it earlier today, the Ukrainians don't announce where the president is going at any given moment. But, we heard from the Spanish, Spanish authorities saying that Zelenskyy had canceled a trip there. So, this really I think indicates the severity of what is happening in and around Kharkiv, the need for the president to stay around the optics would, A, be bad for him, but to be -- you know, to be in the country, to have a hand and a say and a view, and the sort of morale-giving speeches that he tends to do when the country is clearly losing ground.
[08:05:16]
ROBERTSON: We heard overnight in that border area where Nick is right now, 11 clashes overnight. Three of them ongoing in the early hours of the morning. Ukrainian troops forced to reposition themselves. The war of attrition is really -- is actually coming to affect more and more in Ukraine. Russia's ability to outman and outgun, and that's the real effect on the ground. And it's not as Nick was mentioning -- it's not just in that area, just north of Kharkiv, close to the border with Russia, but it's also areas to the south around the Zaporizhzhia area and areas in the middle of that massive hundreds of miles long frontline.
Russia is testing and pushing Ukraine in multiple places, so that Ukraine has to stretch its resources, its manpower, and this is a tactic that Russia has to its advantage right now.
WALKER: Yeah, and as you saw, a lot of words of support and of course, more money being sent to Ukraine. As you heard for there from the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is in country today. But obviously, the battlefield reality is much more bleak, although we are hearing from Blinken that a new weapons package has started arriving in Ukraine. But I guess, the question is, could Ukraine get back its momentum despite the aid being delayed for months?
ROBERTSON: I think generals would tell you that getting the momentum on the battlefield is not easily regained along such a massive frontline. You might regain the initiative in a couple of small localized areas where you can maybe for force the Russians back out of a village or so, but that comes at a cost of men. It comes at a cost of material and it's not clear that Ukraine is going to want to commit them at the moment.
I think it seems unlikely that Ukraine is really going to turn the momentum around. It needed these artillery shells months and months and months ago. It needed the tanks months and months and months before they were sent. They needed the fighter aircraft, which (inaudible) come into play later this year, it needed those a long time ago. It needed the additional air defenses a long time ago. Secretary Blinken, that part of that $2 billion package will be additional air defenses coming in.
It all comes in too late to turn the initiative around, right now. This is going to be a grinding war where Russia is making those gains. So, I think it is going to some time. It's just not going to happen quickly. It is not an easy thing to do.
WALKER: Absolutely not. A very, very challenging situation Ukraine finds itself in right now. Nic Robertson, always appreciate your analysis. Thank you very much, there from London. So, Israel is intensifying operations in northern Gaza and parts of Rafah saying it targeted a Hamas training compound and engaged in close-quarter combat in specific areas of eastern Rafah. The fighting comes as the United Nations says, around 450,000 people have fled Rafah over the past week, listening to those calls for evacuations from the IDF.
The U.N. says they lack shelter, water, and even basic toilets. Humanitarian aid has slowed to a trickle, and Israel and Egypt are trading blame over who is responsible for this humanitarian crisis. In the meantime, sources are telling CNN a new $1 billion arms deal for Israel is now in the works, even as the Biden Administration paused a separate arms transfer to Israel citing concerns about weapons being used in Rafah. More now on that potential --
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: -- for this potential arms sale. Now, this could include about $700 million for tank ammunition, $500 million in tactical vehicles, and $60 million in mortar rounds. But talk of this potential arms sale comes just one week after President Biden went public with his warning to Netanyahu that the U.S. could withhold some other weapons for Israel if they launch a full-scale invasion into Rafah.
The U.S. has already withheld of a shipment of about 3,500 bombs at a time when there is great concern about the way those bombs could try to stress that the U.S. will continue to provide Israel with the military capacity to defend themselves.
[08:10:00]
SAENZ: This is where this potential arms sale could come into play. Now, this is expected to be a lengthy process. They would still need to formally notify Congress, and then it would need to go through the Congressional approval process which can be quite lengthy.
But certainly, this signals hope from the U.S. to potentially continue to provide Israel with the military capacity to defend itself even as there --
WALKER: It is a notable development. Arlette Saenz, thank you very much. Guns and ammunition are still flowing weighing into Haiti virtually unabated, despite a U.N. weapons embargo. They come in by air and by sea, earmarked for violent gangs who are essentially in charge in the beleaguered Caribbean capital of Port-au-Prince.
CNN's David Culver shows the disparity between the availability of guns and humanitarian aid like food and medicine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Touching down in Haiti's gang-controlled capital, we move quickly. Armed guards holding the perimeter as a long line of anxious passengers hurry out the way we came in. Driving deeper into Port-au-Prince, we pass those desperately trying to survive a crippling humanitarian crisis.
CULVER: Can you give us a sense how dire the situation is getting with each passing day?
JEAN-MARTIN BAUER, COUNTRY DIRECTOR, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME: Look, we're very worried. Right now, you've got 5 million people in Haiti who are acutely food insecure. That's the highest on record, the highest it's ever been, and we're going through the worst crisis in Haiti since the 2010 earthquake, it's that simple.
CULVER (voice-over): The WFP warns food supplies across the country are rapidly dwindling as hunger worsens.
CULVER: For folks who are getting this --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
CULVER: How many of the meals a day are they (inaudible)?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This will be their one meal.
CULVER (voice-over): And delivering that one daily meal to starving communities increasingly risky.
CULVER: The logistics alone are incredibly challenging, I mean, just every corner, you don't know what you're going to come across.
CULVER (voice-over): Not to mention the constantly shifting gang boundaries.
CULVER: Do you ever get scared delivering the food?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sometimes.
CULVER (voice-over): The U.N. estimates gangs control more than 80 percent of Port-au-Prince, severing crucial supply lines for food, fuel, and medical supplies. And yet, while basic necessities are scarce, guns and ammo seemingly plentiful and ravaging this country. How are the weapons getting here and from where?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll do one low pass, we will make a hard right turn, we'll be back in (inaudible).
CULVER (voice-over): We are flying over the central plateau. This is an area that for years has been known for drug smuggling here in Haiti. More recently, the U.N. says weapons also come in this way, arriving into Haiti's mountainous and hard-to-reach rural areas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Likely, it's going to be a light airplane. I've seen a lot of Cessnas, but it does look like that grass has been tampered with right there.
CULVER (voice-over): Often landing in the dark of night, under the radar, or smuggled across the land border, or by sea, law enforcement believe arms and ammo arrive at the dock of what once was a flour mill, taken over and now controlled by gangs. Haitian security sources sharing with us these images of seized weapons from other locations. The U.N. most guns are shipped illegally from the U.S. and end up in the hands of various gangs.
VITEL'HOMME INNOCENT, LEADER OF KRAZE BARYE: [Foreign Language].
CULVER (voice-over): One of the most influential gang leaders, Vitel'homme Innocent, even explaining how easy it is to import guns and ammo compared with food or medicine, though not confirming where the weapons originate from.
CULVER: Are your weapons coming in from the U.S.?
INNOCENT: [Foreign Language].
CULVER (voice-over): To be sure, we had weapons experts review our footage with members of Vitel'homme's gang, examining images like these. They tell us that many of these firearms and accessories are in fact made in the U.S., smuggled directly or stolen from Haitian police. The end result here is often the same.
With the innocent caught in the crossfire. Like eight year-old Woodjina Cadeau, shot earlier this year while playing with friends. When we visited in February, her family was living in this makeshift encampment and she was recovering from surgery. Her little sister keeping watch -- torched the whole neighborhood.
CULVER: Hi, Woodjina. How are you? Good to see you, you're walking.
CULVER (voice-over): We meet again as Woodjina heads to a doctor's appointment. We learn her family now sleeps on a church floor. Woodjina's sister sent to live with other relatives. Her mom says it was too difficult to flee the gangs while carrying both kids.
LOVENCIA JULIEN, WOODJINA'S MOTHER: [Foreign Language].
CULVER (voice-over): Back alongside the WFP, we arrive -- meals.
[08:15:00]
CULVER (voice-over): It's a school turned displacement camp. We step out to a crowd of several hundred. Recent gang violence forcing most here to become refugees in their own city.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: [Foreign Language].
CULVER: And did you see that firsthand? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
CULVER: (inaudible) violence?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I see. I run from it.
CULVER: You ran from it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I run from it.
CULVER: What?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I run like a (inaudible).
CULVER: People shooting at you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People shooting and they are burning houses.
CULVER (voice-over): Folks here grateful for the one meal they'll get today.
CULVER: What about tomorrow?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't know about tomorrow. We're just hoping for tomorrow.
CULVER (voice-over): Here, thinking about tomorrow, even that is a luxury.
David Culver, CNN, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: Still to come, thousands of hectares of land are burning in Canada, devastating fires are forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate. We will have a live report. And more details are emerging after that violent ambush in northern France that killed two guards and freed an inmate, we'll have the details.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: Emergency services in Canada are battling more than 130 active wildfires, dozens of which are out-of-control. Thousands of acres are burning mainly in the western provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. Now, authorities have issued evacuation orders for many people living in Alberta. Some of those communities were also affected by devastating wildfires in 2016. The wildfire smoke has prompted air quality alerts for portions of the United States as well.
CNN's Paula Newton is following the developments from Ottawa, Canada. Hello, Paula. So, what are the crews dealing with in terms of the -- oops, it looks like we lost Paula. So hopefully, we can get her signal back and see her face, and talk more about these wildfires that are just burning, seemingly out of control there in British Columbia.
Turning now to Indonesia, more than 50 people have died after torrential rain in Indonesia triggered flash floods over the weekend. The floods have brought with it cold lava from a nearby volcano, forcing nearly 3,400 residents to evacuate. Cold lava is a mixture of volcanic material and pebbles that flow down a volcano slope during wet weather. CNN's Lynda Kinkade has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Roza Yolanda sits on a hospital bed. She is covered in cuts and bruises head to toe. The recent college graduate tells Reuters she was at home Saturday, texting her sister about the heavy rain outside. Moments later, she heard a thundering noise.
ROZA YOLANDA, FLOOD SURVIVOR: Suddenly, the lights went out and the water rushed in. I didn't have time to stand up and I no longer had time to run and was just washed away by the flood.
[08:20:00]
KINKADE (voice-over): Flash floods triggered by torrential rains in Indonesia's West Sumatra province have left dozens dead and missing. Mudslides and cold lava flow from volcanic eruptions. A mixture of rock, sand, water and volcanic ash, adding to the level of devastation, inundating roads and sweeping away homes, trapping victims, or sending them into nearby rivers.
YOLANDA: I got stuck on the road that was full of wooden materials and debris from the houses that were washed away. I got trapped by the pile of debris and the water was not flowing anymore, and I hit the rubble and then tried get my head out of the water because I could feel the water flow was receding.
KINKADE (voice-over): Thousands of people have been evacuated from their flooded homes as rescuers recover bodies and dig through the damage. While Rosa Yolanda recovers in hospital, others remain lost in the rubble.
YOLANDA: Mom, thank God is safe while they are still searching for my dad.
KINKADE (voice-over): With heavy rains forecast throughout the week, the dire search for survivors continues. This, the latest flood catastrophe, as unprecedented rainfall triggers flash floods around the world.
Lynda Kinkade, CNN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: A manhunt is underway in France for at least two gunmen who ambushed a prison convoy, freeing an inmate and killing two guards in the process. French police have discovered two burned out vehicles used by the attackers. Prosecutors have also named the prisoner Mohamed Amra, a man with a long history of convictions. He was being transferred from a court to a nearby prison in Normandy. Just frightening pictures there of the crash and what you can see there, gunmen with their weapons drawn.
Well, French President Emmanuel Macron will chair a national security council following the violence that broke out in New Caledonia, at least three people have died in protests and looting since riots began on Tuesday in response to the plan to increase the number of French nationals eligible to vote. More than 130 people have been arrested while at least 60 security personnel have been injured in clashes between nationalist groups and French authorities. Protesters have also defied a curfew imposed until Thursday, setting fires to buildings and cars in the capital of Noumea.
Here in the United States, we are now learning more about the deadly bus crash that killed eight people in Florida on Tuesday. The victims were all Mexican nationals who were in the U.S. on a temporary work visa. That is according to Mexican officials, who also added that they will provide support to the families of the victims. Florida officials have also said the driver of the pickup involved in the crash that left at least 40 people injured, has been charged with eight counts of "driving under the influence, manslaughter."
U.S. President Joe Biden is issuing a challenge to his opponent, Donald Trump, over debates. In a new video message, he offers to pick the dates for two debates with Trump, that is instead of accepting the three proposed by the Presidential Debates Commission. The president also poked fun at Trump's court schedule, saying "I hear you're free on Wednesdays." That is the day that they have off during the week.
CNN's Arlette Saenz joining us now from the White House with more. What are you learning, Arlette?
SAENZ: Yeah, Amara, this is a major news from President Joe Biden's campaign as Biden releases video today saying that he is willing to debate Trump two times in this upcoming election cycle. In addition to that video, the president's -- one of his top campaign officials, Jen O'Malley Dillon sent a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates and said that the Biden campaign would not participate in the three scheduled debates that they have on hand.
Those are slated to begin in the fall. Three for President Biden and former President Trump, and there was another vice presidential debate. Instead, the campaign is saying that they will participate in debates that are organized by the broadcast networks and they've proposed two potential dates for this. They want to see one debate in late June when former President Donald Trump's criminal trial has ended, and then another in early September.
Part of the reason why they are making this argument is that they want to see these debates take place before early voting begins and ends in some of these key battleground states. Now, President Biden teased Trump a bit about his current criminal trial as he released his video saying that he is ready to set up two debate dates to debate Trump on television. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020. (Inaudible) hadn't shown up for debate. Now, he is acting like he wants to debate me again. Well, make my day, pal. I'll even do it twice. First, pick the dates, Donald. I hear you're free on Wednesdays.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[08:25:00]
SAENZ: Now in addition to two presidential debates, the Biden campaign also said they would like to see a vice presidential debate take place in late July after the Republican National Convention takes place. That's currently scheduled to take place in about mid-July. There's also other terms that the campaign wants to see. They want this to be a one-on-one debate, potentially a reference to the fact that there is a third-party candidate, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. who is also vying for the presidential contest.
So, the Biden campaign wants to see this between Biden and Trump, but it also comes at a time when Trump has really repeatedly pushed for Biden to debate at an earlier stage in the process. That is something that you repeatedly hear from the president, from his campaign. And so, even as the Biden campaign is laying out this proposal, this is still something that the Trump campaign would have to agree to. So, we will see what their answer will be, but Biden making clear that he will not do the three debates that are currently scheduled by the Commission on Presidential Debates and instead has proposed two potential debates with Trump as he is eyeing his re-election bid come November.
WALKER: So, two debates instead of three. No response, obviously, yet from Trump because this just is coming out. But obviously, you've been following Biden. We've been listening and seeing some of the posts from Trump on what he has been saying. Any indication that he will agree to two of these debates?
SAENZ: It's really unclear whether he will agree exactly to the Biden campaign's terms, but Trump has repeatedly said that he wants to see earlier debates in this process. Now, it's worth noting that the Republican National Committee, a few years ago, voted not to participate in the Commission on Presidential Debates showdowns going forward. The campaign has been pushing for the CPD to even potentially consider earlier dates for the two men to face off against each other. So we will see.
I mean, I think it probably would be likely that Trump would want to debate Biden earlier. He said that himself but it is unclear if whether they'll agree to these exact terms that the Biden campaign has laid out.
WALKER: Right. We'll watch for that with you. Arlette Saenz, appreciate you so much.
And still to come, Donald Trump calls in the heavy hitters. Why top Republicans are making the trip from Washington to New York to attend his hush money trial. Also, the U.S. issues a warning to Georgia after lawmakers there passed a controversial Russian-style law sparking outrage in Tbilisi, the story is just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: Donald Trump's hush money trial is at one of its most important moments, but that moment won't continue until tomorrow.
[08:30:00]
WALKER: The trial is taking its once-a-week break today, just as the cross-examination of Michael Cohen had begun. The defense team say they expect to spend pretty much the entire day, Thursday, continuing the cross-examination of Cohen. They are trying to blunt the -- direct testimony by branding Trump as a liar and someone with a grudge against Trump. It is expected that Cohen will be the last prosecution witness, and then we get to the defense, and the big question, will Donald Trump be called to testify?
Let's bring in CNN's Brynn Gingras with more on the cross of Cohen. Hi there, Brynn. So, the defense says that they have at least one more day of questions for Michael Cohen. How has he been doing so far?
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, listen, Michael Cohen has been pretty measured on the stand that the defense has really been coming at him and he doesn't seem to take any of that bait. So, we'll see if that continues into tomorrow. The defense still has really gotten into the questions at the crux of this case. They've really just been attacking his credibility, which we knew was going to be a major part of their defense, (inaudible) Michael Cohen's own words to kind of show jurors that they believe Michael Cohen is only about wanting to profit off of Donald Trump's name and he's only out for revenge.
They've been drawing on excerpts from his books, from clips from his podcast, where they got Michael Cohen to admit that he has talked about Trump in every single podcast that he has aired. And there was a few times where the defense even, again, used Michael Cohen's own words describing Trump as "a boorish cartoon misogynist or cheetos- dusted cartoon villain" to which Michael Cohen has that basically said, yeah, that sounds like something I would say.
On the flip side of that, they've also brought up times where Michael Cohen was complimentary to Donald Trump in the past and trying to show that he has two sides to him. And Michael Cohen says, well, that was when he was knee deep in the cult of Donald Trump. So, we'll see what they get to tomorrow. Like you said, they have said they're going to spend a full day of cross-examination with Michael Cohen.
Now, before that, Amara, it's important to point out that the prosecution did really wrap up its narrative of where they got to these charges with Michael Cohen. They had him on the stand, they brought up his criminal history because they know that's something that the defense will go after him about. They brought up the fact that he has lied in front of Congress, that his home was raided in 2018. They brought the fact of when he flipped on Donald Trump, the last moments that he actually talked to him. So, all of this came out in the prosecution and they sort of tied up their case in a nice little bow. Our understanding is a prosecution will likely rest as soon as Michael Cohen is off the stand. The question is, when is that going to happen? We expect it to be he tomorrow, but not exactly clear just yet. But we are getting closer to this case and trial really being done.
WALKER: OK. So, when the prosecution rests and obviously, this is a question that we've all been asking, will we actually see Donald Trump take the stand? What have you been hearing in terms of whether this would be good or bad for Donald Trump to testify?
GINGRAS: Yeah. I think it's very unlikely. The big question, honestly, is what defense are they going to put up and a lot of people don't believe it's going to be Donald Trump, but maybe they'll be calling in a witness when it comes to election law. But nobody really thinks he is going to actually take the stand because it opens up so many doors for the cross-examination, quite frankly, by the prosecution. So, we don't anticipate that. I mean, we've definitely -- there's been curved balls before and in that civil trial, last year, Donald Trump definitely said he was going to take the stand and then he last-minute said, no, I'm not going to do it.
So we might even get a tease from the former president, who knows. But certainly, we do expect this to be wrapping up soon, which -- a historical case and it's going to be in the hands of jurors sooner than later.
WALKER: 50/50, Brynn.
GINGRAS: Yeah.
WALKER: Good to have you. Good to see you, Brynn Gingras, thank you.
GINGRAS: All right.
WALKER: Well, you might think a salacious story involving former adult film star, hush money, and financial fraud would be something other politicians would want to avoid, right? But in Donald Trump's Republican Party, this case has become a must see and must attend event. On Tuesday, some of the most influential and important Republicans in the land showed up in court to attack the prosecution and denounce the case. CNN's Kristen Holmes has more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Trump, are you directing surrogates to speak on your behalf?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A show of force for Donald Trump today, arriving to court flanked by some of his most vocal allies.
DONALD TRUMP, (R) FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I do have a lot of surrogates (inaudible), speaking very beautifully. And I think this is the greatest scam that I've ever seen. HOLMES (voice-over): A litany of Republicans jockeying for a potential role in the future administration, including on the GOP ticket.
REP. BYRON DONALDS, (R-FL): Ladies and gentlemen of America, this trial is a joke. This thing is a farce.
GOV. DOUG BURGUM, (R-ND): I think the only conclusion, of course, is it is election interference and it is tying up the president from being out on the campaign trail.
[08:35:00]
SEN. J.D. VANCE, (R-OH): What's going on inside that courtroom is a threat to American democracy.
HOLMES (voice-over): The entourage including Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, who has increasingly aligned himself with Trump amid scrutiny from far-right members of the party.
MIKE JOHNSON, (R-LA) SPEAKER OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: I called President Trump and told him I wanted to be here myself, to call out what is a travesty of justice. I'm an attorney, I'm a former litigator myself. I am disgusted by what is happening here.
HOLMES (voice-over): Many of his courtroom guests also scheduled to attend a high-dollar Manhattan fundraiser for Trump tonight.
TRUMP: You ask me questions; I'm not allowed to respond. The gag order has to come off.
HOLMES (voice-over): The former president remains under a gag order imposed by Judge Juan Merchan to stop him from publicly talking about witnesses, including former Trump fixer Michael Cohen. Trumps allies not under the same restrictions.
VIVEK RAMASWAMY, FORMER REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So you have a guy who has been a perjurer in the past that is now saying he falsified business records. What is the crime that Donald Trump committed?
SEN. TOMMY TUBERVILLE, (R-AL): He is a convicted felon. I mean, this guy, he is up there given an acting scene.
HOLMES (voice-over): One Trump ally even attacking the daughter of the judge overseeing the case, who is also covered by the gag order.
SEN. RICK SCOTT, (R-FL): The judge's daughter is a political operative and in raises money for Democrats.
HOLMES (voice-over): The show of support from surrogates comes after Trump privately complained that no one was there to back him. Sources told CNN with few family members in attendance, only Eric Trump has been in and out of the courtroom and Lara Trump showing today. Trump posting on social media last month calling for supporters to "go out and peacefully protest and rally behind MAGA." TRUMP: It's a scam. It's election interference at a level that has never taken place before.
HOLMES (voice-over): In the weeks ahead, more allies are expected to join Trump. A campaign official told CNN, saying a number of his friends and supporters have reached out to ask if they could come to the courthouse to defend the former president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: Kristen Holmes reporting there. Turning now to Georgia, where the U.S. State Department is calling on the country to change course and revise the newly passed controversial "foreign agents bill." Protesters outraged over the Russian law -- Russian-style law, I should say -- shut down traffic Tuesday night in the capital Tbilisi.
They say they don't want to see their country turning toward Moscow. CNN's Clare Sebastian explains what brought the former Soviet Republic to this pivotal moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Storming the barricades, protesters in the Georgia capital refusing to accept their weeks-long battle could be lost.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They can't scare us. They can do anything to make us go away. We are going to stay here and fight.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are not Russia. We are not Belarus. So, we will not allow anyone to brand us as foreign agents. We will resist.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Protesters face down a wall of riot police pushing them back just hours after opposition and government faced off in parliament.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): You are the Russian regime. You are the illegitimate Russian regime. It's double standards and the hypocrisy of the opposition.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Georgia's pro-European majority has tasted success. Scenes like this last year forced the government to scrap the same so-called Foreign Agent Bill seen here as a replica of a repressive Russian law and a sign of Moscow's growing influence in this small post-Soviet state. Then in March, barely three months of after gaining EU candidate status, the Georgian government revived the law.
In a rare appearance in late April, the ruling party's honorary leader and most powerful driving force, lashing out at the West.
BIDZINA IVANISHVILI, HONORARY CHAIRMAN, GEORGIAN DREAM: Despite the promises of the 2008 Bucharest Summit, Georgia and Ukraine have not been accepted into NATO and have been left out to dry. All those decisions are made by the global party of war. SEBASTIAN (voice-over): As protesters grew more determined, the police response escalated. Violence widely condemned by the European Union. In this shocking attack on May 1st, opposition leader, Levan Khabeishvili says he was deliberately targeted. His bruises are still visible.
LEVAN KHABEISHVILI, GEORGIAN OPPOSITION LEADER, UNITED NATIONAL MOVEMENT (through translator): They did not get what they wanted from me. They were filming to upload the video afterwards, and to show the opposition leader in a state that would discredit me.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): And violence not the only means of intimidation. Transparency International says these posters of its local executive director appeared a few days ago outside its offices and those of other NGOs. The text reads, traitor and grant guzzler.
EKA GIGAURI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL, GEORGIA: You are under the attack all the time. So, the governmental officials and even the prime minister would organize the press conference where they will single you out.
[08:40:00]
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Still, the drumbeat of opposition in Georgia grows louder. This is a country at a crossroads. EU making it clear, this bill becomes law, future membership is at serious risk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: It's really extraordinary images there out of Georgia. Clare Sebastian joining us now from London with more. So Clare, what sort of reactions are taking place to the new bill outside of Georgia?
SEBASTIAN (on camera): Yeah, Amara, look, I think the EU and the U.S. haven't exactly minced their words in the lead up to this, but the messages that we saw after the vote on Tuesday were particularly blunt. The White House press secretary saying that if the law eventually finally becomes law, that it will compel us, she said, to fundamentally reassess our relationship with Georgia. That was followed up by comments in Tbilisi from the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, who said that there would be potential sanctions for those seen to be using violence against protesters and things like that. But it's certainly something that the opposition and civil society have been calling for.
As for the EU, well, the EU's top diplomat urged Georgia to withdraw the bill, and then we saw this sort of show of support. Foreign ministers of the Baltic Countries and Iceland turned up in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital today, held a joint press conference not with the prime minister, but with the pro-European president who has promised to veto this bill. Take a listen to the Lithuanian foreign minister.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GABRIELIUS LANDSBERGIS, LITHUANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: It is still not too late. We have heard from the madam president that she plans to veto the law, and this will offer a way out opportunity for the government, withdrawing this unfortunate legislative initiative altogether. There should be no illusions that cosmetic amendments to this law may make it democracy or EU-proof. This law is not compatible with European choice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN (on camera): So the message that western countries are trying to send is that this is a binary choice that Georgia has to make the choice now. It can't seek to balance its rapprochement with Russia with Euro-Atlantic integration. Now, look, one opposition leader messaged me today and said that he thinks that the next few weeks will be what he called an off-ramp for the government. The veto process which could last a few weeks presents an opportunity for them to back down if they so choose, but others will tell you that the government having already backed down once on this last year, it would be pretty politically risky for them to do it again. Amara?
WALKER: Clare Sebastian, appreciate you're reporting on this. Thank you so much.
Still to come, a warning from China after the U.S. makes a move over what it calls Beijing's unfair business practices. We will explain. And while President Biden blames corporate greed for inflation, a new Fed report says otherwise. We'll explain.
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WALKER: A key economic report is just out.
[08:45:00]
WALKER: U.S. inflation slowed in April, providing a hint of hope for Americans worn down by these really high prices. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.3 percent in April. It measures what consumers pay for a variety of goods and services. Investors are pouring over these numbers and they come one day after U.S. Wholesale Inflation hit its highest rate in a year.
CNN's Matt Egan is joining us now. All right, Matt, take us through these brand new inflation figures and what they mean.
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Amara, finally we got some good news on the inflation front. This breaks its streak of three straight months of worse than expected numbers on prices. As you mentioned, month over month, prices were up by 0.3 percent between March and April. That is slightly cooler than expected. The big number is the annual number. We saw that prices were up by 3.4 percent. That's exactly as expected and it does mark a slight improvement from 3.5 percent the prior month.
So, why did inflation improve? Well, one of the keys here is that Americans, they got the break at the grocery store. We saw that food at home prices ticked lower between March and April. There were also some improvements in terms of pricing for new cars, for used cars, and for furniture, all of them fell month over month. Now, when you look at the trend, we can see that consumer prices, they're no longer sky- rocketing like they were two years ago.
I mean, this metric was above 9 percent in June of 2022. We are miles away from that. But some of the improvement, of course, has stalled in recent months. So, it is encouraging to see this improvement restart here and this is going well -- going over well on Wall Street where we've seen U.S. stock futures tick higher.
Now, Amara, as you can see on the screen, there has been some talk over corporate greed. In particular, price markups and some new research from the San Francisco Fed found that there were large price markups for cars, gasoline, car repair, laundry in 2021 and 2022. This gets to that debate over greedflation.
But, the same San Francisco Fed report also said that "rising markups have not been a main driver of the recent surge and subsequent decline in inflation during the current recovery." So this sort of gets at this debate over how much corporate greed played in terms of this spike in inflation that we saw in 2021 and 2022. And the findings from the Fed are that, yes, there was some price gouging, right. Some companies probably did take advantage of the situation. But no, this was not the main driver, right. The main driver really goes back to traditional supply and demand swings.
So, some new research there from the Fed and new numbers from the government showing that inflation did improve a bit last month.
WALKER: But, Matt, we love to blame the corporations. I mean, so you're saying it's possibly the consumers?
EGAN: Well, right, I mean, there's a few different metrics that have been historically pointed to, right. One, the fact that demand went up, right? I mean, as COVID ended, people changed some of their buying habits where they are buying more goods, more furniture, more office supplies, more stuff to improve their home. At the same time, we saw changes in supply, right, there were limits for supply. There was supply chain issues or port congestion. There was computer chip shortages.
And so, all of those things, of course, drove up prices. There was also some debate over whether or not worker wages helped to fuel inflation. But we know that paychecks actually did not keep up with prices back in 2021 and 2022. Real wages actually were getting smaller. So the researchers found that when you look at price markups, they said that, yes, there's some evidence that companies were taking some advantage, but that's not the leading cause of inflation.
But listen, this debate is going to continue. We're going to continue to hear from the White House and progressives over how companies need to do more to lower their prices, especially at a time when they have record profits and CEOs are sitting on fat bonuses. Amara?
WALKER: So, yeah. Why not just lower those prices for us, right? All right. Matt Egan, good to have you. Thanks so much.
EGAN: Thanks, Amara. WALKER: Beijing is vowing to defend its interests in the face of massive new U.S. tariffs. President Joe Biden is increasing tariffs on $18 billion worth of imports from China to counter what the White House calls unfair trade practices by Beijing. The new tariffs apply to a range of products including steel, electric vehicles, and medical products. Now, China is warning that this move by the U.S. could affect the wider relationship between the world's two biggest economies.
Let's go live now to Beijing and CNN's Marc Stewart. OK, Marc, so obviously, the speculation is, well, how will China retaliate? What are you hearing?
MARC STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. It is this whole question of retaliation because if we look at China and the way it operates, it has this philosophy of this.
[08:50:00]
STEWART: If you hurt us, we're going to hurt you back. But for the moment, the only kind of fight back that we are seeing is through some strongly worded statements and remarks. I want to share with you one in particular that came just today from Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, when asked about this, about sanctions, about tariffs. He said, "This is the most typical form of bullying in the world today!"
We're hearing similar remarks from other government officials saying that China will take all measures necessary to defend its legitimate rights and interests. Another government official calling this a case of wrongdoing. But here is the reality, Amara, the Chinese economy right now, it's not as hot as it once was. And the one thing it really wants is more investment from abroad, international investment, and that includes the United States. They view that money and investment in business operations from the U.S. will be a big part of its future economic success.
So, the idea of creating some kind of trade war or additional tariffs against U.S. products may not necessarily be in China's best interests. In fact, we heard from some analysts from Citi, they feel that any kind of retaliation against American companies doing business here in China is very unlikely, Amara. So, expect the strong words.
WALKER: Absolutely. Marc Stewart, appreciate it. Thank you very much, from Beijing.
Still to come, what is in a name? A lot if it's your name being called at your college graduation, right? After the break, why some grads got a new name with their diplomas.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: So, graduates at a nursing school in Philadelphia could barely recognize their own names. That's because the announcer reading them at their commencement mangled pretty much every single one of them. Here's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Never have so many names been so butchered, even easy ones like Victoria Elizabeth Bruce.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Victoria Leigh Zubeth Bros.
MOOS (voice-over): Butchered beyond recognition, be it Meghan.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Megee Lou Eabri.
MOOS (voice-over): Or Allison.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Allisoona call bishop.
MOOS (voice-over): And how can you mangle Molly?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Malina Zobeth Camp.
MOOS (voice-over): The announcer at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia was reading off phonetically spelled names on cards. But how hard is it to pronounce Thomas?
MOOS: For the record, Thomas, can you state your full name for us?
THOMAS CANEVARI JR., THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY GRADUATE: Thomas Michael Canevari Junior.
MOOS (voice-over): Thomas was the first college of nursing grad to actually correct the mispronunciation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tah Moo May.
CANEVARI JR.: Thomas.
(LAUGH)
JIMMY FALLON, AMERICAN COMEDIAN AND TELEVISION HOST: Thomas, the name of our school. Thomas Jefferson University.
MOOS (voice-over): Thomas says at first it felt like a slap in the face.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tah Moo May.
CANEVARI JR.: Then she never even said my last name at all.
MOOS (voice-over): But now, that the video has gone viral.
CANEVARI JR.: They just cannot stop with thinking and laughing about it. I'll never forget that day for as long as I live.
[08:55:00]
MOOS (voice-over): Neither will Sarah Virginia Brennan.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Saiyeer Uvoon Gene Joo Breenan.
MOOS (voice-over): On her Instagram, Sarah posted, "A new degree and name, thanks, I guess." The announcer apologized, so did Thomas Jefferson University, saying each graduate deserves to have their name honored correctly. But for now, Thomas is a.k.a. Tah Moo May.
CANEVARI JR.: That's my new nickname, all my friends have gave me.
MOOS (voice-over): And when Thomas congratulated his new friend, Saiyeer, he addressed her and signed off with their new names.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tah Moo May.
MOOS (voice-over): Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: Thomas, how does this happen? I don't get it. Oh, my goodness. Thank you, Jeanne Moos for that.
Thank you for joining me here on "CNN Newsroom." I'm Amara Walker. "Connect The World" with Becky Anderson is up next.
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